"Holy Light Wall!"
Wright furrowed his brows in slight surprise. While the Holy Light Wall did reduce the damage suffered by the Marine officers, the effect was barely noticeable.
"This isn't just about sound and intimidation..."
"Their life force is indeed weakening. Holy Light Wall isn't effective enough against this type of non-physical damage."
"Light of Dawn!"
Waves of golden light rippled outward like water, and the Marine officers finally let out a collective sigh of relief—Holy Light's healing powers significantly alleviated their pain.
Wright activated his Observation Haki to its fullest. Theoretically, this should have made him more vulnerable to the attack. But oddly enough—nothing happened.
It didn't take long for Wright to understand what was going on.
Soul Scream? A soul-damaging ability?!
BIG MOM… is damaging the soul of anyone whose soul is weaker than hers!
Wright's expression turned grim. No wonder Sakazuki and Fujitora both looked like they were in pain.
As Admirals, their souls couldn't possibly be weak—but when compared to BIG MOM, it wasn't unreasonable that they might still be relatively inferior.
As for himself...
Thanks to the constant nurturing of the Holy Light and the unique nature of his own soul, Wright's soul was naturally strong—it was only logical.
Fortunately, the healing effect of Holy Light worked on both physical and spiritual wounds. The Marine officers were out of danger.
But BIG MOM's children…
It was a massacre.
Non-combatants like Streusen, the head chef, had long since collapsed, foaming at the mouth and completely unconscious.
What surprised Wright, however, was...
That old bird Morgans, who was darting across the battlefield snapping photos like a lunatic, seemed entirely unaffected. Looks like that feathered bastard has more power than he lets on.
As for CP0...
Stussy had already slipped away the moment the bizarre shriek ended—clearly, she understood that if even she, as an "ally," hadn't been informed of the Marines' true plan, sticking around any longer risked getting swept up in the operation.
"It seems you still haven't realized just how troublesome a healing-type ability user can be."
Wright raised a hand, summoning two pillars of Holy Light to envelop Sakazuki and Fujitora. The tension eased from their faces.
"I'll break her rhythm—Sakazuki-senpai, Fujitora-san, prepare for the assault!"
"Got it!"
"Understood."
The sword Ashes in Wright's hand burst into roaring divine flames as he charged straight at the still-screaming BIG MOM.
"That voice is driving me insane, you old hag!"
"Shut. Up!"
"Exorcising Slash!"
Whoosh—
The sacred flames that usually shimmered with crimson and gold transformed into a platinum-white blaze. Wright infused the soul-purifying "Exorcism" ability (Paladin ability) into Ashes, unleashing it in a powerful slash. Even BIG MOM—who rarely felt threatened—sensed true danger.
"Cognac!"
"AAAAAARGH!"
The slash from Cognac was effortlessly cleaved in half. Napoleon clashed violently with Ashes, screaming in agony.
Even with BIG MOM's soul-empowerment, Napoleon—merely a fragment of her own soul—couldn't withstand the blow!
BOOM!
BIG MOM drove the howling Napoleon into the ground, her arms now shrouded in Haki so thick it appeared tangible. From her hands, a misty purple vapor began to manifest:
"Soul Rend!"
Wright felt a brief sting in his mind—
—and that was it.
As BIG MOM's expression twisted from malice to shock, the combined assault of Sakazuki and Fujitora crashed down.
"Crimson Lotus: Hellhound!"
"Jigoku Tabi!"
Seizing the opportunity, Wright unleashed his ultimate move:
"Avenging Wrath!"
"Secret Technique: Divine Adjudicator!"
A storm of razor-sharp holy energy—blades of pure sanctity capable of cutting through anything—descended from the heavens, engulfing BIG MOM, who was pinned in place by Fujitora's crushing gravity and Sakazuki's massive magma hound.
"Fujitora-san, now!"
BOOM—
"AAAAAAHHH!!"
A blinding flash of light.
A deafening explosion.
A soul-piercing scream.
Every fighter on the battlefield turned their heads.
"That's… that's the Fleet Admiral's technique!"
"BIG MOM can't withstand that! She's done for!"
"Mama!!"
"No—no way! That can't be happening!"
"That's our mother!"
RUMBLE...
With the overwhelming impact of Divine Adjudicator, the already strained top floor of Whole Cake Chateau began to crack and collapse.
