In front of them lay three paths. The first, as Gordon suggested, was to attack the Singing Demon King from both worlds to break this state, but they couldn't achieve that now.
The second option was to wake Uta and let her resolve the issue with her consciousness, but that was also impossible, leaving only the last method—to stall, to forcibly drag it out until Uta's strength was exhausted.
Stalling alone wasn't very difficult; they were still far from the peak moment of the Red Hair Pirates, but now they had begun to grow strong, and for the Red Hair Pirates' officers to hold off the Singing Demon King wasn't hard.
But there were countless ordinary people on this island; killing was much easier than saving. To kill a person, these officers had countless methods, but to protect the people on this island, they had no way.
The shockwave of the Supreme King had no effect on this thing at all, and among the pirate elites, Shanks was the one weakest in large-scale attacks. His single-target attacks were strong enough, but dealing with an infinitely regenerating monster was pointless.
Casualties on the island continued to mount, and the increasing ruins in Ellegia showed everything. Tesoro was now only temporarily delaying the enemy's steps.
"Even if you say that, it's not something that can be done just by saying so..."
Tesoro sensed the struggle of the monster before him. For eternal freedom, the Singing Demon King desperately wanted to destroy everything here. In its understanding, humans were the culprits of its sealing.
At that moment, several streaks of fire suddenly crossed the sky, with numerous meteors crashing down towards the monster's body.
The attack didn't have a fatal effect, but the dense meteors suppressed the thing's steps.
"Is that... Draco Meteor? Stella... I understand now..."
Utilizing the suppression caused by Draco Meteor on the Singing Demon King, the two giant golden hands created by Tesoro clasped together, and a Heavy Hammer slammed down towards the opponent's head. No matter what creature it was, hitting the head was always a good move.
Even for undead-type creatures, shattering the head was enough to at least delay them.
No one here could unleash Draco Meteor; Kaidou and Arceus couldn't possibly be here, so the only possibility was that it was from Baccarat's Metronome.
With her own orders, Baccarat couldn't act freely unless someone else directed her, and the only one capable of such a thing here was Stella.
It seemed Stella didn't want to let the tragedy continue either, and since that was the case, he would go all out. Allowing this thing to wreak havoc in Ellegia wouldn't benefit him at all.
"I have no idea how long we can drag this out; just try and see for now!"
"Beckman, take some people to save others, leave this to us!"
Seeing Tesoro's actions, Shanks adjusted his Straw Hat, and under his command, the Red Hair Pirates split into two teams for action. Beckman, along with Yasopp, moved around to help evacuate people, while the others began to assault the monster before them.
....
In the distance, in a relatively safe area, Baccarat lay panting on the deck, with several others lying nearby, too afraid to move.
Baccarat was exhausted from using Draco Meteor, and the consumption from using Metronome heavily depended on the chosen skill. This time, the scope of Draco Meteor was massive, leaving her entirely drained.
As for the others who dared not move, she had borrowed a bit of their luck for better results. In such a situation, not moving was the best choice as they dared not even breathe heavily, lest they provoke some misfortune upon themselves.
"Madam, we should move even further back; the boss can fly, and staying here is a hindrance..."
"Alright, make sure to take as many people from the island as possible..."
Watching the continuous lightning and thunder at the island's center, a trace of worry flickered in Stella's eyes. Tesoro had misunderstood some things; she hoped he would take the opportunity created by Draco Meteor to retreat directly.
Rescue should be within one's ability. Having already saved many people, there was no need to risk oneself further for them—that was her private feeling, which no one had the right to criticize.
And as their ship set sail to avoid risks, Stella seemed to glimpse a shadow streaking across the night sky, heading towards Ellegia's center.
...
"Roar!"
Gab shot a Sound Wave Cannon from its mouth, which was its way of attacking. However, its beast-like Beastman appearance and the cannon emitted from its mouth inevitably made people think it was somehow related to Eldoraggo, who ate the Scream-Scream Fruit.
Attacks from the Red Hair Pirates struck the Singing Demon King one after another, but none, including those from Shanks and Tesoro, caused effective damage. Something seemed to be blocking everything.
Boom!
Lightning surged from the Singing Demon King's body, with electric currents dancing like silver snakes, pouring from its mouth back into its body. Not only did this temporarily repel the officers of the Red Hair Pirates from its proximity, but it also melted Tesoro's two golden hands.
Yet, even melted gold remained under the control of the Gol-Gol Fruit. Under Tesoro's command, the liquid gold flowed towards the creature's face, but this had no effect on the special life form.
"Uta!! Wake up! Is this what you want to see?!"
The battle didn't stop, but members of the Red Hair Pirates kept trying to wake Uta. Unfortunately, Uta's consciousness was completely occupied by the Singing Demon King, unable to hear the voices of her companions.
Within this group, not everyone was human either.
"Herac! Herac!"
Alceus flapped its insect wings, flying before the Demon Mask. Humans care for humans, but sometimes, creatures of other races value the bond with humans more highly, and Pokémon are among them.
Regardless of whether their master was a villain or a hero, they were everything to a Pokémon throughout its life. Such examples are countless in the world of Pokémon. Watching the girl with the beautiful voice turn into this monster, Heracross felt no fear, only sorrow.
"Heracross! Stay back! This isn't Uta right now!"
Tesoro's words didn't work; only Arceus could forcefully command Pokémon. Unless the real Arceus was here, outsiders couldn't stop a Pokémon's personal will.
It continued trying to wake Uta, but the special insect chirping entering the Demon's ears didn't awaken Uta, it merely infuriated the demon even further.
"Roar!"
A piercing roar echoed, and two monstrous hands swatted towards Heracross, leaving almost no room for it to dodge.
Shanks wanted to rescue Uta's new friend, but he saw a black hole swallow the Beetle Pokémon, followed by a peculiar figure emerging there...