Chapter 192: Prey
[You are being eroded by God Hand: Roland. Erosion Level: High.]
[You have used item: Holy Pendant. Attempting to cleanse erosion...]
[Cleanse Failed. Ability priority is insufficient to remove this erosion.]
"Damn it, damn it, damn it... This is the One Piece world, right? What the hell is a God Hand doing here!"
Black Death shot out from a blackened flesh-tumor, riding a glowing green hoverboard. He tried every item in his inventory, only to find that nothing could remove the corruption.
The priority level of this erosion was 'High.' He could only endure the itching skin as a savage face began to surface on the back of his hand.
He had a feeling that face was his. It was the same snarling, arrogant face he must have made in all those other mission worlds while unleashing viruses to farm Singularities.
Black Death glided through the air, trying to find Flame Fiend. Instead, he saw Moon Fiend, who had just cut her way out of a different tumor. The Moon Fiend before him was unrecognizable. Her body was abnormally mutated, elongated to over three meters tall, with long, slender limbs. Her arms were covered in dense scales. Her head was a giant 'Face of Fear' that had split open, revealing Moon Fiend's true, savage visage inside.
The only thing that allowed Black Death to identify her was the black blade in her hand, a sword famous even in the Nexus: [Yoru].
She... did Moon Fiend fall?!
Black Death could clearly see the gaping hole in Moon Fiend's chest. Flesh was regenerating inside, but there was no heart.
An idea struck him. He stomped on his board, and two micro-missiles detached, shooting toward the monster that might be Moon Fiend.
The missiles, trailing fire, shot out. The monster standing among the 'faces' on the ground suddenly turned its head, its split-open mask staring right at Black Death.
Black Death's heart leaped. The next second, the three-meter-tall monster gripped its sword with two hands and swung up.
Vmmm!
The black blade vibrated violently. A bright, paper-thin blade of light flashed.
Boom! Boom!
The missiles exploded in mid-air. Before the smoke cleared, Black Death was already pulling up, preparing to flee. He didn't care if that was Moon Fiend or not; any monster that still possessed that level of swordsmanship was extremely dangerous.
Vmmm!
The sword hummed again. Black Death looked back and saw countless cannonballs falling from the sky. The monster wasn't attacking him; it was slashing at the barrage of black cannonballs.
It's the Marines!
Krrackle!
Lightning flashed again. Black Death didn't dare stay. The thrusters on his Green Goblin Hoverboard went to full power.
"You... are not... permitted... to leave!"
Pff!
A faint sound of tearing air came from below. His hoverboard was suddenly caught by a powerful suction. Black Death looked back and saw a giant, black bird-like monster (Doflamingo) at the bay. It was staring at him with pure malice as it spoke.
He tried to accelerate, but he was stuck. Black Death pulled out a shining katana and slashed down. A transparent thread was severed.
The board was free, but the air to his side seemed to shatter. A fierce gale hit him. Black Death's heart pounded. He turned, only to see a giant werewolf (Jabra) in mid-air, slashing its legs at him.
[Tempest Kick]!
Two massive, 100-meter-wide slashes of air instantly knocked Black Death from the sky. His protective amulets shattered completely.
The moment he hit the ground, he tried to run, but a voice echoed in his ear.
"Don't move!"
Black Death turned and saw Flame Fiend, his hair slightly singed, peering out from a flesh-tumor with only half his face exposed.
Black Death immediately froze. The next second, the giant werewolf and the Doflamingo-bird slammed into each other. The two massive monsters, both over 100 meters tall, began to tear each other apart.
The monster that was Moon Fiend, however, just stood with her hands on her sword, her head tilted, as if listening for something.
Flame Fiend's body was covered in fine dragon scales. He had broken his Constitution limit and acquired a Dragon bloodline, giving him extremely high resistance to abnormalities. Even now, he only had a slight itch where he'd been wounded.
"Black Death, go find the Cursed Spirit that Silverlight planted on this island. We need a trigger to end this damned mission."
Flame Fiend was spooked. This mission world had clearly been ravaged by previous Reincarnators. Even he, who loved large-scale destruction, had never imagined the One Piece world could be reduced to this.
God Hand: Roland...
He had heard the name 'Roland' before. [Morning Star of Hope: Roland], a Titled Reincarnator from the Nexus's top-tier assembly, [Azure Sky]. He was one of the strongest of the 3rd-Ladder Reincarnators. One of the highest-ranked known Special Reincarnators.
But in the end, he had been confirmed "fallen" a month ago. [Azure Sky] had suffered a huge blow, and their maniacal leader had gone on a rampage, "cleansing" a lot of Reincarnators during that time.
Resurrection... can a Special Reincarnator do that?
His mind raced, but Black Death was clearly too terrified to move. Flame Fiend's eyelids lowered. He said coldly, "You idiot. Don't you get it?"
Flames burned on his body, and the black tumors fell off. Above them, the giant bird and the man-wolf were in a frenzy, no longer paying attention to them. The Moon Fiend monster was still in its listening pose, hands on its sword, waiting.
That stance made Flame Fiend feel that Moon Fiend wasn't dead. She was still rational, at least on some level. At the very least, Moon Fiend knew who the real threat here was...
Black Death followed Flame Fiend's gaze and saw the thousand-meter-high, face-covered arm exploding, inch by inch, revealing a tattered pink robe.
"Mercenary Tao?!"
