Chapter 583: Doflamingo Thinks He Can Do It
Hoo-ho-ho!
A sinister red light glowed from the Red Knight's enormous spear, drawing the attention of everyone nearby.
Doflamingo stood upside down on the ceiling, basking in the spotlight as though the entire world revolved around him.
He grinned, tightening his focus, ready to end it all with one perfect strike.
Below him, Erdo faced Doflamingo's devastating ultimate move without an ounce of fear. The beast roared, a deep, earth-shaking sound that made the ground tremble.
The air itself shuddered as a tornado erupted from the space in front of Erdo's massive jaws, rising like a furious storm that threatened to swallow the Red Knight descending from the sky.
Doflamingo shot upward, climbing straight into the heavens. The tornado now stretched from the ground to the clouds, a spiraling tower of chaos.
"Heh heh heh heh! You're quite capable!" Doflamingo laughed.
Inside the tornado, he anchored himself using his threads, his cruel eyes narrowing as he looked down at the enormous lizard below.
If the creature's previous attack had been made of tangible energy or magical matter, he could have cut it apart completely.
Unfortunately for him, this invisible force restricted his movements, a rare situation for someone like him.
But fine. If one move didn't work, he would simply use another.
And with such a massive body, his target couldn't exactly run.
"Red Thorn," Doflamingo said.
In an instant, the Red Knight caught in the tornado burst apart, transforming into countless crimson threads. They tore through the raging winds, surging down toward Erdo's position.
From a height of over a hundred meters, the threads spread outward until a full hundred-meter radius around Erdo was covered, a glowing, blood-red web.
As the red lines finished weaving their deadly pattern, an eerie light pulsed through them, like veins pumping scarlet venom.
Any monsters that hadn't escaped in time were skewered on the spot.
Those that tried to break through the glowing threads found themselves shredded instantly, the red lines weren't only razor-sharp, but radiated an aura of destruction that made the whole space feel like a cage of barbed wire.
Even brushing against one thread was fatal.
The hard scales of any creature touching them sliced apart like tofu beneath a chef's knife.
This was the power Doflamingo had gained through the Wrath Magic, a destructive force born from fury itself.
He still remembered his humiliations of the past, and it was that anger that had awakened this devastating ability.
It had changed him completely.
Even though his Devil Fruit ability alone wasn't the strongest, the Power of Destruction made him believe he could do anything now.
He was, after all, the king chosen by God.
One day, even those in the Holy Land would bow beneath his feet.
That was what Doflamingo, who hadn't faced a real defeat in years, truly believed.
---
"Erdo!~" shouted one of the pure demons.
Not far away, a powerful high-ranking demon saw Erdo trapped in Doflamingo's web and prepared to attack.
Erdo, in this underground realm, was well-liked. Many demons respected the mighty beast.
Though it looked fearsome and ate in enormous quantities, Erdo was still considered a friendly creature.
Most demons were solitary by nature, but Erdo liked to talk, always chatting, joking, and even sharing stories with pure demons.
It enjoyed reading human tales and often imitated human behavior, which made it oddly charming.
If only it weren't a beast, that was the one regret many demons had.
Monsters like Erdo, covered in magical patterns, lived shorter lives than natural-born demons. No one knew how long Erdo would live, but it would certainly be less than theirs.
So even though Erdo led the beasts of the underworld, to the higher-ranking demons, it was more of a mascot than a commander.
Now that Erdo was in danger, it was only natural for some pure demons to rush to help.
"Don't worry. I'm not that fragile!" Erdo said.
Hearing the pure demon's worried shout, Erdo finally spoke, his voice deep and rough.
This wasn't shocking; in this world, some animals could speak human languages.
A highly intelligent creature like Erdo being able to do so wasn't strange at all.
---
"Heh heh heh heh!" Doflamingo laughed, his voice echoing down from above.
While the pure demon and Erdo exchanged words, he found the situation amusing.
"Who would've thought such cruel demons could care about sentiment? How ironic," he mocked.
"This almost makes me feel like a bad guy. Well… I suppose I am a bad guy!"
Stepping down gracefully along his red threads, Doflamingo descended like a puppet floating on silk.
He couldn't help but laugh again.
Though he had never become a pirate as he once dreamed, fate had taken him down a different road, one that led him to the Anti-Demon Organization.
To grow their influence and recruit members for the Magic Alliance, he had not only shown overwhelming power but also played his part in public relations.
After all that, Doflamingo sometimes almost believed he was a good man.
But no matter how much he pretended, darkness still ruled his heart. He had, after all, dabbled in both the Pure Demon Association and the Seven Demon Envoys.
---
In the center of the crimson web, Erdo stared at the glowing red lines surrounding him, his eyes cold and calm. Then he looked up at the human above.
"You seem pretty pleased with yourself," he said.
"You look disgusting, honestly."
"Don't think you've already won, arrogant human."
"Heh heh heh heh… being hated by a monster, that's a first," Doflamingo sneered, "But whether I'm arrogant or not… that depends on whether you can survive my next move."
His fingers began to twitch rapidly, the signal of another technique being prepared.
As Doflamingo and Erdo squared off again, chaos engulfed the entire battlefield.
Over twenty elite teams had gathered here for the ceremony, each representing top-ranking guilds of the magic pattern world.
Yet, despite their strength, their numbers were far too few.
Each team had a maximum of twelve members; some weren't even full.
They were powerful, yes, but the demon army facing them was no joke.
Here, deep in the underground palace, no demon was below C-rank.
C-rank might not sound impressive, but in human terms, even the weakest of them would be considered monstrous.
To compare, a C-rank demon matched roughly to a Marine officer between the ranks of Headquarters Colonel and Rear Admiral.
Not exactly small fry.
Under such pressure, even the mighty guilds were struggling. Their strongest fighters were forced to protect their companions, and the tides of battle began to turn against them.
And just when things looked grim, a man stepped forward.
Rumble!
Giant trees suddenly burst from the ground, rising toward the cavern ceiling.
Amid the chaos, when the demon army seemed unstoppable, Jayne, the Evergreen Tree of Magic Pattern, finally made his move.
In an instant, the entire battlefield transformed into a vast forest.
Countless vines and branches lashed out toward the demons, pureblood, hybrid, or beast alike.
Once trapped, escaping was nearly impossible.
The vines were imbued with immense magical power of sloth, a unique energy that sapped one's activity and dulled magic itself.
When magical activity dropped below a certain threshold, even casting spells became impossible.
Without pure physical strength, breaking free was hopeless.
It was Jayne's power that allowed the World Government to send so few magic pattern users into this deep underworld and still hold their ground against the pure demons.
Even though the extent of the demons' magical development had exceeded all expectations, as long as Jayne was there, their numbers meant nothing.
"Ugh, I'm so sleepy… I don't want to move anymore! Is this the power of sloth? Damn it!" one pure demon groaned.
A high-ranking pure demon, one often sent above ground for reconnaissance, found himself bound tightly by the vines. His face twisted in frustration.
It was hopeless. None of the captured demons could break free.
This was the power of Jayne, the first S-rank magic pattern user in the human world.
Terrifying.
(End of this chapter)