Brilliant golden light blanketed the entire sky above the "Blue Sea."
Between sea and sky surged rolling steam, thick white mist spreading through the air.
The abnormally high temperature had brought the seawater to a boil, countless fish corpses rolling over and over within it—
[BOOM!]
In an instant, a thunderous roar exploded across the golden sky.
[Whoosh————]
With a drawn-out shriek of air splitting apart, a blazing golden meteor streaked across the heavens.
It carved a long, slanted line through the sky before crashing heavily into the boiling sea below.
Suddenly—
—a scornful snort rang out, spreading like a shockwave.
"So this is the level of the so-called 'God of Sun and Light'?"
Shiki descended from the sky, blades in both hands.
[Bang!!]
No sooner had his words fallen than a golden beam burst violently through the boiling waters, soaring up to Shiki's height in an instant.
When the light faded—
Flare appeared, clad in golden armor now fractured in several places. Her helmet was nowhere to be seen, leaving her looking battered and wretched.
Her chest heaved with heavy breaths, her body trembling from exhaustion and rage.
In her beautiful eyes, fury and bloodlust flared so intensely they seemed to take on a physical crimson glow, twisting her lovely face into something feral.
"How can you be this strong?!"
"A mere mortal with no divinity—how could you possibly wield power to rival the gods?!"
"You are unworthy!!!"
Flare's voice broke into a hysterical scream. Her fury had utterly consumed her.
For millennia she had stood above all, too exalted for too long.
She could not accept that Shiki—who wasn't even a "god"—
—had beaten her into such a miserable state, even to the point of making her doubt her own victory.
"Idiot. God or man, even a worm—might makes right!"
"You fool, how can you not understand something so simple? Shihahaha—!"
Shiki could not hold back his wild laughter as he spoke.
Flare's face turned ashen, her rage long past its limit.
"Enough. I'll finish you quickly—before things end on Whitebeard's side."
Shiki narrowed his eyes.
[BOOM!!!]
In that instant, Conqueror's Haki erupted violently from his body.
A torrent of black-red lightning burst forth, a crushing aura spreading like waves to engulf everything.
Flare's heart pounded with shock at the overwhelming force bearing down on her.
Flare's will to fight was already shaken—
'Run!'
'I can't keep fighting. Sooner or later I'll lose!'
'I was born a god. As long as I hide, who could possibly touch me?'
'Yes, yes, I am eternal, while these damned humans are doomed to die. All I need to do is wait them out…'
A frenzied voice inside her mind urged her with manic intensity.
Suddenly—
Shiki, as if sensing her wavering intent, slashed out with both blades in an instant.
"Trying to run?"
At once, thousands of golden slashes surged forth in a dense storm, sealing every path of escape around Flare.
'How does he know?!'
Flare hastily swung her Solar Spear, blocking strike after strike.
In the blink of an eye—
—a colossal wind sphere enveloped the battlefield, sealing Shiki and Freya within.
From four directions rose massive lions of whirling gale, their bodies entirely formed of stormwinds.
In an instant—
Shiki and Freya clashed once more.
Man and god locked in a savage melee.
Every clash detonated with ferocious bursts of thunder and fire, shockwaves visible to the eye, and a roar that shook the entire Blue Sea.
No matter what—
Flare truly possessed combat power on par with a General.
Even though Shiki was somewhat stronger, it was no easy matter to bring her down in a quick battle.
But on Flare's side, the longer it went on, the more panic she felt.
Shiki's onslaught was simply too ferocious.
From time to time, a fresh gash would be carved into her golden armor, each cut bringing her unbearable pain.
'No, I can't win!'
'What do I do? What do I do? What do I do?!'
Struggling to block Shiki's relentless twin-blade assault, Flare grew ever more frantic.
"Hmph. Such a fragile will to fight?"
"I'd say you're the one unworthy of wielding such power!"
Shiki caught the panic and fear flickering in her eyes, and his mocking tone dripped with scorn.
"Gods?"
"Perhaps true ones exist somewhere in this multiverse. But you lot—I'm certain you're no real gods!"
As soon as he said this, Shiki briefly paused his assault.
The very next moment—
—a colossal golden slash, stretching more than ten kilometers long, split across the sky, searing itself into Flare's despairing eyes.
...
The battle between Shiki and Flare had reached its climax, and it seemed it would not be long before it drew to a close.
Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo was already standing in the distance, holding the Sealing Urn, waiting in silence.
At the same time—
In the plains north of the Elbe Kingdom, southwest downstream of the Blue Sea.
Edward Newgate and Emroy were still locked in fierce combat upon that shattered, scarred land.
Every second, they clashed and collided, wearing each other down, shattering one another.
At this moment, Rory Mercury, who remained above the clouds, could not see the battle below at all, even while gazing down from high in the sky.
Scarlet lightning, violet lightning, white radiance, and surging shockwaves of wind intertwined into chaos at its peak.
From time to time, she even had to dodge the booming detonations that swept upward, accompanied by shockwaves that rattled her very organs.
Were it not for her demigod body, she would already have been gravely wounded.
"So there really exists a human capable of standing against a main god…"
Rory Mercury's nerves were long since numb, her eyes glazed as she muttered.
