[108] Dawn of Pride (II)

[2590 words]

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[Nearby]

Big Mom held back the Capital Vices.

"Ma-Ma-Mam-Ma!"

She used her Napoleon in full-sword form as she clashed with Ignavi's twin swords. Thymos was using his staff from afar, bringing down a plethora of attacks.

"Die you overgrown hooker of a woman!" Gobbler roared out.

He then opened up his maw and air flooded in at great speeds.

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"Boar Burst!"

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*Pwooo!*

An orb of condensed and ripping winds was sent out as it raced toward the rather loosely dressed pirate.

Linlin scoffed and sent a flow of Haki to her slender arm as it shined a pristine black.

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"Mama Mash!"

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She smashed her fist upon the coming attack, her Emission broke away the very soul of the attack and Infusion tore it to shreds.

Boom!

The woman took the skies as her near-29-foot frame brought down a frightening shadow.

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"Ikoku Sovereignty!"

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Big Mom swung Napoleon in its longsword form with such force that she created a shockwave that destroyed everything in its path.

Osca, who ate the Swipe-Swipe Fruit, allowing him to swipe away certain physical qualities of an attack, jumped into action.

"Velocity Swipe!"

"Momentum Swipe!"

"Acceleration Swipe!"

"Force Swipe!"

"Jerk Swipe!"

Five streams of orange energy wrapped around the incoming slash, visibly slowing it down, but not to a halt.

Thymos, the leading Vice, narrowed his eyes at the giant attack.

*Smash!* He crashed the foot of his staff on the ground as the red crystal embedded upon it glowed. "You shall not pass!"

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"Great Fire Annihilation!"

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The jewel burst out in a blazing red of crimson flames that blew straight towards Big Mom's attack, nullifying it further.

Gobbler then jumped into the slash, his thick skin absorbing the remaining power.

Linlin landed on the ground and chuckled with her unique laugh.

"!!!" Her eyes shot to the side as her instincts called out. She subconsciously snapped ahead at empty air, though oddly enough, a humanoid was in her grasp!

"Y-You, I used five different stealth-type abilities, how did you detect me!"

It was Jello—the user of the Paramecia-Type: Copy-Copy Fruit!

"Ma-Ma-Mam-Ma! You can't get away!"

Her eyes then started to glow orange as black rings swirled around her pupils. An ominous navy-blue atmosphere took over the surrounding area, emanating with a hazy black mist.

[Attack Image (in Discord)]

"NO! Jello! Get away from her!" Ignavi yelled out as he gritted his teeth in frustration.

Jello was shaking as he saw the ginormous woman's eyes glaring at his very soul! A powerful voice that transcended certain laws broke out, echoing from Big Mom.

"Life."

"or."

"Death!"

Jello was unable to utter a word as his very being was screaming in fear.

Big Mom, a user of an Ultimate-Class fruit was able to tap certain abstract authorities that could do the impossible, in this case, the authority linked to souls! Her 'Soul Pocus' allowed her to set up a trade for Life or something.

Yet in his state of fear, no such choices were made, giving its user full command!

"..."

Big Mom waited a few seconds and gave out a menacing smile.

"NO!" the other commanders yelled from behind, yet the Evil Spirit's Conqueror's Haki was pushing them away.

"Give me 60 years!"

She moved her hand in a grabbing motion as Jello's mouth opened and the wisps of his soul departed.

"Eughhh…!" Jello's eyes whitened out as life drained out, six decades lost in an instant, drawing the curtains to his act.

His body fell on the cold, broken land.

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"S-She killed Jello…!"

Ignavi saw it from afar and grew angered, his brows twisted and his eyes sharpened in rage, and then a second later, they grew heavy and weak as they closed.

He fell asleep, true to his Sin of Sloth.

Deep snores rang out, attracting the attention of others.

Big Mom saw it too and hummed in curiosity, "Bourgeois Ignavi… Ma-Ma-Mam-Ma! They call him the strongest of you six clowns: The 'Sleeping Demon'."

*Snore* Ignavi's shut eyes suddenly burst open, fully white. His mouth scrunched up in a frightening angle, a wide smile.

He then disappeared like the wind and flashed behind the Evil Spirit.

Clang!

His sword smashed upon Napoleon, evoking a powerful shockwave.

*Woosh!* He disappeared once more and appeared elsewhere with impossible speeds, slashing and cutting at the enormous threat of Charlotte Linlin.

Gobbler smirked menacingly "Ignavi has a sleeping disorder that is passed down to the royal family of the Bourgeois Kingdom. A demon passed on through the heirs… the 'Hakuba!'"

[Hakuba Image (in Discord)]

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[Elsewhere on Glint Island]

Silver Axe was chopping down on some of the pirates that survived as his shiny axe cut them into pieces with little difficulty.

He had just finished dealing with the Abyss Pirates when a gigantic shadow landed before him.

It was a ginormous elephantine body hidden by the darkness of his sheer size. Silver Axe, recalled the name, "Wang Zhi—Captain of the Kingly Pirates. Bounty of 670 million berries!"

