"Kid, a powerful guy is coming, and he's extremely fast!"
At that moment, a colossal head emerged from the sea where Elior stood, a head even larger than Paradise Island itself. It was a Sea King, an overlord among its kind, the very one Elior had encountered when he brought Shirahoshi into the deep sea. It warned him that a terrifying monster was approaching. Elior, possessing the Voice of All Things, understood the creature perfectly.
"How strong is it?" Elior asked casually.
"Stronger than you are right now," the Sea King replied without concealment.
"Is that so? Then how about this?" Suddenly, an enormous shockwave erupted from Elior, sweeping across the sea like a tsunami. This was not Conqueror's Haki, but pure, concentrated power. The Sea King's hair stood on end, and it looked at Elior with newfound fear.
"Now… you are stronger," it said solemnly. "You are the strongest human I have ever seen!"
In Elior's current state, his muscles became sharply defined. Crimson-hot steam poured from his body, and his hair fluttered wildly despite the lack of wind. This was Elior's Second State, activated for the very first time. Though it consumed energy at twice the usual rate, he had no choice against an enemy of this caliber.
"He's here!" the Sea King warned before retreating to observe from a safe distance.
On the opposite side, a towering warrior appeared. Clad in ancient armor and wielding a massive spear, the figure stood over three meters tall with explosive muscles and a ferocious appearance. He radiated a pressure so terrifying that Sea Kings beneath the surface fled in a panic. The War Ghost hovered above the sea, glaring at Elior from thirty meters away.
"Since I can fly, there's no need to stand on frozen seawater," Elior mused. "If I kill you, I should be able to obtain even stronger abilities." He drew Yoru from his spatial storage. According to Vegapunk, the enemy's spear was forged from the same indestructible material as the Twelve Supreme Grade Blades.
The sea beneath the War Ghost's feet exploded as he launched himself forward with ferocious momentum. Elior rushed to meet him. Gripping Yoru with both hands, he coated the blade in dark crimson energy and black-red lightning. This was a Conqueror's Haki infusion, layered atop his physical strike. The War Ghost roared and swung his spear like a massive iron rod.
The collision detonated with such violence that the sea within a hundred-meter radius exploded upward. Crimson lightning tore through the air.
"Is that all you've got?" Elior sneered, blowing the spear aside with sheer force. In the next instant, Elior vanished and reappeared at the War Ghost's neck. He slashed, but no damage was inflicted; the defense was simply too high.
The spear counterattacked faster than lightning, but Elior dodged effortlessly and slammed a clenched fist into the War Ghost's face. In his Second State, that single punch was enough to shatter an island. The War Ghost was launched back like a missile, flying over three hundred meters before halting in midair.
Elior immediately followed up with a beam of Explosion Magic. The beam carved a trench thirty meters wide into the ocean surface. The War Ghost roared, thrusting his spear forward to summon a massive, dark skeletal apparition. The demon-like figure collided head-on with the magic beam.
The sea within a kilometer radius shook violently. For ten seconds, the two powers locked in a deadly stalemate before the entire area erupted, sending walls of seawater thousands of meters into the sky. Far away, Gion stared in shock at the towering columns of water. The earth-shaking explosion echoed for hundreds of kilometers.
"Has the battle already begun?" Gion's face was etched with anxiety. She desperately wished her warship could move faster than light, but she could only watch from the distance as the horizon burned.