Chapter 426: Silence
"Dum... dum dum... dum—"
The low melody sounded like a heartbeat from the underworld, booming between heaven and earth with a suffocating rhythm.
The sky abruptly cracked open, and a hideous black fissure tore through the void!
Countless pitch-black musical notes poured out from it. They bit and twisted like starved beasts, eventually coalescing into a colossal, indescribable silhouette.
"KABOOM—!!!"
The earth trembled. The entire mental world looked as if it were going to collapse at any moment!
—It was a giant, demonic figure.
Its face was deathly pale. It possessed no lower body; only a blurry void connected it to mid-air.
A tuft of bizarre, messy yellow hair stood atop its head, looking as if it were being scorched by flames.
Its mouth stretched all the way to the roots of its ears. A maw full of fangs dripped black musical notes amidst a twisted smile.
Its right eye was a black hole that swallowed everything, while its left eye flashed with a blood-red "X", the light piercing people's hearts like a curse.
A black cloak billowed wildly, and an exaggeratedly large top hat swayed in the wind.
Flames licked the air, yet bizarrely emitted no heat at all, like a reaper's elegy.
"Dum... dum dum dum!!!"
As the melody continued, the colossal demon completely solidified, hovering mid-air in the dreamscape, looking down upon the masses below.
"Wh... what exactly is that thing?!!"
Baby-5's face was deathly pale. Her legs shook, and tears were welling up in her eyes.
Usopp's entire body was stiff. His Adam's apple bobbed: "This is already... beyond a level humans can fight against...!!"
Law gripped Kikoku tightly, his veins bulging as he spoke hoarsely: "It was born from her singing?! Is this... a special ability of her Devil Fruit?!"
Nami's heart pounded wildly, her eyes filled with terror: "Is this... is this the New Genesis she was talking about?!!"
—Just as everyone was reeling in shock!
"BOOM!!!!"
A flash of sword light swept across heaven and earth!
Shanks roared out a "Kamusari (Divine Departure)"! Gryphon erupted with a blinding Haki shockwave, forcibly knocking back the obstructing Luffy by dozens of meters!
The air was torn apart, the void fissures instantly shattering!
Luffy rolled to a stop, roaring: "BASTARD RED HAIR!!!"
However, Shanks had absolutely no time to care about him at this moment.
His eyes were locked dead onto that colossal, grotesque figure in mid-air. The blood in his veins practically solidified, and veins popped on his forehead!
His voice was so hoarse it trembled, yet it carried unprecedented fear and fury. His roar shook heaven and earth:
"Tot Musica...!!!"
"The Demon Lord that destroyed Elegia... why has it appeared in Uta's mental world?!"
Upon hearing this, Law and Nami's hearts jolted, their breathing instantly stopping!
"Wh... what?!" Nami was deathly pale, her voice practically choking.
Law stared dead at the colossal shadow, his voice hoarse: "The truth behind Elegia's destruction all those years ago... was actually this thing?!!"
—However, the colossal, grotesque shadow seemed to sense the threat from the outside.
"Kee—keekee..."
Tot Musica's twisted, sinister grin abruptly widened. In the next second, it violently raised its arm!
"BONG—!!!"
Uta's body suddenly jolted, and an even higher-pitched melody leaked uncontrollably from her throat!
"The Second Movement—!!!"
The music boomed, and the earth fractured!
The Demon Lord's size expanded frantically. Its original messy yellow hair grew into twisted, long green hair that whipped about like venomous snakes.
The fingertips on its hands elongated, transforming into pitch-black, razor-sharp claws.
The fangs in its mouth grew even sharper, and its grinning mouth split almost entirely past its ears.
The top hat on its head twisted, transforming into a crocodile-like helmet!
"AAARGHHAAH—!!!"
Uta's body struggled agonizingly in mid-air, yet she was still forced to sing! Her red and white hair drifted weakly, and her pupils gradually lost focus.
Unprecedented terror and fury surfaced in Shanks' eyes!
"Damn it... It's... forcibly extracting Uta's life force?!!"
"YOU BASTARD!!! STOP RIGHT NOW—!!!"
"Dum dum dum dum—!!!"