"You are from the Rocks Pirates. Wawawawa! Take my sword!"

Wang Zhi then slashed down his giant sword upon the man donned in silver armour as the latter responded with his Haki-clad axe.

Clang!

The sound of metal hitting metal broke out as the two weapons clashed.

Silver Axe looked at the battle-torn eyes of his enemy and ever-so-slightly shifted his left hand and used the flat part of the axe to slide his giant sword.

*Skrrrr!* Sparks went off as the sword slid from the axe and onto the ground, stuck. The armoured pirate then twirled around his axe and slashed it down.

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"Silver Road!"

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An arc of silver energy slashed forth and onto Wang Zhi's chest. *Grrrr!* It razed at the giant pirate, drilling into his pores.

"Wawawawa! Again!"

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[Another Area Elsewhere]

"Johohoho! So many knocked-out pirates mean more treasure for me!" John cackled to himself as he continued to rob the tens of thousands of fallen pirates.

The loot was quite the haul as he looked like Santa Claus with a giant sack over his shoulders while he collected his goodies.

"You! How dare you rob my men!"

He had the Zoan body of a monkey, growling in anger. "I am George 'The Curious' of the Jungle Pirates!"

The man roaring at John was a pirate with a bounty of 119 million berries! 

"Johohoho! Die!"

A black bullet coated with Haki shot out as it rocketed to the monkey Zoan, throwing him to the ground, dead.

"..." John revelled in greed as he continued to grab all forms of treasures he could put his hands on.

Yet he stopped in his tracks… his eyes widened in panic.

*Thwack!* His sack of gold fell with a thump while a shadow landed in front of him, casting darkness over the pirate's body. 

"You are…!" John cursed as he saw the infamous white attire that caused most pirates to tremble in fear.

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[At the Center of Glint Island]

The hell being wrought on Glint Island only got worse while the fight between the Sin Incarnate and the Holy Terror exited the warm-up stage.

"Empyrean Release."

*Fwwm* A metallic sound went off as Damien's attire slowly started to be plated with thick, black Haki armour.

Cracks of molten red then appeared as crimson energy pulsed throughout Damien's form, emanating with a creepy mist.

The Overlord Sol flapped his fiery wings. *Caw!* A loud screech erupted all over the broken island as globs of golden flames swirled around, forming giant balls of fire.

From tens to hundreds to thousands of basketball-sized rocks floated around the Sunbird.

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"Solar Storm!"

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The thousands of balls swam with flames from the sun as they rained down in a world-ending sight, lighting up the skies.

*Fwoo!* The wind quaked in their fiery presence and the air howled as the atmosphere cracked. It was similar to Sol's previous attack, though boasting more controlled and abundant flames. 

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"Void Space."

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A crimson curtain, nearly 50 meters in size, opened up before Damien as all matter beyond its protection was turned into an absolute void.

The raining hell crashed down upon the net that was void of matter. 

Damien was slightly pushed into the ground as the force of the attack still travelled onto his body, yet his bones held strong.

*Vzzzzzz* The attack halted as the Void Space fizzled out alongside the enemy's assault. 

Amongst the sea of hellacious lands was Damien still standing strong while the Holy Terror floated in the sky.

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"Sohoho! Colour me impressed," the Overlord's voice bellowed out. "Let me see if you can survive this."

Sol then flapped his majestic wings, flying even further in the sky. He then stopped and eclipsed the sky, glowing brighter than the sun!

Choosing against remaining on defence, the Sin Incarnate used his masterful Rokushiki and took the battle to the air.

*Crackle* His Empyrean armour was now coated in Infusion-Haki as he collided with the Sunbird.

Boom!

*Clang!*

Bam!

…

Another hour or so passed as the battles went on for a stalemate, Damien and Sol were quite equal in strength.

Ryushi had been long drawn out but unfortunately, Sol's supremacy in the skies was a hard thing to counter.

"This again…," Damien muttered, sensing the familiar ripples of power.

The Overlord roared and great amounts of power swelled around him. "Let's take this up a notch!" 

"..." No matter which future path Damien embarked to halt the enemy, it was met with fire and blood.

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"Radiance Reborn!"

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Sol's body exploded, resembling a star going supernova.

The waves of heat doubled, tripled even. The temperature began to climb exponentially, even boiling the entire atmosphere, resulting in a thick fog forming within a hundred meters. 

*Screech!* The Sunbird released its proud shrill. 

'Like a phoenix reborn from its ashes,' Damien sighed at the poetic nature of his opponent.

*Flap* *Flap*

"Show me that tenacity of yours that brought down my rivals!"

Damien eyed the Overlord, feeling the increase in strength, something reflecting in the notification passing through his mind.

[Pryde D. Sol's Strength: Middle Tier Yonko → Top Tier Yonko.]

'The temperature is hot, hotter than his first stage! I guess he's finally embodying the sun's deeper layers,' Damien thought.

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"Omega Beams."

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The familiar red streaks shot out from the young pirate's eyes, rocketing toward the Sunbird.

