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Chapter 182: I Against The World I

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Indeed, before the Four Emperors was a black feather, resting gently on the ground, just waiting in slumber from the long awaited time.

Near the same time, Yovan opened his eyes, brimming with gold, and he glanced in a certain direction.

There, in that direction, there was a creature. It wasn't far from his current location as it slumbered in the depths, a Sea King.

The creature suddenly felt a chill running down its spine, fear overwhelming it in an instant as if the matter of its life and death was being contemplated.

The Sea King didn't dare to move nor could it with the pressure put upon it by fear, and it especially couldn't as it went unconscious... From a single glance.

The source of that glance just shook his head, letting out a sigh, "Ahh, the creature that once took my arm and almost took my life can't even take a glance from me now."

Yovan stroked his chin in contemplation, deciding the creature's fate, but in the end, he just shrugged and vanished.

He first thought he'd feel a deep desire to eradicate the creature, but he felt none at all... The creature felt irrelevant to him, just a minor step in his path to absolute survival.

That path was destined to come to an end, and the end is near, very near as Yovan appeared right before the Four Emperors, that single feather acting as a gateway for his arrival.

The Red Line structures around Reverse Mountain were very vast, and he had left the feather right at the center, finding himself surrounded.

And those who dare climb to the top of the Red Line were the strong, going alongside the ruthless Emperors is akin to asking for death.

Instantly, all eyes were on Yovan, carefully observing him with greed and wonder, some with fear, all the while, he had his eyes closed, seemingly unconcerned.

Only the promise of the One Piece could mobilize such a ridiculous overwhelming force that can easily overturn the World.

If Im didn't exist, such a force would easily be able to make the World Government feel despair, eradicating it effortlessly.

However, the alliance of so many pirates and powerhouses isn't so easy to happen, nigh impossible even.

Now it happened, numerous monsters temporarily allied together for the One Piece, temporary that's.

They all know that the calm now is only fleeting as the moment they lay eyes upon the One Piece, they would turn on each other, and the War would start.

Yeah, that won't happen. They won't need to turn on each other, not with Yovan here... There was a long silence before someone dared to speak, "You..." Only to be interrupted.

"The One Piece... I have it," Yovan muttered, his eyes still closed, "I will give you an hour... All those still here after an hour will die."

"Huh?"

"..."

"???"

"..."

Speechless, that's how the pirates around felt. With so many of them around, aren't they supposed to be the ones threatening him? Isn't he supposed to be the one afraid? So why did they even for a split second feel dread at his words?

However, not only did the pirates not retreat, they felt even more greed instead, especially as Blackbeard's laughter was heard about, "ZEHAHAHAHA ZEHaahhahahha!!!"

Blackbeard took the lead as he walked up to Yovan with a wide grin, "You really got the One Piece! Is that why you're so confident? Did the One Piece make you that much stronger? ZEHahahaha, do you think we can give up now?"

Yovan didn't even open his eyes let alone answer, almost as if he was actually in slumber, just waiting for the end of the hour.

Hell, he didn't even open his eyes when he felt his neck grasped by Blackbeard's hands who showed a trace of surprise, not expecting things to go so smoothly.

In his mind, just touching Yovan means he won. His Devil Fruit granted him such confidence, specifically, his darkness Devil Fruit.

Through an unknown method, Blackbeard became the first and so far, only known person to wield the powers of two Devil Fruits at the same time... Although there was a second, and that's Yovan.

However, the way Yovan went about it was vastly different as he basically made his ability come alive.

With the power of darkness which reduces anything to nothingness, and the power of earthquakes, which brings destruction to everything, Blackbeard claimed himself to be truly invincible and the strongest of them all.

Only he knows, however, that there was someone he fears deeply and that person is now grasped by his black hand, black not by Haki but by the effect of his Darkness Devil Fruit.

The most frightening power of the fruit is that it allows Blackbeard to absorb/nullify other people's Devil Fruit powers. So long as Blackbeard maintains physical contact with the other Devil Fruit user, it is as if the victim never ate their Devil Fruit at all.

"Are you sure you want to start now?" Yet Yovan calmly asked, not struggling at all much to Blackbeard's dismay.

"Have you not realized it yet!? You're already dead! ZEHAHahaahahah!" And just when Blackbeard was about to activate his trump card, he felt pain, unimaginable pain.

Blackbeard truly believed that he had won for his body was darkness, a realm of darkness which he can pull things into, absorbing anything into darkness.

The darkness where anything can be trapped until Blackbeard himself decides to release it. It is described as a void which devours everything and returns all to nothingness.

However, as if Yovan saw the future, just a moment before he tried to absorb him into the void, his hands cracked, literally, almost deintegrating into ashes as Yovan used something other than his Devil Fruit powers, Hasshoken.

Yami Yami No Mi is Blackbeard's Devil Fruit, and unlike a normal Logia user, Blackbeard cannot turn intangible; in fact, any damage he takes will actually hurt worse than normal.

So he felt the pain clearly as he screamed and stepped back, allowing Yovan his freedom back.

"Hah," Yovan let out a breath, his eyes still closed, most of his senses also shut off for he knows that there is a dangerous enemy about that can manipulate the senses.

He released his wings, his vast dark wings, not just a pair of wings but three pairs of vast dark wings, golden lines traveling through them like sacred blood.

Yovan unsheathed his blade, Enyo. Its long slender form was golden, its edge luminous with the allure of death.

And just when he wanted to slice Blackbeard in half without giving him a chance, something strange took place as Blackbeard felt the threat of death... "Cerberus!!"

Blackbeard whose hands were almost completely broken transformed... The man who already has two monstrous Devil Fruits transformed into a dark hound, swinging his claws at him, claws reeking with the stench of death, bringing along them the power of vibrations.

What he transformed into wasn't an ordinary hound. No, he transformed into Cerberus, the Hound of Hades, a three-headed dog that guards the gates of the Underworld to prevent the dead from leaving.

Blackbeard's transformation came as a shock to all, even his own crew, especially as all of the Hound's three heads opened their mouth wide, releasing massive beams of darkness and concentrated vibrations.

Yovan smiled. Instead of his previously calm undisturbed expression, there was now a smile, an eerie smile, speaking of nothing but insanity as he allowed the attacks to hit him.

He was hurt, forced to take a few steps back as he bled not blood but ink, releasing a sigh, "It's been a while, so let's start... I Against The World."