Chapter 39. Big Mom vs. Elbaf IV

Chapter 39. Big Mom vs. Elbaf IV

"Are both participants ready, or shall we dawdle a bit longer, savoring the uumm… anticipation?" the referee called out again, his gaze, waist and neck, dancing between me and Hela. Hela stood tall and resolute, eyes locked onto me. As for me...

"I'll let you know when I'm ready… err," I blurted out, momentarily blanking on the referee's name.

"Jack," the referee interjected smoothly, a roguish grin tugging at his lips as he displayed a legendary, allusive gesture. "Jack Sparrow, at your service. But no need for formalities, mate. Just let me know when you're done with your little... warm-up."

I stared at him, my mind racing. Jack Sparrow? Really? Sure, the guy had a certain charm about him, with his smirk and the way he carried himself. I could almost see the resemblance to the legendary pirate — well, if you squinted and ignored the fact that he was missing the iconic beads and authentic swagger. But I wasn't about to start calling him that, not in a million years. It was one thing to appreciate a well-crafted persona; it was another to indulge in someone else's delusion.

So instead, I just nodded, trying to suppress the urge to roll my eyes. "Yeah-yeah," I said, brushing it off. "Just let me get a handle on this, and we'll be good to go."

It had been a while since I ingested the devil fruit — 'a while' being a diplomatic term for thirty minutes. I hadn't anticipated that mastering a devil fruit would be such a convoluted mess, making me regret not opting for the Banana-Banana fruit, which seemed so much simpler.

No matter how many times I tried, I couldn't seem to maintain my normal size, which was crucial if I hoped to combat and defeat a giant. Each time I attempted to grow, I'd reach the size of Oars, then dissolve into a soupy mess of liquefied bones before a pale-white flame engulfed me and reverted me to a human child.

"Alright, one more time," I muttered, gritting my teeth as I willed my body to return to my preferred 450 cm. This time, I was determined to stop at exactly that height — no more, no less.

The crowd watched in hushed anticipation, their eyes glued to the spectacle. Fortunately, the rules stated that the duel would only commence when both participants were ready, allowing me the excruciating liberty of stalling while I wrestled with my transformation.

From what I had gathered, a pale-white flame would envelope my body when I tried to grow. However, once I reached Oars' size, this pale flame would be replaced by a brown glow that would heat me up and turn me into a puddle of bones.

The desire to revert to a less grotesque form would then cause the pale-white flame to reappear, transforming me back into a human child - my current default size.

Despite the crowd's efforts to assist, diving into encyclopedias of Devil Fruits and scrambling through stolen World Government records, no one was yet to identify the fruit I had consumed. Streusen had demonstrated that I wasn't suffering from the effects of the Soup-Soup fruit by feeding it to Charlotte Angel, who had already mastered it effortlessly.

My envy burned as I realized I had dismissed Streusen's advice too hastily.

My height continued to spiral out of control, surpassing the 450 cm mark and growing larger as before. I cursed under my breath as I struggled to force my body back into its giant form. The cycle repeated itself, and I crashed to the ground once more, a grotesque puddle of bone soup.

I slouched, defeated, as I reverted to my normal size.

"Finished yet?" Hela's voice dripped with impatience and disappointment, but I chose to ignore it. It was humiliating, but I wasn't naive. A five-year-old human child taking on a ten-year-old giant would be a suicide mission. As promised, I intended to be the one to revel in the satisfaction of sinking, not being sunk.

"Blistering Barnacles!" I cursed, slamming my fist into the floor. The impact sent shockwaves through the steel-reinforced Sea Arena, creating a crack that split the surface.

I blinked at the damage, something about it catching my interest. 'Interesting...'

I'd been so focused on controlling my height that I hadn't even thought to test my strength — or my monstrous durability. I stared at my fist, noting the lack of blood or injury. The devil fruit had messed with my size, but it hadn't affected everything.

"Bingo!" The commentator's voice snapped me out of my thoughts. I was beginning to feel a renewed sense of confidence. Maybe I didn't need my full height to face Hela after all.

"From it's shape and golden hue, the name of Keki's Devil Fruit has finally been identified by one of the guest pirates aspiring to become allies to the Big Mom pirates," the commentator announced, his voice thick with anticipation. "Credit goes to Gibbs, first mate to the Sparrow Pirates, a crew soon to be under Big Mom's Grand Fleet."

