Chapter 44: Descending from the Sky
Battle raged.
Chaos. Anarchy. Elusive shadows.
...
ROAR!
A deafening roar shook the uninhabited island. The nearly materialized airwave distorted space, swallowing both Vergo and the earthen spikes behind him.
The roar lasted only a moment, yet it sent tremors through the hearts of Cobra, Pell, and Chaka. They fared better than Chess, who, frozen in terror, hadn't covered his ears—his eardrums were shattered, and he lay unconscious.
Compared to the roar on Nanohana's coast, Vergil hadn't used Ancient Armament Haki this time, reducing its power but increasing its speed. Combined with the earthen spikes blocking Vergo's retreat, the attack was guaranteed to land.
"Did… did he kill him?" Chaka whispered, awestruck. Having faced Vergo, he knew the man's strength. Yet Alvin Vergil inspired a deeper terror. Could anyone survive a direct hit from that?
The sea was vast. The answer: yes.
Sunlight glinted off a metallic-black sculpture standing amidst the shattered spikes. The mask was gone, the checkered coat in tatters. Only the bamboo sword remained. Muscles, already formidable, now bulged with explosive power.
Chaka's eyes widened. "What is that?"
"Armament Haki," Pell answered, then added with a self-deprecating smile. "Power like that… it's rare in Paradise. We still have far to go."
...
Pell's answer was incomplete. What Vergo wielded was a technique even among Armament masters: Full-Body Armament Haki Coverage. Coating his entire form to enhance defense and offense. The instant Vergil's roar struck, Vergo completed the full-body coating, barely withstanding the blast.
…Barely.
"Pfft!"
After a second of silence, Vergo vomited a mouthful of blood, body trembling. Pain, vertigo, nausea, swelling, imbalance—all crashed over him. Had he not used Haki to lock his joints, he'd have collapsed.
He gasped, recovering. Why hasn't [The Demon] pressed the attack? Such arrogance!
As the thought formed, he noticed the light around him brightening.
"Hm?"
He looked up… and froze.
Alvin Vergil had reverted to human form. He scooped up a handful of dirt, kneaded it, and shaped it into a bamboo sword identical to Vergo's.
Holding the earthen blade, Vergil beckoned.
"Come."
"…"
Vergo's face twitched, veins bulging. "I'm being looked down upon."
As a Devil Fruit user, Alvin Vergil was terrifying. But in pure physical combat, especially with a bamboo sword as the weapon, Vergo was confident he'd lose to no one.
Swish!
Vergo lunged, bamboo sword a blur.
Clack!
The two bamboo swords met. Vergil's earthen blade shattered instantly.
Vergil tried to leap back, but Vergo closed the distance, giving no quarter. He saw his chance: exploit Vergil's arrogance, attack before he could transform, and end this in one strike.
After several evasions, Vergo found the opening.
Now!
Swish!
The Haki-clad bamboo sword descended toward Vergil's neck. For a normal human, a broken neck, instant death.
Vergil's pupils contracted. "So this is a weapon sheathed in Armament Haki…" he murmured, not a curse, but words Vergo couldn't fathom. "Okay. I understand."
Vergo: "?"
Confusion flickered, but his hands didn't stop. Not dead? Then I'll beat you until you are!
Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish!…
Multiple strikes landed, but to no effect. Vergil snapped his fingers. Another earthen bamboo sword formed at his feet, delivered to his hand.
He ran a finger along it, pulling forth a long strip of black "fabric." He wrapped it tightly around the earthen blade.
He tested its weight. Satisfied.
Then, Vergil gently raised the Ancient Armament-sheathed "bamboo sword" and swung at Vergo.
Clang!
The two Haki forms collided. Neither side was damaged. Insufficient force?
Vergo blinked, then looked up to see Vergil raising the sword again. This time, those strange, bandage-like "Armaments" had spread to his upper arms.
Swish!
The second strike fell. Vergo blocked with his arms, his entire right side going numb.
Stronger?! Vergo stared in shock.
During the brief interval, the weird Haki had spread to Vergil's shoulders. Like bandages, or tattered cloth, yet radiating an undeniable presence.
A sudden realization struck Vergo: He couldn't block the next one.
Whoosh!
Before the thought fully formed, the black bamboo sword descended.
Vergo parried sideways.
Clang—CRACK!
A crisp sound. The dark bamboo sword snapped.
Splurt.
A line of blood appeared on Vergo's Haki-blackened skin, top to bottom. Not fatal, but a grievous wound.
Watching the strange Armament continue to spread across Vergil's body, Vergo knew the next blow would be his end.
He couldn't die yet. Gritting his teeth, he sought an escape route.
In that moment—
Whoosh!
A figure tore through the air, hurtling directly toward Vergo and Vergil.
BOOM!
It impacted between them, cratering the ground.
Dust cleared. Crocodile lay there, face bloodied, cursing. "That damned oversized flying lizard! Swinging its wings like it owns the sky?! Come back here!"
"…"
BOOM!
Before Vergo or Vergil could react, an even larger black shadow plummeted from the heavens. Accompanied by raging flames, the surroundings ignited instantly.
Simultaneously, an invisible, oppressive aura blanketed the entire island…
...
Swish!
"RUN!!!"
In the distance, ignoring his injuries, Pell forcefully spread his wings, snatched up Cobra and Chaka, and launched into the sky, fleeing the island below.
Cobra and Chaka, worried for Pell, didn't resist. Though they didn't know the newcomer's identity, instinct screamed: Stay here, and you will die.
...
Why?
Crocodile knew why.
Vergo could guess.
And Alvin Vergil?
Of course he recognized "him" from the tides of memory.
The fourth entity to appear on this island. The hidden "fourth party." The right-hand man of the Beast Pirates, the foremost of the "Three Disasters," user of the Dragon-Dragon Fruit, Ancient Model: Pteranodon…
[The Fire Fist] King.
(End of Chapter 44)
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