When Shiki heard his own name had become one of Michael's techniques, a faint glimmer of joy appeared in his eyes.
This was the joy of being acknowledged by a true powerhouse.
It proved he still stood at the pinnacle of the world.
Under the clash of Conqueror's Haki, black lightning crackled wildly through the air.
Shiki, wielding his massive and twisted broadsword, launched his final strike at Michael.
This slash bore no name.
It was as ordinary a cut as could be.
Yet, Michael sensed the overwhelming ferocity unique to Shiki, merging once more with that terrifying Conqueror's Haki.
This slash carried Shiki's entire soul.
Thus, this slash...
Was named Golden Lion!
After the exchange, Shiki's expression suddenly relaxed.
The wound on his head no longer bled.
The boundless ferocity that had once enveloped him had now completely dissipated.
All of this... signaled one thing.
Shiki was nearing the end of his life's journey.
"I still... failed in the end."
At this moment, as if experiencing a final surge of vitality, Shiki mustered all his strength to raise his hands...
Yearning to touch the domain unique to the Float-Float Fruit user once more...
The sky.
"Even after enduring humiliation and hardship, the era... has still left me far behind."
"Like I said before, old man, you should've just found a place to retire. If you'd stayed quiet, I wouldn't have bothered hunting you down to wipe out your family... But who told you to keep trying to make headlines? If not you, then who?"
Shiki didn't respond to Michael's words. Instead, he threw his head back and laughed.
It sounded surprisingly vigorous.
"Michael, I understand now! I understand what Roger did! He crushed all remnants of the old era, then used his own life to forge a new one, grinding us into dust!"
"Michael... why were you born so late?"
"If only you'd been born in my era, before this damned ship's rudder got lodged in my skull!"
"Meeting you would've given me... the greatest joy of battle!"
"What a shame... time can never be reversed..."
Michael watched Shiki coldly, but in the end, he couldn't hold back a sigh.
A great pirate who stood alongside Roger and Whitebeard.
The purest of villains, the pinnacle of strength.
The ferocious Shiki the Golden Lion!
Such a villain...
Why did he make Michael feel...
Regret?
...
"Give it up, you two lovely Marine Vice Admirals..."
"Even the legendary Michael wouldn't stand a chance against Shiki under such overwhelming power."
Stella and Crocodile, caught in the relentless assault, finally showed openings.
One-on-one, even against the likes of the Lone Red or Bullet, they were confident they wouldn't lose.
But... they weren't playing fair.
Neither were their opponents.
Though not completely battered, traces of blood trickled from their lips.
After all these years by Michael's side, this was the first time they'd been so thoroughly outmatched.
But just then, an even more heart-stopping surge of Conqueror's Haki erupted above them.
The enemies standing before them paled, instinctively looking up toward the floating island.
That glance sealed their fate.
They witnessed Shiki unleash the strongest strike of his life against Michael.
Victory seemed certain...
Until Michael's voice echoed across the heavens—"Paradise Lost·Golden Lion"—and everything changed.
Everything seemed to come to a standstill.
Only the hum of Michael's Morning Star remained.
In the next moment, Shiki's calamitous Float-Float Fruit ability and Conqueror's Haki Coating met their destruction.
An indescribably massive face appeared.
Like a lion...
Yet also like a devil.
As its gaping maw stretched to the ears, Conqueror's Haki clashed against Conqueror's Haki...
Leaving not a single cloud in the sky.
Only the interwoven black lightning under broad daylight remained.
All matter controlled by Shiki turned into fine powder and drizzling seawater rain.
Michael sheathed Morning Star, flapped his wings, and appeared before Shiki.
Reaching out, he grabbed Shiki's hair and gave a gentle tug.
Head separated from body.
The severed neck was as smooth as a mirror.
Michael had done it.
In the final moment before Shiki exhausted his life force, he had already severed his neck.
Only after this action did the power of the Float-Float Fruit truly begin to dissipate.
Oto and Kogarashi also lost their ability to float, but Michael caught both short broadswords before they could fall into the sea.
"Shiki, your era has finally come to an end."
Michael watched as the last fragment of the floating island, carrying Shiki's body, descended toward the sea.
Truth be told, the drizzling seawater rain wasn't quite fitting.
Washing away the last traces of Shiki's existence.
With a light flap of his wings, Michael effortlessly caught this final piece of the shattered floating island...
And landed at the outskirts of Egghead.
At the same time, the highest elevation point of Egghead.
"Shiki, I don't know where your hometown is..."
"But I imagine, unlike someone like Whitebeard, your hometown probably meant nothing to you, right?"
"For the captain of the Flying Pirate Crew to be buried where the winds return... seems rather fitting, doesn't it?"
Under Michael's command, Holy Light and Holy Flame transformed into various tools, quickly digging a grave.
Then he placed Shiki's body and head inside.
Looking at the corpse one last time, Michael shook his head.
"You feel regret, you feel it's a pity."
"But isn't it the same for me?"
"After your death, there won't be many pure great pirates left. No matter what, one would feel somewhat lonely..."
The fleeting loneliness in Michael's eyes disappeared almost instantly.
"Of course, this is only from an opponent's perspective."
"As a Revolutionary Army member, as a former Marine..."
"People like you are better off dead sooner—it helps the world more."
With that, Michael waved his hand, and soil with flowers filled the grave under the Holy Light tools.
Finding a relatively intact stone slab, he cut it square and placed it before the grave.
Then with Morning Star, he carved an inscription:
"Golden Lion Shiki..."
"The purest villain lies here."
The tombstone was complete.
"As for Oto and Kogarashi... I like them."
"I'll wield them to walk a different path."
"From now on, they'll no longer be a pirate's slaughtering blades."
"But the revolutionary's sharp swords."