Mary Geoise.
Above the communications tower, black clouds of coal swirled anew.
The Coal Crows crushed by gravity slowly gathered again, and Karasu's body took shape amid the coal dust filling the sky.
His chest rose and fell heavily, and blood still stained the corner of his mouth.
His repeated clashes with Issho had shown him the crushing pressure of a Marine Admiral's strength.
Defeat him head-on?
Impossible. At least, Karasu couldn't do it now.
But Karasu had never intended to win.
All he needed was to hold Issho off until every slave escaped and the central granary was fully ablaze.
That would be enough.
Karasu raised his head, ready to attack again, then noticed something strange about Issho's movements.
In the middle of the street.
Issho gripped his Shikomizue with both hands, his robes whipping in the surging currents of gravity.
The next moment, he slowly raised the blade upright.
Humm—!
A violet wave of gravity shot skyward along the blade, setting the surrounding air trembling.
Karasu's pupils contracted.
He had seen that stance in the intelligence reports.
"That guy..."
"Don't tell me he's about to..."
Before he could finish, the clouds above Mary Geoise began to spin.
The sky, stained dark red by the fires, seemed to split down the middle under an invisible force.
Deep within the clouds, a faint glow appeared.
At first, it looked no bigger than a star.
But the glow quickly grew larger and brighter.
Several nearby World Government guards looked up. When they finally realized what it was, their faces went deathly pale.
"Wait..."
"That thing..."
One official's eyes nearly bulged out of his head.
"Mr. Issho!!"
"Don't!!!"
"Don't summon a meteorite—!!!"
Issho kept his head tilted back.
Though he could not see,
the enormous mass of rock being drawn toward Mary