Chapter 45: Moved by a Thought
On the battlefield, countless Soldiers hacked at one another; steel rang, roars and wails rose and fell without end.
Corpses littered the ground, the war exacting a terrible toll.
Dante Voss watched it all without the slightest ripple of emotion.
To his current Strength, these people were too weak—millions of them could not harm him.
A black hood now hid Dante Voss's face; appearing in public, it was best to stay cautious.
Watching the armies clash, Dante Voss's lips curved. He drew the bloodthirsty sword.
Clang—
Sensing a few slightly stronger auras, he swept the blade in a single arc.
Bzz—
A scarlet slash burst from his sword and shot straight ahead.
Nothing could stop its path.
Soldiers were pierced like tofu, bodies cleaved in two in an instant.
[Killed a Soldier: slaughter points +5]
[Killed a Soldier: slaughter points +1]
[Killed a Soldier: slaughter points +1]
...Most brought him no points, yet a handful still granted a few.
Supernatural power erupted amid the ordinary masses; the stunned crowds froze and stared in horror toward Dante Voss, weapons lowering.
Seeing them stop, Dante Voss sent another slash toward the opposite side.
The Flying Slash was unstoppable; more Soldiers died in droves.
[Killed a Soldier: slaughter points +1]
[Killed a Soldier: slaughter points +1]
[Killed a Soldier: slaughter points +1]
...Notifications flickered across his eyes, excitement rising—until a small pale hand caught his arm.
Dante Voss turned his head.
Princess Vivi's eyes brimmed with tears as she shook her head, begging him to end the slaughter.
He sheathed the sword and ceased his attack.
Those two slashes had silenced the battlefield, giving them ears to hear Vivi's words.
The stronger foes worth five points were mostly dead; only one-point stragglans remained, many yielding no points at all.
Further killing was pointless.
When he stopped, Vivi gave a grateful smile, stepped into the open, and told everyone the truth.
Bang!
Yet someone still fired at Vivi—agents hidden within the two armies.
Dante Voss was beside her; he caught the bullet and, with a flick, sent it back along its path, striking the shooter.
Gasps of shock rippled through the crowd.
None had ever seen a man catch a bullet bare-handed and return it with even greater force.
The agents, terrified, dared not move again.
Seizing the moment, Vivi spoke and ended the war for good.
With the civil strife over, she looked gratefully at Dante Voss.
"Thank you, Dante Voss. Without you, Alabasta would be finished."
Vivi's gratitude was immense.
Without him, their nation would have fallen.
She dared not imagine life under Crocodile's rule.
"It's nothing."
Dante Voss shook his head, unconcerned.
He had helped mainly to kill Crocodile and claim the reward.
A golden reward now in hand, he was content.
"Right—the bomb!"
Suddenly Vivi recalled the hidden explosive that could still detonate.
Her face went pale.
If it blew now, how many would die?
Alubarna was packed with people—a massacre in the making.
A disaster beyond measure.
Dante Voss stayed calm; he knew from the manga where the bomb was.
He told her,
"I know where it is. I'll handle it."
With that, he walked into the street while his mind entered the system interface.
[Physique: 5834]
[Strength: 6042]
[Speed: 6052]
[Spirit: 5274]
[slaughter points: 5226]
His slaughter points had already exceeded five thousand—enough to upgrade Devil Power.
Dante Voss didn't hesitate; he directly advanced Devil Power to Level Two.
[5000 slaughter points consumed; Devil Power upgraded to Level Two Manifestation.]
In an instant, Dante Voss felt the Devil Power inside his body explode by dozens of times, letting what had once only boosted his attacks now materialize into tangible forms.
Dante Voss couldn't wait to test it.
A vast surge of Devil Power instantly burst from his back, rapidly condensing into a pair of enormous wings—and with just a thought, he truly flew.
Whoosh!
The flight Speed was incredible; in the blink of an eye he was dozens of meters high, the ground below shrinking to insignificance.
As he grew more familiar, Dante Voss's flying became faster and more precise.
Soaring through the sky, he felt utterly free and exhilarated.
Flight is the freest feeling any person can know, and Dante Voss was no exception.
While circling overhead, he spotted the clock-tower that housed the bomb.
Halting before the giant clock-face, Dante Voss willed it—
A torrent of Devil Power surged from his body, forming a massive black scythe that slashed upward.
Boom!
Though composed of energy, Devil Power was immensely strong;
in scythe form it was razor-sharp, tearing the dial apart and exposing the bomb and the agents inside.
Both agents stared wide-eyed.
They had never imagined someone would find them, let alone burst in so forcefully.
"Ahh, someone actually located us, Mr. 7," exclaimed the frog-headed agent.
"Hohoho—die!"
Mr. 7 fired straight at Dante Voss.
Bang!
With a thought, Dante Voss decided to test his new Ability.
Instantly the Devil Power that had formed the scythe shifted into a shield, effortlessly blocking the bullet.
"Seems the defense isn't bad at all!"
Dante Voss's lips curved in satisfaction; this gold-grade reward pleased him more and more.
Though it had only stopped an ordinary bullet, revealing little.
Yet after these moments of deep experience, he knew the Ability was formidable—not only enhancing raw Strength but also granting diverse combat options.
It had even given him the power of flight.
If before Dante Voss had felt his Strength was top Vice Admiral level, now he was Shichibukai class.
Watching the two agents' shocked faces,
Dante Voss focused; the shield-shaped Devil Power instantly morphed into two razor spikes and shot at them.
Boom! Boom!
The black spikes pierced them before they could react, the unstoppable Devil Power boring clean through the entire clock-tower.
Killing with mere thought, without lifting a finger—it felt divine, filling Dante Voss with a god-like illusion.
No wonder Devil Fruit users grow arrogant once empowered; such might is intoxicating.
Dante Voss drew a deep breath and suppressed those delusions.
Though he was indeed strong now, he had yet to reach top-tier power, let alone godhood.
Merely Shichibukai level was not enough for wanton arrogance in this world.
Only upon attaining Admiral-level Strength could he truly relax.
After all, he was currently hunted by the World Government—carelessness was not an option.
Looking at the huge bomb inside the tower, Dante Voss willed; the two spikes retracted and became two gigantic hands that seized the shell.
Dante Voss flew out, the bomb cradled by black arms stretching from him.
Mid-air, another thought: the massive arms flexed and hurled the shell skyward.
Whoosh!
The arms' Strength was immense, instantly lobbing the bomb over a kilometer high.
At that height Dante Voss narrowed his eyes, swiftly drawing his bloodthirsty sword and slashing.
A scarlet Flying Slash tore through the heavens, racing after it.
Boom!
A terrifying shockwave erupted in the sky; even the ground a kilometer away trembled.