Loki hovered in midair, the solar disk behind his neck flickering unsteadily. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, evaporating into mist within the golden flames. The wounds inflicted by the ice Glove were too severe, weighing heavily on his body.
He lowered his gaze to the frozen battlefield below, where Akainu and Aokiji stood.
"Mere humans... dare to wound the Sun God?!" he roared, clapping his hands together. The solar ring behind his neck burst forth with a dazzling radiance, unleashing a crimson-gold firestorm that expanded outward in an instant. The ice beneath them melted away, and even the air twisted under the unbearable heat.
Akainu snorted coldly.
"A pirate claiming to be a god? How ridiculous."
With that, he transformed his lower body into magma and propelled himself skyward with an explosive surge of molten fury.
Though the power of the Magma-Magma Fruit had little effect on Loki, its sheer explosive force remained unmatched by most Devil Fruits. Combined with Akainu's formidable mastery of Haki, it was clear that Loki couldn't rely on his fruit ability alone to overpower him.
In a blink, Akainu had already reached Loki's altitude.
Loki's crimson-gold eyes gleamed as he thrust his hands forward, causing the solar ring to expand and unleash a searing blast toward Akainu.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Deafening explosions tore through the battlefield, painting the sky in hues of red and gold. The scorching air was so intense that even breathing felt like igniting one's lungs.
From the ice below, Aokiji squinted as he observed the clash above. Then, through the golden inferno, a streak of deep crimson emerged—Akainu had broken through the flames. A grin crept onto Aokiji's lips.
Loki had already unleashed his solar disk in full-force attack, making it difficult to conjure another in a short span of time. Without its protection, his massive body was completely exposed.
In contrast, Akainu—though riddled with molten craters from the impact—remained unfazed.
He raised his magma-forged fist and launched an attack toward Loki from a distance, roaring:
"Great Eruption—Hellhound!"
A Hellhound, several times larger than before, surged forth. Loki's pupils shrank as the massive attack expanded in his vision.
With a furious roar, he poured every ounce of his Devil Fruit power and Haki into his defense, his arms bulging with tension as he pushed against the oncoming Hellhound.
But the moment his hands made contact, the overwhelming impact sent him spewing blood. His massive frame was hurled backward at an even greater velocity than before, smashing through the wreckage of Dorry and Brogy's warship and vanishing into the thick smoke.
...
SPLASH!
A mass of molten rock landed on the frozen sea, sending up a dense cloud of steam. From within the mist, a towering figure emerged—Akainu, unscathed, striding forward.
The rose on his chest gleamed within the lingering embers. He cast a glance at the towering mound of shipwreck debris ahead and muttered,
"He's not dead. That giant is a bit special."
Aokiji, hands tucked into his pockets, strolled up beside him and remarked,
"Yeah, he is. Didn't you hear those two other giants? He's a prince."
"A prince... tch."
Akainu scoffed in disdain.
Just then, a faint rustling came from the wreckage. A moment later, the largest fragments of the broken deck were shoved aside, revealing Dorry and Brogy. One of them cleared away the debris, while the other dragged Loki's bloodied body from the wreckage.
As Akainu had predicted, Loki was still alive. However, he was severely wounded, his body utterly drained of strength.
Brogy slung one of Loki's arms over his shoulder and hauled him up.
The motion tugged at Loki's wounds, forcing him to groan in pain, but he gritted his teeth and endured it. Through clenched teeth, he asked,
"Why... why are you saving me?"
Brogy, himself heavily wounded, coughed up blood before answering in a solemn tone,
"I don't like admitting it, but right now, you are our people's last hope. You can't die. The future of the Giant depends on you."
Loki's expression flickered with complexity. Gone was his earlier arrogance—his voice was much quieter when he asked,
"What about you two?"
Before Brogy could respond, Dorry, who had just picked up his massive axe, bellowed,
"What a stupid question! We'll keep fighting the Marines, of course!"
No sooner had he shouted this than he coughed up another mouthful of blood. His face paled instantly—his wounds were grave.
Brogy, his abdomen torn open by Akainu's magma, gently set Loki down against a protruding piece of wreckage before gripping his weapon tightly. Without turning back, he said,
"Loki, just hold on a little longer. Our reinforcements will be here soon. You need to rest."
Loki remained silent, staring at the backs of Brogy and Dorry. His emotions churned in turmoil.
The two warriors he had always looked down upon—these "brutes"—were now fighting to protect him.
Even a man as proud as Loki could not remain unmoved by such a sight.
He opened his mouth as if to say something but ultimately found himself speechless. By then, Dorry and Brogy were already charging toward Aokiji and Akainu, roaring in defiance.
Their figures exuded an aura of unshakable resolve.
Loki bit his lip hard enough to draw blood. He struggled to sit upright, determined to use the precious time they had bought him to recover as much as possible.
...
But this was no fantasy.
This was reality—a battlefield.
No amount of courageous shouting or last-minute power-ups could turn the tides.
Dorry and Brogy had barely taken a few steps when two calm voices rang out:
"Ice Time Capsule."
"Great Eruption."
A blast of bone-chilling cold swept through the battlefield, freezing the two giants mid-charge. The crisp sound of ice crystallizing filled the air, and within moments, two towering ice sculptures stood in their place.
Then, a massive magma fist came roaring down. The frozen figures of Dorry and Brogy shattered instantly, reduced to a flurry of ice shards that evaporated in the searing heat.
Dorry and Brogy—the captains of the Giant Warrior Pirates, who had sailed for over a century—were gone. Their lives, reduced to mere wisps of steam, dissipated into the air.
...
From a distance, Loki watched in stunned silence, his expression frozen in place.
He sat motionless, as if turned to stone.
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+160 chapters on p@treon/tambeerg