Nickt's expression changed instantly.
His pupils contracted, a flash of horror surfacing in his eyes, but there was no time to react.
His familiar Observation Haki had completely lost its effect. The sudden absence left him disoriented for a split second, yet an instinctive chill crawled up his spine.
Something was behind him.
Teach had already moved.
His right arm pulled back, elbow bent, clawed hand aligned straight toward Nickt. Five slender fingers pressed together, sharp black nails converging to a single point. His entire hand spun slightly, like a drilling spear.
Everyone knew what Teach intended to do.
At the same moment, Gilman had already acted. He reacted instantly, but there was no time to change his movement.
The slashes descending from the sky still had to be dealt with. Even weakened, if they struck Nickt head-on, his body would suffer catastrophic damage.
For an instant, Gilman's heart seemed to stop.
The spectators who witnessed the scene felt their scalps tingle.
Could it be that, in such a short span of time, a Marine Admiral candidate was about to fall?
"Demonic Claw: Demon Piercing Gun!"
Teach thrust forward.
His claw pierced straight through Nickt's back.
Nickt's Armament Haki was useless before this strike. Teach's Haki was denser, sharper, and carried flowing force, sword energy, and the devouring darkness of the Dark-Dark Fruit.
At Teach's fingertips, flowing Haki intertwined with sharp sword intent and dark aura. Had Nickt possessed no other means, he would already be dead.
Suddenly, a deafening explosion erupted between them.
The violent blast hurled Nickt forward, sending him flying.
A bloody hole opened in his back, directly over his heart. Flesh was torn apart, bone exposed and shattered, fragments embedded deep within muscle and blood.
Yet Nickt survived.
Teach's claw had missed his heart by a narrow margin.
At the critical moment, Nickt had used an external force to escape death. Otherwise, he would have been killed outright.
Teach stood still, mildly surprised.
His hand had already pierced Nickt's back. Just as it was about to reach the heart, Nickt unleashed a powerful sonic boom behind himself.
For that maneuver to work, the recoil speed had to exceed even Teach's piercing speed.
Only then could he evade a fatal blow.
It was clear that Nickt was ruthless and decisive. A sonic boom was a superpower, and he had used it on himself without hesitation.
But the danger was equally real.
Sonic abilities carried severe backlash. If the intensity exceeded what the body could endure, it would cause self-inflicted damage.
Even though he escaped Teach's killing blow, Nickt still suffered devastating explosive damage.
On his back, even with Armament Haki mitigating some of the force, sound was vibration. The shock penetrated his Haki and invaded his body.
The result was a secondary, self-inflicted heavy blow, concentrated near the wound dangerously close to his heart.
The vibration slammed into his heart, nearly stopping it. Internal organs were fragile, after all.
Still, Nickt endured.
He saved his life, but at the cost of severe injuries.
Teach, meanwhile, was completely unaffected.
Not even a scratch marked his body.
His powerful Haki and monstrous physique were more than enough to ignore such an attack. Even the internal shockwaves had little effect on him. He felt only a faint tremor.
Teach's internal body was just as formidable as his exterior.
Years of constant electrical tempering and deep-sea training had hardened even his organs.
He did not press his advantage.
Instead, his body flickered and appeared beside Gilman, claws already raised.
His figure blurred. In an instant, multiple afterimages surrounded Gilman.
Unable to sense Teach's aura, Gilman relied on the innate perception granted by his Devil Fruit to confirm Teach's position.
Even so, Teach's speed was overwhelming. He struck at the precise moment Gilman finished dispersing the slashes.
Everything unfolded exactly as Teach had planned.
Time seemed to slow.
Facing Gilman's massive form, Teach finally unleashed his next move.
"Demonic Claw: Eight Maidens!"
Only now did the technique truly live up to its name.
Before, it had been little more than a title.
Now, it carried overwhelming power, razor-sharp claw strikes, fierce sword energy, and Armament Haki capable of internal destruction.
Teach's claws were now weapons capable of tearing through anything.
His voice echoed through the broadcast, reaching the entire world.
This world had no shortage of mythological allusions, and many were well known.
The moment the name "Eight Maidens" was spoken, countless people understood its origin.
The eight sacrificial maidens offered to the world-devouring serpent.
The name alone reflected Teach's confidence.
In the next instant, he moved.
Gilman felt only imminent death.
A chill ran through his entire body, sweat pouring out in an instant.
He exerted all his strength, forcing his body into total rigidity.
In his fully transformed beast state, Gilman activated Tekkai from the Marine Six Powers.
As a Titan Boa, he lacked agility, but his strength was terrifying. A normal snake possessed muscle density far beyond humans. A Titan Boa was on an entirely different level.
His massive physique granted immense muscle power. Combined with Tekkai, his defense became even harder than steel.
At the same time, his entire body was coated in Armament Haki.
After witnessing Teach's attack power, Gilman knew Haki alone was not enough.
Even so, the sense of danger only intensified.
