At this moment, Lancelot seemed to transform into a deity descending from the heavens.
The Devil's Triangle had always been shrouded in thick mist, dense enough to envelop the entire region.
Yet now, all the mist appeared to be drawn by some powerful gravitational force, surging frantically toward the sky.
The mist rapidly converged and condensed in the air, instantly forming layer upon layer of heavy clouds.
Moreover, these clouds continued to expand and spread at an astonishing rate.
In just three short seconds, centered around Thriller Bark, the mist over the entire vast expanse of the sea had completely vanished.
In its place were thick, majestic clouds that blotted out the sky, enveloping the entire sea like a colossal canopy.
"This... this can't be!" Crocodile's eyes widened involuntarily, his face filled with disbelief.
Even for someone as powerful as him, witnessing such a phenomenon—one capable of altering the sky and manipulating the weather—was a first in his life.
"This is bad..."
The next moment, the once snow-white clouds began to darken at a staggering speed.
In the blink of an eye, they turned as black as ink, as if swallowed by endless darkness.
Finally, the blackness grew so dense it seemed almost ready to drip.
At this point, if he still didn't understand what was about to happen, then Crocodile would be nothing short of a fool.
Crocodile's expression shifted drastically, beads of sweat the size of peas rolling down his forehead.
He knew full well that this was a critical moment of life and death
. If he didn't give it his all, the situation awaiting him would likely turn extremely unfavorable.
"Desert King Diamond Blade!"
With a furious roar, Crocodile unleashed his ultimate move without hesitation.
Instantly, his hands transformed into four massive sand blades, gleaming with a cold light, several times sharper than his previous Desert Blade.
Even the hardest, thickest rock walls would be as fragile as soft tofu before these four sand blades.
Their sharpness was simply unimaginable; it seemed as though they could effortlessly slice through anything in the world.
However, just then, a deafening rumble erupted from the clouds in the sky.
'Crackle, Boom...'
Immediately afterward, terrifying bolts of lightning rampaged wildly within the clouds, like ferocious dragons baring their fangs and brandishing their claws.
"Falling Thunder!"
Lancelot's gaze was icy as he watched Crocodile's every move.
Seeing his opponent launch an attack, he abruptly swung his arm, which had been raised toward the sky.
In an instant, the lightning in the clouds seemed to obey his command, converging into a thunderbolt as thick as a barrel, descending from the heavens with the force to annihilate all in its path.
"BOOM..."
Accompanied by an ear-splitting roar, an overwhelmingly terrifying thunderbolt shot down from the sky, heading straight for Crocodile.
The blinding flash of lightning illuminated the entire sky, making it nearly impossible to look directly at it.
The thunderbolt struck fiercely against the four massive sand blades gripped tightly in Crocodile's hands.
In an instant, the seemingly indestructible sand blades shattered like fragile glass under the thunderous impact, disintegrating into countless fine particles of dust that scattered into the air.
But the power of this thunderbolt did not end there. Its momentum unabated, it continued forward, piercing straight through Crocodile's entire body.
The immense force caused his body to explode violently, as if a bomb had been detonated.
If not for Crocodile being a Logia user, capable of elemental transformation, this single thunderbolt would have either killed him or left him severely wounded.
Yet, at that very moment, Lancelot, standing in the distance, softly uttered another command.
"Rain, come!"
As his words faded, the sky, already dark, began to howl with a fierce gale.
Immediately after, a torrential downpour cascaded from the clouds like a colossal water curtain, instantly enveloping the entire area.
To everyone's astonishment, the remnants of Crocodile's body, which had just been blasted into fine grains of sand, now seemed drawn by some mysterious force, rapidly converging together.
In the blink of an eye, the sand coalesced into a complete human form—Crocodile had miraculously revived.
This was the formidable power of elemental transformation.
However, despite successfully reassembling his body, Crocodile showed no trace of joy on his face.
On the contrary, as he looked up at the pouring rain, an involuntary sense of dread welled up in his heart.
After all, such a widespread and dense downpour was nothing short of a nightmare for him.
In these conditions, no matter how he dodged, it was nearly impossible to evade the rain's assault.
At this moment, Crocodile deeply regretted choosing to engage Lancelot in this fierce battle mid-air.
Had they fought on the ground from the start, he could have rushed into Moria's castle for shelter at the first sign of danger, or even ducked into the nearby forest—either option would have been far better than his current predicament!
Splat, splat…
Bean-sized raindrops pelted his body like countless tiny stones relentlessly striking him.
The rain quickly soaked through his clothes, streaming down his hair and drenching him from head to toe.
Filled with rage and resentment, he had to admit that this was all part of Lancelot's carefully laid plan, forcing him to swallow such a bitter pill.
It was worth noting that summoning clouds and rain was a power belonging to the dragon race.
Yet, such an ability might only cause minor inconveniences for most enemies; for the truly powerful, it was merely an auxiliary form of attack, incapable of posing a substantial threat.
But for Crocodile, a Logia-type Sand-Sand Fruit Ability User, this sudden downpour was nothing less than a catastrophic nightmare.
Saturated by the rain, his Sand-Sand Fruit abilities—his very means of survival—were severely restricted, stripping him of his most crucial defensive capabilities.
At this moment, he was like a ferocious beast with its fangs and claws removed, helplessly watching himself fall into dire straits.
In stark contrast, Lancelot presented an entirely different picture.
He stood firmly in the midst of the pouring rain, his posture as upright as a pine tree, a confident and triumphant smile gracing his face.
This rain was fatal for Crocodile, yet for Lancelot, it seemed to infuse him with an endless stream of power. He felt every cell in his body leaping and cheering with joy.
Slowly, Lancelot spread his arms wide to either side, his hands transforming into a pair of razor-sharp, golden dragon claws.
Between those gleaming claws, dazzling arcs of electricity continuously danced and writhed.