Emet glanced at Garling first.
Even though he wasn't wearing that stupid bubble mask, Emet recognized him as a Celestial Dragon at a glance.
The stench that lingered on him, even while lying on the ground, was so strong it was nauseating.
It was exactly the same as the ones he killed two hundred years ago. If this had been a normal encounter, he would have been killed instantly.
However, there were more important matters now.
He had found himself in another space, one completely different from the oceanic world he remembered.
On his chest, where the knot had once been tied, was a slash mark that perfectly matched where it had been cut.
The only human still standing in this space was, according to the Celestial Dragon, the one who had released Joy Boy's Conqueror's Haki.
With just one glance, he confirmed what Garling said was true. Only Caelan had the strength to inflict the slash on his chest.
He stood tall and unwavering, unaffected by Joy Boy's mighty Haki.
Emet couldn't help but recall the moment Joy Boy handed him the knot.
Joy Boy had smiled and said, "Emet, my friend. Take it, my most powerful Haki. I hope it can help you one day!"
Even after eight hundred years, that heroic figure in the straw hat remained deeply etched in his memory.
"I'm sorry, Joy Boy. I couldn't make you king."
Emet held the broken knot in his hand and muttered to himself.
He turned his gaze back to Caelan, his expression becoming more serious.
In his memory, Joy Boy had said it was his strongest Haki. Joy Boy never lied.
And Joy Boy's strength was recognized as the strongest, even within the Great Kingdom eight hundred years ago.
No one, not even the so-called "King," could remain calm in the face of such overwhelming Conqueror's Haki.
Not even the twenty kings who led the rebellion. Not even Imu, who usurped the final throne and became one of the two poles of the world, could ignore it.
But the Caelan in front of him remained unaffected by Joy Boy's Haki, as if it were a gentle breeze across his face.
What kind of terrifying monster had emerged in this era? Unfortunately, he was not the Nika of this generation.
Emet stared at Caelan, who stood with his eyes closed in deep thought, and asked in a deep voice, "King of the new era, why did you release the gift left to me by my old friend?"
Caelan kept his eyes shut, not answering. His Haki was surging joyfully, steadily climbing toward a higher level.
Joy Boy's Conqueror's Haki was showing him the way forward, but Joy Boy's end was not his end.
Having inherited the templates of two legendary heroes from mythological epics, he had experienced their grand lives.
In spirit, he was the undefeated Caelan, the Heracles who bore the Twelve Labours, and the savior god Karna.
Combined with the supreme authority that reigned above all others, his Conqueror's Haki had a far higher ceiling.
At this moment, under the stimulation of Joy Boy's Haki, Caelan's Haki was breaking through to even greater heights.
Naturally, he had no time to respond to Emet's question.
"Mighty Iron Giant, are you afraid of the man who destroyed your treasure?"
Garling looked straight at Emet, trying to provoke his anger.
In his imagination, Emet would attack Caelan in a rage, creating chaos he could use to escape this yellow sand world.
Emet roared, "Despicable human!"
Garling smiled. That's right.
Fight, fight with Caelan!
However, Emet looked at Garling with disgust, raised his massive foot, and stomped down hard.
Boom!
Garling could only watch helplessly as the foot came crashing down. His entire body was slammed into the sand by the enormous force, his face contorted with pain and disbelief.
If not for his powerful physique, he would have been flattened on the spot.
Emet snorted coldly, the disgust in his voice unmistakable. "I hate traitors. Especially traitors among betrayers."
Garling looked angry but didn't dare to speak.
Joy Boy's Haki had not yet fully dissipated, and his immortality hadn't recovered.
If he wasn't killed by Caelan but by this giant robot instead, it would be a complete disaster.
Emet no longer paid him any attention. He turned back to Caelan and said, "Even if you are the king of this era, I will strike you down for destroying the gift Joy Boy left for me."
With that, Emet raised his foot and stepped toward Caelan.
But...
Boom!
Caelan suddenly opened his eyes, and an overwhelming aura, now made tangible, erupted from his body.
In the next instant, countless terrifying black and red lightning bolts surged out from him, covering the entire endless battlefield of yellow sand.
Just as Emet was about to bring his foot down, he was thrown back by the sheer force of the Conqueror's Haki and fell to the ground in shock.
Kizaru, who was still conscious, broke into a cold sweat and nearly coughed up blood.
Vegapunk and the others, who had just lost consciousness under Joy Boy's Haki, were jolted awake under this wave of Haki.
Garling, still buried in the sand, found himself directly targeted. His immortality, which had already been severely suppressed, was once again sealed completely.
Under this tangible, overwhelming Haki that had ascended to several new levels, Garling couldn't even breathe.
He looked at Caelan with utter terror. That Haki ignited a fear deep within him that he couldn't control.
As the leader of the Knights of God and a top-level Celestial Dragon, he naturally possessed Conqueror's Haki.
But now he seemed to hear a faint shattering sound, like glass breaking.
His spirit had shattered, and so had his Haki.
It wasn't the kind of defeat that came from losing a Haki clash. That was common.
Nor was it the temporary loss caused by a break in ambition, which could be recovered later with confidence.
His Conqueror's Haki had been completely crushed at its root.
It could no longer be used. It could not be restored. He would never again wield Conqueror's Haki.
How could this happen?
How was this even possible?
Conqueror's Haki being shattered by another's Haki, rendering it unusable forever.
It was absurd. He had never heard of such a thing.
After experiencing Joy Boy's Haki, he thought that was the highest peak possible.
But this new Haki Caelan had just released seemed to transcend into an entirely different dimension.
Unprecedented fear filled his mind. Garling had even lost the will to fight.
Or maybe, this was just a small side effect of having his spirit crushed.
Without spirit, without courage, one would naturally lose everything else too.
(To be continued.)