"Hey! Rocks!!" Charlotte Linlin looked up at the screaming Rocks above. His state was clearly wrong!
Roger, Garp, Newgate, and Kaido all temporarily stopped their argument, looking at Imu in astonishment.
Imu's tattered giant shadow slowly repaired itself, emitting a deep, dangerous aura.
At this moment, everyone's attention was drawn to the gradually recovering Imu, and they completely failed to notice the changes in Rocks.
Roger gripped Ace tightly, his brow furrowed as he said, "That spider... did the attack just now not work?!"
He had seen with his own eyes Rocks being hit by two black spikes, after which he had turned into this state.
"What... what kind of monster is this?" Newgate's expression was grave.
In the air, Rocks' body trembled violently as his fangs were bared. He was enduring unimaginable pain and corrosion.
"Arghhh—!! Get... out of me!!!"
Dark red Conqueror's Haki erupted from within Rocks! The dark red Conqueror's lightning crackled, resisting Imu's control.
"Truly... tenacious..." Imu's consciousness rippled through, still calm, yet with a hint of clear "surprise."
"Don't... underestimate... humans! Monster!!" Rocks squeezed a roar through his teeth. Although his body was mutating and his reason was sinking, the fire in his eyes had not yet completely gone out.
He suddenly looked up, his bloodshot eyes staring fixedly at Imu's two points of crimson light, a hideous and crazed smile pulling at his face:
"Davy D. Jones... this name makes you very uncomfortable, doesn't it, old monster?!"
Imu's giant shadow seemed to pause slightly.
"This is... the name of the former 'king of the world' from eight hundred years ago!!" Rocks roared out these words,
"Your throne, your Order, was built on betrayal and theft from the very beginning!!!"
[Nonsense!]
For the first time, Imu's consciousness showed a clear emotional fluctuation. It was a cold fury at having the core secret and a sore spot touched,
[That fellow... never became king! Not for a single instant!! He was nothing more than a madman who tried to shake the world!! The grudge between Mu and Davy... has nothing to do with you!]
"Nothing to do with me?!" Rocks laughed wildly, his mouth splitting open to reveal snow-white fangs, "Then what are you afraid of?! It's just the name 'Davy' that vanished eight hundred years ago!!"
"You've been afraid all along, haven't you?! Afraid that Davy's will hasn't been completely wiped out! Afraid that in this cursed bloodline, that will of rebellion and freedom will be inherited! Afraid that one day, someone will stand up and fulfill that 'promise' you buried!!"
He paused, the corners of his mouth curling into a frantic smile:
"Which side... are you more afraid of? Is it Davy D. Jones, who swore to subvert your Order and fight you for the world?! Or is it the legendary Joy Boy—who is meant to bring laughter and liberation to the world and overturn all privileges!!!"
[...]
Imu fell into a brief silence. The two points of crimson light flickered sharply, showing inner turmoil. Then came a cold thought:
[Stop dreaming! That kind of person... will never appear a second time!]
[As long as you all... disappear here completely! Along with that damn surname and those delusions...!]
As if to emphasize, or perhaps to crush Rocks' final will to resist, Imu changed the subject, speaking in a cold, controlling tone:
Davy (referring to Rocks)... Mu has found... "excellent soldiers."]
[A race of giant size and powerful strength... yet simple-minded, harmless, and lost...]
Rocks' hideous expression suddenly stiffened as an ominous guess surfaced in his mind. He hissed a roar:
"The Giant Race?! You bastard—!! Don't touch Harald!! That guy is hoping for peace!"
Imu said coldly:
[This is an unprecedentedly good opportunity... there will never be a king so easy to manipulate.]
"Hey—!!" Rocks still wanted to roar, still wanted to struggle, but the power of "black corrosion" within his body was like a bursting flood, suddenly smashing through the final line of defense built by his Haki!
"Argh—!!!" Rocks let out a shrill howl that didn't sound human. The last glimmer of reason in his eyes was like a candle in the wind, suddenly extinguished, turning completely into a murky, pale white filled with tyrannical killing intent!
[Just like... you are now.] Imu pronounced coldly,
[Act now... exterminate the "dream of Davy"...!]
The final invasion was complete!
"Voom—!"
A terrifying aura, like an invisible storm, centered on the completely blackened Rocks and swept across the entire God Valley battlefield!
Under everyone's horrified gaze, the struggling, bat-winged figure in the sky suddenly stopped screaming, stiffened for a moment, and then fell straight down from mid-air!
Boom!!!!!
A huge crater was smashed into the ground, rubble and dust soared into the sky, and intense vibrations spread all around.
"Eh?! Rocks?!" Charlotte Linlin stepped forward a few paces,
"What happened to you?! What exactly happened up there just now?!"
She looked at the figure shrouded in dust in the pit, her heart filled with an ominous premonition.
Because she didn't understand Imu's bizarre mental control ability, she subconsciously thought that Rocks' appearance might be due to some Devil Fruit he had eaten.
However, from within the deep pit, only heavy breathing came out, without any response.
Rocks (the last bit of consciousness remaining inside, like a drowning person sinking into the deep sea): 'Damn... body... can't move... consciousness... is going to disappear... Alice... Teach...'
The dust cleared slightly.
Charlotte Linlin walked to the edge of the pit and looked down, her purple eyes instantly freezing.
At the bottom of the pit, a hideous figure taller than her was slowly rising from a crouch.
His muscles were bulging and twisted. That face once full of dominance was now covered by terrifying demonic fangs and distorted sinew. His eyes were left with only the pale whites, churning with boundless tyranny and killing intent.
The pair of huge black bat wings on his back were fully unfolded, with wisps of black gas flowing from the edges, looking like a torn night sky.
This was no longer the Rocks she knew.
This was a... demon that had walked out of the deepest nightmare, knowing only slaughter!
[Use those hands... to exterminate the davy clan!]
Imu's command was directly branded into the depths of Rocks' mind.
[The people in this God Valley...]
[Kill them... all!!]
"Roar—!!!!"
Receiving the "command," the Demon Rocks suddenly threw his head back and let out a world-shaking roar!
Substantial killing intent mixed with distorted Conqueror's Haki, forming a dark red shockwave that spread out!
His pale white "gaze" slowly turned, locking onto the weakest person present, Kaido.
------------------------
I've posted 70+ chapters in advance on Patreon.
Webnovel updates will still be daily, as usual.
It might not seem tempting right now but who knows what the future holds?
[email protected]/SolyuraMT
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"