Chapter 302: Departure
Amidst the demon horde, two powerful auras suddenly surged. Black-red lightning and a terrifying shockwave sent the demon-transformed prisoners flying.
Kong knocked a demon aside, his gaze fixed on the two figures who were now radiating power, his expression grim.
"They've... recovered to their peak? This is going to be difficult..."
In the center of the ruins, Bullet and the Red Count looked down, feeling the long-lost power coursing through them.
"This strength... it's back already?" A flash of joy crossed Bullet's face, twisting into a ferocious grin. He had been imprisoned for so long, his body had deteriorated. He'd thought it would take months to recover, but it had happened in an instant, saving his life.
Beside him, the Red Count, leaning on his umbrella, let out a wicked smile. His Haki flared, his tattered prison uniform whipping around him. "I never thought I'd feel this level of power again at my age."
The golden chains of light faded, and the demon horde closed in again. But for the two legends, now back at their peak, the entire battle had changed. These monsters were no longer a threat.
At the edge of Mary Geoise, the Five Elders, sensing the light, immediately changed direction and headed toward its source.
"That's his fruit! The dead remnant's!" the Sandwyrm (Ju Peter) hissed, slithering over the rubble.
The Gyuki (Saturn) kept pace. "The rumored Paramecia Life-Life Fruit. No one else has healing power of this magnitude!"
"ROAR!" A three-headed Hellhound burst from the ruins, wreathed in flames. On its back, Shamrock's face was a mask of cold fury. "Archangel—LOUIS! I've come to kill you!!"
The light chains at the center of the other demon horde—the one surrounding Crocodile's group—also exploded with light. A shockwave blasted the demons back. When the dust settled, Crocodile, Teach, and Shiliew stood wreathed in the golden glow, their power fully restored. But their faces were pale, sweaty, and etched with pure, unadulterated unwillingness.
As the demons charged again, the three legends tore through them like paper. Their movements were powerful and fluid, but their faces were grim and reluctant.
High above, Itsumade (Marcus Mars) saw this and sneered. "So, they're being forcibly controlled too? How pathetic. The weak can never decide their own fate. That includes you!" he thought, winging toward the source of all the light chains. "You may be the strongest we've ever faced, but before Him, you are just another ant!"
He burst through the clouds, spotted a figure on a small cloud, and unleashed a torrent of fire.
The figure on the cloud simply raised a hand. A mass of mochi shot out, forming a massive, Haki-coated shield that blocked the flames.
"!!" Itsumade's eyes widened. "The Mochi-Mochi Fruit?! You're Katakuri!"
As the flames dissipated, Katakuri stood, holding his trident, Mogura, staring silently.
Itsumade looked past him at the source of the light, which looked like a miniature sun. "Just a construct? Where is that dead remnant?!" He scanned the skies, but found nothing.
He turned back to Katakuri. "Charlotte Katakuri. Where is Louis?"
Katakuri sneered, coating his trident in black-red lightning. "Meaningless."
Enraged, Itsumade dove at Katakuri, his own talons crackling with Haki.
Suddenly, a wave of lethal danger washed over him. He froze mid-air, his feathers standing on end.
The miniature sun dimmed, revealing a golden figure standing within it, over five meters tall, with snow-white wings. The golden chains of life extended from his back, trailing down into the clouds below.
"So... it wasn't a construct."
Itsumade shook off his terror and shot toward Louis, creating a sonic boom.
Louis, looking down, simply raised one hand.
A blinding golden light flooded the sky. Particles of light streamed upward, coalescing into several golden spears.
"!!!"
The unprecedented sense of death froze Itsumade in the air. Before he could even flap his wings, the lances were upon him, impaling him.
"PUU—!"
Scarlet blood rained from the sky. A piercing, psychic shriek of agony echoed in the minds of Imu, the other Elders, Shamrock, and Junko.
"MARCUS!!"
