As the Third Blade's sword intent fused with the Second Blade's, the Blood Demon Shadow instantly solidified from nothingness. The moment this primordial monstrosity appeared, it roared at the sky, four arms flailing, demonic might surging. A suffocating stench of blood and slaughter erupted outward and, in an instant, tore open a vast swath of Creed's Ken no Ryouiki (Sword Domain).
"Hm? What a strange and overwhelmingly brutal power."
Creed felt a flicker of curiosity. After these two combined their sword intents, the result was far more than just one plus one being greater than two.
It was as if they had borrowed some other eerie, unknown power from somewhere else.
The aura of that strange power made Creed feel deeply uncomfortable, but for the moment he couldn't pinpoint where it came from.
He didn't have the attention to spare to dwell on it, though, because he could feel the blood within his own body starting to stir in a bizarre, inexplicable way.
"I didn't expect this…"
Creed frowned.
This was the same type of power as Redfield's Bat-Bat Fruit.
At that same instant, far away where Redfield was fighting Kizaru, he also sensed what was happening over here, and couldn't help finding it bizarre.
The moment that demonic phenomenon appeared, his own Devil Fruit ability seemed to be stimulated as well, showing signs of going slightly out of control.
"Oi, oi! I'm getting a little upset here. You keep spacing out on me—am I really that easy to brush off? Try taking my Ame no Murakumo no Tsurugi (Sword of the Gathering Clouds of Heaven)!"
Seeing him distracted again, Kizaru bared his teeth and called out in reminder.
Redfield was somewhat speechless. He almost wanted to snap back: "Aren't you just as absent-minded as I am?"
This Marine admiral's seriousness toward their fight was clearly not on the same level as Akainu's or Aokiji's.
The next moment—
"Clang!"
A sword cry sharp enough to pierce the heavens suddenly rang out. A bleak, killing sword intent shook the sky itself, making both him and Kizaru instinctively separate as they turned their heads toward Creed's side.
Not just the two of them—further away, Shiki and Aokiji also broke apart and looked over, temporarily halting their battle.
That sword cry was simply too terrifying, stabbing straight into everyone's hearts and making their chests tighten uncomfortably.
Just from hearing that alone, they could imagine how dreadful the strike it heralded would be.
Sure enough, when everyone looked toward the source of the sound, they saw a divine four-colored sword descending from the heavens, cleaving straight toward the Blood Demon Shadow.
This divine sword took ice as its body, sharp metal as its edge, the Shinrin (Divine Halo) as its guard, and a pitch-black hilt. It radiated an endless, boundless sword intent; the moment it appeared, it crushed the rampaging, arrogant Blood Demon Shadow so heavily that the monster's knees slammed down to the ground.
In the very next breath, the divine sword plunged into the Blood Demon Shadow's head. The force behind it was so fierce that it nailed the giant demon to the seafloor with ease.
Crack!
The seabed, which had already been turned into a ruin by the erupting volcano earlier, now split open with even more massive fissures, crumbling and sinking further and further. Dozens of miles of seafloor turned into a deadly, collapsing zone.
"Roar!"
After letting out one last miserable howl, the Blood Demon Shadow dissipated into blood-colored mist, revealing the figures of the Second Blade and Third Blade within. Both of them had broken swords, both were on their knees, and both were vomiting blood in great mouthfuls.
With a single strike, Creed had severely injured them, leaving them completely incapable of continuing the fight.
The might of that one blow shook the battlefield for hundreds of miles. All the top-tier powerhouses' gazes fell on Creed, though their emotions were far from unified: some were full of envy and admiration, others of infatuation; and there were many whose eyes burned with hatred and fury, wishing they could skin him alive and eat his flesh.
But on one point, everyone agreed:
This was the First Emperor of the New World. Fully deserving. Invincible in this era.
On the Marines' side, what they felt even more strongly was despair. He had easily defeated the strongest admiral, Akainu, and then even the combined assault of the two Blood Shadow blades couldn't block a single strike from him. In this world, who could possibly defeat him now?
