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"Do you still have enough Haki?" Haiyna pressed down on Black Blade.
"..."
Liam, holding the golden iron rod, noticed the Haki receding along its surface. With a mental command, the black markings covering his muscular, bare body surged toward the rod, channeling his strength into a powerful swing that sent the surprised Haiyna flying.
Haiyna flipped through the air several times before landing gracefully.
Huff... huff... Giorno stood panting heavily.
Without the protection of Busoshoku Haki (Armament Haki), Liam immediately felt the lingering Corrupting Poison begin to erode his flesh.
"Tsk, tsk," Haiyna clicked her tongue, pointing upward.
Liam looked up to see a massive glob of dark green liquid cascading down upon him.
When did she get that up there?!
Splash!
A torrent of Corrupting Poison drenched Liam, the dark green liquid dripping down his black neck, bulging black chest muscles, stacked black abs, and smooth black thigh muscles, flowing down his ankles and onto the ground.
Liam was now completely... well, completely naked. Even his pants had been corroded by the poison, disintegrating and sliding off with the dark green liquid.
"Ooh, tsk tsk..." Haiyna glanced up and down at Giorno. "It seems calling you 'little boy' was a bit presumptuous, wasn't it?"
"..."
Liam gasped for breath, running a hand through his hair and feeling large clumps of black strands fall out.
Except for the skin protected by Busoshoku Haki (Armament Haki), his unprotected hair was naturally corroded by the poison, quickly falling out completely.
In a corner of the ruins, Rose yelped and covered her eyes, peeking through her fingers.
Liam rolled his eyes and let out a long sigh. At the same moment, thick black hair sprouted from his bald scalp as if spring winds had breathed life back into it, growing rapidly until his original hairstyle was restored in an instant.
"Is that even possible?" Rose murmured, glancing downward instinctively. "Is that really possible?!"
King, standing beside her, was completely dumbstruck.
"An impressive trick, quite memorable," Haiyna remarked. "But... his breathing has grown even heavier."
Liam gripped his golden iron staff and charged forward. "Don't make it sound so misleading!"
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The two clashed again, their battle resuming.
This time, Liam was on the defensive almost from the start, taking more hits while his counterattacks weakened.
This won't do, Liam thought, withdrawing the Armament Haki covering his body and focusing it on his fists and the striking end of his staff.
Instantly, his combat prowess surged, as if he had returned to his peak condition.
What level of stamina is this?! Even Haiyna was stunned. Giorno was like a tireless monster, forcibly drawing on his reserves to regain peak condition and continue fighting.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Liam's punches and swings were lightning-fast. Though the remaining Corrupting Poison in his body was minimal, it was slowly eroding his vitality. This prolonged battle was now working against him, the stamina freak among stamina freaks.
How strange... Giorno's strength is almost identical to that blackghost from before...
Haiyna, slightly winded, seized the moment Giorno's movements faltered. She raised her Armament Haki-enhanced leg and kicked, Bang!
The golden iron rod flew from Liam's hand. Her crimson hair flared like a raging fire, her eyes sharp as daggers. Longblade, now pitch-black, slashed across Liam's body in a horizontal arc.
Pfft!
A crimson spray of blood erupted from Liam's body as the massive force of the slash sent him flying.
"Don't regret the consequences of your choices," Haiyna said calmly, pursuing him with her blade. "Since you chose to stand before me, I assume you've already accepted the possibility of death..."
As if struck by lightning, her steps faltered, and she clutched her chest, stopping abruptly.
Blood vessels burst in her beautiful eyes as she gasped for breath. For a fleeting moment, she had felt a searing, tearing pain in her heart—a pain so real it felt like her heart was being ripped apart.
Rasha's earlier words echoed in Haiyna's mind: The Black Ghost... it's merging with her...
Haiyna turned to see Rasha staggering toward her. She abandoned her sword, opened her arms, and caught Rasha.
"Cough!" Rasha coughed up blood, her body riddled with wounds. She reached up to touch Haiyna's face, her voice strained, "Black... Ghost... merging... with her..."
Haiyna gripped Rasha's blood-soaked hand and glanced toward Jolyne Kujo.
In the rubble near Robin, Coyatl and Jiabode lay unconscious on either side, battered and bruised. Robin, slightly breathless, turned to Liam and said, "I couldn't help but intervene. Sorry."
"Cough, cough... Don't let it happen again!" Giorno's voice came from behind Haiyna. She turned to see the man, still swinging his weapon, standing up again despite a bloody gash across his chest, his teeth bared in a grimace.
"Again and again... Why won't you just stay down?" Haiyna sighed softly as she gently laid Rasha down. She picked up her Longblade, its tip dragging along the ground, and turned to face Giorno, slowly advancing toward Robin.
"Your opponent is me! You're going the wrong way!" Liam cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted, "At ease! About face!"
Haiyna ignored him, continuing her advance toward Robin.
As Robin watched Haiyna approach, she suddenly whispered, "Gold..."
"Hmm?" Haiyna's head snapped up.
"...Cage." As Robin finished speaking, a golden cage materialized from the sky, descending toward Haiyna on the ground.
Thud!
Haiyna dodged, narrowly avoiding the Gold Cage. She wasn't trapped... Huh?!
The narrow, white-glowing eyes behind Robin's black mask fixed on Haiyna. Under that gaze, the golden cage beside Haiyna liquefied, surging toward her and binding her completely.
"You think this flimsy thing can hold me?" Haiyna strained against the chains, unleashing a flurry of blade flashes too fast to see. The golden chains shattered instantly!
Even Zoro before the Moria arc could do handstand push-ups with one hand while balancing tons of weights on his feet. How could this soft gold possibly restrain a powerhouse like Haiyna, whose full strength could shatter a small mountain?
"It can't," Giorno's voice suddenly echoed behind Haiyna. "But it gave me the chance to get close..."
The moment Haiyna turned, Liam's massive hand clamped down on her face. Simultaneously, she felt another rough hand groping her body, spreading across her skin...
Foam?!
(End Of This Chapter)