Beckman's brows furrowed tightly. He had long anticipated that Alucard would not let him off so easily. To have held even a sliver of hope until today... it seemed he had been far too naive.
"Fine. Give it to me."
Beckman took a step forward, standing before Dr. Indigo.
"Beckman?" Ivalis felt a lingering sense of reluctance to see this happen, but the subordinates behind him offered no such protest.
Due to the previous betrayal, the remnants of the Red Hair Pirates, aside from Ivalis, had all turned traitor and were subsequently purged. Now, only Ivalis remained. The rest of the Golden Hair Pirates were loyal to the Immortal Pirates; regarding Beckman, who was still under suspicion of treachery, they felt that no measure taken against him was uncalled for.
"It's wonderful that you are so understanding."
Dr. Indigo skillfully injected the DX-1121 into Beckman's arm.
Once the needle was withdrawn, everyone waited in silence for the result.
Whoosh—
Suddenly, a black-and-red liquid materialized, surging out from within Beckman's body. It was as if a beast residing inside him was trying to tear through its skin to break free.
"Hey!"
Ivalis glared fiercely at Dr. Indigo, who acted as if he had seen nothing at all. He said calmly, "Please, rest easy. This is a normal reaction. We have already tested it on Exdeath."
"Exdeath?"
Everyone present was stunned. Wasn't that the traitor who was executed just two days ago?
In a place invisible to the crowd, inside Beckman's body, the Blacklight Virus acted like venomous insects searching for a nesting hive. It surged straight toward Beckman's heart. After a brief pause, it locked onto its target and swallowed his heart in one gulp.
"Ngh... hhh...!"
Beckman's eyes bulged in agony, looking as though they might pop from their sockets at any moment. Veins throbbed violently around his forehead, but his formidable willpower prevented him from screaming out in pain.
About half a minute later, Beckman's expression gradually returned to calm. The physical pain dissipated, and he slumped onto the ground.
Ivalis crouched down. "Are you alright...?"
"…"
Beckman took several heavy gasps of air and waved his hand. "I won't die."
"Now that this is settled, I can leave matters in your hands with peace of mind. Farewell." Dr. Indigo led his men away at a brisk pace.
BOOM!
Another shockwave of turbulence rippled through the air. The battle between Alucard and Zephyr was far from over.
Under Zephyr's indiscriminate assault, Alucard had been temporarily repelled from his person onto a distant mountain peak.
Taking note of Alucard's state, Zephyr did not launch a direct physical strike this time. Instead, he turned toward another mountain range. He gripped one of the peaks tightly and, within seconds, physically uprooted three mountain tops.
"How will you handle this!"
With a massive heave, Zephyr hurled a mountain peak, one far larger than his own body, at his opponent.
Alucard stepped forward with his left foot. He gripped the Impaling Castle with his right hand, assuming the posture of a javelin thrower, and hurled the weapon.
The lance pierced through the incoming mountain. The massive rock then slammed heavily into Alucard, crushing his body into a bloody mist. Simultaneously, the lance struck Zephyr, passing through his body and leaving a hole so minuscule that even he barely noticed it.
Having passed through Zephyr, the Impaling Castle lost most of its momentum and plunged into the ground, embedding itself in the earth without even disturbing the soil, a testament to its supernatural sharpness.
"Ey..."
Alucard's body gradually coalesced from a pool of blood. He gripped the Impaling Castle once more. "Kazikli Bey."
The moment the words left Alucard's lips, countless bronze stakes erupted from within Zephyr's massive frame, piercing his earth-like skin. Nearly half of his body was instantly transformed into a pincushion.
"Being such a large target is also a weakness."
This was the move Alucard had held back during the final moments of the rebellion: King of Execution. It was an ability said to possess destructive power that scaled with the "sin" of the target. While it might not reach its full potential against someone like Zephyr, it was still not to be underestimated. It was a "map-wiper" class technique, perfect for dealing with an opponent of Zephyr's current scale.
"Ugh...!"
Enduring the agonizing pain, Zephyr swung his other hand, intending to pull the stakes out of his body as he had done with previous attacks.
However, King of Execution and the black hound Baskerville were two entirely different techniques.
Baskerville focused on raw offensive power meant to destroy an opponent quickly; it was large in volume, making it easier to grab or dismantle.
King of Execution, however, focused on pure destructive fragmentation, emphasizing the total collapse of the opponent. More importantly, its strikes were tiny and dense. Compared to Baskerville, it was like comparing a swarm of locusts to a single lion.
One locust is no match for a lion. But a swarm can strip a lion to its bones in an instant.
The stakes continued to burst forth from within Zephyr's body. Unable to endure further, Zephyr was forced to relinquish his Titan form. His colossal body began to crack, peel, and finally crumble.
"...Z-Sensei!"
Even from a distance, everyone on the island could see the collapse of the giant. Zephyr's students were the first to instinctively realize the crisis.
Zephyr had deactivated his Titanization, but certainly not because he had won.
Crash!
Zephyr's original body fell from the crumbling titan form, landing in a wretched state. As he fell, he crashed through several large trees that had only just been restored to the earth.
His left arm and a large portion of his left side were a bloody mess—the direct result of Alucard's King of Execution.
Alucard retracted the Impaling Castle and drew his sword, hoisting it high toward the heavens. In an instant, dark clouds converged, and lightning flickered.
CRACK-BOOM!
A bolt of lightning followed Alucard's command, descending upon the blade. Upon contact, it turned a deep, malevolent red before arcing back into the sky, making the clouds pulse with crimson lightning like a soaring dragon.
"There it is... Shanks' 'Spirit of All Things'."
Ivalis and the others, who had already boarded their ship to set sail, looked up at the flashing red lightning in the sky.
Below, the fallen Zephyr braced himself and charged. In the few seconds it took to reach Alucard, he had already fully coated himself in Armament Haki.
CLANG!
Alucard used his sword to block Zephyr's hulking frame, a body three times his size. The resulting shockwave flattened the surrounding forest into a shattered wasteland.