Chapter 257: Rebirth
A terrifying shockwave nearly caused the entire plaza to collapse. Black and red lightning pierced through Fish-Man Island and spread into the distant deep sea, stunning many people and sea beasts along the way.
A strange light suppressed all other light, attracting the attention of everyone on the battlefield.
Akainu looked at the raging Conqueror's Haki lightning in the distance, his brow furrowed tightly. "Figarland Garling... who is the other one?"
Shamrock felt one of the familiar Conqueror's Haki auras, and his face became even more unsightly.
Soon, the black and red lightning and the terrifyingly strong shockwave gradually dissipated, and the rolling dust also fell.
Under everyone's watchful eyes, a not-so-tall, aged figure was sent flying backward for dozens of meters. He flipped in mid-air and landed steadily. His gaze first swept over the surroundings, searching for the figures of the other members of the God's Knights. When he saw that there were only three others, and that the strongest, Shamrock, was in a fierce battle, his already serious expression became even colder.
"Where's Quilinguame?" Garling asked, looking at Junko, who was slowly landing at his side.
"Killed in battle," she replied, her gaze on the tall, winged figure in the dust cloud ahead, her tone quite uncomfortable.
Garling followed her gaze and instantly understood everything. "Why did this last remnant appear here without us getting any intelligence?" If they had received intelligence that the Archangel Pirates had left Terra and were coming to Fish-Man Island, the God's Knights' actions would certainly not have been so casual, and he himself would have been prepared to be summoned at any time, instead of being so passive.
Hearing this, Junko's expression became uncertain, a hint of coldness flashing in her eyes. "Those people from CP0 were taken out. They didn't realize they had already arrived. Moreover, the Space-Space Fruit that was snatched by the Golden Lion has, for some reason, appeared in the hands of the Archangel Pirates."
Immediately after, she quickly reported everything that had happened to Garling, from Shirahoshi being rescued, to the members of the Archangel Pirates displaying an abnormal self-healing ability, and finally to Archangel Louis appearing and killing Quilinguame.
"..."
At the same time, Louis casually glanced at the two members of the God's Knights who were talking so openly. He lightly raised his hand and, in his mind, simultaneously called for Avant Heim, which was far away in the sky.
The next moment, a giant rift appeared again in the sky of Fish-Man Island, revealing a portal as splendid as a river of stars. A behemoth that seemed to be composed of countless crystals swam out, revealing itself to everyone. Immediately after, its body emitted a mysterious and enchanting light.
In a corner of the battlefield, three young girls with halos on their heads were holding various weapons, laughing as they slashed at a heavily wounded Vice Admiral in front of them. However, the next moment, a mysterious portal opened in front of them. The three, who were moving at high speed, saw this, their eyes widening, and they crashed headfirst into the portal, caught off guard.
At the same time, countless rifts appeared in various parts of Fish-Man Island, forming numerous portals that swallowed the members of the various divisions of the Archangel Pirates.
After Avant Heim had taken away all the personnel who were not strong enough to participate in the battle, it flashed again, opened a portal, and left Fish-Man Island. Before leaving, it left behind two kilometer-class portals connecting to the deep sea. One was at the gathering place of the fish-men who had not yet evacuated, and the other was directly above Fish-Man Island.
"Junko, you and Somazu return to the Holy Land. The mission has completely failed," Garling said, his gaze returning from the sky to land on the approaching Louis. "The members of the God's Knights cannot be lost."
Junko heard him and nodded. "Understood, Commander." Then, she slowly closed her eyes, intending to teleport herself and Somazu back to Mary Geoise.
However, the next moment, an invisible wave came from the front, instantly enveloping her.
Garling saw this, and his gaze hardened. He quickly raised his hand, grabbed her, and threw her to the other side, out of the range of the ability.
"Retreat! I will take over here!" After leaving these words, Garling raised his sword again, wreathed it in Conqueror's Haki, and rushed quickly in Louis's direction.
To this, Louis paid no mind. After giving Garling a casual glance, he took a step back and disappeared from his sight. When he reappeared, his back was already covering Somazu, who was in a fierce battle with Hajrudin.
"..."
The first moment he appeared, Louis once again opened the portal with the crystal in his hand, teleported the remaining Hajrudin away, and then quickly raised his blade.
Somazu looked at the winged shadow in front of him, which was raising its blade, and his pupils instantly trembled violently, his back drenched in sweat. The next moment, countless sharp thorns appeared on his body, and he wreathed his body in Armament Haki. The thorns wrapped around his body could reflect the damage he received, and the Armament Haki was purely for self-protection.
Then, with a grim face, he controlled the giant-python-like thorns under his feet, speeding up their movement as he tried to get as far away as possible from Louis, who had the appearance of an angel but was no different from a devil. However, no matter how fast he went or how far he swam, he couldn't get more than a meter away from him.
"Junko, cancel his teleportation!" Garling urged in a cold voice as he moved at high speed in Louis's direction.
