"Lightning... The lightning turned into a giant bird!"
The blue-white discharge illuminated Aisa's small, stunned face. She stared at the thunderbird that had occupied her entire field of vision in an instant, and a sense of unprecedented dread surged in her heart.
(Am I going to die?)
The thought flashed through Aisa's mind, only to be extinguished in the very next second.
—Mirror Reflection: Refraction!
Whoosh!
The thunderbird, radiating an aura of absolute destruction, seemed to slam into an invisible barrier. Just meters away from the Sorcerer, it took a sharp "L-shaped" turn and, without slowing down, plummeted straight into the golden ark nearby.
BOOM!!! Terrifying arcs of electricity flared!
Accompanied by a violent explosion and debris flying in every direction, Enel's precious ark was blasted with a massive hole by his own thunderbird!
"Eh?! Σ(°Д°;)"
The God of Thunder, who had just been wearing a look of arrogant disdain, was instantly dumbfounded. Even though his Mantra was considered god-tier, he had never anticipated such a bizarre occurrence.
"The attack... was deflected?!"
Aisa covered her small mouth in shock. She tugged on a certain bespectacled man's sleeve. "Hey, hey, Sherlock, did you do that?"
"Me? To think I actually missed."
Before Sherlock could answer, Enel suddenly burst into laughter. He reached up to pat his head, which was wrapped in a white turban, and consoled himself: "It's been a long time since I used that move; my aim has really gone to hell. You two truly are blessed by God, Yahahahaha..."
Enel laughed loudly, yet for some reason, the God of Thunder's laughter felt a bit forced.
"He missed?"
Aisa shot a peculiar look at the massive hole Enel had just blasted into the ark. She thought to herself: If that was actually a miss, your aim is beyond pathetic!
[Decent power, but lightning of this level still hasn't reached the upper limit of Mirror Reflection.]
Silently gauging the power of the thunderbird from moments ago, Sherlock lightly pushed up his glasses. After days of research, the Sorcerer had gained a deeper understanding of this near-instinctive "Mirror Reflection" ability.
The principle of Mirror Reflection—deflecting external attacks—actually involved a conversion from "reality" to "void" at the moment of contact, redirecting the attack in that split second.
Compared to physical entities like fists or cannonballs, Logia-type energy attacks were undoubtedly easier to convert.
Therefore, while the Sorcerer currently had no way to deal with a Logia user, it was equally difficult for Logia attacks to do anything to him.
Of course, a certain long-eared fellow was never going to believe in such "heresy."
"But even with God's blessing, your act of stealing offerings constitutes a capital offense!"
Thump! Thump! Enel struck his taiko drums twice in succession.
ROAR—!
Along with a dragon's cry, a blue-white bolt of lightning, far more dazzling than the previous thunderbird, formed into a long, snarling dragon. Amidst the flashing light, the crackling of the current made Aisa, watching from a distance, subconsciously swallow her spit.
—60 Million Volts: Thunder Dragon!
Under Enel's control, the long draconic body, which continuously discharged electricity, circled once in mid-air before lunging toward the Sorcerer again!
—Mirror Reflection: Refraction!
BOOM!!! The terrifying electric arcs flared once more!
History repeated itself with striking similarity. The dragon-shaped lightning was deflected and surged straight toward the Ark Maxim. Its destructive power, far exceeding that of the thunderbird, reduced a massive propeller to splinters. The high temperatures generated by the intense current even scorched the ark's wooden deck, sending up billows of black smoke.
(Ark Maxim: "FCK! I'm just lying here and I still get struck by lightning? Why am I always the one getting hurt?")*
"You... you... what kind of ability is this?!"
Enel looked at his precious ark, which had been heavily damaged once again, and then at the completely unscathed and composed Sorcerer. He was utterly stunned. His eyes bulged, his mouth hung wide open, and he nearly tumbled off his puff-cloud. Where was the usual arrogance and laziness?
"I ate the Paramecia-type Mirror-Mirror Fruit. I can reflect all external attacks, just as a mirror reflects sunlight."
