Everyone present was shaken by Alucard's overwhelming aura. At that moment, Doc Q suddenly made his move.
Blood sprayed from his throat like a burst water main, scattering in all directions. The visual was strikingly similar to Alucard's technique of consuming massive amounts of blood using his powers.
The difference was that Alucard drew blood into his body, while Doc Q was violently expelling it.
Sizzle!
A piercing, corrosive sound erupted from the pool of blood Doc Q had vomited. In the next instant, the blood atomized into near-invisible particles, dissolving into the surrounding air.
"What is this?"
Ivalis swung his blade, unleashing a flying slash, but the particles were like mist, impossible to cut. Instead, they continued to drift outward, permeating the area.
"Cough! Cough-cough!!"
Doc Q hacked violently several times, gasping out, "I am... a Virus-Virus Fruit user. Viruses... can cure disease, but they can also... cough! ...infect!"
To the average person, a "virus" is synonymous with "germs" or harm. Few realize that viruses are also utilized in high-level medical treatments.
However, it was precisely this dual power of causing and curing disease that had left Doc Q in this perpetually half-dead state, while simultaneously forging his peerless medical skills. Since he never knew when his own life would end, he lived by the mantra: "Everything is ordained by fate."
"The Virus-Virus Fruit?"
Fallon's brow furrowed. He instinctively held his breath and signaled for his men to fall back.
"It's useless... cough!"
Doc Q spoke through his hacking. "A virus isn't something you can stop by holding your breath or covering your senses. Even a single patch of exposed skin... a single strand of hair... is enough to be infected."
Cough! Cough! Cough!
A chorus of coughing broke out, but this time it wasn't from Doc Q. Many members of the Immortal Pirates on both sides began coughing violently just like him. The more severe cases saw their faces turn dark, essentially "Doc Q-ifying" in real time.
In truth, it wasn't just the Immortal Pirates. Even Shiryu, Burgess, and Catarina Devon, who stood near Doc Q, had faces tinged with a sickly dark hue.
This was why Doc Q rarely made a move. Even with his best efforts to control it, his techniques were prone to catching his own allies in the crossfire.
"Hey, make sure you prepare the antidote properly later," Shiryu warned. His eyes scanned the surroundings before locking onto the direction where Fallon and Bartolomeo stood. He lunged forward with his sword raised, shouting, "The breakthrough is that way!"
"Cough!"
Bartolomeo couldn't help himself; he let out a sharp cough. Immediately after, a massive barrier roughly five meters wide and long appeared before him. He pushed it forward with all his might. "Barrier Crash!"
Shiryu sneered. "A predictable, linear attack like that? Who do you think you're hitting?"
He had no intention of clashing head-on with Bartolomeo, their goal was to escape. With a slight pivot of his body, Shiryu bypassed the attack entirely.
"You're looking down on us, Shiryu of the Rain!"
Fallon entered his animal transformation. The quills on his back were coated in Haki, gleaming with a metallic black luster. Shiryu still refused to engage directly and gave a sharp reminder to Doc Q, who was riding his horse behind them.
"Everything... is decided by fate..."
Doc Q raised a trembling, deathly hand. Fallon's body immediately began to corrode, his skin turning black. This wasn't the black of Armament Haki; it was the black of necrotic cell death!
"From a certain perspective, Doc Q is the most troublesome man in the Blackbeard Pirates," Shiryu noted with a cold, mocking look.
"Don't underestimate me!"
Enraged, Fallon swung his remaining healthy left arm in a counterattack, only to be intercepted by Burgess's fist.
The two arms, vastly different in size, collided. Burgess let out his signature laugh. "Wiiihahaha! Such a weak punch! Is your Armament Haki only at this pathetic level?"
"Hmph!"
Countless barbs suddenly erupted from Fallon's left arm. Burgess reacted instantly, leaping back several meters. When he checked his arm, he found dozens of tiny, bleeding puncture wounds.
"Not bad for an executive. To be able to wound me while so heavily poisoned..." Burgess grinned.
"Quit your yapping! Retreat!" Shiryu barked.
Suddenly, a gunshot shattered the rhythm of the fight. In the distance, Beckman held his long flintlock rifle, having just shot Doc Q's mount. The horse's leg buckled, sending its body tilting and nearly throwing Doc Q to the pavement.
Beckman lowered his rifle. His face was also slightly dark from the Virus-Virus Fruit's effects, but his composure remained absolute. "...As I thought. That horse isn't just a mount; it's an extension of his ability."
Step. Step.
As Alucard descended from the air to the ground, the hearts of the Blackbeard Pirates tightened once more.
Did we not make it in time? If he attacks now, we're finished.
"We can handle trash like this ourselves," Ivalis spoke up.
Alucard, who never truly intended to "save" his subordinates anyway, showed a flicker of amusement in his eyes. In the next moment, he dissolved into shadows and vanished into the walls.
"He... he actually left?"
Burgess stammered, unable to believe Alucard would withdraw so abruptly.
"Is he that confident in his subordinates? Does he think he doesn't need to lift a finger, or does he simply not care about their lives...?"
Shiryu spat out his cigar and brandished his cursed blade. "Regardless, we have to break through now."
…
In the center of the Colosseum built for the struggle over the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, the four designated positions were occupied, exactly as Alucard had anticipated:
Queen, Ace, Weevil, and Teach.
The center of the Golden Colosseum suddenly collapsed. Under the curious gaze of the crowd, a pitch-black box slowly rose. It opened automatically, revealing its contents to the world.
In an instant, every eye in the stadium began to glow.
The Tremor-Tremor Fruit!