Perhaps only that legendary "strongest man in the world"…
Suddenly—
Shoo!
A faint, razor-sharp sound rose abruptly behind Creed. An extremely dim sword light appeared out of nowhere, flashing in from behind him.
The wielder of that sword light had chosen his timing perfectly. It was in that instant just after Creed had defeated the two Blood Shadow blades, right as he was about to catch his breath.
Creed had just unleashed a massive ultimate attack. The old force in his body was still fading, and the new force had yet to rise. Even though it was only for a fleeting instant, that opening was still seized upon by this uninvited guest.
Ruthless! Precise! Steady! Fierce!…
"Damn it!"
Even Creed let out a curse-like roar.
In such a rush, he could only throw up Koutetsu Hifu (Steel Skin), Busoshoku Haki (Armament Haki), and the materialized Haoshoku Haki (Conqueror's Haki) to block this thunderous, all-out sword strike.
Boom!
Rip!
Blood sprayed from Creed's back as his body turned into a falling streak like a meteor, crashing heavily into the seabed below. The impact forced the seafloor down for dozens of miles, making the entire surrounding sea tremble violently.
Then everything fell into a deathly silence.
All the strong fighters turned their eyes toward the figure who had struck Creed down.
It was a cold, stern swordsman whose height didn't look particularly impressive. He wore a strange mask that hid his true face, but from the trademark white suit of the CPO, it was clear he was one of their elite.
Black-gray life force coiled around his body, giving him a sinister, shadowy aura.
After a short pause, the Marines broke into cheers.
This scene did wonders for their morale.
Before this, Creed had defeated Admiral Akainu and then consecutively crushed the two Blood Shadow blades, brutally hammering the Marines' fighting spirit. Now that Creed had been slammed into the ground, they naturally erupted into shouts, venting that breath of frustration with everything they had.
"Shoku! Beautifully done!"
On Kong's flagship, Aegis couldn't help clapping as he praised him.
The one who had just ambushed Creed was the CPO's top pillar: Shoku.
He possessed the Shoku Shoku no Mi (Erosion-Erosion Fruit), an advanced form of the Corrosion Fruit. As long as someone or something was struck by the Tenshoku no Ken (Heaven-Erosion Sword) in his hand, everything—apart from Supreme Grade blades and a very few special materials—would be ground into dust.
Creed had taken that full-power strike head-on. Not only did the Marines erupt in cheers, even Kong and Aegis couldn't keep the joy off their faces.
"If I took a direct hit from Commander Shoku like that, I'm afraid I'd be unable to keep fighting as well. Even if Creed isn't dead, he should have lost at least half his combat strength."
Kong muttered, his voice full of confidence in Shoku's power.
Aegis, on the other hand, simply declared Creed's fate.
"Creed is already dealt with. Next, it's our turn to clean up the battlefield. Whether it's Shiki or Big Mom, we can't let a single one of them escape! They can all be buried together with Totto Land!"
"And that includes Redfield, and all those traitorous bastards who turned their backs on us."
Kong added in an icy tone.
He had roamed the New World his entire life, and the only time he'd ever truly suffered a crushing defeat had been at Redfield's hands. That humiliation had stabbed at his heart for decades, making him feel anything but at ease.
Shoku hovered in midair, then tilted his head slightly and called out a word of thanks toward a certain direction.
"Thanks, Blueno."
Over there, an air door was still hanging open. A big, bull-horn-haired man with dead-fish eyes was leaning halfway out, shaking his head as if to say "no need to thank me."
That was Blueno of CP9, wielder of the Doa Doa no Mi (Door-Door Fruit).
It was he who had opened that nearly undetectable air door for Shoku, allowing him to seize the opportunity and severely wound Creed from behind in a surprise attack.
"Well then… it's time to put an end to you for good, Creed."
Shoku gazed at the place where Creed had crashed down. The gray, erosive power on his body rose once more, layered over itself again and again, twisting the very air around him.
"…Hm?!"
(End of Chapter)
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