Chapter 590: Black Light Phantom Wave
"Hmph! Join the demon clan? What nonsense," Andre said.
"I only have one idea right now…"
Facing Dark Night's invitation, Andre let out a disdainful snort.
He stepped forward and pulled back his hood and clothing.
Dark lines ran across the skin of the face beneath.
Proof that Andre was no longer human.
If ordinary magic pattern users can switch in and out of their magic pattern forms, then the demonized Andre existed in that state permanently.
His body had been changed forever.
If he advanced even further and became a pure demon species, even these magic lines would disappear entirely.
Andre opened his palms, eyes sharpened as he glared at Dark Night.
"That idea… is to wash away the shame of the past!!"
As his words fell, darkness erupted from his body, surging toward Dark Night like a tidal wave.
"You're actually trying to use darkness against me?" Dark Night said.
"Heehee…"
Andre's darkness crashed down like a storm, but it merely split and flowed around Dark Night, like an ocean current hitting a solid reef.
Dark Night didn't feel the slightest sense of danger.
He chuckled.
"Have you forgotten where your abilities came from?"
Andre's expression grew grim.
In the two years that had passed, he had become more mature, more oppressive, more dangerous.
"If you think this alone can restrain me… then stay here," Andre said.
Ho ho ho!!
A harsh roar shook the entire atmosphere.
As if responding to his own fighting spirit, Andre transformed directly into the human-beast form of King Crocodile.
His clothes tore, cold scales crawled across his face, and a wild, primal aura surged outward.
Black demonic energy billowed around him.
Peng!
The ground shattered as Andre launched himself toward Dark Night.
His fist tightened, filled with monstrous explosive power, and slammed forward toward the ghost's head.
RUMBLE!!
A massive burst of force erupted.
The shock wave blasted through the surrounding tunnel, splitting stone, throwing debris, shattering everything in its path.
Crew members of the Andre Pirates raised their arms to block the force; some activated their abilities to erect barriers.
"Back off. Andre's about to go all out," Hughes said.
"You're standing way too close."
The vice captain's voice remained calm.
Hearing him, the crew quickly retreated.
Even though they were all elite fighters, no one wanted to stand too close when a "god-level" clash erupted.
Once the others evacuated, Hughes tightened his grip on the saber at his waist with one hand.
He was ready to move at any moment.
Though he wasn't a magic pattern user, his powerful perception, formed from Observation Haki and the Mythical power within him, was being crushed under the overwhelming magic power of Dark Night.
This magic power was far beyond that of ordinary demon kings.
He had encountered other Nine Demon Kings before, but their magic didn't compare to Dark Night's.
There were only two explanations.
Either the previous Nine Demon Kings were weaker… or the Nine Demon Kings had become stronger.
And the second explanation was far more believable.
The growth rate of pure demon species was terrifying.
Their magic was perfectly refined, completely different from Andre's mixed, unstable magic.
Without a Demon King to compare against, it was hard to notice. But now that Hughes had a direct comparison, the difference was overwhelming.
And it also made clear why Andre's magic power had stagnated for half a year.
But this wasn't the time for Hughes to ponder deeply.
He needed to stay alert.
Even though the Nine Demon Kings were overwhelmingly strong, the Andre Pirates were no longer weak.
They finally had the power to resist.
But he couldn't be careless.
No one knew how many Demon Kings would appear during this Demon Hunting Ceremony.
Thankfully, Dark Night came alone, clearly indicating they were not the primary target.
That fact allowed Hughes to breathe a bit easier.
---
In the smoke at the heart of the battlefield, A shield made of intertwining black spectral hands was raised before Dark Night.
Ghost Hand Shield.
It had blocked Andre's attack cleanly.
Dark Night looked at Andre through the fingers of the spectral barrier.
His eerie voice echoed again.
"If this is all you have, I can't take you seriously."
"I can feel another power inside your body. Aren't you going to use it?"
"Tch…" Andre growled.
A complicated emotion flickered across his face.
He wasn't the type to hesitate when it came to power.
Now that he had obtained this strength, he intended to repay "that guy" properly one day.
He had always held that intention.
And he had already begun: Hughes successfully obtained the Mythical Beast Fruit of the Golden Toad thanks to Andre's efforts at Mythical Beast Island.
RUMBLE!!
A multi-ring sigil of gold and black lit up beneath Andre's clothes, directly over his chest.
His hair stood up.
Black demonic aura soared, streaked with flickering gold lightning.
The terrifying energy shook the terrain, the tunnels, the very air.
Powerful figures elsewhere in the magic mine could feel the disturbance.
"This power… yes. It's the Mythical power of Mythical Beast Island," Dark Night said.
He felt the fully unleashed energy and two red lights, his hidden eyes, lit up beneath the black hood.
"It seems you truly received divine favor from the Yamata God Orochimaru."
"What a fortunate man."
Andre's eyes flashed blood-red.
"Die, you disgusting bastard."
Dark energy swirled into Andre's hands.
A massive black light wave, streaked with gold, erupted forth, shredding the Ghost Hand Shield instantly.
BOOOOM!!
The explosion blasted out in a violent air wave.
"Not bad at all," Dark Night said calmly.
He was no longer standing where he had been.
Andre now had the qualifications to make him fight seriously.
"Not just 'not bad'!!" Andre roared.
As Dark Night dissolved into misty darkness, Andre burst forward with terrifying speed, chasing him like a shadow.
Both his palms slammed against Dark Night's dissolving form.
Black light sparked, tinged with threads of gold.
RUMBLE!!!
The blast carved a massive crater into the ground.
A roaring wave of compressed air shot down into the hole, then blasted upward again.
Andre had literally blown open the ground with raw force.
This was his newest technique, Black Light Mythical Wave.
The name might make people want to complain, but the destructive power was real.
During the months when his magic power stagnated, Andre hadn't been idle.
He had absorbed the essence of Hisoka's teachings during the Great Martial Era, combined it with common forms of Haki, and even incorporated Hasshoken principles from a country in West Blue.
Then, drawing from the Mythical Beast bomb of the Mythical Beasts, he fused Mythical power with Magic power, and created this move.
Rough, brutal, primitive, but incredibly destructive.
Simple is strong.
Brute force is power.
Bigger explosions are better.
That was Andre's philosophy.
From a pure brute force fighter, to a dark-powered magic pattern user, to this, Andre's style had finally stabilized.
Whether it would evolve again in the future…that was a matter for the future.
(End of this chapter)