As of today, with Saint Blake's continuous improvement in strength, his various bodily functions have reached a terrifying level.
For him now to feel a primal, bodily need for something indicates that this crystal is definitely not a simple object.
Even if he couldn't immediately figure out its use, Saint Blake decided to take it with him directly, to avoid any complications.
Everyone followed the winding staircase and arrived in front of the crystal.
Up close, the blue crystal appeared extremely massive.
It was deeply embedded in a huge, curved metal wall, as if it had grown out from within the wall.
The surface of the crystal was not smooth like a mirror, but covered with ridges resembling ice cracks.
At some nodes where these ridges converged, a small burst of sparks would occasionally erupt, emitting a faint "crackling" sound.
These details made it look like both a technological artifact and some kind of naturally formed mineral.
However, even though Saint Blake's hand was already pressed against the crystal, the craving from within his body did not reappear.
Saint Blake didn't dwell on it further but turned around to look at the Maid Corps behind him:
"Who among you wants to give it a try?"
His gaze fixed on Perona, who was eager to try:
"It's decided! Perona!"
"Horo horo horo horo..."
Perona let out a series of demonic laughs, immediately perking up, and bounced like a little rabbit to the front of the crystal:
"Watch me!"
With that, she took a few steps back, charged forward, and headbutted the crystal:
"Behold my Rocket Headbutt!"
Thud!
Saint Blake's face darkened, his expression a bit hard to maintain.
Was the original Perona this crazy? Had this girl been raised foolish by him?
After a dull thud, the crystal remained motionless, and Perona squatted down, clutching her forehead, tears welling in her eyes:
"Your Highness, after my serious and thorough inspection, the preliminary conclusion is—"
"It's really, really hard!"
Saint Blake genuinely felt a sense of admiration and couldn't help but give a thumbs-up:
"Your inspection was very detailed. Next time, don't inspect it."
I can tell it's hard just by looking; I don't necessarily need to hit my head against it.
Hancock glanced at Perona disdainfully, feeling that this little girl was no match for her.
Stella, behind Saint Blake, showed an awkward yet polite smile, while the others also covered their mouths, stifling laughs.
"Let me try."
Koala stepped forward.
Since there were still many outsiders present, she did not use the power of the Glint-Glint Fruit but directly threw her fists.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Amidst a continuous series of explosions, Koala repeatedly attacked the junction of the crystal and the wall, trying to find a way to loosen it.
After several attempts, she stopped and turned around with a somewhat bewildered expression:
"Your Highness, it seems my attacks have all been... absorbed by it."
"Absorbed?"
Saint Blake stroked his chin; he found Koala's choice of words very interesting, and it might indeed relate to the secret of why the crystal couldn't be removed.
Mandy calmly drew her longsword, the tip hovering above the junction.
An extremely cold aura began to spread from the sword tip, instantly causing a thick layer of ice armor to condense on the metal wall.
There are quite a few Devil Fruits with ice attributes; as long as elementalization isn't used, ordinary people can't connect them with the Ice-Ice Fruit, so Mandy could use it with confidence.
Soon, the ice armor cracked inch by inch, but the crystal itself remained as solid as ever.
Mandy shook her head and retreated behind Saint Blake.
The scene fell into a stalemate, and Dr. Carson and the researchers behind him had faces full of the helplessness that read, "We've already tried that."
Seeing this, Hancock slightly raised her chin:
"As expected, I still need to step forward. I am Saint Blake's most attentive assistant!"
Just as she was about to step forward, Kalifa, from the side, pushed up her glasses and poured cold water on the idea:
"According to existing data, Hancock's success rate is less than one percent."
"What did you say?!"
Hancock was furious, glaring fiercely at the disruptive woman.
Kalifa was not to be outdone:
"If you're so capable, then take it down."
Just as Saint Blake was helplessly preparing to separate them—
Boom!
A pink Conqueror's Haki erupted from Hancock's body.
Kalifa, who was only twelve years old this year, bore the brunt of it, her eyes rolling back as she fainted on the spot.
Dr. Carson and the researchers couldn't withstand it either, all collapsing to sleep.
Seeing this scene, Saint Blake couldn't help but be somewhat dumbfounded.
He quickly released his own Conqueror's Haki, enveloping the maids behind him within his Haki's range.
He knew Hancock had the potential for Haoshoku, but he really hadn't expected it to be awakened under such circumstances.
People who experience their first burst of Conqueror's Haki usually cannot perfectly control it, only releasing all of it in one go.
Soon, Hancock found herself unable to sustain it, the Haki disappeared, and she herself fainted.
Well, a large group fainted directly.
But these were not the main point.
Saint Blake noticed that when Hancock's Conqueror's Haki erupted, the flow of light on the crystal's surface suddenly accelerated.
The energy strands, like liquid optical fibers, became brighter and more active, seemingly infused with vitality.
"Is this... some kind of resonance?"
Seeing this, Saint Blake also wanted to try with Conqueror's Haki.
At this moment, Robin stepped forward, circling the crystal and observing it carefully, muttering "absorption... resonance..." to herself.
Seeing that Robin seemed to have an idea, Saint Blake didn't rush to try but waited quietly.
After a long while, Robin turned around:
"We've been trying to apply external force."
"Whether it's physical impact or energy interference, it's essentially a form of 'confrontation.'"
"And this crystal's 'absorption' ability is best at dealing with 'confrontation.'"
She pointed to the ridges on the crystal's surface:
"These should be some kind of energy circuits; perhaps they are what absorbed the power we applied to the crystal."
A hint of understanding flashed in Saint Blake's eyes:
"So, you mean we should stop confronting it and instead try to understand, or rather, synchronize with its frequency?"
"Make it voluntarily disengage its protection?"
He looked at the still-conscious maids and instructed:
"Now we need a change of approach."
"It's not about taking it down, but making it leave that wall itself."
"Mandy, use your cold energy to calm the energy flowing within it, putting it into a standby or dormant state."
Mandy nodded. Although she didn't fully understand what a standby or dormant state was, she understood Saint Blake's meaning.
Her longsword lightly tapped, and an extremely condensed cold energy precisely acted upon the energy circuits.
On the ridges, the energy's activity visibly decreased until it was almost stagnant.
Next, Saint Blake looked at Koala:
"Now, use your light to fill that circuit, making it complete."
The outsiders had all been knocked out by Hancock, which made things convenient for Koala.
She stepped forward and raised her hand, golden light flickering in her palm, carefully injecting it into the crystal.
Crack! Crack!
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