Boom! Boom! Boom!
"Fireworks" exploded in the air. Crisscrossing storms of metal sprayed outward in overlapping patterns from irregular positions, dense curtains of death screaming past in relentless waves.
Shiki felt as though he were "playing" a first-person 3D aerial shooting game. Even with his skill at flying, he was having a rough time.
Slash Wave!
Shiki unleashed a massive Flying Slash, sweeping through several missiles.
But the missiles exploded in midair, releasing dense clusters of tiny fragmentation bomblets that formed a cloud of death.
Shiki had already suffered from that trick. If his Two-Color Haki had not recovered to seventy percent of its peak strength, he might have gone down.
Slash Wave! Second stage!
Shiki had pulled back before attacking. Now he followed up with two more Slash Waves, finally clearing away the attacks that might threaten him.
It was not that he could not afford to use Thousand-Cut Valley. Slash Wave was simply more cost-effective.
The former took too long to wind up, leaving him open to a beating in an aerial battle filled with dense barrages.
Whoooosh!!!
Six blue exhaust trails erupted from the thrusters on Babbage's back as he chased after Shiki with a sonic boom.
"Damn it! This bastard! He won't fight, and he won't retreat!"
Babbage might have been "charging toward him," but if Shiki moved in for close combat, his opponent would inevitably pull away. The two remained at an engagement distance that made Shiki distinctly uncomfortable.
He was feeling rather frustrated. Back in his era, barely anyone could fight in the air.
Only twenty years had passed, and now-seriously, were this many people good at aerial combat!?
Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!
Two electromagnetic rapid-fire cannons rose from either side of Babbage's shoulder armor. Their streams of fire chased after Shiki.
Their