A Small Quincy Meeting

Why had Loki become so enormous in the end?

The Miracle.

It reversed all manner of negative, adverse, and unfavorable circumstances centered on the user, turning them into positive, beneficial realities.

The ability was triggered only when the user was in a negative state, such as being injured or facing a predicament.

Once triggered, adverse conditions would immediately return to normal. Injuries, for example, would heal automatically, and even severed limbs would regenerate at once.

Once that effect was complete, another corresponding effect would also trigger and take effect.

Those negative circumstances would additionally be exchanged for abundant positive vitality, meaning the positive conditions were doubled.

The exchange produced an enlarged body that brought those positive qualities to the fore: the "Size of God."

Ah...

In plain English, injuries sustained in battle healed automatically, and then the body kept growing bigger!

And that was the power of Loki's Schrift.

Vollständig, on the other hand, was not a specific move, but a state that had to be actively invoked. It was a Quincy's final form.

In that form, all abilities were enhanced, and the power of the Schrift could be brought to bear in full.

Quincy did not possess only these ultimate moves. Their system of power also included some fairly useful minor skills.

But thanks to the power of his Schrift and Vollständig, Loki had simply ignored his other moves in battle.

Perhaps it was also because those were easier to use.

Even the Miracle had its limits, though. As the user repeatedly recovered, his power would grow stronger, but his life-form would also change.

When Loki was in that final state, Kaya, standing outside the battlefield, had sensed it.

Loki was drawing on his power!

Loki himself could barely keep going, and even his final move had been a struggle. So the ability called the Miracle had begun drawing support from Kaya.

In the end, it did so by consuming Kaya's power to help Loki continue fighting.

He certainly qualified as a warrior of God in that respect.

Kaya judged that Loki had displayed enough power and there was no need to continue the fight. He therefore severed their connection, causing Loki to fall unconscious from overexertion.

Inside a huge building... it was the kind of sprawling single-story structure that gained space by expanding outward.

There was nothing in the building. It had been piled together from wood and stone, its overall shape square and boxy, like a matchbox enlarged many times over.

Kaya had just made it, merely to provide a place big enough to accommodate Loki.

Loki lay sprawled on the floor. Rather than unconscious, he looked more like he was sleeping soundly.

More accurately, he was worn out.

Kaya leaned against the wall, staring at Loki, though his eyes were unfocused and his gaze seemed somewhat distant.

After all that commotion, Loki's name had resounded throughout Hachinosu, along with word of the powerful, unknown power he had used.

He wasn't sure whether Rocks and the others would reveal that Kaya had something to do with it.

The number of Quincy still needed to grow, but counting everyone on the island, only a handful qualified to become Sternritter members like Loki.

Those who qualified might not necessarily be willing. Was he supposed to find some ordinary fellows to make up the numbers?

Kaya did not entirely dismiss the idea.

Tap, tap, tap~

Footsteps came from outside. He looked toward the doorway he had deliberately left open, where someone was walking in.

The man had actually been standing outside for quite a while, and had even made his footsteps deliberately loud before entering. Was there any need to be so cautious?

"Boss, are you hungry?"

"...What?"

Kaya fell silent for a moment when he saw Keel Bastar holding an enormous food box.

Keel scratched the back of his head and smiled. "You just finished fighting, so you must be hungry, right? I got some food. The giant kid might need it..."

His voice grew quieter as he spoke, until it was inaudible.

He really was being careful.

"I don't need to eat. Leave it for Loki." Kaya's voice betrayed neither pleasure nor displeasure.

"All right!" Keel hurried over and set the food box beside Loki's hand, although Loki had yet to wake up.

After that, the atmosphere in the building grew awkward.

To be honest, Keel was afraid of Kaya, especially after seeing Kaya create another powerful Quincy like Loki with his own eyes.

He had come over only because he thought that, now that the boss was back, perhaps they should talk about the future.

"What do you have in mind?" Kaya suddenly asked.

"Huh? Oh, oh!" Keel jumped, even more surprised inwardly. Had Kaya seen through him? He hurriedly began to explain.

Keel judged that the most important thing to do now was to increase the number of Quincy as much as possible.

Until the Quincy became a powerful force.

But relying on Kaya alone, creating Quincy with his blood was simply too slow.

"If you could lift that restriction..." Keel chose his words carefully to ensure that they sounded less offensive.

Kaya gave Keel another look.

Keel's meaning was simple: if possible, he hoped Kaya would share the ability to create Quincy with him, so he could help expand their kind.

Of course, that depended on whether it could be done.

Being a Quincy was definitely not a Devil Fruit ability! That was the conclusion Keel had reached after studying his own abilities during this time.

Naturally, then, it could not be judged by ordinary standards.

He believed Kaya could grant Quincy a wider range of abilities, just as he had shared the power of the Quincy.

Clearly... Keel's guess was right!

Kaya had considered the matter before. Creating Quincy through his Quincy subordinates was undoubtedly the simplest way.

It was easy to do, too. He only had to grant them permission.

As all Quincy continued to draw out their power, their connection to Kaya would grow deeper.

Kaya could transmit his power across space through individual Quincy, allowing him to transform people into Quincy from extremely far away.

He had thought it over and could find no downside to doing so. As for his Quincy subordinates going out of control?

That was not something he considered.

"Your suggestion makes a lot of sense. I've already granted this ability to all Quincy," Kaya said calmly.

His words stirred a wave of emotion in Keel's heart.

It... worked!

It could actually be done!

Did that mean he could create Quincy himself from now on? No! Not just him-all the Quincy currently in existence could create Quincy on their own!

An ability like that was practically a plague!

Of course, there was a downside to it.

Second-Generation Quincy, who were not created directly by Kaya but transformed indirectly through the blood of other Quincy, were mixed-bloods.

Only First-Generation Quincy created by Kaya himself were pure-blood Quincy. Bloodline determined the degree of control a Quincy had over his power.

He did not conceal this, telling Keel about it.

After hearing that, Keel felt immensely fortunate. Just hearing "mixed-blood" and "pure-blood" made it clear there was a huge difference.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Keel bowed his head.

Kaya chuckled. As the source of all Quincy, he was both their king and the emperor of the Quincy.

He waved his hand, signaling that Keel could leave.

Keel left, his emotions still difficult to settle. What would he do once he got outside? Kaya didn't care.

Kaya simply worked out the timing. A year after Rocks's child, Marshall D. Teach, was born, the spark for that incident had appeared.

Another year later, it had led to the God Valley Incident.

The way to judge the timeline was simple, too: the falling-out between Rocks and Harald was a landmark signal.

In the quiet, empty building, no other sound could be heard, only a low murmur.

"It's not far off..."