Prey (3K)

You were corrupted by God Hand: Roland. Corruption level: High

You used the item Sanctity Pendant. Removing corruption...

Removal failed. Ability priority is insufficient to remove this corruption.

"Damn it, damn it, damn it… Isn’t this the One Piece World? How could something like God Hand exist here?!"

Black Death stood atop a skateboard glowing green. He suddenly burst out from a charred flesh tumor, trying every item he had stored away, only to discover that none could remove the corruption affecting him.

The ability priority of this corruption had actually reached High. He could only endure the itch beneath his skin as he watched a savage face emerge on the back of his hand.

He had a feeling that face was his own. When he had unleashed those viruses across mission worlds to seize High-level Singularities, he must have worn that same ferocious, arrogant expression.

Black Death glided through the air, trying to locate Flame Demon, but unexpectedly spotted Moon Demon, who had charged out of a flesh tumor with his blade raised. Moon Demon was now utterly unrecognizable. His body had grown abnormally, stretched beyond three meters tall. His limbs were long and slender, his arms covered in scales, while his head had split open into a massive face of terror, revealing Moon Demon’s own savage features within.

The only thing that let Black Death confirm his identity was Black Blade: Yoru, renowned even within Infinite Space.

This guy… Moon Demon had fallen?!

Black Death clearly saw the hollow cavity in Moon Demon’s chest. Flesh buds continuously grew inside it, yet no heart appeared.

With a thought, Black Death stomped down. Two miniature missiles immediately detached from beneath his skateboard and shot toward the figure that was presumably Moon Demon.

The missiles streaked out with flaming trails. The monster standing amid the faces below suddenly turned its head, and its split-open face directly faced Black Death.

Black Death’s heart skipped a beat. The next moment, the three-meter-tall monster gripped its sword with both hands and slashed upward.

Clang!

The black blade vibrated violently, and a clear blade gleam, thin as a cicada’s wing, flashed into existence.

Boom! Boom!

The missiles exploded in midair. Before the smoke could disperse, Black Death had already climbed higher, preparing to flee. Whether this monster was Moon Demon himself or not, it possessed swordsmanship of that level. That alone made it extremely dangerous.

Clang!

The sword energy rang out again. Black Death turned back and saw countless shells falling from the sky. The monster had drawn its sword not to cut him down, but to slash at the innumerable black shells descending from above.

The Marines!

Crack!

Thunder roared again. Black Death did not dare linger, and the thrusters beneath the Green Demon Skateboard instantly kicked into full power.

"Don’t… leave!"

Whoosh!

An almost inaudible sound of something cutting through the air reached him. The skateboard beneath his feet was suddenly caught by a powerful suction force. Black Death turned around and saw a gigantic bird-like monster, entirely black, appear at the bay.

It stared at him maliciously and spoke in human words.

He tried to activate the skateboard, but could not move at all. A bright katana appeared in Black Death’s hand, and he slashed hard downward.

Sure enough, a transparent thread was severed.

The skateboard returned to normal, but the air behind and to the side of him seemed to shatter as a fierce wind struck. Alarmed, Black Death turned just in time to see a gigantic Werewolf leaping through the air and sweeping both legs through empty space.

Rankyaku!

Two enormous slashes spanning a hundred meters instantly knocked Black Death out of the sky.

The talismans on his body shattered completely.

The moment Black Death hit the ground, he tried to run again, only to hear a voice in his ear.

"Don’t move!"

Black Death turned around and discovered Flame Demon, his hair slightly scorched, with only half his face exposed from within a flesh tumor.

Black Death immediately stopped. The next instant, the gigantic Werewolf and the enormous bird that was presumably Doflamingo crashed directly into each other.

The two colossal demons, each over a hundred meters in size, began tearing into each other madly.

Meanwhile, the monster Moon Demon had become merely held its sword in both hands, head tilted to one side as if searching for some sound.

Fine dragon scales covered Flame Demon’s body. He was a Reincarnator whose physique had exceeded its limit and who possessed dragon blood, granting him exceptionally high resistance to abnormalities.

Even now, only his wounds felt somewhat itchy.

