Chapter 495: Conqueror's Coating: Dragon Claw Fist
—Mary Geoise Battlefield.
Raging flames churned, lightning tore through the air, and gold and hurricanes intersected. The entire Holy Land seemed to have descended into an apocalyptic purgatory.
At the center of the battlefield, gunpowder smoke and furious roars blended together, heaven and earth rumbling endlessly.
Led by Saint Junzi and Saint Mafi, the God's Knights relied on their "immortal bodies" and combat skills that transcended human limits.
Even facing the dual fierce assaults of Sakazuki and Sabo, they were still able to forcibly maintain the upper hand relying on their tenacious regenerative abilities.
But—when the Golden Emperor Gild Tesoro, the Okama Way Queen Emporio Ivankov, and the Revolutionary Army Commander Karasu charged into the battlefield, all balance was instantly shattered!
"Gold-Gold: Golden Domain—!!!"
"Shadow Crow: Binding Array!!!"
Two furious shouts echoed almost simultaneously, and heaven and earth instantly plunged into a chaotic, explosive storm!
The gold beneath Tesoro's feet spread like a tidal wave, nearly covering the entire battlefield.
The metal twisted and expanded, instantly transforming into countless golden pillars and spires, trapping the enemies within a golden cage.
Karasu's shadow curtain surged. Pitch-black wings rising from the ground shrouded the firmament, devouring vision and light.
"Caw—!!"
Countless crows formed from soot instantly solidified into physical forms, binding the enemies' footsteps.
Ivankov's five fingers transformed into long needles, and a series of bizarre injection sounds rang out across the battlefield.
"Emporio: Tension Hormone - Safe Version!!!"
Accompanied by a snap, Sakazuki and Sabo's auras instantly skyrocketed. Their muscles bulged, Haki overflowed, and even the air vibrated!
Sakazuki's magma roared, transforming into a flowing hellish torrent. Every step he took completely melted the ground.
"Hellhound Pack—!!!"
Over a dozen giant hounds made of magma charged out, shattering the earth as they lunged straight into the God's Knights' formation!
Sabo, meanwhile, flipped in mid-air, gripping fiercely with his five fingers. A giant rock manipulated by the Float-Float Fruit was instantly highly compressed and shaped into a massive spear, imbued with ultimate kinetic energy and piercing power.
"Dragon Claw Fist: Meteor Spear!!!"
"BOOM—!!"
Magma, golden light, and shadows intertwined. The God's Knights retreated step by step, their defensive line completely torn open.
Although they could reorganize their flesh relying on their "immortal bodies," they had been pushed to their limits. Every regeneration was more difficult than the last.
Amidst the raging fire, Saint Mafi propped up an energy barrier, panting as she wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth.
Her sunglasses had long shattered, the charred fragments embedded in the side of her face. A trace of unease flickered deep in her eyes.
"Hey, hey, hey... This is really not good—"
She glanced toward the horizon from the corner of her eye.
—There, Monkey D. Dragon, who had originally been standing shoulder to shoulder with Garp, had vanished.
"Where did... that guy go?"
Before she could react, a bizarre sound of wind abruptly echoed.
The sound was incredibly faint, yet it made a chill run down her spine in an instant.
CRACK—
The air... fractured.
WHOOSH—SNIKT—!!!
The wind swept in from all directions, rolling up rubble and fresh blood.
In that instant, Saint Mafi only felt her spine turn ice-cold, as if death had brushed past from behind.
"—Formless Wind Scar."
A low whisper brushed past her ear. In the next second—
PFFT—!!!
Blood splattered! Saint Mafi's body was instantly sliced in half by an invisible wind blade!
The cut was smooth and silent. Before her consciousness could even react, even her soul felt torn apart in the wind's vibration!
"Cough..."
"What... what kind of... power is this..."
Saint Mafi spat out fresh blood. Her voice was hoarse and trembling, holding terror within her shock.
Above the hurricane, a figure slowly materialized.
His trench coat snapping fiercely in the squall, Dragon stood upon the void. His black hair flew wildly, his aura as sharp as a deity descending to the mortal realm.
He raised his right hand, the wind condensing into a spiral at his fingertips.
