Chapter 375: The Two Battle the Demon Dragon
"Damned!" The pain and anger made Quinn snarl, gritting his teeth. "You filthy woman!"
"Has it turned into helpless rage?" Scáthach transformed into a baseball player, the crimson magic spear returning to her side, then suddenly swung the spear. The spear shaft swept horizontally and sent Quinn flying far away.
"Ughhhh—!"
Accompanied by a blood-curdling scream, Quinn struggled to rise, glaring at Scáthach . He then revealed a sneer as the massive figure of the beast slowly faded and eventually disappeared from Scáthach 's sight.
"You can even turn invisible?" Scáthach calmly said, "Is this your trump card?"
"You can't see me now!" Quinn laughed arrogantly. "This is the power of technology!"
"However..." Scáthach 's Akame locked onto Quinn. "Aren't you right there?"
Quinn's eyes bulged out of his sockets: 'Eh?! She... she can see me even when I'm invisible?!'
Scáthach bent her waist and assumed a sprinting posture, the spear in her hands held horizontally. "Piercing Death Thorn Spear!"
Scáthach 's crimson spear suddenly shone with an even more dazzling red light. Her body erupted with a speed beyond the limit, leaving a trail of blurred afterimages in Quinn's eyes.
"What—?!"
The spear, charged with power, cut through a simple yet deadly straight line and pierced directly toward Quinn's chest.
Unavoidable, unstoppable!
The magic spear that reversed cause and effect determined the "cause" of the attack based on the "effect" of the heart being the target.
The magic spear, which overturned the world's order, emanated a chilling cold!
"Screech."
The sound of flesh being torn apart suddenly rang out, and Quinn froze in place.
The crimson light effortlessly sliced through muscle and pierced bone, the spearhead continuing its momentum to stab straight into Quinn's heart.
"Ughhhhh—!"
Even though Quinn was an ancient species with super regenerative abilities and a high-tech modification, once his heart was pierced, he had already lost the chance to survive.
Scáthach withdrew her spear and, gripping the shaft, swung it forcefully to fling the blood off the blade.
Quinn, in disbelief, clutched his chest, but could not stop the torrent of blood pouring out.
"I'm... dying here?" Blood gushed from Quinn's throat, completely staining his purple lips.
His heart had completely stopped functioning, but the prehistoric beast didn't fall. Quinn didn't want to fall either.
"I still have uncompleted technology—!" Quinn let out a battle cry, raising his massive blade, which had two holes in it. "I still need to drink more red bean soup...!"
In front of the Valkyrie stood a dying beast fighting back!
"It's over." Scáthach thrust her spear directly, the crimson sharpness pressing against Quinn's chest.
The beast's unwilling roar stopped abruptly.
The force of Quinn's counterattack collided with the spear, and the massive prehistoric beast's body stood still for a second before crashing down like a rock.
The prisoners hiding in the executive tower of the former excavation site became the only witnesses to Scáthach 's victory over the top figure.
"Impressive!" River Pine's eyes widened. "She was able to defeat the top figure and his subordinates all on her own!"
"Perhaps they really can defeat the Beast Pirates." Niu Gui Maru mumbled.
"Wano Country is finally saved!" The small-framed Leopard Goro sighed with relief. "We must fight for Wano now!"
The prisoners, whose resistance had not been fully erased, cheered and raised their arms: "Oh!"
"Don't come to help," Scáthach said calmly. "This is our war."
"But you must be short on manpower, right? The Beast Pirates have more than 10,000 pirates!" Leopard Goro argued. "With my reputation alone, I can rally 5,000 warriors."
"..." Scáthach glanced at him lightly. "Never say such things carelessly again. A high reputation will only bring you fatal danger."
Flower Warrior Five Goro: "..."
Scáthach turned and walked away, her voice echoing in the distance: "We will liberate Wano and open the country. So there is no need for people with reputations to appear. Just relax and grow old, watching Wano gradually become beautiful and prosperous."
Niu Gui Maru hesitated, glanced at River Pine, and finally made up his mind, following Scáthach 's steps.
...
On the skull top of Onigashima, the clash of haki reverberated, the sound of gold and iron ringing out.