Black Death never would have dreamed that the one at the center of this chaos would be the rookie that Moon Fiend had been hunting. Flame Fiend had repeatedly stressed that Mercenary Tao was a new Reincarnator you could count his missions on one hand.
How could a guy like that...
"Hahahahaha!"
A terrifying laugh erupted from Mercenary Tao. Black Death saw his state. It was bizarre. His eyes were blank white. His twisted, reddish face seemed split in two—half serene, half savage. A purple-black aura (Satsui no Hado) and black shadows (Yin-Spirits) swirled around his body.
What the hell was wrong with this guy?
Flame Fiend didn't know what had happened to him either, but he could clearly feel the terrifying presence radiating from him. It was the kind of pressure you could instinctively sense from a being of a higher order. The moment he stood there, you knew who the apex predator was.
Flame Fiend touched the reverse scale on his neck. The stinging pain made him even more alert.
Tap.
Mercenary Tao moved. He took one step forward. Flame Fiend instantly half-transformed, giant dragon wings sprouting from his back, his hands covered in scales.
The Moon Fiend monster's reaction was even more extreme. The moment Kaito moved, she bent her body, crouching in a perfect Iaijutsu quick-draw stance, her split-open face locked onto him.
Black Death finally felt it. He saw how Flame Fiend and Moon Fiend reacted and at last sensed the abnormal pressure from Kaito. He felt his heart grow heavy, his scalp tingling. A cold sense of dread enveloped him.
He felt like he was standing in front of a prehistoric dinosaur, trembling, unable to move, as if he would be devoured in the next second.
He could only watch as Kaito lifted his left foot and slowly lowered it.
At the same time, Black Death was sure he saw a silver-white line of air split from the Black Blade: Yoru, extending from the blade's edge.
Tap.
VMMMM!
The instant his foot lightly touched the ground, the three-meter-tall Moon Fiend monster drew her blade.
A silver line instantly divided heaven and earth.
Pff...
A barely audible tearing sound. The next second, the entire "face-ground" was ripped apart. As blood plasma sprayed, Flame Fiend's pupils shrank. Mercenary Tao was just... standing there. He hadn't moved.
He couldn't react?
No!
He saw the straight silver line... it was broken. In front of Mercenary Tao, it had simply stopped.
At that moment, a black shadow crawled onto Mercenary Tao's twisted face.
"Ha~"
"Haha!"
It was that same mad laugh, but this time, it was filled with an arrogance that said, "Throughout heaven and earth, I alone am the honored one."
"Wonderful. This body is truly wonderful. To wield Cursed Energy without the Six Eyes... it's too much fun~"
Kaito Shirogane raised his hands, one pointing to the sky, one to the earth. Black Cursed Energy erupted from his body.
"Is that... the [Limitless Cursed Technique]?" Black Death muttered.
Bang!
The next second, the ground in front of him exploded. Mercenary Tao vanished. Black Death instinctively whipped his head around, only to see Moon Fiend, who had just tried to block, get hit in the spine from behind. A [Black Flash] erupted from her body.
The Moon Fiend monster cried out, sent flying. Kaito stomped his foot, vanishing again, catching up to her in mid-air. He clenched his left fist, and black lightning crackled in the air.
Krrackle!
As the black lightning flashed, Kaito's twisted face changed again.
Boom!
He threw a punch. Before it even landed, the air distorted. Magma-like fire exploded in mid-air, blooming like a [Crimson Lotus].
Moon Fiend slammed into the ground.
Tap.
The footsteps sounded again. Black Death was now instinctively terrified. He looked around, but Kaito wasn't moving at high speed. Instead, he was swaying as he walked toward him and Flame Fiend.
Flame Fiend's heat and fire made him an obvious target.
Roar!
The giant man-wolf (Jabra) was defeated by the giant bird (Doflamingo) and sent flying, torn and bleeding. Kaito suddenly raised his hands, caught the 100-meter-tall monster, and threw it at Black Death and Flame Fiend.
Black Death could feel it. It was like Kaito was a different person again. His fighting style had changed. He had no time to wonder what was wrong with Kaito.
"Flame Fiend, I'll go find that Cursed Spirit," he said, and pulled out his Green Goblin Hoverboard.
Boom!
Full power. He wasn't looking for any spirit; he was using Flame Fiend as a meat shield so he could escape.
Flame Fiend cursed him, but before he could speak, a gale rushed past him.
Black Death felt the air being pushed aside, but he was still in the same spot. He looked back in horror. Mercenary Tao, his sleeves torn, revealing his powerful arms, was standing behind him. His left hand was holding the Green Goblin Hoverboard.
"No running until I've had my fun~"
Crack! The hoverboard began to splinter, then exploded.
A light flashed in Black Death's hand. A scroll. But an immense force struck his neck.
CRACK!
Black Death's mind went blank. When he came to, he saw Mercenary Tao's hands had disappeared, replaced by a rain of infinite fists.
Pffpffpff... BANG!
The masked Black Death exploded into a pile of shredded meat.
Kaito Shirogane looked at the black [Death-Taint] on his fists, still unsatisfied. He wanted a real fight...
The next second, a powerful force from his sea of consciousness pulled him down. Over 33,000 Yin-Spirits were in there, trying to win their revival match.
Kaito, bathed in blood, took another step toward Flame Fiend.
KRRRACKLE!
A bolt of thunder struck. Enel appeared in front of Kaito.
(End of Chapter)