Dust billowed.
The massive crater created by that single kick was bottomless.
The air was thick with a nauseating smell of burning and the static sensation brought by high-concentration residual energy, making everyone’s hair stand on end instinctively.
Sage hovered in mid-air.
He stood there with his hands in his pockets, his posture as casual as if he were strolling through his own back garden.
In the midst of the swirling dust and chaotic air currents, his crisp black suit didn’t even have a single wrinkle.
A light breeze blew by.
His golden tie fluttered gently.
If one looked closely at the surface of his body, they could even see an extremely faint layer of golden light flowing.
That was the unique passive defense of a Logia-type Devil Fruit user.
Any dust that attempted to approach him would be vaporized by the high temperature the moment it made contact.
“Is it not over yet?” Sage frowned slightly.
His pupils, which had completely turned pure gold, peered through the layers of smoke and locked onto the frantically swelling presence at the bottom of the crater.
The feedback from his Observation Haki was very clear.
Although that Light Speed Soru kick just now was powerful enough to shatter a mountaintop, it was clearly not fatal to a Dragon-level Monster with such abnormally resilient vitality.
In fact, it seemed to have had the opposite effect.
For example…
it had completely enraged the beast.
“ROOOAAAR—!!!” A roar filled with tyranny, rage, and endless killing intent suddenly erupted from deep underground.
The sound was deafening.
It was as if a sonic bomb had been detonated right next to one’s ear.
The glass of several surviving nearby buildings shattered into powder with a series of cracks under the force of that roar.
The ground began to vibrate violently.
It was as if something terrifying was burrowing its way out from beneath the earth.
Immediately after, a terrifyingly thick pillar of purple light blasted through the smoke and soared into the sky.
The few white clouds that had been floating in the sky were instantly dispersed by this surge of energy.
At the edge of that purple crater, a massive palm suddenly gripped the ground.
This hand…
was three times larger than before!
The nails on it were as long as sharp scimitars, glinting with a heart-stopping cold light.
Vaccine Man, who claimed to be the will of the Earth, finally crawled out.
But now, his appearance had undergone a world-shaking transformation.
If he was in Lord Frieza’s initial form before, then now, he was in his ultimate full-power battle form!
His height had skyrocketed to over ten meters, his muscles bulged like inflated rocks, and blue-black veins coiled around his body like tree roots.
That originally somewhat comical purple bald head now had several sharp bone spikes growing out of it.
Two slits had torn open on his back, and a pair of massive, demon-like fleshy wings unfurled with a loud rustle.
They blotted out the sun.
The Aura composed of pure killing intent felt like physical gravity pressing down on everyone’s hearts.
“Not only do you destroy the Earth…” Vaccine Man’s voice became deeper and raspier, like two pieces of pig iron rubbing together.
He slowly raised his head.
Those crimson eyes stared fixedly at Sage in the air, flowing with a rage like molten lava.
“But you also dare to harm the Earth’s greatest messenger…” “Unforgivable!” “Absolutely unforgivable!!!” Accompanied by his roar, the surrounding space seemed to distort because of the terrifying energy leaking from his body.
The gravel floating in the air actually defied the laws of physics and began to orbit around him.
In the distance, the War Correspondent, who was carrying a camera and shivering behind a broken wall, had hands shaking as if he had Parkinson’s.
“Viewers…
this…
this is simply a nightmare!” He shouted incoherently into the camera.
“The Monster…
the Monster has transformed!” “This pressure…
this size…
it’s never been seen before!” “That golden hero…
can he still hold his ground?” It wasn’t just the reporter.
Everyone watching this battle on their screens had their hearts in their throats.
The visual impact was too strong.
On one side was a terrifying giant beast like a descending demon god.
On the other was a tiny, refined-looking human.
The contrast was simply despair-inducing.
But Sage didn’t feel that way.
He looked at the transformed big guy and even had the leisure to whistle.
“A second transformation?” “Now this looks a bit more like a boss.” “However…” Sage’s tone shifted, carrying a hint of playfulness.
“Becoming larger also means…” “The target has also become larger.” “Besides, haven’t you misunderstood something?” A hint of confusion appeared on Vaccine Man’s hideous face.
“What?” Sage slowly withdrew his hands from his pockets.
He brought his hands together in front of his chest, seemingly at random, with fingers interlaced.
But, between his palms, an incredibly blinding light was frantically gathering and compressing.
“Light…
has no weight.” “No matter how big or heavy you become,” “before absolute speed, you’re just a stationary target.” As his words fell, he pulled his hands apart sharply.
“Zzzzt—!!!” A long sword composed entirely of high-density light particles appeared out of thin air in his hands.
The blade was slender and straight, emitting a golden light bright enough to blind one’s eyes.
It was a brightness that would make even the core of the sun pale in comparison.
The surrounding air emitted sharp sonic booms, unable to withstand the high temperature.
“Ame-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi.” Sage whispered the name of the technique.
This was no ordinary laser.
This was a physical blade of light formed by compressing countless photons to the extreme.
Its sharpness could cut through the vast majority of known substances in this world.
“Stop your bluffing!” Vaccine Man was completely enraged by Sage’s dismissive attitude.