Just like one should never believe in Noxian blood, one should also not blindly believe in their own eyes.
The time difference between the old man's first words and the attack from the Impact Dial was not even a second. Yet, that meager amount of time was enough for Ron to make a small move.
Forcefully stepping on the tribute table with his toes, Ron had actually jumped away. By the time the attack came, he was already in the air; but since he hadn't accelerated much, none of it could be seen from the side.
However, before the attack could hit him, his hand had already reached the Goro Goro no Mi. The force from the impact then made him fly back together with the fruit. Streamers surged while sands and pebbles flew in the air; the cause of which was the rapid airflow created inside the shrine from this impact. The situation had become such that the old man was not able to see Ron's actions at all.
Ron then held the fruit close to his chest and curled his body on the ground. One reason for this was the unbearable pain that made him unable to move, and the other reason was to protect the fragile fruit in his arms.
While it was true that a Devil fruit would not rot before it was eaten, it was also true that these fruits could be crushed with just a little bit of impact, making them lose their effectiveness. It was very similar to normal fruits in that regard.
However, this was all in the past….
"Ou! It tastes like shit…..I'll remember this my whole life."
ZiZi..... Pi Pa!
The old man's face turned pale with fright as a sense of crisis suddenly filled his heart. He quickly turned around, expecting an attack from behind. But what he saw, instead, was a swaying Ron slowly floating in the air and getting up from the ground. Evidently, the swaying of his body was proof that he was seriously injured.
However, at the same time, the azure lightning moving around on his body produced a crisp and crackling echo. The formless aura that assaulted the old man's senses and the numbness that he felt on his face made his expression very dignified.
Disregarding the gravitational force and violating the law of physics, all the streamers inside the shrine automatically floated towards Ron without any wind. It was just like how when a worshiping believer would meet their faith, they would want to see that holy face.
The power of the surging thunder filled Ron's body as he sensed something that he had never sensed before. This was a very new experience for him as it made him feel very fresh, yet, very strange.
"Is this the power of a Devil Fruit? It truly is…quite unique!"
ZiZi!
With just one thought, a lightning arc appeared between Ron's thumb and his index finger as it produced a crackling sound. Even if it was an insignificant amount of lightning, Ron still smelled a foul odor.
Of course, this foul odor was the smell of ozone which appeared when the lightning arc broke down the oxygen molecules present in the air.
"I wonder how this power would affect a person. …"
As Ron spoke, he lifted his head and looked at the old man with cold and ruthless eyes.
"No.…It's impossible!"
"Do you know what you have done?!"
At this moment, the old man's expression became deranged like a crazy person. It created a vast contrast with his expression that was 'tranquil as water' from before.
The old man was the successor of the people who had guarded the secret through generations. But Ron's actions today had dissipated their several generations of effort into smoke. Not only that but it also completely nullified the meaning of his existence.
The more ancient one was; the more conservative one was; the more determined they would be.
But when this determination collapsed, it would completely crumble one's spirit.
"What have I done? I could not care less….."
Turning a blind eye to the old man's expression, Ron leaned his head to the side as the corner of his mouth invoked a trace of contemplation...yet, it was also filled with bloodlust.
His killing intent was very heavy at this moment!
On earth, there was the moral law as well as the weapon restraints that he could not fight against. But this world…..
"Why don't you tell me?."
"Hateful!"
After seeing this, the old man lifted his hand and pointed the Impact Dial towards Ron. His appearance became sinister as he then roared, "Go to hell, you bastard!!!"
Weng!
The terrifying fluctuations caused by the threads of intangible air twisting by force on top of the Impact Dial could make anyone palpitate in fear. The attacks stored in this Dial could be used in parts, giving one the ability to fire multiple shots; of course, this also reduced its backlash compared to the legendary Reject Dial.
The old man had only used a little bit of the force inside to deal with Ron before, but this time, he was going to use all of it.
KaKa...
The intense force assembled at one point caused cracks to appear on the Dial as it buzzed unceasingly. Seeing from that, this next attack was seemingly going to be the Dial's last one. But the old man did not care about it as he believed if he could kill Ron with this, it was all worth it.
