After transforming into a furnace demon, the molten metal he had devoured temporarily replaced medicine, crudely patching up some of the injuries he had sustained earlier.
Of course, this wasn't true healing. The moment he exited the furnace demon state, those injuries would immediately resurface.
"Furnace Impact!"
The New King's new physique granted him even greater strength. With a slight bend of his legs and a burst of force, the ground split into massive cracks, and he shot forward like a cannonball.
Before he even closed in, Vane could already feel the searing heat capable of melting steel.
"Frost Breathing—Spring Breeze Comes."
Dozens of white slashes materialized. The collision between extreme heat and biting cold in the air stirred up vast clouds of white mist.
The furnace demon drew large amounts of liquid metal across the surface of his body. The slashes struck the metal, their power diminished before continuing onward. When they finally landed on the enlarged body of the furnace demon, his defense proved formidable—amid a dense chorus of clanging sounds, not a single strike managed to break through.
The New King hurled a blazing punch at Vane. Before the fist even arrived, a fierce wave of scorching wind slammed into Vane's face.
White mist coiled around Vane's body. His hair and eyelashes were instantly dusted with frost.
The effects of the hot wind were swept away in an instant.
As for the clearly powerful punch that followed, Vane had no intention of taking it head-on. He executed an aerial Soru, vanishing from his original position.
The New King's punch did not stop. It continued forward and smashed into a wall.
Boom—
The wall collapsed, and the point of impact was left with a charred black mark, visibly scorched by extreme heat.
"Blizzard!"
A sword technique developed by combining wind and Frost Breathing.
With a single slash, a small tornado laced with snowflakes roared forth.
"Furnace Flame Pillar!"
As the tornado—capable of carving gashes into walls and floors—closed in on him, the New King opened his mouth and spewed out a torrent of high-temperature molten metal.
Sizzle! Boom!
Flames and ice raged wildly within the castle, bringing down walls and pillars. The entire structure began to tremble on the verge of collapse.
"Metal Bullets!"
This time, he turned into a humanoid machine gun, his mouth firing flaming metal bullets in rapid succession.
Unfortunately, his speed couldn't quite keep up with Vane. Vane's aerial Soru resembled the technique Sanji used in his battle against Plague Queen—rapid flashes and maneuvers through the air.
Sanji relied on the awakening of his lineage factor to strengthen his body. Vane, on the other hand, bore demon blood and had little concern for stamina consumption. He worried about excessive Haki usage—but never about running out of stamina.
In a sense, his stamina recovery was directly proportional to his expenditure.
"Die, die, die! Metal Bullet Storm!"
The New King transformed into a shotgun!
His mouth bulged as he unleashed a massive volley of metal bullets at once.
Boom! Boom!
"Look at the castle!"
"The castle's collapsing!"
Gold Mine Island wasn't large to begin with, and the royal castle stood at its most conspicuous location. At this moment, all the island's residents could see what was happening to the palace.
One corner of the castle collapsed first. Then more than half of it crumbled. Flames surged skyward, and black smoke spread thickly through the air.
"What on earth is happening? The castle actually… collapsed."
"This is a bit excessive… I won't be compensating you for the castle. After all, seventy percent of the damage was caused by you."
Standing atop the ruins, Vane made it clear he bore no primary responsibility for the castle's destruction. The New King's own attacks, failing to hit Vane, had torn the castle apart instead.
"Trash! You don't even dare face me head-on—can you only run?"
Speed was indeed the New King's weakness. If he had been able to improve it, he would have ventured into the Grand Line for training long ago.
It was precisely because he lacked a clear understanding of his own limits—and because he had a kingdom waiting for him to "inherit"—that he chose to abandon the idea of entering the Grand Line and returned home instead.
"Evasion is the most effective response… but fine. Constantly dodging won't temper me either. Let's see whether you can truly smelt anything."
Vane tightened his grip. The sharp hilt pierced fully into his palm, and the blade of the Cursed Sword turned a deep crimson.
Frost and snow drifted about, yet as if magnetized, they were all drawn toward the Cursed Sword.
At the same time, Vane released Conqueror's Haki, pressing it down upon his opponent.
At this level of strength, the New King would not be knocked unconscious by Vane's Conqueror's Haki. What Vane wanted was merely that fleeting instant of stiffness when his opponent was shaken.
"Frost Breathing Secret Art—Snow-Withered Plum!"
The very same ultimate sword technique he once clashed with Hawk Eyes was unleashed again.
Compared to the first time, the move was clearly more refined. The original blood-red plum blossom had seemed faint within the storm of wind and snow. This time, a vivid red plum truly bloomed amidst the white blizzard.
Every detail of that crimson blossom bore the straight traces of sword energy.
As the plum descended, wind and frost pressed down upon the furnace demon first, lowering the high temperature surrounding him by several degrees.
He opened his mouth and expelled a massive amount of molten metal. At the same time, his abdomen spewed out another torrent. The two streams merged outside his body, forming a massive semi-molten metal sphere.
The sword-energy plum collided with the metal sphere. The molten mass hissed violently as the sword energy contained within the plum exploded forth in full.
The semi-liquid metal sphere was sliced into multiple sections by several streaks of sword energy.
Clang! Clatter! Clang-clang-clang…
After splitting the metal sphere apart, the furnace demon himself faced the sword energy directly.
For a moment, the New King felt as though his entire body was being assaulted by sword energy all at once. The furnace demon form was torn to pieces, and large amounts of molten metal gushed uncontrollably from wounds all over his body.
His body, swollen from devouring vast quantities of ore, began to shrivel as the molten metal drained away.
"I haven't lost yet! As long as there's enough ore, I can still recover!"
After barely enduring the onslaught of Snow-Withered Plum, the New King's only thought was to hurry back and consume more ore. All along, as long as he had ore to sustain him, he had never lost a battle.
Unfortunately, Vane had no intention of letting him replenish himself.
The Cursed Sword thrust forward in a straight line. A sharp flying slash pierced through the air and struck the throat exposed by his shriveled body.
The sword energy entered through the New King's throat and burst out from the back of his neck.
This time, the furnace demon could no longer maintain his form. As life gradually left his body, he also lost the power of the Smelt-Smelt Fruit.
The molten iron within him, once a supplement, turned into poison.
The unbearable heat caused him to burn himself alive—his entire body consumed by the searing liquid metal until nothing remained.