"Black Death, find the cursed spirit Silverlight planted on this island. We need an opportunity to end this damned mission."

Flame Demon was somewhat shaken as well. This mission world had clearly been ravaged beyond recognition by previous Reincarnators. Even Flame Demon, who had always enjoyed destroying mission worlds on a large scale, had never expected the One Piece World to be turned into this state.

God Hand: Roland…

He had indeed heard the name Roland before. Morning Star of Hope: Roland, a Title-level Reincarnator from Azure Sky, one of Infinite Space’s top assemblies. He had been among the foremost group of Reincarnators in the Third Tier.

Among the known Special Reincarnators, he had been one of the highest-ranked.

Yet his death had ultimately been confirmed a month ago. Azure Sky had suffered severe losses, and that mad captain had flown into a rage. Many Fierce Persons had been purged during that period.

Returning from the dead… Could a Special Reincarnator really achieve something like that…?

All sorts of thoughts flashed through his mind, but Black Death clearly no longer dared take any risks.

Flame Demon lowered his eyelids and said coldly,

"Idiot, don’t you understand yet…?"

Flames burned across his body as the black flesh tumors fell away. Above them, the gigantic bird and the enormous Werewolf were violently tearing at each other, no longer paying attention to this side. The monster Moon Demon had become remained in a listening posture, both hands resting on its sword, poised to strike.

That stance made Flame Demon feel that Moon Demon had not died. That man still retained a shred of sanity above the bottom line.

At the very least, Moon Demon still knew who the greatest threat here was…

Following Flame Demon’s gaze, Black Death saw the thousand-meter-tall giant hand made of faces shatter inch by inch, revealing a heavily damaged pink robe.

"Mercenary Tao?!"

Black Death could never have imagined that the one to emerge in this situation would be the newcomer Moon Demon had been hunting down.

Flame Demon had repeatedly emphasized that Fierce Person: Mercenary Tao was a newly risen Reincarnator whose number of missions could be counted on one hand.

How could someone like that…

"Hahahahaha!"

Terrifying laughter rang from Mercenary Tao’s mouth. Black Death saw that Mercenary Tao was in an extremely bizarre state. His eyes had turned white, and his twisted red face seemed split in two—one half gentle, the other ruthless. Purple-black ripples continuously flowed across his body.

Besides that, streaks of black shadow constantly crawled across Mercenary Tao’s surface.

What exactly was going on with this guy?

Flame Demon did not know what had happened to Mercenary Tao either. But at that moment, he could clearly sense the terrifying presence emanating from him.

It was a kind of pressure that could naturally be sensed once one’s strength reached a certain realm. As long as the other party stood in the field, one could tell at a glance who was the higher life-form.

Flame Demon touched the reverse scale on his neck. The stabbing pain made him even more alert.

Step.

Mercenary Tao suddenly moved, taking a step forward. Flame Demon instantly entered a half-dragon transformation. Huge dragon wings grew from his back, and both hands became entirely covered in dragon scales.

The monster Moon Demon had become reacted even more extremely. The instant Mercenary Tao stepped forward, it bent low and crouched on the ground in a standard iaijutsu stance.

Its split-open face locked onto Mercenary Tao.

Only now, from Flame Demon and Moon Demon’s reactions, did Black Death finally notice the abnormal pressure radiating from Mercenary Tao. For no reason, his heart felt much heavier. His scalp prickled with pain, and an icy sense of crisis enveloped him completely.

It was as if he stood before a prehistoric dinosaur. His entire body trembled, and he did not dare move, as though he would be devoured the next second.

He could only watch as Mercenary Tao raised his left foot again and slowly lowered it through the air.

At the same time, he was certain he saw a silver-white current of air where the atmosphere had been cut apart by Black Blade: Yoru. It was a Silver Thread extending from the blade.

Step.

Clang!!

The instant the soft footstep touched the ground, the monster Moon Demon had become, over three meters tall, suddenly drew its sword.

The silver thread instantly divided heaven and earth.

