In the distance, the last building struck by the impact collapsed with a thunderous crash, sending dust billowing into the sky.
The entire central district of Sin Island fell into a brief, deathly silence after that devastating collision.
"Gulp..."
Aboard the Fearless, a Marine swallowed hard and asked hoarsely, "Is... is it over? That guy Baroque... he should be dead, right?"
"Of course! The Ensign sent him flying through seven or eight buildings. Even if he were made of iron, he'd be scrap by now!" Though the scarred veteran said this, his eyes stayed fixed on the distant dust, not daring to relax for a moment.
Lieutenant Commander Ethan said nothing. He merely held up a new pair of binoculars, his brow tightly furrowed. He kept feeling it was not that simple. That savage, brutal presence had not vanished. Instead... it was growing ever stronger and more violent within the dust!
Just then, a low, stifled roar rose from the center of the ruins.
"Grrr..."
Then, amid the shifting rubble, an enormous claw covered in thick, pitch-black fur and gleaming with a cold, metallic sheen suddenly thrust out of the wreckage and plunged viciously into the ground!
"What is that?!" Ethan's pupils abruptly contracted.
BOOM!!!
Rubble burst apart, and an invisible blast of air violently swept the dust aside!
A suffocatingly massive figure slowly rose from the ruins.
It was none other than "Blood Axe" Baroque.
But now, his appearance had changed completely.
His wounds were still bleeding, and the depression in his chest was clearly visible, yet he seemed unable to feel any pain.
He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. His eyes no longer had human pupils; they had become blood-red beast eyes filled with primal brutality.
He stared at the tiny figure on the