Chapter 517: The Boss of the Evictors Arrives
"Mr Atostana?"
Seeing the man walking across the surface of the sea toward him, Ryuunosuke spoke almost out of habit.
This stretch of ocean was already the Dragon Hunter Pirates' backyard.
When someone approached from the enemy's side, it was only natural for the captain to step out and greet them.
"Captain Ryuunosuke."
Atostana stopped a short distance away, the reddish orange blade at his side quietly humming with power.
"It is a pleasure to finally meet you in person. I have heard quite a lot about you already."
"I would like to make a small request. Could you return my people to me, for the time being?"
"After all, the original goal of the Evictors was simply to invite Captain Ryuunosuke."
His tone was simple and calm, as if he were discussing the weather.
The "people" he spoke of were naturally Feng Yue and Jin.
However, Jin could no longer be called Jin in the complete sense.
The soul inside that body now belonged to Gaino.
And Gaino was the Ark of Eternity's ship spirit.
No one knew how long he could safely leave the ship's side.
Under those circumstances, there was no way Ryuunosuke could agree.
More than that, he did not intend to agree.
"Mr Atostana, you have misunderstood," Ryuunosuke said, shrugging lightly.
"It is not that I refuse to let them leave. It is that they do not want to leave."
He threw out the line with a casual smile, almost like a joke.
Atostana listened quietly, his expression unchanged.
There was no anger, no irritation, no visible ripple at all.
Just like Jeff from before, it was impossible to tell what he was really thinking.
Enemies like that were the hardest to deal with.
"Since Captain Ryuunosuke has said so, it seems there is no need for me to haggle over that point any further," Atostana replied.
"In that case, let us settle a different matter."
"About Jin of our Evictors team being killed by you."
As his voice fell, a sharp aura exploded from his body.
The surrounding seawater responded instantly.
Lines of invisible force carved through the ocean, splitting the surface open.
Wherever that aura passed, even the waves themselves hesitated to flow back together.
The sea did not dare to heal.
The sheer violence of that force made Atostana's power obvious at a glance.
"Oh? So you already know about that," Ryuunosuke said.
"Yes. He attacked the Dragon Hunter Pirates and was beaten half to death."
"In the end, Feng Yue also chose to attack us. I did not stop him. I let him leave on his own."
"If you have come to take revenge, then by all means… come."
He grinned as he spoke, and an overwhelming aura rose from his body in response.
He had thought this trip would be a simple show where his crew did the fighting while he watched from the side.
He had not expected to be dragged in personally.
But the pressure rolling off Atostana made his blood stir.
This kind of opponent was hard to refuse.
"Heavenly Sword of Gathering Clouds, Burial of the Gods."
Atostana moved without another word.
The sword in his grip blurred, and the world lost its color.
In that instant, everything around Ryuunosuke was swallowed by the onrushing blade.
All he could see was that single stroke.
Everything else vanished.
"Azure Heaven and Yellow Springs, Other Shore."
Ryuunosuke raised the Yellow Springs Pact.
A cold, distant power spread out.
Space itself seemed to freeze.
The long sword that had already reached him halted for a breath.
Of course, in the next instant, that binding force shattered and the stroke surged forward again.
But even a heartbeat was enough.
By the time the sword broke free, Ryuunosuke was already standing at Atostana's side.
The Ame-no-Habakiri in his hand cut across in a horizontal arc.
The slash carried all the rules he had woven into his swordsmanship, including Hill's Severing All Things.
Once struck by that sword, no matter how strong your aura was, there was no way to escape being cut open.
The technique meshed seamlessly with all his other abilities.
A single stroke, and Atostana's body was cleaved in two.
"…Hmm?"
"Just now, you used several different rules at once, did you not?"
"Joy Boy."
"This generation's Joy Boy is quite something."
Ryuunosuke had been about to lower his blade, convinced that even if Atostana was not dead, he would at least be half crippled.
Before he could, a calm voice sounded from the side.
He turned his head.
Atostana was standing there again.
The blow had definitely not been useless.
The aura around Atostana was no longer as steady as before.
Ryuunosuke's sword had opened a crack.
Do not underestimate that gap.
If the Atostana from a moment ago had been wielding strength that exceeded the limits of this world, then the Atostana now was someone who could be killed.
"So your techniques are all named after gods," Ryuunosuke said softly.
"Is that because your goal is to destroy those of us who carry the name of gods?"
"Mr Atostana, you are quite something."
His tone was relaxed, but power was already gathering quietly inside his body.
Atostana had just crossed the Yellow Springs and still managed to stand here.
That alone proved that he was on a different level from all the previous enemies.
After witnessing Atostana's strength, Ryuunosuke grew even more certain of his own guess.
Jeff was definitely a monster of the same class.
Otherwise, there was no way the Guardians and the Evictors could have held each other in check for so many years.
"Captain Ryuunosuke, Jin is dead. That stroke of mine just now can be taken as my answer," Atostana said.
"Leave Fengyue to me, and I will withdraw."
"To be honest, I would rather abandon Jin than become an enemy of Captain Ryuunosuke."
Ryuunosuke, who had been thinking of ways to completely eliminate the man before him, froze for a moment.
What were these people thinking?
Jeff had been the same.
He came storming in, made a mess, expressed his stance in his own way, then retreated.
Now Atostana did exactly the same thing.
They appeared, made their presence known, proved a point, and then tried to bow out.
The more he thought about it, the more wrong it felt.
But no matter how he chased the thought, he could not quite catch the real problem.
"Do you really think the Dragon Hunter Pirates are that easy to push around?"
"You believe that, with your strength, you can freely come and go before me as you please?"
"Then let me see just how strong you really are."
Ryuunosuke raised his hand as he spoke.
A card appeared between his fingers.
"This is…"
For the first time, a hint of panic flashed across Atostana's face.
From that card, he could feel something that did not belong to this world's rules at all.
Once someone reached their level, they gained a certain understanding of the laws that governed this world.
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