"Where the hell did this monster come from?"
Doberman clutched the wound on his abdomen, inflicted by Shalltear. His sword was now only half its original length—the other half had been shattered in the heat of battle against her.
"Onigumo, it looks like we might die on this island," Doberman said, glancing at the surviving Marines near the town's edge.
"It's a shame. These soldiers had promising futures, but now they're going to perish with us."
"Doberman, dying on the battlefield is far better than wasting away in a sickbed. As Marines, perishing at sea is our fate. But even if we die, we mustn't let this pirate leave so easily!"
Onigumo lit his last cigar, struggling to stand. His grip on his sword trembled, but he still pointed its tip firmly at Shalltear.
"Count me in!" Momonga slowly pushed himself up, his body covered in wounds. Throughout their battle with Shalltear, he had taken the brunt of her attacks.
Just standing was excruciating, let alone fighting—but as a Marine, he would not allow himself to fall before a pirate!
"Are you done talking? Humans really are laughable creatures. Even at death's door, you insist on putting on such a pathetic act."
"Then just die already!"
She conjured a crimson spear from the blood orb in her hands and hurled it at the three vice admirals. The sheer force of the attack carved a deep trench into the ground.
The three struggled to reinforce their defense with Armament Haki, but their battered bodies could barely withstand another blow. They knew this attack would likely be their end.
"Yata no Kagami!"
A beam of light shot down from the sky, intercepting Shalltear's strike.
"Araa, just in time!" A figure descended onto the battlefield along with the light.
"Doberman, you three are looking quite rough."
"Admiral Kizaru! This pirate's strength is beyond us. We leave everything to you!
Whatever happens, don't let this pirate escape! If she gets away, we don't know what kind of disaster she'll bring upon the civilians!"
With those words, the three vice admirals collapsed. They had only managed to stay standing through sheer willpower, but with Kizaru's arrival, their bodies finally gave in.
"Araa, how troublesome…" Kizaru drawled in his usual lazy tone, though his gaze showed a hint of wariness.
Defeating three marine vice admirals at once—such an opponent would be a monster even in the New World, let alone the first half of the Grand Line.
However, Kizaru was only slightly concerned.
"What an irritating presence…" Shalltear frowned, sensing the radiance emanating from Kizaru. As a creature of darkness, his light-based abilities were deeply unpleasant to her.
"Yasakani no Magatama!"
Without hesitation, Kizaru fired a barrage of light bullets toward Shalltear.
The attack blasted her position, sending up a cloud of dust and debris.
"Don't you men know how to treat a lady?"
As the smoke cleared, Shalltear emerged in her full battle attire—her legendary armor equipped, and the divine weapon Spuit Lance gripped firmly in her hands.
"A lady, you say? That's not for you to decide, y'know!" Kizaru quipped, though he was now feeling a growing sense of pressure from her presence.
"Ama no Murakumo!"
Kizaru formed a sword of pure light in his hand, intercepting Shalltear's incoming thrust with Spuit Lance.
"You call this the strength of an admiral? Pathetic!" Shalltear sneered, her shadow shifting unnaturally beneath her.
A massive shadowy wolf lunged from her feet, aiming to sink its fangs into Kizaru.
However, its jaws passed straight through his body—his intangible, light-formed state rendering the attack useless.
"Well, well, what a terrifying ability!" Kizaru mused as his body reformed into its normal state.
"But I'm afraid it won't do much against me."
Shalltear's lance pulsed with magic, and with a single strike, she sent Kizaru hurtling through the air.
"So this is the Logia Devil Fruit ability Lord Ainz mentioned? It seems physical attacks are ineffective…"
Her Spuit Lance, once a soft pink, was now coated in a layer of Armament Haki. "Then how about this?"
"Araa, even Haki? The rookies these days sure are scary…" Kizaru's body turned to light once more, effortlessly evading the impact.
"But y'know, it won't matter if you can't hit me!" Kizaru zipped into the sky.
As a Glint-Glint Fruit user, he was one of the few who could battle freely in midair. His speed ensured that even if he couldn't win, he could always escape.
"Yasakani no Magatama!" This time, his attack dwarfed the previous one in both intensity and number.
"Greater Teleportation."
Shalltear vanished, reappearing directly behind Kizaru. Her lance, coated in Haki, plunged into his waist, drawing a spray of blood.
"What?"
Even with his Observation Haki active, Kizaru had no time to react. He barely managed to shift into his light form and escape before Shalltear could follow up.
"Ugh, what a disgusting taste…" Shalltear licked the blood from her lance, her face twisting in revulsion.
"Your very essence reeks of light. But I think Lord Ainz would be quite interested in your abilities."
Kizaru's expression lost its usual laziness. "Looks like Doberman was right. I absolutely cannot let you leave this island."
He had initially assumed Shalltear was just a powerful Devil Fruit user capable of manipulating blood and shadows.
But now, seeing her use spatial abilities as well, he understood—this was a threat far beyond an ordinary pirate.
Even a minor pirate with teleportation could pose a huge risk, let alone someone with her level of physical prowess. Kizaru had felt her raw power firsthand in that last exchange.
"Have you ever been kicked at the speed of light?" Kizaru's eyes sharpened.
At last, he was getting serious.