A blood-red aura coiled around Bege's entire body, waves of utterly savage energy pulsing outwards.
This was the second secret art of his Fierce Beast Sword Style, comprehended after awakening his Conqueror's Haki – Beast King.
A Fierce Beast slash infused with Conqueror's Haki, it was five times stronger than his previous Ten Beasts Ascending Dragon state.
"Mad Tiger, today's the day you die," Bege snarled, his eyes bloodshot, his mind consumed by violent killing intent. He stomped, shattering the ground beneath him, and became a crimson blur streaking through the air. In an instant, he was before Simon, the Fire Cloud Sword blazing with ferocious flames as he brought it crashing down.
Simon swung his own blade to block. As their swords collided, he was forcefully knocked back once again.
"Die!" Bege roared, the blood-red aura around him intensifying further. Flames erupted from the Fire Cloud Sword, and a dragon's roar seemed to shake the heavens.
Faced with Bege's demonic slash, Simon felt an unnerving sense that he couldn't possibly block it. He knew dodging was impossible; meeting it head-on was his only choice. Unleashing his full strength, he gripped his sword tightly and slashed forward with his most powerful strike.
"We'll see who dies!"
The two blades crashed together instantly, the colossal impact echoing across the small island. The exploding flames swept outwards in all directions. Both men were violently thrown back by the immense force, and an even more powerful shockwave blasted them further apart, sending them slamming onto the fractured earth.
Hundreds of meters of ground were shattered and scorched.
On the devastated terrain, two figures lay collapsed.
Bege spat out a mouthful of blood and staggered to his feet, his expression grim. The Beast King secret art was incredibly powerful, but he couldn't use it many times. Each activation drained an enormous amount of his stamina and mental energy.
Gazing down at Simon in the distance, a wild, triumphant grin spread across Bege's face. He gripped his sword in one hand and began walking towards his downed opponent, step by step.
Simon's condition was far worse. He coughed up several mouthfuls of blood, his face deathly pale. Gritting his teeth fiercely, he struggled to push himself up from the ground.
Blood covered his face, dripping down and blurring his vision.
"Still got any fight left in you?" Bege swung his sword at Simon. The Vice Admiral barely managed to block the blow. Bege's slashes became faster and faster, making it increasingly difficult for Simon to defend.
But just then, a figure approached Bege at extreme speed. Bege's expression froze; he quickly raised his sword to defend. A ferocious slash slammed into him, sending him flying back dozens of meters, tumbling over ten times before skidding to a halt.
Bege coughed up more blood as he forced himself up, only to see White Lion Brent standing beside Mad Tiger Simon. His face stiffened.
Brent's opponent was Moria. If he was here now, did that mean Moria had been defeated?
As if on cue, a massive figure came stumbling from the distance, then collapsed face-first onto the ground with a heavy thud.
It was Moria.
He was covered in blood, gruesome wounds crisscrossing his body, weeping crimson.
Moria pulled his head out of the dirt, his expression filled with guilt as he looked towards Bege. "Sorry, Bege… I lost."
Having said his piece, Moria lost consciousness.
White Lion Brent truly lived up to his former reputation as an Admiral candidate. Even though his strength had declined due to past injuries, his combat experience was exceptionally vast. If he hadn't seen Simon struggling against Bege and decided to intervene, forcing an exchange of injuries to take Moria down quickly, he could have defeated Moria with much less effort.
"Are you alright?" Brent helped Simon to his feet.
Simon stubbornly shook his head, though his wounds were already healing at a visible rate.
"Zoan Fruit users at their peak are just monsters. Their recovery speed is insane," Bege muttered, frowning as he watched Simon and Brent.
Both Vice Admirals were users of Ancient Zoan Devil Fruits, and they had developed their abilities to a very high level, granting them abnormal healing capabilities.
Simon's tone was ice-cold. "We kill him together. He must die."
"Even if it costs me my life, we will end him here."
Brent nodded, his expression impassive. A pirate who had nearly killed a top Marine Vice Admiral, especially one so young, posed an unimaginable threat to the Marines. As a veteran Vice Admiral, he understood the danger pirates like Bege represented better than anyone. Elimination was imperative.
