Chapter 61: Madness

In the royal city of Prince, a sudden mass of black and red energy swelled around Doflamingo, spreading in all directions and causing a shockwave.

The grotesque air, akin to an abyss, surged with this black and red mass, striking the entire royal city horrifically.

In the areas covered by the black and red mass, all the remaining inhabitants of the royal city and the pirates hiding within fell to the ground with their eyes rolled back and foam spilling from their mouths.

As Bepo and the other three approached Law, it felt as if an iron hammer struck their heads, making a muffled hum as they fell to the ground.

On the shore of the inner city, ten officers lay in the sea, holding Prince Gross, whom they had found in the water.

Due to the very high and smooth rock cliff, they couldn't climb it as they had not mastered the Moon Walk technique, thus they couldn't ascend.

When the black and red mass passed, signs of collapsing consciousness appeared in the eyes of most officers.

Only the sole captain, who bit his tongue hard enough to draw blood to stimulate his nerves and prevent himself from passing out, remained conscious.

Holding Gross with one hand, he looked in horror towards the cliff's top.

"This... Conqueror's Haki! From whom?"

The captain's face was filled with anxiety, "Captain Drake, Major Kujaku, Lieutenant Rorschach, I hope nothing bad happens to you!"

Atop the onion-shaped palace, Illya slid to evade Hawkins' attack, smiling, and looked at the approaching Doflamingo.

"Hehe, Dof, it seems you are a bit late, missing the exciting part of this theatrical show. However, your arrival now is not too late, because... you are the final villain to appear, representing [Power]."

Shhh!

A thin thread cut through the sky, slicing towards Illya.

Illya raised his right arm, a black layer of Armament Haki covering his entire arm.

Boom!

The thin thread collided with his right arm and then shattered.

"Illya, do you dare conspire against me too?"

Doflamingo's eyes were filled with anger as he headed towards where Rorschach had fallen, looking at where Illya stood.

Illya shrugged, "We were cooperating based on our mutual interests; you entered the game willingly. But, I must tell you some bad news. The mythical Kirin fruit you wanted was eaten by a young sailor representing [Fate]. Yes, it's the same boy who killed your family."

On the other side of the inner sea, Doflamingo's expression darkened further.

Seeing Illya's smile, blood veins bulged on his forehead, and he suddenly opened his right hand, aiming it at the palace.

"Thread Strike!"

White threads gathered on the ground, winding in the air, turning into a spiral drill head, covered in a black layer of Armament Haki, and pierced Illya's raised arm across hundreds of meters.

Illya gave a muffled hum as the thin threads pierced his right arm, striking the black layer of Armament Haki on his chest.

His body retreated in the air, carving a line on the palace's surface.

Among the ruins, blood began to spill from Illya's mouth.

He sat up, opened his arms as if embracing the world, and smiled once more with anticipation.

"Blood has been spilled, fate is weakened, and power comes strongly, with wisdom... watching from afar."

"Let me see, what is the wonderful performance of this theatrical climax."

"What answer will be revealed at its end?"

Not far in front of him, Hawkins, with half of his body made of straw and his right arm extended more than three meters, looked tired as he gazed at the royal palace.

Hawkins had found the Devil Fruit abilities that fit him perfectly.

The Paramecia-type Straw Straw Fruit, a special ability that is half-physical and half-mystical.

He came to the Kingdom of Prince alone.

That year, he had not yet formed his pirate crew.

He intended to head to the royal palace alone to find the fruit he had seen in his predictions.

But he didn't expect to meet Rorschach, Law, and Drake along the way.

Because of that, he got involved in this dangerous mess.

But when Rorschach invited him to join them, Hawkins did not refuse.

Because he strongly believed in fate.

He thought that everything that happens to him is part of the wheel of fate.

Life and death, everything is predestined from the beginning.

He might get the ability he wanted, or he might not.

The only path to the royal city, a stone bridge, was destroyed.

In his current state and lack of strength, he had no chance of crossing the inner sea, which was more than a hundred meters wide.

One strike from Migjones was almost enough to kill him.

And eating the Straw Straw Fruit did not quickly restore his strength.

He looked at Doflamingo, who was exuding a murderous aura, and pulled out tattered Tarot cards from his blood-stained clothes.

This time, he did not shuffle the cards, just drew one and let the rest fall into the sea.

He looked at it and sat like Illya, watching the final confrontation calmly.

"Everything is predestined, but I did not see a sign of that man's death."

"Is the gap this wide? Even after eating the mythical Devil Fruit, he couldn't withstand a single strike from Doflamingo."

Doflamingo's colored thread strike created a deep pit in the ground, where Rorschach's massive body, over five meters tall, lay with five deep wounds on his chest, and the flowing blood began to stop and clot.

This is the endurance and survival power of Zoan-type fruit users, especially when they are of the mythical type.

Suddenly, shadows blocked the sun over Rorschach, and a large figure in a pink coat stood, casting its shadow over his body.

When Doflamingo saw the Kirin form, veins appeared on his forehead.

This puny kid had already eaten the mythical fruit he intended to sell to Kaido.

The form that appeared now was exactly as described in the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia, the Kirin form.

Deer antlers, dragon scales, long claws, and a long tail, with an aura of wind and thunder.

For this fruit, he came from the distant New World.

He even told Kaido in advance the good news about the mythical fruit.

But now, this weak kid had eaten it.

What adds to his frustration is that this kid killed Gladiolus!

In a brutal manner, killing him with no body left.

And if Doflamingo hadn't arrived in time, Trebol's head would have been separated from his body.

How many years?

Doflamingo couldn't remember how long it had been since he felt this angry, his whole body trembling.

"Boy! You... are very good! It doesn't matter if you are Navy or Pirate, as long as you killed my family, you will pay the price. Let you and the Kingdom of Prince pay for Gladiolus together."

Doflamingo, with his eyes filled with anger, raised his right hand towards the sky.

Thin threads from his open palm rose into the sky like a thread fountain, falling to cover the royal island.

On the edges of the houses, Law, holding his severed arm, looked at the threads flowing into the sky, his face becoming as pale as a sheet.

"Birdcage!"

(End of Chapter)

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