A series of pale, delicate hands suddenly appeared at Brook's side, forming a flawless wall of defense that completely shielded him.
Boom!
A deafening explosion erupted right in the palm of one of Robin's summoned hands.
The blast scorched her graceful conjured palm, leaving it charred black, but Brook remained completely unharmed beneath the defense.
Absalom, after launching his attack, vanished once again into thin air, evading Robin's senses entirely.
Brook calmly took a step back, glanced at Robin with his signature laugh, and said, "Yohohohoho! Thank you, Robin-san!"
Robin gave a gentle smile, lowered her arms, and replied softly, "You're welcome."
High above,
Moria, who had just made his move, controlled the swarm of fragmented shadow bats, sending them spiraling in front of Perona. They quickly gathered and merged into a massive shadow bat roughly the size of Moria himself, then surged forward to collide with the azure-flamed Vermilion Phoenix charging at Perona.
The clash between the two colossal beings felt like a battle of phantoms from another world, no sound was made upon impact.
Only the light and shadows, bright and dark, spreading through the room proved the fight was real.
The shadow bat born of darkness and the phoenix of the underworld clashed in midair, erupting in brilliant bursts of flickering light.
After a few rounds, the shadow bat's form began to freeze, its body slowly consumed by the yellow springs' flames, gradually turning to frost.
Yet Moria's overall strength far outclassed Brook's.
Though the Vermilion Phoenix had the upper hand, its spectral energy was rapidly exhausted. Before the shadow bat was fully frozen, the phoenix's soul fire flickered and died first, losing its power to continue fighting.
With one final, sorrowful cry, the phoenix's silhouette twisted into a fiery vortex. After a moment of spiraling descent, it faded into a speck of indigo starlight and vanished into the air, returning to the underworld.
Perona, unconscious and Mental Power form adrift, began to slowly fall through the air.
Only now did Brook realize she was no longer able to fight. He sheathed his bone sword and cast a questioning glance toward Luffy.
Luffy noticed the look. Though unsure why Brook was seeking his permission, he somehow instinctively understood what Brook meant, and gave him a faint nod.
Receiving the unspoken approval, Brook immediately raised both hands. His thumbs and index fingers formed a triangle, carefully aiming at the spot where Perona was about to land.
"Perona!"
Moria shouted her name in alarm, assuming Brook was preparing another attack. But no matter how loud he called, Perona remained unconscious.
Eyes wide with fury, Moria prepared to unleash another attack. He began manipulating his shadows again, intending to strike Brook and stop him before it was too late.
Whoosh!
Before Moria could act, Luffy instantly appeared before him. His tone was cold, his gaze sharp.
"I told you to stand still and wait for the outcome. Didn't I?"
With that, Luffy twisted midair and delivered a spinning kick straight to Moria's head.
Bang!
Moria was sent flying, crashing through the wall and into the next room, completely caught off guard.
The impact disrupted Moria's consciousness for a moment, and the shadow clone he had been manipulating vanished on the spot, reverting to a pool of dark shadow that slithered back beneath his feet.
Now unimpeded, Brook calmly extended his jet-black skeletal hand, from which a cluster of azure-blue fire rapidly formed.
He gently flicked it toward the ground where Perona was about to fall.
The flame landed silently, whoosh, and froze the ground into a patch of icy frost.
Perona's Mental Power form drifted down slowly and came to rest on the frozen surface, lying there peacefully as if in a deep sleep.
Only Brook himself knew, his subconscious had whispered to him.
A voice told him: if a Mental Power like Perona's, having lost consciousness, were to fall endlessly, she would descend into the deepest depths of the underworld, never to return.
A kind soul like Brook could never let a girl fall into that abyss.
And now, having received the captain's nod, he'd saved her.
─────────🏴☠️─────────
Elsewhere,
After shielding Brook from the blast, Robin immediately began scanning the room.
Her eyes, like high-powered sensors, swept across every corner, but Absalom remained nowhere to be found.
"Hmm…"
Robin sighed softly in frustration. Despite her finely honed senses, something still felt… off.
She could sense an anomaly, she just couldn't quite pin it down. Perhaps her observation skills hadn't fully matured yet. No matter how she tried, she couldn't catch the invisible figure hiding in the air.
But that didn't mean she was helpless.
Though laced with a hint of compromise, her next move carried no hesitation.
"Ochenta Fleurs: Cuatro Manos - Clutch."
Crossing her arms, Robin gently closed her eyes. She lowered her head and whispered quietly.
Suddenly, the Varia Ring on her right-hand finger flared to life, purple flames bursting forth.
It burned with her resolve, consuming her fighting Mental Power in exchange for greater power.
From the ground around her, countless arms sprouted like bamboo after rain, row after row of slender limbs unfolding rapidly from the earth.
They blossomed outward like spring flowers, spreading in every direction.
Within moments, the entire room, save for the spots where Luffy, Robin, and Brook stood, was covered in delicate arms wreathed in faint purple flames.
Somewhere within that sea of hands, a few limbs trembled strangely, as though something had disturbed them.
Robin smiled elegantly, her lips curving gracefully. Her eyes sparkled with soft charm and fierce intent as she gazed into the air and said sweetly, "Found you."
Her eyes suddenly sharpened, and she clenched her hands tightly in the air.
The gemstone on the Varia Ring erupted in blinding firelight, illuminating Robin's face.
Under the glow of purple flames, her flawless skin and serene expression took on an otherworldly beauty, noble and radiant, like a divine goddess.
"Blooming Blossom: Great Tree!"
All the arms covering the floor instantly transformed into pink petals, hovering just above the ground.
The petals ignited with purple fire and began pulling toward one another. The light intensified and the flames roared as they merged into a massive column of violet energy that surged toward the ceiling.
As the purple light faded, a giant hand, towering and divine, emerged from the blaze.
Without hesitation, it slammed downward toward the place Robin had just pinpointed.
The hand came down with a violent gale, whistling with strange cries as it swept through the air and smashed into the ground.
BOOM!!!
The entire room quaked violently. The ceiling above groaned, seemingly on the verge of collapse.
Still recovering from previous injuries, Absalom took the full brunt of the blow. He was knocked completely unconscious, his bones shattered, blood spurting from his mouth, limbs flailing as he crashed onto the floor.
Everything had happened so quickly.
Moria had only just crawled back from the room Luffy had kicked him into, only to see the battered body of Absalom lying on the floor.
"Absalom!!!"
Moria's eyes bulged with rage. Blood vessels burst in his eyes, and his pupils nearly popped from their sockets.
"Damn it!!! I'll kill you all!!!"
==========
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