Of course, all of that was nothing more than Moria's own fantasy.
To truly possess power that mighty, the preparations required were not something that could be completed in a day or two.
Just like the reason he was so powerful right now—it was all thanks to the Straw Hat Grand Fleet tirelessly collecting all kinds of powerful pirates from around the world during this period.
For the pirates who fell into the hands of the Straw Hat Grand Fleet, aside from the option of submission, there was actually not much difference between that and being imprisoned in Impel Down.
At the very least, after entering Impel Down, they would still retain a certain degree of self-awareness.
But if they were captured by the Straw Hat Pirates, then they would become pure experimental subjects.
It sounded cruel, but this was reality.
"Damn it! How is this possible!?"
Loki, his head somewhat dazed, supported his body and slowly climbed back to his feet. A pair of Evil Eye beast pupils locked tightly onto Moria.
"No! I refuse to believe this!"
As the strongest warrior of Elbaf, he had not hesitated to commit the crime of patricide in order to obtain the power of a legendary creature.
It was one thing for him to have been captured by Shanks not long after stepping out of his home!
After all, that man was an Emperor of the Sea, one of the four strongest people on this sea!
But a mere Moria, a man who would only invite ridicule in the New World, could actually beat him into this state as well!?
How could Loki possibly accept that?
Burdened by a curse, he had lived a life of evil. For the sake of power, he could be said to have wagered everything, all so that he could completely destroy this world!
Yet in the end, some random small-fry who popped up by the roadside was stronger than him?
Then wouldn't his entire life have become nothing but a joke?!
Unwilling to believe in such a fate, Loki abruptly coated his sharp claws in pitch-black flames. A vicious gleam bloomed like fire within his eyes, and his massive body once again transformed into a streak of black, sweeping light as he charged toward Moria!
"Raaagh~!!!"
Loki kicked off with both legs, and his entire body suddenly leapt high into the air. He stretched out his enormous, razor-sharp claws and stabbed them toward Moria's chest.
At this moment, the roused Loki looked like a heroic warrior who refused to bow before tyranny, while his opponent, Moria, looked like a dark demon king who sought to destroy the world!
Although the actual situation was completely the opposite, that did not prevent the image frozen in this instant from being breathtakingly spectacular.
If anyone could see all of this through the pitch-black shadows, that is!
However, in the face of Loki's assault, Moria merely raised the corner of his mouth slightly and said softly,
"Baddy Bad!!!"
Boom!!!
A surging mental shockwave suddenly burst out from Moria's body, smashing hard into Loki's brain like a heavy hammer.
At the same time, between Moria and Loki, an invisible transparent barrier abruptly appeared.
Loki's flaming claws struck the barrier, and more than half of their force was instantly dispersed.
And by the time his entire body passed through that barrier, his astonishingly powerful offensive had already been reduced to almost nothing!
"So this is your resolve!?"
"Isn't it far too pitifully weak!?"
Whoosh~!!!
A terrifying giant fist descended from the sky and crashed onto Loki's body. That horrifying power left Loki, who was still in the middle of attacking, with no time at all to defend. He was immediately struck head-on by Moria's heavy punch, and his body once again smashed fiercely into the shadow-covered ground like a blazing meteor.
"It's useless! The times have already changed, Loki!"
"You, still immersed in the old era, will never understand the greatness of this power!"
"Assurance!"
After undergoing Pokémon-ization, Moria could already freely use Dark-type moves, and he immediately struck again.
Using the effect brought by Assurance, his body suddenly moved with even greater agility than usual as he once again launched an attack toward Loki, who had been smashed into the earth.
Boom!!!!!
On this day, the World Tree that supported Elbaf let out a mournful groan for who knew how many times.
Under Moria's punch, the entire Underworld once again trembled violently.
"W-what exactly is happening!?"
Many people with only average Observation Haki grabbed tightly onto the surrounding objects to resist the violent shaking of the ground while staring toward the darkness ahead, shouting in confusion.
In the previous rounds of battle, at least they had still been able to see the situation and understand which side the battle was leaning toward.
Even if they saw the giants being defeated, at least they had already been mentally prepared.
However, at this very moment, the battlefield shrouded in shadows was like an adult film stuck halfway through playback. It left people unable to move forward or back, scratching their ears and cheeks in frustration.
