Chapter 200: World Distortion, the Black King's Arrival
[Team Member KI41400655 (Rouge) has died]
[Team Battle Points -1. Current: -1]
The cold Nexus notifications let Michelin and Critical Point know that the woman who had suppressed her nature to fit in with their team was truly dead.
"You... Mercenary Tao... I'm going to kill you!"
Michelin had been saved by Rouge in multiple missions. She was now overcome with rage, floating up from the sea.
Critical Point knew this was bad. "Stop!" he snapped.
Mercenary Tao's gaze moved from the spot where the body had vanished. He flipped his wrist, putting the Crimson Drop Card into his inventory.
He looked up at the woman who looked like she was about to tear a hurricane apart. His nerves, stimulated by blood and slaughter, jumped. The Satsui no Hado was becoming unbearable.
He was beginning to understand why that woman (Rouge) had activated the bomb, even knowing it wouldn't kill him. That must have been her [Heart]. She wanted to trade her own life for her teammates' survival.
Unfortunately, this wavy-haired woman's rage was tarnishing that final, desperate [Heart].
Mercenary Tao's right palm drew back to his waist. The next second, he stomped on the sea, which caved in. Michelin, in the air, felt as if a giant hand had seized her heart. She knew this was her own instinct... screaming in terror.
Vmmm!
The air spiraled violently. A white-hot shockwave, like a tornado, erupted.
"Stone!" Critical Point yelled.
A light flashed on Michelin. Mercenary Tao didn't care. He thrust his palm.
Rakshasa's Palm!
At this moment, his Rakshasa's Palm was like a hurricane. As he struck, the white air current in front of him exploded, turning the dozens of meters of space before him into a thundering air cannon.
Boom!
The woman in the air vanished, replaced by a man covered in black (Obsidian).
Facing the terrifying impact, the man crossed his arms, a blue card clutched in his hand.
Bang!
The force passed through his body. The man only grunted; his defensive power was far beyond that of a normal Reincarnator. The next second, another light flashed in his hand.
[Perpetual Spell: Position Change]!
A powerful magic enveloped the area. This was one of the [Critical Snipe] team's trump cards. While the spell was active, they could freely swap the positions of any team member.
If Mercenary Tao's initial assault hadn't been so fast—knocking Obsidian, their strongest defender, hundreds of meters away and instant-killing Rouge—their team would never have lost a member so easily.
Now, Obsidian had finally filled the gap, swapping his position with Michelin's to block the blow.
The veins on Kaito's forehead bulged. His muscles were so swollen that his veins stood out. The longer the fight dragged on, the worse the Satsui no Hado became. He was struggling to hold on. His mouth began to part, the lust for slaughter eating at his mind.
Kaito used [Moonwalk], moving in a wide arc. A high-defense type like Obsidian didn't make him hesitate; it only made him want to hunt even more. His current abilities were a perfect counter to this kind of defensive specialist.
Kaito howled, and white shockwaves spread through the air. Obsidian fell to the sea. His mobility was too low; he had no good way to deal with the fast-moving Kaito.
But on the other side, using the opening Kaito's attack provided, Critical Point dove into the water and began to retreat.
Krrackle!
Black lightning (Conqueror's) flashed. Critical Point's heart seized. He was famous, his kill-power was high, but he hated fighting vicious brawlers like Mercenary Tao. They were hard to kill, and they made you feel the threat of death every second.
His heart pounded, but his eyes were clear. The air behind him grew hot. The next second, a terrifying punch was thrown at him from across the space.
Critical Point's mind raced. At the perfect moment, he activated [Perpetual Spell: Position Change] again. This spell from the Yu-Gi-Oh! world demanded perfect timing. This was a real-life battle, not a card game; there was no "timing" mechanic.
But while Critical Point hated getting hurt, he had a very calm mind. Obsidian had always said he had a "big-game heart." In that instant, as the Haki-filled fist and [Crimson Lotus] fire bore down on him, he swapped positions... with his Stand, [Untouchable].
An attack aimed directly at his Stand would be deflected... back where it came from!
Boom!
Kaito threw his punch, only to feel the terrifying force and fire slam back into him. He was instantly swallowed by the [Crimson Lotus] and sent flying.
Critical Point appeared in the air where the Stand had been, his face pale. He spat out a mouthful of blood, his expression horrified.
[Untouchable]'s defense was... broken?!
Because his Stand was injured, he had taken damage.
What the hell was wrong with this Mercenary Tao? That left arm... it was a huge problem.
Critical Point realized that every attack from Kaito's left arm was uniquely terrifying.
Before he could think further, Kaito, blasted out of the fire, fell into the sea.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
At that moment, a barrage of cannon fire came from the main fleet. The fight had been too fast for them to react, but the two explosions had drawn their attention. Not knowing who was who, the fleet had just started bombarding them all.
Critical Point swapped with his Stand again. He turned to Michelin, who was flying back to rejoin the fight.
"Retreat!" he yelled. "Don't let Rouge's death be for nothing!"
Their team was built around ranged attacks. A close-quarters fight with a brawler like Kaito was a losing battle. And this Kaito... he was abnormally strong. Even Flame Fiend had been killed. Their best close-combat fighter, [Rouge] the 'Hundred-Man-Slayer', had been instant-killed.
The next second, the three of them—with Michelin at the rear—began swapping positions, rapidly retreating.
In the main fleet, a group of figures in the shadows watched.
