The massive weight of the island fragments crashed down, burying everything in sight. Shiki remained motionless in the air, his eyes fixed warily on the newly formed mountain of rubble.
"ARMOR PURGE!!!"
With a thunderous explosion, the mountain of rock was blasted outward. Krieg emerged, having used the explosives rigged inside his discarded armor to blow his way out of the debris.
"JIHAHAHA! I knew you'd crawl out of there!!" Shiki roared.
Anticipating his emergence, Shiki instantly manipulated the earth to create lions that lunged at Krieg from both sides. Krieg reacted by hurling the two swords from his belt at the stone beasts, then drew his remaining two blades in a flash.
"Twin Blade Slash... DOUBLE SEAGULL!!"
"JIHAHAHA! I've already seen that move before!!!" Shiki countered, laughing. "A thrust is useless if I just deflect the tips! LION SLASH WAVE!!"
Shiki swung his leg-sword and hand-sword upward from below, knocking Krieg's blades toward the sky.
"Guh!!"
"Now, DIE!! LION BITE: UNRIVALED BEAST BLADE!!!"
With the Sakura Ten on his left leg and the Kogarashi in his right hand, Shiki executed a pincer attack, the two legendary blades snapping shut like a lion's maw. Had it connected, Krieg would have been carved into pieces.
However...
"Hahaha!! I knew you'd adjust to that, too!!"
During his escape from the rubble, Krieg had tossed the White-Tailed Mace high into the air.
At that exact moment, the 10-ton weapon fell from the heavens, wedging itself perfectly between the two blades of the "Lion's Bite."
With a twist of his wrist, Krieg used the falling momentum to knock both of Shiki's swords aside.
"What?! Impossible!!"
Krieg didn't waste a second. He grabbed Shiki's left wrist, swept his legs, and slammed the legend onto the ground. Pressing his right hand firmly against Shiki's torso, he grinned.
"Hey, Golden Lion... you ever heard of an Impact Dial?"
"...JIHAHAHA!! That's your trump card!? You think a toy like that works on me now? What a joke!!"
"Too bad. This one's ten times stronger."
"Jihaha... You don't mean—!!!"
"Bingo!! REJECT!!!!"
A shockwave powerful enough to sink a battleship was unleashed directly into Shiki's chest.
The Power of the Dial
In the world of the sky, there are shells used for everyday life called "Dials." Some store heat, some sound, some wind.
Among them is the Impact Dial, which stores and releases physical kinetic energy. For an average person, the recoil alone can be fatal.
Krieg had used its superior version: the Reject Dial.
It stores ten times the energy of an Impact Dial. Its power is absolute, capable of slaying even the most seasoned warriors in a single blow—but the recoil is equally devastating.
Krieg had remembered the existence of these Dials from his past-life knowledge and asked the Technical Division if they could source any "Reject" or "Jet" Dials.
Through some unknown connections, they had succeeded, and the prototype gauntlets had reached him just in time. He knew the recoil was dangerous, but he bet on his own densified muscles to survive the shock.
As his subordinates moved in to secure the unconscious Shiki, Krieg sat back, nursing an arm that felt like it had been through a meat grinder.
He pulled a "Calorie Friend"—a high-protein, high-calorie Marine ration—from his pouch and began to chew.
That Reject Dial is no joke.
He had managed to shunt some of the recoil through his legs into the ground, but for a second, he thought his arm was going to fly off.
I need more training to use that without nearly crippling myself, he thought, rubbing his throbbing shoulder.
Since he began restructuring his body with "Life Return," his energy consumption during serious combat had become monstrous.
He was starving. He wanted real meat, not a bar of compressed protein. He told his Lieutenant he was going for a "scout" and headed into the forest to hunt.
The Predator of Merveille
Merveille, the hidden paradise in the clouds, was home to many unique species. These animals had evolved into giants and monsters due to a specific plant—the IQ plant—which Shiki had planned to use to create a mutant army to crush the East Blue.
Krieg was humming to himself while looking at the strange flora when a tentacle suddenly whipped out from the trees. It wrapped around him, but Krieg simply tore it apart with raw strength. A giant octopus emerged from the foliage, hissing in pain and rage.
"An octopus in a forest? Well, whatever. It's not steak, but it'll do."
He parried and deflected the incoming tentacles with the White-Tailed Mace, closing the distance. He landed a massive overhead strike on the creature's head, but the rubbery flesh simply compressed.
"Hmph. Blunt force isn't very effective, is it?"
The head popped back into shape, and the tentacles came back even faster. Krieg leaped into the air, dodging the flurry.
"Rankyaku: Ono-Masakari!" (Storm Leg: Battle Axe)
He unleashed two powerful air-pressure slashes with a heel-drop motion, severing the tentacles. He followed up by thrusting the tip of the White-Tailed Mace directly into the octopus's brow and twisting the handle.
He jumped back, and the creature's movements slowed until it went completely limp. Krieg hacked off several large tentacles and carried them away. The body probably doesn't have much meat anyway, he mused.
His mace had a simple hidden mechanism: twisting the handle triggered a needle from the tip. The needle was coated with a refined paralytic toxin harvested from deep-sea jellyfish.
Since the needle emerged from the center of the Sea Prism stone tip, he suspected it might even be effective against Logia users.
He found a clearing, started a fire, and began roasting the octopus tentacles on improvised skewers. The savory aroma filled the air, and soon, an uninvited guest appeared.
Out of the brush stepped a bear—but not an ordinary one. It had innocent, round eyes contrasted by razor-sharp claws, long arms, and a black-and-white striped coat.
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