139 Chapter 139

Garling found himself surprisingly fortunate.

As he gasped for breath in the midst of the wreckage-strewn sea, salvation arrived in the form of a shipwreck resting just beside him.

Without wasting a moment, he climbed up its battered surface.

"Da da..."

"Da da..."

The relentless sea water dripped steadily onto the wreck, providing a dissonant soundtrack to Garling's chaotic thoughts.

At that moment, Garling's mind was a whirlwind of confusion, his thoughts were in disarray and for good reason.

Why? Because back in Carnes, he had witnessed something that shattered the boundaries of his understanding of the world.

As he watched Carnes walk upon the sea as if it were solid ground, Garling's eyes widened with astonishment once more.

Indeed, he was consumed by an insatiable curiosity.

He desperately yearned to unravel the enigma of how Carnes achieved this remarkable feat.

After all, Garling was almost sure that Carnes possessed Devil Fruit powers.

But there was a perplexing paradox; why was Carnes unafraid of the sea, the kryptonite to all Devil Fruit users?

It was as if he mocked the very laws of the ocean.

Carnes had even uttered thought-provoking words that echoed in Garling's mind:

"You don't think I'm a Devil Fruit user, do you?"

This raised a profound question in Garling's mind.

If Carnes was not reliant on a Devil Fruit for his extraordinary abilities, how had he acquired them?

How did he gain the power to get his youthful appearance back, seemingly defying the inexorable passage of time?

Earlier he thought Carnes possessed a Devil Fruit which could explain his many powerful abilities.

But now, Garling was left with more questions than answers as the mysteries of Carnes and his powers unfolded before him.

These were the mysteries that plagued Garling's thoughts as he clung to the wreckage, determined to uncover the secrets of Carnes power.

"Is he deceiving my senses?" Garling mused, but he didn't feel that way at all.

Deception was a concept foreign to most, but yet Garling currently found himself untouched by it.

As both him and Carnes languished beneath the depths of the sea, he couldn't help but marvel at the unyielding power of Carnes, which remained undiminished even when he was in the sea.

"How in the world did you pull it off, Carnes?

"How the hell did you manage to do this?"

Garling's voice trembled with curiosity as he gazed at Carnes, who approached him with an almost leisurely stride.

Carnes, however, remained silent, offering no response to Garling's inquiry. Silence hung heavily in the air between them.

"Did you know, Carnes? One of my life's greatest regrets in life was failing to kill you back in the God's Valley.

If you had died back then, none of these problems would have appeared."

Carnes halted abruptly for a fleeting moment before resuming his advance.

"I've changed, I'm different now, even if I won't be able to kill you today.

The next time we cross paths, it won't take much effort to end your life.

And this time I will properly verify that you're dead. I don't wish for you to linger on this earth much longer."

Garling declared, his voice brimming with resolve.

....

"Hahahaha... But...I don't want you to give you next chance."

"Do you understand why you're still standing and talking to me?" Carnes questioned.

Garling's eyes narrowed ever so slightly. "Is that what you're implying? That you pity me?"

A sly grin crept across Carnes' face as he gazed up at the sky.

"You're a true fool, Garling! The reason you're standing here and talking with me is not out of pity. It's because I refuse to grant you the satisfaction of a swift and painless death!"

"Carnes, do you mean to say you could end me in an instant if you so wished?" Garling retorted, his voice laced with skepticism.

Before his words had fully escaped his mouth, a deafening explosion echoed through the air, rending the sea's surface asunder.

Garling's eyes widened in shock as he realized that his left arm had been cut off from his body in the blink of an eye.

The swiftness of the attack left him dumbfounded.

His detached arm had yet to touch the ground when his right hand, clutching a longsword, swung forth in an attempt to retaliate.

But before his blade could meet its mark and complete his strike, a powerful kick struck him in the stomach, sending him hurtling backward.

"Boom!"

Garling's body sailed through the air, landing on another shipwreck larger than the last.

In that moment, using the ability granted by Observation Haki, he felt an unsettling premonition, as he sensed something amiss.

His eyes darted around, quickly spotting figures on the same wreck.

Ulquiorra, Obito, Escanor, Tatsumaki, and the Six Paths of Pain stood there, watching him intently.

Beside them, the once-proud members of God's Knights lay in ruins.

A shiver ran down Garling's spine.

What manner of monsters were these individuals?

How had they managed, in such a short span, to obliterate the God's Knights he had once held in high regard?

"Perhaps we ended this fight a little faster," Tatsumaki mused as she floated mid-air.

"Who would have thought these foes would prove so feeble," Escanor added with a hint of disdain.

She pondered, "If this guy decides to attack us, what should we do?" looking at Garling.

"Even though the captain told us to hand him over, I doubt he'd blame us if we kill this guy for our self-defense," Tatsumaki proposed, reinforcing their resolve.

"Huh? Pardon me!"

"But I think I agree with this plan" Escanor nodded in agreement.

Garling's hair stood on end, a shiver running down his spine.

He thought of different scenarios.

The odds of him winning this battle? Negligible.

As for group fight, with these formidable adversaries? Utterly implausible.

And none of these individuals could be compared to energy-efficient lamps.

He knew none of them were pushovers.

As Garling contemplated his next move, he couldn't help but wince as blood spurted from his severed arm.

Crimson streams cascaded from the freshly severed arm, a gruesome sight.

In that moment, Garling's face grew ghostly pale.

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