Dark Mephisto's confidence wavered as he processed what had just occurred. Camearra's overwhelming power had caught him completely off-guard—only his quick thinking in using the space beast as a shield had saved him from sharing its explosive fate.
"Is this truly the extent of your darkness?" Camearra's voice dripped with contempt as her energy whip reformed, golden light crackling with barely contained fury. "How disappointing."
The whip lashed out again with surgical precision. Dark Mephisto employed the same cowardly tactic, shoving the remaining space beast into harm's way. The creature suffered the same fate as its predecessor—bisected cleanly before dissolving into ethereal fragments.
But Camearra had anticipated this pattern. Her whip struck a third time before Dark Mephisto could fully recover his defensive positioning.
"A pity to lose such a useful puppet," he snarled, grasping Dark Faust by the shoulders, "but sacrifices must be made for the greater cause!"
The callous declaration revealed everything about his true nature. To Dark Mephisto, the space beasts and even Dark Faust were nothing more than disposable tools—three pieces of trash to be discarded when convenient.
Without hesitation, he hurled the possessed Riko directly into Camearra's third strike.
"Must you always hide behind others like a coward?" Camearra's taunt carried the weight of ancient authority as her whip retracted, having once again missed its intended target.
Dark Mephisto's response was a mocking salute before he streaked toward the Dark Domain's perimeter at maximum speed.
"Damn him!" Camearra's frustration was palpable. Because Dark Faust inhabited Riko's body, she couldn't deliver the killing blow she'd used on the space beasts. By the time she'd pulled back her weapon to avoid harming an innocent, the dark giant had gained precious seconds of escape time.
Dark Faust collapsed to one knee, gasping from the whip's impact. Though not fatal, Camearra's strike had done significant damage to the dark warrior's already weakened form.
Fortunately, Tiga and Nexus hadn't remained passive spectators. Despite their flashing color timers warning of critical energy depletion, both heroes launched themselves after the fleeing villain, successfully intercepting him before he could breach the dimensional barrier.
"You think the two of you can stop me?" Dark Mephisto's laugh carried contempt as his claws materialized, swiping at both Ultramen in a wide arc.
They dodged with practiced ease—exactly as he'd anticipated. The claw attack had been pure misdirection, drawing their attention while he lined up his true target: the sole vulnerable human on the battlefield.
Three bolts of dark flame erupted from his hands, converging on Komon's position with lethal precision.
"Komon!"
"Look out!"
The warning cries came too late—the attack's suddenness caught everyone off-guard. Even Gustave's electrical speed couldn't close the distance in time to intercept the deadly barrage.
But salvation came from an unexpected source.
A massive figure materialized above Komon, shielding him completely as the dark flames struck home. Dark Faust—no, Riko—had somehow seized control from the parasitic darkness and thrown herself between the man she loved and certain death.
The impact sent her crashing to the dimensional ground, dark energy crackling around wounds that leaked not shadow, but brilliant light.
"How touchingly pathetic," Dark Mephisto sneered as he used the moment of shock to complete his escape. "I never expected her obsession to run so deep."
As the Dark Domain collapsed with its creator's departure, natural sunlight returned to the forest clearing. Dark Faust's form flickered between shadow and radiance, her color timer pulsing erratically as opposing energies warred within her damaged frame.
She struggled to roll away from Komon, desperate not to crush him with her massive weight even in these final moments.
The darkness that had defined her existence began dissolving like morning mist, replaced by warm golden light that seemed to emanate from her very core. Dark Faust—born of shadow and malice—now flowed with luminous energy as Riko's pure heart reclaimed what had been stolen.
She gazed up at the setting sun with wonder, raising one trembling hand toward its warmth despite lacking the strength to reach it.
"The light..." she whispered, her voice carrying both sorrow and strange peace.
Her giant form dissolved into cascading sparkles, and suddenly Riko knelt on the forest floor in her familiar white dress, her human body bearing the terrible wounds that her Dark Faust incarnation had sustained.