"Hmph!" Sol simply flapped his wings in a forward motion as the blazing winds coated with his solar flames demolished Damien's attack.

The young pirate, in the short two seconds of the attack, had already flown into the sky with the Overlord, Ryushi in hand.

"Challenging me in the sky… how foolish!" Sol then widened his mouth as a small sun swirled in energy.

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"Solar Flare!"

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A dense and powerful beam of golden-red colour shot out from the mouth and zoomed towards the flying Damien.

Damien extended Ryushi outwards as it converged with crimson energy.

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"Red Sun."

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A scorching red ball of pulverizing energy danced around the Sin Incarnate as he shot it at Sol's attack.

The thick beam of gold clashed with the boiling-red sun.

BOOM!

A grand explosion lit the skies as a mix of gold and red flooded the area, quite the spectacle from afar.

The coloured mist allowed Damien to climb further and further, even above where Sol floated. He was now 80 meters above Sol as he executed another devastating move.

With the embrace of gravity and the acceleration of his own, Damien fell straight down. He was fast enough to pop the sound barrier!

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"Ryushi Combat Arts: Tectonic Shift!"

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A raging meteor of crimson energy arced down from the sky as Damien plunged forth with enough power to cut through this very island!

Sol felt the noticeable danger yet his pride caused him to chuckle in response.

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"Hallowed Dawn!"

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The mythical creature's two wings exploded with solar energy as they extended from their span of 9 meters each to nearly 20 meters!

The fiery wings then folded in front of the body of the Sunbird while the flames churned as if they were liquid, concentrating to form an indomitable defence.

Damien's Ryushi trembled with impatience, colliding hard with the wall of flames with enough force to level mountains.

BOOOOM!

The noise generated from the clash was enough to shake the destroyed ground nearly a kilometer below them.

Ryushi's crimson energy working in tandem with Damien's Emission and Infusion was an incredible mix. Sol roared as he too poured in the raging rapids of his Conqueror's Haki, evoking a jaw-dropping scene of black lightning.

The attacks did not touch!

BOOM!

Slowly but surely, the attacks moved through, not before sending out an overwhelming pulse of Haki that turned nearby fallen pirates to mush.

The pulsating blade of Ryushi gave off another explosion before losing its momentum in the face of the sun's flames.

The heat from Damien's attack was absorbed and converted into a stronger defense on Sol's side!

'Damn Awakened fruits,' the Sin Incarnate frowned.

The Overlord chuckled and his ever-burning wings were flooded once more with strength, shooting open like two gates, flinging Damien and his weapon like a comet.

*Crash!* *Rumble!*

He was nailed down into Glint Island, with Ryushi collapsing some distance away.

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Sol landed on the ground, thirty meters away. "I can tell by your fighting style that you opt to overpower your enemies with brute force and destructive attacks," the veteran pirate commented. "But I can convert the heat of your attacks into my power with ease—you've met your match, Sin Incarnate."

Damien slowly extricated himself from the crater, unveiling his tattered armour dripping with blood. The skin from the ruined armour had peeled away, leaving visible flesh behind.

"Looks like awakening my fruit is necessary for future endeavours," he decided, glaring at the Sun Bird. 

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"Heliacal Solar Flare!"

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A bigger sky-splitting torrent of hellish energy shot out from the bird's mouth as it raced parallel to the ground.

The sheer heat was enough to leave a trail of molten earth in its wake, churning and thickening by the second—it was actually converting the ruined land into more sunfire, making the attack even more lethal.

Damien's pending defense was put on hold while a blinding light arrived from behind him, whizzing across the broken land.

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"The Starry Night!"

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It was a rush of silver energy, slashing at the coming attack at its center. 

A sharp whistle later and the solar rush was cut clean half! The two trails continued beyond Damien's position, carrying on for another few hundred meters.

A shadow landed on Damien's side with a thud, the shine of a powerful blade was apparent alongside it. "Young man, will you allow me to join as well?"

The man wore circular glasses and had slicked-back golden hair. A simple attire with his chest exposed.

Damien raised an eyebrow in interest, "You are… Rayleigh."

The Dark King smirked at the younger pirate, "You have grown a lot since our first encounter at Borealis' auction."

He then pointed his saber at the mythical creature flapping its wings afar, the blade reflected the same sharp gleam as the eyes of its beholder. "Although I don't mean to discredit your strength, it wouldn't be wise of you to continue this battle alone."

Soon enough the combined party of the Sin Incarnate and the Dark King stood side by side, facing down the human sun.

Rayleigh infused a dense sheet of Haki, satisfied by Damien's choice to team up. "I'd say it's time to humble the Sin of Pride."

To Be Continued…

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Author's Corner.

Team Dayleigh? I guess everyone also likes Dayleigh chapters. 

At this point, Sol is set to be around the level of Wano Kaido. We've only seen Awakened Fruits of Law, Kid and Luffy to defeat people of this level.

Images are available on Discord alongside other niche details: https://discord.gg/aJHHHPvb6q