One Piece: Path to Power - Chapter 77

[2588 words]

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“First Descent: Empyrean.”

The distorted voice speaks.

—–

Zephyr was eyeing the mass of energy with a solemn expression.

He felt the air suddenly vibrate as Damien suddenly appeared beside him.

BAM!

A powerful punch mixing in red and black energy caves into the Vice Admiral’s stomach as he is sent flying back.

“Puah!” The marine vomits out some blood as he uses Seimei Kikan to fix the damage done.

.

*Whizzz*

The same scene repeats as the youth flashes behind the man and launches an extremely fast kick to Zephyr’s open back.

*Clang!*

Zephyr saw the attack coming as he hardened his back while using Tekkai for added endurance.

Yet with all that, the man still pushed forwards a few meters.

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“I guess you weren’t lying about your technique,” He says as his arms shine back.

*Purrup*

The red bubble once again wraps around his arms as they shine a dark crimson.

“Hah!” He yells as he dashes forwards and rams his fist into Damien’s chest, the Haki flowing out and into the Sin Incarnate’s chest.

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Damien digs his feet as he feels the internal destruction as he is sent back 6 meters.

*VWOOOM*

The young man extends one arm out as red energy wraps around it, forming a weapon.

[Crusher Configuration]

A large, crimson warhammer materializes in his hand as he grips it with both his left and right.

*Bang*

The ground blasts open as he dashes forth at great speed, twirling the hammer above his shoulder as he prepares to drive it down.

Zephyr sees the new attacks and responds.

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“Black Arm Suppression!”

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His Haki-clad right arm bubbles with Emission Haki as he too launches forth with great momentum.

BOOOOM!

A huge explosion follows as the hammer is brought down diagonally at the black fist of the marine, sending out vibrations into the nearby seas, generating large tides of water!

BAM!

Another shake of the earth ensues as Zephyr is shot back from the clash.

Yet leaving behind a warhammer that seems to break apart into red particles as it evaporates away.

‘I guess without a true metal holding my crushing energy it just can’t stand against Emission Haki, I’ll need a substitute for that…’ Damien calculates as he once again releases some of his fruit powers.

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*VWMMMM*

The air once again is ripped apart as another odd-shaped weapon forms in his arms.

The handle of a staff, the body of a broad sword with a double-clawed glaive-end forming a 10-foot tall weapon.

[Vanquisher Configuration]

Wasting no time, the youth launches forth towards the stunned marine, the sharp end of his weapon seething with a crimson mist of energy.

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The Vanquisher rages forth at Zephyr as it destroys the atmosphere.

The strength of the attack was greater than the previous attack as the Vice Admiral crossed both arms over his chest in a defensive stance.

*FWWWM*

A polished purple shines over both arms as the weapon drives into the center of the cross-defence.

BOOOOOM!

An explosion rattles the island to its very core as a huge road of earth is created from a marine launched hundreds of meters across the field.

.

Zephyr was blasted with so much power that he continued to roll and wheel across the land, hundreds of meters across as he neared a large obstruction.

Boom!

The Vice Admiral finally stops as he is embedded into a mountain, causing it to crack apart from his speed as large chunks of it fall to the grassy fields below.

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Not giving his opponent a chance to rest, Damien raises his left arm as it shakes the air from the pulverization energy generated around it.

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“Cataclysmic Current.”

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A distorted voice breaks out as a huge river of dark red energy is rocketed out from his palm, crushing, ripping and shredding all in its path.

*VWOOOO*

The current of energy was around 8 meters in diameter with enough power in it to easily crush apart a large hill.

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The river of red continues to rage on as it hits Zephyr’s body head-on as he is sent flowing with it and through the mountain itself!

There are 3 mountains within this range of earth as the Vice Admiral is sent through each, one by one, leaving behind a wide tunnel of destroyed land.

Three 380-meter tall mountains had been pierced through like a bullet going through paper!

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A few silent minutes pass as a quake ripples through the land.

Boom!

A shadow lands before Damien as he hums at it with slight exhaustion.

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“I must say, I underestimated you, boy.”

The Black Arm’s voice thunders out as he stands tall.

His marine coat was long shredded, leaving an open chest of pure muscle.

Yet within that concentrated mass of muscle were many bruises with purple blobs of skin throughout.

The man’s face was bleeding under the right eye yet his arms were perfectly fine.

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Damien’s crooked mouth seems to smile as he says, “I would be disappointed if that was all you had, I’m glad to see that that was not the case.”

The Vice Admiral wipes away the blood from his face as he grins.

*FWWWWWM*

A melody of metal erupts as the bloodied chest churns as it is covered in a thick layer of Haki, the entire marine’s body was shined a purple hue as it stood tall casting a shadow upon the ruined lands.

