50 The Depressed King
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King was in disbelief, his mind racing with fear and shock: "What kind of monster is this? Is this what an Admiral is capable of?" For the first time, King felt completely overpowered by an enemy. It wasn't even a real fight; just the display of abilities was enough to crush his fighting spirit.
"I can't believe we're this far apart in strength! But I can't stop fighting. If I do, I'm as good as dead!" King told himself, determined, as he launched an attack at Brontes, who was flying in the sky.
"Fire Dragon Emperor!" He shouted.
His sword attack, engulfed in flames, soared directly at Brontes. But in an instant, a lightning bolt from the heavens struck the fiery slash with deadly accuracy.
"Rumble! Boom!"
The sound was deafening.
The flames burst into nothingness, and King's attack disappeared without leaving a trace. Then, a Lightning Sword descended from the sky, driving King forcefully downward.
"I refuse to be taken back to Impel Down as a prisoner!" King shouted angrily.
His body transformed once more, taking on a half-beast form. His wings unfurled, and he soared upwards, ready to face the Lightning Sword with his own sword ablaze.
"Inferno Slash!!!" He roared.
"Boom!! Rumble!!" The sky seemed to explode.
A blinding white light filled everything, obscuring the combatants from view. No one could see the fighters or tell how the battle was going.
"Woosh!"
A powerful electromagnetic force swept over the marines on the warship. Luckily, Brontes's ship had been modified to withstand such an attack. When the lightning struck, it was redirected into the sea, sparing the marines from harm.
As the light faded, the marines regained their vision. They saw Brontes, standing in the air, shrouded in lightning. To them, it was as if the God of Thunder himself had descended. This battle was unlike anything they had ever witnessed.
In that moment, they recalled Brontes's words before they had set sail.
"I just wanted to test the performance of my new ship."
It became clear that Brontes hadn't even begun to fight seriously. The two moves he had used were actually enhanced by the Ark Maxim, and they hadn't used any of his stamina.
The original Ark Maxim wasn't capable of boosting Lightning attacks to such a terrifying level. However, Dr. Vegapunk had modified and upgraded it, significantly enhancing its power.
Using the thunderclouds generated by the Ark, along with Brontes's Rumble-Rumble Fruit powers, he lightning manipulated the energy within the clouds, shaping it to his will.
Among the marines on the ship, Kaise, who had graduated from the Elite Camp, had a deeper understanding of what was happening.
He could see beyond what the others could, recognizing the true extent of the power at play.
He would always remember the incredible sight of Brontes unleashing his move, Lightning Descending, which had instantly wiped out an entire pirate crew and their ship.
With the Ark's assistance, it seemed Brontes might be able to use that terrifying move repeatedly.
"ZliZli!"
The thunderclouds overhead appeared to have lost their electric charge and started to fade away. Brontes descended gracefully from the sky.
On the ground, King was still on his feet, but his body was sporadically flickering with electricity, with bolts of lightning crackling and bursting from him as he trembled.
When Brontes touched down in front of him, King looked up with a mocking grin: "Is that the best you can do? You can't kill me. You've used up all the thunderclouds' power. What's else you can do?"
"I want to try something different." Brontes replied.
"Kaise, my spear!" Brontes suddenly called out.
"Yes, sir!" Kaise, momentarily taken aback by the command, quickly recovered and grabbed a white alloy spear from a marine soldier behind him, throwing it to Brontes.
Brontes caught the spear effortlessly, and it immediately crackled with electricity.
"ZliZli!"
"Damn it!" King cursed, charging at Brontes with his sword raised.
"Boom! Rumble!"
Their weapons met in a clash of fire and lightning, sending a shower of sparks flying as the two forces intertwined.
Brontes relentlessly pressed his attack.
"Rumble!! ZliZli!!"
With each thrust of his spear, lightning exploded, and thunder roared. This spear, crafted by Dr. Vegapunk from rare metals, could withstand extreme temperatures.
