The mocking and manic laughter on Callistos's distorted face, composed of light, shadow, and slime, suddenly froze.
Because the silvery-white Sparks that erupted from Allen's palm did not directly attack the surrounding ocean currents, the spatial strangulation net, or the sealing array beneath his feet, but instead transformed into countless fine rays of light, as thin as hair, which precisely shot towards the Ark Maxim itself and each of his companions!
Buzz--
A nearly invisible, extremely thin, silvery-white light membrane instantly covered the hull and the bodies of all people. This light membrane had no defensive capabilities and could not even block the slightest impact from the water flow, but it exuded an extremely pure yet incredibly subtle aura of "order" and "information isolation."
"This is...?" Callistos paused for a moment, then sneered, "Isolation from detection? Disguise? A death throes! Inside my ' Coffin of the Buried Current,' any disguise is meaningless! Strangulation!"
The ocean currents converged like a massive hydraulic press, the spatial strangulation net contracted and cleaved, and the sealing array burst forth with a blinding dark purple light, doubling the suction and confinement forces!
However--
The anticipated scenarios of ship deformation, barrier collapse, and people being restrained and dragged did not occur.
When the raging ocean current squeezed against the thin film of light on the surface of the Ark Maxim, it was as if it had hit some kind of absolutely smooth and neutral "mirror". Most of the impact force was strangely "slid off" and "deflected", and less than one-tenth of the force actually acted on the hull, which was easily resisted by Franky's full-power Order Barrier.
The cutting threads of the spatial strangulation net, composed of spatial fragments and corrupting energy, reacted as if encountering a natural enemy the moment they came into contact with the light membrane. They emitted a sharp hissing sound, and the corrupting energy on the surface was rapidly purified and annihilated, leaving only pure spatial fragments that weakly scraped across the barrier without even leaving a scratch.
The strangest thing was the sealing array beneath their feet. The powerful suction and spatial confinement force, upon touching the light membrane, seemed to lose its "target lock," becoming chaotic and scattered. Most of the force acted on empty space, and the small portion of the confinement effect was easily broken by the ship's own spatial stabilization mode and the power of their companions.
"What?!" Callistos's face contorted in horror. "Impossible! My sealing array clearly locked onto your life force and energy fluctuations! How could it fail?!"
"Because from the moment we entered this area, what you've been 'locking onto' has never been our 'true' aura." Allen's calm voice rang out, the Sparks in his palm still burning. "After the first purification of the ' Tumor of Corruption,' the feedback the ' Sparks Brand ' gave me, besides knowledge, also included a preliminary understanding of the 'Corruption' perception patterns—especially those methods that rely on corrupted mental fluctuations to track and lock onto."
Silver light swirled in his Eye of the Torch Dragon: "After arriving at the observation point and reuniting with Tortuga and the others, I secretly covered all of us with a layer of ' Order Camouflage' —a faint information layer simulating the 'synchronous but opposite' fluctuations of corruption in the surrounding environment using the power of Sparks. To you and your corruption perception network, we are like part of the background noise, even like... the fluctuations of 'friendly forces.' All the traps you set, their triggering and locking mechanisms, are based on the identification of our 'outsider' and 'purifier' auras. When this identification basis is distorted, the accuracy of the traps will naturally be greatly reduced."
"As for this light membrane," Allen looked at the ship's surface, "It's not defense, but an 'information reflection and deflection layer.' It redirects most of the identification signals and energy targeting 'specific targets' in your trap, reflecting or deflecting them in the wrong direction. Your ocean current compression locked onto the wrong pressure point, your spatial strangulation targeted the wrong cutting coordinates, and your sealing array lost its core anchor target. The remaining scattered forces pose no threat to us."
"You... you saw through it all along?!" Callistos's voice turned shrill, filled with unbelievable rage.
"I wouldn't say I completely saw through it," Allen shook his head, "But the Deep-Sea Council warned me that you are skilled in spatial sealing techniques and traps, and the environment here is perfect for setting them up. I simply prepared for the worst and had a backup plan to deal with 'locking traps.' The real battle is only just beginning."
