The End

The instant Randall caught sight of Christa, his eyes went red.

What good could possibly come of a little white rabbit falling into the clutches of a vicious lion?

As his emotions surged, the Qi around Randall erupted.

"Stop right there!"

He roared, stamping both feet against the air.

The explosive force propelled him across the distance between them as though he had teleported, bringing him directly above Texas.

Then he clasped his hands into a hammer and smashed them into Texas's back with all his strength.

A dull boom rang out, deep as an evening drum, and Texas plummeted like a meteor.

Another crash followed.

The ground shattered layer by layer, sending dust billowing into the sky.

It was not over yet.

Randall flipped upside down, his head below his feet.

He kicked hard against the air and hurtled down from the sky.

Another earth-shaking crash erupted.

The entire island trembled.

Within the dust that blotted out the sky, crashes sounded one after another.

Then a violent gale erupted, instantly sweeping the dust away.

By now, Texas had almost been beaten senseless.

But Randall still had no intention of letting him off.

He gathered another Qi Wave in his hand.

This time, however, it was not a ranged attack.

He raised his hand and pressed the energy sphere, blazing like a miniature sun, straight into Texas's face.

Boom—

The energy erupted instantly, engulfing them both.

This Qi Wave was an attack unleashed in Randall's fury, without the slightest restraint.

First, a white dot appeared between heaven and earth, then rapidly expanded into a white hemisphere.

And it kept growing.

Ten meters, fifty meters, a hundred meters!

Everything within it was burned to nothing by the raging energy.

At last, the white hemisphere stopped expanding at a diameter of two hundred meters.

It was like a white sun had fallen to earth, radiating astonishing light and heat.

Beyond it, terrifying winds swept through, blowing everything into the distance.

Even trees with trunks as thick as a bowl snapped in half and were swept away to who knew where.

Even the townspeople gathered in the clearing could see the breathtaking spectacle.

For a moment, they thought a divine miracle had descended.

Terrified, they dropped to their knees and bowed toward it.

Meanwhile, Christa, hiding aboard the boat, was having a miserable time.

The violent storm churned the seawater wildly.

Naturally, the little boat pitched along with it.

Christa clung to a crossbeam with her little hands, barely keeping herself from being thrown out.

The eruption of energy lasted nearly thirty full seconds before gradually, reluctantly dissipating.

It left behind a crater like the impact site of a meteor.

Within a radius of five hundred meters, nothing remained but bare earth.

Randall and Texas stood at the very center of the crater.

Both were in a wretched state.

Texas's hair and eyebrows were gone, and his face was a scorched red.

Nothing remained where his eyes had been, only two horrifying black holes.

His lips were gone, leaving his blackened teeth and gums exposed.

His entire body was scorched red, the color of burned flesh.

Yet his powerful vitality kept him breathing.

Randall was not in good shape either.

Although he had been the attacker and had protected himself with Armament Haki beforehand, he had still suffered.

The skin all over his body was as red as a boiled shrimp.

The hand he had used to press the energy sphere into Texas's face was a mangled mess.

Even the pale bones of his hand were visible.

His other assorted minor injuries hardly bore mentioning.

Overall, though, he was much better off than Texas.

It took Randall three seconds to recover enough to move.

He exhaled a stale breath, then kicked the still-standing Texas to the ground.

Then he stepped forward and stomped several times, snapping off Texas's limbs.

He had literally stomped them off.

After being scoured by the Qi Wave, Texas's body was now as brittle as glass.

By this point, Texas could no longer feel pain.

He did not let out so much as a grunt throughout the entire process.

Randall clicked his tongue a few times.

You got off easy.

He stepped forward, picked Texas up by the neck, and headed toward the shore.

The sea had calmed by then, and the little boat floated quietly there.

Randall first submerged Texas in the seawater, then leaped aboard.

Inside the cabin, Christa startled when she sensed someone boarding, then her face lit up with joy.

"Randall!"

Randall had barely entered the cabin when a tiny figure hurled herself at him.

"Randall!"

Randall caught Christa, stroked her head, and said:

"Little Crystal, I told you I'd win!"

"Randall..."

But Christa did not look happy.

She had already seen Randall's injuries.

Noticing where Christa was looking, Randall felt warmth fill his heart.

He said:

"It's all right. Watch me do a magic trick for you!"

With that, Randall activated Life Return.

White steam began rising from his entire body.

After only a few seconds, nearly all his injuries had healed.

His most severely injured hand had not fully healed, but it had scabbed over.

The price, however, was every last bit of the energy he had stored earlier.

Completely drained.jpg

Christa stared in wonder at the fully refreshed Randall.

"That's... that's amazing!"

But Randall, are you sure that was a magic trick and not actual magic?

Randall stroked Christa's head and said:

"Pretty amazing, right? You can learn it when you're older."

Christa's eyes lit up, and she nodded furiously.

Then she asked somewhat hesitantly:

"Then, Randall, that man..."

Randall said, "Don't worry. I caught him."

Then he fell silent for a moment before saying:

"Christa, I'll go take care of what's left, and then we can head back.

Don't worry. It won't take long."

Perhaps thinking of her mother, Christa's eyes held a trace of sorrow.

But she still put on a smile and nodded.

"Okay!"

Randall stroked Christa's head again, then turned and left.

Texas had passed out while submerged in the seawater.

Randall considered it, then hauled him up after all.

Then he left using Geppo.

A short while later, in the square where the residents had gathered.

Under gazes filled with terror and despair, Randall descended from the sky.

Christa's bastard of a father, hiding in the crowd, nearly fainted with fright.

Just look at what Randall was carrying!

A lump of charcoal with no limbs, not even eyes!

He could already see his own fate.

Randall tossed Texas onto the ground.

The dull thud further frayed everyone's fragile, strained nerves.

In an instant, everyone fell to their knees.

Then came a maddening chorus of sobbing, screaming, and wailing.

"We're sorry! We were wrong!"

"We know we were wrong!"