The sudden deaths of five nobles barely caused a ripple in the death-filled chaos of the grand hall. Survival instinct had long taken over; the high-ranking guests invited by Gilbert had no time to mourn or even look around, their only thought was how to escape this slaughter alive.
After executing those five nobles, the same ones who had laughed the loudest while Gilbert tormented the mermaid slave, Aaron turned his gaze toward the battle raging between CP7 and the undercover soldiers of the royal army.
Through his Observation Haki, Aaron could already tell that Gilbert's reinforcements outside were nearly done clearing the barriers Hodgson had set up. It wouldn't be long before they broke through and arrived. Time was running out; he needed to finish off these lackeys of the Celestial Dragons before then.
"Let's start with you."
Aaron had quickly chosen his first target, the one second only to the CP7 captain in strength: the panther-man.
The man stood tall at 2.2 meters, dressed sharply in a fitted suit that emphasized his lean build. But once he shifted into his hybrid form, his body swelled with muscle, his height surging past 2.7 meters. His suit strained at the seams, and even the black mask on his face now only covered his eyes.
Having eaten the Cat-Cat Fruit, Model: Black Panther, he possessed incredible speed and agility. His movements were silent and ghostlike; when he used Soru (Shave), even Aaron, without focusing his Observation Haki could only catch a faint afterimage.
Thanks to that immense speed, even while surrounded by four royal army agents who had taken the berserker pills, he was holding his ground and even counterattacking with deadly precision whenever a gap appeared.
But those berserk royal soldiers were far from ordinary. Their greatest weapon wasn't strength; it was their fearlessness toward death.
And now, feeling the stimulant's effects waning, they had become even more desperate. They attacked the panther-man with suicidal ferocity, willing to trade their lives just to restrain him long enough for a killing blow.
Faced with such madness, even the panther-man dared not underestimate them. He had seen firsthand what happened to his comrades once caught by these zealots and he had no desire to share their fate.
Not long ago, they had nearly succeeded in killing him. Out of nowhere, their speed had surged unnaturally, someone had interfered. He had been caught off guard, grabbed by one of them, and only escaped by sacrificing his left arm to tear free before the rest tore him apart.
Now, his every nerve was on edge. Though his enemies' movements had returned to normal, there was no telling when that unseen force might intervene again. His stamina was fading fast from the relentless use of Soru and other Rokushiki techniques.
Still, there was one glimmer of hope, the berserk soldiers' strength was finally beginning to fade. Their faces aged rapidly before his eyes; youthful men now looked middle-aged, their hair whitening by the second.
Their bodies remained muscular and monstrous, but decay had already begun to show.
"To burn away your lifespan for fleeting power… I'll give you that, you're brave dogs. But you chose the wrong enemy. Lord Gilbert acts under direct orders from Saint Charlos himself. By raising your hands against him, you've defied the will of a Celestial Dragon. And for that… you'll all be erased!"
Fury and arrogance laced the panther-man's words. Seeing their fading strength, he mocked them to shatter their morale and hasten their deaths.
But his taunts had the opposite effect.
The four agents loyal to King Gresham of the Drum Kingdom roared in unison, burning away the remnants of their lives to unleash one last surge of strength.
Unfortunately, their enemy was too fast. Without Aaron's Swift-Swift Fruit assistance boosting their speed, even sacrificing their lifespan wasn't enough to catch the panther-man. His Soru outpaced them easily, leaving their efforts wasted.
Then, one of the royal army soldiers collapsed. His once-bulging muscles shrank away, his frame withering into that of a frail old man. His white hair spread like frost, and his breath grew faint.
He had poured everything, his remaining life into one final, failed strike.
And as the fire of his life guttered out, he shouted with his last breath:
"Long live the Drum Kingdom! Long live King Gresham!"
He became the first of the royal army's agents to die from complete lifespan exhaustion.
Seeing this, Watt and Wicks; Gilbert's two personal guards who had also taken the berserker pills felt a chill of shared doom.
The pill's power came from consuming life itself, converting it into strength. The more power one demanded, the more years it took away, a cruel balance.
"Long live the Drum Kingdom! Long live King Gresham!"
Hodgson, locked in battle with the CP7 captain, heard his comrade's dying cry. His eyes filled with tears.
With his hair now completely white and body near collapse, he abandoned all caution. Letting out a roar, he broke away from the CP7 captain and charged straight toward Gilbert, determined to end it all in one final assault.
He knew it well, his comrades were already dying. If he stayed locked in this endless fight, he'd die anyway, either by the enemy's hand or as his remaining lifespan burned out. Better to die striking at the heart of the enemy.
The remaining agents followed Hodgson's lead, turning their backs on their opponents to charge at Gilbert, desperate to strike before death claimed them.
"Fools."
The CP7 agents fighting them sneered. With their enemies' backs exposed, they could already taste victory.
At that instant, Aaron, the silent predator who had been watching the battle with closed eyes opened them. He drew the blade he had crafted through the power of his Munch Munch Fruit, its edge invisible and lethally sharp.
Then, just as the panther-man unleashed a Rankyaku (Tempest Kick) aimed at the man who had once wounded him, a cold dread swept over him.
Every instinct screamed danger.
He tried to dodge, but his right leg was still extended from the attack, throwing off his balance. It was too late to use Soru again; his only option was to brace himself with Tekkai (Iron Body).
It didn't matter.
The invisible strike carved through him effortlessly, his defense shattering like paper before a storm.
No one saw it happen, the blade cloaked by both invisibility and Armament Haki sliced cleanly through his neck.
By the time the panther-man's right foot touched the ground again, his head had already parted from his body, tumbling to the floor as blood fountained skyward.
Within two seconds, three more CP7 agents, all focused on pursuing the retreating royal soldiers fell the same way, their throats silently opened by unseen steel.
In an instant, four more CP7 agents were dead.
The mantis hunts the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind it.
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