BOOM!
A violent gust of wind howled as the dark-red beast-paw slammed into the marble floor. Massive cracks spiderwebbed outward, instantly gouging a deep crater into the ground.
A surging shockwave swept out, forcing Catarina Devon to shield her face to keep the stinging debris from her eyes.
Without a second's hesitation, she drew her sword, clashing it through the air in a lightning-fast horizontal slash. A streak of cold, brilliant steel light cut through the gloom.
In a heartbeat, a blur of red motion flashed by.
CLANG—!
The sharp, jarring roar of metal striking metal echoed through the vault, creating a turbulent vortex of air.
"Nani?!"
Catarina Devon's eyes widened in shock.
The Manticore's long, winding, serpentine tail had coiled forward, its stinger catching her longsword dead in its tracks.
Seeing this, Daren could no longer afford to focus on the 'Holy Angel.' He surged forward to provide support. However, knowing the true nature of the Holy Angel, and that his bare hands could never destroy something forged from celestial meteorite, he had to act strategically.
"Rokushiki: Rankyaku!!!"
Daren roared, leaping into the air and sweeping his leg in a wide arc.
BOOM—!
A crescent-shaped shockwave several meters long erupted from the void, slamming into the Manticore's head and sending the heavy beast skidding backward.
"Retreat! Retreat! We're leaving!"
As soon as the strike landed, Daren slammed back onto the ground, grabbing Catarina Devon by the arm, ready to flee.
"No!"
Catarina Devon violently yanked her hand away, locking eyes with him, her expression twisted. "We just need to take him down! Aeridar and the Chris Pirates' main force are both away; this is the best opportunity we'll ever get. Get your people moving!"
"Are you insane?"
Daren stared at her as if she had lost her mind.
He realized then that while Catarina Devon had seemed to snap out of her treasure-induced stupor, she was still hopelessly addicted to the greed of it all. Above them, the Palace Entertainment City was held by Hariel Gorbo. His Second Division was composed of nothing but elites, and the entire capital of Nakor still had ten thousand kingdom soldiers. Once they were bogged down here, there would be no escaping.
Even if intelligence reports confirmed the Chris Pirates were engaged in a decisive battle with the Big Mom Pirates, who knew what trump cards that man still held in reserve?
For example, that terrifying beast on the floating island of Alvis…
"Despicable intruders, die!"
Suddenly, a silver blur streaked toward them with such speed that Daren and Catarina Devon were caught off-guard, subconsciously diving to either side to dodge.
BOOM—!
The ground shook violently as the force of the strike, mixed with dust and shattered stone, exploded outward. A pit nearly a meter deep was punched straight through the marble floor.
"What is that?" Catarina Devon asked, staring in astonishment at the hole.
A stoic, silver-winged angel hovered slowly out of the crater, its transparent, diamond-like eyes locked onto the two intruders.
At the same time, the Manticore, fresh from being kicked back by the Rankyaku, clambered up, maneuvering behind them. Trapped between the angel in front and the beast behind, Daren and Catarina Devon were cornered.
Watching the half-meter-long crack on the Manticore's head slowly knitting itself back together, Catarina Devon gasped. She glanced at the tiny Holy Angel and muttered in horror, "It's actually self-healing… and this little thing, what kind of monster is it?"
Daren's face was grim. "I miscalculated. The Holy Angel is a relic from the Nafa Kingdom, a country destroyed by Shiki the Golden Lion thirty years ago. It's said to be forged from a special extraterrestrial metal that becomes indestructible once set. I never imagined that once 'animated,' it would possess such terrifying speed and power!"
"ROAR—!"
Without waiting for them to regroup, the Manticore roared, its four legs thundering as it charged with terrifying momentum. In a few strides, it was upon them, one massive claw swinging down.
BOOM!
A fierce wind pressure hit them as the dark-red claws passed uncannily through the space where Daren had been standing, leaving five deep gouges in the marble floor.
Daren didn't bother counter-attacking. He dashed toward Catarina Devon, intent on dragging her to safety.
But the moment the Manticore attacked, the Holy Angel transformed into a silver blur, closing the distance to Catarina Devon in an instant.
"So fast!"
Catarina Devon cried out, raising her sword to parry.
CLANG!
The Holy Angel's fist slammed into the edge of her blade, producing a piercing, metallic shriek of pressure. The raw power behind the blow was completely outside of Catarina Devon's expectations. Her thumb-webbing tore, and her sword nearly slipped from her grip. The angel's strike knocked the blade aside and hit her square in the chest.
CRASH—!
Before she could even react, Catarina Devon spat out a mouthful of blood. She was sent flying like a black shadow, slamming into the wall on the right side of the entrance and kicking up a massive cloud of dust and rubble.
"Damn it!"
Daren stopped, his expression sour as he glared at the Holy Angel. Catarina Devon was a pirate with a bounty of hundreds of millions, world-renowned for years and currently a key commander of the Blackbeard Pirates, not to mention a user of the Mythical Zoan 'Dog-Dog Fruit, Model: Nine-Tailed Fox.' She shouldn't be this weak.
Did the rumors have it wrong, or is the Holy Angel far stronger than I imagined?
Without another word, Daren's body turned ethereal. He slowly sank into the ground, vanishing from the sight of the Manticore and the Holy Angel.
As the dust cleared from the wall, a deep hole was revealed, a tunnel seven or eight meters long where she had smashed straight through.
In the grand hall of Aeridar's Treasure Vault, a 'Golden Mountain' of heaped treasures stretched across the thousand-square-meter chamber.
"D-damn it… did I break my ribs?"
Catarina Devon hissed in pain, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth. She lay buried in a collapsed pile of 'gold,' covered by thousands of coins and jewels.
Clatter, clatter—
Stifling the agony in her chest, she crawled out from the heap. Countless gold coins and treasures slid off her body.
"A truly pathetic performance! To think you actually made it all the way here!"
Suddenly, a voice heavy with rage echoed through the hall. A series of heavy thud-thud-thud footsteps approached, and a massive figure over three meters tall emerged from the darkness.
Catarina Devon's pupils contracted, and she gasped in shock, "Hariel Gorbo?! How are you here?"
Dressed in a sharp black suit with polished black shoes, the scar-faced man stood before her, his face contorted in suppressed fury. It was the Second Commander of the Chris Pirates, the Mighty Cook, Hariel Gorbo, once holding a bounty of 70 million berries.
"The Captain said that when he was in the vault, he felt someone watching him, but couldn't find anyone. I thought it was just a Devil Fruit user with a strange ability... now it seems the Captain was right! Catarina Devon!"
Gorbo's expression grew feral. He didn't waste another word. He stomped, shattering the floor beneath him, and propelled himself forward like an arrow. In an instant, he was in front of Catarina Devon, his leg sweeping out like a whip.
POW—!
Gorbo's kick struck her, but strangely, it passed right through her body, scattering gold coins, pearl necklaces, and diamonds into the air.
The next moment, Catarina Devon's body twisted in mid-air, vanishing like a popping bubble.
"Fish-Man Karate: Sea Drum!!!"
Suddenly, Gorbo's eyes sharpened. He spun around, slamming his fist into the empty air to his right.
THUD—!
Pfft—!
With a sound like a booming drum, Catarina Devon materialized in mid-air, coughing up blood as the force sent her flying several meters away.
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