Rip…

An almost inaudible tearing sound rang out. The next second, the entire ground of faces split apart, and amid the spraying blood, Flame Demon’s pupils contracted. Mercenary Tao was actually still standing in place, without making any movement.

He had not reacted in time?

No!

He saw the straight silver thread suddenly break apart. Before Mercenary Tao, it seemed to have stopped entirely.

At that moment, a black shadow crawled over Mercenary Tao’s twisted face.

"Ha~"

"Haha!"

It was still that wild laughter, but this time, it carried an arrogance that proclaimed him supreme above heaven and earth.

"Wonderful. This body really is wonderful. Even without the Six Eyes, the feeling of being able to wield cursed energy without limit is simply delightful, ha~"

Bai Cangshu raised both hands, one pointing to the sky and the other to the ground. Black cursed energy surged out from his body.

"This is… the Limitless Cursed Technique?"

Black Death muttered.

Bang!

The next moment, everything before him went blank. The face on the ground exploded into blood pulp out of nowhere, and Mercenary Tao vanished completely. Black Death instinctively whipped his head around, only to see Moon Demon instantly sheathe his sword in defense before being struck in the spine from behind by a fist. A black flash pierced through his body.

The monster Moon Demon had become let out a miserable cry and was sent flying by the terrifying force. Mercenary Tao stomped down and vanished again, catching up to the flying Moon Demon. His left arm clenched into a fist as black lightning instantly erupted from the air.

Crack!

As the black lightning erupted, Mercenary Tao’s twisted face changed again.

Boom!

Before the punch even struck Moon Demon’s body, the air had already warped completely. Lava-like fire exploded from afar, like a red lotus blooming.

Moon Demon crashed into the ground.

Step.

The sound of footsteps rang out again. Black Death was already instinctively terrified. He subconsciously looked around, only to discover that Mercenary Tao was not moving at high speed.

Instead, he swayed as he walked toward Black Death and Flame Demon.

The high temperature and flames around Flame Demon’s body stood out starkly in this scene.

Roar!

A howl sounded. The gigantic Werewolf had been defeated by the enormous bird and came flying over, flesh torn and bloodied. Mercenary Tao suddenly raised both hands, catching the hundred-meter Werewolf while twisting his waist.

Boom!

The hundred-meter Werewolf monster was directly hurled toward Black Death and Flame Demon.

Black Death could sense that Mercenary Tao seemed to have become a different person again. His fighting style had changed once more.

He no longer had the mind to consider what had happened to Mercenary Tao. Leaving behind a single sentence,

"Flame Demon, I’ll find that cursed spirit."

He swiftly took out the Green Demon Skateboard he had previously stored in his Backpack.

Boom!

The full-power jets activated. Why would he go look for some cursed spirit? Having Flame Demon hold them off while he escaped was what really mattered.

Flame Demon cursed idiot inwardly, but before he could speak, he felt a gale howl past him.

Black Death felt the air being pushed aside, yet he himself had not moved from his original position.

He turned around in horror and saw Mercenary Tao behind him, his sleeves torn to reveal tough arms. With only one hand, Mercenary Tao was gripping the Green Demon Skateboard.

"Before I’ve had my fill, you’re not allowed to run away~"

Crack. Fractures began spreading across the Green Demon Skateboard, and it exploded the next second.

Light flashed in Black Death’s hand again as a scroll appeared, but a tremendous force struck his cervical spine at that moment.

Crack!

Black Death’s mind went blank. When he came back to himself, he saw Mercenary Tao’s hands seemingly vanish as countless fists rained down.

Puff, puff, puff… Bang!

Black Death, still wearing his mask, exploded into a pile of mangled flesh.

Bai Cangshu looked at the black Death Intent Senluo on his fist, still dissatisfied. He wanted an even more exhilarating slaughter…

The next moment, a powerful pulling force rose within his Consciousness Sea and dragged Bai Cangshu down. More than thirty-three thousand vengeful spirits were currently in Bai Cangshu’s Consciousness Sea, trying to win their resurrection match.

Bai Cangshu, bathed in blood, took another step toward Flame Demon.

Crack!

A bolt of thunder descended, and Enel appeared before Bai Cangshu.