Gusion's muscles swelled even further, inflating his black windbreaker.
The torn parts revealed bare, corded muscle—veined and granite-like, covered in dark-purple demonic patterns.
His veins bulged, skin splitting from the overgrown muscle. Blood spurted under high pressure, vaporizing into a crimson mist from the heat.
His bones groaned under the pressure, cracks forming. In this state, he could last less than three seconds before his body exploded.
But now he could endure, because he'd just swapped his original Armament Haki for Seimei Kikan!
Now, his body auto-regenerated, repairing itself even as it was destroyed.
Blood seeped from the cracks, mixing with the purple mist of Gusion. His skin split and healed, life and death manifesting together—Gusion, bathed in red lightning, looked like a demon from a blood pool!
"Whew—"
The steam he exhaled was no longer white, but blood-red vapor, swirling like a red dragon.
In this state, his core stats surged to 58!
Body Killer, seeing the transformation, instinctively sensed danger. He hadn't expected Gusion to raise his power even more at this point.
But he was too close to retreat, and pulling back would defeat his original purpose.
If Gusion ate a Devil Fruit while he tried to withdraw, the fight would be over.
The clouds under Gusion's feet were battered and torn by the battle. He dug into the ground, claws gripping for strength, channeling it through his body.
With extreme power, even Gusion's hilt strained. Gusion unleashed a full-power slash!
Boom—
An unprecedented shockwave erupted where Gusion met the Holy Sword. For the first time, Body Killer was forced back, even though his buffed stats were still four points higher.
Not only that, the force of the blow shook his bones, his wrist went numb—he nearly dropped his sword.
True damage gnawed at his body, and the demon blade drained his soul energy—causing Body Killer, for the first time, to doubt.
Could I lose?
Gusion gave him no respite. Even with regeneration, his state was still time-limited—he had to finish this quickly.
He used Shave to close the distance, unleashing another slash. The red mist and lightning parted the white sea, smashing into the Holy Sword, bending Body Killer's wrist unnaturally.
Body Killer used his flatworm fruit power to heal, but Gusion's attacks were faster than he could recover—relentless and lethal.
Mountain Collapse!
Rivers Gather!
Ground Split!
The final Ground Split came down hard. Body Killer blocked with the Holy Sword, but the residual force still drained his soul energy.
Body Killer realized he couldn't keep this up—so, when Gusion swung again, he stopped blocking and focused on dodging with his element form.
He twisted his sword, avoiding Gusion's blade, stabbing at Gusion's heart. His chest split to dodge Gusion's attack.
Gusion silently praised Body Killer's resolve—he really did have the guts to go all out. This time, he dodged perfectly, using his element form.
But Body Killer's attack continued, stabbing at Gusion's heart. Gusion twisted to avoid a fatal wound.
Body Killer wasn't surprised Gusion could dodge; in fact, that's exactly what he wanted—his biggest chance.
Slash—
The Holy Sword stabbed into Gusion's side, not a fatal wound. As long as it wasn't deadly, Gusion could instantly heal with Seimei Kikan.
But this wasn't Body Killer's real killing move. Using his remaining soul energy, he fired a light cannon from his third eye at Gusion's head!
Body Killer's combat experience was formidable—he'd analyzed all possible responses. After dodging the stab, Gusion would be in an awkward position.
If Gusion wanted to dodge the cannon, there wasn't enough time to move down—he'd have to jump, but that would let Body Killer tear him up with the sword. According to calculations, the light cannon would hit his chest—a vital point.
Victory!
Body Killer relaxed, inwardly admiring Gusion as a rare strong foe.
But the next instant, his eyes widened—Gusion's response was completely unexpected.
Gusion didn't retreat, didn't jump, didn't drop down. Instead, he kept his stance and spun with his slash.
Slash—
The blade cut into Gusion's flesh—the direction Body Killer thought impossible to dodge. If Gusion spun, the sword would slice right through his heart!
In Body Killer's moment of shock, Gusion spun further, using the momentum to bring down another slash.
In that split second, Body Killer didn't have time to element-shift. The slash cleaved from his left shoulder to his side, cutting him in two!
With Soul Devourer and Demon Slayer's buffs, Ryuo and Haki, the attack was at its peak—this single slash drained Body Killer's remaining soul energy.
With nothing left, Body Killer almost fainted, let alone counterattack.
The air was still tinged red from Gusion's heart wound, but the blood was blown away by the force of his attacks.
Facing the helpless Body Killer, Gusion didn't hesitate—another slash took off his head.
A storm of blows followed—after thirty-seven more slashes, Body Killer's head was reduced to bloody bits. Even a real flatworm would be dead.
Only when Gusion stopped did the blood mist, cooled by the high air, fall as a rain of blood.
Gusion's chest was still spurting blood, his life force at its lowest, but he held on—Seimei Kikan closed the wound, saving him.
He coughed up blood, took another healing item, and picked up Body Killer's Deadman's Chest.
"Well fought. I'll remember you."
Gusion exited his demon god state, catching his breath.
Body Killer was a tough opponent. In those tense final moments, both had chances to win, but Gusion's judgment was sharper.
Body Killer underestimated Gusion's regeneration, thinking Gusion wouldn't dare risk a mortal wound, and missed his chance.
From Gusion's perspective, whoever got the first move at the end would lose—so he risked it all for the win.
It wasn't that Body Killer lacked resolve—he simply lost the judgment battle.
A moment's hesitation decided the outcome.
Gusion paused to recover, and once his life force was over 40%, he used Moonwalk to fly toward the Ark Maxim.
Black Lily and Enel were still fighting—meaning the battle wasn't over.
Gusion didn't care about kill-stealing, but Enel was too dangerous. Gusion was badly wounded; if Enel recovered and used Raigo, it'd be over.
Gusion reached the sky above the Ark, seeing Enel covered in black spots, and a panting Black Lily.
Clearly, Black Lily's stats were at a disadvantage; even with her curse, she couldn't finish Enel, and was now a bit battered.
Without a word, Gusion acted—pulling out the Barbarian King Bow and firing an arrow.
Enel, already thrown off by the curse, was caught off guard. By the time he sensed the arrow, it was too late to dodge—he could only hastily element-shift, hoping the arrow would pass through him.
Despite his wounds, Gusion's haki hadn't dropped. The Barbarian King Bow's arrow, infused with Ryuo, tore a hole through Enel's right chest, exploding his chest cavity.
Enel coughed blood, face twisted in pain and fear. He never expected to be so badly wounded.
So, this is what it feels like to have your chest blown open?
Seeing Gusion appear, Enel knew Body Killer was dead, the priests' fates unknown. Was he the last one left on the sky island?
No, he wouldn't die—not as a god! He still wanted to rule the sky island, finish the Ark Maxim, and go to the endless earth!
Enel, covered in black spots, ugly and cursed, bleeding from his chest, let out a meaningless scream.
Lightning flickered around him. As Black Lily's confusion curse faded, thunder exploded—he was going all out for his final move, trying to kill these mortals who dared offend a god!
Enel's body swelled as he began transforming into his thunder god form.
Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—
But Gusion gave him no chance. Standing above, he looked down, firing three arrows in quick succession.
This time, no one warned Enel that transforming was foolish. The first arrow, wrapped in Ryuo, punched a huge hole through his thunder god body, expanding with a natural energy explosion.
The second arrow blew apart half of Enel's body—blood and lightning spraying like fireworks.
After the second arrow, Enel reverted to human form, and the third arrow struck his head.
Boom—
The arrow blew Enel's head apart, then slammed into the Ark Maxim, ringing out like a great bell in the sky.