A black sphere formed between the agent's hands.
It seemed to swallow the light around it, warping the space in its vicinity. He thrust his hands forward and the sphere shot toward Bullet.
"Dark Devour."
The agent's voice was low and sharp.
Bullet could feel it clearly.
There was a strange pull inside that black sphere, like a miniature black hole. If ordinary matter touched it, it would be swallowed in an instant.
But he was not ordinary matter.
He raised his dragon claw and reached straight for the sphere.
Devour against devour.
The instant dragon claw met black sphere, two completely different devouring forces clashed.
The sphere tried to consume the matter and energy of the claw, while Bullet's devouring ability dissected and broke down the composition of the sphere in reverse.
Three seconds later, the black sphere shattered and scattered into nothing.
The agent coughed up a mouthful of blood, his face turning ghostly pale.
Bullet stepped up to him and pressed his hand against the man's forehead.
Devour activated.
A shrill scream tore out of the agent's throat.
He could feel something fundamental inside him being ripped away.
Five seconds later, Bullet withdrew his hand.
The agent collapsed to the ground. He was not dead, but he was finished.
His Devil Fruit ability was gone, his Haki dispersed, and he did not even have the strength to stand.
Bullet turned around and looked at the other two agents.
They had already seized Anna.
One held a blade to her throat, the other was trying to wrest the metal cylinder from her arms.
"Do not move."
The one with the knife barked,
"Take one more step and I will kill her."
Bullet halted.
He looked at Anna.
The silver haired girl had a blade at her neck. Her face was pale, yet her gaze was still steady. She clutched the metal tube to her chest as if it were more important than her life.
"Let her go."
Bullet said,
"I can let you walk away alive."
"You think we will believe that?"
The agent gave a cold laugh.
"Drop your weapon and step back.
Otherwise—"
He did not finish.
Because he saw the corner of Bullet's mouth curl up into a faint, almost mocking smile.
Then he felt it.
The blade pressed to Anna's neck was melting.
From the tip onward, the metal turned into a stream of iron dust and fell away.
In three seconds, the entire blade had vanished, leaving only the hilt still clutched in his hand.
The agent froze.
In that instant of shock, Anna moved.
She drove her elbow back with all her strength.
The agent grunted in pain and loosened his grip.
Anna threw herself forward, rolled, and opened up distance between them.
The other agent lunged after her, but Bullet was already in front of him.
A simple punch.
The agent tried to block, but the moment Bullet's fist connected, he heard the bones in both his arms shattering.
Then his chest.
Then his organs.
He was flung backward, losing consciousness before he even hit the ground.
The last agent turned and tried to run.
Bullet was faster.
He took a single step and appeared behind the man.
His hand chopped down on the back of the agent's neck.
Darkness swallowed the agent's vision and he dropped, unconscious.
The fight was over.
From beginning to end, less than a minute had passed.
The CP squad was completely wiped out.
Bullet turned and walked toward Anna.
The silver haired girl sat on the ground, breathing hard. She had taken off her gas mask, revealing a delicate but worn face.
She looked at Bullet, her eyes filled with fear and gratitude, and something far more complicated.
"You..."
Her voice was hoarse as she spoke.
"Are you really sent by Mr. Rayleigh?"
"Yes, and no."
Bullet crouched down.
"I need your ability to interpret ancient scripts.
In return, I can guarantee the safety of you and your grandfather."
Anna stared at him for a long time.
Then she asked the most important question.
"What do you want interpreted?"
Bullet reached into his clothes and took out the rubbing, unfolding it.
Under the moonlight, the ancient characters on the leather like sheet glimmered faintly.
Anna's pupils contracted sharply.
She recognized those characters.
They were the historical text that the Oliventa family had spent generations studying, the very script they had finally managed to decipher.