"D-Dammit... He's too strong... cough cough..."
On a stretch of flattened ground within the dense forest, the man known as 'Lion' lay sprawled out in a giant X-shape. He had reverted to human form, blood spilling from his mouth in heavy bursts. His abdomen was sunken in, ribs crushed, who knew how many were broken. His breathing came in ragged gasps.
"We... underestimated... that guy... and those pirates... Must... must activate the underground sanctuary... trigger the guardians... there's still... a chance...!"
With tremendous effort, Lion began to push himself up from the blood-soaked earth. Blood continued to drip from his mouth, but his wounds, while severe, were beginning to mend.
It wasn't obvious at first glance, but just moments ago he could barely cough while lying still. And now... now he was standing, however unsteadily.
No time to wipe the blood from his lips. Lion turned and staggered into the deeper parts of the island's hinterlands, toward the shadowy mountain forests. His pace started slow, but steadily picked up.
That rate of recovery, if it wasn't full-blown awakening, it was definitely approaching Awakening Stage.
Who knew how much time had passed before another figure arrived at the scene, landing beside the bloodstained ground.
"That shouldn't be right," Aeridar muttered, narrowing his eyes. "With that last hit, he shouldn't even be able to move. Wait... that lunatic Lion, don't tell me he's on the verge of awakening?"
Extending his Observation Haki, Aeridar could sense Lion's movement growing faster. The faint footsteps he'd barely registered before were now pounding stronger, clearer. His opponent was recovering, and quickly.
"Tch... Let's see how far you can run!"
With a cold snort, Aeridar bent his legs, kicked off the ground, and shot skyward like a cannonball, leaving a spiderweb of cracked earth in his wake.
A hundred meters away, he came crashing down like a meteor, only to immediately vault back into the air.
Using this leapfrog-like movement, Aeridar blazed through the forest canopy, quickly leaving the battlefield behind.
On the opposite end of the woods, Arlan leaned against the trunk of a massive tree thick enough to need several men to wrap around. He shook his head hard, blood trickling down and soaking his tousled hair. His once-handsome face was now smeared with grime and exhaustion.
"That bastard... sent me flying this far...?" Arlan growled.
He happened to look up, and caught a glimpse of Aeridar launching into the air toward the rear island. His eyes narrowed.
"Huh? The captain? He's chasing that bastard? Wait—does that mean... he already beat him?"
His mind was still groggy, reeling from the earlier blow, but his instincts kicked in.
"Damn it... My head's still spinning. Whatever, first I've gotta clean up the rest of those stone guardians. No idea how far Backan's Rust-Rust Fruit has developed. Maybe he can corrode a few of those metal freaks?"
Rubbing his temple, Arlan refocused. He had no time to waste. The battlefield was still swarming with stone sentries. If any more of their own went down, it would be a heavy blow for the Chris Pirates.
Meanwhile, on another part of the battlefield.
The ground quaked violently. Dust and debris flew into the air as a shockwave rolled out like a hurricane blast.
"Cough, cough... Damn it... 'Lion'... won't... let you all get away with this... cough
'Tiger' knelt on one knee, blood gushing from a long, gaping wound across his chest, at least twenty centimeters deep. It had sliced clean through his ribcage, and a crimson stream poured from it like a river. His skin had gone deathly pale, drained of color.
In front of him lay his blood-streaked golden scimitar, dropped in the dirt.
Several meters away, half-buried under a pile of rubble, Nekk was barely alive. Blood coated his mangled body, with most of his torso crushed in. His entire chest had caved in, ribs shattered to fragments. He couldn't even speak. Blood bubbled from his lips with every breath. He was teetering on the very edge of death.
It was mutual destruction.
Or perhaps... mutual annihilation.
Whatever you called it, Nekk was as good as dead, and Tiger, judging by that chest wound, wouldn't last much longer either.
Between them stood two more warriors; Wolf, wearing his savage black wolf mask, squared off against Vito, whose body crackled with lightning in his Thunder Basilisk form.
Both were drenched in blood, covered in wounds big and small. Their breath came in gasps, their eyes locked in a deadly stare.
Each waited for the slightest slip from the other; a blink, a twitch, and the next strike would be merciless and final.
At the "Wolf's" side stood the massive tiger, Taigo, and the hulking serpent, Senek. The current battle was three-on-one.
And yet, even with the "Wolf," Taigo, Worf, and Senek working together, they still hadn't been able to take Vito down, because in terms of raw strength, Vito stood at the top.
Truth be told, Vito was the unlucky one here.
While the "Wolf" posed a bit of a challenge, he wasn't truly a threat.
The real headache came from those three metal monsters—Taigo, Worf, and Senek.
They were relentless, ferocious, completely unafraid of death... and damn near indestructible. No matter how hard he hit, they just wouldn't break.
Most of the wounds on Vito's body had been caused by those three walking tanks.
"Tch. Useless. And here I was trying to keep him alive." Vito glanced behind him in irritation. Without Nekk, their man on the inside, guiding them through, things were going to get very messy.
He'd been protecting Nekk for that reason. And in the end? A waste of effort.
"...Taigo..." the "Wolf" muttered as he glanced back, too. He knew what kind of shape the "Tiger" was in.
As one of the Guardians himself, he couldn't help but feel a pang of sorrow. No matter which side they stood on now, they had once been friends.
Two sudden explosions shattered several stone sentinels into flying rubble. A figure landed beside Vito amid the spray of dust and debris.
"Captain, that bastard's dead. You all right?" Rock stood beside him, both arms transformed into cannon barrels, leveled toward the enemy. His voice was edged with concern as he took in Vito's battered form.
"I'm fine. Just a few scrapes." Vito waved him off casually. With the durability of his Mythical Zoan body, these injuries were nothing serious, a bit of meat and rest, and he'd be good as new.
"The 'Eagle' got taken out by that Warlord, and the 'Lion' got sent flying, he's headed toward the rear island, probably trying to reach the underground vault. That Warlord's already in pursuit." Rock had spotted the chaos from atop a small ridge while fending off the stone guardians. He'd caught a glimpse of Aeridar clashing with the "Eagle" and the "Lion," and seen the latter fleeing into the forest.
"That monster..." Vito's eyes narrowed. "Help me kill him. If we fall behind now, it's going to cost us, bad."
He hadn't expected Aeridar to move so fast, eliminating one Guardian and scattering another in mere moments. If they didn't speed up, and Aeridar got his hands on that glove, things would go from bad to catastrophic.
"What...? 'Eagle' is dead?" Rock hadn't kept his voice down, and the "Wolf" heard every word.
He froze, unable to believe it. But when he stretched his Observation Haki, there was only silence. No presence. No breath.
"Bastards... YOU FILTHY SEA-RATS!" the "Wolf" roared, bloodshot eyes wide with rage. His killing intent poured out in waves as he howled at the enemy before him. "I'LL KILL EVERY LAST ONE OF YOU!"
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