Shalltear's sharp claws met Vice Admiral Momonga's saber head-on, slashing down without hesitation.
Clang!
The impact rang out like steel colliding against steel.
With a graceful step, Shalltear dodged Doberman's sword strike from the side and retreated, putting a dozen meters between herself and Momonga.
"I didn't expect your sword to actually wound me!"
A small scratch had appeared where Shalltear's palm met Momonga's saber, but within mere seconds, the wound wriggled and sealed itself shut.
"You're becoming more and more interesting!" Her face, already resembling that of a bloodthirsty fiend, grew even more menacing.
"Even a sword imbued with Armament Haki could only leave such a minor wound?" Momonga narrowed his eyes at the spot where Shalltear had been cut.
"With this kind of regeneration... Does her Devil Fruit have no weaknesses at all?"
The scent of blood only fueled Shalltear's thirst.
Her enhanced body in true form, combined with her blood magic, pushed her speed to its peak.
Though she wasn't using spatial magic, she moved at a velocity beyond the reaction time of Momonga and the other two vice admirals.
"Too fast!"
Momonga's Observation Haki barely sensed Shalltear's sudden presence behind him, but it was too late to turn and block.
His only option was to reinforce his back with Armament Haki and Iron Body for defense.
"Pirate, you're not fighting alone!" Doberman's sword intercepted Shalltear's strike just in time.
"You won't get away so easily this time!"
Shalltear's hand, now covered in Armament Haki and further enhanced by layered magic buffs, cleaved through Doberman's sword and landed squarely on Momonga.
Boom!
Like a ragdoll, Momonga was sent flying, crashing hard into the ground and kicking up a thick cloud of dust.
"Shadow Wolves!"
Without pausing, Shalltear summoned her shadow familiars. Several pitch-black wolves leaped from her shadow and lunged at Doberman, sinking their fangs into his flesh.
But Doberman ignored them completely. He gripped the remnants of his broken sword and swung at Shalltear, his technique sharp enough to cut through the very air itself.
Shalltear allowed the broken blade to slash across her body. Her left hand pierced through Doberman's abdomen like a spear, bypassing his Armament Haki as if it were paper.
"Onigumo!"
Despite the fatal wound, Doberman clenched Shalltear tightly, refusing to let go, as if he felt no pain at all.
"Six-Sword Style: Spider Slash!"
With a swift motion, Onigumo unleashed his swordsmanship infused with his Devil Fruit abilities and Armament Haki, carving six deep gashes into Shalltear's body.
A strange, pungent odor wafted from the wounds—his swords were laced with a deadly toxin.
Shalltear remained unfazed. This level of damage was trivial for the Guardian of the First to Third Floors of Nazarick—far less than what some players had inflicted on her in the past.
"Greater Teleportation."
With a simple spell, she instantly repositioned herself away from Onigumo and Doberman.
"It's been so long since I last felt pain. As a reward, let me send you straight to hell!"
Her wounds writhed as blackened blood oozed out, dripping onto the ground and corroding it into pits.
"She even forced out my poison..." Onigumo had no illusions about the battle anymore.
With teleportation magic at her disposal, none of them could hope to trap her, let alone defeat her.
And with her overwhelming strength, the outcome was already decided. Still, eliminating pirates was the priority—even at the cost of his own life.
"Watch out!"
The heavily injured Doberman tried to warn his ally, but before Onigumo could react, Shalltear had already teleported behind him.
"Let's see if Devil Fruit users taste any different from normal humans!"
Her jaw unhinged like a nightmarish creature as she sank her fangs into Onigumo's shoulder, drinking deeply before teleporting away once more.
"Ahhh... exquisite! As rich as virgin blood, with such a dark, intoxicating flavor!" Tasting Onigumo's blood sent Shalltear into a frenzied ecstasy.
"Blood... truly magnificent!"
As her power surged, the blood pooled around the battlefield, drawn toward her as if by an unseen force, forming a rotating sphere of crimson.
Unlike her battle at other Marine bases, in this form, her abilities were on an entirely different level.
"Blood Spear Barrage!"
The orb of blood launched dozens of crimson spears—not at the three vice admirals, but at the marines stationed around the town.
Despite knowing their imminent deaths, not a single marine fled. Unfortunately, their bravery meant nothing against an attack they couldn't hope to withstand.
As the blood spears impaled them, the fallen marines' blood was drawn back into Shalltear's control, feeding the ever-growing blood sphere.
"Still standing there? Then just die already! Blood Rain!" This time, Shalltear's attack encompassed the entire battlefield, leaving no room for escape.
"One-Sword Style: Overcast Slash!"
Somehow, Momonga had returned to the frontline, cutting down a majority of the incoming blood spears with a precise sword technique.
Still, dozens of marines were struck down, their bodies drained of blood.
On the other side, Doberman and Onigumo also cut down several blood spears with their swordsmanship.
However, due to their prior injuries, they couldn't evade completely and were left riddled with wounds.
"Onigumo, Doberman, can you still fight?" Momonga called out as he used Moonwalk to land beside them.
"Not dead yet!"
"Like hell I'd die before taking this pirate down!"
"Hoh... you lot are quite amusing!" Shalltear, now back in her usual petite form, giggled.
"Then allow me to send you off properly!"
"Impure Shockwave Shield!"
A wave of dark red energy, resembling corrupted blood, erupted toward the three vice admirals.
"One-Sword Style: Overcast Slash!"
"Six-Sword Style: Spider Slash!"
"One-Sword Style: Void Sever!"
Summoning the last of their strength, the three vice admirals unleashed their strongest techniques.
But Shalltear's shockwave shattered their sword techniques with ease and slammed into them, shaking the entire battlefield with its overwhelming force.