"Everyone, get out of my way. Priest Luo Chen, take this! Double Reject!"
Wyper's voice rang out behind them. They hurriedly moved aside, and Wyper leaped from where he stood, somersaulting several times through the air before reaching Luo Chen. He locked his legs around Luo Chen's waist and pressed both hands against his chest.
"Are you using the same move against me again? Wyper, aren't you afraid both your hands will be crippled while I remain unharmed?"
Seeing Wyper use the same move against him again, Luo Chen showed little reaction and spoke calmly.
"If you want these hands, you can have them. When I decided to come challenge him again, I had already put life and death out of my mind. Taking you down with me wouldn't be bad either. Fall here and now, Priest Luo Chen! Double Reject, explode!!!"
"Boom!!!"
A tremendous boom thundered across the entire Ordeal of Blood, while countless clouds of dust and smoke blanketed the area.
"Wyper!!!"
The Shandia warriors ran over to look for Wyper. Amid the swirling dust and smoke, a bare-chested young man lay on the ground, his breathing extremely faint. When his companions saw him, they hurried over and helped him up, calling his name repeatedly in an attempt to wake him.
"Wyper, Wyper, wake up!!!"
Under their repeated calls, Wyper slowly opened his eyes. The first thing he asked was how Luo Chen was doing.
"Cough, cough!!!"
"Wyper! Thank goodness, you're finally awake!"
His companions were overjoyed to see him finally come around.
"Yeah! I'm fine. By the way, what happened to that guy? Is he dead?"
Wyper shook his head, indicating that he was fine, then asked about Luo Chen again.
"Yeah, the others are looking for him. We still don't know what happened to him, but there's no way he could have survived that hit of yours, right?
"But Kamakiri isn't doing too well right now. Luckily, his life isn't in danger."
One of the companions tending to him spoke.
"Is that so? That's good, then. Help me up, quickly. I still have to keep fighting."
Wyper grabbed a companion by the collar and struggled to get up.
"But your body... all right!"
The companion wanted to say more, but seeing Wyper's determined expression, he said nothing else and helped him up.
"Be careful, don't fall!!!"
Another companion at his side also carefully helped him up and spoke with concern.
"I'm fine, don't worry about me. Hurry up and find Luo Chen.
"Luo Chen, you're not dead yet, are you? I know you can hear me. Come out, and let's settle this!!!"
Wyper brushed his companions' hands aside and searched the surroundings, trying to provoke Luo Chen into showing himself.
"Luo Chen, do you hear me? Our fight isn't over yet. Get out here!"
After all his shouting, there was still no response, but Wyper had not given up on the idea. He remained convinced that Luo Chen was alive, watching them from somewhere, and would then deliver a killing blow to finish them all off.
"Wyper, give it up. He's dead. There's no way he could have survived. We still have to go to the temple and defeat Enel!"
His companion tried to persuade him again. As they saw it, Luo Chen had been blasted to pieces by Wyper's terrifying attack, leaving not even his bones behind. Otherwise, why hadn't they found him yet? The companion shook his head, then turned to gather the others and decide once more whether to continue toward the temple.
"Have you all decided? Are we still going there or not?"
"Yes. We decided to defeat Enel from the very beginning. How could we give up now?"
"All right, then. Get Wyper. It's time we set out."
Everyone decided to continue to the temple, so they went to call Wyper, no longer dwelling on whether Priest Luo Chen was alive or dead.
"Heh heh!!! As expected of a descendant of the great warrior Calgara. You've actually managed to stay on guard, but the others haven't."
The moment they decided to leave, a loud voice stopped them all in their tracks. They drew their weapons again and warily watched their surroundings.
"Whoosh!!!"
A blood-red figure sped past the warriors. As he flashed by, they fell one after another, unconscious.
"Damn it, what are you trying to do to my companions, Luo Chen!!!"
Wyper shouted, but could only watch helplessly as his companions fell unconscious one by one without any chance to resist. In the process, Luo Chen struck them all down, leaving them lying there motionless. Wyper had no idea what he had done.
"Whoosh!!!"
The blood-red figure suddenly appeared before Wyper. Though his body was shorter than Wyper's, he looked down at him and spoke.
"Are you so eager to come and throw your life away? Then I'll grant your wish!"
The blood-colored energy surrounding the figure dispersed, revealing a delicate, handsome face. He looked somewhat disheveled, however, and the blood at the corner of his mouth had yet to be wiped away.
He was Luo Chen, who had just endured two of Wyper's Reject attacks. The instant Wyper pressed down, Luo Chen had not stopped him. Instead, he had truly assumed his Shura True Form, coated his chest in Armament Haki, and taken the attack head-on.
Before the aftershocks had subsided, he had stood high above a clump of trees and looked down at them as if watching clowns at a circus. Watching them search everywhere without finding anything had delighted him greatly.
Finally, as they were preparing to leave, Luo Chen had spoken up and interrupted them. After using his full strength to deal with everyone in an instant, he came before Wyper and spoke as he looked at his swaying body.
"Shura: Hand of the Evil God!"
A giant hand formed from blood-colored energy behind Luo Chen and slammed down toward Wyper.
"Boom!!!"
The impact thundered through the entire forest once more. The dust rose like a giant mushroom, and ripples spread outward through the atmosphere again.
Countless birds took fright and scattered in all directions.
"Swish!!!"
Luo Chen withdrew his power and walked forward, looking at Wyper lying inside the enormous palm print he had created. He calmed his mind and activated Observation Haki to sense Wyper's condition.
"I really didn't expect your life to be so tenacious. You actually survived a blow like that from me. You really are like a cockroach that just won't die!"
A short while later, he opened his eyes again and spoke to Wyper in the palm print, sounding somewhat moved.
"Looking at you now, there's no point in you going on living. Let me put you out of your misery. Shura: God-Slaying Arrow Feathers!"
As he spoke, he stretched out his right hand. Three arrows condensed in his palm, and with a wave of his hand, they shot toward Wyper in an instant.
"Wait, stop!"
"Hm..."
When the arrows were only millimeters from Wyper, about to pierce his skin and run him through, a clear female voice rang out. Luo Chen frowned, and the arrows abruptly burst apart, turning back into blood-colored energy that flowed into his body.
A figure darted out of the forest behind Luo Chen and came before him, spreading her arms to shield Wyper as she pleaded with Luo Chen.
"Please stop, Luo Chen. We surrender. We're willing to give up this operation, so please spare their lives. If that's not enough, take it all out on me. Let me bear your anger."
When Laki arrived, she saw him preparing to end Wyper's life, so she sped up and shouted at him, stopping Luo Chen's attack.
Not long after the Shandia warriors set out, another shocking piece of news came from Aisa: Enel had already finished fighting and left the temple, while the mysterious person's voice had disappeared completely.
Laki was worried about this and deeply concerned about their attack, so she set out alone to catch up with them and see how things had turned out. She had never expected to see such a scene and could not help calling out to stop him, which led to what happened next.