"Get out of the way."
"You bastard, your opponent is !"
The "Lion" roared and bolted forward, alard. He knew full well, "Eagle" was no match for that monster.
"Oh? You looking down on ? Since my captain's already chosen his opponent, you deal with !"
Arlan blurred forward, intercepting the "Lion" mid-sprint. With a swift leap, he lashed out mid-air with a brutal kick.
WHAM!
"Kuagh—!"
A leg snapped across Eagle's waist like a whip. The force was overwhelming. She coughed up a mouthful of blood on impact, her body folding like paper as she was hurled sideways.
BOOM!
An explosion ripped through the air, flas erupting, and thick black smoke spiraling skyward. Arlan and the "Lion" both stumbled back from the shockwave.
"It exploded? Don't tell , Bomb-Bomb Fruit?" the Lion growled, staring at the charred patches across his fur, his lion face twisted into a snarl.
"So many Devil Fruit users tonight..." Arlan licked his lips, eyes sparkling. "What a glorious battlefield."
A hundred ters away, Eagle lay in a heap of shattered stone. The vibrant color had drained from her lips and cheeks, leaving only a ghostly pale mask.
"S-So fast... and so strong... Damn it, I must've cracked at least three ribs. This pain's gonna kill ..." she muttered, forcing herself to rise amid the rubble. Blood dripped from her mouth, and loose stones tumbled from her battered body.
A sudden gust swept past, and her vision darkened.
Soone was blocking the moonlight.
She looked up quickly, and saw a young man standing tall, a golden ring dangling from his ear.
"You... you monster. You're a lot younger than I expected," Eagle scoffed, wiping blood from the corner of her lips. Her beautiful eyes locked onto the man in front of her without fear. Her voice, though strained, was mocking.
"Ahh~ you flatter , I might get a big head," said Aeridar, lips curling with amusent. "Still, with a stunning woman like you, I'd almost hate to fight. What do you say, join my crew?"
A Devil Fruit user who could soar through the skies at will? An aerial scout like her would be invaluable. Add her looks and utility? Who wouldn't want that?
"'Almost hate to fight,' huh?" Eagle shot him a withering glance. "Three of my ribs say otherwise. If you really hated fighting , I'd be dead already."
"And join your crew?" Her tone turned scathing. "I'm a noble, one of the great houses of the Gamas Kingdom. You think so filthy pirate has what it takes to even speak to ?"
Her family had been loyal nobles of Gamas since the old royal age, centuries ago. For generations, they'd watched over this region with unwavering devotion. The idea of serving pirates? Beneath contempt.
"Hah... Haha... AHAHAHAHA!"
Aeridar first chuckled, then burst into a roar of laughter, before abruptly going cold.
"I gave you a chance," he said, voice low and icy. "Now you'll die here."
"You think I owe you anything? Keep dreaming, scum!" Eagle's eyes flared. With a single flap of her wings, she launched herself like a bolt of black lightning, her golden short spear multiplying into countless mirage-thrusts as she surged forward.
"Tch. Fiery little thing, huh? I prefer them softer."
Aeridar grinned viciously. He stomped the ground, sending cracks spidering beneath him, then charged forward, eting her head-on.
Despite the illusory flurry of spears, Aeridar didn't dodge, didn't flinch. He raised his arm, and struck.
CLANG!
His jet-black fist collided with the spearhead.
The force sent a thunderous shockwave pulsing outward.
"Shit!"
Eagle's face twisted. Her entire arm went numb from the impact, too strong, too fast. She couldn't even hold onto her weapon. With a tallic clang, the golden spear slipped from her grasp and clattered to the ground.
She stumbled backward, feet skidding as she carved deep gouges in the earth, seven, eight paces before she steadied.
"DIE."
Aeridar didn't give her an inch.
He lunged again. This ti, his muscles bulged, veins throbbing along his arm. His fist compressed air around it, a pressure do forming, tightening, deadly.
Airquake!!!
CRACK CRACK CRACK—
The atmosphere shattered like glass. Dozens of fractures spiderwebbed through the sky, then spread. With every heartbeat, invisible tremors scread through the air.
"The air's... breaking! I won't make it—!"
Eagle's eyes widened. Panic and dread streaked across her face.
She had no ti.
Her wings snapped forward, crossing over her body like a shield. Under the pale moonlight, the black feathers shimred with a tallic gleam.
Armant Haki: Black Eagle Wing Shield!!!
BOOOOOM!!!
RUMBLE—
RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE!!!
Cracks split violently across the earth as a thunderous explosion tore through the battlefield.
The ground erupted, shattering in every direction.
A surging shockwave roared outward like a towering wall of air, sweeping through everything within a hundred ters. Dust and debris swirled into the sky like a storm-tossed veil.
"No way... 'Eagle'!"
Caught in the edge of the blast, 'Lion''s expression twisted in alarm. He squinted through the gale, shielding his face with his hand.
"That idiot of a captain... doing whatever he wants again."
Arlan casually lifted a slab of broken stone, holding it like a makeshift shield as he muttered with irritation.
"Damn it, what the hell just happened?"
"That guy... he's a monster! A freaking monster!!"
"He shattered the ground... I know that technique!"
"Damn it, has that beast finally lost it?!"
The shockwave swept through the battlefield with hurricane force, temporarily halting the clash between the Triangle Pirates and the other guardians. Each fighter braced themselves against the howling wind, their battles forgotten for the mont.
And then...
Silence.
The wind vanished. The dust settled. The landscape was unrecognizable, torn and mangled, like the earth itself had been turned inside out.
Half-buried beneath a pile of rubble, 'Eagle' lay bloodied and broken. Her once-elegant black wings were torn and shredded, ragged feathers soaked in blood. Her face, usually serene and proud, was streaked with ash and gri. Her breath was faint, so faint she was barely clinging to life.
"Such a sha... What a waste of a beautiful woman,"
Aeridar muttered as he stepped toward her fallen form, his tone oddly regretful, as if mourning lost treasure rather than a dying comrade.
But then, with a twisted glint in his eyes, he grinned.
"A rare power like that, snuffed out so soon... A lovely little blossom wilting before it blooms, what could be more artistic?"
"Ahh—'Eagle'!! Ariel! Nila Ariel!!"
From the distance, 'Lion' let out a ragged, anguished cry. His voice cracked with desperation, almost madness.
'Eagle''s full na was Nira Ariel, heir to the Nila Family, one of the most loyal and powerful noble bloodlines that had served the Kingdom of Gamas faithfully for over 800 years.
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