Swoosh—
"Take cover—secure yourselves, counter with long ranged techniques. Raze, Nyx—you all cover me, I'm going in. Elios, Corvin unleash your Devil Fruits, confuse them."
Kaizen's voice was grim. His expression looked annoyed and tight as he bellowed out orders to his hovering peers.
"Spread out!" Raze signaled towards his team.
Nyx and Raze positioned themselves afar—the thickened trees becoming a temporary combat tower for them. Kaizen kicked off the air—Conqueror's Haki, void-ash in color sprung to life as purplish-red streams of Annihilation Energy swirled into it.
His body sped up suddenly—the air rippling around him as he headed straight for the long ranged attackers. "Come here fuckers!" Heavy and grave, his voice promised brutality.
And so said so done—Ascendant Ruin Style came to life as Armament Haki bubbled around his arms like molten lava. From his knuckles go up, he cocked back his arms as muscles, thicker than steel cables coiled together like tight springs.
Right Wing Treble—
—Left Wing Overflow
THRUM!
An absolute nullification of sound was all that followed at first—vibrations so quiet yet so loud rang out in immediate succession moments after.
The world lost color at that point—Kaizen had already dropped in with a spin of his body, his Armament, Conqueror's and Annihilation all coalescing into something beyond destruction.
It was beyond anything ever seen before—
KA-BOOOOOOOOM!
Sound returned as color recoiled back into the scenery! The explosion came first, then its deafening sound followed.
A large crater—far larger than what those bazookas had created now lay visible for all those to witness.
Inside it? Nothing. The bazooka users he'd targeted had been erased fully from existence. His jaw tightened at the realization, though he steeled himself immediately after.
[A/N: Dude out here unleashing Kaiju level attacks but stressing when he erase mortal beings😭]
'Death is inevitable.'
His pupil-less eyes darted towards his surroundings—the sudden death of their comrades riled them up. The Chimeras shook intensely as their eyes glowed bloodshot red.
Then—they simply rushed. Some wielded swords that looked enchanted, others held laserbeam-like guns. Some depended on their own biology and strength. The nearby Chimeras finally closed in—yet Kaizen merely vanished. Doom Step fell into play.
Raze and Nyx then neutralized the unit that had appeared to pressure Kaizen. Partials of her shadow stretched as they grappled the Chimeras—tearing into their bodies as Raze took advantage of the gravitational energy that slipped into their wounds.
He increased its weight and density—bones were reduced to powder in an instant. Bodies liquefied as blood poured out in continuous amounts from wounds.
Kaizen stared from afar, simply dumbfounded at their combined strength. Their potential together was far more terrifying as it was when they moved alone.
Kaizen flickered once more as he shifted his focus—appearing above another three long ranged users. Two crocodile-bear creatures holding bazookas and a single wolf centaur wielding a grenade launcher. A very futuristic grenade launcher.
Kaizen growled—'I don't even wanna know what that one does.' He thought. His leg rose as he summoned forth that very same chaotic power again. This time—utilizing Great Axiom Descent.
He fell before they could charge their attacks—that monstrous axe kick now backed with Annihilation Energy had not only torn through their bodies at a molecular level but also quite literally deleted a large chunk of the earth below—some of the pillar-like trees disappearing with it.
Kaizen stood at the bottom of the pit—his massive frame immovable as a mountain. He stared up into the sky for a moment before leaping out of the crater and landing flat.
With every life he took, monster or not—he felt a piece of himself grow distant. Yet all he did was brush it aside, calling it the inevitable. Kaizen stared at the aftermath—the remainder of the stronger willed creatures fell to his comrades as those who were weaker willed began reclaiming clarity over their minds.
And so, he began his march. Step by step, his Conqueror's Haki flared. Void-ash lightning stutters around like glitches into reality—a pressure heavier than a King's own blooming into existence.
The remaining Chimeras dropped to their knees, gasping desperately for air as some began to clutch their own throats. Others bled from their orifices whereas others felt their injuries worsen.
Silence spread out amongst all gathered. From the strong that stood tall, to the weak that suffered openly.
Then—a deep and gravely voice spoke. It was slow, his tone was enough to garner the stares of all present.
"Now—you all will explain fully, your reasoning for attacking us. That is absolute."
Kaizen's march came to an abrupt halt. His figure loomed over those kneeling—somehow they'd sworn he'd gotten even taller. But that was merely an illusion—one caused by fear.
He sensed their remarks with his Observation Haki—slowly then did he withdraw his Conqueror's Haki. His right hand lifted slowly as he pointed to the center-most Chimera.
"You," he said pointedly.
"Explain." An order.
The Chimera looked up—its eyes were drained and worn—each breath inhaled and released only seemed to have worsened his already damaged state.
"We do not meet with those outside of Trakof..! We were simply fighting back against the intruders who had invaded our home without our knowing.. You, humans, acted as though it was our crime..." His words were truthful.
Actually, it was way too truthful because those very words only made the chaotic emotions that spawned from every kill tighten into a knot of bare conflict.
Yet, he got rid of it immediately—"Cut the bullshit—it could have been avoided. The deaths of your brethren. Had you not attacked us, we'd have simply left by now. We were just trying to explore."
