Facing Rayleigh's fierce strike, Berlos did not dodge. Instead, she crossed her arms, covered in pitch-black fur, blocking the path of the blade.
Clang!
Rayleigh's lightning-fast slash, capable of cutting through steel, merely left a deep white gash on her fur, exposing bone, but failed to completely sever it!
"What tough defense! This Mythical Zoan physique is even more resilient than I imagined!" Rayleigh was inwardly shocked, but his combat experience was immense. The moment his sword clashed, it trembled violently, sending a condensed wave of Haki vibration through the blade directly into Berlos' body.
"Too slow, old man!"
Berlos wore a ferocious grin. She felt the impact of the vibration wave on her internal organs, but her Mythical Zoan constitution granted her monstrous recovery and resistance to blunt force. Instead of retreating, she advanced, her sharp claws instantly coated in peak Armament Haki, launching a counterattack against Rayleigh!
"Hell Tri-Claw: Soul-Rending Claw!"
Her claws moved like overlapping phantoms, instantly unleashing three claw marks carrying terrifying power. These three marks were not just physical attacks; they also carried the unique spiritual and soul-shocking impact inherent to the Hellhound bloodline. Each swing seemed to summon the phantom roars of three Hellhounds.
"What nonsense! I'm still young, alright? Who are you calling old man?"
Rayleigh growled lowly. He refused to admit he was old—his body might age, but his heart remained youthful. At the very least, he could still battle in the red-light district for a full day and night without needing to lean against a wall.
Facing Berlos' attack, he had no choice but to abandon his pursuit and rapidly retreat. He then crossed his arms, using Armament Haki to directly withstand the three claw marks.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
The immense force sent Rayleigh stumbling backward. The Cloud Soil beneath his feet cracked inch by inch, and the surrounding sea of clouds suffered powerful shockwaves, continuously trembling.
Even more terrifyingly, three ferocious visages of Hellhounds briefly flashed in his mind, carrying endless sensations of death and hunger, causing his Observation Haki to stutter for an instant.
"This is an attack on the soul!" Rayleigh's eyes sharpened. He quickly steadied his mind, using his powerful Conqueror's Haki Will to disperse the invasive mental illusion.
"Berlos, you're playing with fire!" Rayleigh roared angrily, sensing the evil nature of her attack.
From a distance, Brian watched the battle with admiration in his eyes. Berlos' power always brought unexpected effects, unpredictable and impossible to grasp.
"The power of this Mythical Zoan carries a strong corrosive nature. Rayleigh is, after all, getting old. He has no experience dealing with such supernatural forces. It seems the outcome of this battle is already becoming clear." Brian sneered as he spoke to Roger.
Roger's face was ashen. He stared intently at the battlefield, but at this moment, he was tightly bound by Brian's aura, unable to divert his attention.
If he dared to show even a hint of distraction, he would undoubtedly face Brian's Thunderous strike in the very first instant.
"Brat, don't get cocky! Rayleigh is the Underworld King—the battles he's experienced are longer than you've been alive!" Roger roared.
"Hmph, just the Underworld King. Does he really think he's an Ancient Weapon?"
At the center of the battlefield, Berlos, having received Brian's approval, grew even more excited.
She knew that Rayleigh's defense and speed had reached the limits of human capability, making ordinary attacks ineffective. She needed to drag the battle into her own domain.
"Old man, feel the power of my homeland!"
Berlos suddenly opened her mouth, and a low, rumbling sound like a hellish furnace erupted from her throat. On her pale face, black scale patterns appeared on her cheeks, and her eyes glowed with an eerie green light.
"Nether Breath: Black Flame Purgatory!"
A massive, cold, and sinister black flame surged from Berlos's mouth like a tidal wave.
This black flame was not like Agni's Netherworld Fire, which carried scorching heat and corrosion. Instead, it held extreme cold and death. Wherever it passed, the air was instantly drained, life force was devoured, and the Cloud Soil rapidly carbonized, turning into black ash.
The Black Flame Purgatory spread rapidly from Berlos as its center, completely enveloping the surrounding area for hundreds of meters.
Rayleigh's pupils contracted sharply. He sensed the terror of this black flame—if touched, not only his body but even his soul would likely freeze and be devoured.
He stomped his foot hard, and Armament Haki erupted from the soles of his feet, forcibly separating a surviving fragment of ruins beneath him from the ground. He leaped onto the floating boulder and raced at astonishing speed along the edge of the Black Flame Purgatory, attempting to find an opening in Berlos's defense.
"Underworld King Sword Art: Shadowless Sky Step!"
Rayleigh's movements were as swift as a ghost. He darted and leaped among the charred remnants of walls and ruins, his long sword constantly swinging, unleashing slashes imbued with Armament Haki in an attempt to pierce through the black flames and strike Berlos.
However, Berlos stood at the center of the black flames, unmoving like a monarch in hell. The Hellhound's defense, bolstered by the black flames, became even more impregnable.
"In my purgatory, you have nowhere to escape!"
Berlos sneered, plunging her claws into the ground and then tearing them apart to the sides!
Boom—!
Two deep, hellish chasms instantly split open on the ground. From the cracks, denser black mist surged forth, mixed with eerie green ghost fires and accompanied by mournful wails.
"Eternal Purgatory: Demon Earth Devours Life!"
This Demon Earth Devours Life was the Mythical Zoan: Hellhound Fruit's ultimate influence on the environment. The Cloud Soil scorched by the black flames was now completely corrupted by demonic energy, becoming black mud that devoured life.
Rayleigh felt the ground beneath him sink. His landing points for jumps grew fewer and fewer, as the black mud and black flames steadily shrank his space to maneuver. His powerful Observation Haki, hindered by the black mist and demonic earth, was severely obstructed, and his perception grew blurry.
"Damn it! This woman is limiting my movements!" Rayleigh thought grimly. He knew that once trapped within the black flames, his formidable physical skills and swordsmanship would be rendered useless.
He decided he had no choice but to confront it head-on and forcibly tear through this purgatory!
Rayleigh took a deep breath, pouring all of his Armament Haki into the longsword "Underworld." The blade emitted a blinding radiance, and the surrounding black flames were pushed back by the immense Haki as they drew near.
"Underworld King Sword Art: Sunder!!"
With a furious roar, Rayleigh swung the sword forward. A massive, condensed Haki slash, like a light that cleaved heaven and earth, surged unstoppably toward Berlos at the center of the black flames.
The Sunder slash tore through the black flames, ripping apart the air with a sharp, piercing shriek. Carrying the essence of Rayleigh's lifelong swordsmanship, this strike aimed to utterly shatter Berlos's defenses.
At this moment, the battle between the two escalated into an all-out, white-hot intensity.
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