"What a pain."
Amidst the relentless bombardment of light bullets, Nojiko dashed behind a massive tree.Her sharp eyes swept the surroundings—more than a dozen Shandian warriors were closing in.
The encounter was sudden and fierce.
The Shandians, who saw all "Blue Sea people" as enemies, immediately opened fire first, unleashing blazing pillars of energy from their Burn Bazookas. Though weaker than the Divine Punishment attacks of the "God's Army," the blasts were still powerful enough to defeat pirates with bounties in the tens of millions.
Unfortunately for them,they had run into a woman who played with fire—Nojiko,who had learned much from Ren, including the application of the Crimson King's Traits.
Simply put, she could instantly create controllable flames within an enemy's fire attack and then redirect or disperse it.
She had taken a few hits in the process, but ultimately succeeded in isolating and reversing the blazing energy pillar.
Gathering the flames into her palm, she formed a deep-blue fireball and hurled it outward—the explosion that followed engulfed the battlefield in roaring light.
When the flames faded,half of the six-man Shandian squad was gone, incinerated on the spot.
Only three remained—their mohawked leader, a long-spear wielder, and a dual-gun marksman whose weapons emitted bursts of blinding light.
If it had been only the three of them, Nojiko could've handled it easily.But the skirmish's noise had drawn others nearby. Within minutes, reinforcements arrived.
They seemed to be following orders to infiltrate Upper Yard and attack the Divine Soldiers—yet drawn by the sound of battle, they ended up facing her, the "Blue Sea woman," by mistake.
There were dozens now. And the ones she'd already defeated were badly burned—fueling their comrades' rage.
It was clear: they wanted revenge.
'This could get troublesome,' she thought grimly.
Her fingers flicked rapidly—arrows of flame scattered outward, driving back those who dared to approach. Then, with a sweeping motion, she summoned a jet of fire that shaped itself into a sword, slicing through incoming long-range shots.
Zzzt—!
The sound of skates gliding across cloud trails echoed as Shandian warriors vaulted among the towering trees.
Wyper dodged the blazing sword that tore through the air, landing on a branch, his eyes narrowing coldly at the fiery figure below. He had miscalculated—this Blue Sea woman was far stronger than expected.He should've left her for the priests to deal with.
But the Shandians were a people bound by loyalty and pride. They never abandoned their kin—nor left vengeance unclaimed.
That meant only one thing: she had to die.
"Wyper, she's strange," said Braham, landing beside him, twin pistols glowing with light. "Our Burn Bazookas only made her stronger. We'll have to coordinate—Kamachy's ready."
"Got it." Wyper nodded and began to adjust his angle of attack.
Below them, the Shandians charged again—only to be driven back by roaring flames.
Then Braham moved. His pistols flared with intense flashes, releasing a barrage of detonations that shook the treetops.
Wreathed in fiery armor, Nojiko raised her hand. The flames around her twisted into a vortex, swallowing the explosions whole.
From the side, above her—Wyper leveled his Burn Bazooka and pressed the trigger. A hiss of gas erupted—followed by a jet of searing blue fire.
'Trying the same trick again, huh?' Nojiko's fingers clenched. The surrounding flames coalesced into a blazing coat that wrapped around her body.
Flame Crown: Prison of the Setting Sun!
Almost instantly, fire erupted through the fallen leaves—turning the forest into an inferno. The blue fire pillar struck—but was deflected, the air expanding violently from the heat of her infernal armor.
"Watch out! The environment's changing again!" someone shouted.
Behind her—Kamachy hurled a cloud shell. A billowing trail of cloud formed a path as he activated his skates, dashing forward at lightning speed, swinging a bizarre weapon—a wooden handle embedded with a rare Laser Dial.
"Burning Sword!" He triggered the dial.
A beam of pale blue light, a hundred meters long, sliced horizontally across the battlefield! Everything in its path—including the giant trees—was cleaved cleanly in two, smooth as glass.
It moved with incredible speed—weightless and unstoppable. In a blink, the light blade was upon her.
"Wahh!" squealed the Sunny Doll on her back. Nojiko turned just in time for the laser sword to cut straight through her waist!
"Got her! Let's fall back—"
Before Kamachy could finish, a ragged doll burst from the flames—and then expanded.
A towering ten-meter bear roared into existence, its landing shaking the ground. A gash split its belly, the kind of wound that would've cut a human in half—but for the bear, it was merely a scratch.
Arcane Art: Substitute!
Molten fire dripped from Tibbers's wound. The giant bear plunged its claw into the gash—and drew out a massive greatsword of flame.
With a thunderous roar, it brought the blade down.
Kamachy's scream was devoured by fire.
The surrounding Shandians were horrified, scrambling to help. But Wyper seized the opening—preparing to strike.
Then Tibbers turned, opening its flaming jaws and spewing out a silver disk into Nojiko's waiting hand.
"Come, wind—heed my command!"
Nojiko grasped the disk—a modified Jet Shell weapon, tuned by Nami herself. A surge of air blasted outward, spiraling into a furious vortex centered on her.
"T-that's… a Jet Shell? Those were extinct!"
Wyper's eyes widened as a crimson reflection filled his vision.
The wind fed the flames, and the flames fed the wind. Fire spread through the trees and dead leaves—and in moments, a storm of fire hundreds of meters wide was born.
Everything—trees, Shandians, weapons—was swallowed whole.