"Oh, ho, ho, ho," Kaido praised loudly in the middle of the fierce battle. "Yamato, you're not bad as a fighter."
Kaido, who liked to measure everything by combat power, showed no mercy even to his own daughter.
Yamato swung her iron staff and retaliated fiercely: "Is this something a father should say to his child?"
"What does father-daughter relationship matter now?" Eric thrust his gun at her. "This is a life-or-death battle! Your rebellion against Kaido is a serious betrayal in the pirate world! Don't think you'll live through it!"
"But..." Yamato seemed to want to say something, but was interrupted by the incoming Eightfold Reversal, the wolf fang club wrapped in purple thunder rushing toward her with immense force, making Kaido's normal attack seem insignificant.
"Clang!"
Eric didn't think twice. He flashed to Yamato's side, swung his gun to intercept, and as the Eightfold Reversal continued forward, the blazing fire-spitting gun appeared in front, delivering a surge of energy that vibrated through his hands, causing slight tremors in his palms and aching in his arms.
"Unarmed Ice Fangs!"
Yamato slightly leaned back, then suddenly opened her mouth, releasing a burst of white freezing air that rushed toward Kaido, pushing him out of the combat zone.
"Ha... ha..." Eric panted. "Don't lose focus in the middle of battle!"
"Sorry." Yamato showed a guilty expression. "After all, he's my father..."
"This Devil Fruit took a lot of effort to obtain..." Kaido steadied himself, staring at Yamato. "I never said it was meant for you!"
"I was shocked too!" Yamato replied sarcastically. "I ate it because I was hungry! I wanted to go out to sea but ended up like a duck out of water!"
"Letting your own daughter starve? You really are a 'dedicated' father..." Eric turned to Yamato. "You should be thankful you ate this Devil Fruit, or you wouldn't have the power to fight your father!"
"True." Yamato looked up at Kaido. "I've lost count of how many times I've wanted to kill you, though each time I got beaten senseless. But because of you, I've grown stronger!"
"If I can't save this country, how can I call myself 'Oden'?"
"..." Kaido slowly spoke: "The Inu Inu no Mi, Mythical Zoan, Okami ShōKing form, is a priceless mythical Zoan fruit!"
"It was supposed to be Wano's guardian deity, but instead, it was eaten by you, who wanted to become Oden!" Kaido raised his wolf fang club high, the screeching purple lightning crackling as the King's Thunder swept across the sky, charging with violent force toward his biological daughter.
"Clang!"
Eric intercepted with his gun, the gun's tip, wrapped in blue-black electricity, meeting Kaido's club. Sparks flew as electricity surged from the clash.
"You haven't mastered Conqueror's Haki yet!" Eric didn't look back but continued to resist the overwhelming force from the fire-spitting gun. "I'll leave the long-range support to you!"
"Sorry!" Yamato said apologetically. "I've slowed you down!"
Kaido, who had just regained his stance, suddenly opened his mouth, gathering fiery breath in his throat. A scorching fire pillar shot out directly toward Eric 's face.
"Hot Breath!"
The fiery dragon breath, containing immense destructive heat, rushed toward Eric .
"Unarmed Ice Fangs!"
The freezing frost, holding extreme low temperatures, sprayed toward the fiery dragon breath. The two powers collided with an explosive sound, intertwining into a flame-ice vortex.
"Nice job!" Feeling the decrease in power from his gun's barrel, Eric pushed the wolf fang club away, taking a small step back and quickly returning the fire-spitting gun to his waist before stabbing it out again.
"Kingdom's Dominance!"
Invisible gusts of wind gathered into gun energy, interwoven with purple flames and thunder, burning brightly, as Eric thrust out a blinding column-shaped shockwave.
Kaido, who had just regained his stance, was struck by the column-shaped shockwave!
The sudden impact sent Kaido flying, his sturdy body shooting like a cannonball into the hard rock mountain behind him.
"Impressive!" Yamato exclaimed. "I've never seen Bull-Headed Gorilla get knocked away!"
"Don't celebrate too soon." Eric 's face remained grim, with no sign of relaxation. "Kaido won't fall so easily."
