Chapter 303: The Crusade Against the Don Quixote Family (Final)
The former Don Quixote family villa had long been transformed into a white wasteland.
Viola and Kyros , carrying the rescued Mansherry, hurriedly escaped from underground and looked in shock at the battlefield.
"Sea of the Ocean, White Waves!"
Doflamingo turned the entire ground into an ocean of lines, the rolling white lines of immense waves crashing toward Artoria.
Under the dark boots, the white threads tightly wrapped around Artoria's greaves.
"Hmph!"
The magic power gushed out, tearing apart the entangling threads. Despite wearing heavy armor, Artoria skillfully dodged the white threads that rewrapped around her.
The sound of clashing armor echoed, and the petite shadow leaped, like a delicate black butterfly dancing through the battlefield.
"Your ability is truly troublesome..."
"It's not over yet!" Doflamingo raised his hands, lifting countless sharp threads, the tips of the threads wrapped in Armament Haki. He manipulated the threads and suddenly swung them forward, "Thousand Arrows Piercing Heart, Feather Strike, Line!"
Thousands of lines, wrapped in Armament Haki, rose from the ground in the shape of flamingo wings, stabbing toward Artoria.
"Clang! Clang! Clang!"
The relentless stabs were blocked by Artoria's Holy Sword or her arm armor, the sound of metal clashing endlessly, filling the battlefield with a magnificent symphony of a thousand soldiers.
"We have to help her quickly!"
Kyros moved to rush forward, but Eric pressed him down. "With just one leg? You'd only cause more trouble. Don't underestimate her, don't think of her as an ordinary woman—she's a 'King.'"
Trafalgar Law, from a distance, spotted the pink feathered cloak and shouted, "Doflamingo!"
"Ah?" Doflamingo turned back and chuckled. "Hehehe... It's you, Law, the traitor. Do you have the nerve to show your face in front of me?"
Law gritted his teeth and said, "Everything I've done until my death is due to the efforts of Corazon! My wish is to personally kill you!"
Doflamingo mocked, "How moving... truly tear-jerking."
"Law, do you want to hear something you'll like?"
Law's expression shifted, his face showing a fleeting surprise at Doflamingo's words, before his anger flared.
"To me, Corazon was just an obstacle. He believed in shallow justice and showed boring emotions. He was an incompetent man. That day—killing him felt so satisfying!"
"!" The flames of vengeance burned in Law, and he instinctively moved to charge.
"Hey, don't fall for his provocation." Eric 's words snapped Law back to reality.
Doflamingo turned his gaze to Kurome' side, where Pica, Diamante, and Lao G stood in silence.
The intensity of Doflamingo's rage could be seen in the flames on his face, his eyes filled with disbelief as he slowly asked, "Did you all betray me too—?!"
Eric , not kindly informing him that they were all dead, instead teased, "They realized their future with you was limited, so they jumped ship and joined me. Ever heard of the 007 work system?"
"Then I'll deal with all of you!" Doflamingo waved his hand, and thousands of Armament Haki-wrapped threads shot forward like a storm.
The threads froze mid-air, the resilient white lines shattering into pieces in the extreme cold.
"Your opponent is not us, right?" Esdeath pointed to behind Doflamingo, where Artoria stood, unharmed.
"Young master…!" A weak female voice came from behind as Monet struggled to rise, but under the effect of Sea-Prism Stone, her body remained weak and powerless.
"Monet, are you alright?" Doflamingo, who usually maintained a caring image for his subordinates, asked with concern.
"Sorry, young master. I'm too useless," Monet replied regretfully. "Machvise , Gladius, Pica are already dead. I'm not sure how she managed to control Lao G and the others…"
"I see." Doflamingo's expression was hard to read, his eyes hidden behind his orange glasses.
"I will kill them all, avenge Pica and the others. Monet, just wait for me here for a while."
"Mm." Monet nodded, trusting her master deeply.
Eric and the others didn't stop the conversation but found it somewhat amusing.
It seemed Doflamingo had never been through the hardships of the Four Emperors' boot camp and had yet to experience real punishment. Surrounded by his subordinates' protection and praise, he had grown into a tyrant who thought of himself as the strongest. Now, he acted like the Pirate King who believed no one could surpass him.
A one-on-many fight? Doflamingo didn't seem to care at all.
Like parents who spoil their children too much, they often end up with a spoiled brat who believes the world revolves around them.
Pica, Torrepol, and others had once committed destructive acts when Doflamingo was bullied as a child. Under such an upbringing, it was no surprise that he turned out to be a giant baby.
