Chapter 529: Head On Confrontation With Lilith's Projection
The massive tree shaped monster did not bother with any more words.
A thick tentacle whipped through the air.
Smack.
The lash tore across the canyon with a shrill sonic boom.
Ryuunosuke's arm moved on instinct. His sword drew a brilliant arc, his slash colliding with the tentacle.
But the blow did not cut it apart.
The strange, pliant limb absorbed the force and curled, sliding around his blade before snapping back toward him, still full of power and momentum.
"My child, this is a mother's discipline," Lilith's projection said softly.
"This is how a mother corrects her child and makes him better."
"As a child, you should listen to your mother."
"Hopefully, this lash will bring you to your senses."
The sound of tentacles slicing through the air overlapped with the echo of her voice, like applause.
Clap. Clap. Clap.
Looking at the disappointment and false pity on that distorted face, Ryuunosuke felt his temper flare.
"You really think you can play the mother card with me?"
"This is starting to piss me off."
An orange gold card suddenly appeared in his hand.
"Pure Yang Flame Experience Card."
He crushed it without hesitation.
Flames roared out of him. An orange red blaze erupted across his body, heat rolling through the canyon like a living tide.
Ryuunosuke's aura shifted in an instant.
A different power surfaced beneath the flames.
The aura of an Infinity Stone.
"Captain, what is that ugly thing?"
A clear, childish voice rang beside his ear.
Gaino, the spirit of the Ark of Eternity, stood on his shoulder, swinging his legs as he stared at the towering tree demon with open disgust.
Because the Ark of Eternity belonged to the Dragon Hunter Pirates, and Ryuunosuke was their captain, he could summon Gaino to his side at any time, no matter where he was.
Earlier, he had watched the battle between Lilith and Adam.
He knew now that the stones born out of their clash, stones that should not exist in this world, were the Infinity Stones.
And the Eternal Hearts…
Gaino had already devoured three of them.
The moment he appeared, the energy of the Eternal Hearts surged through Ryuunosuke's body, intertwining with the Pure Yang Flame.
"Impossible."
Lilith's projection froze.
"Child, something is wrong."
"Come back into Mother's arms. I am so sorry I let you suffer out there all alone."
Her form twisted again.
The monstrous bark and roots peeled away, and in their place appeared a familiar figure.
An ordinary woman.
Hands roughened by work, shoulders slightly stooped, eyes full of tired warmth.
Ryuunosuke's mother.
The mother from his previous life.
She opened her arms to him. The marks of time on those hands were exactly as he remembered.
For an instant, something stabbed into his chest.
Then rage swallowed it.
"Your biggest mistake isn't just being disgusting."
"It's that you reached into the deepest part of someone's heart."
"That is a place you are not qualified to touch."
Ryuunosuke lifted his head.
His two swords flashed in his hands, the spiritual pressure they released fusing with the raging flames.
In the next heartbeat, his entire body was wrapped in armor, all of his abilities erupting at once.
Steel, fire, and soul power howled outward.
"Incredible…"
Far away, the First Generation watched, stunned.
He had always thought of Ryuunosuke as a particularly clever human, nothing more.
But the aura surging out now…
For the first time, he felt fear.
If he had to face this Ryuunosuke head on now, the First Generation knew exactly how it would end.
He would die.
There was no second outcome.
Lilith's projection clearly felt it as well.
As Ryuunosuke charged, her expression shifted from coldness to shock.
Every swing of his blades severed tentacles.
And this was Ryuunosuke in a state of pure fury.
Anyone else, overwhelmed by anger, would have lost all sense and left themselves wide open.
He only grew sharper.
On top of that, she sensed something even more terrifying woven into his aura.
The breath of the Eternal Heart.
The Heart of God.
"How… no."
"How can such power be held by a single person?"
"Damn it, you are reincarnated."
"No, more accurately…"
Her voice trembled as realization dawned.