His gaze sharpened. "You think we're unsuspecting prey stepping into your trap? Wrong. We've stepped into the territory we chose—a territory you thought you controlled, but in reality, your senses are clouded and your trap is only partially effective!"
"Now's the chance!" Luffy roared, his already prepared right arm lashing out, "Gear Fourth: Boundman! Gum-Gum Giant Bazooka!"
The swollen giant fist, wrapped in high-level Armament Haki, was like a cannonball fired, not aimed at the tumor or the guard, but instead—slammed hard into the core of the sealing array beneath its feet, whose light was disordered due to the loss of precise targeting!
Boom!!!
The array trembled violently, its dark purple light flashing wildly, and several key energy channels snapped under the impact of the giant's power! The entire floating island reef groaned under the strain, cracks spreading across its surface!
"Water Control - Whale King's Raging Waves!" Tortuga seized the opportunity, the white patterns on his body shining brightly. He forcefully regained some control from the ocean currents that were being interfered with by the corrupted will, and condensed a huge whale-shaped water shockwave, which blasted towards the nearest group of corrupted guards!
" Three-Sword Style: Ultimate Technique: Three Thousand Worlds: Void Breaker!" Zoro's figure appeared like a ghost on the other side, his three swords simultaneously wreathed in fine silver Sparks —a wisp of "purification" power that Allen had secretly shared with him before the battle! As the slashes swept across, the illusory parts of the guards trapped in the spatial rifts were ignited by the Sparks, emitting a shrill, silent scream. Their bodies were "burned" out of the rifts, only to be torn apart by the subsequent storm of slashes!
" Diable Jambe - BBQ Spectrum!" Sanji's figure transformed into countless fiery afterimages in the air, each kick precisely striking the weak points marked by Sparks on the guards' bodies. The combination of flames and purification power incinerated the guards from the inside out!
" Fish-Man Karate - Secret Technique - Buraikan!" Jinbe thrust out with both palms, and the massive shockwave scattered the guards who were trying to regroup, while also shattering several spatial rifts that were trying to reform.
" Cien Fleur, Giant's Grip, Hanging!" Protected by the barrier, Robin crossed her arms, and countless gigantic arms instantly sprouted from the floating island, grabbing and crushing the scattered guards!
"Thundercloud - Eye of the Storm!" Nami raised her Clima-Tact and forcibly summoned a small thundercloud amidst the chaotic energy field, striking the key nodes of the sealing array and the remaining guards with precise lightning!
" General Franky SUPER ~ Spatial Stabilizing Anchor!" Franky, controlling General Franky who had separated from the hull, drove several specially made metal anchors, the ends of which shimmered with Order Barrier, deep into the floating island's base and the relatively stable spatial faults around it. This forcibly reinforced the spatial structure of the area, preventing Callistos from using spatial collapse to perish together with the ship.
Chopper's Rumble Ball enhanced his sense of smell, keeping watch for the spread of mental pollution; Brook's Chill of the Underworld froze the spatial anomalies at the edges; and Usopp's Plant Bombs and Impact Stars provided harassment and precision strikes from afar.
The water spirits Xi and Mr. Shell from the Deep-Sea Council are doing their utmost to disrupt the energy transmission between the node network and the core area force field, and providing the team with real-time energy flow warnings.
Perfect teamwork! A thunderous counterattack!
Callistos's meticulously laid deadly trap quickly collapsed due to the loss of precise targeting and the sudden onslaught from all sides.
"No! Impossible! You... ants!!" The face on the tumor was completely distorted by anger and some kind of... fear. He could feel his connection to the node network, and even to the power of the "Mother," being rapidly weakened by that damned silver-white flame and these savage attacks!
