Carl gazed at the withered figure of Roger standing before him. If it weren't for the persistent drumming sound, he might have thought Roger had reverted from his Nika form.
Dragging the sword Ace behind him, Roger roared and momentarily broke free of the darkness' restraints, charging at Carl. Yet, he barely advanced a few steps before the darkness yanked him back to his original spot. No matter how he struggled, he couldn't escape its grasp.
Roger resembled a maddened beast, his growls echoing around them.
"Black Dragon!!!"
Carl's calm gaze rested on Roger as he spoke, his tone flat:
"So, this is the so-called Sun God Nika? Truly grotesque."
Roger's body froze upon hearing those words. Trembling, he raised a hand to touch the withered skin of his face, then shouted in terror:
"No! I'm not Nika! I'm unworthy!!"
He began pounding his chest furiously as if trying to expel his despair.
Carl had seen enough of the spectacle. He raised his sword, Muramasa, which unleashed a jet-black beam of light that shot into the sky.
In the next instant, the entire space plunged into impenetrable darkness, as if night had fallen.
Fear gripped the hearts of everyone present. Around the world, those watching the live broadcast saw only blackness on their screens. Just as they thought their devices had malfunctioned, swirling gray vortexes appeared in the darkness, eerily prominent.
The vortexes resembled countless gray eyes, faintly glowing and casting light on Roger, who was caught within their gaze.
Realizing something, Roger murmured to himself:
"Space… is torn apart!"
Indeed, those "eyes" were not ordinary phenomena but distortions in space caused by the immense gravitational pull of darkness. They were rifts, like gaping wounds in the void, emitting an unsettling aura akin to demonic eyes from the depths of the universe.
In this absolute darkness, Carl's figure had completely merged with the void. Even Roger's Observation Haki, capable of "hearing the voice of all things," couldn't sense him.
If even Roger was at a loss, the others stood no chance.
The Navy forces remained relatively calm, knowing this was Carl's ability and trusting he wouldn't harm them. Borsalino attempted to illuminate the area with his powers, but his light couldn't penetrate the darkness.
On the pirates' side, chaos reigned. Like headless chickens, they scurried around in panic.
From all directions, Carl's voice echoed ominously:
"Great Dark Heavens."
Crack!
Above Roger, the spatial rifts emitted a blinding white light, and the darkness enveloping him shattered like a broken mirror.
When the blackness dissipated, Roger's limbs had been torn apart by the spatial turbulence, leaving only his torso and head afloat on the sea.
The remaining pirates stared at Roger in utter disbelief, unable to comprehend how the once-mighty Pirate King had met such a fate.
Carl, standing atop a piece of black ice, swayed and dropped to one knee.
"Young Master!"
"Carl!"
Akainu and the others rushed to Carl's side. Lucia crouched down, helping to support him. Carl's face was deathly pale as he draped an arm over Lucia's shoulder. Looking at the group gathered around him, he chuckled weakly:
"Why are you all crowding around me? Sakazuki, go clean up the rest of this sea trash."
Akainu didn't budge, shaking his head solemnly:
"I'll stay to guard you."
For Akainu to abandon his pursuit of pirates showed how highly he valued Carl.
Carl let out a faint laugh:
"Relax, I'm fine. Just feeling a little sleepy…"
Kuma stepped forward, using the power of the Paw-Paw Fruit to expel Carl's pain and fatigue. Although Carl felt better, a heavy drowsiness still lingered.
Summoning his willpower, he stood slowly.
Seeing Carl rise again, the remaining pirates lost their courage entirely. Except for a few core members of Roger's crew, the others dropped their weapons and fled toward the still-intact pirate ships.
The sturdy Oro Jackson was their primary target, while Navy soldiers pursued them from behind, ensuring the battle's outcome was one-sided.
Only Roger's remaining core members continued to resist.
Carl, exhausted beyond measure, could barely lift a finger. Taking a deep breath, he murmured,
"Lucia, stay here. The rest of you, go finish off the pirates."
His voice carried a commanding tone as he added:
"That's an order!"
Hearing this, Akainu hesitated no longer. He turned and charged back into the fray, targeting the remnants of Roger's crew.
Borsalino and the others followed, their combined assault quickly overwhelming the remaining pirates. By the end, not even intact corpses remained, magma consumed them all.
Only after seeing head cleaved off by Borsalino did Carl nod in satisfaction, closing his eyes.
Just as he was about to drift into sleep, he instinctively glanced at Roger.
Three heads had appeared beside the fallen Pirate King. Carl's eyes snapped open, fury boiling within him.
Rayleigh had returned—bringing Shanks along.
Rayleigh held the limp Buggy in his arms, seawater dripping from their bodies.
Roger, still barely alive, rasped weakly:
"Rayleigh… why did you come back…?"
Rayleigh's lips quivered as he replied:
"I wanted to see you one last time…"
"You… idiot! Take them and leave now!"
Tears streaming, Rayleigh nodded and prepared to dive into the sea to escape.
But it was too late.
Akainu had spotted them. Turning into molten magma, he launched toward the trio, with Borsalino close behind. At the same time, Kuzan unleashed his ice to block their escape.
Watching this unfold, Carl abandoned any thoughts of rest. Rage surged through him as he glared at Rayleigh, wishing he could snap the man's neck himself.
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+210 chapters on p@treon/tambeerg