Chapter 175: Battle in Grimhollow IV: The Widespread Aftermath
The battlefield shuddered as Zoro and Deacon Dooley unleashed their might.
Both men poured everything into a single strike—Zoro's twin katanas cloaked in roaring black devil-flames, and Dooley's saber overflowing with crushing dark moonlight. When their blades collided, the very air cracked apart.
BOOOOOOM!
A storm of energy erupted, a maelstrom of black fire and shimmering lunar radiance devouring the land. The ground tore open for hundreds of meters, trenches carved by the weight of their power. Dust and stone rained down like meteors, while soldiers on both sides screamed, fleeing from the expanding shockwave.
It was as if two natural disasters had collided.
Zoro gritted his teeth, blood running from his mouth as he forced every ounce of strength into his blades. The black flames of his Devil Lord form writhed furiously, struggling to devour the Saber's moonlight. Yet with every heartbeat, the Mortal Lord's advantage became clearer.
Dooley's face twisted with a cruel smile, his eyes bloodshot, his crown glowing with malevolent radiance.
"You're nothing but a shadow! A cursed beast playing at being a man!" he roared, pressing harder.
The saber screamed with power, its light splitting the darkness, slowly driving Zoro's katanas back inch by inch.
Zoro's arms trembled, veins bulging as the bones in his wrists cracked under the overwhelming pressure. His devil flames snarled but faltered, barely holding against the flood of light.
"Tch… damnit!" he hissed, teeth clenched, black fire dripping off his blades like molten tar.
The world seemed to freeze around them. Both armies—friend and foe alike—could only watch in terror as the collision ripped through the heavens, their leaders locked in a duel that dwarfed all else.
And then—
POW!
A white bullet tore through the maelstrom. At first it was silent, swallowed by the roar of energy. But then the sonic boom cracked across the battlefield like the wrath of a god. In an instant, it smashed into Deacon Dooley's side, punching through flesh and bone with brutal precision.
"GUHHH—!!"
Dooley's eyes bulged as blood erupted in a fountain. His balance faltered, his saber's glow wavered, and the carefully pressed advantage crumbled. His attack buckled as blood poured from his side, dripping in thick rivers down his body.
"You… who—?!" His gaze darted desperately toward the distant ridges. But before his vision could lock onto the sniper, the clash turned fatal.
Zoro's katanas, freed from the pressure, roared forward in an overwhelming tide of black flames. The Devil Lord's strike exploded, consuming Dooley's body in a storm of fire and steel.
"ARRRGHHHHHHHHH!"
His scream echoed once, and then the storm devoured him completely. When the flames receded, nothing but charred fragments and ash scattered across the ruined earth.
…
Zoro staggered forward, blood-soaked and gasping, his blazing katanas still in hand. His chest rose and fell like thunder as he glared into the horizon.
There, standing on the ridge, was the sniper. Draped in grey and black cloaks, face hidden by wide goggles, the figure lowered their rifle casually. The barrel smoked faintly, white light still shimmering along its edges.
For a moment, the two locked eyes—Zoro's devilish glare, and the sniper's unseen gaze. The cloaked figure smirked, gave a faint nod, and vanished into the distance without a word.
"…Tch." Zoro spat blood into the dirt. "So I wasn't enough after all. What a shitty fluke."
His words hung heavy in the silence.
And then the silence broke.
Cheers erupted from the Black Reaper Corps, their voices rising like thunder. Across the battlefield, panic spread through the ranks of the Nights Light Devouring Church. Their pillar, their Mortal Lord, had fallen. Fear took root, and their momentum shattered.
Zoro raised his bloodied blade, his voice cutting across the battlefield like a guillotine.
"All troops! Slaughter every last dog of the Church! Those who resist—cut them down where they stand! Those who surrender—throw down your weapons, kneel, or die!"
His words ignited the carnage anew.
…
By the battle's end, the valley was drowned in corpses and fire. Zoro, though grievously wounded, carved through the survivors like a phantom. The Black Reaper Corps pressed forward, their banner rising higher with every victory.
Though Dooley was dead, the waves did not stop. Demonic beasts, rival armies, and opportunistic sects came crashing down in the following days—some killed, some broken and absorbed, others forced into submission.
The name Black Devil Blades spread across the region like wildfire.
A Golden Lord who had slain two Mortal Shedding Realm experts. A man who butchered without hesitation, who defied the Church and lived.
The Nights Light Devouring Church responded with fury, declaring total war not only on Zoro but on White Star Radiance itself. Yet, under heavy surveillance from nations and sects alike, they could not risk dispatching their Middle Stage Mortal Lords—not yet.
Meanwhile, Zoro's forces swelled. Rudecka's troops folded into his army seamlessly, bolstering his ranks. Erica moved pieces behind the curtain despite Donald Soloman's resistance, slipping him aid. Christopher of the Aka Boshi no Tengan Clan dispatched hidden experts to his cause.
But for every ally, there were just as many enemies. To many, Zoro was no savior but a devil rising unchecked. Factions aligned with the Church, and others who feared his growing shadow, swore to move against him.
And beyond even this storm, a greater war loomed: the brewing conflict between the Red Desert Continent and the Purple Starmist Continent—a war that threatened to engulf them all.