At the eye of the storm, Nojiko opened her hand.
BOOM!
A gigantic firework exploded, lighting up the skies of Upper Yard.
Elsewhere—within the Trial of Balls.
Floating cloud paths and countless white orbs drifted in midair, traps created by Priest Satori.Some hid explosions, snakes, or flames; others released spikes or sky crabs. A few contained nothing dangerous at all—making the battlefield maddeningly unpredictable.
The only way through was to defeat Satori himself. But that was easier said than done.
Urouge had tried everything—only to have each move predicted by Satori's Mantra. And yet, the priest couldn't defeat him either.
The Mad Monk's body could withstand terrifying punishment—he had even survived one of Ren's sword strikes once. Ordinary attacks only fueled his power, letting him counter harder each time.
Thus, they had reached a stalemate.
"Fufufufu~ What fun! The longer this lasts, the more I enjoy it. But don't think you can withstand this forever!" Satori cackled, bouncing between orbs, his round body bobbing like a balloon.
'Damn it,' thought Urouge, frustration written all over his face. He leapt from sphere to sphere, trading blows, ignoring every trap and explosion—but to no avail. Satori's predictions made him nearly untouchable.
Then—
Whoosh—! The sound of burning fire filled the air.
Both fighters froze. One by one, the floating white spheres around them ignited, turning into blazing balls of light. Even the fallen leaves below caught flame spontaneously.
Within seconds,the entire arena of the Trial of Spheres was swallowed by fire.
"What the—?! Did you—?" they shouted in unison—then realized it wasn't either of them.
Before they could react, a massive explosion echoed from afar. A pillar of fire burst into the sky, unleashing a shockwave that tore through the forest.
The fiery wind shredded every burning sphere. Even Urouge and Satori were slammed against the trees, half-buried in wood by the force.
Moments later, charred figures were sent flying from the direction of the explosion—crashing into trunks and leaving human-shaped craters.
A fiery streak arced through the forest sky, crashing onto a cloud path and exploding again.
The flames vaporized the mist—breaking the very path apart.
"That's… the direction of the Trial of Strings?!" Satori gasped, his orange-tinted glasses reflecting the inferno.
Urouge instantly understood. There was only one person whose arrival could set the heavens ablaze like this—
The Flame Queen, Nojiko.
The crimson blaze receded, revealing her silhouette—standing proud amidst the scorched earth.Her flame armor shimmered like molten gold. Beneath her, Wyper lay unconscious, his Mohawk half-burnt, his body riddled with burn marks.
He still clutched his weapon—a Burn Bazooka whose barrel had melted and fused with his own flesh.Even unconscious, he refused to let go.
'What a warrior,' she thought, glancing down. 'Wyper, was it? That weapon of yours—the Burn Bazooka, right?'
She shook her head, stepping past him.
Ren had been right—these people possessed remarkable fighting spirit.But their flame-based weapons…were useless against someone who commanded fire itself.
"Now then… where am I?"
She looked around—and spotted Urouge staring at her, wide-eyed. For a giant of a man, he looked rather pitiful—like Nami caught after a beating.
'Didn't win, huh?'
Nojiko noticed the numerous wounds on his body and sighed. He had clearly fought hard.
"Miss Nojiko," Urouge managed with a strained grin. "Apologies… I haven't taken him down yet."
"Ha-ha-ha! Defeat me? You're a thousand years too early for that!" Satori leapt onto a branch, smirking despite the surrounding fire.
"You came from the Trial of Strings, didn't you? So… is Shura dead? Was it the Shandians who finished him off—and you just picked up the spoils? Or did you take out both Shura and those Shandians yourself?"
"Explaining all that would be tedious." Nojiko raised her hand, silver disk gleaming. "Let's just say—Shura was weak. And so are you."
She activated the Jet Shell again. A tornado of wind erupted, fanning the surrounding flames into a colossal firestorm that shot skyward—swallowing everyone within.
"What—what is this?!"Satori's pudgy face twisted in panic.
Urouge, on the other hand, looked thrilled. "So that's your plan… heh. Interesting."
"It's simple," Nojiko said coolly. "I saw enough to understand your stalemate. So I decided to change the rules."
Her fingers flexed, manipulating the swirling inferno. "See this circle of fire? Step beyond it—and you'll burn to ash, just like those Shandians. And don't think you can stall me out either—this storm is closing in."
Her eyes gleamed."This is now a duel to the death—between the two of you."
"That's not fair!" Satori screamed.
"Who said anything about fair?" Nojiko's smirk mirrored Ren's for a heartbeat before she vanished into the flames—leaving only a single encouraging glance for Urouge.
"Thank you," the monk murmured.Then his grin turned feral. "Now… it's my turn."
"Don't think you'll win!" Satori shouted, lunging.
At first, he still held the advantage—dodging Urouge's swings with Mantra's foresight.But within the shrinking inferno, every breath scalded, every motion burned. The heat began to dull even divine senses.
Urouge ignored every hit, pressing forward, his body swelling larger as the fire fed his strength.Each punch he landed thundered through the narrowing arena.
By the time the flames compressed to a few meters around them, the priest's composure had crumbled.
Urouge's body now loomed eight meters tall, skin glowing like molten bronze. He raised a fist wreathed in sacred flame and roared—
"Karma… Retribution!"
His blow descended like judgment itself.
(End of Chapter)