Teach's claw descended and gripped Gilman's body.
Every body had weaknesses. Every technique had flaws.
With Observation Haki refined to a microscopic level, Teach could perceive them all. Weak points in Gilman's Haki, gaps in his Tekkai, flaws in his flesh.
"In my eyes, your entire body is nothing but flaws," Teach sneered.
"Prepare to be torn apart."
Gilman had already unleashed his strongest defense.
Yet instead of reassurance, he felt only growing dread.
His pupils shrank as Teach's attack landed.
"Sizzle!"
Haki condensed into a single point, piercing straight through Gilman's defenses.
The power of internal destruction flooded into his body.
To the spectators, Gilman's layered defense looked as fragile as paper.
Not because Gilman was weak.
But because Teach was overwhelming.
Sharp claws pierced into flesh.
A trace of exhilaration flashed across Teach's face, a hint of madness as he wrenched his arm.
Flesh burst open.
Sword energy and Haki surged through Gilman's body, tearing apart muscle and tissue.
Teach's fingers were buried deep within.
The pain was unimaginable.
Gilman wanted to scream, but he dared not move.
If he released Tekkai, his body would be torn in half.
Even if he didn't, he could not escape Teach's grip.
At this moment, he had no options left.
With Observation Haki, Teach could vaguely perceive the internal structure of the body. Not true vision, but a direct sense of flesh and bone.
Combined with his knowledge of anatomy, his claws tore along muscle connections with terrifying efficiency.
This was only the beginning.
Teach shifted position instantly and struck again, clawing viciously at Gilman's vital points.
Another defenseless blow.
A bloody claw mark appeared on the Titan Boa's massive body.
Teach's claws were sharper than blades.
Strike after strike followed. Gilman's body was continuously torn apart, blood spraying everywhere. These wounds could not heal quickly.
In a brief span, Teach struck more than a dozen times.
Gilman knew that even if he could move, he would never evade these attacks.
When his body reached its limit, a scream finally escaped his throat.
It changed nothing.
Each claw left a permanent wound.
Even an Ancient Zoan's recovery could not erase them. Scars were inevitable.
Teach showed no intention of stopping.
This was the first true debut of his perfected Eight Maidens.
Every strike was brutal and precise, inflicting raw pain with a predatory elegance, like a venomous serpent feeding.
With one final, savage claw, Gilman's body could no longer endure. It was torn apart, ripped nearly in half, blood spraying violently.
Resistance was no longer possible.
During the relentless assault, electricity coursing through Teach's claws had already paralyzed Gilman. Scorching heat left blackened burns across his body.
This was Teach's swordsmanship, fully integrated into his claw attacks, something he had never abandoned.
Gilman was reduced to dissected prey.
No part of his body remained intact.
For the final blow, Teach appeared directly in front of Gilman's head.
The enormous body looked absurd, suspended by Teach gripping his throat alone.
A blood-red cross-shaped slash tore open the Titan Boa's neck.
Blood sprayed.
The massive body crashed heavily to the ground.
This was Eight Maidens.
In mere breaths, a powerful Ancient Zoan Vice Admiral lost nearly all combat capability.
Fear spread across the world.
Gilman's legendary defense had been meaningless in Teach's hands.
As an Ancient Zoan user, Gilman's physical strength was universally acknowledged.
This result left many unable to believe it. If even he fell like this, who could withstand Teach?
It also reminded people of Teach's former title.
Demonic Claw.
The Devil's Claw.
Now, it truly lived up to its name.
Still, the terrifying vitality of Ancient Zoans could not be denied. At the brink of death, the body's instinctive self-preservation erupted.
Gilman did not die.
Nor did he lose consciousness.
Unable to maintain his beast form, his body reverted to human shape.
His injuries were horrific, yet his life force stabilized and then slowly rose.
Blood flow slowed. Wounds scabbed over.
Even so, the severity was obvious.
His body was covered in claw marks, all left by Teach.
In human form, they looked even denser and more terrifying.
Even for an Ancient Zoan, such injuries could not heal quickly.
Stopping the bleeding was already the limit. Full recovery would take days.
Teach did not spare him a glance.
Gilman had completely lost his combat capability. Flesh, muscle, and bone were torn apart.
His Devil Fruit had saved his life.
On the other side, Nickt lay equally injured.
Had he been uninjured, he might have intervened earlier, though he would have suffered the same fate.
Now, he had no chance.
His body slammed to the ground.
Enduring excruciating pain, he forced himself to stand.
By then, Teach's assault on Gilman had already ended.
Nickt watched helplessly.
He was worthy of the title Admiral candidate. Even before eating his Devil Fruit, his strength among Vice Admirals had been top-tier.
His spine was shattered, broken bones embedded deep in flesh.
Yet through sheer willpower, he stood.
He knew he could not fall.
Bloodied and trembling, Nickt fixed his gaze on Marshall D. Teach.
Ready to fight.