They had been torturing weaklings and never challenged strong foes. After joining the Seven Warlords of the Sea, they began a plan to steal nations, making underground deals within the small confines of Dressrosa.
'I really want to give you a "Four Emperors' greeting" and show you who you really are.'
"Master, his opponent is me," Artoria spoke calmly, "Please allow this impudent request."
"Leave it to you," Eric 's trust in her was evident.
The previously expressionless face now held a slight curve at the corner of her mouth, hidden beneath her mask.
[Artoria's favorability increased, bond level unchanged]
At this moment, Law no longer feared that Doflamingo would escape. Throughout the battle, he had been watching closely, and now, with so many of the Dawn Pirates around Doflamingo, it was impossible for him to lose.
When Doflamingo faced the Black Knight King again, Artoria quickly closed the distance between them.
Amid the white waves of the sea, Artoria moved gracefully, dodging the rising threads while slashing toward Doflamingo with her Holy Sword glowing with magic.
Doflamingo's left hand controlled the threads underground, while his right hand raised like a beast's claw, swinging fiercely toward her. "Five-Color Line!"
The nearly transparent threads slashed at the Holy Sword, emitting a shrill sound.
"Stop struggling." The darkness that consumed light descended upon her.
"White Shield Line!"
Massive threads rose from the ground, blocking Doflamingo's attack, forming a firm defense that didn't let any magic leak through.
Doflamingo grinned maliciously, "How should I kill you? Ah, I know—crush you into minced meat is the best way—Desolate White Line!"
His strong fingers stretched, and Doflamingo controlled the threads, causing the white lines on the transformed white wasteland to rise like waves of wind, tightly binding Artoria's leg armor.
In an instant, tens of thousands of white threads formed giant waves, crashing toward Artoria in a furious torrent.
The massive waves of threads engulfed Artoria, who was trapped in the center, the giant twisted threads closing in, attempting to crush the Black Knight King.
Viola quietly asked, "Are you really alright?"
"Artoria's heartbeat is strong and steady, no injuries," Eric hid his anxious emotions deep inside.
"Hehehe… Die inside, woman!" Doflamingo laughed as he kept manipulating the threads. "You were born to be controlled by others. You people are not worthy to be compared with me!"
"Mm?!" Doflamingo furrowed his brow, staring at the giant twisted threads.
Several black beams of light pierced through the dense white threads, and more black light began to seep through the surrounding threads.
"Boom!" The heavily coiled threads exploded as Artoria's magic power surged, releasing a hellish flame of magic. Her anger, fueled by Doflamingo's words, ignited into a blazing inferno:
"Release the magic!"
The once yellow-glowing sword now carried the noble spirits of fallen warriors, their dreams of heroism burning at the moment of their deaths. The oath-bound sword of victory now became the breath of the magic dragon, Vortigern, which had appeared to protect the island of Britannia.
"Here it comes again, such an attack is useless, no matter how many times!" Doflamingo shouted, raising his defenses with the White Shield Line.
"Is it?" Artoria's cold voice rang out. "The next attack will be worlds apart from the last, this will determine the outcome."
The pitch-black magic energy Artoria had gathered pierced through the sky. "Weep, for it is the time of your fall—"
"Let's retreat quickly!" Eric urgently pulled everyone away from the two, to avoid being caught in her Noble Phantasm attack.
Realizing something was wrong, Doflamingo turned to unleash his trump card: "16 Holy Divine Bullets—Divine Kill!"
From the ground, sixteen massive white waves wrapped in high-density Armament Haki shot up, moving at incredible speed past the White Shield Line to strike at Artoria.
"Devouring Light, Oath of Victory Sword!"
The pitch-black beam that connected heaven and earth was cut down by Artoria's sword, crashing into the incoming waves of white threads.
In that brief moment of pause, the sixteen waves of white threads dissolved into dust, while the all-consuming black darkness easily breached the defense, turning the orange lenses into pitch black.
"!"
The aurora strike hit Doflamingo, cutting through him. Magic burned away his body, and this was just the first round of damage.
The rocks of Royal Heights melted into lava under the aurora strike, followed by a massive explosion, with the thick beam of light piercing through the entire dome, shaking the masses below who had come to avenge Doflamingo.
It was as if a direct gate to the underworld had been torn open, with eerie black shadows rising like souls, floating upward with the light column.
When the light finally faded, the terrifying scene disappeared, and the choking smoke was blown away by the wind, leaving the Royal Heights half-sliced.
In the pit, Doflamingo's once-proud pink feathered cloak was gone, his chest and abdomen muscles destroyed, exposing his internal organs and two rows of ribs.
