RNP Chapter 153 Under the Public Eye, Smoke Mirror vs. Im
Chapter 153 Under the Public Eye, Smoke Mirror vs. Im
Chapter 153 Under the Public Eye, Smoke Mirror vs. Im
In the heart of the capital, the world lost its color.
Hercules's mountain-like spine bore the weight of the entire sky, his muscle fibers cracking under the strain, only to be forcibly mended by an even more violent force in the next moment.
The immense power brought about by his tenth rebirth is now engaged in the most brutal struggle against the authority of the King of the World!
Im hovered in the air, watching his authority about to be shattered. His circular eyes held neither sorrow nor joy, only absolute coldness.
Her hands continued to press down, as if adjusting the rules of the entire space. With each subtle tremor of her fingers, the gravitational field around Hercules began to twist and overlap wildly!
Sometimes it slows down its movements like a swamp, and sometimes it suddenly generates a million times the force of gravity at a certain point, trying to crush it from the inside!
Im lightly tapped the void with his index finger.
The space at Hercules' left shoulder instantly caved in, forming a visible, twisted black hole that frantically tore at his flesh and bones!
Hercules roared, his right fist burning with crimson flames, not aimed at Im, but slamming into the distorted space beside his left shoulder! Boom!
The sheer force of the impact smashed the space back to its original flatness, but his left shoulder was now a bloody mess.
Just as Hercules was fighting Im, a blurry silhouette crept silently from the shadows behind Im.
An invisible thorn, composed entirely of eerie purple energy, silently pierced Hercules' heart!
This attack was extremely insidious, surpassing conventional physical and magical defenses, and directly targeting the essence of existence!
Hercules's berserk intuition gave him a frantic warning. At the critical moment, he suddenly turned to the side, and the invisible thorn grazed his heart and pierced through, leaving a terrible wound that was difficult to heal!
The tenth life was nearly lost in this insidious sneak attack!
The newly formed body has developed extremely high resistance to this type of attack, but it consumes a huge amount of energy.
Im seemed slightly displeased with the shadow's unauthorized action. His cold gaze swept over the shadow, causing its silhouette to recede slightly, but its malice remained undiminished.
Indeed, you've shown yourself in front of too many people. Since you've brought it up, you can be allowed to devour this place. And at this moment, outside the palace...
A terrifying shockwave, mixed with the aftershocks of the collision of rules, swept in, causing sand and stones to fly, and the earth to crack and the sky to collapse!
The naval vice admirals who came to provide support unleashed their Armament Haki, but they were blown about like small boats in a storm, their formation thrown into chaos!
"Hold on! Everyone hold on!" a lieutenant general shouted hoarsely, but his voice was instantly swallowed up by the storm.
The CPO agents struggled to maintain their balance in the air using their superb moonwalking skills, but their faces beneath their masks turned deathly pale as they watched the scene in the center of the palace that resembled a battle between gods and demons.
This is beyond their understanding of power!
Doflamingo secured himself firmly to a massive broken pillar with thin threads, his eyes behind his sunglasses gleaming with extreme excitement and greed.
"Fufufufu, do you see that? This is the power of standing at the pinnacle of the world! But it is also—a crack!"
Crocodile's elemental sand body constantly disintegrated and reformed in the storm. He stared intently at Heracles and Im in the center of the battlefield, his heart churning with turbulent emotions.
Just then, Tescatlipoca's languid and seductive voice rang directly in his mind.
"Wow, what a rare opportunity, my dear employer!"
Tescatlipoca's projection quietly appeared beside Old Sha, avoiding the most intense part of the storm. He pointed at Im, a cigarette dangling from his lips.
"Look, the King of the World is dealing with that berserker with all his might, and the guy behind him just made a rash move and left a mark."
"This is precisely when our defenses are weakest and our attention is most focused!"
He leaned closer to Crocodile, his voice like a devil's whisper.
"If you use that second chance now, I don't need to give you many orders, just a moment of disruption to break that fragile balance!"
"That berserker's fist will do the rest for us!" (North)
"Just imagine, the slaying of the Lord of the Void Throne—what an enormous power vacuum will be left in this ocean, in this world?"
"And you, with your belief in the Dark Sun and your base in the Rainforest of the Gods, aren't you the most suitable—King of the New World?"
This temptation is incredibly deadly!
Crocodile's heart pounded violently, and his breathing became heavy.
The throne of power seemed within reach! He was almost about to utter the command!
But just as the words were about to leave his mouth, Crocodile's suspicious nature, honed by years of experience in the underworld, suddenly sounded the alarm!
Something is wrong!
Why is this otherworldly god so eager to kill Im himself?
What good does this do him? Is his goal really just to have fun?
Or perhaps—what he truly desires is something far more terrifying that Im might unleash after his death?
Or perhaps this is a trap, and once you give the order, you might be swept into an unfathomable vortex, never to recover.
Overwhelmed by doubt, Crocodile swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue, his expression shifting unpredictably.
Desire ultimately turned into a cold snort.
"—Tescatlipoca, stop with your tricks."
