‘Fallen Angel El!?’
In mere moments, a t, scarred man in his forties stood by the shore, his eyes log onto a rapidly approag figure. His pupils shrank, and cold sweat trickled down his fabsp;
Instinctively, he reached for the katana at his side, muscles tensing as his guard shot up.
“Should I call you ‘Gale Swordsman’ Baris Frank…”
El nded on the beach, his fiery aura bzing. Gripping his halberd, he poi directly at the man.
“…or the future Gale Admiral?”
Baris Frank’s expression shifted as he processed the taunt. His eyes widened with disbelief.
“You’re here because of that?”
He couldn’t believe it. The Wover’s offer had been a closely guarded secret. Yet, somehow, the Fallen Angel Pirates had uncovered it.
Their intelligework clearly surpassed anything he had imagined.
“What do you think?”
El exuded an aura of dominance, his gaze sharp and cold.
“I don’t believe the Wover will sit idly by while the Fallen Angel Pirates grow. They won’t let the Totto Land Kingdom establish itself.
“Rather than allow them to bolster their ranks with someone like you, it’s better to strike preemptively and eliminate a potential admiral.”
Baris Frank gritted his teeth, his grip tightening on the hilt of his katana.
“From a pirate’s perspective, that’s a logical move,” he admitted.
Though apprehensive of El’s formidable presehe seasoned swordsman’s eyes glimmered with a mix of caution and burniement.
As a master swordsman, fag such a powerful adversary was a rare privilege.
“The famed katana 'Gale'…”
El’s eyes sed Frank’s nizing it instantly as one of the legendary 21 Great Grade Bdes. Its illustrious reputation preceded it. Frank’s skill made him more than worthy of wielding such a on; his fame wasn’t just for show.
Frank lifted the katana. His tone bristled with resolve.
“Then allow me to test the swordsmanship of the world’s most notorious criminal!”
The air grew tense as battle seemed iable.
“Hmph. Let’s see if you’re worthy.”
El’s expression remained impassive, his imposing figure unwavering.
“Hrah!”
Frank struck first without hesitation.
In a fsh, his bde erupted from its sheath, releasing a razor-sharp ssh that split the air with terrifying speed.
'Swoosh—' The wind howled violently, as if it had been cleaved in two.
“Hmph.”
El’s expression didn’t ge.
He swung his halberd casually, meeting the ining attack head-on.
'g!'
The mighty ssh arried, the impact shaking the earth beh them.
Deflected, the attack sailed into the distance, crashing into the sea and carving an enormous trento the waters.
The sheer force left onlookers trembling.
El g Frank, smirking.
“Killing you ht would be a waste…”
His tourned amused, though his pierg eyes betrayed his chilling i.
“Perhaps there’s another option for you.”
Frank scoffed, lifting his katana as its edge began to gleam with ahereal blue glow.
“Hah! Yielding to power would disgrace me as a man.”
Log eyes with El, he straightened his stanbsp;
“Besides…” he growled, his tone fident.
“…it’s far too early to decide the victor.”
“Don’t uimate me, boy!”
With a powerful kick, Frank unched himself forward, katana swinging down in a devastating arbsp;
“Cutting Force Bde: Raging Dragon!”
The air around them ed, and a dragon-shaped shockwave erupted from the ssh, r toward El with crushing forbsp;
'BOOM—BOOM!'
The bst devastated everything in its path, leveling trees, rocks, and the earth itself in a destructive wave.
The once lush ndscape was now a barren, scarred wastend.
As dust filled the air, Frank’s voice rang out, cold and unyielding:
“Die where you stand, Fallen Angel!”
Moments ter, from the wreckage—
El emerged, pletely unharmed, his steps slow and deliberate.
A primal, beast-like aura radiated from him, chilling to the bone.
The sight made Gale Swordsman Frank’s pupils tract as disbelief flickered across his fabsp;
“Elbaf Spear—”
The fmes behind El’s head roared, burning fiercely.
His tall, imposing figure brimmed with murderous i, veins bulging as he entered his stro bat state.
His advanced Observation Haki locked onto Frank, and his halberd surged with potent Armament Haki, crag with streaks of electricity.
“Hakoku Snty!”
'Tch!'
In an instant, El’s colossal spear-like bde came crashing down.
The sheer force cleaved the air with a deafening roar.
Frank’s expression twisted in shock as—
A massive, circur shockwave of sword energy tore through the atmosphere, unstoppable and deadly.
“Cutting Force Bde: Dominating Sea!”
Frank roared in defianot about to let himself be overpowered.
His katana glowed with intense energy as he mustered all his strength, swinging it forward with explosive forbsp;
A terrifying surge of cutting energy erupted like a raging tidal wave, colliding head-on with El’s attabsp;
'BOOM! BOOM!'
The shockwaves collided in a dazzling explosion, blindingly bright.
The two attacks cshed violently, sending tremors through the isnd and creating massive tidal waves on the surrounding seas.
Powerful air currents rippled outward, making it nearly impossible to keep one’s eyes open.
'Swoosh—'
Amid the chaos, Frank staggered backward.
His steps cracked the ground as he barely mao stabilize himself, looking visibly disheveled.
“‘Dominating Sea,’ huh?”
El’s tone was cold, his gaze sharp and mog as he stared dowtered swordsman.
“The name sounds impressive, but the power… it falls a bit short.”
Though the attack was formidable, it wasn’t on the same level as the legendary teiques that came to El’s mind.
Still, it had been strong enough to withstand his 'Hakoku', which was no small feat.
Remaining in his bat stance, El showed no iion of transf into his hybrid form.
For a swordsman of his caliber, battling someone as skilled as Frank was a rare treat.
For swordsmen, the csh of bdes rimal instinct. And freat swordsmen like El and Frank, every enter was a ce to test their strength.
“Cutting Force Bde: Gale Ssh!”
Frank’s face darkened, his eyes cold and focused.
He didn’t waste time with words, letting his as speak instead.
Blue light flickered as his katana, infused with Haki, sliced through the air like a whirlwind.
'Swoosh—'
The atmosphere itself seemed to split apart, the attack’s sheer ferocity radiating killing i.
“Moonlight!”
With a fsh of steel, El retaliated.
The massive tip of his on moved with overwhelming forbsp;
'Swoosh—'
In an instant, a massive crest-shaped ssh, easily over 100 meters wide, tore through the air to meet Frank’s attabsp;
'BOOM! BOOM!'
The ensuing collisio shockwaves rippling outward.
As the dust settled, the two warriors locked eyes, their gazes sharp as bdes.
Both figures charged forward simultaneously, their killing i crag in the air.
Like needle meeting wheat, their bdes cshed in a deadly exge.
'g! g!'
Their ons collided, sparks flying as they engaged in a ferocious duel.
her held back, their movements precise and ruthless, the sound of metal against metal eg across the battlefield.
Bleam