The other Elders changed forms and leaped toward the sky. Shamrock had his Hellhound launch him, the beast transforming mid-air into a blade that slapped into his hand.
In Mary Geoise, Imu, standing atop the surviving Pangea Castle, watched the sky glow golden. Its blood-red, ringed eyes narrowed. "This world has no need for another being with such power." Imu's slender body erupted in a physical, black aura. Demonic wings sprouted, and a giant trident appeared in his hand.
"Hoo!"
Itsumade's colossal body fell from the sky, crashing into the ascending Elders and slamming them all back down onto the ruined Holy Land.
"BOOM!" The impact shook the Red Line, sending up a new cloud of dust.
A golden light descended. Shamrock, sensing the presence he loathed, shot forward to attack.
A tall figure intercepted him. A Haki-infused trident blocked his rapier.
BOOM! The clash of Conqueror's Haki blasted the dust and clouds away, letting the sun shine on the battlefield.
Shamrock's red hair flew back, revealing his face twisted with cold rage. "Charlotte Katakuri!! You dare show your face to me!"
Katakuri's killing intent was no less fierce. "After that day, I trained, gaining strength for the sole purpose of finding you. Today, Louis has given me that chance. Watch... and experience the power I've earned."
"..."
Shamrock watched as the golden figure (Louis) descended past him, but he was powerless to stop him. Katakuri was stronger, almost on par with Charlotte Linlin. No... his danger was even greater.
"You're old! This level of growth is... unnatural!" Shamrock snarled, parrying a blow.
"Loss makes one grow," Katakuri replied, lunging again, his trident a blur of Armament and Conqueror's Haki.
The golden figure hovered a hundred meters above the Holy Land, his snow-white wings spread wide.
Far below, the massive form of Itsumade was crucified to the Red Line. Three golden spears—through his head, chest, and stomach—pinned him to the rock. Golden particles streamed from his body, his life force visibly draining away.
The pain of being pinned and drained alive ripped an unearthly, suppressed wail from Marcus Mars, echoing through the ruins.
Louis looked up, his gaze traveling thousands of meters, locking with the demonic figure atop Pangea Castle.
Imu, watching Marcus's state, was displeased. But needing the forces, Imu raised the mysterious book. Black flames erupted, enveloping Marcus and consuming the golden spears. In an instant, Marcus was fully restored.
He stood, and the other four Elders, also in their beast forms, moved to surround Louis.
"Itsumade, Gyuki, Sandwyrm, Bakotsu, and Hōki..." Louis mused, his eyes scanning the monsters.
Louis adjusted his wings, dodging the Conqueror's Haki-infused roars and freezing slashes from the Five Elders.
He held his sword and spear—both crackling with black-red lightning—and looked down at the five monstrous figures surrounding him again, his brow furrowing.
Not only had Marcus Mars (Itsumade) been restored by Imu's unknown ability, but even the Sandwyrm (Ju Peter), whom he had nearly sliced in two, was back to its original state.
It was obvious: Imu was actively healing them, using an unknown power to purge the energy Louis had embedded in their wounds.
He had seen this before, during the Fish-Man Island battle with the God's Knights. Just as he was about to kill them, black flames had erupted on their bodies, neutralizing his power. Now, the same thing was happening.
Louis knew the Elders' own Haki wasn't strong enough to purge his life-draining energy while they were heavily wounded. This was, without a doubt, Imu's power.
He realized that getting a one-on-one fight with Imu to gather intel was going to be extremely difficult. He had already gauged Imu's Haki and was confident he could match him. But Imu, as evidenced by the five beasts, had no intention of fighting fair.
Although Shiki and Ochoku were still on the battlefield, Louis had no intention of asking for their help. He knew Shiki. The favor was repaid. If Shiki had succeeded in recruiting Bullet and the Red Count, he'd be looking for a chance to stab Louis in the back. Right now, Shiki was probably the person in the world most hoping that Louis and the World Government would destroy each other.
"..."
