Chapter 24 – Blood Fiend Tide
Although the Gorosei were ready to bear Kaido's fury, Guernika's strength was beyond question.
Besides, anyone who could intervene in a clash between two Emperors had to be at least Shichibukai level.
After all, he had consecutively beaten two Supernova pirates on Onigashima—Apoo and Drake.
He'd single-handedly held off Killer and Urouge.
He'd even survived what had looked like a lethal strike from an enraged Kaido!
*Cough, cough!*
Dante Voss coughed and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.
Seeing that Guernika had no intention of letting him go, he swiftly pulled the stone of translocation from his backpack, ready to flee for his life.
"Give it up, Dante Voss. You're out of options while I'm here."
Guernika spoke calmly.
As long as that sword couldn't keep drinking blood, Dante Voss was nothing more than an ordinary man; Guernika was confident he could finish him in an instant.
Dante Voss wasn't surprised the man knew his name.
With the World Government's resources, digging up someone's identity was child's play.
Even if every soul on that island had been silenced, they could still find out.
"Surrender?"
Dante Voss looked at Guernika and smiled. "That sure of catching me?"
With the stone of translocation in hand, he feared no one, no matter how much stronger they were.
It had taken him only three days to rise from an ordinary person to this level.
Give him enough people to kill, and he'd slay even the mightiest of agents—or that Imu hiding behind the curtain.
Guernika wasn't surprised by the reply.
Dante Voss had already killed Celestial Dragons; capture by the World Government meant certain death.
"Then let's settle this by force!"
Guernika said coldly, his figure flashing toward Dante Voss at extreme Speed.
Dante Voss stared hard, yet even with his Spirit he still couldn't lock onto Guernika's movements.
He could only swing a "Blood Wave Slash" in the direction of the incoming attack, hoping to slow him down.
It was in vain!
The energy blade shattered the instant it neared Guernika, dispersed with a casual wave of the agent's hand.
Without losing momentum Guernika closed in and punched.
Dante Voss's pupils shrank; he raised his sword two-handed to block.
*Bang!*
Tremendous force surged through the blade; the impact split Dante Voss's palms and sent him flying.
Faced with such power, Dante Voss's heart sank.
By attribute standards his Strength was around six thousand, while Guernika's had to exceed eight—a gap of several thousand; he stood no chance.
And the man had plenty of other cards!
Not only was his Haki profound, his Rokushiki and hand-to-hand combat were equally top-notch.
An opponent superior in every way.
"Time to leave?"
The thought surfaced; he'd already reaped plenty from this fight.
He'd secured the golden item bloodthirsty sword and a huge haul of slaughter points—more than worth it.
Yet leaving now felt like swallowing a loss.
Suddenly he glanced at the sword and his eyes lit up.
Right!
He hadn't used the weapon's built-in active Ability.
He quickly opened the system, went to the Ability tab and checked Blood Fiend Tide.
[Active Ability: Blood Fiend Tide]
[Description: After each kill the sword absorbs the victim's blood aura; the wielder can unleash that stored aura. The more blood stored, the wider the release radius.]
[Current Radius: 106 m]
[Lv1: Instantly slay creatures with Physique below 20 (upgradeable)]
"Physique 20 should cover quite a few people," Dante Voss murmured.
By his stats, ten was average; twenty already marked a decent soldier.
Acting on the thought, Dante Voss landed, back-stepped to steady himself.
In one motion he stabbed the bloodthirsty sword into the ground and, watching Guernika close in, curled a smile.
"Blood Fiend Tide!"
*Boom!*
At his soft cry the sword erupted in a vast crimson wave that surged outward like a tide of blood.
Every guard with Physique below twenty dropped like wheat within a hundred-and-six-meter radius.
A dense ring of guards had surrounded him, and their fall showered Dante Voss with slaughter points.
[Killed a guard—slaughter points +5]
[Killed a guard—slaughter points +5]
[Killed a guard—slaughter points +5]
…With his rising attributes each guard now yielded only five instead of ten.
Yet the sheer number quickly piled up.
In an instant his tally leapt from barely a thousand to more than eight thousand.
[slaughter points: 8,165]
"What the— Damn that sword!"
Guernika's eyes bulged as Dante Voss unleashed such force.
He shot toward Dante Voss, hoping to stop the wave at its source.
The crimson tide washed over him but couldn't hinder him in the slightest.
Not even a moment's delay.
Dante Voss had expected as much; Blood Fiend Tide was meant to clear minions.
Watching Guernika's afterimage Speed closer, Dante Voss gripped the stone of translocation.
He made no move to defend; instead he grinned. "Told you—you can't catch me."
In a flash he activated the stone and vanished on the spot.
*Whoosh!*
Guernika's strike sliced only air, smashing the ground behind.
Stunned, he spun around, but Dante Voss was nowhere to be seen.
The agent's heart clenched; he quickly deployed his Observation Haki to scan the area.
It was useless—Dante Voss might as well have evaporated.
Panic seized Guernika.
This man had murdered multiple Celestial Dragons; if he escaped on Guernika's watch, the consequences… he dared not imagine!
"Everyone—comb every building nearby. That fiend does not leave this island!"
He ordered the surviving guards to search for Dante Voss.
No matter what trick the pirate had used, he couldn't have gone far; there was still a chance.
Yet as the guards scoured the area and the sky began to lighten, they found no trace of him, and Guernika's desperation peaked.
Left with no choice, he set out for Pangaea Castle to report to the Gorosei.