"This battle was truly brutal,"
Elior sighed with emotion. Akainu's mangled body had been completely obliterated under the double, decisive strike from Big Mom and Kaido, his head blasted violently into the air.
Naturally, countless people noticed it. Whether pirates or Marines, nearly everyone present was horrified by the scene. Many Marines collapsed to their knees on the spot. Several of them stared blankly at the severed head soaring through the sky. The Marine fell completely silent. Akainu, their greatest pillar of faith, was dead.
In the end, Akainu's head finally fell from the sky and rolled to a stop in front of the Marines. His face was frozen in defiance, filled with struggle, rage, unwillingness, and pain. Only a single head remained. The Marines erupted. Some roared in despair, while others broke down in tears.
"Akainu… Fleet Admiral Akainu… he's dead!"
"Lord Sakazuki… how could this happen?! How is this possible?!"
Cries, shouts, and wails echoed across the shattered ice field. Even the pirates were shaken. The cooperation between Kaido and Big Mom had been unimaginably ruthless. Unlike Elior, who preferred to sever his enemies' heads cleanly, those two had simply annihilated Akainu's body with overwhelming force, leaving nothing but his head.
"Horrifying... Kaido-sama is a monster," whispered the pirates. "Thank god they aren't our enemies, or we wouldn't even know how we died!"
Akainu's death forced both sides of the battlefield into a brief, eerie truce. Tsuru went limp and collapsed to her knees. Kizaru let out a long, helpless sigh. For the first time, he seemed indifferent to life and death. Fujitora closed his eyes as two streams of tears flowed down his face. The Marines were overwhelmed by grief, but reality was undeniable.
For Elior, however, everything seemed to be reaching its conclusion. "So noisy. It's time to end this."
Elior stood up, gripping Yoru.
BOOM!
A terrifying wave of power erupted outward with Elior at its center, crushing everything in its path. Countless weaker fighters were knocked unconscious instantly by his Supreme Conqueror's Haki. The battlefield fell silent once more.
Moments later, Elior flew over to Big Mom and Kaido. All that remained on the ground was a pile of mangled flesh and a single leg. That was all that was left of Akainu's body.
"No Mag-Mag Fruit left to take?" Elior was momentarily speechless. With Akainu's body completely gone, stealing his Devil Fruit ability was impossible.
Big Mom and Kaido sat heavily on the ground, panting.
"Akainu's finally dealt with!" Kaido laughed. "Next, we just drive off Marine Headquarters or kill them all!"
Elior shook his head. "There is no need to kill them all. Those foot soldiers don't matter. There are still several Vice Admirals left, and three key forces remain: Kizaru, Fujitora, and Tsuru. As for Gion, she is my woman. You both understand that. Those people need to be preserved."
He continued calmly, "They will be useful when we attack Mary Geoise later. For now, they are needed to maintain order. If everything collapses completely, the World Government will turn against us outright. Besides, we also suffered heavy losses. Let them surrender and retreat."
Elior already had a clear plan. He needed to visit the new Marine Headquarters secretly. If it succeeded, he would use the remaining strength of the Marines to assist in the future assault on Mary Geoise.
"No need to kill them all?" Big Mom frowned.
"It is unnecessary," Elior replied. "We have already won this war. There is still much to do. The remnants of the Whitebeard Pirates haven't been dealt with. We haven't gone to God Valley or Laugh Tale yet. We need time to recover. After today, the New World will be within our grasp."
Elior's expression was cold and resolute. Of course, the New World would be in his hands, not theirs. Big Mom and Kaido would bow eventually because they were no match for Elior.
"End this war. Tell the senior Marine officers that if they surrender, they may retreat."
Elior's meaning was clear: refuse, and there would be no retreat. Kaido transformed into a massive Azure Dragon, soaring into the sky. "Does the Marine still want to fight?" His eyes locked mainly onto Tsuru, Fujitora, and Kizaru. "Surrender and you may leave. Refuse, and you won't leave at all."
Tsuru clenched her fists until blood seeped from her palms. At that moment, a voice echoed within Elior's mind.
[Sign-in detected. Does the host wish to sign in?]
Elior did not hesitate. "Sign in."
[Sign-in successful. Rewards obtained: Time Domain Level 1, Space Domain Level 1, and Lava Control, superior to the Mag-Mag Fruit and starting at Awakening level.]
Elior felt the new powers surging. Time Domain granted him the ability to accelerate or decelerate time up to twenty times, stop time in a small area, and even manipulate lifespans. Space Domain allowed him to sever space, create spatial gates for instant travel, and perform short-range displacements.
With these powers, Elior was no longer just a monster. He was a god.