"You dare look down on me? In that case, just die!" Moria flew into a rage, a flash of ruthlessness in his eyes. He charged at King once more, the speed at which he swung his longsword now increased by several levels. A shower of blade-light, woven into a deadly net under the moonlight, every slash carrying a sharp, murderous intent.
Yet, faced with Moria's frenzied onslaught, King merely parried casually with his own blade. His movements seemed casual, yet he always managed to precisely deflect each attack. Under the moonlight, his figure flickered like a wraith, each movement perfectly evading Moria's lethal edge.
Suddenly, King's sword-wielding arm exploded with force, directly sending Moria stumbling back several paces. Pressing his advantage, he closed the distance, his longsword falling like a rain of blows, the assault so fierce it stole one's breath. Every slash carried crushing force, the blade's edge slicing the air with a sharp whistle.
Moria could only struggle to hold on, being struck by King's blade again and again, leaving a trail of wounds. Blood seeped from the injuries, glaringly vivid in the moonlight.
"Bastard!" Seeing himself continuously pushed to the brink, a flash of desperation appeared in Moria's eyes. Risking another slash from King across his chest, he gathered all his strength and swung his sword at King with everything he had.
Faced with this sudden counterattack, the flames on King's back abruptly surged. Blazing fire coiled around his longsword, tracing a dazzling fiery line across the night sky. The flames burned with an eerie crimson hue, so intense the surrounding air warped and distorted. He met Moria's slash head-on with an unstoppable momentum.
"What?!" Though shocked by King's technique, Moria gritted his teeth and swung his own blade to meet it. Two forces collided violently under the moonlight, fire and blade-light weaving together into a breathtaking spectacle.
The explosive shockwave separated the two, leaving a massive crater in the sand. The surrounding sand had been melted by the intense heat into glassy crystals.
King landed steadily, his wings beating gently, the flames on his blade slowly extinguishing. His gaze remained composed, as if the fierce battle had been merely a warm-up. Moonlight illuminated his stern features, outlining his resolute profile.
Moria, on the other hand, knelt on one knee in the sand, panting heavily, sweat mingling with blood as it dripped from his forehead. His longsword was plunged into the sand, supporting his unsteady body. A sea breeze blew past, bringing a touch of coolness, yet it couldn't calm the boiling fighting spirit within him.
"Shall we continue?" King's voice was terrifyingly calm, clearly reaching Moria's ears in the darkness.
Moria looked up, unwillingness gleaming in his eyes. He slowly rose to his feet, tightening his grip on his sword, his knuckles turning white with the strain. "Kishishishi... Of course we continue!" His laughter held a note of madness. "I'm not done playing yet!"
"In that case, allow me to show you the vastness of the world!" King raised his longsword horizontally. Pitch-black Busoshoku Haki directly enveloped the blade, instantly turning it ink-black. Immediately after, raging flames once again covered the longsword. The two forces fused perfectly, emitting a suffocating pressure.
Then, the wings on King's back flapped, and he shot toward Moria at an unbelievable speed. His figure left a trail of afterimages in the air, as if several Kings were moving at once. The instant he closed in on Moria, he brought his blade down. The blade's edge sliced through the night sky, trailing a line of searing flame.
In his haste, Moria could only just raise his sword to block. King's blade traced a perfect arc, directly cleaving Moria and sending him flying through the air. His body traced a parabola before crashing heavily onto the sandy beach in the distance, kicking up a cloud of dust.
"What?!"
"Captain Moria!"
Shouts of alarm rose from Moria's crew. Moria tumbled several times in the air before smashing into the sand, sending up a plume of dust. He struggled to get up, only to find a hideous gaping notch now marred his beloved longsword.
"Damn it..." Moria spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva, looking up at the tall figure under the moonlight.
King's towering, overbearing posture made him feel an unprecedented humiliation. The shadow cast by the flames seemed ready to completely swallow him whole.
"Now do you understand the difference?" King's voice was frighteningly calm, that intangible pressure making Moria's crew unconsciously take several steps back, their very breathing becoming careful.
"You bastard, don't look down on me! I am Gecko Moria!" Moria roared, swinging his longsword with every ounce of strength he had left. The blade sliced through the air with a sharp shriek.
However, this time, Moria's longsword struck King's body directly. Not only did it fail to inflict any injury on King, but the blade itself shattered upon impact.
The broken tip of the sword spun through the air before embedding itself in the sand with a dull thud.
"This... how is this possible?!" Moria bellowed in shock, staring incredulously at the broken hilt remaining in his hand. His arm trembled slightly from the recoil, blood seeping from the base of his thumb.
Amidst the raging flames, King stood utterly unmoved. Blazing tongues of fire danced around his body, yet could not budge him in the slightest. He slowly raised his longsword, the sharp blade glinting with a chilling, cold gleam in the firelight, pointed directly at Moria's throat. A low voice emanated from behind the mask. "The game should end now."
"Stop!"
"Let go of Captain Moria!"
"If you want to touch our Captain, you'll have to go through us first!"
Seeing this, Moria's crew members charged forward with angry roars. Their faces were etched with fury and anxiety, their eyes burning with a determination to protect their captain to the death. Each face was twisted with anger, yet also shone with an unwavering resolve.
King's gaze turned instantly cold. With a flip of his wrist, the longsword wreathed in flame swept out violently. The ground instantly cracked open in a line of fire; a searing wall of flames erupted from the earth, blocking all of Moria's crew members outside. Roaring flames churned in the air, illuminating their contorted faces.
"A mere wall of fire won't stop us!"
"What's this bit of heat?!"
Faced with the scorching firewall, the crew members didn't hesitate for a second. Gritting their teeth, enduring the excruciating pain of their skin burning, they resolutely charged through the firewall. The smell of charred flesh filled the air, yet they still stood firm before Moria, forming a human shield with their own flesh and blood. Their clothes were already scorched black, their skin marred by burns, yet they straightened their backs, refusing to yield.
"You won't harm our Captain in front of us!" they shouted in unison, their voices filled with a death-defying resolve. Their figures seemed especially tall in the firelight, their will to protect their captain burning even hotter than the flames.
"Bastards... you lot. I'm not so weak that I need your protection," Moria said, looking at his crew before him, a flicker of emotion passing through his eyes. He strode forward to stand in front of his crew, chest out, facing King directly. Though seriously injured, his dignity as a captain would not allow him to retreat.
Witnessing the life-and-death bond between Moria and his crew, King's eyes flickered faintly behind his mask. For a moment, he thought of the bond between himself and Kaido, but his gaze quickly returned to its usual cold detachment.
***
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