Moria felt despair

Violent coughing and the clatter of falling stones came from within the dust. Moria struggled out of the crater, staggered to his feet, and emerged from the drifting cloud.

He was a sorry sight. His lavish clothes were torn, his body was covered in dirt and blood, and even his onion-shaped hair had gone askew. Blood kept spilling from the corners of his mouth.

Moria stared fixedly at Dawn in the sky, frenzied killing intent blazing in his eyes.

"I've decided... I'll use your corpse to make up for all the material I just lost! Your shadow will become my zombie general!"

Boom!

Another large section of ground collapsed as Moria burst upward at his utmost speed, leaving a trail of afterimages. Gripping his long sword in both hands, he swept it across, its edge coated in both Armament Haki and Shadow Blade.

Slash!

The blade bit into flesh again, spraying blood. A long gash opened across Dawn's chest and abdomen, bringing an instant rush of searing pain.

Enduring the agony, he applied the greatest gravity he could currently control to all the surrounding air!

The air within dozens of meters seemed to turn to steel in an instant. Terrifying pressure descended indiscriminately, and Moria felt as though the entire sky had settled on his back.

He coughed up a great mouthful of blood and plummeted toward the ground even faster than he had risen.

Just before impact, Moria swapped places with his Shadow Mage again, avoiding being crushed into pulp by the combined force of his acceleration and the terrifying gravity.

Before he could catch his breath, Dawn repeated his earlier trick while expending energy to heal the terrible wound across his torso. He disrupted the gravity around Moria again, trying to fling him back into the air.

Having