Nearly five hours passed since Crystal and Blaize started battling, but neither of them showed weakness.
Opposite to Blaize, Crystal panted lightly while his entire body is riddled with deep wounds but the latter still stood like a rock by halting his bleeding with his devil fruit ability.
Blaize lost count of how many times he wounded Crystal. To injure Crystal who has a solid defense, he was forced to imbue a huge amount of Haki in every strike.
Though he didn't suffer any injuries, Blaize was exhausted to his limit and didn't know how long he can maintain.
Fortunately, it's daytime otherwise he too would have been in a sorry state.
As a result of their battle, their surroundings were completely destroyed while Crystal mountains could be seen raised everywhere.
Blaize knew Crystal's condition is way worse compared to his. Though his use of devil fruit powers is still powerful, he exhausted haki and stamina to withstand his attacks.
If Blaize persists, Crystal will definitely fall!
Blaize and Crystal looked at each preparing for the final drive. Blaize waved his hand while a flaming blue staff actualized before him.
Meanwhile, Crystal encased himself in crystal armor that cloaked everything aside from his face. And, further coated his entire body with Armament Haki.
Blaize grasped the staff tightly while the memories of what happened when he first met Crystal surfaced in his mind and the faces of dead marine soldiers under his command who lost their lives.
His heart burned fiercely while his anger tapped whatever strength he had left in him and surged them to his weapon-held hand.
Ripples of black lightning sparkled around his weapon as Blaize imbued every ounce of Conqueror's Haki, without holding anything back.
"Crystal!" Blaize roared and sped forward while brandishing his staff.
At the same time, Crystal braced for the attack and yelled, "Come!", while a sword made of black crystal materialized in hand.
Arriving before Crystal, Blaize raised his staff over his head and waved it downward with explosive strength. The space itself trembled under the pressure while the flashes of dark purple lightning scattered around.
"Clash!"
Crystal waved his crystal sword and confronted Blaize's attack. Both the weapons clashed, triggering a shockwave that destroyed everything as it expanded.
"Crack!"
Crystal's sword shattered as soon as it came in contact with Blaize's weapon. It couldn't even stop Blaize's strike for a millisecond and the same thing happened to Crystal's armor
'Blood splattered!' As Blaize's staff struck Crystal. Sounds of bone-breaking resounded before Crystal's entire body was smashed far away.
Without giving any time for Crystal to respond, Blaize transformed the staff into a spear and hurled it at the flying figure.
The flaming spear split the wind and zoomed forward at blinding speed. As Crystal armor had already been shattered, there's nothing to stop it from piercing the latter's body.
Crystal coughed a mouthful of blood before crashing into one of the crystal chunks that he formed.
Even after all that, Crystal quickly crystalized his heart and coated it with Haki. Still, the intense heat from the flaming spear slowly began to burn his heart.
Coating his arm with Haki, Crystal tried to yank the spear out but before he could do it the flames from the spear flew to the tip. The next moment, Crystal had a bad feeling and smelled death.
Blaize who still stood at the original spot snapped his finger. "Boom!"
'No!' Crystal screamed internally before the heat energy near his heart went bang.
Crystal didn't lose his consciousness but he knew it's the end for him. When he looked down, he saw a gaping hole at the left side of his body. His heart along with the internals was vaporized after the explosion.
"Huff...Huff"
Blaize panted heavily as he had put everything in the last strike. At that moment, the system notification echoed in his mind.
[~ Achievement: Defeated a Yonko: Crystal and his crew
Reward: +2.0 Constitution +2.0 Devil Fruit +2.0 Haki +2.0 Free attribute point. ~]
'Finally!' Blaize exclaimed in his heart and checked his status panel.
[~ Name: Blaize Hunt
Occupation: Marine
Constitution: 67.9
Devil Fruit: 66.0
Haki: 66.5
Free attribute point: 8.5 ~]
Aside from the system reward, the battle also helped him a little as his constitution, devil fruit, and Haki attribute rose by 0.1, 0.3, and 0.2 respectively.
As he received the reward, his previous exhaustion faded away while he brimmed with energy and strength.
Looking at the number of free attribute points, a smile came to his face. After much thought, Blaize decided to enhance his Haki and devil fruit.
He first added 4.0 to his devil fruit and raised them to 70.0. After that, he used another 4.0 free attribute points on his Haki and raised them to 70.5.
Feeling the strength coursing through his body, Blaize clenched his fist. 'My strength is finally close to reaching the summit of this world...'
His strength is on par with Yonko's but if he fights them head-on, there's a fifty percent chance that he will lose. He's sure of the fact after his fight with Kaido.
It doesn't mean he's weak, it's just he has much to learn. As for Whitebeard, his strength should be in the range of '75 - 80' attribute points, in Blaize's terms.
As for the exact one, it can only be found after meeting him in person.
--
Coming out of his thoughts, Blaize gazed in Crystal's direction and the next moment, his figure disappeared and appeared before the latter.
He's surprised to see Crystal still alive and noticed the latter's life slowly slipping away from his body. In Crystal's eyes, there's no regret, unwillingness, fear, or anything of that sort. If Blaize noticed one thing then it's calmness.
'What a terrifying willpower.' Even in the face of death, there's no fear. Crystal is ruthless and one of the sinister pirates that Blaize had met but he had to admit he admires this particular trait of his.
Crystal didn't even react to Blaize's arrival, he just closed his eyes and accepted the death on his own. He lost and failed in the quest to find One Piece and conquer the sea.
Blaize breathed and looked at the sky. There is no right or wrong in this world, in the end, it all comes to what you want.
--
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