Before the Second Movement even concluded, the melody climbed once again!
"The Third Movement—!!!"
With a massive boom, Tot Musica's form completely twisted, transforming into an even more abstract, unlookable evil god!
Its original cloak vanished, revealing a slimy, grotesque, pudding-like lower half.
A pair of extra arms suddenly sprouted from the sides of its body, five claws spread wide as if capable of tearing the entire world apart!
Giant wings extended from its back, every single feather shimmering with an ominous glow.
Its fangs became even more hideous, and its messy hair expanded into uncontrollable green flames.
The hat on its head completely deformed into a crown inlaid with red gemstones and golden crocodiles!
At this moment, that mouth that had been forever locked in a sinister grin—finally, completely turned into a visage of pure rage!
Heaven and earth instantly fell dead silent!
"Kamusari (Divine Departure)—!!!"
Gryphon flashed with a blistering red light. Conqueror's Haki erupted like a volcano, transforming into a massive red slash that spanned heaven and earth!
"BOOM!!!!"
The slash struck like the wrath of a god, tearing the entire sky apart as it lunged straight at the Demon Lord with world-destroying momentum!
However—
Tot Musica merely raised one of its giant claws and swatted at it casually.
"CRACK—!!!"
That red slash, capable of cleaving mountains and rivers, actually shattered instantly in mid-air, turning into countless powerless specks of light!
"H-How is that possible?!!"
Law, Nami, Sanji, Usopp, and Baby-5 all lost their voices in terror simultaneously, their hearts feeling as if gripped by an invisible giant hand!
Tot Musica's face was full of wrath. Its wings trembled as it prepared to completely shroud the world in darkness!
Law's breathing quickened. His hand gripped Kikoku's hilt tightly, blue light condensing at the tip of the blade.
"R·ROOM—"
Just as he was about to unleash the Op-Op Fruit's Awakening power once again—
"AAARGHH—!!!!"
Tot Musica's colossal body suddenly convulsed! Its wide, sinister grin abruptly stiffened, before it let out a deafening roar of agonizing pain!
"VROOM-VROOM-VROOM—!!!"
The entire dream space looked as if it had been struck by a giant hammer. Cracks spread frantically, the void collapsed, and the musical notes turned to dust, scattering and melting away!
"Wh... what's happening?!!"
Shanks' expression changed drastically. He stared dead at the collapsing illusion, his pupils shrinking violently.
A lazy, lackadaisical voice drifted slowly from the depths of nothingness:
"Hello—Moshi moshi~ Little Law-Law, can you hear me~?"
"!!!"
Law's body jolted. Several veins instantly popped on his forehead, and the corner of his eye twitched wildly.
He gripped Kikoku tightly, his teeth grinding together: "Damn it... at a time like this—!!!"
Baby-5's ears twitched. She immediately recognized that tone and gasped: "Uncle Rosinante?!!"
"BOOM!!!"
As her words fell, the entire dream space abruptly and completely shattered!
Countless specks of light danced in all directions. Heaven and earth instantly collapsed, like a mirror being smashed into countless pieces.
Everyone's vision went black, and their bodies suddenly felt light—
"SWOOSH—!"
Their consciousness violently returned!
—The real world! The concert venue at the Sabaody Archipelago!
At this moment, a tall figure stood quietly in the center of the stage.
White trousers, pink heart-patterned shirt, a Rear Admiral's cape draped over his shoulders, and half a cigarette dangling from the corner of his mouth.
It was none other than—Marine Rear Admiral, Rosinante!
Around his body, a pale purple circular halo continuously expanded, rippling outward like waves of water.
Beside him, Uta's eyes were squeezed shut. Her lips were still moving slightly, as if she were still singing—
But the stage and the entire venue were completely dead silent.
—Not a single sound could be heard.
"Th-This is...!!"
Shanks' entire body jolted, staring at that halo of light in disbelief.
Rosinante lazily exhaled a puff of smoke, the corner of his mouth curling up slightly:
"The Nagi Nagi no Mi (Calm-Calm Fruit)."
"It can make any sound—until I allow it—completely vanish."
The entire venue was completely silent, as if the musical movement of the entire world had been forcibly put on "mute."
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