"Riko! Riko!" Komon dropped beside her, gathering her broken form against his chest. "Don't die—you can't die! Not now!"
The assembled heroes—Gustave, Daigo, Jun, Camearra, and Tu Shanyan who'd arrived during the battle's climax—formed a silent circle around the tragic couple. None dared intrude upon such intimate heartbreak.
For a moment, it seemed prayer might have power. Riko's chest rose and fell weakly, her eyes fluttering open to meet Komon's desperate gaze.
"Riko!" Fresh tears streamed down his face even as relief flooded his voice.
"Komon..." Her voice was barely a whisper, each word requiring tremendous effort. "I don't regret anything. I don't regret meeting you."
She raised her injured hand with trembling determination. Komon immediately clasped it, their fingers intertwining as memories flooded both their minds—coffee dates and shared laughter, quiet walks through city parks, dreams of a future they'd never have the chance to build together.
"I still have so much to tell you," Riko breathed, her eyes drinking in his face as if trying to memorize every detail.
"Me too," Komon's voice cracked with emotion. "So many important things I wanted to share with you..."
"Komon, I'm sorry." Her words carried the weight of impossible circumstances, of love discovered too late. "But I love you so much..."
Her hand went limp in his grasp, her eyes closing as her head rolled to one side with peaceful finality.
"Riko, please—don't leave me!" Komon's anguish echoed through the forest as tears fell onto her still face. "Come back!"
In the dying light of sunset, Riko's body began to glow with the same gentle radiance that had marked Dark Faust's transformation. She was fading like a photograph left too long in sunlight.
Daigo moved without conscious decision, transforming into human-sized Tiga despite his depleted energy reserves. His color timer continued its frantic flashing, but healing light manifested in his outstretched hands, surrounding Riko's dissipating form.
The dissolution process halted, but Tiga's previous battle damage made sustaining the technique nearly impossible. The light flickered like a candle in wind, and Riko's body resumed its slow fade.
Jun stepped forward, exhaustion forgotten in the face of desperate need. His Evoltruster blazed as Nexus manifested, color timer already critical but determination absolute. Without hesitation, he channeled his remaining energy into Tiga's failing light, stabilizing the healing beam.
"Camearra, I need your help," Daigo said through gritted teeth, the strain of conversion visible in every line of his human-sized form.
"But—" she began, understanding the request's implications.
"Is the boundary between light and darkness truly unbreakable?" he asked, meeting her ancient gaze with unwavering resolve.
Camearra nodded slowly, transforming to place her hands on Tiga's shoulders. When her dark energy first contacted his light-based systems, violent rejection occurred—sparks flew, the healing beam cut out entirely, and Tiga staggered under the conflicting forces.
"Daigo!" Jun called out in alarm.
"I'm fine—continue!" Tiga steadied himself through sheer willpower, using his body as a converter to transform Camearra's darkness into compatible light energy. The healing beam reformed, once again halting Riko's dissolution.
"Daigo, this isn't enough," Camearra said with painful honesty. "We've stopped her from fading, but she's already dead. None of us possess the power to truly resurrect the departed."
As someone who'd witnessed Tiga's capabilities across thirty million years, she understood his limitations completely. Healing grievous wounds was possible, but death represented an absolute boundary.
"Resurrection?" Tu Shanyan had been crying throughout the tragic scene, but something in Camearra's words sparked recognition. Through her tears, she grabbed Gustave's arm desperately. "Wait—didn't you say your master is Daode Tianzun?
"Of course!" Gustave's eyes widened as understanding struck like lightning. He'd fallen into limited thinking, accepting Riko's death as irreversible fate. But their situation had changed dramatically since arriving in the One Piece world.
While his master had never displayed full saintly power in front of him, Gustave knew resurrection was trivial for a being who could reverse time itself and reshape reality at will.
"Let's go!" he declared, summoning the Gate of All Worlds with desperate urgency.
The dimensional portal expanded to encompass their entire group, whisking away heroes, tragic lovers, and the dying woman whose fate now rested in the hands of one of the universe's most powerful beings.