Louis's mind was made up. It's better to cut off one finger than to injure all ten. Since he couldn't end this all at once, he would at least kill a few of the Five Elders.
In an instant, Louis's aura exploded without reservation. He gripped his weapons, his dangerous intent locking onto the five monsters.
The sudden, mountain-toppling pressure made the Five Elders tense. They knew his intentions had changed.
The next second, Louis's wings beat, and he shot forward like a golden meteor.
"Just the descendant of a defeated foe," a voice echoed from Pangea Castle, where Imu's slender figure stood in shadow, bat-like wings flickering. "They lost to Mu 800 years ago. What can you, alone, possibly do?"
Imu's slender hand gripped a giant trident, pointing it at the angel. "Take him."
"As you command!"
The Five Elders roared, their last vestiges of fear vanishing. Black, abyssal energy swirled around them as they all shifted into their strongest hybrid forms and charged to meet him.
In the distance, the black tide of demons, as if receiving Imu's command, turned and swarmed toward Louis.
The sudden departure of most of the demons gave the controlled Teach, Shiliew, and Crocodile a moment to breathe. But before they could catch their breath, Teach and Shiliew found themselves surrounded by demons in a perfect, straight-line formation, as if triggering a trap.
A dark magic circle lit up beneath their feet, swallowing them. A moment later, demon-transformed versions of Teach and Shiliew climbed out, their bodies swollen to giant size, holding tridents.
"Zehahaha!" the demon-Teach roared. "THIS POWER!!"
Demon-Shiliew turned to the last survivor, Crocodile. "Hehehe... Why don't you join us?"
Crocodile, seeing this, could no longer remain calm. He instantly dissolved into sand and fled. "What the hell is going on with these guys?!" The demon-Teach and demon-Shiliew let him go, sending lesser demons after him as they headed for the main battlefield.
Elsewhere, Bullet, his upper body bare, was overwhelming Kong with a furious storm of Haki-infused blows. Nearby, the Red Count, back at his peak, had carved a path into the demon horde, his umbrella-sword a blur.
But suddenly, the Red Count's assault became cautious. His excellent Observation Haki had sensed what happened to Teach and Shiliew. The change was too fast, too strange. He didn't understand the trigger, so he fell back, fighting defensively.
Bullet, by contrast, was a whirlwind of pure, wild power. He was effortlessly countering Kong's "immortality," striking with such force and Haki that the old man's wounds couldn't heal.
After punching a hole straight through Kong's shoulder, Bullet cracked his neck, a mocking smile on his face. "You have immortality, but you still look like you're about to die. Did the Celestial Dragons only give you a 'contract' like the God's Knights? I thought a Commander-in-Chief would get the real 'ageless immortality' like the Five Elders!"
He then glanced toward the main battlefield, sensing the two ocean-deep auras. "Looks like I have new targets to challenge."
In another area, a golden-haired figure kicked the severed, twitching body of a woman aside. He held his swords, puffing on a cigar as he invited the man before him:
"Join my crew, Byndi!"
"You can't survive in this sea with your current strength!"
Shiki's smile was genuine. Byndi World's bounty was only 500 million, but his Devil Fruit was exceptionally powerful. He was worth the effort.
Byndi, the World Destroyer, was silent. He knew he was weak now, remembering his easy defeat at the hands of Shamrock.
Beside them, Ace was poking the dismembered, but still living, body of the woman with a stick. "Whoa, this is amazing! She's cut to pieces but still alive? Immortality is nuts!"
Ochoku crossed his arms. The distant, violent pulses of Haki made his hands clench. He looked at Ace. "If I'm not mistaken, this woman is one of the two surviving God's Knights. They're like the Elders—immortal. When we get back, Shiki and I will teach you how to deal with them."
Shiki pressed his case, pointing at the new demons. "Look at them, Byndi. Can you face that alone?"
Byndi's face was grim. He knew his limits. He didn't want to join Shiki, but he had to admit, the sea had changed.
