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'Is that so? So all this time, I was just fooling myself?'
The surge of Haki pressed down like a weight on the air, heavy, suffocating. Darkness spread out, swallowing everything whole, cloaking Red's form completely. Only a pair of glowing crimson eyes pierced the gloom, faint but unyielding.
"Maybe… to the Marines, I was never anything more than a simple problem to be disposed of, from beginning to end."
Otherwise, Steel Bone Kong wouldn't have stooped so low as to manipulate Garp into lying in ambush, such a disgraceful move.
Red's mind drifted back to those days. Sengoku was tasked with taking on Whitebeard, while Garp was sent after Roger. The four titans clashed fiercely, a tempest of power in the midst of battle, but never with such underhanded tricks or cheap schemes. Everything was out in the open, and they fought for honor and victory.
Back then, Red had seen those kinds of tactics as arrogant, foolish, unworthy of true warriors. But now, faced with his own position, he had done no differently. He had sunk to scheming, plotting, and manipulating in the shadows.
And with that came something new… a bitter, gnawing hatred.
"You'll never be Whitebeard. Never be Roger. That's why you failed… Patrick Redfield."
Those words had come from Kong after Red's defeat, when he was broken and captured. Though his body was battered, Kong's eyes never wavered; they were cold, firm, unforgiving.
Now, Red finally understood.
The man he had once called his lifelong rival, Garp, had probably long since forgotten him. Had likely been willing to sacrifice himself for something far beyond Red's petty quarrels.
No one truly cared about Patrick Redfield. All he was was a power that instilled fear. Nothing more.
Just as the world had named him, "Patrick Redfield." An island unto himself, drifting endlessly across the seas, without comrades, without respect. Not even from old rivals.
"How pitiful… to end up like this."
The crimson glow of those eyes slowly faded into the misty darkness, swallowed by the shadows.
Rowen's expression tightened, his gaze sharp as the last trace of red light vanished. His special Kenbunshoku Haki, his Heavenly Network, picked up no sign of Red's presence anymore.
"So this is part of the Vampire Fruit's power, huh? A Mythical Zoan with tricks like this… what a headache."
Rowen's Heavenly Network wasn't blocked; the enveloping darkness was clear to him. And that was what made it so unnerving. Because Rowen knew, Red was still inside that cloud of shadows. Yet no trace of life stirred within it.
"Vampires… don't exactly like the sunlight, do they?"
Suddenly, a cold breath brushed the back of Rowen's neck, sending a chill crawling down his spine. Without hesitation, Rowen spun around like a whirlwind, his thunder halberd slicing wide behind him.
Shua!
The strike was a flash of lightning. A Thunder-Lightning Human's weapon unleashed with blinding speed, too fast for any ordinary man to evade. But Red dodged with ease, spreading his bat-like wings to glide silently overhead like something born of the night.
Slick!
A slash suddenly tore across Rowen's forehead, from brow to nose bridge. Blood spattered into the air, sharp with the scent of iron. Rowen didn't flinch or close his eyes in pain. Instead, he widened them, staring hard at the spot where the attack had come from.
But he saw… nothing.
Slice!!
"Gah!"
Another ripping sound echoed as a deep gash opened along his back, and dark blood splattered forth as he coughed through the pain. Gritting his teeth, he swung a fist blindly behind him, but struck nothing again.
"Compared to thirty years ago, I'm undoubtedly stronger now… especially at night." Red's voice echoed from all directions, cold, mocking, and deadly.
At some point, a dense black mist had crept in, filling the surroundings like a swamp, slowly swallowing Rowen whole. Red's voice cut through the darkness, cold, cruel, like a predator perched atop the food chain, toying mercilessly with its prey.
"The night is my domain. You can call me…"
'Lord of Eternal Night!'
Gone were the titles of "Count Red" or "Patrick Redfield." After glimpsing the harsh truths of the world, Red had journeyed from one extreme to another.
The purest pirates shared one burning truth: They carried but a single dream in their hearts.
And now, Red was no different.
From the days he'd been inspired by Brook and the Rumbar Pirates' haunting songs, yearning to taste the open sea, to becoming a fearsome tyrant with no allies, viewed by all as a dangerous threat, up until now…
Red had finally found what he truly desired.
Shff! Shff! Shff! Shff!
A relentless flurry of dense, concentrated strikes rained down on Rowen's body.
What shocked him most wasn't the power or speed, but that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't pinpoint where the attacks came from. Even his battle-hardened instincts, sharpened through countless life-or-death encounters, failed him. Red's assaults felt as if they emerged from another dimension, utterly untraceable and leaving zero clues.
"This can't go on!"
Several times, blows nearly struck vital points. Even the legendary "Undying" Rowen knew that with enough hits like this, defeat was inevitable. Drawing a deep breath, Rowen suddenly raised his thunder halberd. Two serpents of pure electricity slithered from his shoulders, coiling down his arms and onto his weapon.
Buzz!!
A deafening hum shattered the silence. Blue lightning crackled violently as Rowen thrust the halberd forward, unleashing his signature attack:
'Super Electromagnetic Cannon!'
BOOM!!!
A radiant beam of brilliant blue light tore through the black mist, cleaving the darkness in two, streaking across the sky before slamming into the sea. At the same moment, Rowen infused lightning into his legs and blasted off after the beam, chasing the trail out of the shadowed zone.
"Trying to run? Not so fast!"
From the gloom emerged a black umbrella, and with it, Red, transformed. His long white hair whipped wildly, lengthened by at least twenty centimeters. His crimson eyes glowed fiercely, upper body bare, radiating raw, savage power.
Without mercy, he brought the umbrella slashing down. But Rowen's eyes suddenly flashed with sharp brilliance.
"Heh… I was waiting for this!"
Caught slightly off guard, Red watched as Rowen made no attempt to dodge. Instead, with fingers like steel, he reached straight into the descending strike.
Slick, RIP!!
The umbrella pierced through Rowen's dense Armament Haki, stabbing deep into his right chest, puncturing a lung.
But Rowen didn't flinch.
Lightning surged across his fingers, extending into five crackling blue tendrils as he retaliated fiercely:
'Shigan: Umimei Thunder!'
Red's eyes narrowed in silent fury.
"Madman…"
Just like before, Rowen had formed two thoughts in rapid succession, separated by barely a microsecond, relying on pure instinct and split-second processing to bait Red out. But such tactics were a gamble with his life. To defeat the "Undying" Rowen, overwhelming damage was the only option.
Red knew this well. Having witnessed Rowen's legendary clash with Kaido, he refused to pass up the chance.
"Gah!!"
Blood and shattered tissue spat from Rowen's mouth, his lung was pierced, but his fingers jabbed fiercely at Red's neck. Lightning exploded with brutal force, tearing through Red's Armament Haki as blood spurted from the wound.
Whoosh!!
BOOM!!
Red was struck by the umbrella's force and blasted into the sea, crashing down hard enough to raise a towering wave nearly a hundred meters high.
"As expected of the Goro Goro no Mi… what terrifying destructive power."
A chilling gurgle echoed through the air. The blood spraying from Red's neck suddenly froze midair, suspended unnaturally. Then, as if drawn by some invisible pull, it reversed direction, flowing back into the wound it had sprayed from.
Red touched his neck, then raised his blood-soaked hand to his face.
Slowly, he extended his tongue and licked it clean, eyes flashing with a terrifying, unyielding glint.
"This kind of power… is far more fearsome than even Steel Bone Kong's fists."
(End of Chapter)