Sherlock maintained a straight face as he forcefully bluffed. In truth, that 60-million-volt Thunder Dragon had already put considerable pressure on the Sorcerer. He estimated that if this God of Thunder increased the voltage by another level, it might exceed the reflection limit of Mirror Reflection.
(As expected of the most violent lightning in nature, this power is no joke.) Sherlock clicked his tongue inwardly.
"So amazing! That's basically an invincible ability!" A certain red-haired brat believed him instantly, her eyes sparkling with little stars.
"How is that possible? I ate the strongest Logia-type Devil Fruit! How could a mere Paramecia user like you..."
Enel, whose mental fortitude wasn't exactly ironclad, wore a look of complete mental breakdown. He suddenly felt that this world had become quite strange.
[There is no enemy that a single bolt of lightning cannot solve. If there is, use two.]
This was the theorem Enel had always lived by. But today, the self-proclaimed invincible God of Thunder had encountered an enemy who broke that theorem for the first time!
(Wait, hold on. I need to calm down.)
Taking a deep breath, the God of Thunder jumped down from his cloud, the four taiko drums on his back rattling. He wiped the thin sweat from his forehead, his gaze toward the Sorcerer filled with apprehension.
Perhaps intimidated by Sherlock's expression and words, Enel didn't dare continue striking the Sorcerer with lightning. If they followed the script of the previous two times, his newly completed Ark Maxim would surely be torn to shreds by his own bolts.
"Oh? You're not going to make a move?"
Sherlock secretly let out a sigh of relief. If Enel had increased the voltage again, things would have been truly difficult. He pushed up his glasses with a calm expression and raised his hand with a flick of his mind.
"In that case, it's my turn."
—Mirror Image Manifestation!
Whoosh— A blood-colored long spear, looking as if it were forged from fresh blood, materialized out of thin air beside Sherlock.
"What is this?"
Enel's brow furrowed. The moment that blood-red spear appeared, his powerful Mantra sensed a strange fluctuation from it, as if there were some unknown connection between him and the weapon.
"Are you planning to stab me to death with that weird spear, Blue-Sea dweller?"
Pushing that inexplicable feeling to the back of his mind, Enel flashed a mocking smile. "Don't you understand? Physical attacks like that are useless against me. No matter how hard a mortal tries, they cannot strike 'Lightning'!"
(As expected, I am still invincible!)
The smile on Enel's face grew even brighter. The God of Thunder realized that while his lightning couldn't hurt the Sorcerer, the opponent couldn't harm him either.
"Yes, I am aware of that," Sherlock nodded solemnly as his fruit ability activated once more.
—Five-Fold Mirror Fusion: God-Killing Spear!
Voom—!
Under the astonished gazes of Enel and Aisa, the blood-red spear suddenly flashed with a blinding crimson light! Its aura surged violently, and in an instant, it expanded into a massive sphere of blood-colored light, bathing the entire area in a crimson glow.
(Just what kind of bizarre fruit did he eat?) ×2
Looking up at the blood-red orb containing terrifying energy, Enel and Aisa both asked the same question in their hearts. The Sorcerer's ability was simply too incomprehensible.
(And where did this strange spear come from?)
After the Mirror Fusion, the spear's power skyrocketed, and that eerie sensation Enel felt became even more pronounced. He was certain that this spear, radiating light like a miniature sun, was a major problem!
"Hey, Blue-Sea dweller, that weapon of yours is—"
However, before Enel could finish his question, the Sorcerer's next move nearly made the "God" bite his own tongue.
"I am well aware that this attack is ineffective against a Logia's elementalization. So, from the very beginning, my target wasn't you, but this..."
As he spoke, Sherlock's slender finger pointed to the side. The blood spear vibrating with terrifying energy immediately trembled, and its tip, seemingly capable of piercing the heavens, slowly turned toward—The Ark Maxim!
"I noticed you kept attacking this big ship earlier. I assume you must really hate it." A graceful curve formed at the corner of the Sorcerer's mouth, but in Enel's eyes, that smile was no different from a devil's.
"So, allow me to help you! No need to thank me; I've always been 'happy to help'."
God-Killing Spear: Gungnir!
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