I rolled my eyes. 'You can't be serious. That Jack-Sparrow-Wannabe/referee is actually a captain? What next? The compass?'

"The name of this mysterious devil fruit is…" The commentator paused, milking the moment while the entire arena held its breath.

"The Flame-Flame (Mera Mera no Mi), Model: Candle Flames," he finally declared.

I froze, the information not registering immediately. 'Say what?' The name didn't match the fruit's bizarre behavior.

"This Devil Fruit grants the user the ability to control two types of candle flames and… err," the commentator began confidently, only to falter as if unsure of what he was reading — or maybe he was just trying to stretch the suspense.

"Err… err…" The prolonged hesitation tested my patience.

"And..?" Big Mom's voice boomed, demanding the rest.

The commentator cleared his throat, restarting. "This Devil Fruit grants the user the ability to control two types of candle flames. And," he hesitated again, "it hasn't been seen for over a millennium, making it an archaic devil fruit."

A heavy silence settled over the crowd as everyone awaited more information.

With an uneasy gulp, the commentator added, "That's all that's written in this Government Manuscript." His nervous swallow echoed through the arena

"Nggrr…" Big Mom grunted, casting a deadly glance at the commentator. He shifted uncomfortably, clearly scrambling to fill the void.

"Err, well," the commentator stammered, clearly improvising as he feared for his neck. "Given the, uh, historical context and, you know, the nature of this Devil Fruit, it's likely that the Flame-Flame Fruit — uh, Model: Candle Flames — is, um, a Logia! And, um, its archaic nature suggests that…"

"It's alright," I interjected with a commanding tone despite my small stature. "I don't need it for this fight. I'll master it later."

I glanced at Streusen, then turned to Hela, and finally, with a weary sigh, nodded to the referee — apparently Captain Jack Sparrow of the Sparrow Pirates.

The absurdity of it lingered throughout the fight.

—

There was a whole choreography to how the referee announced the start of the duel — the swaggering sways, the scrambled words…, the winks. But what captivated me the most was his run. After finishing the announcement, he darted away from the Sea Arena with an erratic sprint that could only be described as Johnny Depp-esque. I watched with a mixture of amusement and nostalgia, but unfortunately, my distraction left me vulnerable to Hela's initial attack.

"Thundering Typhoons!" the commentator cried in shock. "He just got swallowed by the shark almost instantly!"

"And look at the shark go!" he gasped. "What kind of ability allows a shark to swim in the mist?!"

Hela hadn't missed her chance. The moment the bell rang, her shark had lunged from the sea, jaws wide open, and caught me off guard. The sudden attack left me with no time to react. I found myself in the foul-smelling maw of a ravenous beast, struggling against its razor-sharp teeth.

As the shark's jaws snapped shut, the love string connecting Hela and me was severed by its teeth, pushing me further into the dark, stinking depths of its mouth. The commentator's muffled voice echoed in the cavity, "The love string has been split! This competition has ended just as it began. This love was never meant to be!"

The severing of the love string, a symbol of Loki-Lola bond, implied a symbolic heartbreak. The Heartbreaker's Duel was more than just a battle — it was a test of love. With the string cut, all that was left for Hela to do was to sink me, and the shark was propelling itself toward the sea to do just that.

"Damn it!" I gritted my teeth, clinging to the shark's molars. Being small sucked.

But swallowing someone who could grow enormous was worse.

I willed it, and the cold, pale white flame surrounded me, augmenting my size. The shark's interior stretched against my transformation until—

SPLUTTER AND SPLASH!

The shark tore apart, flesh shredding into confetti-like pieces that floated in the mist. My height surged to that of Oars, and the inevitable happened — I crashed flat onto the Sea Arena.

Regaining my human shape, I stood to face Hela with a sardonic grin that said: One of us would be sinking tonight, and it wouldn't be me.

Hela fell to one knee, looking exhausted. The mist cleared slightly, and the suspended remains of the shark fell like cherry blossoms, drawing disgusted remarks from the audience.

She panted, looking at me placidly.

"Reached your limit already?" I taunted with a triumphant smirk, the commentator and crowd cheering my comeback.

