Chapter 245: Total Annihilation
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Aoki appeared nearby, his gaze falling on the two lifeless bodies. A faint smile played on his lips.
"Did they think putting on a performance like that would impress me enough to spare their lives?"
While others may not have noticed, Aoki had seen it all clearly. During their so-called "fearless declaration," the two brothers had been sneaking glances at him.
Faced with the Silver Blade's brutal demise, they must have realized that begging for mercy would be futile. So, they had taken the opposite approach, concocting a desperate plan to appear brave.
"The acting wasn't bad, and their coordination was certainly seamless."
Aoki offered a rare bit of praise, though it held little weight.
Whether their bravery was genuine or staged, it made no difference to him. He wouldn't have held back regardless.
On one hand, he had a mission to complete.
On the other, while he could respect those who faced death head-on, the extent of that respect would amount to erecting a tomb in their honor after their demise.
That was all.
If anyone thought their courage could spare their lives, Aoki's response would be simple: "Keep dreaming. In dreams, anything is possible."
The palace grew eerily quiet once more.
Everyone stared at Aoki, their throats dry as they swallowed nervously.
The alliance's four core pirate captains had all fallen. Even the most oblivious among them now understood the gravity of the situation.
Flattery wouldn't save them. Neither would stubborn defiance. This man offered no second chances.
A voice suddenly roared from the crowd, shattering the tense silence.
"Don't be afraid! No matter how strong he is, he's just one person! Let's fight him together and avenge the captain!"
The speaker, however, didn't stop to lead the charge. Instead, he bolted for the gate without looking back.
Chaos erupted in the palace.
Some pirates charged at Aoki, others scrambled to flee, and many simply stood frozen in panic, unsure of what to do.
Aoki opened his mouth, flames gathering and condensing into a massive fireball over a meter in diameter.
Boom!
The fireball crashed into the palace entrance, expanding into a raging inferno. Flames consumed the pirates attempting to escape, their screams drowned by the roaring blaze.
Even those outside, oblivious to the chaos within, were caught in the inferno's merciless path.
Then, Aoki moved.
He had anticipated this very scenario. His transformation was not for dealing with the likes of Silver Blade or the twins. That could have been handled in his human form.
This was what he had prepared for.
Phew!
A dark blur swept through the hall. Before Blair could register what had happened, the pirate standing next to him crumpled to the ground—a headless corpse. Warm blood splattered across Blair's face.
He stumbled back in shock, his retreat halted by a pillar. His breath came in ragged gasps as he stared at the carnage unfolding before him.
The once-luxurious palace had transformed into a living hell.
Blood flowed like rivers, pooling across the marble floors. Severed limbs and bodies littered the ground. The overpowering stench of iron filled the air, mingling with the acrid, burnt smell of charred corpses piled at the entrance.
The grotesque mixture of blood and ash created a stifling, nauseating atmosphere.
Blair's face was as pale as a sheet. His lips trembled uncontrollably as he muttered to himself.
"No... no, no, no! I can't die here!"
Just yesterday, they had reigned over Etania. Money, women, power—everything had been within their grasp.
Now, in the blink of an eye, they had been reduced to nothing more than livestock on a slaughterhouse floor.
"We have to escape! If we stay, we'll all die here!"
That demon was simply beyond anything humans could hope to fight against!
But the question remained—how to survive?
Blair's eyes instinctively darted to the palace gate. A shudder ran through his body, and he immediately turned away.
No!
He had seen what happened to those who tried to escape. The gate, which appeared to offer salvation, was nothing more than a fast lane to hell.
The truth was clear: anyone who dared approach the gate was ruthlessly obliterated by the demon. And the survival rate? Zero.
Blair's gaze shifted across the room, pausing when it landed on the throne deep within the palace. A spark of light flashed in his eyes.
Yes! How could he have forgotten?
There was still one person—someone crucial.
If he could take the king hostage, he might create a situation where the demon couldn't act recklessly. That would give him the opportunity to escape this nightmare.
Without hesitation, Blair sprinted toward Philip.
Dean, standing nearby, was slow to react, but his face darkened the moment he realized what was happening.
"Not good!"
The scene in the palace had been so overwhelming that, for a brief moment, he had let his guard down. He hadn't anticipated that someone might use the chaos to target the king.
And the attacker wasn't just anyone—it was Blair, a high-ranking cadre of the Orlando Pirates!
"Hahaha!"
As Blair closed the distance, a triumphant grin spread across his face.
It was going so smoothly!
It seemed no one had expected him to seize this slim chance for survival.
Dean? He didn't even consider him a threat.
Just a lowly guard.
In Etania, aside from Princess Alice, no one else deserved his attention.
But just as Blair was about to reach Philip, a man stepped in his path. He wore a strange black uniform that marked him as one of Alice's soldiers.
Blair squinted, recognition flashing in his eyes.
"So, Alice sent one of her lackeys? If she'd come herself, maybe I'd be worried. But do you think a small fry like you can stop me?"
A feral grin spread across his face as he pushed off the ground with force. His fists clenched, muscles coiling for a devastating strike.
The soldier, calm and composed, took a deep breath. His fist darkened, not with the typical hue of Armament Haki but with a peculiar sheen.
Then, he struck.
Boom!
The two fists collided with a deafening crash.
Blair's confident expression froze. A torrent of unstoppable force surged through the soldier's punch, shattering Blair's arm with a sickening snap. The blow didn't stop there—it barreled through his defenses, slamming into his chest and sending him flying.
"Impossible! How can this be? How could his strength surpass mine?"
Blair's mind spiraled into disbelief and despair.
He—a cadre of the Orlando Pirates—had been defeated by an insignificant underling.
Worse, the glimmer of freedom he'd been so close to seizing had slipped through his fingers.
As Blair hurtled toward the ground, a powerful hand caught him by the neck, halting his fall.
Blair gasped, anger, confusion, and regret boiling within him, threatening to consume him. Yet, his survival instincts held firm.
If he didn't want to die, he had to stay calm and keep thinking.
"Thanks!"
He forced the word out, turning his head to look at the one who had caught him.
But the moment his eyes met the figure holding him, his body went rigid.
The palace was deathly silent.
Amidst the sea of blood and dismembered bodies, a single imposing figure stood.
Covered in pitch-black armor, crowned with four majestic horns, the demon loomed like a god of death.
Blair's heart sank.
Dead.
Everyone else was dead.
During the brief moment he'd attacked the king, the demon had slaughtered every pirate in the palace.
He was the sole survivor.
And now, his captor needed no introduction.
"You're quite polite," Aoki said, glancing at Blair with faint amusement. "You're welcome. Oh, and be a good person in your next life."
With that, Aoki tightened his grip. Blair's neck crumpled under the pressure.
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