The master Armament Haki user had fully encased himself in a black!

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“Let us begin the third round.”

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[With the Clone]

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Damien’s clone was currently with Aurora as they were venturing through the ruined castle.

Yet every few instances, shockwaves would ripple through the air, making the girl grow slightly worried.

“Will you be alright?” She asked.

“Rahaha! All is well, it seems Zephyr is finally about to become serious.”

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She nodded and then walked ahead, still tired from the earlier injuries.

“Right through here…”

—

Aurora continues to lead the Sin Incarnate’s clone through the Night Realm and into the decrepit halls of the catacombs as dust falls from the ceiling from the clash occurring not so far away.

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30 minutes pass as the 2 stand before the blue stone.

Damien’s clone concentrates his hearing upon the Poneglyph as he starts hearing the voice.

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A few minutes pass as he breaks out into a shocked smile.

“How interesting…”

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[Back to Plum Island]

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A fully Haki-clad Zephyr stands before the mass of black and red as the 2 launch forth once more.

BOOOM!

The 2 bodies collide as ripples of energy are sent out as they push back with great momentum.

Damien was using a new variant of his fist attack.

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“All Vanquish!”

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“Black Arm Expulsion!”

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A huge inferno dances around Damien’s attack as Zephyr seems to punch and break down all before him.

BOOOOOOOM!

The two finally clash as mind-numbing explosions rattle the air.

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“Augh!” Damien grunts as he feels his attack weakening from the Emission elements.

Boom!

His doubts proved true as he was shot back, much like the previous collision but with opposite results.

*Bang*

The youth is nailed into a large hill behind as he immediately jumps out.

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*Drip* *Drip*

A few droplets of blood drip out from his crooked mouth as he cracks his body to heal the damage.

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Damien shakes his head and cracks his shoulder and continues his assault.

“I’d like to see how you survive this.” He says.

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With that said, the boy slams both palms together as the energy whirling around him starts to explode out, sending out a shockwave that reduces all land nearby to rubble.

Boom!

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The land is broken as a huge red figure materializes behind Damien.

It was at least 50 meters tall as its wings span an equal amount across the destroyed land.

It was mostly black in colour but with a pulsing red underbelly as it came to life.

Its blazing eyes come to life as it glares at the Admiral Candidate with uncontrolled rage.

“RAAAAWR!”

The crimson dragon cries out as it gazes upon the Haki-clad marine, causing him to squint his eyes with a solemn expression.

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Not waiting for the youth to attack, Zephyr flexes out both arms in front of him, his right arm is about 20 cm above his left, both facing inwards.

The air ripples around his arms as it seems to form a canon of sorts.

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Damien had finished prepping his attack as he unleashes the beast behind him.

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“Advent of Chaos!”

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“RAAAAAAWR!” The dragon wails in rage as it flaps forth sending out tornados as it rushes on ahead.

The ground under Zephyr’s feet quakes and shakes as a huge shaking field is created.

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“Absolute Radius: Rokuogan!”

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[A/N: His Attack – Image]

BOOM!

The air is utterly demolished as the Vice Admiral launches the secret technique of the Rokushiki that combines all 6 styles into 1 single ultimate attack.

And it wasn’t a simple amalgamation of the Rokushiki but instead displayed by a man who had fully mastered the technique, taking it to a level beyond Damien’s comprehension!

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BOOOOOOOOOOM!

An island-totalling blast is sent out in all directions as a 300-meter wide crater forms under the 2 attacks.

The Dragon continues to rage forth with unstoppable momentum as the Rokugan attack creates an unbreakable counter.

Such contradictory attacks send out enough energy to generate a 150-meter high tsunami beyond the island.

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BOOOOM!

The attacks finally give in as a final shockwave is sent out from their surrender.

Sparks of black lightning strike around Damien as a clear shine of purple reflects the evening sunlight.

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“Haaah, Huuuh, Haah,” Damien was exhaling a ton of air as his body was gasping for air.

Zephyr was not much better, his body, though clad in Haki, was dripping with fresh blood as it dyed the ground an eerie red.

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“Rahaha… that was pretty good,” Damien says in a tired voice as his body starts to heal, yet unable to replenish the lost energy.

The Vice Admiral catches his breath, “Indeed, your body is no less as absurd as that boy Kaido’s. Honestly, what do you two even eat?”

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“I say, it’s time we end this…” Damien says as he once again regains his former stance, though with far less stamina.

“Indeed.”

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More than a day had passed since the start of their fight.

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[With the Clone]

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‘To think I would find the key to one of my greatest problems, how convenient.’ The clone thinks in his head as he finishes reading the text on the blue Poneglyph.

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“Now, time to jet,” He says as he starts walking out, the purple-eyed girl following closely behind.

