In a flash, the blue flames wrapping around his body went through an amazing change.
As if fueled by a brand-new power, the blue fire rapidly shifted into a burning, deep crimson red.
The ground beneath his feet seemed to feel the massive power, shaking wildly as spiderweb cracks ripped across the dirt.
Boiling magma erupted from the cracks, twisting like angry fire snakes as they tore across the battlefield in all directions.
"Nether Crow: Flame Bird!"
With Marco's clear shout, the erupting magma seemed to be pulled by a mysterious force, quickly gathering together in mid-air.
In the blink of an eye, it turned into a massive crimson firebird with wings stretching over thirty feet wide!
The firebird looked totally alive.
Every single feather was made of dripping, flowing magma that shined and glowed with a choking, blinding heat.
Its eyes burned like twin flames, sharp and completely deadly.
"Go!" Marco threw both hands forward.
The magma firebird let out a screaming shriek that ripped through the sky, beating its heavy wings as it charged straight at Queen.
Wherever the firebird flew, the ground below was scorched pitch-black, leaving a trail that looked like a path straight to hell.
Nearby rocks burst into flames just from the heat, the fire spreading rapidly to paint the entire battlefield an angry red.
The fat on Queen's face shook as a flash of total seriousness appeared in his eyes.
Knowing perfectly well that this attack could not be taken lightly, he did not dare let his guard down for a single second.
"Plague Rounds: Modified!"
Queen roared, his voice full of pure madness.
His mechanical cannon fired a dark green ball of energy that quickly split apart in mid-air into dozens of smaller bullets.
Each one was packed tight with deadly plague viruses.
These toxic bullets shot toward the magma firebird like a swarm of angry, deadly hornets.
"BOOM—!"
Crimson magma and dark green poison slammed together in mid-air, exploding in a completely deafening roar!
The explosion sounded like the heavens and earth screaming in pain. Magma and toxic gas twisted together to form a strange, deadly storm.
The shockwave blasted outward like an invisible, massive wall, crushing everything in its path.
Every small hill within dozens of meters was instantly flattened.
The ground was scraped completely bare, leaving behind nothing but total ruin and destruction.
Marco beat his wings, bursting right through the thick smoke to attack Queen head-on!
His right arm had completely turned into boiling magma.
The dripping, glowing rock made his arm look like a burning whip giving off impossible heat.
Throwing a hard punch, his fist glowed like red-hot iron, carrying endless power and an extreme, melting temperature.
"Nether Phoenix!"
This straight punch aimed directly at Queen's face, moving with lightning speed and leaving absolutely no room to dodge.
Queen frantically threw his mechanical arm up to block!
CLANG!
As metal crashed against magma, Queen's mechanical arm began glowing cherry-red at a terrifying speed!
The boiling heat traveled right through the metal arm and into Queen's actual body, sending a searing, burning pain right through him.
"Damn it!" Queen cursed as he stumbled backward, cold sweat pouring down his forehead.
He had not expected Marco's control over the Magma Fruit to have reached such an incredible level already.
Weren't the rumors saying he still needed time to get used to it?
Were all the spy reports fake?! What in this world was even real anymore?!
"It is not over yet!" Marco's attack kept coming without a single pause.
His legs suddenly turned into two streams of flowing, burning magma.
He threw a sweeping magma kick right at Queen's lower body.
The molten leg looked like a burning scythe, carrying the heavy feeling of death as it sliced through the air.
Queen's massive, fat body showed shocking speed.
He barely dodged the attack with a clumsy backflip, though his pant leg still caught fire from the extreme heat, blowing thick plumes of black smoke into the air.
"Damned undead bird!"
Furious and totally embarrassed, Queen triggered his Devil Fruit power.
His giant body began to shift, transforming into his massive Brachiosaurus form in the blink of an eye.
His giant body stood like a moving mountain.
He whipped his thick, heavy tail through the air with a massive whoosh.
"Brachiosaurus Sweep!"
This heavy strike carried enough raw power to crush a building in half.
Marco did not dodge or back away. He crossed his arms and took the massive hit head-on!
Boom!
He was sent sliding back several meters by the heavy impact.
His boots carved two deep, burned trenches into the dirt, looking like fresh wounds ripped right into the earth.
But very quickly, a confident smile returned to his lips. "Now that is more like it... Let's have some real fun, Calamity!"
The smile showed his total fearlessness. In his eyes, this brutal duel was only just getting started.
Their fierce battle kicked off with world-ending power.
Burning magma surged from cracks in the ground like a flooded river, flowing wildly with enough power to melt everything it touched.
Wherever the rolling magma passed, the earth was eaten away, giving off loud, sizzling sounds.
At the same time, toxic plague mist spread like demonic tentacles.
It quickly poisoned the air wherever it reached, twisting the sky and giving off a sharp, disgusting smell that made the stomach turn.
Every single clash between the two of them was like two stars crashing together, setting off violent, massive explosions.
The shockwaves blasted outward at terrifying speeds, completely shattering everything around them.
The Beasts Pirates' foot soldiers ran away in pure terror, completely outmatched by this horrifying level of power.
With fear carved into their faces, they scrambled back in a total panic, desperately trying to avoid getting caught in the crossfire.
Some soldiers were even knocked flat by the wind, awkwardly crawling away from the center of the battlefield on their hands and knees.
The lower-ranking pirates stood completely frozen nearby, their eyes wide open as they stared blankly at this god-like battle playing out right in front of them.
Their hearts were full of deep shock and fear—this level of combat was totally unimaginable to them, way beyond anything they were qualified to even watch.
...
Amid this chaotic, messy battlefield, Vista's body slowly came to a complete stop.
His movements were perfectly calm and unhurried, as if all the explosions happening around him did not matter at all.
He calmly took off his signature top hat and casually tossed it to the side.
His stare cut right through the smoke-filled air like an arrow slicing through fog, locking directly onto the dark figure hovering high up in the sky—King the Wildfire.
"It seems everyone else has found themselves a worthy opponent."
Vista tilted his head up slightly.
A cocky, challenging smile slowly formed at the corner of his mouth—a smile packed with both total confidence and complete disrespect.
His right hand already rested lightly on the twin swords at his waist, his fingers curled and ready to draw his deadly blades at a moment's notice.