"Tch."
"Finish this woman off, Ochoku."
Just as Shiki turned, the severed head of the woman (Junko) snapped up, her crimson-ringed eyes glowing. Her scattered limbs flew back, reassembling.
Shiki spun, his Haki-coated sword clashing with a barrage of arrows. "This Conqueror's Haki?!" He bit through his cigar, stunned. The woman he'd just defeated now had demonic wings, a tail, and was radiating Haki.
"Junko" (now transformed) blocked Shiki with a newly formed trident while simultaneously launching a volley of Haki-coated, heat-seeking arrows at Ace.
"Hey, brat, get out of the way!" Shiki roared, unable to break free.
Ace dodged, but the arrows turned 90 degrees in mid-air and shot at his chest. He drew his own sword, coating it in Haki, but the blade was shattered on impact.
"Damn it!" Ace turned to flames, but his Observation Haki screamed that it wouldn't work.
Just as the arrows were about to impale him, a cold, armored hand grabbed him by the neck from behind and yanked him back.
The black-red arrows grazed Ace's back and punched straight through the heavy armor of his savior, burying themselves deep in his flesh.
"OCHOKU?!" Shiki roared.
Drip... drip...
Ochoku coughed up two mouthfuls of blood.
"Junko" frowned at the man she had impaled. As she prepared a follow-up strike, a strange ripple from the main battlefield distracted her.
A distant shout echoed: "SAINT SATURN!!"
"Junko" suddenly realized that one of her new demonic subordinates... had just been killed.
The sudden, unexpected development made "Junko" whip her head around to face the main battlefield.
A moment ago, the five subordinates she had been assigned—the Five Elders—were being single-handedly suppressed by that one remnant. But thanks to their practiced coordination and superior numbers, the situation had been under her control.
She never expected that in the brief moment she had turned her will to her own failing vessel, one of her subordinates would be completely and utterly killed.
On the other side of the field, Shiki's eyes widened, a visible flame seeming to ignite within them. The Conqueror's Haki crackling around his twin swords intensified.
"What did you do?!" Veins bulged on Shiki's forehead and arms as he erupted with power, knocking back the trident that had been lunging at him.
He lunged forward, his Haki-coated blades slicing in a perfect arc, aiming straight for "Junko's" neck.
As if sensing the attack, "Junko" turned her head, her expressionless, cold eyes glancing at Shiki.
An invisible, malevolent power spread from her feet, forming a black pentagram. Black-red Haki lightning flared. A path of black arrows formed beneath her, carrying her away, streaking toward the main battlefield.
She didn't give Shiki or the others a second glance, as if they were beneath her notice.
Shiki's swords sliced through empty air with a sharp whoosh. He looked at "Junko's" rapidly retreating back, her disdainful expression replaying in his mind. He was so angry he almost laughed.
But he had no time for that. He spun around, looking for Ochoku.
The next second, he saw Ochoku coughing up blood as he used the last of his strength to throw Ace to safety. Having done this, he turned to meet Shiki's eyes.
"Don't come over! Cut off my head! Then take Ace and get out of here!!"
Ochoku coughed up another mouthful of blood. He looked down at the black magic circle that was now swallowing both him and Byndi World, his face turning ashen.
Shiki froze. His gaze dropped to the circle, and his pupils contracted, his grip on his swords tightening. He recognized it instantly—it was the same magic that had "flipped" the prisoners, turning them into demons.
Shiki's expression hardened. He raised Oto and Kogarashi.
"Hey! Ochoku-senpai! Are you okay?!" Ace, having tumbled to the ground, scrambled up and ran toward him, his face frantic. "Hang on! I'll stop the bleeding!"
"You fool! Stop!" Ochoku spat out a blood clot, crimson seeping from the cracks in his heavy armor. He unleashed his own Haki, trying to reverse the "corruption" spreading through his mind and body. But it was useless. He could only slightly slow it down. He was still sinking, being dragged down.
