The Shadow of The Devil

I kicked up my axe to deflect the ice attacks right at the leader.

The instantaneous move immediately pushed back into his subordinate. Leaving Kuzan alone as he rushed at me. He immediately created an iced claw, and as he started swiping at my neck, I managed to step back, but Kuzan continued attacking. He kept going as he tried to prevent me from creating a counterattack. 

However, I simply dropped my axe before catching one of Kuzan's hands. He let out a surprised grunt before I slammed him right in the ribs with a haki-coated fist. Bones cracked and broke as he was sent stumbling back.

However, this small bit of time that he had bought was more than enough for the leader to recover and commence a coordinated counterattack with his team. They all immediately rushed at me before splitting a bit of a distance from me in a formation-like position. 

I calmly walked up and kicked the blade of my axe so that the handle could rest on my hands before I took a stance of my own. The leader bent his knees before kicking the ground and appearing right in front of me. 

The leader brought his blade down before clashing with the handle of my own axe. I twisted my hips and slammed my Haki-coated foot right between the ribs, sending him flying to the side. However, another one of his lackeys appeared right behind me. Throwing a long line of Armament Haki-coated wires right in front of me before pulling back the wires.

My movements were restricted momentarily before I broke free of the wire's restraint and grabbed one of the broken wires to reel him in.

However, the smart little rascal managed to let loose the cable before I could bring him in. Sparing him of an imminent death. My Observation Haki suddenly flared as I reflexively stretched my axe's length across my shoulders to block another goon's sudden attack. 

His eyes flashed with surprise as I returned his glare; I lifted my axe to push him away before grabbing my axe near the blade and sending a Haki-coated slash his way. He couldn't avoid the attack, but another one of his goons appeared right in front of him and blocked the attack for him. 

They were both sent flying back towards the Tree of Knowledge, but I wasn't done with the two of them yet.

The goon with the wires looked like he was going to attack, but I kicked him away before he could move and leaped high into the sky.

"Lightning of the Dead!!" 

The wave of power completely engulfed them and exploded. I didn't sense their presence after, but It wasn't time to relax yet.

"Soru."

I disappeared right before the leader could bring his saber down on the crown of my head. Appearing on the ground, I rushed right at the lackeys that had remained of his crew. The goons panicked before leaping away, but I managed to grab one of them before flinging them down to the ground.

The woman screamed as she created a crater on the ground, and I finished the job by sending more lightning of the dead right at her. She tried getting out of the crater, but she was too late.

An explosion soon set in and engulfed her and the crater that she had formed. Leaving me with the wire goon and his leader.

"What should we do? This guy is stronger than we thought," the wire goon asked his captain.

"Stick around for now, and when you find the opportunity, put him down," The leader remarked as he slowly began recoating Armament Haki on his blade.

"Hm? Are you done talking?" I asked curiously.

"Trash like you don't need to be so quick to die; death will arrive for you soon enough," the leader snarled back.

"You keep calling me trash....when you're only attack that actually landed has already healed," I remarked. They had landed a pretty decent attack on me earlier, but since then, they hadn't even done so much as leave a scratch on my skin.

A peculiar aura started radiating from the leader. It vaguely reminded me of his aura as a familiar darkness began to spread around him.

"You mongrels.....should all kneel before our majesty; what would you be without us?" The leader asked coldly. Twirling his saber as he slowly bent his knees in posture.

"What would you be without me?" I retorted as I gripped my axe tightly.

No more words were needed. We both rushed each other before our weapons met in the middle of where we stood against each other. 

He raised his saber before kicking himself away from me, in return pushing me back a little bit. He landed on his feet a distance from me, but I easily covered that with a simple step of Soru and appeared right in front of him before landing my fist right at his face. 

The impact sent him soaring through the island, and right as I was about to rush and follow him, the wire goon immediately appeared behind me and tried to tie me up with some more cables.

"Move," I growled before swinging my blade and chopping his head off. My blood was slowly beginning to boil in excitement as time passed.

I broke the ground before appearing a bit of a distance from the leader of the now-dead World Government squadron. 

"Lightning of Destruction!!" 

I swung my axe down ferociously as I found myself right on top of him. 

However, his eyes immediately looked at me before he raised his saber to block the attack. The attack pushed him into the ground regardless, but I could still sense his presence on the ground. 

I landed on the ground as I rested the blade of my axe on my shoulder, waiting for him to get out of the rubble. Although he had the same kind of feeling as the rest, I felt something more from him the longer we fought.

He was getting more similar to him the more I kept fighting him. More and more of his aspects slowly revealed themselves the longer we kept fighting.

Even now, as he got out of the rubble, I could practically see his shadow under him as he staggered back into the battlefield.

"I don't know what he did to you...but it's rather interesting," I remarked.

"My Lord has given me blessings to handle trash like you thoroughly," the leader remarked. I could see his wounds slowly beginning to heal.

"How long do you think you can last though?" I asked curiously as I let the blade of my axe crash into the ground.

"Let's find out," The leader remarked as he kicked the ground and appeared right in front of me.

I was prepared this time and managed to lean back and dodge the thrust. He leaped over me before tucking his feet and rolling to the ground before he rushed at me again. 

I raised my axe and swiped at him, but he leaped high in the sky. His blade shone with a malevolent light.

"Celestial Catastrophe!!"

"Lightning of Destruction.."

Our two attacks immediately collided as a light bloomed from the middle of our collision.