"What's your name?" Yamato asked excitedly. "Are you here specifically to challenge Kaido?"
"Darren Eric ," Eric replied calmly. "I'll defeat Kaido and open Wano."
"Really?!" Yamato's excitement grew. "I want to free this country too and open Wano's gates!"
"…You really believe me?" Eric couldn't help but feel speechless at her naive optimism.
"Of course!" Yamato nodded firmly. "We're comrades fighting side by side!"
"You want to open Wano's gates?" Kaido pushed aside the debris from his body, walking out from the collapsed stone. His muscular chest was marked with dark, burned scars.
The burning pain in his chest reminded him of the enemy who had inflicted an indelible wound in the past—Kozuki Oden!
He vaguely saw Kozuki Oden's figure merging with the two.
"Don't even think about it!"
With a roar, Kaido turned into a cyan thunderbolt, charging toward the two with extraordinary speed.
"Thunderous Eight Trigrams!"
This blow contained all of Kaido's strength, with the black-red electric arcs wrapped around his wolf fang club, fusing into one as they surged toward the two.
...
"Lord Jack!" The Beast Pirates members were dumbfounded as the giant, over eight meters tall, was actually being beaten by a small woman.
"Hah... hah..." Jack, in his hybrid form, panted, supporting himself with one knee before standing up straight.
"Isn't he supposed to fall?" Artoria frowned. "Ancient species users really are tough."
Jack's eyes bulged with rage as his elephant-like legs stomped toward Artoria. "Who do you think I am?!"
The rumbling sound of his body shaking the ground, small sand and dust bouncing on the surface, Jack's violent charge shattered the space in an instant. He whipped up a fierce storm and in the blink of an eye, was right in front of Artoria.
Using his massive arm span, Jack swung his scimitar from several meters away, fiercely slashing toward Artoria.
Facing the incoming storm and attack, Artoria bent her knees and raised her sword. A dark, ominous magical energy surged from her holy sword, condensing into a beam of black light, which she slashed forward.
The black light infused with Haki rushed toward Jack's oncoming massive form.
Jack's giant body halted instantly as the thick beam sent him flying back.
"How many times has Lord Jack been sent flying?!" The pirates gasped in shock.
"Damn—!" Jack roared in fury. "Is this all you can do?!"
Upon hearing this, Artoria planted the Oath Victory Sword into the ground, her right hand extended forward, fingers slowly closing as she provoked: "Come at me, you bastard!"
Jack roared angrily as his massive toes struck the ground, cracking the earth beneath him as he advanced.
As he charged forward, his elephant trunk lifted high, and in the next moment, a powerful shockwave rang out, with a violent wind whipping through the area, Artoria's hair whipping wildly in the storm.
Artoria remained unfazed as she reached out with her armored hands, choosing to directly take on Jack's attack.
The elephant trunk collided violently with her hands, sending a deafening crash through the ground. The land itself was torn apart by the force of their collision.
Artoria gripped the elephant trunk tightly, engaging in primal struggle with Jack.
"Let go!" Jack roared, but he couldn't pull his trunk back.
Artoria tightly held onto it, twisting her body and using all her strength to throw Jack down!
With a powerful over-the-shoulder throw, Jack's massive body lost its balance and was yanked into the air before slamming down heavily, crashing into a giant crater created by his own body.
Jack's subordinates stared in disbelief: "How did she do that?!"
"It's over." Artoria withdrew her holy sword and raised the Oath Victory Sword high. Magic energy, shaped like bubbles, floated around her. Upon breaking, they merged into black light and mixed with the sword, a curse of purple light and endless darkness swirling together.
"King's Hammer, Reverse Dawn—"
The powerful magical energy erupted from the holy sword, with the purple-black torrent of energy seeming to connect heaven and earth.
"Don't underestimate me!" Jack struggled to rise, curling his elephant trunk as he prepared to strike Artoria again.
"Devour the Light, Oath Victory Sword!"
Like the breath of a magical dragon, the pitch-black light shot out from the holy sword, heading straight for Jack, the "Drought."
The darkness came before Jack's eyes, and without hesitation, he swung his trunk to counter the incoming extreme light attack.
(END CHAPTER)
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