Gaping Hole

Ed fought against Sarin inside of the red mist, which made him incapable of avoiding it; he ended inhaling a large amount. His movements became sluggish as soon as the poison nested inside of his lungs. It was the fastest acting poison Ed had ever encountered, and in order to avoid it, he relied on his second brain. He focused on fighting Sarin with one, while he cornered the poisonous mist using air.

'Merry, tell Sieg to trap the poison in one of his barriers,' Ed contacted Merry using telepathy. He knew that she would be picking up their thoughts. 'If Sarin uses it again, don't get involved unless I move the poison.'

Merry told her orders to Sieg who acted fast, and the battlefield was free from red. However, the poison inside of Ed's body continued to circulate and drop his abilities little by little.

His Nen and Ki fought together in order to stop it, but it was too strong for them. Until he heard:

Poison Resistance leveled up (level 3).

Ed could immediately feel his body's resistance increase and the poison slow down. It was still stronger than him, but he felt better than before. Ed opened up his Inventory and withdrew a potion that works as an antidote, and drunk it after teleporting away from Sarin. The poison inside of his body weakened considerably, and Ed was almost at his full potential.

Sarin frowned and made a "Tch!" noise. He seemed to be able to sense the poison inside of his enemies' bodies.

The two resumed their fight quickly after.

Sarin's lava-like body leaked poison drops everywhere, and the fumes were toxic. Ed fought in the middle again, and he acted as if he was playing in his backyard. The two of clashed and the aura sent rocks flying away. Black and red flashes exploded all over the rocky battlefield. Each of their glows rivaled the sun!

Once again, Sarin backed away and spewed his poison all over, and Ed countered it by burning it. The red mist covered them, and this time Ed didn't trap it until he felt his resistance skill level up. The poison inside of his body weakened considerably this time, but it was still stronger than Ed's natural abilities. Sieg blocked the poison in the same barrier as the first one, and continued to watch; his eyes darted between the two battles.

Ed was hit hard in the face by Sarin. His skin reddened up, and he realized it wasn't from the damage, but from the poison. Yet, it mattered not to him. He continued to fight, and he returned the hit by slashing Sarin's cheek. The red blood enhanced the scarlet skin of the man.

The two of them chose not to back away this time, as they decided to finish it. A punch and a slash. The two basic attacks executed by the two men seemed to have reached the level of a cheat skill. Each time any of them attacked, the air would whistle and crackle, while the ground would crack and shudder. Their attacks left scars on the environment; it seemed that nothing would be able to live there anymore.

Ed, who had switched back to using one sword, withdrew Ame-No-Murakumo without Sarin noticing. He had managed to protect Shusui up until now by having it clad in Haki, but couldn't afford to do the same with another weapon, since he wasn't sure if his Haki was strong enough to push away the poison. He couldn't risk losing a Mythical or Legendary grade sword. Plus, he loved his weapons.

But, at that moment, Ed realized that nothing ventured meant that nothing would be gained. He dived in and slashed upward, forcing Sarin to block the heavy blow with both of his hands. And, while using Telekinesis, he controlled Ame-No-Murakumo from behind him and had it pierce Sarin's foot. He bound the pained Sarin's body with his remaining Telekinesis threads and felt them melt from his touch. Sarin panicked as he noticed Ed slashing towards his neck. This is the end, he thought.

However, just a couple of seconds before, another fight was reaching its climax. WarGreymon, whose armor had cracks all over it, and the Calamity Black Dragon, full of injuries, clashed for the last time.

WarGreymon used his 'Brave Tornado', where he started to rotate until he turned into an orange tornado himself, and hit the dragon in his chest. The black dragon was knocked off the air and was fast approaching the ground, but in a last minute struggle, he fluttered his wings in order to regain balance. Yet, all it did was chance course towards Ed and Sarin.

Unfortunately, it was Ed who was hit the hardest.

Ed's companions looked in horror as they couldn't react in time. They all moved in and cleared the flying dirt and dust in no time. Garu picked up the dragon's body and flung it away in his fit of anger. Under the dragon was the unmoving body of Ed.

Suika and Merry dove it to check up on Ed but were stopped by his shout. "Stop! Don't come near me for now," he said and he sat up. His mouth was full of blood which dripped on his black and red equipment. His shirt had a hole in it, and people could see through it. His chest was punched through, and the one who did it was long gone.

"I've been poisoned, and I don't think anyone here can handle it," he said, but his eyes fell on the slime who puffed up. "Well maybe everyone except Suika."

Ed tried to laugh in order to lighten the mood but broke into a fit of coughing. Sarin pulled no punches when he hit him, and injected him with a large dose of poison. Blood continued to swoop out of his mouth, and his regenerating chest injury.

WarGreymon looked mortified. It was his attack that caused all of this, and it was his fault. He knew that if Ed died, he would as well, but he didn't want to be the cause for everyone to lose their lives. He didn't want to be the reason for this happiness to end.

For the first time, Ed saw emotions other than happiness and courage inside of WarGreymon's green eyes. He smiled and said, "Don't worry, WarGreymon, I won't die. If anything, you should apologize to Emilia." He looked at the worry stricken girl and added, "I let him escape…"

"Silly! Idiot! Fool! I don't care about that!" she said as her eyes welled up with tears. "Focus on your body for now!"

"Don't worry, I have it all under control," he said with a smile, reassuring his comrades. "I think." And the reassurance was all gone.

Ed stood up, his Telekinesis moved him as he controlled himself like a marionette. He looked towards the black dragon and walked over to it.

"Merry, can you talk directly to his mind? Tell him will he make a soul contract with me."