The God's Knights stepped out from the radiance, their figures appearing behind Garin like descending arbiters.
"Did you really think I came unprepared?"
Christopher let out a cold sneer.
Behind him, armored figures gathered in formation.
They came from every corner of the seas
Longleg Tribe, Longarm Tribe, Giant Race, Mink Tribe, Fish-Man Race… and an even greater number of humans.
Every one of them had once been a Slave rescued by Christopher.
In truth, far more had been saved over the years.
Only those with both talent and will had been chosen, tempered into warriors capable of standing on their own.
Individually, they could not rival a God's Knight.
But in numbers and in sheer combat capability
They were more than enough to contend.
Thinking about it, this imbalance was only natural.
The God's Knights were largely selected from the ranks of the Celestial Dragons.
Though that bloodline often carried innate talent, most indulged in decadence, never honing their abilities.
A Celestial Dragon with both talent and discipline was exceedingly rare.
Slaves, on the other hand, were gathered from across the world's strongest races.
Even if their ceilings varied, the odds of producing seasoned fighters among them were far higher.
Garin's face darkened as he took in the scene, veins bulging at his temples:
"Good… good… good!"
"So you've been plotting treason against the World Nobles all along."
"Then today, I will exercise the authority bestowed upon me"
"To pass judgment… and execute you!"
Black lightning crackled across Christopher's blade, weaving into a dense net of Haoshoku.
"Then come."
"Let's see whether your rotten order shatters… or I fall here today!"
Before Garin even drew his sword, the heavens above Mary Geoise were already laced with black lightning.
"Divine Judgment · Annihilation!"
With a single motion, he slashed downward
A black-red bolt tore through the air, scorching everything in its path.
Christopher twisted his blade upward at an impossible angle.
The Armament Haki coating it warped violently upon contact, redirecting the slash skyward
The clouds split open like a canyon.
Garin scoffed:
"You think a Devil Fruit alone is enough to challenge me?"
"Foolish arrogance!"
He stepped forward
Seven afterimages split from his body, each delivering a simultaneous strike.
"Divine Judgment · Afterimage Slash!"
Christopher's pupils shrank.
Through Observation Haki, every trajectory existed at once no illusion.
"Dimensional Collapse!"
His blade trembled at high frequency, each clash wrinkling space itself.
The seven strikes compressed into a single plane
Detonating into a blinding sphere between them.
Garin pressed forward again.
A monstrous force erupted beneath his feet, spreading outward in a fan-shaped shockwave.
Christopher advanced instead of retreating.
Where his blade passed, space twisted like silk under unseen hands, coiling the shockwave into a spiraling barrier.
"Divine Judgment · Soaring Dragon Flash!"
"Space-Time Dislocation!"
The black-red lightning dragon surged forth
Colliding with the hardened spatial barrier in a piercing screech.
Moments later, both shattered into nothingness.
Their blades met again
Only inches apart, edges nearly grazing each other's throats
"Lowly creature, daring to defy the gods?! Today, you die here!"
Shamrock drew his blade, its hum vibrating through the air.
Tiger stepped back half a pace
His foot cracked the ground, and high-pressure water burst upward.
"I came here to show you Celestial Dragons… the wrath of the oppressed!"
Earlier, he had already infused Fish-Man Karate into the bedrock, manipulating the water hidden within the Red Line.
Shamrock twisted his body, Observation Haki guiding him as he evaded the surging streams.
With a flick of his wrist, the blade split
Three black-flamed slashes struck in a triangular formation.
"Fish-Man Jujutsu · Counter Current Wall!"
Tiger crossed his arms, Armament Haki hardening his body like scales.
The slashes struck
Water vaporized into mist upon contact.
Shamrock pressed in instantly.
His blade warped mid-thrust
The hilt became a snarling hound's head lunging for Tiger's throat, while the blade split into barbed chains, sealing escape routes.
Tiger's eyes narrowed this weapon defied all convention.
At the last instant, he snapped his head back.
Fangs grazed his throat.
His foot slammed down
Gravel erupted, swept into a high-pressure torrent forming a dense barrage.
Shamrock smirked:
"Go, Cerberus."
The blade shattered
A three-headed hellhound emerged from the smoke.
Black flames spewed from its center head.
The left clamped onto Tiger's arm.
The right coiled around his legs.
Shamrock, only a year older than Black, was still limited.
Without external enhancements, he was weaker than someone like Shanks, who had honed himself on the seas.
But his weapon bridged that gap
Even granting him the upper hand.
Their battlefield turned into churning water.
Suddenly, Tiger slammed his foot down.
A circular water blade erupted outward
Splitting the flames as he launched skyward.
Mid-air, he twisted
His leg came down like an axe.
The hellhound was blasted back, reforming into a blade in Shamrock's hand.
Tiger landed.
His shoulder was scorched black, embers still smoldering.
They stood apart, breathing heavily.
Shattered droplets hung in the air like diamonds
Reflecting bloodied, exhilarated faces.
Elsewhere
Christopher and Garin clashed again.
Their Conqueror's Haki collided, forming a black-red sphere that crushed nearby buildings into dust.
Tiger and Shamrock were forced back.
The four faced each other across the raging vortex.
Their garments were torn
Yet none bore decisive wounds.
Only the killing intent in their eyes burned brighter than the flames consuming Mary Geoise.
In the next instant
They charged once more.
Amid the chaos, Garin's roar echoed:
"How much longer can you hold out?!"