Compared to these people who knew nothing, however, some existences on the field with astonishing Observation Haki could clearly watch what was happening inside the shadows.
Yet precisely because of that, their expressions became even more shocked.
Moria… when did he become this powerful!?
Shanks and Benn Beckman hurriedly exchanged a glance, and both saw the shock in each other's eyes.
As people who had seen the world, they could clearly sense that with the combat power Moria was displaying right now, even if Shanks personally entered the battlefield, he might not gain much of an advantage.
This also caused Shanks and the others to involuntarily recall the joke they had made earlier aboard the Red Force…
Among Luffy's subordinates, could there really be someone capable of defeating him, a former Emperor?
No way, right? Surely not, right?
It couldn't really be… that absurd, could it!?
The two slowly withdrew their gazes and turned their heads back.
Although Shanks also felt that pulling out someone from among those little brats in the Straw Hat Grand Fleet who could defeat him had already strayed far from reality…
Since the battle began, had the Straw Hats displayed only a few miracles?
Within the Shadow Domain, Moria raised his fist and looked at Loki's body lying at the bottom of the crater. A proud smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
But just as he condensed the Pokémon energy within his body and prepared to deliver the final blow to Loki, completely ending this battle…
Loki, who was lying on the ground, suddenly opened his eyes. Within his scarlet pupils, countless streams of flying flame seemed to flash. A powerful mental shockwave suddenly charged toward Moria, causing the unguarded Moria's consciousness to lapse for an instant.
And by the time he came back to his senses, Loki's body had already leapt out of the crater and landed a considerable distance away from Moria.
"Interesting!"
Having recovered his awareness, Moria slowly raised his head and looked toward Loki's location.
"You actually possess mental attack abilities as well? Looks like your fruit ability really is quite powerful~"
Moria gave a high evaluation of Loki's Devil Fruit ability.
Just like the situation he had been in before, mental power had always been a relatively high-level ability in the pirate world.
Not only could it affect the strength of one's will and the development of Devil Fruits, it also had a direct influence on the three types of Haki.
A person with powerful mental strength was not necessarily a powerhouse, but a powerhouse's mental strength would definitely be extremely powerful!
Therefore, the mental shockwave Loki displayed was, to this pirate world where combat methods were mainly based on the physical body, completely like a dimensional strike.
No wonder he had committed such a monstrous crime as patricide for the sake of this fruit ability!
However, what Moria did not know was that while he was shocked by Loki's fruit ability, Loki, who had escaped far away, was likewise staring wide-eyed with his pair of Evil Eyes in shock.
One had to know that in front of his Evil Eyes, even Red-Hair had been hard-controlled for several seconds, allowing Loki to seize the opportunity and inflict injuries on Red-Hair that could not be ignored.
If Red-Hair's raw strength had not been far superior to his in the end, perhaps Loki might have been able to defeat a dignified Emperor-level powerhouse with just his Evil Eye alone!
But…
The method he was most proud of had only caused Moria's mind to stagnate for an instant…
Could it be that the Moria before him had mental strength far surpassing even Red-Hair, an Emperor!?
How could Loki know that the upgrade from the Pokémon template had greatly improved Moria's greatest shortcoming—his mental strength?
If not for the fact that he had absorbed too many shadows into his body, occupying a portion of his mental energy no matter how one looked at it, he might have directly ignored Loki's Evil Eye shockwave altogether!
"Damn it!!!"
Loki gnashed his teeth in anger.
In the next second, his body suddenly bent down, landing on all fours.
And he, who had already transformed into a werewolf, actually swelled up once again. The clothes on his body also vanished in an instant.
"Awooo~!!!"
A faint, vigilant roar of a fierce beast came from his abyssal maw. He directly transformed into a true giant wolf, his terrifying pair of Evil Eyes flickering as he looked toward Moria across from him.
"Oh? Finally planning to use your beast form?"
Looking at Loki, whose body was surrounded by drifting black flames, Moria's eyes also narrowed suddenly, and a serious expression appeared on his face.
Just as he had expected, Loki had indeed still been hiding something.
Moria could sense that the black flames coiling around Loki were not the flame ability he had released earlier…
They were the special effect displayed after he awakened his Zoan-type fruit ability!!!
Generally speaking, the more powerful a fruit ability was, the harder it was to awaken.
