Bab 43: Monochrome Symphony
There, it was a monochrome world. An endless expanse of grey ground and white sky. In this space, there were only two beings present: myself and another entity...
I lightly squeeze my hand to check the condition. Confirming that I can move just like in reality, I turn my gaze towards the presence standing in front of me: Totomusica, wearing a silk hat, with a face resembling a red clown mask with an 'X' shape over the left eye, and arms that look like piano keys, resembling a scarecrow from a distance...
Surrounded by eerie-colored flames, three floating skeletons at its neck, Totomusica gazes intently at me, as if appraising me...
"How are you, Totmusica? Not feeling too bad, I suppose? Unfortunately, I'm not a user of the Uta Uta no Mi, so I cannot manifest you in the real world. Instead, by inviting you into my soul, I've created a pseudo Uta World just for the two of us. Looks like it worked well enough."
Totmusica seems to understand my words as it distorts its mouth filled with sharp teeth into a grin. It seems most of what I wanted to convey has been understood.
"Now, let's get to the main point. If you're defeated by me here, you'll be assimilated into my soul. In other words, your power will become mine... However, as you have accepted my proposal, you must have noticed that if you were to kill me here... you could take over my soul. That means you could materialize with my body. I must say, my body holds enough power to destroy the world... What do you think? I believe the benefits I'm offering are sufficient, aren't they?"
"..."
"No objections, huh? Alright then... Let's begin."
It seems Totmusica has understood the implications of accepting my invitation. Seeing its consent, I smile and take off my suit jacket, tossing it aside.
Simultaneously, Totmusica undergoes changes as well. Its face changes from red to blue, and it gains four additional floating skulls at its neck. The hat it wears develops a dragon-like design, and its piano key arms grow larger.
Now towering above me, Totomusica... its form transformation is expressed in "movements," as depicted in the movie FILM RED.
The initial red-faced form with three skulls is the first movement, and the current blue-faced form with four skulls is the second movement...
"Hey, Totmusica. Let me tell you something. A warm-up is something you do during training."
"..."
"Six King Supreme Gun."
The red-black impact released from my fist strikes Totomusica directly, sending its massive body flying. I then move swiftly through the air using Shaving, positioning myself above the airborne Totmusica, and strike again.
"One more shot."
Once again, the Six King Supreme Gun slams Totmusica into the ground. I land a short distance away and address Totmusica.
"...Give it your all, Totmusica."
In response to my words, a pitch-black aura radiates from Totomusica as it sits up. Its face changes to white, and its neck's skeletons increase to five, while four extra arms appear, and a massive black wing emerges from its back.
Totmusica's third movement... the ultimate form that stood its ground against a coalition of powerful warriors in the movie, the true power of the Demon King.
A red light beam is fired from Totmusica's left eye. I respond by swinging a fist cloaked in Haki. The light beam, despite being much larger than my body's size, fails to reach me.
"...Is this all you've got?"
Drawing closer, I evade its four massive arms and strike.
"Storm Step - Heavenly Blade."
The slashing attack severs one of its arms, creating an opening for me to close the distance and kick its mask-like face.
Totmusica's body is flung into the air by the force of the kick, and I take the opportunity to concentrate Haki into both my arms.
"Twelve True Strikes."
The two impacts collide in front of Totmusica's eyes, creating a massive shockwave that engulfs its body.
As the sphere of black shockwave vanishes, a battered Totmusica falls and makes a resounding thud. I stand before its face, which shows signs of significant damage.
"...Hey, Totmusica? Don't disappoint me too much. I don't want to think that the power I've sought all this time is only at this level. Or is it because you lack the simultaneous manifestation in the Uta World and reality provided by the Uta Uta no Mi, that you're only capable of this much?"
The Uta Uta no Mi grants Totmusica a powerful defensive ability where it appears in both the Uta World and reality, and damage can only be inflicted with simultaneous attacks in both realms.
