Chapter 1026: The Clash of Wills

Chapter 1026: Chapter 1026: The Clash of Wills

"You actually saw through my illusion?"

Catarina Devon lay half-prostrate on the ground, staring up at Gorbo in sheer disbelief.

"An illusion is just that, an illusion. It isn’t going to grant you teleportation," Gorbo said coolly. "Though, I wouldn’t call it ’seeing through.’ I simply vibrated the molecules in the air to flush you out."

Before he could finish, Gorbo snapped his head around and bellowed, "Who’s there?"

He lashed out with a punch, fierce, swift, and heavy with intent. Yet, the strike passed eerily through a cloaked figure, as if they were nothing more than a shadow.

BOOM—!

The residual shockwave slammed into a massive stone pillar a dozen meters away, snapping the thick column in two. The metal gargoyle perched on top immediately flapped its wings and took flight as the upper half of the pillar crashed to the floor, billowing clouds of dust.

"Nani?"

Gorbo frowned in shock, staring in disbelief at the black-robed figure whose chest he had just punched through.

"Heart-Plucking Claw!"

At that moment, the robed figure extended a claw with lightning speed, aiming straight for Gorbo’s heart.

SHING—!

Gorbo instinctively grimaced, stomping the ground and detonating backward to evade the strike. Still, his suit was shredded, leaving five deep lacerations across his chest.

The robed figure pressed the assault, launching a flurry of punches. They were a maddening blur of tangible impacts and phantom passes, keeping Gorbo entirely off-balance. He took several hits, unable to predict when the opponent’s intangible form would solidify for a strike.

It’s that mysterious black-robed figure who rescued Catarina Devon from the conference room. But what the hell is this ability?

Gorbo dodged continuously, feeling a sense of mounting frustration. Even with Armament Haki, he couldn’t pin down the opponent’s physical form. It was even more frustrating than fighting a Logia user.

THUD—!

Another heavy strike caught Gorbo, causing him to grunt and stagger back several steps.

Catarina Devon watched from the side with wide, incredulous eyes. Is this guy really this strong? He’s actually suppressing Gorbo!

After taking a few more hits, Gorbo began to piece together the mechanics of the ability. Solid... phantom... solid... phantom. He only manifests a physical form at the exact moment of his attack. I have to find the timing!

WHOOSH—!

Suddenly, a silver blur streaked in from the distance. With a shrill whistle, it slammed into the black-robed figure like a cannonball.

BOOM—!

The robed figure didn’t dodge, letting the blur pass through his intangible form before it crashed into the floor, gouging out a deep, head-sized crater.

"Rokushiki: Shigan!!!"

Almost instantly, the robed figure thrust his right index finger forward, reinforced with Armament Haki, piercing the air like a bolt of lightning.

Gorbo’s pupils constricted. He shifted his body to the right, but the finger still pierced through his shoulder.

In the next heartbeat, Gorbo slapped his hand down, seizing the figure’s right arm with a savage grin. "I’ve got you now!"

"Giant Martial Wave!!!"

Simultaneously, the muscles in Gorbo’s right arm bulged. He threw a fist the size of a mortar, the force so immense it seemed to harden the very air, creating a shockwave like a collapsing tidal wave.

"Oh no!"

The robed figure’s expression turned to horror. The incoming wind pressure felt like a wall of solid air, threatening to suffocate him.

WHAM—!

CRASH—!

In an instant, a black shadow was sent flying. It left a trail of sonic booms in its wake, shattering three ’Golden Mountains’ as it crossed two hundred meters in a heartbeat. It punched through the reinforced concrete wall like wet paper, burying itself deep into the subterranean bedrock.

The entire vault shuddered. A violent blast of air erupted, sweeping through the great hall like a hurricane.

"Hey, Gorbo, watch the collateral damage!" the Holy Angel, now hovering mid-air, scolded sternly.

"Save it, Gabriel. This place isn’t going to collapse that easily!"

Gorbo curled his lip and turned his body to face Catarina Devon, who had just scrambled to her feet. With a deafening rumble, the Manticore appeared behind her, sealing off her only path of retreat.

That wasn’t all. Every activated guard in the vault had been alerted. Whether they were standing watch at the doorways or rushing toward the hall as reinforcements, hundreds of stone and metal constructs began to swarm the area. ℴ

Watching the number of guards swell, and facing Gorbo alongside the two high-level constructs, Catarina Devon broke into a cold sweat. Her throat felt dry as she muttered, "You... you’ve got to be kidding me. I broke out of Impel Down... why would I be afraid of a place like this?"

Despite her words, the solemn look on her face and the lack of fighting spirit in her eyes betrayed the truth: she was very much afraid.

There was no helping it. That hunk of metal, the Manticore, would take an eternity to bring down. And the ’Holy Angel,’ Gabriel, small as he was, was indestructible, fast, and impossibly strong. Neither Darren’s iron-shattering blows nor her own blade-rending slashes had left a single scratch on it.

Why didn’t I listen to Daren and retreat when I had the chance? she wondered with a pang of regret.

"I’ve spent two-thirds of my time stationed here lately, just waiting for the two of you. And now..." Gorbo sneered, his eyes filled with terrifying murderous intent.

"Are you going to resist... or are you going to resist?"

...

Mirror World.

The sky was a sea of flames. A giant of fire wielded a massive blade of embers, locked in a fierce, cataclysmic struggle against a giant fireball that hung in the sky like a second sun.

The temperature in the Mirror World continued to climb. The air shimmered with distortion, and the ground and walls began to glow with heat.

"Golden Ring brat! No matter what your plans are, if I crush you here, the victory of this war remains mine!" Charlotte Linlin bellowed, her expression savage. She gripped her massive sword, Napoleon, and thundered forward, hurling a colossal wave of pink sword energy to her right.

BOOM—!

A terrifying pink slash tore across dozens of miles, carving a bottomless canyon into the vast Mirror World and shattering countless mirrors in its path.

"Old hag, keep dreaming!"

Aeridar’s entire body was coated in Armament Haki, gleaming with a metallic luster. Towering a head taller than Big Mom, he radiated a terrifying, demonic aura. He let out a feral roar.

"Impact: Daytime Tiger!!!"

ROAR—!

A translucent, white tiger surged across the earth, charging toward one of the Four Emperors, Charlotte Linlin.