"Your turn, traitor." Allen's figure had somehow appeared hovering directly in front of the tumor, the spear of light in his hand, purely composed of the rules of "purification," coalescing once more. But this time, the spear was more solid, its surface flowing with subtle spatial ripples—he had incorporated his understanding of "time" and "space" from the Power of Zhulong into this purifying strike.
"With this spear, pierce through illusion, sever connections, and purify the root—'The Judgment of Time and Space: The End of Purification'."
The light spear slipped from his hand.
There was no sound, no light or shadow.
It seemed to skip all the intermediate processes, appearing directly at the core of the tumor, and before the "source" of the face deep within it—a wisp of spiritual essence that Callistos projected his consciousness remotely through the corrupted network!
"No! Mother, save me--!" Callistos screamed in despair.
The spear of light gently touched that wisp of spiritual essence.
Time seemed to have been paused.
The pulsation of the sarcoma stopped.
The raging ocean currents froze.
The chaotic spatial fluctuations subsided.
Then--
Centered on the point where the light spear landed, a pure silver-white light exploded silently like Supernovas!
Wherever the light reached, the dark purple network of nodes crumbled inch by inch, turning into points of light and dissipating. The pulsating, enormous tumor, like a wax figure thrown into a raging fire, emitted a silver light from within, rapidly melting and evaporating. The remaining corrupted guardians, along with the traces of corruption on their bodies, vanished into Void.
On the floating island reef, the enormous sealing array had completely dimmed and shattered.
The corrupting force field and turbulent environment that had enveloped the southern node were quickly calmed down, as if smoothed out by an invisible hand. Although the ocean currents remained chaotic and the space remained unstable, the nauseating stench of corruption and the whispers of the mind had vanished.
The silver light slowly faded.
In mid-air, only a few fine, pure energy dust particles remained, slowly drifting down and merging into the seawater and air.
Node purification complete.
"It... it's a success?!" Usopp stared in disbelief at the chaotic sea that had returned to "relatively normal."
"The southern node network has completely disappeared," Robin sensed. "The connection to the core area's force field has been severed by about... one-third. Captain Tortuga?"
The Giant Whale Tribe warrior closed his eyes and sensed for a moment, then opened them in shock. "The force field strength has clearly decreased! The spatial structure has also stabilized somewhat! You... you really did it!"
However, Allen's gaze remained fixed on the spot where the tumor had disappeared. There, not nothing was, but rather a small, constantly writhing mass of dark purple and silvery-white material, like fragmented light and shadow, was suspended.
That was a fragment of Callistos's spiritual essence struck by the Spear of Purification. Because the spear of light incorporated the power of spacetime, this strike not only purified the corruption, but also briefly "solidified" and "stripped away" this part of the spiritual essence, preventing it from completely dissipating along with the corruption.
Allen reached out, and the silvery Sparks enveloped the tattered light and shadow, restraining it before him.
In the afterimage, one could still vaguely make out an aged face, covered with shell-like patterns, now filled with pain and fear—it was Callistos!
"No... don't... kill me..." The afterimage emitted a weak mental fluctuation, filled with pleading, "I... I can tell you... the 'Mother's' true plan... the weak point of the seal... the other traitors... spare me..."
Allen looked at him expressionlessly. " The Deep-Sea Council has plenty of ways to interrogate you regarding your information. But before that..."
A glint of silver flashed in his eyes. "Let me see, you 'elder' who betrayed the ocean, sided with corruption, and transformed yourself into something neither human nor ghost, what exactly do you look like now!"
Having said that, he unhesitatingly poured an even more powerful surge of Sparks into this wisp of spiritual remnant!
"Searching for Souls and Tracing Shadows: Revealing the Origin!"
This technique is developed based on the purification power of " Sparks " and the spacetime perception of the Torch Dragon. It can trace back and briefly reflect the current state of the original body through a trace of spiritual connection!
"Ah--!!!" The afterimage let out a shrill scream.
