Vic was covered in blood, struggling like a trapped beast as he was toyed with by the three hunters. He could block those facing him head-on, but he couldn't stop the attacks and sneak attacks from other directions.
However, as time went on, although the wounds on Vic's body continued to increase, the number of times his Observation Haki was wrong decreased.
Although his Observation Haki rarely made mistakes anymore, the time he had to react after anticipating the enemy's movements was still too short. He still couldn't withstand the combined attack of the three, and his injuries were gradually approaching his limit.
Vic could feel his mind becoming hazy, and the exhaustion and pain in his body were attacking his consciousness. Even with his iron will, he could hardly suppress it.
But his Observation Haki never made a mistake again; all of Burns' and the other two's attacks appeared within Vic's Observation Haki predictions.
Although Vic closed his eyes, the scenes he perceived with his Observation Haki became clearer and clearer, more and more coherent, like standard definition turning into high definition, high definition turning into Blu-ray, GIFs turning into short videos, and short videos turning into micro-movies. But it reached its limit here, as if it had hit some kind of bottleneck, and his body was almost at its limit.
"My body can't hold on much longer! Should we leave now?"
With his eyes closed, Vic thought to himself that he didn't use his abilities for two reasons: first, he wanted to see his true level, and second, he wanted to push himself. If he really wanted to leave, these three people wouldn't be able to stop him. He hadn't even used his Conqueror's Coating yet, and if he suddenly attacked, these three people definitely wouldn't be able to surround and attack him.
"Something's not right! It seems like he's using us as a whetstone; the damage we inflict on him is decreasing, and his predictions are becoming more accurate!"
"Using us as whetstones? They're really not afraid of death! Then we'll sharpen their gleaming blade in two!"
"Although this sword has indeed become sharper and more intelligent, its blade is already riddled with scars and may not withstand our continued use. A precious sword is about to perish!"
The three of them also noticed that something was wrong with Vic, but not from the fact that Vic closed his eyes. Strong people all have Observation Haki, so they don't need to use their eyes to see. Observation Haki is faster and more accurate than eyes, so there's nothing strange about fighting with your eyes closed.
What truly aroused their suspicion was that, while Vic was still unable to withstand their combined attacks, his judgment and response to their moves became increasingly accurate.
They were astonished by Vic's audacity—it was like dancing on a knife's edge, or pulling a tiger's whiskers! But they were also furious at Vic's behavior; it was an insult to them! So they decided to sharpen Vic's precious sword.
"Let's take a gamble!"
Vic thought to himself and continued charging towards the three. Although his body was nearing its limit, wasn't this exactly the state he wanted? At this moment, he forgot about his Devil Fruit ability, his Conqueror's Haki, and his injuries, and followed his Observation Haki to charge into the three's encirclement!
Vic slashed at the unarmed Burns, the Blood Wither Ryuo reflecting on Vic's blood-stained face, making him look like Shura from hell.
Burns, his arms also wrapped in Ryuo, blocked the attack head-on, but involuntarily retreated several steps. Vic ducked to avoid the blade aimed at his neck, and then swung Allen's blade towards the attacker's lower body. Abraham stomped his feet on the air, propelling himself upwards, thus dodging Vic's attack.
Instead of pursuing Abraham, Vic used a powerful downward strike to lower himself down a body length in mid-air, allowing a rapier wrapped in Ryuo to pass through his back.
The flowing Ryuo blossoms on the rapier tore through the blood-stained cloak on Vic's back, but did not actually harm Vic's body. Vic narrowly dodged the attack, but the failure of this strike made Ralph's face darken. This was a strike he was determined to land.
Ignoring Ralph's changing expression, Vic stomped his feet hard on the air, raising his body again, and slashed at Ralph to his right rear with the Blood Wither in his hand.
With his other hand, Allen followed closely behind Vic's body as he turned. Vic's movements were uninterrupted; after dodging Ralph's sword, he immediately launched a counterattack instead of fleeing.
Therefore, Ralph, who was very close to Vic, could no longer dodge and could only retract his rapier to block the Blood Wither that was slashing towards his side.
A clang of metal rang out, but unlike the clear, sharp sound of weapons clashing before, this time the sound was somewhat muffled. The sensation transmitted through the rapier caused Ralph's expression to change slightly.
Vic didn't use the same immense force as before when he slashed, otherwise he could have used that force to get away from Vic. He quickly mobilized his body's Haki to cover his waist.
Allen, who followed closely behind, struck there. Although he had Haki covering his waist, he was still wounded by Vic's Allen. A long, narrow wound was oozing blood. This was the first time Ralph had been injured by Vic.
Just then, Burns, who had been knocked back by Vic, arrived to provide support and threw a punch at Vic's head. Vic had no choice but to abandon Ralph and use Allen to block the punch.
After that Ralph took the opportunity to get away from Vic. He ignored the wound on his waist, but the wound was slowly healing.
Ralph's gaze toward Vic grew even colder. He had thought Vic was at his last gasp and they would soon be able to finish him off, but he hadn't expected Koby before. The fact that he could still injure Vic under these circumstances made Ralph more vigilant.
The other two Celestial Dragons who saw Ralph's injury were also on high alert. They noticed that Vic was acting differently than before, and the three of them exchanged a glance, as if they had made some kind of decision.
Ralph threw his rapier, but not towards Vic; he aimed at the warship. The rapier plunged into the deck of a warship, the entire blade disappearing into the deck, leaving only the slender hilt with its handguard sticking out.
Ralph stood in the air, his hands clenched into fists and crossed in front of his chest, his head tilted forward and buried in his crossed arms, his whole body trembling slightly, as if he was struggling to break free from something.
Soon, Ralph's body fully extended, he raised his head and stretched his arms out to the sides of the sky, making him look like a capital X.
As Ralph's body unfolded, it swelled slightly, and his once-fitting shirt burst open, revealing his strong and well-proportioned upper body muscles.
Then, thick black fur quickly covered his body. Except for his pectoral muscles and a few abdominal muscles, his entire body was covered in glossy black fur, and his face transformed into a human-cat hybrid with a human-like expression.
A thick, black tail pierced through his trousers and extended from his rear end, and his legs transformed into the joints of a feline. A reddish-black Flame Clouds coiled around Ralph's shoulders and head.
It looks a lot like Rob Lucci 'Cat-Cat Fruit -Cat Fruit Awakening Leopard Mode, but Ralph's body is pure black without any stray hairs, his Flame Clouds are different, and his eyes are narrower and sharper, making him look even more imposing.
"There are actually ability users among you! They were hidden so well... this is bad!..."