Half an hour later, a vast area of the Towns lay in ruins.
Neither of them held the advantage—Big Mom and Vane were evenly matched, locked in a struggle so intense, they could barely catch their breath.
Elbaf Spear: Sovernity — Supreme Power!
Big Mom unleashed another massive whirling slash that tore past Vane. The attack carried a bone-chilling wind, blasting a colossal hole into the ground where her strike landed. The impact carved a bottomless pit into the earth, revealing only darkness below.
Though she wasn't a giant, Big Mom had mastered techniques exclusive to the Giant race. Her sheer strength allowed her to perform moves powerful enough to split the sea with a single strike—her attacks easily crushed even the toughest terrain.
"Heh…"
Big Mom grinned, facing Vane with a wicked expression. Her laughter echoed like something from a nightmare, as if a demon had risen from the depths of the underworld. Then she raised her left hand. A soul emerged from her body and flew into the sky.
It was mid-afternoon, bright and cloudless.
But as soon as her soul ascended, a thunderclap split the sky—a sudden bolt from the blue. In an instant, dark clouds gathered and spread across the entire island. They formed an ominous blanket, blotting out the sun and turning day into night in mere moments.
The island was massive, housing tens of thousands of residents, yet the thunderclouds now stretched far beyond its borders. Big Mom had plunged the entire region into darkness.
Lightning crackled within the clouds. The blue-white flashes illuminated the darkened sky. Thunder rumbled, and it felt as if a massive storm was about to erupt.
The sky above was swallowed by the storm.
Charlotte Linlin—Big Mom—the wielder of the Soul-Soul Fruit, had the power to instill her soul into objects, granting them sentience and obedience. With that, she controlled not only people and objects but even weather phenomena.
Yes, her ability made her a living force of nature. The Soul-Soul Fruit was more versatile than many elemental Logia powers combined.
That's the terror of Big Mom. Yet among the Pirate Emperors, she wasn't unique in her scale of destruction. Whitebeard could summon tsunamis with a swing of his weapon. Shanks' Haki could turn skies dark in an instant. Kaido's heat breath could obliterate mountains.
The Pirate Emperors—each of them monstrous in their own right.
"She's truly a monster… worthy of the title 'Emperor of the Sea.'"
Vane stared at the sky. The changes had taken less than a minute. The sheer scope of the Soul-Soul Fruit's abilities was hard to comprehend.
She was a born monster—destined to rule.
A torrential downpour began, and lightning, as thick as tree trunks, rained down. The ocean boiled. Thunder and rain shook the heavens and the earth. On the coast, terrified civilians huddled under makeshift shelters. Trees quivered under the storm's might.
From afar, the island looked like a world on the verge of collapse. And this was just Big Mom's passive power in action.
"This old woman really is a monster…"
Even Esdeath's expression shifted. Her composure cracked as she watched the cataclysm unfold. The sheer force dwarfed anything she'd seen—even the powerful Imperial Arms from her homeworld paled in comparison.
"Can Vane win?"
Kalifa finally regained her senses, still trembling. She had almost blacked out from the pressure alone.
"Don't worry. I don't think he'll lose. He might not defeat her, but she won't defeat him either."
Esdeath narrowed her eyes, remembering the first time she met Vane—how he summoned pillars of fire, taller than buildings, boiling the sea and scorching the sky. A force of nature, just like his opponent.
"Mother…"
Meanwhile, Big Mom's children shivered. Katakuri and the others, now freed from the ice, looked on in awe. Though still shackled with Seastone cuffs, they were witnessing their mother's true might—something few ever had.
Many of her children had never seen her in this state. After all, in the New World, very few dared challenge someone on her level.
"No one can stop Mother when she's like this…"
Katakuri's voice was filled with dread.
Stussy, hiding in the shadows, was equally shaken. She had lived undercover on Cake Island for years, but even she had never seen Big Mom go this far.
"A monster like this… No wonder the World Government can't eliminate her. The cost to suppress someone like Big Mom… It's unimaginable."
Back on the battlefield—
"This is the perfect setting," Vane muttered, gazing at the storm above. "A battlefield worthy of legends. Let's fight, then."
Big Mom roared as she thrust her left palm toward him. Flames erupted like molten lava, roaring across the battlefield.
She could manipulate fire—just like the Mera Mera no Mi—but hers burned hotter, stronger. Compared to her flames, Ace's seemed like a child's plaything.
"She's like someone who's eaten multiple Devil Fruits…"
Vane was impressed. His sword, Ryūjin Jakka, swept out, shielding him with a barrier of intense heat. The incoming fire coiled and dispersed around him, striking the ruined buildings nearby. Candy houses melted into sticky pools of syrup.
"How about trying my fire for a change, Big Mom?" he smirked.
Shakuen Mukō!
Vane expanded the barrier of swirling fire, his flames colliding with hers, deflecting them with tremendous force.
Torch!
Vane slashed again. His blade unleashed a surging firestorm, engulfing Big Mom in a towering tornado of flames. The vortex spiraled around her, closing in like a burning prison.
But the smile never left her face.
"Zeus!"
"Mother!"
The thundercloud homie, Zeus, descended. Big Mom reached out, grasping the dark cloud's body with one hand and yanked it down. A monstrous thunderbolt slammed into the ground, shattering the fire vortex and leveling the battlefield.
Big Mom emerged, unscathed.
Zeus floated above her. Prometheus, now part of her blazing hair, flared behind her. Napoleon, her living sword, gleamed in her hand.
She had become a fire demon.
"Vane… is that all you've got?"
Big Mom laughed wildly. Zeus crackled above, Prometheus roared behind, and Napoleon hummed with power.
A storm raged.
Fire burned despite the torrential rain.
At the center of the island—
Two monsters clashed.
---
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