His damaged organs lay like fish washed ashore, their heartbeat matching the occasional opening and closing of the fish's mouth.
Blood sprayed from Doflamingo's mouth, but thanks to the unreasonable toughness of pirates in this world, he didn't die instantly from such severe injuries.
"Young master!" Monet's wailing sounded utterly helpless.
Even Sugar woke up, her large, adorable eyes wide as she asked a nearby Dawn Pirate member to remove her Sea-Prism Stone handcuffs:
"Big brother, can you take them off? The handcuffs are hurting my wrists."
"Ah~" Kurumi smiled mischievously. "Stop pretending, little sister. Ever since I saw the toys in Dressrosa turn back into people, and the joy and anger in their eyes, these handcuffs will never come off."
"Tch~" Sugar clicked her tongue, her face showing a gloomy expression, which didn't match her age.
The group gathered around the nearly breathless Doflamingo, his mocking grin still on his face. However, it was no longer the mocking of the weak—it was mocking himself now.
"Didn't expect this, cough, to happen..."
"Doflamingo..." Law gritted his teeth, pulling out Oni Kuri, preparing to deliver the final blow.
"Wait." Eric grabbed his wrist and stopped him.
"Eric , you said you would let me..."
"Your abilities are better suited to save lives. With such great medical skills, you shouldn't use them to kill. Besides, I still have questions for him."
Law: "..."
"Hehehe... cough, cough," Doflamingo's usual laughter mixed with coughing. Even in his dying moments, he didn't forget to mock Law: "Weakling, you can't even take my life personally..."
"Slap."
Eric kicked him to physically silence Doflamingo's mockery.
"Alright, Doflamingo." Eric looked down at the heavily injured Doflamingo. "You seem to be from the world aristocracy, a descendant of the Don Quixote family, and hold great secrets about the Celestial Dragons?"
"How do you know that?" Doflamingo's voice was filled with anger, but he could no longer even move his fingers.
"Years ago, you lost your privileges, and were abused by the masses who had been persecuted by the Celestial Dragons."
Eric 's words were like an inescapable nightmare, causing Doflamingo to frown.
"To return to Mariejois, you even killed your own father with your hands."
Doflamingo shouted, "Enough!"
His breathing sounded like a broken bellows as he growled, "Where did you hear this?!"
"I'll repeat one of your own words: Weaklings don't have the right to ask questions, only the opportunity to answer them."
Doflamingo: "..."
"I want to know the Celestial Dragons' secret," Eric 's expression was cold. "The secret that could threaten the Celestial Dragons. You should know what I did in Sabaody Archipelago, right? I have no fondness for the Celestial Dragons."
"So, you've been opposing me all this time for this secret?"
"Of course not."
"..." After a moment of thought, the survivalist Doflamingo, desperate to live, spoke, "If I tell you this great secret, can you spare my life?"
Eric sneered. "Not a chance."
"Hehehe..." Doflamingo, this cruel and tyrannical warlord, naturally wouldn't give up his secret so easily. He knew the moment he revealed it, he would die.
However, Eric didn't need the secret to defeat him. His power and influence were more than enough to overthrow the World Government.
Eric rummaged through the large bag he had brought and took out two fruits with strange patterns, along with a pear.
Law was shocked. "These are... Devil Fruits?!"
'As expected, as long as you kill the Devil Fruit users, their powers reincarnate in nearby fruits of the same kind. Luckily, I had a Devil Fruit encyclopedia bought from the black market. But with so many Devil Fruit users in the Don Quixote family, to only have two fruits... it's not guaranteed.'
Eric placed one of the pears in Doflamingo's hand. "These two fruits are your subordinates' Flame Fruit and Stone Stone Fruit."
"—You will turn into one of them."
"Kurome, take action."
"Yes." Kurome drew her blade, her footsteps heavy on the soft ground, leaving deep impressions as she walked toward Doflamingo, marking his first encounter with the sound of death's footsteps.
To Doflamingo, Kurome appeared like a grim reaper harvesting souls. He bitterly asked Eric , "Why... have you always opposed me?"
His wish was yet unfulfilled. He hadn't pulled down the high and mighty Celestial Dragons! He hadn't destroyed the whole world!
"I want to kill you because—" Eric 's cold voice rang out. "Slave traders all deserve to die!"
"Shhh..." The Eight House pierced his heart.
"Hehehe..." Doflamingo, with his usual laughter, felt his heart stop beating.
(END CHAPTER)
Thank you for the support, friends. If you want to read more chapters in advance, go to my Patreon.
Read 40 Chapters In Advance: patreon.com/Johanssen10