"What now? [Critical Snipe] is running. Do we give up on the [El Dorado] event and chase them, or do we try to intercept that Mercenary Tao?"
"Or... do we take out [Critical Snipe]'s team? Their most dangerous woman just got taken out by Tao."
The leader was a bald man, his upper body bare. His muscles weren't prominent, but his skin had a faint glow. He was about to speak when his pupils shrank.
"Watch out!"
Boom!
A figure shot out of the sea like a torpedo and slammed into their pirate ship.
It was Mercenary Tao!
In their eyes, Kaito's muscles were even more swollen, the purple fluctuations (Satsui) now completely fused into his body, his expression utterly savage.
A strange aura (Roland's) was leaking from him. In the few seconds he was on the ship, the native crewmen began to... change.
The bald Reincarnator clasped his hands, and a powerful Nen exploded from him. A phantom image appeared behind him and slammed its palm down, a golden light erupting.
Boom!
The cabin exploded. The Reincarnators leaped out.
At that moment, their Nexus panels lit up.
[Attention: You are being eroded by God Hand: Roland.]
[Performing Resistance Check...]
[Check Passed. You have resisted this erosion.]
The man relaxed for a second, but a new check began. His skin crawled. He blasted another palm at the cabin and then leaped toward the Gold Emperor's massive ship.
God Hand: Roland... the target of the special co-op mission... He's not dead?!
This insidious erosion was forcing continuous checks. This was the most dangerous kind of regional anomaly. A normal erosion was a one-time check. But continuous checks meant the Nexus judged the intensity of the erosion was constantly increasing. Passing once didn't mean you'd pass again.
He didn't even warn his teammates. He just led the disaster to the main fleet and fled, leaping from deck to deck.
Kaito's body stood still in the cabin, not chasing. He opened his eyes, which were now pitch black.
This "Kaito" was exuding a black fog. The aura instantly corrupted every living thing on the ship. The pirates and crewmen began to sprout faces all over their bodies.
"Kaito" walked up to one of them.
Pff!
He thrust his hand into the man's chest. The pirate, whose face was now a cluster of new faces, didn't resist. Instead, all his mouths opened, showing a pious expression.
"Kaito" pulled his hand out, holding a beating heart. A new face appeared on the heart, which then shriveled, until a new [Egg of the King] (Behelit) remained in his palm.
"Kaito" held the [Egg of the King], his spiritual form (Roland's) burning.
"Open... Spectral Realm."
"Come... God Hand... Cast your [Law of Causality] upon this world!"
Vmmm!
A black space instantly expanded. This was different from the fog that had covered Skuld Island. That had been Roland using his power to force the island into a state like the Spectral Realm.
The true [Spectral Realm] was an independent world, completely unrelated to physical terrain.
The dim world unfurled, swallowing Skuld Island. Garp, who was holding Moon Fiend, looked up, his pupils shrinking. On the ships, Doberman and the other Vice Admirals felt a heart-stopping presence.
A giant hole appeared in the sky. A massive head fell through. Countless figures began to appear...
Behelits rained from the sky, shooting off in all directions as if they had a will of their own.
Critical Point and his team were lucky to be far enough away. They watched the black world cover the sea like a curtain, terrified.
What terrified them more was the Nexus notification.
[Warning: One Piece Derivative World A9981 is undergoing a moderate-level distortion.]
[One Piece Derivative World A9981 is distorting. This world's danger and challenge level have changed.]
[Due to this distortion, this world's rewards are increased by 20%. Mission Failure Penalty has been CANCELED. Reincarnators may exit this world in a non-combat state.]
The [Critical Snipe] team had never seen a message like this. This was a world being eroded. Another world's will, another power system, was forcibly implanting itself here.
[Third batch of Reincarnators deploying...]
Critical Point's heart seized. At a time of crisis, when the Nexus was letting the first and second batches leave, it was sending in a third?
Was this third batch... capable of solving a crisis of this level?
[Deployment Error...]
Krrackle!
Black lightning tore the sky. Before Critical Point's eyes, the sky filled with colors. Stars appeared in the blue. The sun and moon appeared at the same time. The sea went perfectly still.
Only the black lightning, coming from nowhere, flashed across the entire sky.
[Warning: Special Unit · Black King's Assembly · has entered this world.]
[All Reincarnators, evacuate immediately.]
Krrackle!
A bolt of lightning pierced Critical Point's team. His body went rigid, his cells screaming, his thoughts frozen. The intense Haki... it was far beyond Garp's or Kaito's.
A flood of information poured into his brain. He saw countless One Piece worlds on fire, familiar characters being slaughtered, captured, dismembered, even... eaten.
This is...
Tap, tap, tap.
Footsteps. A one-armed man, wreathed in black, walked from the sky. With every step, a bolt of black lightning crossed the world and pierced a Reincarnator's chest.
The [Critical Snipe] team, the team that had just been on the Gold Emperor's fleet... all of them were frozen, trapped.
"Reincarnators... you have defiled my world once again."
The one-armed man's voice was hoarse, but everyone, even those in the [Spectral Realm], heard it.
He raised his one arm and tapped the air.
Space cracked. The next second, a terrifying quake erupted.
A white-hot air-quake hundreds of kilometers wide swept over the fleets, instantly atomizing the fleeing Reincarnators into a red mist.
Obsidian, at the back, saw it clearly, his voice trembling in terror.
"The... Tremor-Tremor Fruit?"
(End of Chapter)