ZIZI— ZIZI—
A blinding flash of lightning erupted as Zephyr was completely engulfed in a crackling sphere of electricity, illuminating everything within a radius of dozens of meters.
"HARGH—!!!"
Suddenly, a thunderous roar tore through the brilliant glare. Bathed in the raging torrent of electricity, Zephyr flexed his muscles and unleashed a powerful burst of localized force. The lightning enveloping his body shattered instantly, dispersing into a violent gale that swept outwards, kicking up a massive shroud of dust while stray electrical arcs danced through the air.
THUD! THUD! THUD!
With heavy, earth-shattering strides, Charlotte Linlin advanced. Her colossal weight fractured the ground beneath her feet with every step, closing the distance in the blink of an eye to appear directly before Zephyr.
"Die—!!!"
She unleashed a piercing, bloodcurdling shriek. The massive, multi-meter-long blade of Napoleon came slashing down, carving through the atmosphere with a gale-force wind as sharp as a razor, striking heavily against Zephyr before he could even form a proper defense.
Zephyr's vision went dark. He barely registered the incoming tempest before a wave of agonizing pain ripped through his body, and his entire frame was sent hurtling backward through the air.
RUMBLE— RUMBLE—
Like a black streak cutting through the sky, he flew hundreds of meters in an instant, crashing violently into the ruins of a towering building. The impact triggered a cataclysmic explosion of dust and displaced air that shot straight into the heavens.
"My blade isn't something you can just casually take, old man! Ma-ma-ma-ma—!!!"
Charlotte Linlin burst into a mocking, boisterous laugh. Staring at the massive plume of dust rising in the distance, she was convinced that Zephyr, whom she viewed as nothing more than a washed-up relic of the past, could never survive the full force of her slash.
Yet, before her laughter could even subside, a sudden blast of pressurized air blew the dense cloud of dust clean apart from the center, and a dark shadow came rocketing out at terrifying speed.
"Nani?!"
Seeing the figure rushing toward her, Charlotte Linlin's entire body tensed as she blurted out in genuine shock, "How is this possible?!"
The figure was none other than Zephyr, the very man she had just sent flying with her blade. His entire body was now completely coated in an absolute layer of pitch-black Armament Haki. He looked like an indestructible statue forged from dark iron, gleaming with a cold, metallic luster.
Aside from a light dusting of debris on his clothes, he was entirely unscathed. In other words, Big Mom's devastating slash had failed to inflict a single scratch on him.
"Big Mom, you'll have to try harder than that!"
"I am a user of the Paramecia-type Hard-Hard Fruit! An attack of that caliber isn't anywhere near enough to kill me!"
Zephyr bellowed with a fierce, feral expression as he charged forward like a juggernaut of living metal. Every single step he slammed onto the earth gouged out a massive crater, launching fragments of shattered stone high into the air.
"A Devil Fruit user?!"
Charlotte Linlin was momentarily stunned. It had never crossed her mind that Black Arm Zephyr, a man famously known for his disdain toward Devil Fruits and his absolute hatred for those who relied on them, had actually become an Ability User himself!
Taking full advantage of Big Mom's momentary lapse in focus, Zephyr slammed his foot into the earth, kicking off the ground dozens of times in a fraction of a second. Utilizing the Rokushiki technique, Soru, he vanished from his spot as if he had teleported through space.
BANG—
In the next heartbeat, a pitch-black iron fist smashed squarely into Charlotte Linlin's chin. The monumental kinetic force of the impact forced her colossal frame upward, lifting both her feet off the ground as she began to list backward.
"Take another one—!!!"
Positioned directly beneath Charlotte Linlin's massive form, Zephyr's eyes gleamed with a vicious intensity. He let out a primal roar as his muscles swelled to their absolute limits, thick veins bulging violently across his skin as he pulled his arm back to deliver a follow-up strike.
CRACK—
A brilliant bolt of lightning fell from the sky, striking Zephyr dead-on.
The blinding electricity enveloped him once more, the intense current paralyzing his muscles and sending a wave of sharp pain through his nerves, causing his intended punch to veer completely off course.
THUD—
Charlotte Linlin slammed heavily back onto the ground, instantly recovering her bearings.
Without a moment's hesitation, she clenched her massive fist and drove a devastating downward punch straight into Zephyr's chest.
BOOM—!!!
