Countless thorns erupted from the ground, spreading in all directions and even encroaching upon Robin and Gunko's battlefield.
Issho's body levitated briefly before landing securely beside Robin.
As his gravity manipulation shifted, both their bodies rose safely into the air.
This scene gave Sommers a moment of pause, but then he noticed the churning clouds turning red overhead.
The faint orange-red glow rapidly expanded until a massive meteor pierced right through the cloud layer, crashing down toward his position.
Gravity waves spread as the descending meteor compressed the air with immense pressure.
BOOM!
The meteor struck, instantly melting the ground upon impact.
Issho and Robin descended from the sky, landing gently back on the deck of their ship.
"Is it over?" Robin asked, surveying the destruction.
"No, I can still sense both their presences," Issho replied.
As he spoke, black arrows skimmed across the red-hot, scorched ground, shooting straight toward them.
Snap!
A barrage of arms created by Robin's ability, all coated in Armament Haki, quickly caught the incoming arrows.
At the other end of the ribbons, Gunko's mangled body rapidly regenerated, her clothing mysteriously restoring itself simultaneously.
"Hmm? It doesn't seem to be due to natural life force," Robin murmured softly upon seeing this anomaly.
"Leave it to me!" Issho said, tilting his head slightly toward the direction of Dressrosa's palace.
"Cyrus shouldn't take too long."
"He said he wanted to understand these people's immortality. Back at Mary Geoise, Cyrus mentioned his flames completely incinerated them, yet they still didn't die," Robin recalled, frowning as she thought of Gunko's bizarre regeneration.
"It shouldn't pose major problems for now," Issho stated before floating out toward the battlefield once again.
...
Whoosh!
Under the terrifying suppression of Conqueror's Haki, Shamrock's reactions slowed significantly.
Having entered his second stage—an unrestricted state where he no longer controlled his energy, stamina, or Haki consumption—Cyrus's power had increased dramatically in a sudden, overwhelming surge.
Clearly, Shamrock knew this was happening, but he simply couldn't adapt physically to the pressure.
A blade coated in Conqueror's Haki swept cleanly across Shamrock's neck.
Feeling the steel slice through his opponent's throat, Cyrus landed firmly, swinging his sword down decisively to clear the blood.
Intense flames erupted beneath Shamrock, completely engulfing his falling body.
"Dream Bubbles!" Killingham's voice rang out as dozens of peculiar bubbles flew toward Cyrus.
Black lightning erupted from Cyrus, completely shattering the incoming projectiles.
Another blinding flash of the blade, and the dragon-headed man was decapitated.
After these two fatal strikes, Cyrus didn't continue attacking, instead choosing to observe the changes occurring to both his opponents.
The two decapitated heads remained completely active, still capable of expressing emotions fluidly.
The dragon-headed man simply retrieved his head from the floor and placed it back on his neck with both hands.
Shamrock's situation, however, was far more peculiar.
The high-temperature flames actively burned his body, but the charred flesh rapidly regenerated from beneath his head.
This grotesque spectacle even made Doflamingo, watching from a distance, widen his eyes in absolute astonishment.
Cyrus's gaze swept over the two fully restored individuals, lingering particularly on Shamrock's clothing.
The flames had completely consumed both his body and his garments, yet now even the clothing had regrown intact.
'It's somewhat similar to a projection-like ability,' Cyrus thought, stroking his chin as Conqueror's Haki erupted from him once more.
The citizens of Dressrosa who had gathered at the palace, even while sleepwalking, collapsed one after another into true unconsciousness as the Conqueror's Haki swept through the area.
"Heh, useless!" Killingham, his head fully regrown on his neck, let out a mocking laugh.
The Nightmare Monsters previously unaffected by Cyrus's Conqueror's Haki turned and charged blindly toward the unconscious crowd.
"You're a Devil Fruit user!"
Almost as soon as Killingham's laughter escaped, Cyrus's left hand clamped securely around his neck.
The Armament Haki-infused arm tightened slightly.
"Even if you cut off my head, my ability won't disappear," Killingham struggled to speak through the chokehold.
"Then, as a Devil Fruit user, are you still afraid of Seastone?" Cyrus narrowed his eyes.
Sheathing his blade into the ground beside him, he produced a small bullet.
Upon seeing the projectile, Killingham's eyes bulged and he began to struggle violently.
But Cyrus's left hand was like an iron vise, gripping his slender neck so firmly that no amount of thrashing could break the hold.
'I'm an Awakened Zoan user!' Killingham inwardly panicked.
Whoosh!
Shamrock materialized beside Cyrus, his sword slashing viciously toward Cyrus's neck.
Simultaneously, the Three-Headed Hound lunged from the other side, seemingly intent on stopping Cyrus's next move.
"Useless!"
Clang!
As Cyrus spoke, Shamrock's blade struck his neck, producing a sharp metallic clang.
Armament Haki coated his skin, and without even glancing at Shamrock, Cyrus pressed the Seastone bullet directly against the bubble atop Killingham's head.
Pop.
The bubble burst as Cyrus forced the bullet against Killingham's forehead.
A scream erupted.
The searing pain made the knight shriek uncontrollably as Cyrus slowly, deliberately pressed the bullet deeper into his skull.
The monsters summoned by Killingham's ability from the realm of dreams silently dissipated the exact moment the Seastone bullet made contact with his forehead.
Boom!
The Three-Headed Hound lunging at Cyrus was sent flying by a Conqueror's Haki-infused kick.
"See? Effective." Cyrus released his left hand, and Killingham collapsed limply to the ground.
A Seastone bullet was now firmly embedded in his forehead, looking like a crimson third eye atop a dragon's head.
Brrrring!
As Cyrus gripped his sword and turned to face a bewildered Shamrock, the Den Den Mushi in his pocket rang.
Cyrus paused, retrieving the snail.
"Cyrus, what's happening in Dressrosa is being broadcast live to the world. This wasn't my doing. In this broadcast, you're shown brutally attacking Dressrosa and its citizens," Morgans's voice warned.
Hearing the news, Cyrus turned his gaze back toward Shamrock.
"It seems you have other preparations," Cyrus noted as he casually swung his blade.
The collapsed Killingham let out a piercing scream as one of his arms was severed and subsequently incinerated by flames.
The severed arm stubbornly continued to regenerate, but at a rate countless times slower than before.
'I can't completely erase it, but I can limit it. So it truly is an extension of a Devil Fruit ability?'
The condition of Killingham's body had already revealed much vital information.
Shamrock took a step back, holding his blade horizontally before his chest.
He looked up at the sky, and suddenly, a massive pentagram materialized beneath his feet.
Boom!
As the pentagram appeared, Cyrus materialized right before him, his blade sweeping horizontally to strike Shamrock squarely in the chest.
Shamrock's body bent backward, sent flying by the tremendous force, yet the glowing pentagram moved right along with his figure.