"Underworld Path: Dawn!"
Blake and red lightning wrapped around the blade as Rayleigh once again unleashed his full power, swinging his sword at Mandy.
Shattering the ice crystal matrix, he sent Mandy flying once more.
However, Blake's face still showed no signs of worry.
An hour had passed since Rayleigh last used Conquerors Haki Infusion, and the frequency had noticeably decreased.
"Piercing Clouds!"
Koala flew into the air, and dense light needles rained down like a shower.
This move was quite similar to Kizaru's Yasakani no Magatama.
However, Koala's attack was more geared towards piercing damage rather than explosions, and her accuracy could reach the level Kizaru displayed when fighting Zephyr.
Rayleigh parried with his longsword while constantly retreating.
Mandy suddenly burst out of the rubble again, a flash of sword light, and Rayleigh's sleeve was cut open.
The three of them resumed their fierce battle. Now, not only Blake, but even the women around him could hear Rayleigh's heavy breathing.
Ginny's hands were tightly clenched.
If there was anyone among those present who most hoped Rayleigh would win, it was undoubtedly her.
However, Ginny's prayers had no effect; Koala's beam grazed Rayleigh's hand, leaving a bleeding burn mark.
It was shallow, but enough to make Ginny despair.
"Aha! A hit!"
Unlike the previous Ice-Ice Fruit ability, this was a genuine injury inflicted on Rayleigh through strength during combat.
Clearly, as the battle progressed, Rayleigh's stamina and Haki were showing problems.
Just as Blake was gloating, the situation on the battlefield suddenly changed drastically.
Koala kicked towards Rayleigh's waist and abdomen, but Rayleigh merely ducked slightly, condensing Armament Haki for defense, taking the blow head-on without dodging.
"Underworld Path: Waning Moon!"
The Blake and red crescent moon reappeared, and the ice armor condensed on Mandy's shoulder shattered in response, sending her flying backward for the third time.
"Tragic! Too tragic!"
Blake couldn't bear to watch anymore.
No wonder everyone who went out with Kizaru always met a bad end.
Lucci even chose to face Luffy's Four Emperors crew alone rather than team up with Kizaru.
Saturn didn't realize the gravity of the problem and ended up losing his life.
The opponent's thought was probably, "I can't hit Kizaru, but can't I hit you?"
Rayleigh was now in a similar state of mind.
He knew that if he dragged it out, he would surely lose, so he chose to take Koala's blow head-on.
At the cost of several ribs, he wanted to first eliminate Mandy, who was already injured.
However, Mandy was not so easily dealt with.
The Eternal Silence Domain reappeared, and ice enveloped the battlefield.
Mandy had learned her lesson this time.
She saw that Rayleigh intended to prioritize attacking her, so she entrusted the main offensive task to Koala, while she assisted from the side with her Devil Fruit ability.
Koala constantly flickered around Rayleigh, each punch and kick carrying immense power.
Rumbling sounds echoed continuously through the manor, and every collision between the two stirred up a shower of petals.
However, none of the three had the leisure to admire this beautiful scene, their attention entirely focused on each other.
Koala suddenly flew high into the sky, radiating dazzling light.
She gathered all the light into one point on her fist and charged straight towards the ground.
"Holy Light Judgment!"
Rayleigh narrowed his eyes, swinging his sword upwards towards the sky:
"Divine Avoidance!"
Boom!
The two attacks collided, causing the manor's ground to collapse several meters downwards.
A crater-like area formed with Rayleigh at its center.
The mushroom cloud generated by the impact shot straight into the sky.
Yet it was drowned out by the flames and explosions from other directions, making it seem insignificant.
In the dust, Rayleigh's Observation Haki suddenly began to warn him. He was greatly alarmed and was about to retract his sword to defend, but it was already too late.
kogarashi had already pierced his abdomen, and cold air began to spread through his body along the sword.
"What a thrilling adventure... Roger..."
"It seems I'll have to break my promise... Shakky..."
Rayleigh let out a soft sigh, reminiscing about countless adventures in his youth.
Moments later, his body was frozen, and his blood congealed with it.
Blake leaped up, his wings flapping, instantly disappearing from his spot and catching Koala as she was thrown back.
Rayleigh's last attack was not easy to take; the bones in Koala's right arm were now completely shattered.
Mandy, having completed the freezing, ignored everything else and fell straight to the ground, but was caught by Blake, who flew back holding Koala.
Her injuries were even more severe than Koala's.
Her arm was dislocated, she had sword wounds, and her internal organs were also damaged.
Blake picked them both up, one in each arm, and called out:
"Quickly, take them to the infirmary!"
Then he looked down at the two of them, smiling:
"You both did very well. Now, just rest and recover from your injuries."
After settling Mandy and Koala, Blake looked at Ginny with a half-smile:
"Are you very disappointed?"
Ginny saw that her plan had been completely exposed, and she no longer maintained her docile appearance in front of Blake.
She glared at Blake, her face full of hatred:
"Was all of this your scheme? What exactly do you plan to do to the Revolutionary Army?"
"I'm helping you!"
Blake showed a surprised expression, looking at Ginny strangely:
"Was any of the information I gave you false?"
"Didn't Garling fight Christopher?"
"Weren't the God's Knights held back?"
"Didn't Fisher Tiger cause chaos in Mary Geoise?"
Ginny thought carefully, and it really seemed to be the case. Could this guy actually be a good person?
Then, she quickly shook her head.
How could Blake be a good person? There was no one more sinister than him!
This guy deliberately leaked information to the Revolutionary Army, surely with other ulterior motives.
Before Ginny could figure it out, Blake waved his hand:
"Never mind, none of that matters."
"I do think it's too monotonous with only you from the Revolutionary Army in the manor."
"So I've decided to find you a companion!"
After saying this, Blake felt a sense of familiarity.
Thinking about it, he had previously promised to find a companion for the mermaid sister, Aida.
But mermaid Slaves were simply too rare; he hadn't found a suitable one after all these years.
After this, he had to search carefully. If not, he would capture Queen Otohime, who had already evolved legs.
While Blake was lost in thought, Ginny had already rushed to his front, grabbing his arm forcefully:
"No! You cannot attack the Revolutionary Army!"
What did he mean by finding her a companion? He clearly just wanted to capture another Revolutionary Army soldier, yet he could say it so refreshingly.
Ginny declared that she had never seen such a shameless person.
But Blake ignored her thoughts, slowly and gently prizing her hand open, pulling her into his embrace, and calling out to Stella:
"Come, help me open a door to Red Port."
...