"Split up!"
"Retreat!"
The white-haired middle-aged man issued the order without hesitation. "Bring the intelligence back. That monster's ability…"
He did not finish.
Bullet was already in front of him.
"Trying to leave?" The black dragon's pupils fixed on him. "Did I agree?"
The white-haired man clenched his jaw and swung his blade.
The Great Grade sword "Phantom Light" erupted in a brilliant radiance. It was a special ability that could disrupt sight, hearing, and even Observation Haki perception. Under the cover of that glare, the tip of the blade stabbed soundlessly toward the black dragon's eye.
A precise tactic.
Bullet did not even blink.
Inside his slit pupils, dark-gold patterns suddenly brightened. That was his divine resistance taking effect. The faith power he had gained from devouring the Arhat gave him a natural resistance to this kind of mental interference.
The light did nothing.
The instant the blade touched the dragon's eye, it was stopped by an invisible film of energy.
This was the manifestation of "presence."
A power Bullet had obtained when his Conqueror's Haki awakened. He could extract another person's sense of presence and convert it into his own defense. It was still crude, still immature, but it was enough to stop this strike.
"My turn," he said.
A dragon claw reached out.
Dark energy surged, wrapping around Phantom Light, and began to devour the Great Grade blade. Even a legendary named sword started to break down under Nidhogg's devouring force.
The white-haired man tried to let go, but it was too late.
The dark energy spread along the blade to his arm, and then into his body. He felt his own existence being wiped away.
"No… impossible…"
He murmured, voice hollow.
"This is… the power of a god…"
"A god?" Bullet's voice carried a hint of mockery. "That sort of thing, I'll devour too."
Darkness swallowed the white-haired man completely.
The named sword Phantom Light crumbled into powder and scattered across the ground.
And its owner vanished from the world, leaving not even a trace.
The remaining six CP0 members broke.
They turned and fled, but Bullet did not give them the chance.
His wings beat once, and six strands of shadow shot through the air. Each shadow swept past a person, and each time, one of them disappeared.
Three seconds later, only Bullet remained in the courtyard.
He released the transformation, returning to human form as he landed. He quietly sensed the changes inside his body.
Devouring ten CP0 members had given him a large amount of high-quality life essence and traits. The black-sphere energy source had also been digested for the most part, fusing further into Nidhogg's core.
More importantly, he had gained a deeper understanding of "presence extraction."
When he blocked that blade just now, he had used the ability unconsciously. It was still rough, but the potential was clear.
If he could fully master it, perhaps he could extract an enemy's "existence" directly in battle, erasing them at the level of concept.
Footsteps sounded in the distance.
Anna poked her head out of the dry well, watching the courtyard with careful eyes. When she saw the agents' bodies covering the ground, and Bullet standing in the center, she froze.
"Is it… over?" she asked, unable to believe it.
"It's over," Bullet said. "But this place isn't safe anymore. The World Government will send more people soon. We need to leave immediately."
Anna nodded and ran back into the basement.
A few minutes later, she emerged with a large backpack on her back, supporting her grandfather as he stumbled out. The old man was weak, but awake, his mind clear. He looked at the courtyard, then at Bullet, and something complicated flickered in his eyes.
"You're… the one Anna mentioned?" His voice was hoarse.
"I am," Bullet replied with a nod. "Can you walk?"
"I can." The old man gritted his teeth and forced himself upright. "But I need to know where you're taking us."
Bullet pulled a permanent pose from his chest. At the end of the needle, a new point of light was blinking.
A coordinate he had just set.
"Deep in the South Blue, Crescent Bay," he said. "Based on the hints in this rubbing, your family left something there."
Anna and her grandfather exchanged a look.
Crescent Bay.
It was one of the Oliventa family's secret bases, known only to core members.
This monster knew more than they had expected.
But at this moment, they had no other choice.
"Alright," the old man said, nodding once. "We'll go to Crescent Bay."
...
As Anna supported her grandfather toward the pier, their footsteps faded into the distance, and the courtyard fell quiet again.
Moonlight cast a pale, drained color over the land that had just seen bloodshed.
Bullet did not leave immediately.
He stood in the center of the courtyard, closed his eyes, and expanded his Observation Haki. Every detail within a thousand-meter radius reflected clearly in his awareness.
The rustle of weeds in the wind, the sound of waves striking the shore in the distance, and also the heartbeat of the nine CP agents who had just arrived.
So it was true.
CP reinforcements came quickly.
And judging by their breathing rhythm and the faint tremor of their muscles, the nine had been here for a while already, waiting for an opening.
A cold curve formed at the corner of Bullet's mouth.
Since they were here, they should not leave.
He took a step forward.
Dragon might mixed with Conqueror's Haki, like an invisible mountain, pressed down precisely on the spot where the nine agents were hiding.
Puff, puff, puff.
Seven agents spat blood at the same time and collapsed unconscious.
Their minds shattered under the layered pressure, and they would not be waking up anytime soon.