"No—that's not a human at all. He's clearly a giant!"
[CLANG——————]
On the ruined battlefield below.
Shrouded in white light, Murakumogiri crackled with black-red lightning as it clashed fiercely with the ornate black scythe, its surface erupting in violet radiance and lightning.
In an instant—thunder roared, air quaked.
A vast shockwave swept outward for tens of kilometers, driving ring after ring of earth waves racing across the land.
"Gurararara~ Not bad, woman!"
Newgate gripped Murakumogiri's hilt with both hands, bending forward as he looked down at Emroy, who was straining to block the blade with her scythe, and spoke with genuine praise.
To him, Emroy's strength was no less than Charlotte Linlin's.
If it had been his self from five years ago, he likely could not have suppressed her so firmly as he did now.
"Hmph!"
But Emroy accepted no such compliment. To her, it grated on the ears.
A mere giant mortal daring to condescendingly praise her strength?
She was the God of Darkness, of Death, of Judgment, of Frenzy, of War!
A main god who held five divine mantles!
With this divine power, she dared face Hardy and Flare together, confident she would not fall behind!
And yet she could not suppress the man before her?
Emroy's entire worldview shook violently.
How could a mortal rival a god? She truly could not comprehend it!
But suddenly, Emroy let out a soft laugh.
Newgate asked curiously: "What are you laughing at?"
"I laugh because you humans no longer have any reason to keep fighting."
Emroy shoved away Murakumogiri's blade, her figure instantly retreating nearly a hundred meters.
Newgate did not rush to pursue. He asked again, "Why do you say that?"
"Why?"
"Because you are no longer people of the World Government. You already belong to the world of Falmart!"
Emroy covered her mouth with her left as she laughed, her voice ringing through the field.
This made Newgate frown.
Almost involuntarily, he turned his head toward the direction of Arnus Hill.
He understood her words.
To be honest, Newgate had no desire to remain in this world.
Then he drew back his gaze and fixed it upon Emroy once more.
In an instant, Murakumogiri in his hand flared with white light once again, vibrating with the power of quakes.
"Did you not understand?"
Seeing that he still intended to fight, Emroy's face darkened as she snapped: "You cannot return anymore. In this life, in this world, you will live here!"
And with that, she smiled again, her tone gentle as she comforted: "But this goddess is very willing to accept you into the Church of Emroy!"
"Thirty-nine years from now, I can even bestow divinity upon you—make you my demigod!"
"And a thousand years later, once you become a god, I can grant you the divine mantle of War!"
At that moment, as their battle had stilled, all the thunderous noise ceased.
Thus Emroy's words carried clearly to Rory Mercury above the clouds.
When she heard the phrase "thirty-nine years from now," her heart immediately eased.
For she was already nine hundred and sixty-one years old. In thirty-nine years, she would reach one thousand.
By then, her soul would leave her body, and she would receive a divine mantle from the will of the world, becoming a newly risen main god.
Yet until she became a god, the divinity she held was bestowed by Emroy.
And the latter could reclaim it at any moment and grant it to someone else.
That was why Rory had been so on edge just now.
She had feared that Emroy might declare that so long as Newgate was willing to join her church, she would immediately grant him divinity.
For divinity was something that main gods could request from the will of the world only once every thousand years.
And even then, there was no guarantee of receiving it.
It depended on whether the will of the world deemed it necessary for new gods to emerge.
Thus, even for main gods, divinity was an exceedingly rare treasure.
Even Emroy herself did not hold any surplus in hand.
"Gurararara~~~"
"Thirty-nine years later? How could this old man possibly live that long!"
Edward Newgate burst out laughing at Emroy's words.
"Aren't you of the Giant race? Even if your lifespan doesn't match that of the elves, it should still span several centuries."
Emroy spoke in puzzlement.
"This old man may have giant blood in his veins, but I am not of the Giant race!"
With that, Newgate narrowed his eyes, the fire of battle reigniting in his heart. "Enough talk. Time to settle this once and for all!"
To Emroy, however, this came across as a refusal born of despair, as though he had no hope of becoming a god.
"In that case, if you agree to join, I can grant you divinity immediately!"
"I will give you a thousand years of life, and during that time, a body that cannot die or decay!"
The instant her words fell, above the clouds, Rory Mercury felt as though struck by lightning, frozen in shock.
Down below, Emroy, though fully aware that Rory was present, still kept her face expressionless as she awaited Newgate's reply.
Compared to Edward Newgate, Rory Mercury's worth was clearly far lower.
"Mmm… that is somewhat tempting," Edward Newgate murmured softly.
But just as joy flickered in Emroy's eyes, his voice rang out in a thunderous shout: "But compared to my family, such things are worthless!"
"So this old man refuses!"
Before the last word had even fallen, Newgate swung Murakumogiri down with ruthless force.
"Then fight, Emroy!"
[BOOM!]
The power of quakes exploded in white light before him.
Jagged fissures split the air itself, accompanied by sharp cracking sounds.
"Why?!"
Emroy's scream of disbelief tore through the battlefield.
But she failed to notice that the one she had once treated like a sister, her companion for nearly a thousand years, Rory Mercury—
—was now already weeping, tears streaming down her face.
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