Kaizen's words garnered nothing more than laughter of what felt like self ridicule. None said anything for a moment, until Elios stepped forward. He and the other members were already used to such events of genocides, he outright ignored its words.
"So—what are you?" He was curious. "Who are you?"
That curiously nervous glint ever so slightly flickering between his glare. Nyx and Solvian glanced at each other. Throughout the journey both Elio and Solvian hadn't interacted much with anything—some part of them felt wronged in Stillreach through the entire journey.
From Stillreach to the City Of Sin, even from The Margin—they'd only felt a wrongness that often brought their words a quiet halt.
Yet, for some reason, they felt normal here despite the insane levels of gravity. Though they hadn't said anything—their gazes had met briefly upon entering the island. That was when they noted that the lurking, almost watchful feeling had simply vanished.
The air—their organs and energy felt unbothered the moment they stepped onto here. Elios, ever the curious and nervous wreck, could no longer stay quiet.
Solvian merely observed, yet within his eyes there was so much curiosity eagerly waiting for an answer.
"My name is Critering—We are an ancient species known as the Monbechi. We were the result of the World Government's experiments. Vegapunk, the greatest scientist that has ever graced this world, formed weapons of mass molecular engineering.
Our island was among the first few that was experimented on. They altered us as though we were their toys. They played God and tampered with humanity.
But somehow the world fought back. It knew it was not the era for such things yet. And so, we were the result of their failure. Ever since we became like this—humanity had long since slipped out of our grasp.
At first it was a bearable trade. Centuries ago we were a small tribe that had struggled to survive within our own home. The recreation of our entire being was accepted at the realization of the power we had now held. But the flaws that came with it were off putting.
We could no longer eat normally as our bodies refused it. And we could no longer live amongst humans as our literal genomes disagreed with it. Some of our people died within a month of human contact.
The very same thing we once were simply, in the blink of an eye, became our disease.
So we did what any other would have done. We became the necessary evil—we got rid of the humans that wished to linger.
It was brutal but it was enough. The message was sent. Over the years people started avoiding our island. Rumors grew and stretched and so it was enough.
For centuries, we've drifted, known all around the Grand Line as the Drifting Island—Fokrat.
Until a few decades ago when finality had arrived to collect its debt. And as we had casted out humans—this world then casted us out. We drifted until Stillreach swallowed us.
Since then? We've never drifted again.
We became the opposite. We became—Tarkof."
The words hung in the air with a literal echo—this island was different by standards. It was never born into Stillreach, no. Rather—Stillreach had claimed it. Nyx's eyebrows furrowed—the fabric of her suit shifted with audible sound as she lifted a hand to her face. It was clear she was frustrated.
"The lore thickens, I suppose.." Her voice was flat but the ridiculing smile couldn't be hidden from her face. Kaizen glanced at her. He shifted and lifted his hand, signaling for the Monbechi. They rose to their feet, though suspicious and wary.
He breathed out a breath of air, exasperated maybe? Tired? Who knows. "Critering, gather your people, recover the injured and settle into your nests. All I ask of you all is a map.
A full, detailed layout of this entire island. You'll be dealing with that scary lady in the suit pertaining to that. Am I clear?"
Kaizen needed to know where to go and where not to on this island and his best chance was the people of Tarkof. Critering coughed through his pain as he remained hunched over.
"Y-Yes. It can be done." He complied, having no other choice but to. He then turned to his people, gathering some as others reeled in to help.
Kaizen looked to his team and signaled for them to join in the ropes and help them out. It was the least they could do. And so, they did as they were told.
Time went by unnoticed as one by one areas of the island were drawn, labeled and detailed. It was a delicate process that displayed the remarkable memory of these people. Living for so many years yet still retaining so many things to such an extent.
Elios and Corvin found it fascinating—Nyx absorbed as much as she could whereas Raze just stood at bay with Kaizen, both men overlooking the depths of the forest.
"Something about this place feels off." Raze turned his body to Kaizen though his head never left the direction of the forest. Kaizen observed his body language before resuming his gaze onto the forest as well.
"Absolutely. Remember those snakes? The giant ones that coiled around some of the trees to the front? Something's off with how they're resting in such a still manner. Also, Observation Haki still isn't letting me see further out without actually exploring…" Kaizen relayed his own suspicions and findings.
Raze hummed in thought. They both tensed momentarily as they reminded themselves to expect nothing more than the unexpected.
"We should hurry up and depart from these people. Our presence alone affects them." Raze stated.
Kaizen perked an eyebrow up, somewhat amused. "Oh? Didn't take you for the empathetic type." Kaizen remarked, truly surprised.
"Don't misunderstand, I just think that there is no need for such unnecessary deaths. Simple as that." Raze's face remained stoic through every word.
Yet Kaizen couldn't even believe the guy.
"Too old to be acting like that man—" Kaizen's words pierced him, quite literally. It seemed as though he'd fall over any minute now as his eyes twitched with annoyance.
Releasing a dismissively frustrated 'tch', Raze simply walked over to the Monbechis and his teammates leaving Kaizen to his own thoughts.
He gazed at Raze's back for a moment longer before drifting away into his own thoughts. He began to further cement the unraveling revelation for himself now. He finally understood just how dire his circumstances are now.
This was no longer the Grand Line.
This was all Stillreach.
TO BE CONTINUED!!!