The ground fractured and caved inward to form a massive crater as a violent explosion of scorching flames and powerful electrical currents erupted simultaneously. Zephyr was hammered straight into the depths of the earth, causing immense fissures to spiderweb outward across the terrain in all directions.
A cataclysmic shockwave laced with dense dust rolled outward like a brown tidal wave, sweeping across the battlefield and sending countless bricks and boulders flying through the air.
BANG—
A moment later, Zephyr broke through the soil dozens of meters away, rocketing back up to the surface amidst a shower of flying debris. However, the moment his feet touched the ground, he stumbled, barely able to maintain his balance.
Even with the enhanced defensive properties of the Hard-Hard Fruit combined with the armor-like protection of his Armament Haki, taking a direct hit from that monstrous punch had left his entire body aching with dull pain, and the bones within his frame felt dangerously close to their breaking point.
RUMBLE...
Charlotte Linlin pulled her arm back, shaking off the fragments of stone clinging to her skin. She glared at Zephyr a short distance away, her lips curling into a wicked grin. "Well, well. To think a stubborn, pedantic old fool like you would actually make such a radical change. How amusing!"
A bone-chilling, savage edge crept into her voice, causing the temperature of the surrounding atmosphere to plummet instantly. The very air began to vibrate with a low, ominous buzz under the pressure of an invisible force. Fine cracks began to ripple across the solid ground, buckling under the sheer weight of an oppressive, unseen aura.
Zephyr knew exactly what this was. This was Big Mom's murderous aura fused with her Conqueror's Haki, unleashed with such terrifying density that it had physical form, altering the local weather and fracturing the earth itself.
Conqueror's Haki was nothing new to Zephyr. Although he didn't possess it himself, he was far too experienced to be intimidated or immobilized by Big Mom's aura.
RUMBLE, RUMBLE—
Suddenly, the deafening roar of thunder echoed from the horizon, growing louder at an impossible speed. A brilliant bolt of lightning shot through the distant sky, tearing across the atmosphere like a celestial lance directly toward Big Mom, carrying enough destructive force to strike her down on the spot.
"Another annoying pest shows his face!"
Charlotte Linlin's expression darkened considerably, clearly recognizing the source and nature of this incoming lightning bolt.
In the next instant, she swung her giant sword with absolute ferocity, unleashing a massive, cylindrical arc of pink flying slash energy that seemed to encompass the entire sky and earth within its trajectory.
"Ikoku!!!"
ZIZI— ZIZI—
The incoming bolt of lightning flared with a blinding radiance, transitioning from a state of extreme velocity to absolute stillness in a heartbeat. It hovered suspended in mid-air, rapidly condensing into a human silhouette.
"Mamaragan!!!"
Like the wrathful decree of an ancient deity, a colossal pillar of lightning several meters wide erupted from the humanoid silhouette, instantly illuminating the darkened sky.
BOOM—!!!
The pink slash energy and the brilliant column of lightning collided head-on, turning the sky blindingly white. The point of impact between the two cataclysmic forces resembled a miniature sun, radiating an unimaginably brilliant light that banished all shadows.
CRASH—
A fraction of a second later, an ear-splitting explosion reverberated through the atmosphere. A massive shockwave of pure energy rippled across the heavens, its intense illumination momentarily turning the night sky over Unzan Port into broad daylight.
Immediately following the blast, a terrifying hurricane akin to a natural disaster swept across the sky and the earth, completely tearing apart the dense storm clouds that Zeus had gathered across the sky.
Out at sea, the violent winds stirred the ocean into a frenzy, kicking up towering waves. Inside the harbor, the berthed vessels tossed and turned violently against the docks under the surge of the tumultuous waters. Even the dozen or so ships belonging to the Germa Kingdom were left listing dangerously, on the verge of capsizing at any moment.
Amidst the howling gale, Charlotte Linlin's hair whipped wildly around her face. Her eyes turned completely blood-red, burning with an absolute, terrifying thirst for slaughter.
"Splendid! Then I'll just slaughter the both of you together!"
"Napoleon, transform into a saber!"
The moment she spoke, the massive broadsword form of Napoleon began to shift and bend, its blade curving into a gargantuan saber that Charlotte Linlin gripped tightly in her hand.
Simultaneously, Prometheus transformed into a roaring inferno, anchoring himself to Charlotte Linlin's hair as he burned upward in surging waves of flame. A sinister, menacing face twisted into a demonic grin within the fire, making her look precisely like an unstoppable demon of flame.