"Crap! It's coming down!"
"I'm surprised it lasted this long!"
"What do you expect? That was a clash between three of the strongest in the world!"
"We're doomed! We're falling!"
"Not just the ninth floor—the whole damn Chateau is going down!"
"We're dead if we get crushed under this thing!"
Panic swept the ranks of the Big Mom Pirates. Even the Sweet Commanders and Perospero momentarily forgot their own battles.
"The mochi—Peros! Reinforce my mochi!"
Katakuri's arms were scorched black from Ace's flames, but he summoned his strength and created a massive mochi dome.
"Hurry! Everyone in! Get the wounded inside too!"
"Cracker! Help me reinforce it!"
"Understood!"
With help from Perospero and Cracker, the inside of the mochi dome cradled their siblings safely while the outside was fortified with layers of candy syrup and ultra-hardened biscuits.
As for the Marines...
They had anticipated this. The moment the first tremor hit, the main forces regrouped.
Fujitora quickly disengaged from BIG MOM, drew his cane-sword, and activated his powers. A wide section of the rooftop where the Marines stood was enveloped in a gravitational field:
"Zero Gravity."
The massive rooftop lifted off, taking the Marine army with it, rising steadily away from the crumbling Chateau. As for Wright and Sakazuki...
Wright could fly. Sakazuki, being a Logia user, wouldn't be harmed even if the whole Chateau collapsed on him—and besides, Geppo existed for a reason.
Katakuri's mochi dome plummeted downward as the entire Chateau disintegrated. BIG MOM's scream had faded. Where they had fought, now there was only a massive crater.
A battered Cavendish exhaled in relief. Picking up the Lightforged Beacon, he walked to the edge of the rooftop, dazed and reflective:
"The 'Four Emperors'… finally defeated. What strength…"
"If we had to fight our way in from the outer territories of Totto Land, with all those Ministers and BIG MOM herself defending, who knows how many lives we'd have lost…"
"Yeah, Cavendish, you did great—holding off both Snack and Perospero!"
Ace, breathing heavily, grinned and roused himself with renewed energy:
"Can't believe I still didn't take down even one Katakuri! Man, that's embarrassing, ahahah!"
"Don't act like I didn't notice you using him to train your Observation Haki~"
Cavendish clicked his tongue. Katakuri had been on the backfoot the whole fight, the air still smelled faintly of charred mochi. Compared to how hard Cavendish had fought, Ace was practically holding back.
"Fleet Admiral-sama was just fast about it. Give me a bit more time, I would've been toast anyway. Defense is easier than offense—and those two's bounties combined are 1.3 billion!"
With a flourish, Cavendish's face lit up again:
"This is gonna skyrocket my popularity!"
"Watch out!"
Ace's expression suddenly changed. Fujitora swung his blade—but it was too late.
A massive figure burst from the rubble, seizing Cavendish and the Lightforged Beacon in one crushing grip!
"No way!"
"BIG MOM?!"
"She survived the Fleet Admiral's attack?!"
The one who emerged was none other than BIG MOM—one foot on the thundercloud Zeus, the other on the sun Prometheus.
Zeus and Prometheus both had swirly eyes and seemed unconscious, but BIG MOM still controlled them freely.
Yet something about her… was different.
"Tough old hag, aren't you..."
A beam of golden light shot into the sky—Wright hovered in the air, his expression grim.
Moments later, a column of lava burst upward like a volcanic eruption, forming into Sakazuki.
He stood in the air using Geppo, face dark and stern as he looked at BIG MOM—
Wright's final blow had indeed landed. The same attack that once left Sakazuki near death—BIG MOM hadn't been able to fully dodge it.
In that critical moment, she had sacrificed Napoleon, detonating him to block part of the damage!
And now, Big Mom…
Had grown thin.
Her frame had withered, her face contorted with a savage hunger. Her eyes glowed a hellish red, and her mouth hung wide open—drool trailing down from its corners.
"Ma-ma-ma-ma!"
"I'm starving… I want to eat…"
"Delicious… souls!"
Wright's expression darkened.
"This is… Eating Disorder Frenzy?!"
"And this time… what she craves are souls?!"
—————————
Want to read ahead of schedule? Head over to my Patreon ——— patreon(.)com/JuanPiece [remove the parentheses ( )]
Note: This fanfic has been completely translated and is available on my Patreon.