And the Fenrir Fruit, which held an extremely high status even among Mythical Zoans, had an awakening difficulty second only to Luffy's Nika Fruit!
Loki was truly worthy of being Elbaf's genius prince!
If not for his dangerous personality and actions, Elbaf might really have been able to rebuild the glory and splendor of its ancestors under his leadership!
Unfortunately…
In the end, no one knew whether Loki bore the curse, or whether the curse had influenced Loki…
In short, he could no longer go back now!
"He really is someone remarkable!"
Moria, who had originally intended to directly mobilize the shadow power within his body and release an oversized Shadow Ball to end the battle quickly, suddenly changed his mind at this moment!
If he could absorb a guy like this into his own pirate crew—no, that was a little unrealistic…
But if Loki could be absorbed under the Straw Hats' command, Lord Red would surely be very happy!
A genius powerhouse like this, combined with the power of Pokémon…
"It truly defies imagination!"
A greedy gleam flashed through Moria's eyes, and he could not help but imitate Loki by lightly licking his lips.
As for Loki, after entering his beast form, the bestial nature within him seemed to have become even more severe. His pair of scarlet, blood-red eyes seemed to have lost all reason.
He had not been especially clever to begin with, and at this moment, he completely handed his body over to instinct.
And his enemy was only the enormous monster before him!!!
"Awooo!!!"
The legendary giant wolf Fenrir suddenly let out an enraged roar. In an instant, the huge animals throughout the Underworld seemed to feel an instinctive fear. One by one, all of them prostrated themselves on the ground, offering loyalty and respect to the only king in this region.
Whoosh!!!
Beneath the shadows, the already shattered ground once again erupted with a deafening roar.
Loki, who had transformed into the Fenrir Wolf, leapt upward. He actually directly broke through Moria's Shadow Domain and reached the very top of the Underworld, beneath the bottom of the Sun World!!!
In the next second, Loki flipped his body around. His four limbs landed on the Underworld's ceiling, and his surging muscles erupted once more.
Boom!!!
It was as deafening as countless cannonballs roaring at the same time.
Under the enormous impact, the entire Sun World tilted slightly, causing the giants still living above the Sun World to tremble violently. Quite a few people directly fell to the ground.
However, none of this had anything to do with Loki and Moria, who were currently fighting.
Because at this moment, their gazes and attention had already been fully locked on each other.
Boom!!!!
The giant wolf in midair opened his abyssal maw, releasing a thick scent of blood. His two sharp claws burst with cold light, and the pitch-black flames around him were like long spears, pointing straight at Moria's limbs.
At this moment, Loki unleashed his strongest form and his strongest power, attempting to decide victory and defeat against Moria once and for all.
Yet in the face of Loki's full eruption, Moria merely grinned.
"You think changing forms will make you stronger!?"
"Before the power of Pokémon, those thoughts of yours are simply laughable to the extreme!!!"
One move, mastered to perfection, could carry one through the world.
A powerful mental shockwave once again burst from Moria's body and charged toward Loki.
It was none other than the Baddy Bad he had just used.
However, Loki had taken it to be Moria's special Conqueror's Haki, so he had never paid it much attention.
Only at this moment, in his divine beast form, did Loki finally realize in shock…
At the same time as this special Conqueror's Haki appeared, a transparent barrier had likewise appeared in front of Moria, greatly weakening his attacking momentum.
Moreover, the proportion by which it reduced his strength was astonishing. In other words, no matter how much power he erupted with, as long as it did not cross this barrier first, it would ultimately become an attack meaningless to Moria!?
This… such an unsolvable power—was it really something that should exist in this world!?
A trace of clarity returned to Loki's eyes, but it quickly transformed into deep confusion.
Boom!!!
Loki's sharp claws once again landed on Moria's body.
Even after being weakened by the effect of Baddy Bad, that terrifying force still pierced through Moria's Armament Haki defense, leaving several obvious bloody marks on his body.
But…
That was all!!!
"It can still pierce through my Armament Haki?"
"Loki, you really are far too dangerous!!!"
Bits of astonishment flickered in Moria's eyes, but his hands did not pause in the slightest.
Vast Ghost-type energy gathered in his hand. In the blink of an eye, it transformed into something like a black sun. Even within this Shadow Domain devoid of light, it still radiated energy ripples that could not be ignored.
"Dark—Blast!!!"
(End of Chapter)