Brontes had been skilled with a spear since his days in the Elite Camp, but his old spear had been damaged in the battle with Shiki. It had been nearly a decade since he last wielded a weapon, yet Brontes had never stopped training with them.
"ZliZli!! ZliZli!!"
Brontes's one-handed thrusts were incredibly fast. The power of the lightning wasn't just in its strength but also in its speed and piercing ability.
King, despite his high proficiency in both Armament and Observation Haki, which allowed him to sense the trajectory of the attacks, struggled against the unpredictable nature of lightning.
It moved like a serpent, making it impossible for his Observation Haki to predict all of Brontes's moves.
Speed can overcome even the future-sight of Observation Haki, like that of Katakuri. If one is fast enough, their Observation Haki might not be able to keep up.
Brontes was clearly dominating the fight, relentlessly pushing King back. King was on the defensive, managing only to block the incoming attacks, with no chance to strike back.
"Is this all you've got?" Taunted Brontes as he continued his attack.
"Damn it!" King clenched his teeth in frustration.
He had briefly hoped to escape after the Lightning Prison faded, but now that hope was fading fast.
"King, you're a letdown. Is this what the Chief Warden of Impel Down is made of? I think Magellan would do a better job than you. Your betrayal just paves the way for him. Magellan seems more fitting for the role." Brontes said, shaking his head in disappointment.
"How dare you compare me to that trash Magellan?!" King shouted in angry voice.
"Flame Wave!"
With a powerful swing of his sword, King unleashed a huge wave of fire that split the air. Brontes's figure appeared to be sliced in two. Seizing the moment, King charged with all his strength, his long sword ready to deliver a crushing blow to Brontes's upper half.
"Die!" King's shout was fierce as his sword, enveloped in Armament Haki and cloaked in intense flames, came crashing down.
"Thor's Spear!"
"ZliZli! Rumble!"
Brontes gripped his spear, its tip crackling with renewed lightning energy, the sound echoing like a chorus of birds.
The spear transformed, its single point splitting into three, resembling a trident.
Charged with electric plasma, the spearheads thrust forward with Brontes's power, expanding rapidly. They met King's fiery blade head-on, and the impact sent King hurtling through the air.
"Ahh!!"
Overwhelmed by the immense lightning attack, King couldn't help but scream out loud.
He clenched his teeth, trying to withstand the pain as the electricity surged into his internal organs, leaving him paralyzed and forced to endure the assault in silence.
"Crackle! ZliZli!"
Just as King was on the verge of breaking free from the paralyzing effects of the lightning, he heard the crackling sound once more.
Brontes had swiftly moved in front of him, and as their eyes met, King's widened in shock.
"Thwack!"
The white spear drove through King's abdomen, pinning him to the ground.
"Puff!"
Blood burst from King's mouth as he desperately grasped at Brontes's spear, attempting to pull it out. But Brontes tightened his grip, and a fresh surge of lightning power erupted, enveloping King's body in a cocoon of electric energy.
"ZliZli!!"
"Ah!!!"
King's agonized scream echoed, a sound reminiscent of the cries of the prisoners he once tormented, now experiencing a similar, inhuman pain.
The lightning subsided, and Brontes, with a firm hold on the spear, withdrew it from King's body. A large, cauterized hole was left in King's waist, the intense heat from the lightning having sealed the wound to prevent bleeding.
Seizing the moment, King dragged his injured body away, gasping for air and gripping his sword tightly.
"Hm, you can still move? I'm a little impressed." Brontes remarked.
"As expected of an Ancient Zoan Devil Fruit user. Your stamina and vitality are indeed superior to other devil fruit users."
"I won't die here." King shouted inwardly, his body undergoing another transformation, this time into the form of a complete Pteranodon.
The resilience of Zoan-type Devil Fruit users was in their remarkable vitality and physical strength.
Now in his Pteranodon form, King clutched at his waist wound with one hand while holding his sword in the other. Without uttering another word, he took to the sky, attempting to flee overseas.
