The next second, Elior appeared, falling from the sky, while Shiki on the other side had not even managed to straighten himself yet. Of course, Shiki's legs were none other than his two famous swords. Elior descended from the sky and swept his right leg straight at him. At the same time, he coated it with Armament Haki. Although his physical defense was already extremely strong, Elior habitually reinforced himself with Armament Haki to avoid unnecessary injuries.
The severely injured Shiki could only grit his teeth through the pain and cross his right leg to block the attack. Under Elior's terrifyingly explosive power, the old pirate was further injured. His clothes were torn to shreds, and blood seeped from many parts of his body. It was only thanks to Shiki's exceptional physique that he was still alive; otherwise, he would have been crushed outright.
A chilling force surged along Elior's right leg as it collided with Shiki's famous sword. With a sharp crack, the surrounding air and even the sword attached to Shiki's right leg froze instantly. At the same time, their right legs collided head-on, and the shockwave shattered the ice around them. Even so, Shiki was forced to retreat again. This was not a conscious retreat, but his body giving way on its own. His injuries were weakening him.
At that moment, Elior landed firmly on the ice. He extended his right hand and opened a spatial rift out of thin air, pulling Yoru from within.
"It's time to end this." Elior held the blade in one hand and pointed it at Shiki.
Shiki frowned. With a motion of his hands, three massive ice lions rose from the frozen surface and charged at Elior, their enormous jaws opening wide.
"One Sword Style: Asura, Dance of the Demon Spirits." Elior silently recited the name of the technique as he swung his blade at the three incoming lions. A massive dark-red slash tore through the ice, cutting forward relentlessly and blowing the three ice lions apart. Within that dark-red slash, like the roar of an evil spirit, the mountain-sized ice lions were no sturdier than tofu. They completely disintegrated.
With a thunderous boom, everything exploded. The slash continued onward toward Shiki, who had already prepared his ultimate counterattack. His two famous swords were wrapped in golden light, perfectly befitting the title Golden Lion. Shiki swung his legs in rapid succession, unleashing ten lightning-fast slashes that tore forward and merged into a single attack, taking the shape of a massive, golden lion.
The clash between the golden light and the dark-red aura completely distorted the color of the surrounding space. For dozens of seconds, the violent collision caused the ice within hundreds of meters and even the distant sea surface to erupt. A deafening explosion shot straight into the sky. After enduring the impact for several long seconds, Shiki finally could not withstand the dark-red slash that had taken on the form of a ferocious Asura.
Shiki was defeated. The dark-red demonic force surged forward without resistance, far beyond Shiki's expectations. In the end, the slash pierced through Shiki's body. It did not tear him apart physically, but unlike the strike Elior once used to kill Mihawk, which stole both the soul and vitality, this slash directly destroyed the soul itself.
Thud.
Shiki finally collapsed, his vision fading.
"I knew it… I could never defeat that boy." Shiki sighed in sorrow. As Elior approached, the two locked eyes one last time. Then, Shiki slowly closed his eyes.
At that moment, the dozens of floating islands in the sky began to tremble violently. With the death of Shiki, they no longer had the power sustaining them and were about to fall. Elior soon appeared on the central island. The island shook violently, and Shiki's subordinates panicked. Crying, screaming, and cursing, they begged Elior to take them somewhere safe. Elior did not lend them a helping hand.
After taking Shirahoshi away, the dozens of islands finally plummeted into the sea. Ignoring the chaos, the next moment Elior and Shirahoshi reappeared beside Shiki's corpse. As usual, Elior plundered Shiki's Float-Float Fruit. This had been his primary reason for seeking out Shiki. The power of the Float-Float Fruit would play a crucial role in Elior's future battle against the Celestial Dragons. This was the only Devil Fruit Elior truly desired.
Shirahoshi looked at Elior curiously, unsure of what he intended to do. Though innocent, she was also sensible and remained silent. After taking the Devil Fruit power, Elior pulled the two famous swords out from Shiki's legs. Blood and flesh clung to the hilts, but they were without doubt two exceptional blades. After freezing the swords, Elior tossed them into a separate spatial dimension.
Later, Elior honored his word and gave Shiki a proper burial. He placed Shiki in an ice coffin, split the sea open, and cast the coffin into the depths. It was a dignified funeral. After settling everything, Elior and Shirahoshi stepped through a spatial door and appeared aboard their ship.
The voyage continued. Elior was heading back to Paradise, but along the way, he planned to visit Marine Headquarters once more. He needed an answer regarding Gion and Tsuru's stance. Elior believed that now that Shiki had been dealt with, the other high-ranking Marines would agree. As for the remaining top figures of the Marines, they were mainly Fujitora and Kizaru. Kizaru was likely just waiting for retirement, while Fujitora would be somewhat more troublesome to handle.