The irreversible corruption of the void

Exhale...

Exhale...

Roger urgently exhaled, and at this moment, he could hardly suppress the pain surging through his body. He had already been moderately injured during the brief skirmish with Aatrox before, and just now, he was hit again by Aatrox's magical shock, worsening his injuries.

But Aatrox's condition was also not good. Since arriving in Alabasta, he hadn't received any replenishment of flesh and blood. As long as they could successfully delay the time until his body naturally decayed, they would win!

Boom!

The monster rushed over at an extremely fast speed. Roger didn't dodge; instead, he also charged towards Aatrox at an equally rapid speed. Because Aatrox's target was Kapu, and with one arm missing, Kapu would find it challenging to deal with Aatrox's heavy blows!

So, this was Roger's significance. If others were to face Aatrox one-on-one, they would probably not withstand a serious strike. However, he could, and he could even engage in a brief struggle with Aatrox!

If it weren't for him, no matter how many people were present, Aatrox would easily break through them. Once he got serious, no one could react to his attacks.

Boom!

Just as Kapu was about to be cut down or at least heavily injured by Aatrox, Roger suddenly appeared. Like an ant, Roger swung a long sword that, relative to Aatrox, was like a thin needle. The erupted power instantly made the weather change.

Rumble...

Kapu looked somewhat dazed at Roger, who suddenly appeared in front of him. He gritted his teeth, unwillingly threw a punch, and joined Roger in resisting Aatrox.

Indeed, he felt unwilling. He didn't expect this emotion to resurface in his heart after so many years. This was the emotion of a weakling, and he hadn't been a weakling for some time.

But now, in front of Aatrox and Roger, he was indeed weak!

If it weren't for Roger, he would have at least been heavily injured by Aatrox just now. His Haki-coated Hardening could not necessarily withstand Aatrox's large sword, given the vast difference in their strength.

With both hands intact, he still had a certain chance to defend against a few moves. However, losing one arm was undoubtedly a significant blow for someone who relied on his fists like him.

Boom!

He and Roger were forced back by Aatrox's power, and at this time, others' attacks reached Aatrox.

Aatrox's body squirmed with blood and flesh as he swung the large sword. The attacks of the world's top experts dissipated into nothingness.

Kapu also fell to the ground, watching Roger's figure still standing. In his heart, a sense of shame inexplicably rose.

The Marines had reached the point where they had to rely on pirates. The reason he found it difficult to accept the God Valley incident was because it was something he and Roger's pirate crew accomplished together.

Moreover, the World Government directly ignored Roger's crew's statement that it was done by him and Garp. How could he accept such a thing?

And now, it seemed like a scene from back then was being reenacted, even more humiliating because the Marines couldn't do anything!

This sense of shame quickly fermented in Kapu's heart, gradually transforming into an ugly resentment and hatred!

"Vice Admiral Kapu?! What's wrong with you?"

Just as he was thinking like this, Astar's voice suddenly came to his ears. The majestic voice produced by the Buddha's transformation made Kapu wake up from his thoughts in an instant. He found himself still lying on the ground, while Roger was still fighting Aatrox with others.

What was I thinking just now?

Kapu felt like he had fallen into an icy cave. Why did he think that just now?

Kapu looked at Astar, who had come to his side, shook his head suddenly, and shouted loudly, "Be careful! Aatrox's demonic aura can lead people to corruption! Don't stay near him for too long!"

"Egret! Help me!"

He suddenly thought of the information from the Blackbeard Pirates. It was frequently mentioned that devils had the ability to seduce people's hearts. They often used conditions and benefits to make people's souls corrupt. Just now, he was undoubtedly affected by this ability.

His words made everyone's faces change, even Roger was no exception, as he also felt that at times, dark thoughts would arise in his heart.

Kapu saw the expressions of the people and felt somewhat fortunate, as luckily, Egret was here.

Egret, a user of the Wash-Wash Fruit, had the ability to wash people clean like clothes and purify the darkness in their hearts.

And now, there was no more suitable ability than this.

She was the second most important figure after Roger!

"This is trouble."

Egret had already come to Kapu's side. She sighed lightly, "I'm running out of strength... "

Only now did Kapu notice that Egret's body was covered in blood, with many torn wounds. The torn areas seemed to darken and turn gray, as if they were dying. A silent breath of death pervaded them.

Blood was also at her mouth. In this intense battle, she was reaching her limit.

Egret was undoubtedly very powerful within the Marines, but in the entire world, she wasn't a top-tier expert like Whitebeard. In a battle of this scale, she had already done remarkably well to last until now.

"It's not just the two of us..."

Kapu looked at the distant battle, gritted his teeth, and said, "Everyone is almost at their limit."

The duration of this battle was not long, unlike many people who could fight for ten hours or even days and nights in a one-on-one duel. But in this battle, everyone was in a state of full combat all the time. The consumption of physical strength was extremely severe.

Roger could certainly see the situation around him, but his inner darkness was also stirred up by Aatrox. Originally, with his strength, he wouldn't be hit so quickly, but he had eaten the Strange Person Cell, and now he was in a Strange Person state, which inherently carried a strong sense of darkness.

The previous darkness was suppressed by Roger's will, but now Aatrox's power strengthened the darkness in his heart, and...

This darkness seemed uncontrollable?!

He faintly felt something. Even if Aatrox no longer existed, even if they sealed Aatrox, this darkness might not disappear!