This novel is finished, and I have posted all the advanced chapters on my Patreon https://www.patreon.com/darkshadow6395
From the very instant he touched the statue, Rowen sensed that something was wrong.
While they were devouring the power of the God into their own bodies, there was also some kind of force that, in turn, was binding them to it.
Think of a cup of steaming hot water. If you're not sure whether the outside of the cup is hot, wouldn't you cautiously test it first?
First with your fingertip, then your finger, then your palm.
In this regard, Rowen was completely different from Imu, who impatiently grabbed the cup and gulped it down.
So Rowen noticed the abnormality immediately, unlike Imu, who only realized it when it was already too late to escape.
Seeing Rowen's actions, the revived statue's eyes burst forth with divine light.
"Bastard!"
Rowen had taken so much of its power, and all it wanted was to reclaim the divine origin within Imu's body, yet even that was refused. This was simply欺人太甚, going too far!
But soon, noticing the ruined surroundings, the statue frowned.
"She actually failed?"
"Taking my power and still unable to deal with even the weakest evil god she summoned, utterly useless!"
The strange muttering made Rowen cast a sympathetic glance at the plant-like remains on the ground. From those words alone, a cruel truth could be easily inferred.
No wonder the statue possessed such bizarre power.
Because this had been a trap all along!
The other party had deliberately lured Imu, the evil god who sought to seize the world, into the temple, offering him up for the statue to absorb… After all, this was an existence that, with only a portion of the power it had sent out, had been able to suppress Imu at his peak eight hundred years ago!
Imu's invasion eight to nine hundred years ago was no accident; it was an inevitability carefully orchestrated by someone.
That had been the plan.
However, as Rowen had said before, things depend on people; there is no such thing as a truly perfect plan. The rebellion of the Twenty Kings eight hundred years ago had been beyond their expectations.
"But… who are you?"
The statue slowly turned its head, asking in confusion.
"You're a little different from us."
At this, Rowen grinned. Eight hundred years later, his arrival had also been beyond their expectations!
"If I said I was just passing by, would you let me leave?"
"Of course not."
The statue suddenly opened its eyes, a majestic and oppressive aura enveloping the entire temple.
"If you had handed him over to me just now, I wouldn't have wanted to make more enemies. You could have left safely."
"But now… Since you can devour the divine power within him, then presumably… you also possess the same kind of power."
As it spoke, the solemnity on its face abruptly vanished, leaving only naked greed.
In truth, this was its real face. If it were truly as "reasonable" as it appeared, how could it have laid a trap to cannibalize its own kind?
Cannibalism in ancient times of war and famine was tragic and pitiable, but in modern society, it was nothing short of horrifying.
Boom!!
As the words fell, without any visible movement, the statue vanished from Rowen's sight, as if frames had been removed from a video. In one frame it was still inside the temple; in the next, it was already right in front of him.
"Pff… cough, cough!"
A heavy punch slammed into Rowen's abdomen, making him spit out a mouthful of blood mixed with fragments of shattered organs. Yet the statue seemed unsatisfied, closing its eyes in contemplation.
"As I thought… you too are a great rebel who seeks to seize divine power!"
With that, the statue completed a turn and raised its leg in the blink of an eye, its heel mercilessly smashing toward Rowen's temple.
Eye of the Firmament!
In an instant, Rowen's eyes turned a deep azure blue. As lightning filled with destructive intent surged forth, the statue's movement slowed for a split second. But soon, the tiny arcs of electricity in the void were shattered, and its speed exploded once more.
Still, that brief gap was enough.
Shuā!
Rowen ducked instantly, letting the attack skim past the back of his head.
Pa!!!
A violent explosion rang in his ears. A black mirror-like distortion appeared at human height.
The attack was fast, but not fast enough to shatter space. Divine power, like Armament Haki, could amplify attack power; only with that boost could the opponent shatter space using pure physical technique alone.
If that kick had landed cleanly, Rowen's head would have exploded into pulp like a smashed watermelon, no doubt about it. But divine power didn't just strengthen physical techniques. It could enhance all forms of attack.
