Although Vic didn't open his eyes, his Observation Haki had already sensed Ralph's Awakening state, where he transformed directly into his Human-Beast Form. The three of them had never used their Devil Fruit abilities before.
Furthermore, since Renka had never used his Devil Fruit powers until his death, he assumed that the members of the Holy Knights were all people like Roger, Rayleigh, and the old man who disdained eating Devil Fruit.
Ralph's transformation surprised him greatly, but before he could even utter Observation Haki gave him a frantic warning. Ralph had vanished from his sight. His Observation Haki only showed Ralph in his Human-Beast Form as a blur rushing toward him, a sharp claw reaching for his chest.
Fast! Too fast! So fast that even Observation Haki could only see a blur. Then Vic felt a sharp pain in his chest, followed by a tearing sound of muscle ripping in his ear.
Vic flew out amidst a spray of blood from his chest. A large chunk of muscle on his left chest had disappeared, revealing several white ribs underneath, and a beating heart could be faintly seen beneath them!
Vic almost had his heart ripped out with a single blow. Luckily, he moved his body when he sensed something was wrong, otherwise he would have been in grave danger. However, Vic was in bad shape, with blood seeping from his chest and his heart almost exposed. His body, which was already at its limit, was now in even worse shape.
Vic wasn't entirely clear that the final prize in the Holy Knights' hunting competition was Devil Fruit. Although Kuma had some memories of God Valley, at that time Kuma had no idea about the Holy Knights ' identity, nor did he know that those Devil Fruit were their prize.
Therefore, Vic was unaware of these matters. Some members of the Knights of God gave Devil Fruit to their slaves, while others ate them themselves. Thus, there were also capable individuals within the Holy Knights.
Ralph is one of the Devil Fruit users. He ate Zoan Cat-Cat Fruit, Ancient Zoan, Dark Inazuma Cat Form. This is an ancient feline that is extremely good at speed, hiding, stealth and hunting. It likes to eat the heart of its prey and is a creature that even dinosaurs and saber-toothed tigers of the same era feared.
This ability perfectly suited Ralph's development path, so after obtaining the Devil Fruit, he chose to eat it himself. With Ralph's development and current strength, his speed using only his body was ridiculously fast. Vic, without using the fruit's ability and in his current physical condition, simply couldn't dodge it. Ralph severely injured him with just one move.
Vic resisted the urge to open his eyes and look at the wound on his chest. His eyelids trembled slightly, and pain emanated from all the wounds on his body. Exhaustion continued to overwhelm him, and Vic's consciousness began to waver. At this moment, he actually recalled bits and pieces of his two lives.
Vic knew this couldn't go on; if things continued like this, he would definitely die here. The revolving lantern only appeared before death! Now it had appeared—what did this signify? He forced himself to stay focused, suppressing all his memories, tightened his grip on the two knives in his hands, and took a deep breath to maintain a defensive posture!
"Looks like he still has the strength to resist, let's attack together! Take him down."
Ralph was very dissatisfied that his claw had failed to rip out Vic's heart. If Vic hadn't dodged, they would have been able to finish their work and return to the Holy Land by now. So he immediately called on the other two to join him, which would have been absolutely foolproof.
Abraham and Burns didn't say a word, they teleported directly towards Vic, blocking Vic two escape routes from the left and right. Abraham immediately attacked with a killing move, stabbing Vic's heart below his ribs. Burns was not to be outdone, punching Vic in the head, also a deadly move.
Vic deflected Abraham's knife with his own, then thrust his other knife toward Burns ' armpit. Burns stopped his attack and kicked the incoming longsword. Abraham withdrew his longsword, spun around in place, and used it to slash at Vic's neck.
Vic spun around in place, using the knife aimed at Burns to block Abraham's slash at his neck, and then swung the other knife back at Burns ' groin.
Burns leaped slightly, spreading his legs to dodge Vic's thrust. Then, he instantly clamped his legs together, trapping Vic's longsword between them. He then released Armament Haki, Hardening the sword between his legs and his entire body into one, locking Vic's sword in place. Finally, he reached out and firmly grasped Vic's sword-wielding hand.
On the other side, Abraham began to attack Vic frantically with his sword, forcing Vic to defend himself with his remaining sword.
Plop! But after only a few moves, Vic stopped, and Allen, which he was holding, slipped from his palm and fell into the sea below. Vic opened his eyes, his face pale, and slowly looked down at his chest.
A blood-stained black furry claw emerged from the chest, which had previously been devoid of flesh and blood, clutching a still-beating, bright red heart.
Standing behind Vic, Ralph finally revealed a cruel and triumphant smile. He did not immediately withdraw the hand that had pierced Vic's chest, as if he wanted the victim to see his still-beating heart.
This was the most lethal blow Ralph launched while Vic was entangled. Upon seeing the heart, Vic seemed to realize something, a bitter smile appeared on his lips, and he slowly closed his eyes!
When Vic opened his eyes again, he saw Abraham and Burns attacking him from the left and right, while the Human-Beast Form of Ralph stood behind them as if quietly waiting for something.
The three people's actions, expressions, and positions were exactly the same as the scenes he had experienced before. Vic's eyes lit up even brighter, and then returned to their calm state.
"I see!"
Vic sheathed his twin swords back into their sheaths and waited quietly for the two to arrive. Although Abraham and Burns were puzzled by Vic's actions, it did not stop them.
The two quickly arrived not far from Vic, and just as Vic had seen, Abraham thrust his knife toward his unobstructed heart. Vic slightly turned his body to dodge the blow.
Ralph's body continued forward due to inertia, and the knife in his hand grazed an inch past Vic's chest, but a look of surprise flashed in his eyes, as if Vic's response had exceeded his expectations.
Vic's left hand smoothly grabbed Abraham's wrist, which was holding a knife, and with a slight twist, Abraham's arm involuntarily swung the knife in another direction, blocking Burns' punch aimed at Vic's head.
As Vic grabbed Abraham's wrist with his left hand, he almost simultaneously reached out with his right hand and slapped Abra across the face with the back of his hand, to Abraham's incredulous gaze. With a "smack," Vic's already raised left foot kicked Burns in the stomach.