Seeing it was hopeless, Ochoku looked at Shiki with resigned eyes. "Shiki. Do it. My strength is not so different from yours. If I am 'turned' and enhanced, even you will be in mortal danger."
"No!" Ace's face paled.
"Stop ordering me around!" Shiki sneered, but he unleashed his own Conqueror's Haki without reservation, coating his swords and slamming them into the magic circle.
"BOOM!"
Black-red lightning exploded, shaking the ruins of Mary Geoise. Shiki hovered in the air, his jaw clenched. "A mere Devil Fruit ability... how can it compare to the Haki I've honed in a thousand battles?!"
He knew any strange phenomenon in this world could be blamed on a Devil Fruit, and that Haki was the counter to all of them. This should be no exception.
Under his full-powered assault, the magic circle's power weakened, and the sinking slowed... but only slightly. Even Shiki's Haki could not completely break the "domination" that the King of the World, Imu, had prepared.
"Impossible!" Shiki's face was a mask of disbelief. There was only one reason Haki would fail: the power difference was too great. He hadn't experienced this since he was young.
"Not even Roger, if he came back to life with an awakened fruit, could do this!" Shiki didn't understand. He was at the pinnacle of human strength. He could accept a special case like Louis being slightly stronger, but how could someone this much stronger exist?
"Hang on, Ochoku-senpai! We'll get you out!" Ace yelled, adding his own Haki to the assault.
Ochoku looked at the two of them, struggling desperately, his pale face filled with a complex emotion. Finally, a weary, fond smile touched his lips. "You two... idiots..."
But their efforts were in vain. As their Haki was consumed, the sinking resumed. The black magic was now up to Ochoku's chest. He could feel the unknown power rewriting his mind, his very self-being "flipped."
"It's enough, you two," he sighed, his eyes blurring. "Do it. I don't want... to hurt you."
"..."
Shiki pulled one sword back, his expression unreadable. "It's a damn shame. I hadn't even gotten to share this world with you."
As Ochoku smiled and Ace pleaded, Shiki raised Kogarashi. He was not an indecisive man. He had tried, and he had failed.
Ochoku, facing the blade, looked serene. He turned to Ace. "Ace. You're Roger's son, aren't you?"
"..." Ace fell silent, then nodded.
"I guessed," Ochoku said, his voice weak. "When you said Garp raised you." He held out a bloody hand, and Ace grabbed it. "Ace... you don't have to carry Roger's sins. You inherited nothing from him. You don't need to inherit his crimes. Live free. Make your own life... amazing."
The blade swept down, carving Ochoku's final smile into Ace's mind forever.
"..."
Shiki, his breathing heavy, turned to the silent Byndi World. "Need a hand?"
Byndi looked at the rampaging, mindless demons in the distance. He nodded. He was a great pirate; he would not be twisted into a tool.
Shiki's blade fell again.
As its intended targets died, the black magic circle faded, leaving two warm bodies on the ground.
Shiki lit a cigar, staring at Ochoku's corpse in silence. After a long moment, he used his power on a nearby concrete slab and turned to Ace.
"Ace. Take Ochoku and get out of here. I'll follow soon."
"Where are you going?" Ace asked, his eyes blank.
Shiki turned, his golden hair and kimono whipping in the smoky wind. "Just a small errand. I'll be right back."
His gaze fell on the raging battlefield in the distance, his eyes glinting with a cold light. He was temporarily abandoning his plan to recruit Bullet and the Red Count. Right now, he had something more important to do.
The battle was tearing the continent apart. Freezing slashes and Haki-infused blows flew everywhere. The shockwaves alone pulverized the ruins, blasting them to the horizon. The very ground, harder than bedrock, had been sheared down several meters.
"Swoosh—"
Louis burst from a cloud of debris, sent flying backward. His golden armor was cracked, his white feathers ruffled.
"Dead remnant!!"
