Capítulo 55: Chapter 55: The Price of Shadows
Vulcan, Smoker, and Brook were still standing, but Gecko Moria refused to fall easily. His massive frame trembled as his shadowy tendrils coiled around him like living snakes. He was beaten but not broken, his Kage Kage no Mi powers still warping the battlefield with eerie darkness.
Moria's eyes darted around wildly, calculating, his lips curling into a sneer. "You think you've cornered me, don't you?" he wheezed, raising his hand. "But the shadows… they will always be mine!"
With that, Moria stretched his fingers, and the ground beneath them trembled. Shadows from the shattered walls and fallen zombies twisted and warped, rising into the air like serpents. The very darkness seemed to obey his command, lashing out in all directions as they formed into jagged spikes.
"Watch out!" Smoker shouted as he dissolved into his smoke form, dodging a spike that nearly impaled him.
Vulcan swerved to the side, his enhanced reflexes barely allowing him to dodge another spike of darkness. His naginata whistled through the air, slicing cleanly through the shadow constructs as they attacked him.
"Brook, strike the source!" Vulcan barked, eyeing the shadows clinging to Moria's legs like a thick sludge. "We need to sever the connection!"
"Understood!" Brook responded, his tone uncharacteristically serious as he sprinted toward the warlord, his sword-cane gleaming in the dim light. "I'll go for his shadow directly!"
With a graceful leap, Brook closed the distance between him and Moria, slashing at the writhing shadows at the warlord's feet. His strikes were precise, each one aimed to sever the bond between Moria and the darkness that empowered him. The shadows writhed and recoiled, but Moria held on, tightening his control with every ounce of power he had left.
"Fools!" Moria cackled, his voice strained but filled with malice. "I will take all your shadows before this is over!"
A massive zombie lurched forward, one of the last remaining creations of Moria's powers. The grotesque creature moved with surprising speed, its massive fist barreling toward Smoker.
"I'm not letting you get away with this," Smoker growled. He reformed in his smoke form and dodged the blow, appearing just behind the zombie with his jitte raised. "You're going down."
Smoker's jitte crackled with seastone, and with a powerful swing, he brought it crashing down on the zombie's head, shattering its skull. The zombie crumbled to the ground, disintegrating as the shadows that had animated it evaporated into the air.
Meanwhile, Vulcan was still locked in a deadly dance with the shadows that lashed out at him from all sides. His Conqueror's Haki flared, forcing the weaker shadows to retreat as he pressed forward, his naginata slicing through the dark tendrils that tried to ensnare him.
"You're running out of tricks, Moria," Vulcan spat, his voice cold and filled with fury. "It's over!"
Moria's sneer faltered, but his desperation only made him more dangerous. "No… It's not over!"
With a wave of his hand, Moria summoned more shadows, forming a towering figure behind him—a grotesque shadow colossus made from the stolen shadows of the countless souls he had captured over the years. The colossus roared, its shadowy limbs thrashing wildly as it lunged toward Vulcan.
Vulcan's eyes narrowed. He gripped his naginata and launched himself forward with Soru, closing the distance in an instant. The colossus swung its massive arm down at him, but Vulcan leaped into the air, using his momentum to drive the blade of his naginata straight into the shadowy creature's chest.
The colossus let out a deafening roar, its form flickering as the connection to Moria wavered.
"Now!" Vulcan shouted to Brook. "Strike the shadow while it's weak!"
Brook dashed forward, his speed unmatched as he targeted Moria's shadow. His sword-cane flashed in the air, and with a powerful slash, he severed the connection between Moria and the colossus. The shadowy beast let out one final wail before disintegrating into nothingness.
Moria stumbled back, his eyes wide with disbelief. "No... No! This isn't possible!"
Vulcan landed gracefully in front of him, his naginata still gleaming with the remnants of the shadow energy it had pierced. He glared down at the warlord, his chest heaving with anger and exhaustion.
"It's over, Moria," Vulcan growled, his voice like a low thunder. "You've lost."
But the rage that had fueled Vulcan throughout the battle wasn't satisfied. The memories of the fallen Marines, the bloodshed, the cruelty—Moria had to pay.
Without hesitation, Vulcan swung his naginata down with brutal force, slicing through Moria's left leg. Blood sprayed across the ground as Moria screamed in agony, collapsing to his knees.
"AAAAAGH!! You... bastard!" Moria howled, clutching the stump of his leg, his eyes wide with terror. "You... can't do this!"
But Vulcan wasn't done.
The rage was still boiling inside him, and Moria's scream only fueled it further. With another roar of fury, Vulcan raised his naginata again and slashed through Moria's left arm, severing it at the shoulder in one clean stroke.
Moria's screams echoed through the room as he writhed on the ground, his body broken, his blood pooling around him. "Please! Stop! I surrender!"
But Vulcan's eyes were filled with nothing but hatred. His grip tightened on his weapon as he prepared to strike again, to end it for good.
"Vulcan, stop!" Smoker's voice cut through the haze of rage.
Smoker appeared beside him in an instant, grabbing Vulcan's wrist just before the naginata could deliver the final blow. "That's enough," Smoker growled, his voice firm. "You've beaten him."
Vulcan's chest heaved, his mind still clouded by the fury that pulsed through his veins. His eyes locked onto Moria's broken form, his body trembling with the effort to restrain himself.
"He deserves to die," Vulcan spat, his voice low and dangerous. "After everything he's done—"
Smoker didn't let go of Vulcan's wrist. "Maybe he does. But killing him won't bring back the lives he took. And if you kill him now, someone else could get their hands on the Kage Kage no Mi. Do you really want another monster like him running loose?"
Vulcan hesitated. His heart still pounded with rage, but Smoker's words cut through the fog in his mind. He knew Smoker was right. Killing Moria wouldn't change what had happened, and it could lead to more chaos if someone else inherited his Devil Fruit.
With a final growl of frustration, Vulcan lowered his naginata, stepping back from Moria's quivering form. "Fine. But he's lucky I didn't finish him."
Smoker nodded, releasing his grip on Vulcan. "We'll send him to Impel Down. That way, no one else can get their hands on his powers."
The surviving Marines, though shaken, quickly moved to bind Moria in seastone cuffs, ensuring he couldn't use his powers again. Moria, now a broken mess of blood and fear, glared weakly at Vulcan.
"You... won't survive the Grand Line..." Moria muttered through gritted teeth.
Vulcan glared back, his eyes cold and unforgiving. "Maybe not. But you won't live to see it."
As the Marines hauled Moria's broken body away, Brook let out a tired sigh, his usual cheerful tone returning. "Ah, that was quite the performance! But it's good to be done with such a grim affair. Yohohoho!"
Vulcan didn't respond. His mind was still racing, his body trembling from both the battle and the rage he had just unleashed. The faces of the fallen Marines still haunted him, their deaths weighing heavily on his soul.
Smoker walked up beside him, his expression grim but understanding. "It's not easy, but you did what needed to be done."
Vulcan didn't answer immediately, his eyes staring blankly at the blood-stained battlefield. "Yeah... but it doesn't make it any easier."
Smoker grunted, lighting a fresh cigarette. "No, it doesn't."
The battle was over. Moria was defeated. But the scars left behind would take far longer to heal.
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