Carelessness Once Again

Nova had not been in a hurry from beginning to end. He had wanted to see what tricks this group could pull. In any case, they were all lambs awaiting slaughter now.

No matter how things turned out, even if they were quite powerful, as long as he did not remove the spatial barrier, these people would never be able to leave this place.

It was obvious at a glance that Omoro and the others had spent plenty of time together. Their coordination was flawless.

For them, even a Logia-type Devil Fruit user like a Marine Admiral could very well fall at their hands. However, of their original six, one had already been severely injured, another was trying to find a way out of this barrier, and only four remained.

The strength of those four could not be underestimated. So far, only two of the six had revealed Devil Fruit abilities. The situation with the other four was still unknown.

Nova no longer wanted to waste words on them. After gathering his strength, he swung the Demon Blade Muramasa and shouted, "Flying Dragon Sword Style—Dragon Dive Flash..."

In an instant, nearly a dozen blade flashes shot toward the four of them in rapid succession.

They were so fast that, if these men had not possessed extensive combat experience, that move alone would have been enough to take their lives.

Dragon Dive Flash attacked from below upward and could unleash ten strikes in an instant. Its immense power seemed capable of tearing apart the earth itself.

Omoro had just flashed to a point not far from Nova when his Observation Haki sensed danger. He immediately retreated, only to see ten blade flashes rushing toward him and the others.

The blood-red blade flashes carved ten razor-sharp slash marks across the marble floor.

"Boss, I didn't expect this kid to be a swordsman!"

The man in the red tie cried out in surprise.

No matter how they thought about it, they had never considered that King of Tru could be such a powerful man.

Even without a Devil Fruit ability, his swordsmanship alone was enough to contend with them.

"Stop talking nonsense. His attacks are vicious. One moment of carelessness could cost you your life. Stay completely focused. We just need to keep him occupied until we find a way to break the barrier. Then he'll have hell to pay!"

Omoro's gaze was icy, his expression furious as he issued his orders.

Once he finished speaking, everyone entered a serious state. This was different from before; at this moment, they seemed to be gathering all their strength.

Omoro began to change as well. What had been an ordinary human body suddenly looked as though something was about to burst out from within. His immaculate suit tore apart.

Once it was over, Nova realized that Omoro was also a Devil Fruit user—and a Zoan-type one at that.

"A Zoan-type Devil Fruit, a Mythical Zoan Silver Moon Wolf. Looks like I really caught a big fish today!" Nova said with a smile curling across his lips as he looked at Omoro.

He had read the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia. This was definitely one of the more highly ranked Zoan-type Devil Fruits.

He had already guessed that the leader of Cipher Pol would not be ordinary, but he had not expected him to be hiding such a trump card.

Then the others certainly could not be as simple as they appeared either!

The abilities of some among them had now been confirmed. The first was the man in the red tie. His Devil Fruit was the Paramecia Bubble Fruit, allowing him to create bubble-like objects that could explode violently and attack enemies with shockwaves.

The second was the man Nova had severely injured right from the start. His Devil Fruit ability had yet to be revealed. From the moment he was injured until now, he had been unable to make a move and could only sit off to the side.

The third was Omoro, a Mythical Zoan user. Nova had every reason to believe that the remaining three were Devil Fruit users as well.

But just as Nova was thinking, his body suddenly seemed to slip beyond his control. Even the Demon Blade Muramasa in his hand dropped to the ground.

In that instant, Omoro rushed forward and landed a punch squarely in Nova's abdomen.

This time, he did not strike empty air. His blow hit Nova solidly.

The attack sent Nova flying more than ten meters. Fortunately, just before it landed, Nova regained consciousness and used Armament Haki to protect his body.

Even so, a blow from someone as powerful as Omoro was enough to leave Nova seriously injured.

After falling to the ground, Nova slowly rose into a crouch, unable to stop a trace of blood from spilling from the corner of his mouth.

At the very least, he had now figured out one of the remaining three.

A mental attack... that was truly difficult to guard against!

Damn it, I got careless. I warned myself so many times, yet I still made such a low-level mistake in the end!

Nova crouched there in pain, but what hurt him more was that after coming so far and learning so many lessons, he still had not learned his own lesson. He had clearly reminded himself before that, no matter what kind of enemy he encountered in the future, even if he did not go all out, he had to remain at maximum alert.

Yet, faced with this group's initial attacks, Nova had clearly grown arrogant. He had neglected the detail of defense and allowed the enemy to exploit the opening.

If his strength had not been decent now, Omoro's attack just then would have been enough to take his life.

"Take advantage of his injuries. Attack..."

Omoro shouted hurriedly.

He did not want to miss such a perfect opportunity. Although his opponent possessed the Space-Space Fruit, they could also tell that Nova had far less real combat experience than they did.

Nova crouched on the ground and took a deep breath before slowly standing up. By then, they had already charged at him.

"Barrier..."

A blue curtain of light immediately appeared around Nova, blocking the others outside its perimeter.

However, he seemed to have had too much confidence in his Space-Space Fruit. The instant Omoro charged forward, he transformed into a Silver Moon Wolf and slashed at the spatial barrier with a claw. The barrier Nova had believed to be absolute defense instantly cracked in several places.

Although the cracks slowly mended themselves, if the enemy attacked quickly enough, then even hiding behind it would not keep him safe.

"Muramasa..."

At Nova's shout, the Demon Blade Muramasa, which had been lying on the ground, instantly flew toward the barrier.