Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Shura, piloting his scorched Three-Headed Bird, dodged several flying spears and ascended into the sky during the Trial of Rope.
"Damn it! What are these Shandians wearing? My Fire Spear can't pierce them!"
Shura, his body bandaged and battered, glared down from his mount at the Shandian warriors leaping from tree to tree, surging toward the temple. His face twisted with frustration.
The warriors were clad in strange white armor, unlike anything he had ever seen before.
Its defense was monstrous. Even his sharpened Fire Spear, which had cut down countless enemies, could not penetrate it.
Shura clenched his teeth, then forced a sneer.
"Hmph, let them go on for now. Soon enough, they'll be trapped in the Rope Cloud and won't move another step!"
"Flame Cannon!"
A furious roar echoed through the forest.
Shura stiffened, immediately on guard.
Below, a blazing sacred flame erupted, burning away the vast web of Rope Cloud spread across the forest floor.
"Careful! The Rope Cloud is laid thick in the middle of this forest!"
Wyper, wreathed in white fire, descended from the sky and shouted to his comrades. His body still smoldered, yet he stood calm and unshaken.
"No wonder I felt heavier and heavier…" Jebao muttered in sudden realization.
…
Nearby, Raki moved with swift leaps, her gaze lingering on Wyper with complex admiration.
Wyper caught her look, his brow furrowing.
"Raki, what's wrong?"
"Nothing."
She landed lightly on a tree trunk, her eyes lingering on the white flames flickering across Wyper's form.
"You're different now," she said quietly. "The old Wyper cared about the clan, but he never showed it. Now… you're not hiding it anymore."
Wyper was silent for a moment before answering.
"I was too forceful before. The weight on my shoulders was crushing me."
"And now?" Raki asked softly.
"You can't imagine how powerful Teacher truly is."
Memories of Shirogai's abilities flashed in Wyper's mind. A confident smile broke across his scarred face.
"I don't believe Enel is stronger than Teacher. If there really is a God in this world, then it's him. Not Enel."
Raki's lips curved. "You, believing in a God? I thought you never did."
"I don't believe the God of Skypiea can protect us. He stole our ancestral land." Wyper clenched his fiery fist, the white flames surging hotter. He leapt high, burning away more hidden Rope Clouds.
"But from now on, I'll see Teacher as the only true God, and I'll follow him forever."
Raki bit her lip, worry flickering in her eyes. "Aren't you afraid…"
Her words were cut short when Wyper suddenly roared in fury, looking upward.
"Shura, how dare you!"
Raki's head snapped up, her pupils shrinking. Shura hovered above them, his Fire Spear poised to strike her down.
"Heh, why wouldn't I dare?" Shura sneered, driving the weapon downward toward her head.
"Get lost! Fire Fist!"
Wyper's blazing fist roared upward, engulfing Shura in a torrent of white flames.
"Tch, you think I'll fall for that again?"
Shura activated the Wind Dial on his foot, kicking Raki's body backward. He twisted his attack, hurling her toward the path of Wyper's flames.
"Hmph! Then let her burn in your fire!"
But instead of striking her, the sacred white flames curved unnaturally, avoiding Raki and surging toward Shura instead.
"What…? Is this—Mantra?" Shura's eyes widened as the flames homed in on him.
"Correct."
Wyper's voice was calm, almost indifferent, as Shura's body was consumed by the white inferno.
"Teacher calls it Observation Haki."
"Arghhh!"
Shura's screams split the air as the flames devoured him, his voice shrill with agony.
"Let's go."
Without sparing Shura another glance, Wyper strode forward, his body a torch of divine fire.
"Mm."
Raki hesitated briefly, then followed, leaping toward the temple.
"…Oh, Raki, what were you saying earlier?" Wyper asked suddenly, remembering her unfinished words.
"Nothing."
Raki shook her head quickly, swallowing the warning she had been about to give about Shirogai.
Wyper was no fool. His temper often overshadowed his sharp mind, but Raki knew better. If Wyper had chosen to follow Shirogai Yamikuro, it meant he saw something in him worth following.
She chose to trust Wyper's judgment.
"I just wanted to say… since you admire him so much, I'll admire him too."
She smiled radiantly.
Wyper froze, momentarily stunned.
"Can I also gain the abilities you received?" Raki asked, her eyes shining. "I want to fight beside you."
Wyper hesitated.
"Teacher said… if you're not afraid of death, you can try. But…"
His voice grew heavier. The risks were real. Some who entered Shirogai's strange world never returned whole. Their bodies survived, but their minds didn't. They became empty shells.
The chance of failure was forty percent.
And Wyper could not bear the thought of seeing Raki among that forty percent.
"You mean the forty percent mortality rate?" Raki interrupted lightly, her smile unshaken.
Her eyes softened. "Are you worried I'll die in front of you?"
Wyper scowled, unwilling to respond to such foolishness.
"Don't worry. I won't die," Raki whispered confidently. "If I did… you'd be all alone, wouldn't you?"
The two of them continued forward, unaware of the legend they would one day embody.
The Blue Sea would remember them as the Ice and Fire Twin Demons.
Wyper, the Fire Demon.
Raki, the Ice Soul.
Both fierce warriors under the command of the Plunderer, the one they called the Omnipotent God King.
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