Boom!!
The surging black flames instantly wrapped around the thunder crescent halberd. Lightning that still carried traces of other colors was soaked through, turning pitch-black.
Seeing this, the statue's gaze grew heavy as it leapt backward to evade.
Bang…!!!
The heavy halberd crashed down. The violent explosion tore the floating small island cleanly in two. Even the island that had barely been damaged by the aftershocks of Rowen and Imu's earlier battle split open from the temple at its center, leaving behind a massive crater.
Only now did Rowen truly understand why.
Looking closely, aside from a thin layer of soil on the surface, the entire small island was made of Seastone!
If he hadn't devoured half of Imu's power along with a portion of the statue's divine strength, and was still relying on the undigested energy inside his body, he really wouldn't have been able to do much to it.
But at that moment, the statue stepped through the air again, blinking closer as if frames had been skipped.
"This power does not belong to you, mortal!"
"In my name, Shiji, I deliver heavenly punishment!"
The statue, no, Shiji, advanced with solemn authority. In each hand, he held a mass of flowing seawater, gathering them together before his chest.
"Ocean's Wrath!"
Shu! Xiu xiu!
As Shiji thrust his palms forward, the dense water projectiles rapidly compressed mid-flight, condensing into crystal-clear Sea Crystals. Like heavy machine guns, they rained down and engulfed Rowen.
If they were ordinary machine guns, Rowen wouldn't have cared. With his body already elementalized into instinct, and with his current Haki strength, whether purely physical damage could even break his defenses was questionable.
But these were Sea Crystals!
And they were wrapped in terrifying divine power!
It was the equivalent of firing low-yield nuclear warheads at machine-gun frequency, so tell me, wouldn't you be afraid?!
The corner of Rowen's eye twitched slightly. The statue, who had suspiciously reported its own name, was using such a painfully familiar technique that there were simply too many things to complain about, and he didn't even know where to start.
That said, his body didn't slow down.
After all, this was an existence that had been able to suppress peak Imu eight hundred years ago using only a portion of its power. Rowen didn't dare to show even the slightest carelessness.
Just from the speed of its attacks, it was clear that even though it had only just revived and had only devoured half of Imu's divine origin, its strength was already far beyond Imu's state with seven Devil Fruits.
On top of that, it was impossible for every Devil Fruit to be developed to the level of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit or the Fuwa Fuwa no Mi. To truly rival Shiji at full power, Imu would likely have needed to successfully seize the world itself and reclaim all Devil Fruits before he even stood a chance.
This wasn't a hunter relying on wisdom and courage to bring down a powerful beast.
It was more like a cat toying with a mouse, an effortless, leisurely slaughter.
Bang bang bang!!
Dense explosions blossomed in midair. Night had already fallen, yet the hemisphere containing the East Blue was lit up brightly by the violent detonations.
Black Thunder · Qilin!
Suddenly, an incomparably massive and majestic beast appeared in the sky. Bathed in the glow of the explosions, its jet-black scales looked vividly real.
With crimson eyes blazing, the Qilin, transformed from an auspicious beast into a ferocious monster, let out a furious roar and lunged forward.
Boom! Boom!
Shiji's eyes narrowed slightly. He halted his attack and swung both arms in succession, smashing the black thunder apart into explosions.
But at that instant, Rowen abruptly appeared behind him.
Chi…!
His body was still stained with the terrifying crimson left behind by the explosions, yet his eyes were unwavering, his battle intent surging.
Noticing Rowen's rapidly healing injuries, Shiji raised an eyebrow.
"So that's it… the Void God? Undying and indestructible?"
Rowen raised an eyebrow in return.
"You seem… not to possess Imu's ability to control Devil Fruits?"
The halberd barely grazed Shiji's shoulder, leaving behind a shallow cut. If it had been Imu, the Dark-Dark Fruit would have surged forth, healing it in the blink of an eye.
But Shiji didn't.
From the slight furrow in Shiji's brow, Rowen was certain, it wasn't reluctance, nor some hidden scheme.
Shiji simply didn't have that capability.
(End of Chapter)