Nusjuro, in his half-man, half-skeletal-horse form, galloped across the airborne rubble, becoming a white blur as he chased Louis down. The Shodai Kitetsu in his hand crackled with black-red Haki and a chilling, netherworld cold. His swordsmanship was, without a doubt, at the absolute peak.
At the same time, Marcus Mars, in his hybrid form, dove through the debris, his beak open and glowing with fire.
Below, the other two giants (Hōki and Warcury) were moving, but Marcus Mars was faster. He unleashed a pillar of fire, clearing a path. Nusjuro used this path, his speed reaching its absolute limit, and appeared instantly before Louis, his blade flashing in an iai strike.
At the same moment, Warcury, in his beast form, leaped up, his Haki-coated tusks aiming for Louis's back.
Louis, seeing the pincer attack, simply flared his wings. A burst of flame propelled him upward. The Shodai Kitetsu and the giant tusks missed him, crashing into each other with a thunderous impact.
"Damn it!" Nusjuro and Warcury roared.
Louis, now hovering above Marcus Mars, spun his spear, preparing to end him.
"!!!"
Marcus, sensing death, met the attack, his own Haki-coated talons aiming for Louis's head.
Just then, a colossal arm, even larger than the Sandwyrm, shot from the rubble, its claws crackling with Haki, trying to grab all of them.
A brilliant slash from an unknown source shot out, deflecting the giant arm, which crashed harmlessly into the Red Line.
In that instant, Louis's spear, glowing with a strange light, punched through Marcus's claws, broke his Haki, and impaled his head.
A max-level burst of Conqueror's Haki and life energy was unleashed, destroying him from the inside out.
Marcus Mars didn't even have time to feel the pain. His life flame, which had been restored by Imu, was snuffed out for good.
His body, which should have been immortal, cracked. A strange light and Haki flared from within, and then he disintegrated into dust.
"Marcus is dead... too?"
In the sky, Nusjuro and Warcury, who had just realized what happened, turned pale, their minds reeling. In the blink of an eye, Marcus, who had been fine, was killed. Even Saturn had lasted for a few rounds.
The deaths of two of their comrades in rapid succession finally made them realize: this "dead remnant," Archangel Louis, wasn't just "one tier" stronger. He was a true peer of Lord Imu.
Realizing this, Warcury's expression became grim. "We cannot split our forces! His power is beyond our imagination. If we're alone, he'll pick us off!" His voice, laced with fear, echoed in their minds.
In the dust, a black shadow, larger than a mountain, moved. Two crimson eyes, like bloody suns, glowed. It raised its colossal arm, its hand wreathed in destructive power, and swiped at Louis.
The massive shadow blotted out the sky, black-red lightning crackling around its claws.
Louis looked up, his eyes flashing. This blow, if it landed, would shatter even Mary Geoise. He was reminded, briefly, of the story of the Monkey King and the five-fingered mountain.
A golden light erupted from Louis, a second sun in the ravaged sky. A brilliant, dazzling slash emerged from it, meeting the descending hand.
Shing—
With a sound so soft it was almost inaudible, the island-sized hand was severed at the wrist. It burst into black flames and vanished.
A pair of flawless, white wings emerged from the "sun." Louis, now in a giant form to match Imu's, stood on the Red Line. A golden spear extended from his hand, crackling with lightning, fire, and Haki. The black-red lightning from his spear flared out, annihilating the nearby demons.
In the distance, Imu, hidden in the black smoke, watched, his blood-red eyes glowing. He glanced at his own hand, and the severed limb instantly reformed.
After 800 years, Imu was finally unleashing his true power, and the world trembled.
Black flames ignited the smoke, and Imu, bathed in shadow, seemed to drag half the world into the abyss. The two sky-high figures faced each other, their unparalleled Conqueror's Haki clashing, tearing the Red Line apart. The black-red lightning split the sky, reaching the seas below and kicking up monstrous tsunamis.