The two Vice Admirals attacked simultaneously, rushing towards Bege.
Bege's eyes glinted with even greater ferocity as he charged forward to meet them. Three figures blurred across the battlefield, rapidly closing the distance. Just as they were about to collide, all three suddenly vanished.
The next moment, a violent gale erupted, the immense force shocking the surroundings. The wind tore across the ground, ripping away the top layer of earth – it was a storm of sword energy.
One storm followed another in rapid succession. The figures of the three combatants flickered back into view as they engaged in a furious clash.
Suddenly, Simon was sent flying backward. Then, a savage wound appeared on Bege's body, courtesy of Brent's blade.
Ignoring his injury, Bege continued to trade blows with Brent, their swords becoming blurs, clashing violently in mid-air, sparks flying like fireworks.
"Just die already!" Bege roared, eyes wide with fury, and sent Brent flying with a powerful slash. But his own aura weakened noticeably, and his breathing grew ragged.
Brent spat out a mouthful of blood, his gaze towards Bege turning even colder.
"His state is deteriorating. A little longer, and we can finish him."
Brent shot forward again, lunging towards Bege.
Simon gritted his teeth and charged back into the fray, joining Brent against Bege.
Working together, one attacking high, the other low, they overwhelmed Bege. He couldn't launch any offense, forced entirely onto the defensive, and found it increasingly difficult to parry their blows. Brent's slashes, in particular, consistently overpowered him.
Schlick!
Brent's sword slashed across Bege's chest. Both his Armament Haki and Castle Skin shattered, leaving a massive, bleeding gash.
Not backing down, Bege swung his sword and struck Brent, drawing another spray of blood from the Vice Admiral. But in the same instant, Brent kicked Bege, sending him flying back over ten meters.
"Hahahaha! Capone Bege, you're finished!" Simon roared, dragging his heavily injured body up and charging towards Bege once more.
"Captain!" From the distant parts of the battlefield, Riki, Modi, and the others saw Bege's dire situation. Their faces filled with fury and alarm, they desperately wanted to go help him.
But their opponents blocked them relentlessly.
Riki was slashed by his adversary, leaving another huge wound on his body.
The three Vice Admirals fighting Modi, Riki, and the giants Dorry and Brogy were incredibly strong, keeping them suppressed. They could barely protect themselves, let alone assist Bege. The other crew members were similarly pinned down by the six Rear Admirals and the remaining officers, unable to break free.
As Simon closed in, Bege struggled back to his feet. His ice-cold, bloodshot eyes held a terrifying glint of madness that made even Simon shudder involuntarily.
"Want to kill me? You're not worthy," Bege grinned savagely. A castle gate opened on his chest, and streams of shadows flew out.
Once free, the shadows panicked, trying to escape. But no matter how they struggled, they couldn't move more than five centimeters away from Bege's body.
This was the maximum range of Bege's Castle-Castle Fruit control; beyond this distance, he couldn't command the shadows without Moria's help.
"Brent, kill him! Quickly! Don't let him absorb the shadows!" Simon's face filled with terror as he recalled Bege's shadow-amalgamation state from two years prior. He launched himself forward at maximum speed.
Brent's expression changed drastically as he, too, burst forward with his fastest speed.
Bege watched them approach with a ferocious grin. Castle gates cracked open all over his body. Inside each gate, his men pushed forward enormous ballistae.
As Brent and Simon closed in, Bege's men fired rapidly. Huge crossbow bolts shot outwards. Upon leaving the five-centimeter range of Bege's body, they instantly returned to their original, massive size, raining down on the two Vice Admirals.
Brent and Simon dodged frantically, slashing apart the giant arrows. But in those few crucial seconds, Bege had absorbed all the shadows.
His body rapidly expanded, swelling to twice its previous size. The savage aura radiating from him grew exponentially more terrifying. His blood-red eyes looked down upon Simon and Brent, and under that intense gaze, both Vice Admirals felt a primal fear creep into their hearts.
"This," Bege declared, his voice booming, "is my ultimate state— Demon Beast!"