The final move?
Escanor's expression remained calm as still water.
Though noon had already passed,
and the power within his body was slowly waning…
After dozens of head-on clashes, Escanor knew one thing clearly.
This woman was absolutely not his equal!
With that thought, he swung the divine axe in his hand, cleaving forward and releasing a massive blade of compressed air.
"Dust Slash!"
Just as the air blade tore through the atmosphere and was about to strike Esdeath—
Suddenly…
Centered on Esdeath, more than half of the duel arena—space and time themselves—were sealed by an overwhelming force.
The entire world turned a brilliant icy blue.
In an instant.
The drifting smoke stopped mid-dispersion, frozen in the air.
Esdeath across from him, and even the incoming air blade before her, were halted at that very moment.
Everything around them solidified into an eternal, unchanging domain.
Within this frozen world,
only Esdeath's long blue hair fluttered gently without wind—
the sole movement in a breathtaking tableau.
Those outside the affected area stared in shock.
A power that stops time?
Wasn't this a little too broken?
Liang Bing asked curiously,
"Is the range limited to only this much?"
Ron explained softly,
"If Esdeath wishes, she can freeze the entire space-time continuum."
"Of course…"
"Some people aren't affected by it."
A few days earlier, Ron had tried to use this move to freeze Lucoa so he could sleep peacefully for a while.
But in the end…
It didn't even last a second before that human-shaped Tiger tank broke free by brute force.
After hearing that, Liang Bing's eyes immediately lit up.
"When there's time, I really want to extract her genes for research."
As a scholar,
such a heaven-defying ability was an irresistible temptation.
Nearby, Kesha glanced at her—
quiet calculations forming in her own mind.
...
In the duel arena.
Esdeath drew the long sword from her waist once more and slowly walked toward the frozen Escanor.
"To force me to use my ultimate technique…"
"That alone deserves praise, doesn't it?"
As her words fell,
the blade thrust forward, piercing straight into Escanor's abdomen.
Pshhk—
Blood burst forth.
At the same time, the ice-blue glow covering the space gradually faded.
The motionless world regained its vitality.
As consciousness returned, Escanor spat out a mouthful of blood.
His towering body was now encased in ice, forming a human-shaped ice sculpture.
Just as Esdeath was about to withdraw her sword and declare victory—
The next second.
The ice covering Escanor melted away.
Overwhelming Sun magic surged from his body.
The scorching heat caused the ground to collapse, turning molten like lava.
Step by step, Escanor walked toward Esdeath.
"That attack just now… was truly magnificent."
As he spoke, he gently raised his hand, using his palm as a blade, and brought it down heavily.
"Holy Sword — Escanor!"
In an instant—
The space before them seemed to be cleanly severed, a perfectly straight line appearing in midair.
Esdeath frowned slightly, instinctively preparing to counter.
But…
The descending palm stopped.
She asked calmly,
"Why did you stop?"
Escanor chuckled softly.
"I lost."
The sun was already beginning to sink westward.
His strength, defense, and recovery had all dropped drastically.
If Esdeath's strike earlier had aimed for his head—
Even if he survived, he would have been gravely injured.
Though he could still continue and even win this battle…
His pride—his arrogance—would never allow it.
And the reason he used Holy Sword — Escanor just now
was simply to tell her one thing:
I can beat you—but I'm done playing.
"Tch~"
"You could clearly keep fighting, yet you just surrender like that. How boring."
Esdeath curled her lips, then turned and walked away.
"I look forward to our next battle," Escanor said softly.
"Anytime," Esdeath replied indifferently as she took a seat in the stands.
At that moment, Ron reminded them,
"Don't forget—loser pays the venue fee."
Hearing this, Escanor—still standing in the arena—looked troubled.
Though Ron called it a venue fee,
he didn't want money, but items or weapons instead!
There was no way he could hand over the divine axe…
After thinking for a moment, Escanor asked,
"A weapon left behind at the Galan Relic Tavern a few days ago—"
"Will that do?"
"It will," Ron nodded, then lightly waved his right hand.
A magic formation engraved with countless obscure, indecipherable runes appeared, covering the entire arena.
The next second—
The shattered duel field began to rewind as if time itself were reversing.
In mere moments,
a brand-new arena appeared before everyone's eyes.
Seeing this—
Doflamingo nearly shouted in excitement.
That saved a massive amount of money!
But before he could celebrate for long, Ron's voice echoed beside his ear:
"The Devil Fruit I gave you includes maintenance costs."
"This time I helped you out—total comes to one billion Beli."
"Deliver it to the tavern after you finish drinking."
Doflamingo's face instantly darkened.
Damn it.
Do you have no shame at all?
You already made money from ticket sales and venue fees—
And now you're targeting me too?
Even shearing sheep has limits!
If I weren't completely unable to beat you—
I'd make you understand exactly what the Donquixote Family's darkness looks like…
Though those thoughts screamed in his mind,
Doflamingo still flashed a wide grin full of teeth.
"Of course, Boss! No problem!"
Ron nodded, then looked around at everyone.
"Anyone else want to step into the arena?"
The crowd shook their heads.
Ron laughed.
"Then let's go back and drink."
...
When they returned to the tavern and pushed open the door—
They saw wine already placed across several tables and along the bar counter.
This was prepared by Komugi.
At the same time, it was also how she guided the late-arriving Esdeath here.
No one stood on ceremony.
They immediately took their seats, drinking freely while boasting about past exploits.
Especially Rayleigh—after a few cups—he even declared he wanted to duel Saitama one-on-one.
Just as the tavern filled with cheerful noise—
The bell on the door suddenly rang.
Ding-ling…
As the door slowly opened,
A small girl walked in, cigarette in her mouth and a canned beer in her hand.
Ron looked up, smiled, and greeted her warmly:
"Welcome, Teacher Tsukikage Komoe."
"My name is Ron—
I'm the owner of this tavern."
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