However, the current manifestation of Totmusica is merely a pseudo appearance through my soul. It hasn't manifested in the real space. Hence, it lacks the simultaneous attack-required defense.
"...You think otherwise, right, Totmusica? The grudges you've accumulated since ancient times, the heightened emotions due to being sealed away from the surface for so long... You must be capable of much more than this, right? Show me everything you've got, even without the power of the Uta Uta no Mi. Prove to me that you possess the power fitting for a Demon King..."
Now, let's see if these words will reach you, I thought... And at that moment, the world pulsated greatly. Simultaneously, I heard the song of "TotMusica"...
Moving my gaze around to find the source, I noticed a skeleton around Totomusica's neck adorned with blue-white flames was the one singing. Slightly stepping back, I observe the situation.
Six detached skulls float in the air, singing while shrouded in purple flames. At the same time, the main body of Totmusica becomes enveloped in a sinister black mist.
That's it. Show me, without any hindrance. The power I've sought... The power to shatter even fate. It cannot be this limited. Show me the true power of the Demon King...
As the mist clears, a unique existence stands there. It doesn't differ much in size from myself compared to the massive form from earlier. Its hair, which was messy like straw, has transformed into beautifully shining golden straight hair that reaches the knees.
Though in humanoid form, adorned with piano keys and musical notes on its dress, the legs are thin, elongated triangular cones, and there are no arms on its shoulders, but floating doll-like hands hover around it.
Wearing a mask resembling an 'X'-shaped clown, its appearance is doll-like yet feminine, bringing the word "Prima Donna" to mind.
If I were to compare... until now, Totmusica seemed like a type of stage equipment that appears due to the user of the Uta Uta no Mi, and the center of the stage was undoubtedly the user.
However, now it seemed as if it was singing while standing at the center stage, transforming from a mere stage equipment to the main "Prima Donna."
"...Beautiful."
With six floating skulls in the air singing, it emits an overwhelming presence while standing on its inverted triangular legs.
Yes, I understand. Though its size is now not much different from mine, its power is on a different level than before. Even someone weak in spirit would end their life just by witnessing this version of Totmusica. Such is the extent of its existence on a different plane, truly befitting the title of a Demon King.
One might call it the "Final Movement of Totmusica." The power that transformed from stage equipment to the main Prima Donna... I wonder just how immense this power is...?
With anticipation and a smile on my face, Totmusica disappeared from my line of sight, and immediately after, I clad my arms in Armament Haki, reversed my position, and caught a sweeping kick coming from the side.
However, the kick was heavy, and despite defending against it, I was pushed sideways. Nevertheless, it was just that I couldn't resist the force; there was no actual damage. Just then, Totmusica appeared before me again, and the floating doll-like arms swung in the air.
I crossed my arms to block, but I still couldn't withstand it completely, and my body floated. Totmusica's figure disappeared for the third time. Shortly after, it attempted to stab me in the back of the head with its inverted triangular leg, but I dodged by tilting my head. This time, it launched a palm strike to my lower abdomen from the front, which I defended against by using Armament Haki and Armament Hardening. Then came a kick from the right, which I redirected by hitting it with a fist. Attacks followed from the back, the front uppercut, and a leg sweep from the left, all coming in rapid succession.
Impressive... There's no preliminary movement or time lag. It's instant movement. The theoretical maximum speed, faster than even Enel or Kizaru, moving in zero seconds. And that's not all. The power of those attacks is such that even I would suffer damage if I didn't defend properly.
Furthermore, as if to put an end to it, Totomusica had turned into an "unperceivable existence." It seemed to be similar to the concept of "Observation Haki" nullification, which is made possible by Conqueror Haki. Totmusica couldn't be foreseen in future predictions, and its attacks couldn't be sensed using Observation Haki.
The theoretical fastest movement speed combined with overwhelming attack power, all while being untraceable like a stealth presence. What an extraordinarily dangerous combination.
"Fu, fufufu, ah, it had to be like this!"