However, her reply made his heart sink. "I can't. He is currently in the ability space of another fruit user." Junko was burning, as if she were in the process of teleporting back to the Holy Land.
Just then, the blade, wreathed in both Conqueror's Haki and life energy, had already fallen. The mortal crisis from behind made Somazu's face change drastically. He then gave up on fleeing, gritted his teeth, turned around, and extended his hands, wreathed in Armament Haki, to cross in front of his neck. At the same time, he pushed his stamina to its limit, extending hundreds of thousands of emerald green thorns toward Louis, intending to restrict his movements.
"Garling! Show this arrogant bastard what you've got!!" At this moment, Somazu's eyes were bloodshot, his expression abnormally twisted, and he let out a choked roar.
Hearing this, a special light appeared in Garling's eyes. The black and red lightning on his blade became even more violent. "Alright!"
After hearing his words, Garling also did not hesitate, directly changing his strategy from rescue to kill. In that instant, a terrifying aura burst forth from his body. The Conqueror's Haki lightning wreathed around his blade jumped, causing the air to distort.
Louis paid no mind to the passionate bond between Garling and Somazu and simply swung his blade down. The blade, which radiated a strange color, cut a perfect arc through the air, instantly passing through Somazu's body.
With a strange sound of a sharp blade cutting through flesh, one after another, thorns and the arms wreathed in Armament Haki flew up, accompanied by a splash of scarlet blood. Blood gushed from the aged neck, dyeing his body and the one after another thorns that were attacking Louis red.
His neck was almost completely severed. He coughed up blood, his eyes rolled back, and his body shriveled at a visible rate. The thorns that were extending toward Louis also became faint.
Just then, the blade that had arrived with the fierce wind also arrived, chopping toward Louis's neck. However, he paid no mind to the blade that was wreathed in Conqueror's Haki and was cutting at his neck. His eyes passed over the blade and the old man with the crescent-moon-shaped hairstyle, and landed on the figure behind him, who was burning and disappearing.
In Junko's heterochromatic eyes, the bloody ring-pupil was casting a cold and detached gaze at Louis. This gaze was completely different from the Junko of just now. It was cold and chilling, like a god who had long resided in the sky looking down on an ant on the ground.
"Imu—"
Just as this thought flashed in his mind, the faint thorns suddenly solidified, directly wrapping around his wings and hands. Immediately after, Garling's blade, wreathed in Conqueror's Haki, also landed unreservedly on his head.
CLANG!
The blade, wreathed in Conqueror's Haki, and the body of flesh and blood made contact, yet it was met with the sound of clashing metal. A huge shockwave quickly spread out, causing the entire atmosphere to ripple. Black and red lightning rained down, striking and destroying a large number of buildings, displaying a terrifying scene like the end of the world.
The sound and the abnormal feel from the impact made Garling's face incomparably grim. He then grabbed the continuously burning Somazu and quickly retreated, waiting for an opportunity.
From the rolling dust, a pair of snow-white wings extended and then flapped violently, directly dispersing the enveloping smoke. Louis slowly landed on the ground. He first glanced at the spot where Junko had originally been, and then looked at Somazu, who had had his life energy removed and was continuously burning and regenerating.
"His life energy has been removed, and he has recovered again. So that abnormal gaze just now... was it Imu observing through her, and helping him escape death at the same time?" Louis drew his spear, his thoughts diverging.
In front of him, Garling and Somazu stood with their weapons in hand. While being on guard, they spoke in low voices. "Garling, was it that lord who saved me?"
"I'm afraid so." The eyes under Garling's sunglasses narrowed slightly. "Somazu, you're of no help here. Teleport back!"
To this, Somazu gave a bitter laugh. "That lord gave me another chance... was it really to let me return to Mary Geoise alive?" Somazu felt that that lord's purpose was to have him and Garling test out the details of this last remnant of the Lunarians, not to let him leave alive.
"Forget it, there's nothing to think about." On the other side, Louis threw these thoughts from his mind. He stood with his sword and spear, his gaze once again locking onto the two.
"I'll just kill him again—"
The next moment, his eyes became cold. The terrifying aura and Conqueror's Haki lightning that emanated from him caused the surrounding air to distort. Then, a halo rose above his head. Searing flames wreathed his wings, and his entire being truly entered his peak state.
Under the two's wary gazes, Louis leaped up, and with a searing fiery trail, he tore through the sound barrier. Just as the two were on guard, his figure disappeared into the void. The next moment, a spear wreathed in Conqueror's Haki and life energy shot out from the void, instantly reflected in Somazu's eyes.
Just as Garling raised his sword to try and block this blow, Louis appeared from the other side. The Seven Star Sword, radiating a chilling light, swept over, aiming straight for Garling's head.
In a dilapidated street not far from the three, Akainu, in a red suit and a Justice cape, had his gaze on the distant battlefield, his hands transformed into searing magma.
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