Chapter 47: Dark Clouds

"Luffy, can you handle this?" Azrael asked urgently as he looked at the grotesque Mr. Grave, then turned to face his summoned fighter.

Luffy scratched his head, uncertainty flickering across his features. "It should be possible."

Without hesitation, Azrael climbed onto Pidgeot's back and took flight, moving outside the crumbling building. "Quick battle, quick decision," he called down, his voice tense with determination.

The stairs groaned ominously beneath them, each tremor suggesting that complete collapse was only moments away. Azrael wasn't about to risk his life foolishly by staying inside to watch the outcome of the battle.

"Leave it to me!" Luffy pressed his straw hat down with his left hand, a confident grin spreading across his face despite the dire circumstances.

His skin took on a slight pink hue, and white steam rose from his body in wisps. Second Gear activated! Since speed was essential, Luffy couldn't afford to hold back his abilities any longer.

He deliberately avoided using Third Gear for two reasons: first, he wasn't sure if it could quickly defeat the monster in front of them; and second, the cooldown period afterward would leave him vulnerable. In this dangerous situation, with Luffy being the only bronze-level card available to Azrael, entering a cooldown state simply wasn't an option.

Kaneki moved first, his centipede kagune lashing out in a calculated strike to create an opening for Luffy's attack.

"Swoosh!"

A disgusting scarlet tongue shot out from Bai Zong's massive mouth like a whip and collided violently with Kaneki's centipede kagune. The two appendages became entangled in a deadly dance.

While they grappled, Tsugikoku Yoriichi drew in a deep breath and launched himself forward with explosive speed.

"Sun Breathing, Thirteenth Form!"

Blazing flames erupted across the battlefield as his blade cut through the air, cleanly severing the red tongue in half!

"AARRGHH!" Bai Zong recoiled, clutching the bleeding stump of his tongue, and a bone-chilling cry of agony tore from his throat.

"Perfect opening!" Luffy's eyes sharpened with focus. His right fist rocketed forward at nearly invisible speed; the air whistled around it with the force of his attack.

"Gomu Gomu no Jet Pistol!"

"BANG!"

The impact sent Bai Zong flying backward like a cannonball. He crashed through several pillars in the office, the concrete and steel crumbling around him as he slammed into the far corner of the building.

"Is it over?" Azrael peered through the settling dust and debris, his expression cautious.

This battle had proven something important: his cards worked far more effectively as a coordinated team. Even without any bond effects between them, their combined assault had been devastating. With proper synergy, their potential would be terrifying.

But when Luffy and the others remained on high alert instead of relaxing, Azrael knew the fight wasn't over.

"Crunch, crunch, crunch."

The wet, nauseating sound of chewing and swallowing echoed from within the smoke cloud.

Kaneki's expression remained cold and focused as he stabbed his centipede kagune into the obscured area.

"Snap!"

Everyone stared in shock as Kaneki's kagune broke apart like brittle wood upon impact.

As the smoke gradually cleared, Azrael finally saw what Mr. Grave had become. The once large man had transformed into a mountain of writhing flesh. The enormous mouth in his abdomen methodically devoured everything within reach: desks, wall fragments, and even pieces of Kaneki's severed kagune.

Moments later, Azrael watched in horrified fascination as an exact replica of Kaneki's centipede kagune extended from behind Mr. Grave's mutated form.

Realizing that time was running out, Tsugikoku Yoriichi surged forward once more, the distinctive markings on his forehead flashing a brilliant red.

The stolen kagune that Mr. Grave had absorbed lashed out toward Tsugikoku Yoriichi with deadly precision. However, Kaneki's newly regenerated kagune intercepted the attack; the two appendages clashed in midair.

Desperate now, Mr. Grave swung his massive arms downward, trying to crush Tsugikoku Yoriichi with brute force.

But his movements had become sluggish and predictable. Tsugikoku Yoriichi sidestepped the clumsy attack with fluid grace. His blade found its mark, piercing deep into Mr. Grave's bloated form.

Unfortunately, this level of injury barely registered with the monster that Mr. Grave had become. Azrael felt the familiar sensation indicating that Tsugikoku Yoriichi had entered his cooldown period.

