On the battlefield near the main square, Modi and Alletha were still locked in a fierce battle, both having sustained grievous injuries.
Several gruesome sword wounds, each one deep enough to expose bone, crisscrossed Modi's body. He was drenched in so much of his own blood that he looked like a man made of it. He could barely stand, leaning on his sword for support as sweat dripped from his forehead like rain.
Alletha's keratinous, blood-red armor had been torn to shreds, and his entire body was covered in scorched sword marks. He gripped his black-flamed greatsword, gasping for breath, his eerie purple eyes glinting with a vicious light.
"You're almost finished. Now, I'll send you to your death."
Alletha took a deep breath, beat his tattered wings, and charged towards Modi, his feet pounding against the ground.
Modi also took a deep breath and stood up straight. He sheathed his longsword, narrowed his eyes, and placed one hand on the scabbard and the other on the hilt.
He was unnaturally calm. As Alletha closed in, Modi's figure dissipated like the wind.
An instant later, a flaming sword light flashed across Alletha's neck. His head flew into the air, and his headless body fell backward, crashing to the ground with a thud.
Modi stood behind him, holding his longsword, which he slowly returned to its sheath.
Alletha's head landed at Modi's feet. A calm voice was heard.
"Secret Art: Wind Shadow Sword - Extreme Gale."
At the same time, an arc of black-fire energy erupted from Modi's own body. A horrifyingly deep gash was carved into his chest, and a line of blood sprayed into the air.
Modi collapsed to the ground with a thump, but fortunately, he was not dead.
He pushed himself up, gripped his longsword, and looked at the wide-eyed, dead face of Alletha beside him. A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
"In the end, I won... by half a sword's length."
"But... Bege said to capture the Three Demon Generals alive. I've failed his mission." After saying this, Modi lost consciousness.
Meanwhile, Little Oars Jr.'s situation was even more dire. The poison that had accumulated in his body finally erupted, causing him to plummet from the sky, carving a large crater in the ground.
Bellia, in her giant black spider form, quickly pounced on him, her sharp claws aimed straight for his head.
Suddenly, countless thick Shadow Horn Spears shot up from the ground, firmly gripping Bellia's body and holding her back, preventing her attack from landing.
Bellia's claws flew, tearing the Shadow Horn Spears to shreds.
At that moment, Little Oars Jr. suddenly stood up. A pressure as immense as a giant mountain descended upon Bellia. She looked up to see a longsword slashing down, and she retreated in terror.
But this slash was the culmination of all of Little Oars Jr.'s remaining strength. It was incredibly fast, instantly striking Bellia. It shattered her Armament Haki and split her massive spider body in two.
Then, Little Oars Jr. fell to his knees with a thud and collapsed.
Gecko Moria ran over, looking at the two halves of Bellia with some regret.
"Moria... I'll leave the rest to you," Little Oars Jr. said weakly.
"Alright. You just hang on. Don't you die," Moria said, nodding grimly.
With the sound of crumbling rubble, Bege climbed out of a large crater, coughing up blood. Dozens of shadows flew out of his mouth. He clapped a hand over it, trying to keep them from escaping, but his hand went limp and he collapsed onto the pile of rubble. He took a deep, ragged breath to finally suppress the rampaging shadows within him. He glanced sideways at the howling Andrew and couldn't help but laugh maniacally.
"Hahahaha! Old geezer, my slash was sharp enough, wasn't it?"
This was the strongest sword strike Bege had perfected over two years, a terrifying slash several times more powerful than Beast King, named Beast God.
Andrew snarled, his teeth bared. He viciously squeezed his severed left arm, forcing the flesh together to stop the bleeding. He covered the flayed left side of his body with Armament Haki to stanch the flow of blood.
"I'll kill you... I'll kill you!" Andrew's eyes were completely bloodshot. A tyrannical black aura erupted from him, and like an enraged, mindless beast, he charged, his steps shattering the ground.
Bege gritted his teeth and climbed out of the crater.
Andrew leaped into the air, his remaining right arm tearing through the atmosphere. The explosive force was so great that the air itself seemed to whine. The immense pressure bore down on Bege, crushing the rubble around him into dust.
"He's that badly injured and he still has this much strength?" Bege's expression changed drastically, and his figure flashed backward.
Andrew's iron fist smashed into the shattered crater.
BOOM...
A terrifying explosion swept out in all directions like a tidal wave. In an instant, the entire ground collapsed, the surface torn up once again. Hundreds of meters of earth were completely obliterated, and endless debris was shot into the air, carried away by the shockwave to even greater distances.
Countless pieces of rubble smashed against Bege, blocked by his invisible barrier. He retreated quickly, unable to stop himself from spitting out another mouthful of blood, along with a dozen more shadows.
At that moment, a tiny figure flew out of the castle gate on Bege's chest and landed on his shoulder.
This small figure was the princess of the Tontatta Tribe, Mansherry.
Bege's second secret weapon.
"Godfather, you're hurt so badly!" Mansherry cried, looking at the crisscrossing wounds on Bege's body. Each of her tears glowed with a gentle light, and as they fell on Bege, they quickly merged into his body.
It was like a sudden downpour on a land long parched by drought, bringing life back to the brink of death. Bege's body was that parched land, and Mansherry's healing tears were revitalizing him. His wounds began to heal at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Fresh, tender flesh grew over the gruesome wounds, soft muscle knitted together, and fractured bones rapidly mended.
"Well done, Mansherry!" Bege laughed heartily as vitality flooded back into his weakened body.
Andrew charged out of the deep crater like a wild beast, roaring.
An invisible hand grabbed Mansherry and sent her back into the castle within his body. Bege gripped his swords and charged forward, fearless.
The thick iron fist smashed towards him. Bege met it with a slash. He spat out another mouthful of blood and stumbled back two steps, but Andrew's body shuddered, and he too coughed up a mouthful of blood.
"Your strength is failing, old man!" Bege sneered, pressing his attack. Hannya slashed down furiously. Andrew hastily raised his fist to block it. A Slow-Slow Beam struck Andrew again, and the Fire Cloud Sword stabbed directly into his abdomen, grinding against his Armament Haki as sparks flew.
"Break for me!" Bege roared in a low voice. The flames on the Fire Cloud Sword erupted, and a supremely sharp edge tore through Andrew's Armament Haki. The sword pierced his body, and its intense heat instantly seared the organs in his abdomen. The flames roiled inside him, the pain twisting Andrew's face into a grotesque mask.
"Get off!" Andrew's aura exploded, and he sent Bege flying back with a punch.
Andrew clutched the burning wound in his abdomen, bent over in pain, gasping for breath.
Bege wouldn't give him the chance. He closed the distance. Andrew looked up, still wanting to resist, but in his current state, severely wounded, his reaction time, speed, and strength had all plummeted. Combined with the heaven-defying ability of the Slow-Slow Beam, his movements could no longer keep up with Bege's.
Hannya slashed at Andrew's right arm, nearly severing it. The Fire Cloud Sword pierced his abdomen again, burning another charred black hole into him.
Then, a kick smashed into his body, sending him flying into a pile of rubble. He lay on the ground, unable to get up.
"Hahahaha! I win, you old geezer!" Bege took several deep breaths and then burst into wild, triumphant laughter.