Chapter 47: Adaptive Devil
What's interesting?
Swordsmanship. Haki. Abilities.
And "Fate."
...
If Crocodile had never left Alabasta, Doflamingo wouldn't have seized an opening.
If Doflamingo hadn't stirred the pot, King, serving under Kaido, would have remained unaware.
If the Poneglyph hadn't been uncovered, this conflict wouldn't have erupted.
This is called Fate.
Men of potent fortune stir winds and clouds, roil the seas, and propel all things toward a destined future.
Now, two such "men of fortune" collided, tearing apart sky and sea alike.
...
SCREEE—!
Two pitch-black blades clashed again, screeching violently. Strange power traveled through blade and hilt into King's hands.
"Hm?!" His pupils constricted, whites of his eyes flushing with furious bloodshot. A sword? His gaze dropped to the weapon in Vergil's hand.
A sword indeed. A "black blade" sheathed in unknown Armament Haki. While many on the Grand Line wield Haki, only those who mastered this art could be called true swordsmen.
And that… infuriated him.
"I am being mocked!" The massive nodachi at his waist wasn't decoration. Setting aside his Ancient Zoan power, King's swordsmanship alone qualified him as a Great Swordsman. His eyes were sharp. One glance at Vergil's grip revealed its crudeness. A swordsman's every move revolved around the "center line"—the origin of all techniques, their lifeline. Vergil's grip twisted that line, full of gaps.
[The Demon] with a black blade? Unworthy!
"Such crude swordsmanship. Don't insult me!" King swung again.
Swish!
Vergil raised his blade to block. The instant they met, the edge of King's nodachi deformed, becoming jagged. A slight twist of his wrist—click—the serrated edge caught Vergil's black blade. A powerful wrench, and Vergil's weapon was torn free.
The Ancient Armament Haki dissipated; the great blade became mere mud.
"Use your true power, [Demon]!" King roared, his broadsword wreathed in flame, slashing horizontally at Vergil's torso.
Swish!
Cold steel and violent fire, less than half a meter from impact.
Then—BOOM!
A dull thud, resonating like a heartbeat, shook the ground beneath King's feet. He looked down. Vergil had stamped the earth.
BOOM!
The ground trembled, then boiled like water. Dozens of hardened earthen spikes erupted, stabbing toward King. He beat his wings, stirring a gale, gliding clear of the onslaught.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!…
Spike-tips collided, exploding like cannon fire, scattering earth and rock. King's right arm shifted into a pterosaur wing. A mighty sweep sent forth a barrage of wind-blades wreathed in flame, shredding the debris and striking Vergil's body.
Blade Emperor: Inferno!
WHOOSH—BOOM!
A heatwave explosion engulfed Alvin Vergil. His massive form burned, a dark silhouette in the flames, seemingly lifeless.
"Hmph!" King felt no triumph. Unlike his fellow Calamities, [The Fire Fist] was chillingly methodical. He left no loose ends. Even a charred corpse needed beheading.
He raised his blade. Stepped forward.
In the next instant, Vergil's eyes opened within the inferno. His pupils, reflecting the crimson blaze, fixed on King. The flaming figure shifted. Streamlined form, emerald-green scales covering the back. He slammed hands forward, dropped to all fours, and opened a fanged maw.
ROAR!
[Chīguǐ · Xiǎofēng] Composite Form.
ROAR!
A colossal gale, mixed with vibration, dispersed the flames around Vergil and struck King head-on.
"Tch!" King braced, but the mingled Ancient Armament Haki scored his skin. Crimson lines bloomed across his body. Superficial, but…
This power shouldn't be endured for long. A counter—now!
As he strategized, Vergil ceased his roar.
"?!"
King blinked. A massive hand shot out, grasping his head.
Alvin Vergil had abandoned suppression, closing the distance instantly. One hand clutched King's head, the other scooped earth, smashing the two together!
BOOM!
No technique. Pure, brutal violence.
King took the blow, vision swimming. When it cleared, darkness. Something blocked his sight.
"What…?" Before he could react, Vergil's voice came.
Vergil had solidified earth around King's head. One hand gripped King's collar; the other formed a fist. The essence of the Chīguǐ form was "destruction" of earth. With earth adhered to King's head, that destructive essence permeated it.
So—
FIST!
BOOM!
The earthen shell exploded. King groaned behind his mask, blood seeping from his goggle seams. The crown-flame still burned.
Vergil didn't stop.
He drove King to the ground. Earth surged, entombing him. Vergil raised interlocked fists high, then hammered down.
BOOM!
Earth erupted in titanic waves! A tsunami of stone and soil rolled outward, flattening the entire island!
"Huff… huff…" Vergil panted amidst the settling dust.
His expression shifted. Something was wrong. He looked at his hands. No sign of King beneath them?
Where?
He scanned the ravaged ground. No trace.
Only one possibility remained—
Up.
Vergil looked skyward. There, hovering, was the sturdy figure.
King. Wings beating, soaring high. Both hands gripped his sword, raging flames coiling around the blade.
He bent at the waist—
Descended.
King had realized Vergil's power over earth was terrifying in both potency and flexibility. Only one counter remained.
"Hrraagh!" A low roar. He aimed the colossal blade not at Vergil, but at the ravaged island beneath them both, and swung with all his might.
"To defeat a Devil Fruit user… exploit their weakness!"
A slash of searing light and flame cleaved through the island's remains.
"Fall into the sea!"
Zheng!
Blade fell.
KABOOOM!
The island, already shattered, offered no resistance. It exploded completely into countless fragments, swallowed by a massive, sucking whirlpool.
"Huff… huff…" King panted, spent. Continuous combat drained even him.
But it was over. However powerful, [The Demon] couldn't overcome a Fruit user's fundamental flaw. In the sea, victory was assured.
...
"?!"
Suddenly, King's Observation Haki flared. He hadn't fallen? But without footing, how could Vergil remain airborne?
King turned.
Behind Alvin Vergil, a pair of vast, membranous wings had unfurled, beating gently to keep him aloft.
"…" King's pupils shrank. "What have you done?"
Vergil thought for a moment. He shook off clinging earth, re-condensed it into a great earthen blade, and gripped it tightly. The tip angled slightly toward the churning sea below.
"…" Vergil tilted his head, those abnormal irises fixed on King. He gave an experimental flap of his new wings.
"I'm learning," he stated, voice flat.
Demon of the Sky—
Western Wind.
(End of Chapter 47)
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