25 Chapter 25: Soul Attack

"Too bad I only got the Holy Letter's power. Wish I had cool moves like Quincy's Sacred Destruction Arrows too."

Luo Ning shook his head. He only got the Holy Letter's power, not the fancy Quincy stuff. But that was okay, he could still blast his enemies with pure Reiatsu.

Now his hands are covered in a layer of concentrated Reiatsu. This way, even if Aokiji turns into ice, the attack will hit his soul directly. The body can run, but the soul can't hide. Luo Ning's hands glowed blue as Reiatsu surged. Two balls of light formed around his fists.

"What kind of weird trick is this?"

Aokiji's eyes narrowed at the change. He kept his ice powers active. Then, in a flash, Luo Ning vanished.

A similar attack came, but this time Aokiji, remembering the last one, dodged just in time.

However, this was mere opening attack. Luo Ning had been some distance back, but his speed, even under Aokiji's observation haki, brought them nearly face-to-face.

Luo Ning attacked again, and Aokiji couldn't avoid this. Only someone like the lightning-fast Kizaru, or fighters with incredible strength and defense, might have stood a chance. Luo Ning's assault was simply too fast.

Aokiji could fight back with Armament Haki, which strengthens both offense and defense. But he can't use both Armament Haki and his ice powers at the same time.

Skipping Armament Haki, Luo Ning's punch tore a hole straight through Aokiji's ice body, shattering it with a burst of force. In a flash, Aokiji reformed in the distance.

But this time, Aokiji grimaced as he reformed, clutching his stomach where a dull ache throbbed.

Aokiji, a seasoned Marine Admiral with countless injuries under his belt, thought he was numb to pain. But the agony ripping through his abdomen was unlike anything he'd faced before. Sweat beaded on his brow, his body wracked with tremors as he hunched over, clutching his stomach.

Luo Ning's punch wasn't the only damage. The Reiatsu attack had also ripped through Aokiji's defenses, leaving a gaping wound in his very soul. While it didn't shatter the soul completely, the pain was akin to a soul-piercing agony.

The severe pain now originates in the soul, and it is incomparable to the pain of physical injury. However, the soul seems to possess a slight advantage over the body when it comes to enduring such damage. While a physical wound, like a hole opened in the abdomen, can cause immediate death in a normal person, the soul appears to have a greater capacity for resilience.

Though the soul suffers such pain, the afflicted person won't necessarily die immediately. The soul may slowly repair itself, but this process can be very long.

Aokiji's soul is tougher than most people, but this soul injury won't heal quickly. Luo Ning can't say exactly how long it'll take. It depends on each person. Some people might even choose to end their lives because of this pain.

Until Aokiji's soul heals, he has to suffer this terrible pain, like someone being mentally tortured.

"Why? I dodged the attack, but why am I in so much pain? My body doesn't seem hurt at all. There's nothing wrong, even inside. But this horrible pain... where is it coming from?"

Aokiji was confused. He checked himself for injuries but found nothing. His body, even his organs, seemed perfectly fine. Yet, a terrible pain wracked him.

"Is it those two beams of blue light?"

Aokiji suspected he knew the cause. He figured Luo Ning must have used some special ability, since he couldn't have used Armament Haki. This ability, whatever it was, was the source of the excruciating pain. Despite his undamaged body and full strength, the constant, severe pain clearly hampered Aokiji's fighting ability.

At this moment, Aokiji also knew that there was nothing to be done, so he came directly to the Marines.

"Retreat!" Aokiji forced out the word, both from intense frustration and the unrelenting pain.

The others might still be able to fight, but Aokiji doubted they'd fare any better. Take Onigumo for example. With this strange power, getting close to Luo Ning without using Elementalization is like losing the fight automatically. But even with it, you can still be defeated easily. For instance, Aokiji was beaten before by him using that unknown tricks.

Aokiji doesn't know what Luo Ning can do next, so he decides to back off for now. Anyone who stays here might get hurt.

"Admiral Aokiji, what's happening? Are you injured?"

The others are freaking out too. They can't just leave now, especially Magellan. This is his territory, he can't follow the Marines and retreat.