__Great Might Heavenly Dragon!
The crimson sun collided with the divine dragon, and a massive mushroom cloud surged upward, tearing through the atmosphere. The entire Grand Line churned violently, shockwaves radiating across distant seas and shaking the world itself.
When the blinding light finally faded, Lucien stood in the sky, his amethyst eyes cold and unreadable as they settled on Nana.
Nana was completely unharmed. Only a few loose strands of her hair fluttered across her face. In contrast, Lucien looked wretched. From the waist down, his body was gone.
More troubling was that his cellular regeneration had been suppressed. His recovery speed had been cut by more than half. Under normal circumstances, he would have fully restored himself within a breathe.
Now, he could not.
"Still not dead like this?"
"I am getting a little interested now."
Holding her three-bladed axe, Nana glanced at the sun overhead. It was already nearing noon, and the power flowing within her body was rising rapidly.
When the clock struck one minute past noon, she would possess absolute power.
Lucien's expression darkened. Nine years ago, he had already stood at the peak of this world. He had bled and sweated for nine relentless years since then. His current strength far surpassed what it once was.
Yet the aura this young woman emitted felt like a living sun. That overwhelming radiance, that untouchable force, made even him feel a trace of jealousy.
Worse still, her aura continued to climb. It was unnatural.
He wanted to kill her.
Reason told him he could not.
Even if he removed every restraint and unleashed everything, he would still lose.
Light and heat bathed the world. Nana lifted her axe again. A fireball began expanding at terrifying speed. One hundred meters. One thousand. Ten thousand. In four breaths, it reached fifty thousand meters.
Each attack she released was more ruthless than the last.
Lucien's face grew grim. Her cheat ability was infuriating.
If he could not win, then only one path remained.
Boom!
Two beams of light suddenly descended from the heavens, connecting sky and sea with immense force.
Both Lucien and Nana turned toward the disturbance. Two powerful auras were approaching at extreme speed.
"Hmph. Even if they come, it is useless. You are all too weak."
Nana sneered at Lucien, disdain filling her gaze. The golden-patterned axe fell.
"Merciless Sun."
The fifty-thousand-meter sun crashed downward. The pressure alone made Lucien feel death approaching.
"I am in love with you."
"If we meet again, I will love you no matter what."
His tone was calm, almost indifferent.
She was perfect.
Perfect enough that he wanted to tear her apart and make that power his own.
Nana remained unmoved, looking down on him arrogantly as the blazing sphere descended.
Swish.
Lucien activated his random teleportation. Before disappearing, he cast one final glance toward the horizon, astonishment flickering across his face.
One figure was a handsome young man clad in golden armor. His fiery spiked hair, golden brows, and plum-red pupils made him impossible to miss. Arrogance radiated from him like a crown.
The other figure…
A red, purple, and white body outline. Two large oval eyes.
Ultraman.
And not just any Ultraman.
It was Diga Ultraman.
Though he maintained human size instead of towering as a giant, Lucien was certain. Diga, the warrior capable of shifting between three forms.
Then the sun fell.
Silently, completely.
The dried seabed melted. The ocean evaporated. A bottomless crater formed, as if the world itself had been pierced straight into hell.
Lucien was gone.
"Sun's Daughter."
The air screamed as they stood midair, tension coiling in their bodies as they eyed Nana and one another.
They were not companions. They did not even know each other.
The Main God Space had assigned them the same mission.
Hunt Darkness.
They were competitors.
The system revealed only titles. Nothing more.
Strangers forced into rivalry.
"Hero King."
"Diga Ultraman."
Nana identified them easily.
According to the mission prompt, three hunters had been dispatched. Whoever killed Darkness would receive 100,000 exchange points. The remaining two would return empty-handed and pay an additional 50,000 points.
"Was Darkness killed by you?"
Olatayo crossed his arms, gaze sharp and wary. The girl before him appeared delicate, yet the energy within her made even him uneasy.
Hayato said nothing. His gaze remained fixed on Nana.
"I want the 100,000 exchange points. If you voluntarily give up, I can spare your lives."
Her tone was calm.
She raised the axe once more.
A new sun expanded above her, growing until it reached one hundred thousand meters, blotting out the sky, boiling the sea, burning the heavens.
It was noon.
She was invincible.
"I will remember you."
Olatayo snorted. If that sun fell, he would die.
He activated the World Shuttle Tracking Talisman. A nearly fading aura lingered in the area. After locking onto it, he transformed into a streak of light and vanished.
Hayato's salted-duck-egg-shaped eyes remained fixed on Nana. Without speaking, he also activated the talisman and disappeared.
"Hmph."
Nana pouted. The blazing sun above her shrank rapidly and faded away.
If they wanted to escape, she could not stop them.
Even if she could, it would cost too many exchange points to pursue. It was not worth it.
Darkness remained the primary target.
As Nana turned into a beam of light and vanished, the Pirate World gradually regained its fragile calm.
The World Shuttle Tracking Talisman could lock onto a target's aura and allow inter-world tracking.
It was expensive.
Half price cost 50,000 exchange points. Full price cost 100,000.
Equivalent to killing one Darkness.
It could follow an enemy into their next world, but the arrival time and location were uncertain.
Nana might arrive the very next second.
She might arrive three days later.
Half a month later.
A month later.
She could appear in the sky, the sea, or inside a volcano.
The item was a one-time consumable.
A complete rip-off.
But one thing was certain.
They would arrive.
Lucien had not escaped danger.
That was the advantage of having an organization.
Olatayo
Male
22 years old
Alias: King of Radiance, Hero King, Gilgamesh
Main God Space: Reincarnator No. 932
Abilities: Gate of Babylon, fully unleashed Noble Phantasm
Shinra Tensei, repels surrounding attacks and deals damage
Full Counter, reflects energy attacks
Instant Movement, teleports 100 meters
Hayato
Male
19 years old
Alias: Diga Ultraman, Giant of Light
Main God Space: Reincarnator No. 921
Abilities:
Diga Ultraman transformation, maximized stats
Healing Light, restores injuries and stamina
Possesses all combat abilities of Diga Ultraman
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