Slash

What was so interesting?

Swords, Haki, abilities...

And "fate."

If Crocodile had never left Alabasta, Doflamingo would never have been able to take advantage of the situation.

If Doflamingo hadn't taken advantage of the situation, King would naturally have gone to meet up with Kaido and received no intelligence.

And if the Poneglyph had never surfaced, this conflict wouldn't have erupted.

That was what they called "fate."

The lucky few stirred up the winds of change, shaking the entire sea and pushing everything forward, surging toward the future!

And right now, two such "lucky ones" collided, tearing through the clouds and wind around them...

Clang—!

The two black blades clashed again, unleashing an even more grating ring.

The opponent's monstrous strength traveled through the blade and hilt into King's hands.

"Wha—?!"

His pupils contracted slightly. Behind his goggles, the whites of his eyes were laced with bloodshot veins.

A sword?

His gaze dropped, fixing on the weapon in Lindsey's hands.

It was a sword.

A "black blade" coated in an unknown form of Armament Haki!

Plenty of people in the Grand Line could use Armament Haki, but only those capable of this technique could be called true swordsmen!

And that was exactly why King felt so...

Furious!

"So you really do look down on me!"

The enormous katana hanging from his waist wasn't some decoration meant to look pretty.

Even without the Devil Fruit Ability of his Ancient Zoan, King's swordsmanship alone was enough to earn him the title of "great swordsman"!

How sharp was his eye?

Just by watching Aiven Lindsey's grip, he could tell how crude it was!

Every sword technique depended on the "line" running through a swordsman's proper stance. It was the starting point of every move—the swordsman's lifeline.

But when Aiven Lindsey held his sword, that centerline was crooked and twisted, even broken in places!

A "demon" wielding a black blade?

Did he even deserve it?!

"Don't embarrass yourself with such pathetic swordsmanship!"

King swung his long blade and attacked again.

Whoosh!

Lindsey raised his sword to block.

The moment the two blades collided, the edge of the sword in King's hands suddenly changed shape, becoming a jagged sawtooth!

He turned his wrist slightly. With a sharp click, the jagged blade caught on Lindsey's black sword.

King gave it another forceful jerk, and Lindsey's black sword flew out of his hand.

The Ancient Armament Haki peeled away, and the enormous blade turned back into a heap of dirt.

"Show me what you can really do, 'Demon'!"

With an angry growl, King's greatsword blazed with fire as he swept it horizontally toward Lindsey.

Whoosh!

A flash of steel mingled with flames, now less than half a meter from Lindsey's body.

But at that very moment, a muffled sound suddenly reached King's ears—

Thud!

The ground beneath his feet shuddered with the force of a beating heart!

Following the sound, he saw Lindsey stomp down on the earth.

Thud!

As the stomp landed, the ground began to shake, then "boiled" like water!

Dozens of sturdy spikes burst from the earth, stabbing toward King.

The latter beat his wings, sending up a gale that propelled him into a glide. He easily dodged the dense barrage.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom...

The tips of the spikes struck one another, exploding like cannonballs and scattering countless chunks of earth and stone.

Seeing this, one of King's arms transformed into a pterosaur's wing. He swung it with all his might.

A mass of wind blades, wreathed in flames, pulverized the debris, then turned around and struck Lindsey's body.

Blade Twin Emperors!

Boom—whoosh!

The enormous explosion sent a wave of heat rolling out, swallowing Aiven Lindsey.

The immense body burned without end. All that could be seen was a massive shadow within the flames, utterly motionless.

"Hmph!"

Even so, King didn't let his guard down.

Compared to the other two Lead Performers, King the Flame Calamity was exceptionally steady. He never left loose ends.

Even if the "Demon" had already burned to death, he still had to cut off his head himself!

He raised his blade.

He stepped forward!

But in the next instant, Lindsey opened his eyes within the flames.

His pupils reflected a crimson gaze that fixed on King. At the same time, his flame-wreathed form changed.

Emerald scales covered the streamlined body from head to tail.

He slammed both hands down in front of him, dropped onto all fours, and opened a bloody maw lined with fangs.

"Roar!"

Earth Fiend Howling Wind—Composite Form.

A roar!

The tremendous gale, combined with the shockwave, swept away the flames around Lindsey and struck King head-on.

