Chapter 66: Catching Up
The remaining four men, including Raizo, stood frozen, their eyes locked on the scene before them.
They had just watched their Prince, Raika, coldly use their fallen comrades as stepping stones to cross the electrified ground.
The air was thick with the sickening smell of burnt flesh, mixed with the acrid scent of ozone. The two charred, unrecognizable corpses on the Lightning Carpet still twitched, emitting faint, horrifying sizzling sounds—a final testament to their pain and resentment.
Raizo's pupils trembled violently. Shock and betrayal crashed over him like a tidal wave, eroding his sanity.
Brothers... men I treated like family... turned into disposable tools in an instant?
His rugged face twisted in agony. His fists clenched so hard his knuckles turned white, nails digging into his palms until blood dripped unnoticed onto the ground.
"What are you standing there for? Get over here!"
Raika's voice, cold and booming, cracked across the distance like a whip, jolting the four men from their nightmare.
"Prince Raika! Why?!" Raizo roared, his voice hoarse with suppressed rage and grief, echoing in the desolate zone.
On the other side, Raika stood tall, residual sparks still dancing around him. His expression was arrogant and icy, as if what he had done was the most logical thing in the world.
"Why?" He scoffed, his gaze sweeping over his remaining men and the silently observing Kyle.
"Because we want the fruit! To lift the curse! This is a necessary sacrifice!"
"I've crossed the third zone. If my calculations are correct, the outer perimeter is already closing. There is no going back! The only way out is forward—to that Devil Fruit!"
He paused, his voice sharpening. "Do you want to die here for nothing? Or will you use the path paved by your comrades' lives to seize a chance at survival and fulfill our mission? Is that so hard to understand?!"
His words were a hammer, shattering Raizo's hesitation and naivety. The disbelief on his face was slowly replaced by a desperate, grim resolve.
Raizo took one last look at the charred remains of his friends. A flash of deep pain crossed his eyes, then vanished behind a wall of determination.
He let out a low, beast-like growl and sprinted forward, leaping without hesitation onto the first corpse!
The moment his foot touched the blackened back, a violent current shot up his leg!
The paralysis and pain nearly froze half his body instantly. But fueled by sheer willpower, he pushed off again before the electricity could reach his thigh, launching himself into the air!
The lightning seemed enraged by his escape, striking harder the moment he left, but it was too late.
Second jump. He landed on the abdomen of the second corpse. A stronger current shocked his internal organs, nearly making him black out. The taste of iron filled his mouth.
He gritted his teeth, relying on pure, unyielding courage to make the third, crucial leap!
Just as the current touched his brain, threatening to blank his mind, he made it!
His body traced an arc through the air, trailing sparks, and slammed heavily onto the solid ground beyond the Lightning Carpet. He smoked, his muscles twitching uncontrollably, but he was alive.
The remaining three men saw Raizo succeed. They looked back at the path they came from—it was currently clear, but they knew they couldn't make it back in their condition.
They exchanged glances, seeing the same desperate resolve in each other's eyes.
Nodding, they followed suit.
But luck did not strike twice.
Of the three, only one—thanks to slightly better conditioning and a bit of luck—managed to land on the other side, battered and smoking.
The other two hesitated for a split second mid-jump, overcome by fear or exhaustion. They failed to launch in time. Their bodies paralyzed, they froze atop their comrades' corpses.
They watched helplessly as the deadly white light swallowed them. In endless agony, they became two new charcoal statues, adding to the grim collection of the Lightning Carpet.
Raika counted. From his large expedition, only Raizo and one other guard remained.
He frowned, then glanced at Kyle, who was still watching from the other side. Raika's face showed a flicker of condescending charity, as if Kyle should be grateful to have witnessed the "method" to cross.
He wasted no more time. With his two remaining men, he turned and headed deeper into the core.
Kyle watched them go, then glanced at the four charred bodies on the electrified floor.
A flicker of pity crossed his eyes, but he had no intention of using the corpses.
He calmly walked to the edge of the Lightning Carpet. He bent his knees slightly, leaning forward, hands hovering near the ground, right foot back—a classic, explosive sprinter's stance.
VMMMM—
An invisible, massive wave of Aura exploded from him!
His Nen surged like a river returning to the sea, gathering rapidly in his feet, especially his right sole.
Focus.
Enhance.
Explode.
"BOOM!"
He kicked off with such force that the solid rock beneath him cracked and cratered!
Kyle shot forward like an arrow from a bow, like a shell from a cannon, carrying an unstoppable momentum!
His body extended in the air, tracing a perfect arc that easily cleared the entire hundred-meter distance.
As he crossed the danger zone, he tucked, executing a graceful flip, and landed silently on the other side.
If Raika had seen this—clearing the entire obstacle with sheer physical power, essentially flying over it—his jaw would have hit the floor.
Kyle dusted off his hands, satisfied with the jump.
He looked in the direction Raika had gone.
"At this rate, they should be reaching the core soon. That Devil Fruit must be just ahead."
Kyle recalled the original story. There was no mention of a "Raika" ever obtaining a fruit.
"It seems, barring any surprises, our ruthless First Prince is destined to fall here. The only question is... will it be in the next zone?"
Regardless, that Devil Fruit... Kyle was determined to get it.
He moved, blurring into the shadows like a breeze, and gave chase.