The deaths of Brogy and Dorry were witnessed by the remaining Giants still fighting desperately. A mournful cry erupted across the battlefield.
"Captain Brogy!!"
"Captain Dorry!!"
However, the Marines had no intention of allowing the Giants time to grieve—nor was it their duty to do so.
While the Giants were momentarily distracted by sorrow, a relentless barrage of attacks rained down upon them.
In mere moments, more Giants collapsed to the ground, some perishing instantly.
The entire icy battlefield was now drenched in their blood, forming what seemed like a crimson sea.
Loki, witnessing this horrific scene, felt a long-buried sense of kinship resurface within him. A fire burned in his heart, raging like an inferno.
His bloodshot eyes locked onto the two approaching Admirals—Akainu and Aokiji.
"Bastards! I'll kill you all!!"
Clenching his teeth, Loki forced himself to stand. Aokiji raised an eyebrow in mild surprise.
"Oh? This guy can still move? His vitality is something else."
Akainu, unimpressed, scoffed. "Just a dying struggle. Let's clean up this sea trash already."
Aokiji shook his head lazily. "Ararara... what a hassle." But despite his tone, bone-chilling cold emanated from his hands once more.
Just then, Loki let out an earth-shaking roar. The fading sun emblem on his body reignited, and blazing flames surged behind him, forming a golden pillar of fire that shot into the sky.
The battlefield fell silent, all eyes drawn to this extraordinary phenomenon. Akainu furrowed his brow, glancing at his shoulder, where his uniform had inexplicably caught fire.
Aokiji, on the other hand, felt deeply uncomfortable, as though he were melting. The frost emanating from his hands dissipated entirely.
Under everyone's gaze, Loki's muscles bulged, his body expanding. The wreckage beneath his feet turned to ash from the unbearable heat. Even the thick ice below him melted, seawater rising up—only to evaporate instantly into steam.
Countless golden embers gathered behind Loki, reforming the sun disk. But this time, golden flame-like clouds coiled around it like a ribbon.
Akainu narrowed his eyes. "So it seems... his Devil Fruit has awakened."
Aokiji tugged at his collar, muttering, "Things just got a little trickier. Zoan awakenings usually enhance physical endurance—this guy just became even harder to take down."
"It only prolongs his death."
Magma surged from Akainu's body as he shot toward Loki like a cannonball, propelled by the force of his own lava.
"What do you think you are?"
Alongside him, a massive magma fist hurtled toward Loki. But Loki made no attempt to dodge. Instead, he charged head-on with a blazing golden fireball, as brilliant as the sun itself.
BOOM!!!
A thunderous explosion resounded across the battlefield. A colossal fireball erupted at the moment of impact, causing the icy ground below to shatter in layers due to the immense heat and shockwave.
Aokiji, concerned that Akainu might fall into the sea when he reappeared, quickly repaired the fractured ice with another layer of frost.
As the flames finally dispersed, a massive figure was seen plummeting, crashing into the ice like a falling star.
Meanwhile, a second figure, wreathed in searing magma, emerged and landed steadily—Akainu.
And the one who had crashed into the ice? None other than Loki, whose Devil Fruit had just awakened, yet who now lay utterly defeated.
Aokiji tilted his head, pulling his ice-coated hands from the ground. He glanced at Akainu and muttered,
"Well, that was a waste of time."
Standing on the battlefield, Akainu's uniform was scorched away at the chest, revealing skin charred with burns. Loki's awakened Apollo Fruit had indeed elevated his power—enough to injure even an Admiral.
However, Akainu's Magma-Magma Fruit had long since awakened as well. The damaged portions of his clothing swiftly regenerated as they merged with his elemental form, his red suit looking as pristine as ever.
Loki, too, slowly climbed out of the collapsed ice.
But compared to Akainu's minor burns, his injuries were far graver. A massive, fist-shaped imprint marred his torso, blood seeping from countless wounds. Crimson dripped from his body, pooling at his feet.
Pale-faced, Loki tried to lift his head to glare at Akainu. He wanted to speak, but as soon as he opened his mouth, a torrent of blood burst forth—along with fragments of his internal organs.
With that final gasp, Loki's strength failed him. He collapsed onto the ice, utterly drained. This time, he could not rise again.
His Devil Fruit had only just awakened. He had not yet unleashed its full potential—and yet, at Akainu's hands, he had suffered a crushing defeat.
Just as Akainu had said: raw power alone was not everything.
Loki's blurred vision locked onto Akainu's form as the world around him dimmed.
No matter how much he resented his fate, his loss was undeniable.
By now, night had fully descended. A pale moon hung in the sky, its light illuminating a battlefield filled with the dying moans of the Giants. The Marines' triumphant battle cries echoed undiminished.
Aokiji stepped forward and stomped heavily on the ice. Immediately, a wave of jagged ice spikes erupted from the ground, racing toward Loki's fallen form.
Just as the spikes were about to impale him, a deafening trumpet-like bellow echoed across the battlefield.
A massive arm extended from the distance, seizing Loki in its enormous grasp.
The ice spikes shattered harmlessly against the thick skin of the massive hand, which swiftly retracted, carrying Loki away.
Boom... boom... boom...
Like the pounding of a heartbeat, a deep drumbeat reverberated through the battlefield. The fallen Giants, who had been too weak to continue fighting, suddenly glowed with renewed vigor and began rising to their feet once more.
Akainu and Aokiji knew this sound all too well—the Drums of Liberation.
Both Admirals turned their gazes toward the source of the arm. In the distance, a shadow loomed as vast as a mountain, advancing toward them.
...
High above in Mary Geoise, a man clad in a Marine Fleet Admiral's uniform watched the scene unfold. A faint smile curved his lips.
"Joy Boy... you've finally shown yourself."
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+160 chapters on p@treon/tambeerg