Devouring

"What is this thing..."

Beckman and the others were somewhat stunned.

Monsters, each as large as Tot Musica, emerged from the torn spatial rift.

They were like figures draped in a black cloth that covered their entire bodies, leaving only their sharp bone claws and monstrous, hideous faces exposed, with a huge hole in their chests.

Although the aura emanating from them was not as strong as that of Tot Musica, the simultaneous appearance of several of them created an even greater sense of oppression.

"Bang!"

They stood in front of the Ancient Demon King, their eyes flashing with a savage, man-eating gaze, fixed on him as if they wanted to tear him to pieces and devour him.

"Roar~"

Tot Musica's attention was drawn to them, and it the Roar as its massive body charged toward them.

"If you want to eat it and can eat it, then go ahead and eat it."

As Cifer spoke, they seemed to be freed from their restraints, opening their terrifying maws and unleashing bursts of scarlet light.

"Bang!"

The flashes of light struck Tot Musica, causing repeated violent explosions that severely restricted its movement.

"Don't worry about them, they are Gillians, my newly recruited subordinates."

Having returned to normal, Cifer landed on the ground and, seeing everyone's eyes on him, casually offered an explanation.

"The only way to get the people inside out is to defeat Tot Musica from both inside and outside!"

Shanks placed Uta on the ground, strode forward, and spoke to Cifer.

"Who said that?"

"What... what kind of monster is this...?"

As Cifer raised his thumb, Tot Musica was being devoured by monsters called Gillians.

"Roar~"

The former the Roar, containing a variety of different emotions.

Doubt, pain, resentment, and fear.

It also opened its abyssal maw and lunged to bite at one of the Gillians.

A strange and terrifying phenomenon has emerged: Gillians and Tot Musica are devouring each other.

In just a short while, the mighty Ancient Demon King Tot Musica vanished from the world due to severe injuries.

Of the original Gillians, only two remain.

They seemed to have lost their target, swaying back and forth in place, their eyes fixed on the direction of Cifer.

"Go back and stay there. Do not do anything without orders."

Upon receiving Cifer's order, the space behind them shattered, and they all retreated.

"How terrifying! They actually created a monster that even Tot Musica could defeat!"

Kizaru's mouth twisted into a grimace as he spoke in ape-like language.

"But why haven't they woken up?!"

Shanks's brows remained furrowed, for he had tried everything, but he couldn't wake the people in the Uta's World.

Tot Musica has already been defeated!

"Tot Musica previously...seized control of the Uta's World, and their consciousness has been swallowed up. So, now I must sing to release them again..."

Uta regained consciousness, but as he spoke, he coughed up a mouthful of blood.

Her face was full of exhaustion. In the Red-Haired's Observation Haki perception, she was like a candle in the wind, which could be extinguished at any moment.

"Stop talking, Uta... Hurry up and drink this first!"

At that moment, Shanks ignored everything and took out a small gourd, handing it to Uta.

Inside was the potion that could undo the effects of the Sleepless Mushroom.

She was nearing her physical limit; if she sang another song, she would surely die.

"I'm going to bring them out..."

She stood up unsteadily and then shoved Shanks' hand, which was holding the medicine gourd, away.

Just as the gourd was about to fall to the ground and shatter into pieces, a large hand caught it.

"No need to rush off to your death."

Cifer tossed the medicine gourd aside and spoke calmly, then clenched his right fist and slammed it into the void.

The atmosphere split open at that moment, just like the attack Whitebeard unleashed using his Devil Fruit power.

The only difference was that Cifer's punch did not cause any damage, but the crack continued to widen until it shattered and turned into an endless darkness.

"Huh? They're out?"

In the blink of an eye, Luffy, who was lying on the ground, suddenly opened his eyes, as if he didn't understand what had happened.

Following closely behind, more and more people began to awaken.

"Hey, really?!"

Kizaru stood there stunned, and all the marines wondered if they had seen wrong.

"Everyone is saved... Thank you..."

Uta forced himself to stand up and came to Cifer, bowing to him in gratitude.

But the rescue of her fans seemed to snap her taut nerves at that moment, causing her to lose her balance and collapse towards Cifer, her eyes bloodshot.

Without a moment's hesitation, the latter pried open her mouth and poured the medicine in, until she closed her eyes and slowly slid down onto Cifer's lap.

"You've really been a great help, Black Winged Great Demon! Bongo!"

Shanks quickly stepped forward to catch Uta, who was about to fall, thanked Cifer, and waved for the ship's doctor to come forward.

"Regardless of who resolved the issue, as long as the public is safe, there is no need for us to continue our mission."

Seeing the audience gradually waking up, Burley had already decided to retreat.

"No matter how you look at it, there's no way they'd hand the person over. After all, the Black Winged Great Demon is also there, which saves us a lot of trouble."

Kizaru agreed with his opinion.

The World Government's initial orders were to stop Uta's plans and bring the people back.

If there had only been one Red-Haired man present, they might have actually started a fight. Fortunately, there was another character who even an Admiral couldn't easily start a battle with.

If anyone has any complaints, just throw out the name of the Black Winged Great Demon.

Therefore, without any progress or loss, the navy simply came and went as if it were a formality, and then everyone left.

"It's been too long... Uta has been forcing herself to stay afloat, and her body is on the verge of collapse! Even if she takes the medicine, it will take a long time for her body to recover from its depletion."

After the diagnosis, Bongo's expression became very serious.

Although she survived, she will suffer for a long time to come due to the physical damage caused by this incident.

"It's alright... being alive is already a blessing..."

Shanks looked at Uta, who was lying quietly on the ground like Sleeping Beauty, and sighed deeply.

He treated her like his own daughter, and it would be a lie to say he didn't feel sorry for her. But in this situation, it was already a miracle that she survived and didn't hurt anyone else.

"Uta... what's wrong with Uta!"

Luffy only realized what was happening now and immediately rushed towards her.

"Bang!"

As he passed by Cifer, he was kicked more than ten meters away by Xifa's whip kick:

"Don't make noise, she's sleeping."