She never finished the sentence.
A storm of slashes descended like a collapsing sky.
Ryuunosuke did not care what she was about to reveal.
After defiling the place in his heart that he cherished most, there was nothing she could say that mattered.
All that remained was to erase her.
The blades carved through the projection, shattering it.
Ryuunosuke poured all the energy in his body into the Pure Yang Flame.
The flames erupted outward, swallowing Lilith's twisted form, then surging up the canyon walls and out into the surrounding forest.
The entire region turned into a blazing inferno.
At the same time, a blurred shadow shot away from the heart of the flames, racing toward the edge of the island.
A fragment.
A fleeing spirit.
"Trying to run?"
"You are too late."
Ryuunosuke's eyes narrowed.
His body vanished.
In the next instant, he reappeared on the sea, standing on the deck of the Moby Dick among the Whitebeard Pirates.
His gaze locked onto Ace.
"Big brother?"
Ace turned at once, sensing Ryuunosuke's presence.
"Ace," Ryuunosuke asked quietly, "do you trust me?"
Appearing on Whitebeard's ship out of nowhere, face grim and aura still blazing, it was obvious something serious had happened.
Ace did not hesitate.
"I trust you, big brother."
He had no idea what was going on.
But trust was not something you measured or weighed with reasons.
Ryuunosuke was his brother.
That was enough.
"Then let me kill you."
Ryuunosuke's voice stayed calm.
The next moment, his sword plunged into Ace's chest.
The deck exploded into chaos.
"Brat!"
Whitebeard roared, his entire body surging with quake power as he charged forward.
Marco and the others moved as well, murderous intent filling the air.
Then Ace raised his hand.
Everyone froze.
"Dad, everyone… I believe him."
Ace grinned at Ryuunosuke, sweat beading on his forehead from the pain, but his eyes steady.
Even with a sword in his chest, he did not step back from his decision.
He chose to believe.
"Big brother, I believe you."
A violent surge of energy slammed down from the sky at that exact moment.
"You are too late."
Ryuunosuke looked past Ace, toward the subtle distortion in the air.
"Here. Take the body you picked."
"I am handing him to you."
He lifted Ace, sword and all, and thrust him toward the phantom that had appeared.
A shrill scream tore through the air.
"Lady Lilith!"
On the distant battlefield, Brook's skull visibly jolted.
He shoved Keshia away with a burst of force and sprinted madly toward the source of the sound.
The phantom turned its head, noticing Brook's presence.
Ryuunosuke's heart clenched.
"Not good."
"Roy, stop him!"
He roared across the battlefield.
At the same time, he kicked off the air and shot toward the phantom, sword ready to strike.
The one thing he could not allow was for Lilith's remnant and Brook to merge.
If that happened, the consequences would be completely unpredictable.
As Ryuunosuke rushed in, Roy moved as well, his speed rising as he intercepted from another angle.
He made it in front of the phantom first.
But the remnant was not interested in Brook anymore.
"Puff."
Before Roy could react, the shadowy figure dove straight into his body.
Ryuunosuke, hovering above the sea, and Brook, dashing across the waves, both froze.
That was not how it was supposed to go.
This was completely different from the pattern Roy had described.
Shameless.
"Child, in the end, Mother will always be one step faster."
Roy straightened up slowly.
Lilith's voice came from his mouth, soft and pleased.
"So, next…"
He never finished.
Ryuunosuke's kick slammed into his chest like a cannon shot, sending him flying across the waves.
"Meliodas."
Ryuunosuke pulled out the Dragon Hunting Token, his voice low and fast.
"Tell Imu not to come out. She will not be able to sense Lilith while she is inside the Ark of Eternity."
On the other end, Meliodas immediately understood the severity of the situation.
The Ark of Eternity's power surged to life.
In the distance, its massive hull began to move, speeding up and cutting across the sea as the Dragon Hunter Pirates rushed toward the next point of impact.
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