Andy and Kalifa arrived at the entrance of the massive temple, its doorway already obscured by weeds and bushes, making it appear incredibly dilapidated.
However, an ancient aura immediately made its presence felt, and then Andy swung his Demon Blade Zhu Chi a few times, slicing through all the weeds and bushes.
"Let's go, let's go inside and see. The biggest secret on this island is about to be revealed by us," Andy said before stepping through the temple entrance.
Kalifa quickly followed.
From the moment she followed Andy into the forest, to taking down the CP0, and now entering the temple, her mind had been in a state of bewilderment.
Osrian Saint had been paying attention to this place for twelve years, certainly for a certain item, which was likely related to that curse.
And this item should be within the temple.
Upon entering the temple, the interior space was vast, and it only had one level, with no other spaces around, only many statues.
The statues were in various forms, some human-shaped, others animal-shaped.
But every single one of them had an expression of unbearable pain, their faces contorted, as if suffering the most terrifying torment in the world, making one fearful to behold.
"These... what exactly are they...?" Kalifa's voice trembled as she stared in shock at the terrifying statues surrounding her, a chill rising up her spine.
"Their souls are enduring the severe punishment of karma; the sins they committed in life are now rebounding on them tenfold," Andy's voice echoed through the empty temple, a subtle, almost irrepressible excitement hidden within its calm tone.
"Karmic punishment?" Kalifa looked at Andy, her face full of confusion.
Andy was gazing upwards, and she followed his gaze, instantly gasping.
A colossal statue stood in the center of the temple, immense in size; if one didn't look up, it was impossible to see its full form.
It had a bird's head and a human body, with two wings spread behind it, flames burning fiercely around its body, and lightning coiling around its feet, exuding a terrifying aura.
The statue's expression was eerie, its body slightly leaning forward. The moment Kalifa looked up, her eyes met those of the statue.
Those eyes were hollow yet profound, seemingly containing endless secrets, piercing directly through her soul and clearly seeing all her past experiences.
"What kind of monster is this?!" Kalifa's face showed fear as she couldn't help but ask.
"Garuda, the god who controls the fire of karma!" Andy suppressed his inner excitement, his voice trembling slightly.
Garuda, a type of golden-winged great roc, feeds on dragons and controls the fire of karma that targets souls!
"Garuda... fire of karma..." Kalifa repeated mechanically, her mind full of confusion, knowing nothing about this unfamiliar deity.
Just then, Andy's figure instantly vanished. When Kalifa caught sight of Andy again, he had already jumped onto the statue's hand.
And he was still leaping upwards.
A few seconds later, Andy had jumped into the statue's mouth, which was the curved part of Garuda's beak.
Kalifa could no longer see that position, nor could she see Andy's figure.
"Ya ha ha ha! It's really like this, I didn't expect it, it actually appeared, ya ha ha ha ha..."
In an instant, Andy's frenzied and excited laughter echoed through the temple, filled with the wild joy of discovering a treasure.
Kalifa covered her ears because Andy's laughter kept reverberating through the temple, making her feel very harsh.
Suddenly, a strong current of air whistled past, and Andy actually leaped directly from a hundred meters high, plummeting rapidly.
"Bang!" Accompanied by a loud crash, the floor couldn't bear the weight and instantly shattered, and the rising dust instantly enveloped the surroundings. Kalifa's vision was blurred, and she could only see a vague figure.
As the dust gradually dispersed, Andy slowly rose, holding a peculiar fruit with mysterious patterns on its skin in his right hand.
"Devil Fruit!!!" Kalifa's eyes widened in shock, and she couldn't help but shriek.
"Put down that Devil Fruit!" A sudden, urgent, and angry roar rang out, followed by a blur shooting towards Andy like an arrow from a bowstring.
Andy seemed to have been prepared, and his long-prepared whip kick suddenly rose, carrying immense power, and kicked heavily towards the blur.
"Bang!"
Andy's leg, enveloped in Armament Haki, collided fiercely with the opponent's hands. Two powerful Armament Haki clashed, erupting in terrifying energy fluctuations.
The airwaves, like surging tides, directly swept Kalifa, who was closest to them, sending her flying and crashing heavily to the ground.
"Hmph!" Andy's leg muscles tensed, and his power erupted again, sending the attacker flying.
The person was like a kite with a broken string, crashing directly into the temple wall. The wall instantly cracked, and rubble flew everywhere.
Then, without the slightest hesitation, Andy opened his mouth wide and swallowed the Devil Fruit whole.
After a gurgling sound of swallowing, he rubbed his belly and smacked his lips, still wanting more. What exactly did this Devil Fruit taste like?
At this moment, the person Andy had kicked away struggled out of the ruins of the wall.
But as soon as he poked his head out, he happened to see Andy swallowing the Devil Fruit.
"You... you're dead!" The person's eyes instantly became bloodshot, and his anger soared. A powerful, suffocating aura, centered on him, swept wildly in all directions.
"Rumble!"
"Crackle! Crackle!!"
The sky above the temple instantly changed color, and ink-black clouds, like raging beasts, surged wildly.
Black and red lightning raged and intertwined within the clouds, colliding and emitting deafening sounds.
This aura was like an overwhelming force; wherever it passed, space violently vibrated, and air currents whistled.
The Marines and CP Agents outside the temple felt as if an invisible mountain was pressing down on them, their legs went weak, and they all lost consciousness and fainted on the ground.
Finally, only a few strong individuals remained standing.
Inside the temple, black and red lightning also continuously erupted and collided, and the powerful pressure made Kalifa, who had just managed to get up, break out in a cold sweat.
"Haoshoku!" Andy stared intently at the man not far away, his eyes instantly revealing the greed and ferocity of a hungry wolf seeing its prey.
He had waited so long for this Haoshoku to finally appear. At this moment, he wished he could immediately rush forward and tear the opponent to shreds.
Then, the Demon Blade Zhu Chi instantly appeared in his hand.
"You, very good. You even dared to eat the Devil Fruit I've been waiting for for so many years. Have you thought about how you're going to die?!" Under the man's gloomy expression, suppressed rage was about to erupt.
"What a great Haoshoku, but it's a pity you haven't cultivated it to the level of Haoshoku Infusion, Celestial Dragon, tell me your name," Andy said calmly with a smile.
His eyes watched the Celestial Dragon opposite him, and the desire to cut him down directly kept rising in his eyes.
"My name is Marcus Osrian. Remember this name, because soon, you will be torn to shreds by my hands!" Osrian Saint said sternly.
"Marcus, a descendant of the Gorosei. You really... excite me. The first Celestial Dragon I'm cutting down actually has such a background," Andy said softly.
As his words fell, a bloody killing intent instantly permeated the entire temple.
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