At the same time, before everyone's eyes, a clear and terrifying scene was constructed from the power of Sparks—
It was a massive cavern located in the deepest, darkest part of the ocean, covered with writhing, fleshy fungal carpets and countless dark purple energy channels. In the center of the cavern was a giant, dark red tumour, over a hundred meters in diameter, pulsating like a heart. Its surface was covered with the outlines of eyes and mouths, emanating a suffocating aura of evil and antiquity—that should be the true form of the " Source of Corruption," or a part of it.
Beneath the tumor, a "creature" was prostrating itself in reverence.
The outline of the Shadow Shell Tribe could still be vaguely discerned—a huge shell covered with spiral patterns. But now, the shell was no longer the crystalline calcium, but had turned into a dark green color like a mixture of rotting flesh and reefs, with mucus flowing across its surface and many scarlet eyes of varying sizes embedded in it.
The shell opened, revealing not soft clam meat, but a dark purple fleshy aggregate that wriggled and extended countless tiny tentacles. In the center of the aggregate, one could barely make out a distorted, aged face that belonged to Callistos, but that face was also covered with fleshy buds and extra eyes, filled with fanatical piety and utter madness.
His lower body had completely merged with the cave's fungal carpet and energy channels, becoming one with them. Countless channels pierced into his shell and fleshy body, as if transmitting corrupting power, or as if extracting his life and soul.
This is no longer an intelligent being, but a monster that coexists with the Source of Corruption!
In the scene, seemingly sensing that its mental connection was being traced and spied on, the monster ( Callistos in its true form) suddenly raised its head, all its eyes simultaneously looking at the "camera" ( in Allen's direction). A smile of extreme resentment and madness appeared on its twisted face, and countless tentacles danced wildly!
Immediately afterwards, the scene fluctuated violently, forcibly interrupted and severed by a more powerful and ancient corrupting force!
The image constructed by the Sparks shattered and disappeared.
The mental afterimage in Allen's hand finally gave out, and after a faint groan, it completely dissipated into specks of light.
The scene was completely silent.
Everyone was speechless, stunned by the terrifying appearance of Callistos in its true form that they had just witnessed.
It was not merely a distortion of the body, but a complete depravity of the soul.
"... He... he has completely... become a part of that 'mother'?" Usopp's voice trembled.
"He sacrificed everything... and this is what he got in return... monstrous 'immortality'?" Robin frowned.
"How pathetic... and Jinbe hateful," Jinbe sighed heavily.
Allen slowly withdrew his hand, a cold glint in his eyes. "He can no longer be called Shadow Shell Tribe. His soul and body have been deeply corrupted, transformed, and fused with the essence of corruption. What was severed just now was the will of the Source of Corruption ' itself... It is more powerful, more... proactive than we imagined."
He looked at Tortuga: " Callistos is no longer a threat; in his current state, he probably won't survive long without the support of the Source of Corruption. But he revealed two things: First, the Source of Corruption possesses a considerable degree of consciousness and intelligence, and is by no means an unconscious spread of contamination. Second, its lair, that cave in the ' Abyss Corridor,' is a far more hostile environment than we imagined, and it may have already sensed our threat."
Tortuga snapped out of his shock, his expression grave. "We must immediately relay all the information here, especially the state of Callistos and the possibility that the Source of Corruption might possess consciousness, back to the Council headquarters! This is crucial for a reassessment of the threat level of the entire 'Corruption Incident'!"
"Agreed." Allen nodded. "However, before that, we still have two nodes to deal with. With the south node destroyed and the force field weakened, the remaining east and west nodes should be much easier to destroy. Let's go all out and completely tear open the barrier of the core area!"
"That's right!" Luffy slammed his fist together. "Clean up the rest of the filth, then go to that corridor and beat the biggest filth out of the way!"
The flames of battle were reignited in everyone's eyes.
Callistos's trap was broken, and his true nature was revealed, bringing not fear, but a stronger resolve.
The darkness beneath the deep sea must be illuminated by Sparks.
This path of purification is destined to be filled with distortion and madness.
But they were fearless.