Luffy wasn't standing idle, though. He had already identified Mr. Grave's critical weakness: the creature's speed had become abysmal. He was essentially a massive, slow-moving target.

"Gomu Gomu no Jet Gatling!"

A devastating barrage of punches, far more intense than his usual attacks, hammered into Mr. Grave's form. The excess flesh rippled and shook with each impact; waves of fat jiggled from the relentless assault.

"GRAAAAHHH!" Luffy roared with exertion as he poured everything into his final combination.

"BOOM!"

With one final, devastating blow, Mr. Grave collapsed to the floor. His massive form twitched weakly before going still; he was no longer able to resist.

Azrael cautiously re-entered the building. With precious little time remaining before the structure collapsed, he needed to collect any materials formed during the battle.

As he approached Mr. Grave's motionless body, he discovered that the man wasn't quite dead yet.

He took a careful step backward, positioning Luffy protectively in front of him.

Mr. Grave lay there, staring up at the damaged ceiling with vacant, unfocused eyes. In his final moments, some semblance of his original humanity seemed to have returned.

"I never thought I'd end up getting pecked by a goose after hunting geese all my life," he wheezed bitterly.

Mr. Grave hadn't possessed any talent for Lore Cardian in his youth. He'd studied law in college instead. When he signed his contract with Kingpin, he naturally verified every clause multiple times, convinced that there were no loopholes or traps.

He simply hadn't anticipated that Kingpin's abilities would far exceed his imagination.

"Cough."

Blood spilled from his lips as he turned his lifeless gaze toward Azrael.

"I really envy you, Azrael. You geniuses can never understand the pain ordinary people like us endure."

Azrael felt no pity for the man and responded with steel in his voice, "You chose to aid a tyrant."

Mr. Grave's face showed surprise at first, but then his expression shifted to one of acceptance. "Yes, I suppose I did aid a tyrant. This outcome is entirely my own fault."

Perhaps seeking redemption for his sins, Mr. Grave used his last bit of strength to speak in broken phrases. "Azrael, I finally understand the true purpose of the Spirit Begging Society.

"Everything they do is designed to create greater chaos throughout Velkairos. They don't care about the lives of traitors like us."

Azrael's frown deepened at this revelation. Just as he was about to ask more questions, he noticed that Mr. Grave had fallen permanently silent.

A piece of material slowly condensed on the corpse: Bronze-level Blood Devourer (gold quality).

Azrael quickly gathered the loot. Scattered throughout the office area were several more materials formed from the transformed employees.

Black Iron level [Inferior Flesh Demon] (blue quality)—x7.

Azrael paused, somewhat surprised. He had expected them all to produce Blood Demon (Gold quality) materials, like the one Kent had dropped previously. Considering these had just been regular people, though, it made sense that their drops would be of lower quality.

The eternal struggle of loot collection, he mused grimly.

Without time to dwell on Mr. Grave's final words, Azrael mounted Pidgeot and flew outside the building. The entire structure was on the verge of collapse.

He landed quickly on the street below. To his surprise, none of the people he'd evacuated earlier had left the area. He had assumed they would have fled by now.

Nick stepped forward from the crowd, relief evident on his face as he spotted Azrael. "What happened up there? We saw you disappear back inside after bringing us down."

Azrael understood Nick's concern, but he kept his explanation simple. "There was a bronze-level demon. I wanted Luffy and the others to handle it quickly."

Nick nodded in understanding. That explained Azrael's extended absence. But bronze-level threats?

The thought made everyone present smile bitterly. Most of them had already abandoned any hope of catching up to Azrael's level. They weren't competing in the same league anymore.

Looking at the building, which was swaying dangerously and shedding chunks of concrete and dust, Azrael spoke urgently: "The association should have issued an evacuation order by now. We need to move."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Just as the group was about to retreat to safety, a massive dragon made of writhing flesh and blood crashed into the building with tremendous force.

"BOOM!"

The Novex Financial headquarters building finally collapsed in a thunderous roar of destruction.