Aatrox, the Darkin Blade, is currently Genichi's strongest character card.
He was once a transcendent being from the heavens, but now he is trapped inside a sword.
He is very powerful, but because he is sealed in the sword, he cannot move freely. He can only take over the body of the person holding the sword. However, an ordinary person's body cannot handle the Darkin's magic, and it easily corrupts them with the sword demon's power.
If possessing Aatrox's character card had any experience to it...
It would be pain!
Struggling to breathe, but in complete agony.
The lungs and throat feel empty, like taking in air halfway and then holding it back, leaving the lungs to labor in vain.
Mouth wide open, throat fully exposed, but no air comes in. The chest feels tightly squeezed.
Limbs and muscles do not respond at all. Cannot breathe.
Like on the verge of suffocating, blood pressure rising. Chest and limbs gradually going numb.
In a world of total darkness, filled with desperate pain and silence.
No wonder Aatrox wants to destroy the world. Anyone surviving for centuries in such a place would think the same.
Later, he can only force control over a human body for brief moments of light. But soon, the host starts to rot, oozing pus and blood, muscles and bones grinding against each other, until complete decay and ruin pull him back into that darkness and pain.
So he must keep killing, keep slaughtering, turning the flesh and blood of living beings into part of himself, fuel to maintain that light.
Aatrox serves as one of Genichi's clones, so he can feel that pain too. But as long as he does not fully immerse his mind in it, the pain stays mild. Once he does immerse himself, the wave of despair and agony swallows him whole.
Are all million-level character cards like this?
Genichi does not know, but at least Aatrox fully matches the powerful demon king he expected. To turn him into the true Darkin Blade appearing in the world, though, he needs a strong host.
Someone at Toguro's level could certainly serve, but Genichi has no intention of making Toguro the vessel for the sword demon. Barrett, the one he has been guiding, fits perfectly.
Right now, he has a complete plan in mind. Before, he had not discussed Zero much with Sengoku and Garp because he had not yet drawn a million-level character card. He was unsure about the demon's information himself, so how could he tell others?
Now, with the Darkin Blade's arrival, it is time for his plan to move to the next stage...
Barrett is being reshaped by his power. Even if not perfect, as long as he can hold Aatrox's power for a while, that is enough. On the side of his 'enemies,' it is time for the next move.
In the snowy military camp training ground, the SWORD members who were training have all stopped.
They have the Palm of the Buddha memorized perfectly, but the notes for each move are hard to grasp. Ah Xing explains them, but learning from him means survival, imitating him means death. Plus, they even struggle to follow his explanations closely.
But during this time, they each gained some small insights. The biggest gains went to Sengoku.
Perhaps because the Palm of the Buddha, after blending into this world, linked to the Buddha from the One Piece world, Sengoku, as the 'ultimate person' who ate the Big Buddha fruit, understands it deeply. At least, he can perform the Palm of the Buddha without issue.
At this moment, they gathered together, looking at the dark sky in the distance.
"Little Demon Dragon... got captured?" Garp could not help but feel puzzled.
From this aura, it is definitely not something a great demon could achieve. They have all fought Nine Tails, Sakaki, and Tunfo before, but their auras are far weaker than this darkness.
Demon lord?
They could only think that a demon of this level could have such terrifying power.
Just as Makima said, demon lords possess strength far beyond ordinary great demons.
And even regular great demons are enough to battle them, which means...
Demon lords have power far surpassing theirs!
At first, they did not fully believe it, as top fighters in this world, they naturally had confidence in their own strength.
Even if someone in the world outmatched them, it would not be by much.
But now, they truly feel the gap in power. What a fearsome force...
Has the demon lord finally appeared in this world?
But those demon followers need Little Demon Dragon as a sacrifice to open the gates of hell and summon Zero's true form.
Did Little Demon Dragon really get caught?
They had an alliance with Sakaki. They should not be foolish enough to get captured without even contacting them, right?
They fell into discussion and thought, and at that moment, the air temperature dropped a lot. Snowflakes began falling from the sky, twisting as if blown by wind.
A snow domain like a whirlwind appeared. Everyone focused, especially Garp. Seeing this, he knew Sakaki had arrived.
Yes, just as he thought, the ice and snow gradually cleared, revealing Sakaki and Little Demon Dragon.
"Underestimated them..."
The moment Sakaki appeared, he spoke. "Did not expect them to manipulate the rules to this degree. Or rather... that one is still not a full lord after all?"
"Little Demon Dragon was not captured? Then what is happening now?!"
Sengoku and Garp stood up, and then Ah Xing and the others quickly followed.
Sengoku's face turned grim as he said, "What do you mean not a full lord?! What exactly is Zero?!"
He had asked Sakaki this before, but back then Sakaki said that as long as Zero did not truly appear, the question held no meaning. Asking about Zero's identity was like showing weakness.
But now, the issue was right in front of them, and they had to ask, because Zero...
Had unleashed his power in this world!
"Zero has not truly appeared in this world yet. You do not need to panic so much for now," Sakaki said coldly.
"As for Zero, it is just a code name, proof of qualification. Among the Darkin chosen, the one most suited to become the Darkin host is called Zero. Zero is like the human representative carrying that lord's will. But now, the true one has appeared, and he can no longer be called Zero."
"Now, he should be called..."
"The Darkin Blade, Aatrox!"
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