But instead of the defiance I expected, she chuckled — low and manic. "Death is freedom," she whispered, the words chilling as they seemed to echo from everywhere and nowhere all at once.

The crowd's cheers faded, replaced by a suffocating silence.

"Free me," she added, her voice no longer taunting but a sorrowful, desperate plea. The weight of her words hung heavy in the air.

"What the heck?" I muttered, taken aback as she collapsed before me. Was she really giving up? I looked down at her, confusion gnawing at my mind. Her fierce, unyielding spirit seemed to crumble in an instant, and something in my chest twisted.

"Free me," she repeated, her voice quivering like a lost child's cry in the mist. The fearlessness in her eyes had vanished, replaced by a sorrow that was starting to cut through me.

There'd be little satisfaction in drowning a self-defeated enemy, but…

"I can do that!" I proclaimed exuberantly, steeling myself while preparing to dismantle the platform beneath her. Nothing about her could make me feel hollow. She had picked a fight, and she need to suffer the consequences.

Hela's head snapped up, her starry eyes wide with disbelief. "What…?"

"All I want is to see you drown. It doesn't matter how it happens," I said coldly, pounding the platform with my fist, causing her to stagger back.

"What's the matter? Why so surprised?" I asked, grabbing a piece of debris and hurling it into the sea. A pool of blood gathered as it sank. "Did you really think I wouldn't notice all the sharks? You wanted me to pity you so you could ambush me, didn't you?"

She recoiled, her confidence shattering. "I-I…"

"If death is freedom, then stop running," I said manically, tearing another part of the arena and throwing it at her with fury. "I'll free you, gladly."

I dashed toward her, my heartbeat quickening as I closed the distance.

"What… what is that sound?" Hela squealed, her eyes wide as she pointed at me.

I hesitated, confused for a second. The sound? It wasn't the crowd and the sea were quiet.

Then, strangely, I heard it — the pounding in my chest, echoing in the sudden silence. My accelerated, but otherwise normal heartbeat. "Oh, that?" I said with a smirk, catching on. "It's a heart. Something you're not familiar with, are you?"

With a powerful leap, I threw a punch into her stomach, sending her skidding to the edge of the arena. She cried out in pain as the commentator's voice rose with the crowd's tension. Loki was trying to intervene, but Big Mom's booming laughter held him back.

"Hahahahaaa… Maaamammamama…"

Something wasn't right. There was more to this, and Big Mom seemed to know it.

Hela's neck jerked as her face emerged from the water, her wet black hair clinging to her skin. She let out a scream so sharp and intense that the entire arena was abruptly covered in mist. Suddenly, sharks leapt from the sea, swimming through the mist and circling me with ferocious intent.

Hela's screams transformed into a haunting melody, urging the sharks to attack.

-—

Two nights ago…

It was the night of the first banquet, and Big Mom had just witnessed the most awe-inspiring sight of her life—the giants dancing with her daughters and mingling with her sons. Ecstasy filled her as her dream of a perfect world seemed closer than ever.

One would think that such a night would bring her the sweetest dreams, yet, on that same night, Big Mom was tormented by a foreboding nightmare, one that repeatedly brought her back to the image of a dark, giant girl reeking of death. Since their first encounter, Big Mom knew she didn't like Hela, but something deeper, more fateful, was at play.

That very night, Big Mom experienced an attack that would change the course of her existence. She awoke from her nightmares only to come face-to-face with Death itself, leading fate to orchestrate a grand competition.

Normally, a fight involving Big Mom would be a chaotic rampage, but this confrontation took on a calmer, eerie, and stealthy nature. The two mortal enemies — one the embodiment of Life, the other of Death — faced each other in a battle that needed no explanation.

Big Mom's Soul-Soul Fruit gave her the power to bestow life, whether by taking it from one and giving it to another or by absorbing it entirely. She was a giver of Life. Hela, on the other hand, was a taker of Life, here to claim Big Mom's powerful soul and erase it from existence, obliterating it into nothing but demented energy.

Their struggle was beyond imagination as they each sought to instill fear in the other. Life fears Death, and Death fears Life — a truth as old as time.

In the end, through one means or another, Big Mom triumphed, instilling abundant fear in Hela and claiming her soul. Big Mom had scared Death itself and changed the rules! The deal they struck altered the balance: Death was no longer Life's opposite, but a complement that served Life.