"The wind is formless and traceless, yet it can destroy everything."
"You—!!!"
Saint Mafi's bisected body twitched violently in mid-air. Black flames churned, spawning countless twisted masses of flesh and bone spurs from the severed ends.
Her upper and lower halves, cleanly severed by the wind, were actually pulling toward each other and reorganizing in the air. Accompanied by ear-piercing cracking sounds, they reassembled back into a complete form!
She bared her ghastly fangs, the madness deep in her eyes winding like a venomous snake.
"Hahahaha!!!"
"I am immortal! How could a mere gust of wind possibly kill a God's Knight!!!"
Amidst her furious roar, she opened her mouth to gather energy. Her chest puffed up, and a blinding light flashed at her throat.
"Go to hell—!!!"
"BOOM—!!!"
A pure white beam of energy abruptly blasted out, shooting straight into mid-air and illuminating the entire battlefield!
That beam of light, capable of melting steel and destroying mountain peaks, headed straight for Dragon's chest!
However, facing this devastating attack—
"—Hoo."
Dragon merely let out a light breath, the hem of his coat lifting.
In the next instant, his body transformed into a current of wind, completely dissipating.
That pillar of energy shot straight through the firmament but hit absolutely nothing, leaving only a scorched vacuum rift in the air.
"Wh—!" Saint Mafi's expression changed drastically.
The wind swept in from all directions.
"Too slow."
A calm voice suddenly came from beside her. Saint Mafi whipped her head around—
Dragon had already rematerialized right in front of her.
His black hair danced in the wind, and the air currents around him orbited as if alive, howling and vibrating.
"So this is the 'immortal body' Roy spoke of?"
He furrowed his brows slightly, saying coldly, "How truly troublesome..."
As his words fell, Saint Mafi grinned and laughed maniacally, her voice hoarse and crazed: "Hahahaha—!!!"
"Did you think you could kill me—?!!"
She spread her arms wide, the black flames igniting once again. The bones inside her body cracked and popped, as if showing off her immortal properties.
Dragon remained silent.
He merely slowly raised his right hand, spreading his five fingers.
In a split second, the direction of the wind across the entire battlefield completely changed.
The originally raging storm suddenly whirled backwards. All the air currents converged madly into his palm, forming a visible, spiraling vortex of air.
The air detonated, and heaven and earth trembled!
Black and red lightning coiled around his arm. The fierce gale gathered at terrifying speeds, transforming into a giant dragon's claw constructed from air currents infused with Haki!
The air pressure was so strong that even space itself was collapsing!
"This aura—!!!"
Everyone on the battlefield felt a jolt in their hearts. Even Sakazuki below turned his head to look.
And facing this overwhelming pressure, Saint Mafi's smile finally froze, her pupils shrinking sharply.
"Th... this is impossible—!!!"
"Y... you actually have it too—"
"Conqueror's—!!!"
Before her words could fall—
"Conqueror's Coating: Dragon Claw Fist - Cry of Liberation!!!"
Dragon let out a low roar, blasting the claw forward!
"BOOM——————!!!!"
The gale roared like a furious dragon, the airwaves rolling all the way up to the firmament!
In that moment, the entirety of Mary Geoise trembled!
The power of the hurricane abruptly erupted, thoroughly tearing Saint Mafi's physical body and black flame armor to shreds!
Conqueror's Haki swept over like a tsunami. Red and black lightning pierced straight into her soul, tearing her core of immortality right out from the depths of her consciousness!
With a final crushing grip, the Haki-infused air currents solidified into physical form, annihilating space, flesh, and soul all together!
"Ahhh—!!!"
Her agonized scream instantly dissipated into the storm. The sound was swallowed completely, not even leaving an echo behind.
Heaven and earth trembled. The fierce gale swept in all directions, the shockwaves pounding the mountains and ruins, tossing the waves on the sea horizon hundreds of meters high!
Everything returned to silence.
In the air, only the fractured air currents remained howling.
Saint Mafi's figure completely vanished; not even ashes remained.
Dragon slowly retracted his hand. The storm around his arm gradually dissipated, leaving only a wisp of a gentle breeze brushing past his palm.
"Your 'immortality'—was merely a borrowed illusion."