The time rewinds to one day prior.
Aeridar was still on Dressrosa, enjoying a leisurely vacation with Doflamingo.
Their cooperation had been proceeding smoothly. Aeridar leveraged Doflamingo's connections, and Doflamingo leveraged Aeridar's wealth. Especially after the Battle of Aznat Island, relying on the reputation gained from defeating Shiki the Golden Lion and Duke Caesar, their business had become increasingly prosperous, and their collaboration had grown closer.
It must be said that, provided he had sufficient strength, Doflamingo was an excellent business partner.
Pere pere pere… Pere pere pere…
The Den Den Mushi on the round table beside Aeridar was ringing.
Click.
"Moshi Moshi, it's me." Aeridar raised an eyebrow and picked up the call.
"King, I have a piece of news that might interest you." A voice filled with amusement came through the Den Den Mushi.
"Oh? What news would make you call me personally, Umit?" Aeridar asked in a bored tone.
Indeed, the one on the other end of the Den Den Mushi was one of the Kings of the Underworld, "Deep-Sea Currents" Umit, who commanded the New World's maritime shipping industry.
"Naturally, it's an 'important' piece of news. I encountered former members of your Kingdom's royal family," Umit said unhurriedly.
Hearing this, a subtle curve appeared on Aeridar's lips, and a remarkably sunny smile spread across his face. "Wow! That truly is important and surprising news! Well done, Your Excellency the Shipping King!"
.....
Present.
"I wouldn't say I have a hand over everything, but you people certainly are full of surprises. I finally caught you. It wasn't a wasted trip after all!"
Aeridar licked his lips and grinned malevolently. "It seems you've also received some information. What do you say? Is my previous offer still valid? Do you want to tell me who the mastermind of your organization is, Benson Dasco?"
'What do we do? What do we do?'
Looking at the man before him, Benson's heart was anxious, bordering on despair.
If it were a typical top-tier powerhouse, they would have a chance to escape by rushing to the port and boarding a ship. But in the presence of this man, even a lucky escape to a ship would only lead to a faster death.
High-speed flight! Instantaneous movement! Coupled with powerful shockwaves and devastating close combat, he was practically invincible. Unless they possessed a unique ability like Mando, the fate of weaker opponents was entirely in the hands of this man.
"You're thinking about how to escape, aren't you?"
Aeridar approached step by step, baring his teeth in a smile. "Do you think it's possible? At this distance, even if that shifty Black Ghost were to show up right now, I'd still be confident in taking one or two of you down."
Rumble, rumble, rumble…
"Bastard Aeridar!"
Suddenly, a roar full of fury erupted. Bowen the Minotaur, who had smashed through several house walls in succession, reappeared, raising his metal great axe and charging at Aeridar.
"Perfect timing!"
Enraged by Aeridar's arrogant words and seeing his comrade arrive, Genno immediately clenched his fist and smashed it toward Aeridar's head.
BAM!
Aeridar smirked dismissively. He extended one hand, and a ring of pure force instantly spread out, effortlessly blocking Genno's fist, which was bigger than a cooking pot.
"Get lost, big lug!"
Aeridar kicked out with lightning speed, sweeping his leg into Genno's chest.
Thud!
With a single muffled sound, Genno was sent flying tens of meters away, as if he had been struck by a sea train. He crashed into the ground and slid backward for over ten meters.
"Die! Cold Stream: Frost World!!!"
At this moment, Benson placed his hands on the ground. Whisps of cold air leaked out. Centered on his hands, a chilling white frost rapidly spread outward, and the temperature plummeted drastically.
In a matter of a few breaths, the area for hundreds of meters around was frozen in a white, snowy expanse, as if winter had suddenly arrived.
"Hahaha! Well done, Benson-sama!"
Bowen rushed forward in huge strides. He was ecstatic, seeing Aeridar turned into a human ice sculpture. He raised the colossal axe in his hand and brought it down in a cleaving motion.
Whoosh…
BOOM!
The giant axe ripped through the air and struck the ground heavily. A mighty force erupted, shattering the bricks and stones. The earth was instantly torn open, creating a deep fissure over a hundred meters long.
However, neither Bowen nor Benson wore the joyous expression from before.
"Bowen! Behind you!" Benson's eyes widened, and he shouted an urgent warning.
"Are you looking for me?"
A familiar voice that filled Bowen with dread echoed from behind him.
'Oh no!'
The two words barely formed in Bowen's mind when a ghostly figure silently appeared behind him.
Instinctively, Bowen twisted his waist and swung his great axe backward.
But he was still too late. As Aeridar spoke, he had already swept his foot across Bowen's waist.
BAM!
Bowen felt a heavy impact, his upper and lower body practically bending into a 'U' shape. With a swoosh, he was sent flying sideways.
Rumble, rumble…
Smashing through seven or eight houses in succession and kicking up a sky-full of dust, Bowen flew at least several hundred meters away.
"Bastard! Cold Breath!!!"
Benson's eyes were bloodshot. He furiously sprayed out large swathes of chilling white air, which instantaneously froze the earth.
"Hmph. Boring!"
Aeridar let out a cold, dismissive laugh, looking at the cold air spraying down from mid-air. He then clasped his hands together, and a terrifying force of impact, centered on him, erupted in all directions with no blind spots. This powerful shockwave acted like a repelling force, pushing away everything in its vicinity.
Super Shinra Tensei!!!
BOOM!
Rumble!
Rumble! Rumble! Rumble!
As if an unrivaled, world-shattering force had been unleashed, the air shook, the earth churned, bricks and stones pulverized, and massive amounts of dirt flew out. The ground instantly collapsed and sank, mixing with countless dust and debris to form a colossal, earthy-yellow air current tens of meters high that rapidly spread outwards.
"No!"
Benson's eyes were wide with terror. He tried to run backward.
But how fast and violent was this impact force? Before he could run even a few dozen meters, Benson was swept up, along with Genno, by the wall of air current that resembled a castle wall.
From an aerial view, one could clearly see an invisible, terrifying force constantly expanding outward, like a newly formed field of repulsion, violently tearing away all the houses, dirt, people, and livestock within its range.
The surrounding ground shook violently. In just ten or so breaths, amidst the rumbling roar, more than half of the town was affected, turning into a barren wasteland, forming a concave depression, a gigantic crater with a diameter of nearly ten kilometers, as if it had been struck by a massive meteorite.
After a long while, the shaking of the ground ceased, and the smoke-like dust dissipated.
A horrifying sight emerged: a gigantic crater, resembling a meteorite impact, now dominated the town. More than half of the town had vanished, leaving only a white, barren expanse.
The massive crater was divided into two concentric rings. The innermost circle was about two to three kilometers in diameter and descended to a depth of over thirty meters from the normal ground level. The outer ring was still seven or eight meters deep.