The battle was pandemonium.
Solian pulled himself to his feet, flame dancing upon his body as he rose from the wreckage Kordak had launched him into. His muscles pulsed with agony, but he was not done fighting. Across the ruined plaza, Ragnor and Kordak raged like monsters, their swings shuddering the rain-strewn avenues. The deafening clash of metal against bone, of ground shattering at their might, was ringing through his ears.
But despite the annihilating ferocity of their battle, Solian couldn't shake the feeling that something else had shifted.
Something far more sinister.
His stomach screamed at him before his eyes had even noticed it.
A silver and blue blur flashed across the battlefield—silent as a specter, as fast as a stormwind.
And in an instant, Kordak's battle was no longer a battle of two.
It was a slaughter in the making.
The Storm Breaks
Kordak barely had time to respond before the blur coalesced into a man.
A man dressed in a thick navy coat, its silver lining glinting, his attitude impossibly calm amidst the storm of battle. Silver-streaked black hair slicked back by the rain, but his steel-gray gaze burning with absolute focus.
Bounty hunter "Silent Gale" Elric.
SHINK—!
With one swift movement, he had passed between Kordak and Ragnor, katana unsheathed in a whisper. The sword throbbed with Armament Haki, the black steel glinting with faint light as it sliced forward.
Kordak's eyes widened.
"Shit—"
CLANG!
The impact rippled through the battlefield.
Kordak could manage to lift his forearm only by the thinnest of margins in order to obstruct, his Zoan-boosted strength the only source of drive keeping the slash from cutting straight through bone. The impact's brunt, though, knocked him flying back, boots scuffing out channels in earth.
Ragnor, rattled from the previous attack, gritted his teeth. "Tch. You again."
Elric didn't even glance at him. His eyes stayed locked on Kordak, his sword slumped but ready. His expression was unreadable—untroubled, almost uninterested.
"Your fight is over," Elric said quietly, his voice barely louder than a breath, but it crossed the battlefield like a death sentence.
Kordak lifted his shoulder, wincing at the little wound Elric's sword had already inflicted. He grinned. "Oh? So you'd like a turn?"
Elric didn't answer.
Instead, he vanished.
Kordak vs. Silent Gale Elric
BOOM!
The ground beneath them dissolved as Kordak barely dodged a lightning slash cut at his throat. Elric was a tempest—one who moved erratically, surgically, and mercilessly.
Kordak spun around in mid-air, firing a massive black Haki-covered fist directly into Elric's ribcage.
But Elric had already disappeared.
A blur. A whisper. A tempest.
He reappeared behind Kordak even as the strike did not finish.
SLASH!
Blood sprayed into the rain as a deep gash appeared across Kordak's back. Not fatal—but definitely painful.
Kordak snarled. "Fast bastard."
Elric adjusted his stance, flicking the blood from his sword. "You're too slow."
Kordak's body tensed. His Zoan regeneration was already at work, but he wasn't used to being wounded this quickly. For the first time in a long time…
He felt pressure.
Solian watched from afar, his flames crackling at his fingers. Even from afar, he could barely keep up with Elric's movement. This was not skill—this was something greater than average combat.
A hunter fighting his quarry.
And Kordak was slowly realizing he was the quarry.
Solian's Choice – System Quest Triggered
While the battle unfolded before him, a familiar melody echoed within Solian's thoughts.
DING!
[New System Quest: Kill Kordak]
A killer new contender has entered the arena. To secure your own survival, you must kill Kordak before he reclaims control of the fight.
Reward: 15 System Points
Solian's heart was pounding. 15 System Points. That was huge. Enough to level up his Devil Fruit ability or his physical stats considerably.
But could he?
His eyes shifted back and forth between Elric and Kordak.
Could he even interfere in a fight like this?
And then he sensed Vance's hand on his shoulder.
"Captain. We have to go," Vance said, urgency in his voice. "If we don't do this, we may never have another chance."
Kael nodded. "Elric's distracting him. If we hit him together—"
"—we could possibly kill him," Jorin concluded.
Solian's knuckles whitened. His flames roared with more intensity.
This was his moment.
If he was to alter his destiny, he needed to begin now.
"Fine," he panted, his voice aflame. "We hit him both of us. We go for everything."
His crew grinned.
Vance cracked his knuckles. "Then let's show this scumball what the Solar Rift Pirates are capable of."
A New Alliance – The Final Blow
Kordak's patience broke.
"I'M NOT GOING DOWN LIKE SOME DAMN ROOKIE!" he roared, his body inflating in a burst of his Zoan abilities.
His muscles swelled, his eyes glowed blood red, and his aura exploded outward. He shattered the ground beneath him as his rage drove his energy to its limits.
But Elric had already acted.
WHOOSH—!
He stood behind Kordak again in the blink of an eye.
Kordak spun, punching with a fist that could shatter rocks—
But it struck nothing.
Elric had already ducked behind him, sword flashing.
SLASH—!
But another great tear opened in Kordak's side. His healing powers were lagging behind him.
And that's when Solian struck.
"SOLAR RIFT: PLASMA STRIKE!"
A column of golden fire scorched through the rain, straight for Kordak's face.
Kordak barely had time to react. His eyes widened—
BOOM!
His head was on fire, and he stumbled backward in agony.
And that's when Vance, Jorin, and Kael entered the battle.
A whirlwind of blades, fists, and fire.
Elric observed it all, his features a mask. But when Solian's fire increased, he subtly narrowed his eyes.
Perhaps. this pirate they called so was not so much a silly braggart as all.
Perhaps, he was worth seeing.
Kordak fell to one knee, blood dripping on stone.
For the first time—he was beaten.
And Solian wasn't done yet.