When the impact was gathered to its peak, the old man shouted loudly and pushed his palm forward, pressing the button on the Dial.
"Impact Dial-MAX!Fire!!"
The air seemed like it was frozen for one second, but next moment…..
Bang!!!
The terrifying attack that burst forth formed an air pillar that reached several meters in length. In that straight line, everything disappeared in an instant; in a blink of an eye, the whole space became empty. A giant hole appeared in the hard and solid wall as it could not stop this attack for even a second.
The Skypiean soldiers, who were still outside the shrine, were suddenly scared out of their wits after hearing this extremely loud noise. This attack, which was filled with the smell of death, made them tremble with fear.
When they turned around, the only thing they saw was the sudden explosion of the shrine wall. The resulting smoke and dust swirled up, hiding the sky and covering the earth; just like a yellow dragon attacking the sun.
"This is….Impact Dial?!"
"What is the Lord Apostle doing? Why did he use this thing inside the shrine?!"
The shrine was their holy land. Apart from them, no one was allowed to go inside; not to mention, while carrying a murder tool like the Impact Dial. It was impossible for Ron, who they viewed as a Blue Sea person, to possess this strictly supervised weapon of Birka. Therefore, the only one who could have used this Impact Dial was the God's Apostle.
At this moment, a loud cry attracted their attention.
"Cap…..Captain, quickly, look at that!"
The middle-aged captain turned around, but he was completely stupefied the next second. His limbs suddenly went soft as he plopped down to the ground: "Is….Is that also an attack from the Impact Dial?!"
Looking at a far distant place, they saw a column of several hundred meters in length piercing the cloud on top; making the clear skies above become completely visible. From what they saw, wherever this devastating attack passed through, everything vanished like smoke and turned into a fine powder. In the end, all that was left in its wake was an empty passage.
"Si...."
This whole group of people sucked in a breath of cold air at once. They were so shocked and terrified that they could not speak anything for a very long time. Such a powerful impact; even in their eyes, this was an inconceivable thing.
After a long period of time, someone amongst them said in a hesitating manner, "Under this attack, that Blue Sea person…..must have died, right?"
Wait!
That's right!
The God's Apostle must have used this attack to deal with that Blue Sea criminal. This attack that did not seem any weaker than the legendary Reject Dial must have torn that Blue Sea person's boy and crushed his bones.
Expectantly,they all looked towards the shrine to know the end result.
Only.....
ZiZi…. ZiZi…..!
Suddenly, a crisp and clear sound of lighting resounded behind the smoke and dust. Accompanying the sound, a vague and indistinct figure of a human started to shine.
"Ah!!!"
Bang!!
After the world-shaking scream, surging lightning descended down from within the wafting azure smoke like a torrential downpour, dropping from the sky. Each hit from this lightning seemed capable of crushing the rocks and rending the earth.
"Is this….thunder?"
"W…What…the hell actually happened?"
The soldiers' breath became rapid as they all watched the dusky sky with fearful and alarming expression.
The lightning that descended from the sky was not very large-scale; it merely shrouded the shrine in it.
Enel stopped the blood flowing from his ear with his hand and ran away in a panic. Coincidentally, he ran towards the direction that those soldiers were standing in. But the same soldiers, who had yelled at him in the past and even wanted to kill him for entering the God's Shrine, did not even care to look at him right now.
Currently, they were all left stunned and had even lost their ability to speak as they gazed at the shrine shrouded in lightning. The sky covered in the dense black cloud; the strange thunder and lightning; the Apostle's blood-curling screech; it was just like the end of the world, making them terrified.
"God….. God must be angry!"
"Run! Quickly run! The Thundergod is angry!"
Abruptly waking up from their trance-like state, they all became extremely frightened and scared. The same feeling; the same scenery; combining those with the depiction that the God's Apostle had presented; this was the exact image of an angry Thundergod that had been worshipped in Birka since many generations ago.
......................END....................