"When to make my move is my own decision; it's not your place to tell me how to use those two opportunities!"
"Sigh," Tescatlipoca sighed dramatically upon seeing this.
His face showed a regretful expression, like a child who had failed in a prank. "Really—employer, you're too cautious. You've wasted a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Fine, fine, since you don't agree..."
His tone suddenly changed, from the previous seductive tone to a strange blend of solemnity and mockery.
"Then, as the chief god of this land of gods, and as the god of smoke and mirrors who reveres trials and sacrifices, I should also fulfill another duty."
"Give the outstanding trialers the justice they deserve, and—a little hospitality to the unwelcome outsiders."
Before the words were finished, the projection of Tescatlipoca suddenly solidified!
He suddenly flicked the cigarette in his hand into the air, and the cigarette instantly burned out, turning into a jet-black column of smoke exuding a primal aura that shot into the sky!
"In this place reflected in the smoky mirror, all phenomena are illusion, and all phenomena are permitted!"
As he chanted, the entire Alabasta rainforest seemed to respond with a violent commotion!
Countless ancient trees swayed wildly, and the shadows on the ground writhed and converged like living creatures! Tescatlipoca pushed forward with both hands!
The thick, black smoke didn't rush towards Im, but instantly spread around the entire battlefield, forming a constantly twisting and changing mirror barrier!
This barrier greatly interfered with and distorted Im's perception and invocation of the "world rules" of this region!
Im's previously smooth rule suppression instantly became choppy and chaotic!
Im abruptly turned his head to look at Tescatlipoca, his round eyes revealing clear surprise and displeasure for the first time.
He clearly hadn't expected this otherworldly god to directly intervene for the sake of a red-side hero.
"The god Amu from another world has already made the greatest concession, ignoring your outrageous behavior."
"But don't think it's because I'm afraid of you."
Tescatlipoca tapped his finger lightly, as if exploring the trajectory of fate.
"King of the World—when it comes to outrageous behavior, do you even know how outrageous the guys you've summoned are?!"
As soon as the words fell, several obsidian dagger-like tentacles shot out from the shadows on the ground.
These things strangely bypassed Im and went straight for the blurry shadow behind Im.
The shadow let out a sharp, piercing, inhuman shriek, as if it had been burned, and contracted and rolled violently, forced to reveal more twisted and ominous forms for a moment, before quickly retreating into the depths of Im's shadow, its aura weakened considerably!
It was extremely wary of this attack originating from Tescatlipoca, and could be said to have been restrained.
"Roar!!!" Hercules, with his rich combat experience, immediately seized this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!
Im's suppression momentarily loosened due to the disruption of the rules, and the injury to the unknown entity behind him caused a slight fluctuation in the shared mind!
He let out his most ferocious roar since the start of the war, channeling all the remaining strength in his body into his fists!
He unleashed a punch that shattered destiny towards the slightly unstable void barrier caused by the chaos of the rules!
Thump! ...
This time, the explosion was far louder than ever before!
The dark energy covering the battlefield shattered into countless pieces, and the condensed sky was pierced through by this extremely concentrated power, creating a huge gap.
The terrifying force of the punch surged towards Im like a tsunami!
Multiple layers of distorted barriers automatically appeared around Im, shattering in a series of explosions, before the final punch slammed into his raised arm as he tried to block.
Kama!
A soft cracking sound rang out!
Im's figure was shaken for the first time, sliding back a few meters. Although he quickly regained his balance, his absolute posture had been broken!
Tescatlipoca gave a meaningful smile.
"To bully a trial participant from another land who is still adapting to the rules, isn't that a bit... beneath you? Your Majesty, King of the World?"
"Now! Leave!"
Tescatlipoca shouted, and at the same time, he clasped his hands together. The shattered shards of the smoke goggles transformed into countless black crows, screeching as they swooped down on Im for a final act of harassment.
Hercules's crimson eyes glanced deeply at Tescatlipoca, then at Im, whose face was icy cold.
Without lingering in battle, his massive body unleashed its final speed, turning and smashing through countless ruins as he sped away from the capital!
Every step caused the earth to shake, yet no one dared to stop them!
Im floated silently in the air, looking in the direction Hercules had left, then at the smiling Tescatlipoca beside him, and at the government personnel in the mess and in a state of panic.
There was no pursuit; the coldness in those round eyes almost froze the space around them.
The being in the shadows emitted a writhing sound of resentment.
Tescatlipoca looked down at the government officials staring intently at Im, a bright smile on his face.
"Well then, Your Majesty, King of the World, you are now famous. Do you and your friends have anything to say?"
Im snorted coldly, and his figure slowly disappeared.
He left behind an incredibly chaotic and unpredictable mess.
Crocodile watched all this with a horribly grim expression. He realized that he might have greatly underestimated Tescatlipoca's madness and purpose.
Doflamingo's laughter grew even more flamboyant, as if he could see the tide of a new era surging in.
Hercules, whose fame for defying the King of the World and nearly shattering the heavens, will surely shake the entire world.
Bonney, finally feeling the stable contractual connection with the Servant, wept with joy.