Bullet looked at the god-like figures, first in terror, then in wild, manic laughter. "So this is the true limit of humanity?! I thought I'd never find another worthy goal after Roger's death. But now... I've found an even higher peak!" He turned to Kong, his battle-lust reignited. "My new challenge starts with you!"
The Red Count watched the clashing gods, his mind reeling. He remembered the moment he realized he couldn't surpass Roger or Whitebeard. After a long silence, he lost interest in the demons and began to walk away.
Shiki, seemingly oblivious, navigated the ruins, his swords in hand, following his Haki. He found Junko, leaning against a broken wall, breathing heavily. "Found you."
Deep in the Red Line, a tall "woman" with a purple afro ignored the slaves and prisoners, staring in disbelief at the two gods battling on the horizon.
The Haki lightning rained down, killing demons indiscrimin-discriminately.
Nusjuro, Hōki, and Warcury watched, their minds blank.
In the black flames, Imu, in his demon form, looked at Louis's "holy" form. For the first time in 800 years, he felt... pressure. The last being to do this was Joy Boy.
If Mu held the [Flame Seed] now, he could be erased. But he didn't. Vegapunk's Mother Flame was still in its infancy.
"..."
The two supreme beings, their power at its absolute peak, faced each other. The air was so tense it threatened to ignite.
In an instant, they moved.
Louis, in his god-like form, raised his golden spear. He knew this form was draining; he had already used a vast amount of life energy on the teleports. He'd recovered some from the dead, including two Elders, but it wasn't enough. Imu was on guard. He couldn't kill any more Elders. It was time to leave.
BOOM!
His spear, containing all his destructive power, shot through the air, faster than lightning, aimed at Imu.
"That life-draining power again?"
The magic book in Imu's hand opened, its pages fluttering in the black flames. Tridents materialized in the air, forming a dense, irregular shield. At the same time, Imu summoned one to his hand and met the spear.
CLANG!
The sound of their clash was deafening. The world cracked. The Red Line itself groaned, fissures opening, swallowing the remaining demons.
The two forces, Haki against Haki, battled for supremacy.
He's strong. They both thought at the same time.
They broke apart, then clashed again, even more violently. The ground shattered.
Louis flew into the air, his wings beating, and unleashed a final, mighty attack. "HAKOKU!"
A massive shockwave, infused with Conqueror's Haki, descended.
"You haven't used a single Lunarian technique... only a giant's?" Imu sneered. The magic book glowed. The remaining tridents in the air swarmed, forming a defensive net while others shot at Louis like a school of fish.
Louis was enveloped in a vortex of his own golden flames. The tridents melted on contact.
After fending off the attack, Louis checked his remaining energy. He channeled his flames, condensing them into a golden sun, and sent it hurtling down.
As the star fell, Imu's giant, fanged mouth opened, and an incredible suction inhaled the sun, swallowing the flames whole.
"He can even... eat fire?" Louis watched, his eyes narrowed. He also saw the magic book light up, in the same way it had when it healed the Elders.
He extended his Observation Haki. "Well done, Shiki..."
In the next second, Louis hurled his spear, not at Imu, but at the magic book. He knew Imu's "vessel," Junko, was his tool for interacting with the world. Shiki, in the distance, had just killed her again.
"Swoosh—!" The spear screamed, a clear diversion.
"..."
Imu's expression changed. He was forced to recall the book to block the spear.
In that instant, Louis sensed Junko's presence vanish completely.
So that book... is important.
Louis turned, and, with Imu watching, began to fly away, slowly, leaving his back exposed.
He knew Imu had never left Pangea Castle. Either he couldn't leave, or he was guarding something vital. If he was just guarding something, he should still be able to give chase.
Louis kept flying. Imu did not move.
"..."
In the ruins, the colossal shadow, wreathed in black flames, watched him go. Its bloody, sun-like eyes glowed with cold light.
"Pray... that the Mother Flame is not completed soon..."
"Dead remnant!"
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