"Wha—?!"

King planted his feet and tried to resist, but the Ancient Armament Haki mixed into the blast cut into his body.

In an instant, bloody gashes appeared all over King.

They were only superficial wounds!

King's expression darkened. He beat his wings against the impact, while calculating to himself:

But if I keep taking hits of this magnitude, things could get bad...

I need to think of something!

As he pondered, Lindsey suddenly stopped roaring.

"?!"

King froze for a moment. Then a huge hand reached out and grabbed his head.

Aiven Lindsey had chosen to stop suppressing him and launch a surprise attack.

With one hand gripping King's head, he scooped up a large handful of dirt with the other and slammed the two together!

Boom!

There was no skill to it, only pure savagery and violence!

King took the blow head-on, his head spinning.

When he opened his eyes again, all he saw was darkness, as if something were blocking his vision.

"What..."

Before he could react, Lindsey's voice rang out.

Lindsey had used the opening to gather dirt and stone around King's head. He also had one hand gripping King by the collar, while the other was clenched into a fist.

In Earth Demon Form, the essence of Lindsey's ability was the "destruction" of the earth.

So when the element of "earth" was attached to King's head, that essence of "destruction" spread to him as well!

And so—

He swung his fist!

Boom!

The dirt packed around King's head burst apart.

King let out a pained grunt behind his mask, and blood seeped through a crack in his goggles.

The flames were still burning.

And Lindsey's movements still hadn't stopped!

He slammed King's body into the ground. A mass of dirt and stone surged over him, burying his entire body.

Lindsey raised both hands and interlocked his fingers into a fist. Then he took aim at King on the ground and brought them down hard.

Boom!

Earth and stone flew everywhere, like a giant wave!

A tsunami of earth surged outward, completely leveling the surface of the entire Uninhabited Island!

"Hah... hah..."

Lindsey breathed lightly in the drifting dust.

Suddenly, his expression changed. He sensed something was wrong.

He looked down at his hands, and sure enough, King was nowhere beneath them.

Where had he gone?!

Lindsey looked around, but couldn't sense King anywhere in the surrounding ground!

If so, there was only one possibility—

Above!

Lindsey looked up and, sure enough, saw that massive figure in the air.

King!

He beat his wings and flew high above, gripping his greatsword tightly with both hands as raging flames clung to it.

He bent forward and arched his back—

Downward!

King had realized that Lindsey's Devil Fruit Ability allowed him to control earth and stone, with terrifying power and versatility.

If so, there was only one thing to do first.

"Hraaah—"

With a low growl, he aimed the enormous blade straight down and swung with all his might.

But King wasn't aiming at Lindsey. He was aiming at the entire Uninhabited Island beneath them!

"There's always a way to deal with Devil Fruit Users!"

A sharp gleam spread through the air, accompanied by blazing flames, and pierced through both sides of the Uninhabited Island.

"Fall into the sea!"

Clang!

The blade fell.

Boom!

The Uninhabited Island was small to begin with; it couldn't withstand King's full-strength attack.

The slash struck, and the entire island resisted for only an instant before exploding into countless chunks of earth.

Under the tremendous impact, the island disappeared from sight. In its place, an enormous whirlpool swallowed the island's remains!

"Hah... hah..."

King was panting too.

The relentless back-and-forth had taken a great deal of energy.

But now everything had settled. No matter how strong that "Demon" was, he still couldn't overcome the fundamental weakness of a Devil Fruit User.

Once he fell into the sea, he had no chance of winning!

"?!"

Suddenly, King's Observation Haki sensed something nearby.

He hadn't fallen into the sea?

But without anywhere to stand, how could Aiven Lindsey remain suspended in midair?

King turned and saw something that baffled him.

A pair of enormous membranous wings had unfolded from Aiven Lindsey's back. They fluttered now and then, keeping his body suspended in the air.

"..."

King's pupils contracted. He asked in astonishment, "What did you do?"

Lindsey thought for a moment.

He shook off the last bits of earth and stone clinging to his body, then reformed them into a massive earth-and-stone blade and gripped it tightly.

The blade's tip angled down toward the sea.

"..."

Lindsey tilted his head, opened his unusual pupils, and beat his wings. Expressionless, he said:

"I'm learning from you."

Sky Demon—

Sky Demon!