Chapter 44: Bright Night (II)
As I moved through the shadows, I landed a strike, slicing through one of Doc Q's hands. My initial attack had fallen short; it was a miss. No, I didn't miss; it was more like he was alarmingly fast. I had to be satisfied with only one hand. As for why I went for him is pretty simple. In RPG terms, he was the debuff specialist; each second he remained in the fight, and each second I would get weaker and weaker. His explosive apples weren't nice either.
Augur was the worst person to do a surprise attack on. He can even sense the tiniest bit of bloodlust. The horror vibe was simply there just to plant a seed of terror in their minds. A good assassin needs to have a good presentation after all.
And just as the night sky was illuminated by bright flames, I received Ace's signal. He had engaged Blackbeard, and now it was my turn to hold up my end.
The three pirates were already past their initial shock. Even Doc Q, with his torn shoulder, had applied some sort of chemical that miraculously stopped the bleeding. With nothing more to say, I moved again.
Black Lotus Style, First Form: Blooming Step
My figure blurred, becoming one with the night as I reached Doc Q again, this time adamant to finish the job. But even as I closed in, I sensed three bullets headed straight for me. One aimed for my ankle, another at my shoulder, and the last one targeted my throat. Each shot was calibrated, as if Augur had anticipated my moves even before I made them. Was this fledgling "Future Sight"? Dangerous.
My blade moved at blinding speed, deflecting each bullet. In that narrow window, Doc Q had put some distance between us, leaving me some explosive apples as a souvenir. I did not dare cut down those apples. Doc Q was a genius madman. And there was a very real chance that these apples were something else entirely. Never trust a mad scientist.
So, as I dodged the apples, Burgess charged at me with a haki-infused punch. He seemed angrier than the other two. He still wasn't happy that I had punched him this morning.
Other than the first surprise attack, I hadn't infused any of my attacks with haki. Haki was a finite resource after all. And it takes much more haki to infuse lower-grade swords. My sword was only a skillful-grade weapon, and on top of that, it was already at its last legs. So, I had to put much more concentration into infusing haki. I also wanted to keep some haki in my reserve in case I needed to face Blackbeard later on. There were a lot of calculations involved, and I was significantly holding myself back right now.
But I knew holding back too much risked letting one of them slip away. That was a risk I couldn't afford. So, I decided to commit, using roughly seventy percent of my reserves. It would be enough.
These thoughts raced through my mind in the instant it took Burgess's punch to miss me entirely. I'd used "Blooming Step" to sidestep him, appearing just behind him as my observational haki registered two more bullets coming my way. Twisting my body in mid-air, I positioned myself parallel to the ground, keeping my target in sight. In one smooth, practiced motion, I channeled armament haki into my sword, the blade turning pitch black as it arced gracefully toward Burgess, aiming for a clean decapitation.
But as the attack reached its peak, searing pain erupted from within me, tearing through my insides. The sensation was as if something was eating me alive from within, gnawing relentlessly. My attack faltered, the slice going off course and instead cutting deep into Burgess's shoulder, severing flesh and reaching the bone. He'd lost the use of his left arm, but he was still standing.
I felt blood coming out of my mouth. The pain was extreme, but pain was something I knew very well. Pain was something that I could handle. Doc Q was more dangerous than I'd anticipated. But when did he have the chance to poison me? I'd been careful, my observational haki fully alert. It should have detected any attempt on his part to tamper with my body. As if sensing my confusion, Doc Q's strained voice answered the question that plagued my mind, his voice even weaker than before.
"I used a special pollen in those apples I threw at you earlier. These pollens are harmless by themselves. You inhale them freely, and even your lungs recognize them as normal oxygen. But the moment it enters your bloodstream and reacts with white blood cells, that's when the magic happens. This reaction causes small ruptures in your blood vessels continuously. It'll heal within a day, but in that time, you will feel the pain of something eating you from the inside out."
I tilted my head, adjusting my grip on my sword. "So it's just pain, then. Pain's something I can handle."
Doc Q grinned madly, "Yes, I know very well that there are many strong pirates who have enough mental fortitude to push through the pain. But tell me this: even if you are mentally strong enough to ignore the pain, would your body really be okay? Our body is connected with millions of nerves that we cannot control consciously. What are you going to do when a blood vessel erupts and you can't control that nerve of yours? What are you going to do when your own body doesn't listen to you?"
Hearing his words, my mood worsened. This was the very reason I wanted to kill him first. He had way too many cards up his sleeve. I mean, how can you defend yourself against something that even your haki can't sense?
I needed to quickly finish this fight. The effects of Ace & Blackbeard's fight were spreading all across the island. I calmed my mind and reviewed everything I knew and everything that I could do right now.
"If I'm right," I said, watching him closely, "that means you can't use that pollen trick again, can you?"
"True enough," he admitted, a gleam of satisfaction in his eye. "I'm afraid that was the last of it. But it should be more than enough to level the field."
My gaze flickered between the three of them. Augur, with his budding Future Sight, was unscathed; Doc Q had lost a hand but was still standing thanks to some chemical miracle; and Burgess, though now maimed, was otherwise unharmed. Time was against me, but I wasn't out yet.
I grabbed my sword in a backhand grip and coated it with the strongest armament haki I could muster.
Black Lotus Style, Ninth Form: Fractured Petal
The ground beneath me shattered as I accelerated, pushing my speed to the limits. My image splintered, creating three versions of myself that darted toward each of my targets. To the untrained eye, it would appear as if I'd somehow cloned myself, but in reality, these were merely afterimages of fractured reality, illusions from my blinding speed.
The person with the keenest eyesight was the first to realize what was happening. Augur raised his rifle in defense, his reaction swift but not swift enough. This attack wasn't just fast; it carried the weight of haki and the force of sound behind it. My blade cut through his rifle like paper, the sharp edge biting into his neck. Surprise flashed across his face as his head was separated from his body, his final expression one of shock and disbelief.
It doesn't really matter if you can see the future, when you're not fast enough to even react to it.
Weekly Power Status
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