From the front, the back, left, right, up, and down, the attacks kept coming. Indeed, zero-second movement is the fastest. It is definitely faster than me, and since there are no signs and no future prediction, I can't determine the timing of its attacks. But... the attacks themselves are not zero seconds.
As long as it follows a process of appearing before launching an attack, I can deal with the moment of its movement even if I can't see it.
Regarding the fact that I can't sense its presence, I've never relied on Kenbunshoku Haki in combat to begin with. Considering the existence of "Observation" nullification techniques, it was natural to assume that Observation Haki would not work.
That's why I've honed all my other senses to their limits through training. Even without Observation Haki, my body is like an ultra-high-performance radar.
As I continued to handle the attacks, Totmusica must have judged that it was getting nowhere, as it changed its approach. Instead of instant movement, it attacked directly from the front, swinging the arms of the floating doll in the air simultaneously.
Then the number of those arms increased to ten on each side, and the right arms were engulfed in purple flames, while the left arms were wrapped in blue-white frost. It seemed to be a technique similar to Brook's Yomi Yomi no Mi's coldness, as it could cause damage even if defended against...
"Kami-e (Paper Drawing)."
Lightly leaping in front of me, it launched a barrage of twenty arms as if striking down. It was like a rain of fists... No, it was like a maze. Avoiding the descending fists, the order of evasion, and the direction of evasion, even one mistake would lead to being caught and struck by an enormous number of fists.
Indeed, the speed was almost as fast as my own punches, even though it prioritized speed more than before, it still had considerable power. I couldn't afford to take them carelessly.
As I evaded the rain of fists with "Kami-e," suddenly, the ten hands on each side merged and turned into a giant palm, closing in on me as if to sandwich me.
Avoiding it was impossible due to its size... It was rational and fast. Evading was not an option...
"Kongō Tekkai" (Adamantine Iron Body).
Using Tekkai and Armament Hardening at the same time, I caught the approaching palms from both sides. At that moment, a tremendous pressure struck me.
"Guuh..."
Though obvious, no matter how strong one's physical body might be, when facing something like fire, cold, or electricity, mere strength wouldn't be enough to withstand it.
Given the existence of Devil Fruit abilities, it was only natural to anticipate and prepare countermeasures against such things. Through repeated body modifications, I had acquired sufficient resistance to those elements.
Putting strength into my palms, I repelled the hands. Immediately after, I saw Totomusica's left eye glowing, and I quickly turned my face away as a red flash grazed my cheek.
Was it a compressed version of the light beam it released in the third movement? It had quite a speed and power.
As I gently touched my cheek with my fingers, there was a faint sensation... When was the last time I shed blood in battle? Perhaps during my warrior training?
While I was contemplating such thoughts, Totmusica turned its doll-like arms black and reached out as if to grab me. It seemed to resemble Conqueror Haki, but what was it planning to do this time...? Although it was not impossible to avoid, this wasn't the kind of battle for that. Should I stand my ground...?
I also extended my hand, and Totmusica and I grabbed each other's hands, assuming a posture like a test of strength. At that moment, the black doll arms expanded, and tremendous pressure struck me.
"Guuh..."
Sliding and retreating, it's my first time experiencing this... losing to someone in terms of power.
However, as we clasp hands like this, it becomes clear. Totmusica's extraordinary negative emotions flow into me like a turbid current. Intense resentment, overwhelming negative emotions... Indeed, as expected of a Demon Lord.
The skeletons' songs gain momentum, seemingly applauding the sight of the sacrificial protagonist, me, being devoured.
"Hehe, hahahaha..."
Unintentionally, a smile escapes from my lips. Ah, just as I thought... no, it's even more formidable than I imagined. The speed and physical strength are on a completely different level, and the versatility to switch attacks to match the opponent's movements.
How many tricks does it have up its sleeve? Perhaps there's no end to them. Despite having trained my body to the point where I was confident that I could defeat anyone without any problems, I am undeniably being pushed back now.
"I knew it, you're the best... Totmusica."
