Chapter 30: Kill Me
In Nereus's impression, Garp and Roger were never serious people. It wasn't surprising for their brains to short-circuit and do something ridiculous.
He just didn't expect their symptoms to have started this early...
"They can still speak normally, so they definitely aren't being controlled..."
"Nereus, the situation here is complicated. If you were controlled too, we'd really be in trouble."
They had fought before and knew exactly what level Nereus was at. One Rocks was already giving them a headache. If Nereus were added to the mix...
Even more fatally, God Valley was now shrouded in a curtain of rain. In this environment, the combat power Nereus could unleash would be even more terrifying.
Although Nereus couldn't exactly be considered an ally, a lucid Nereus could at least listen to reason. That was infinitely better than a controlled one.
However, the two of them didn't seem to process Nereus's words. Garp breathed a sigh of relief seeing that Nereus's demeanor and speech were vastly different from Rocks's.
Roger greeted him, but then he and Garp seemed to realize something else simultaneously. They suddenly asked Nereus:
"Wait! Who are you calling polio-stricken?!"
"And what do you mean Alzheimer's?! Am I that old?!"
"Sigh..."
Nereus didn't respond to the two of them. Instead, he covered his face in helplessness.
At this moment, Nereus felt he had made a grave mistake. Comparing their brains to the level of normal humans was indeed inappropriate.
Although Garp and Roger had been knocked back earlier, Rocks had also been sent flying. Now, Rocks had stood up again, swinging his blade at Nereus.
BOOM!
After a loud bang, Nereus blocked Rocks's blade with his claws, clearly sensing the changes in Rocks.
"His strength is greater than before... Rationality seems gone, but his combat instincts remain? The amount of Haki hasn't diminished, but something else seems mixed in..."
"Be careful! That guy isn't the Rocks you knew anymore!"
Roger swung his blade at Rocks from the side. Although he didn't break through Rocks's defensive Haki, he forced Rocks back again.
[Nereus... kill me. I'm begging you... With Roger and Garp's assistance... you can definitely do it...]
As Rocks was forced back, Nereus heard Rocks's voice. More accurately, his inner voice.
This ability was commonly known as the Voice of All Things, possessed by a select few.
Those with this ability could hear sounds that ordinary people could not.
The voices of Zunesha, Sea Kings, and other such creatures fell into this category.
Because Roger and Garp possessed this ability, they could hear Rocks asking them to kill him.
Nereus inherently had this ability as well. He often communicated with tamed Fighting Fish and Sea Beasts, which was rare even among Fish-men.
Unlike merfolk, who could naturally communicate with fish, most Fish-men couldn't understand fish speech; only a few individuals could.
Nereus's ability to listen was even rarer.
"Kill you... Xebec... So that's it. It's actually for this reason... How ironic."
Nereus now had the answer to why Garp and Roger had teamed up.
"You heard Rocks too, right? Let's join forces for now! His state is completely wrong!"
"How on earth did he end up like this?"
Originally, Nereus came back to fight other Celestial Dragons with the God's Knights' immortality ability, intending to study that undying power.
But seeing this, he realized he had discovered something even more troublesome.
If someone of Rocks's level could be controlled by such means, future plans would need to be rearranged. At the very least, he needed to find a way to circumvent this control before taking further action.
"Earlier, we encountered a pitch-black thing. Rocks fought with it and turned into this.
As for what that thing was, I don't know."
Roger took Nereus's words as a tacit agreement to team up and recounted what happened earlier.
"That giant spider was one of the Five Elders, the highest authority of the World Government. I think his name was Saturn. As for that black shadow... I don't know either."
Garp walked over and shared what he knew. But just because they didn't know didn't mean Nereus didn't know.
Nereus remembered that the highest battle damage the Five Elders had ever sustained was inflicted by Imu.
Those seemingly unkillable Five Elders were reduced to dry bones with a mere thought from Imu.
The black shadow Garp and Roger mentioned couldn't be anyone other than Imu.
Even without knowing the full details of God Valley, this answer could be deduced from past memories and current events.
BOOM!
Before Nereus and the others could finish speaking, Rocks, in his corrupted state, moved again. He slashed at the three of them with a heavy, powerful strike.
This was the command Rocks's body received: every living creature on the island was a target.
Although the three of them dodged the attack, the remaining mountain on God Valley tottered under the shockwave of the blow, looking ready to collapse at any moment.
"Galaxy Impact!" (Fist Bone Impact)
"Divine Departure!" (Kamusari)
The shockwave from Garp's fist arrived simultaneously with Roger's slash. Although they knocked Rocks back again, they could feel that Rocks hadn't sustained any fatal injuries.
Instead, the shockwaves from their attacks completely demolished the last remaining mountain on God Valley, and the entire island began to crumble.
"Even this has no effect... Armament Haki is a power not inferior to Devil Fruit abilities. Our attacks are infused with Conqueror's Haki; it's impossible for them not to work..."
"That guy is using Conqueror's Haki for defense too. Our attacks are being canceled out. If we drag this out, we'll definitely lose. We can't outlast this monster in stamina..."
Garp panted heavily as he answered Roger.
A prolonged battle required both sides to be similar in strength, but Rocks was clearly exceeding that standard right now.
"The quality of your Haki isn't enough to break his defense like this. Do it again. Fuse your Haki together.
As long as you can wear down part of Rocks's defense, I can break through his line."
A cyclone tinged with blood red condensed in Nereus's hand. Massive amounts of Conqueror's Haki were compressed and refined in his palm, ready to launch like a drill.
In a 1v1, it would be hard for Nereus to determine a winner against Rocks in this state. But with Garp and Roger's help, the result would be different.
"Truly hideous... Xebec..."
At this moment, tears streamed down Rocks's face. Eerie growls occasionally escaped his mouth. In Nereus's mind, Rocks's voice was reduced to just two words.
[Kill me...]
Facing Rocks in this state, killing him was a form of liberation.
"Seems like that's the only way. Nereus, don't you dare miss! Kagutsuchi · Flame Master!"
"Infinite... Galaxy!"
Fist shadows and blade light flashed. A crack appeared in the invisible armor surrounding Rocks.
Unlike the original timeline, due to Nereus's participation, Garp and Roger didn't exhaust all their Haki. They still held some back, but this was enough.
"Blood Kill · Hell Thrust!"
The balance was broken. Faced with Nereus's offensive, Rocks could no longer maintain his defense. Nereus's Haki-infused claws pierced through his chest.
[Th... thanks...]
That eerie sensation vanished from his body, and Rocks's sanity began to return. But in these final few seconds, he seemed to hear...
"River of Death."