The battle had lasted a full six hours.
The clouds above the Red Line had long since been scattered by the shock waves of their clashes, revealing a brilliant starry sky.
Setsuna's breathing grew labored. More and more cracks spread across his ocher crystal armor, and his once-brilliant golden aura had dimmed.
"Have I reached my limit?" Setsuna finally felt himself running out of strength.
To withstand Imu's relentless onslaught, he had been forced to expend ten times his usual energy.
Once he noticed this, Setsuna began subtly shifting the battlefield toward the palace that housed the Empty Throne.
"What? Giving out already?" Imu's voice was mocking as she looked down at Setsuna from above. "I thought you would last longer."
Her fingertips swept gracefully through the air, sending a streak of dark purple energy striking like a venomous snake.
Setsuna barely managed to dodge sideways. The energy grazed his shoulder and blasted a crater dozens of meters wide behind him.
The explosion's shock wave sent him stumbling backward again, breaking a ruined stone pillar as he crashed into it.
"You're deliberately leading the battle back here," Imu said suddenly, a sneer curling her lips. "Hoping to borrow those insects' strength?"
"Unfortunately..." Imu's six wings slowly spread, dark purple energy swirling around her. "Even if you killed them now, you couldn't gain the same increase in power I did."
She suddenly accelerated, driving her fist squarely into Setsuna's chest. His three layers of defense shattered under the terrifying impact.
Blood gushed from his mouth as his body hurtled into the ground like a meteor.
The palace collapsed completely under that blow. Countless boulders tumbled down, burying him entirely.
Garp and the others watched in disbelief. Setsuna had been trading blows with the enemy earlier, so how was he being overwhelmed