"Hm?"
As I put more force into it, my retreating body comes to a halt, and our powers reach a stalemate. If this were the real world, the aftermath of our clash alone might have blown away the city of Eleusis. That's how much power flows between us.
"Hey, Totmusica... I've invited you into my soul, and you're letting out all the overwhelming resentment and negative emotions you've carried. So, it's only polite for me to respond."
I gather more power. Slowly, my hands begin to push back against Totomusica's.
This is a great opportunity. Let's lay bare everything inside our souls, fight with all our might within this soul.
"That's why I'll tell you. I've never told my father or Pochi or anyone else. The deepest, darkest core of my heart... the root of my madness is..."
Creak, cracks start to appear on the black doll arms.
"...thirst. My heart, my soul... they are still parched, never filled. Just how important those days were, realized only after losing them, and I've come to sanctify them... What I lost... ah, of course, I understand. It doesn't exist anywhere in this world, no matter how much I reach out for it... I get it."
Then I pause for a moment and quietly remove the lid that has suppressed my emotions.
"...But my heart, my soul! I'm sure that 'it' did exist! How can I accept that it doesn't exist anywhere in this world!?!"
"!?!"
"I've tried to accept it many times. I've gained a lot in this world. There are things I can call precious. And I thought I should compromise. I don't need to keep chasing after something I've lost... but every time, I scream from the depths of my heart! I haven't seen the 'end of all possibilities' yet. Why should I give up? My heart... my soul is thirsty..."
Yes, that's right. It's certainly impossible. No matter how much I think about it, I can't come up with a way to regain the happiness of my past life.
However, even so, I still think there might be a way. Perhaps there's something I don't know yet, and that's why my heart continues to scream, unable to give up.
"People can't go back to the past. No, even if they could, what I seek in the past of this world doesn't exist... That's why there's no choice but to move forward. I'll break the brakes with my crazed heart, seeking power like a runaway train, until I reach the end of all possibilities. That thirst... it is the foundation of my everything."
Understanding, but not accepting, I keep reaching for something that doesn't exist in this world, the happiness of my past life that will never be in my hands, and I continue to seek power as I move forward.
Of course, there are various reasons for seeking power. To never lose anything again, and many others... but ultimately, if you dig deep into my heart, what you will find is the yearning for the lost happiness of my past life. That is the foundation of my madness.
"Hehe, it seems like I had been accumulating emotions after all. It feels refreshing to let them explode."
"..."
"Thank you for listening, Totmusica..."
As I mutter that, a tremendous Haki emanates from my body. Ah, today has been a day of many first experiences... This is also, since when... no, considering the numerous modifications since then, it should be considered a first.
For the first time... "Fighting with all my might."
I clad myself in Armament Haki and Conqueror's Haki at the same time. My body is dyed pitch black, and the overflowing Haki forms an external shell that can't be contained.
Covered in an all-black carapace... no, it's not a neat armor. It's more like a sinister crust covering my entire body.
Probably, right now, I must look like a black monster. A monstrous appearance that could destroy the world... Yes, that's why, let's call this form like this.
"The Beast of the Apocalypse."
"!"
I can see Totmusica taking a step back. It must have sensed my extraordinary presence. However, it's just one step, and it doesn't retreat further. Its majestic and dignified figure standing firmly captivates me.
Truly... a form worthy of the name of a Demon King.
Facing such Totmusica, I spread my hands, enveloped in vast Haki, and announce:
"Let's resume, Totmusica... Sing and dance... Throw everything at me. I'll take on all of you. The loneliness, the hatred, the resentment... I'll acknowledge them all and take them on."
As I clasp hands, I feel Totmusica's essence. Among the numerous emotions... the intense feelings of wanting to be acknowledged, wanting to be accepted, and loneliness.
That's why I won't back down. I'll take on all of Totmusica's attacks and powers head-on. All of your negative emotions... That's right, that's why...
"In return, give me everything you've got... a new possibility. Hand it over to me!!"
***
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