——-

[30 Minutes Later]

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The clone was about to leave the island but then recalled something.

‘Since a marine base is sitting so close without any real guardians, I might as well take care of it for them. Perhaps I can find some devil fruits and weapons in there.’ He smiles like a real thief.

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“Aurora dear, let’s go rob some marines.” He says as they continue in the Night Realm, never to be noticed by the weak forces that remain.

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[Back on Plum Island]

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The decision had been reached to end the duel with one final attack.

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Damien needed to leave as he didn’t need marine reinforcements to arrive, it had already been 28 hours since they began their fight.

As for Zephyr, though he had moved the fight to an evacuated island, his opponent was far stronger than expected and the shockwaves released would have generated disastrous tides which would leave many injured and dead at nearby islands.

Not something he could allow to persist.

.

Damien reforms his Vanquisher blade as its crimson blades shine in the air.

He then raises it into the sky, well above his head.

*FWOOO*

It cuts the air as red energy swirls 30 centimeters above the red blades and gathers to form a red sphere that grows every second.

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Zephyr sees his actions and commences his own.

He goes back into his Rokuogan as his body now adds in a red bubble of Emission Haki around his clenched fists.

This time the shaking caused by the attack was not only quaking the ground but also sending out pulses of force that began to lift rubble all around into the sky.

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“Absolute Radius: Rokujuougan!” (sixty king gun)

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BOOM!

*FWOOO*

A huge blast of silver energy made from aligning all 6 Marines Techniques and Ryou Haki rushes out as it blazes its way towards the mass of black and red, erasing the air around it.

This was a feat no other marine could do, to get the ultimate skills of the Rokushiki and combine it with Advanced Armament Haki would require absurd mastery levels, only a level reached by Black Arm Zephyr!

—

As for Damien’s attack, the once small red sphere above Damien’s Vanquisher had now grown to around 10 meters in diameter.

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It was a red ball of pure pulverization energy as it rippled through and crushed all space around it, forcing void to fill in.

The ball simply floated above Damien as he saw Zephyr’s raging attack, illuminating the surrounding plains with a red glow.

‘He mixed Emission Haki into his Six King Gun, amazing.’ He exclaimed in his head while smiling.

The floating sphere of crimson energy starts howling at the dense energy causes the air to explode within a hundred meters as Damien utters,

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“Red Sun!”

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[A/N: Damien’s attack.]

With his words echoing out, he brings down the blade and points it towards the squatting Vice Admiral as the ball of radiated red energy responds and flows forth with infinite speed.

Damien then also rushes out as the Red Sun races ahead of him.

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His attack smashes upon Zephyr’s attack while Damien brings down his Vanquisher upon the ball of pulverization energy, driving it forth and onto the Vice Admiral.

Sparks of black lightning rain around the red sun as it spins while everything within 300 meters was nothing but small cubes due to this attack.

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BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

A grand explosion lights up the entire island as a red dawn is brought forth, shining in full glory as it rained down hues of crimson to the islands nearby.

If one were to look from afar, they would see a silver orb pushing a crimson one as it seemed to cover the entirety of Plum Island.

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BOOOOM!

A secondary explosion resounds and echoes through the destroyed lands as the battle concludes with an epic flash of red and silver.

*FWOOOOOOOOOO*

The air howls as the final slivers of energy ripple through and settles down once more.

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A 200-meter tall tsunami rages through the seas as it rains down upon Amethyst Kingdom’s walls. Only after the first tsunami had finally stopped.

The great walls were cracked from the first tide, but the latest one is like an unstoppable force meeting a glass wall, causing it to shatter as the water floods in.

—

At Plum Island, the situation was worse.

The usual lush forest and gentle grass had been decimated as all the remains were broken mountains and wasted plains.

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“Haaaah, Huuuuh, Haaaaah,” Deep breaths echo the destroyed earth near the huge crater.

Damien’s Empyrean Form had run out of juice as his Count’s Regal Attire was slowly reforming over his bloodied and broken body, cracks of bones were heard as they were put back into place.

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Across from the Sin Incarnate was the bloodied body of the Vice Admiral with ripped skin and broken bones, unconscious and in terrible condition.

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Black Arm Zephyr had been defeated.

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[The following is excluded from word count]

Author’s Corner:

I didn’t post trivia before as it would interrupt the flow for those binge-reading.

Damien had learned just how difficult it is to defeat Yonko-Level opponents without Emission Haki and will venture to Wano in 3-4 chapters.

Btw, the Ponelglyph’s contents will be revealed soon as will remedy a big problem he will face.

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Random Trivia:

Would you rather lose the ability to use GPS for the rest of your life or lose the ability to use a credit card?

Thanks for Reading!