This is King’s Mega Evolution. For Aerodactyl, its Mega Evolution is quite special.
Since Aerodactyl is a Pokémon from ancient times, there has never been a definitive answer as to exactly what its specific form looks like.
After undergoing Mega Evolution, Aerodactyl’s entire body becomes covered in a layer of sharp rocks. These rocks may appear ordinary, but they are incredibly unique—far harder than diamonds.
With this layer of rocky spikes armor, Aerodactyl becomes even more ferocious than before, both in terms of offense and defense.
Some scholars have long claimed that this is the true appearance of Aerodactyl. In their view, Aerodactyl’s Mega is not an instance of Mega Evolution but rather a reversion to its original appearance.
Whether this should be considered Primal Reversion or Mega Evolution is a debate for Pokémon world’s scholars. But for King, he only had one feeling—power was surging endlessly from within his body.
In the sky, Aerodactyl folded its wings. When its wings spread open again, King’s missing arms had returned, but his back still bore Aerodactyl’s dragon-like wings. Having entered his Human-Beast Form, he was now taking things seriously.
“The sky… is my domain.”
With a powerful flap of his wings, King instantly appeared in front of Blackbeard. Flames blazed fiercely upon his sword, and faintly, the roar of a fire dragon could be heard.
“Imperial Flaming Slash!”
“Ah! Ahhh!!”
The powerful and heavy strike landed on Blackbeard’s shoulder, with the front part of the blade completely embedding into his body. The burning flames scorched his flesh, and accompanied by his agonized screams, he was struck down from the sky by King.
But King did not stop. Empowered by his wings, he continued to push Blackbeard downward, from the sky all the way to the ground.
In aerial combat, Blackbeard had no advantage whatsoever. Without any foothold, he was nothing more than King’s plaything. Only Blackbeard’s subordinates found relief in this, as King shifting his focus away from them was nothing short of a blessing.
“Monster…”
The pain surging through his wings reminded Laffitte that he had just barely escaped death. From the moment he was recruited by Blackbeard, this was the first time he had felt death so close.
As for the two below, there was even less to say. Doc Q and Stronger’s health had always been frail. The fact that they were still alive at this moment was thanks to Burgess, that clumsy fool.
With Ace slung over his left shoulder and Doc Q and Stronger over his right, he had barely managed to survive the fiery rain—but not without sustaining serious injuries himself.
“Captain Teach.”
Burgess might not be very strong, but his loyalty to Blackbeard was unwavering. This is the first time he has witnessed Blackbeard being utterly dominated in every aspect. In the past, even though Blackbeard would cry out in pain, he was at least able to fight back.
But this time was different. Even when Blackbeard’s fists landed on King, they had absolutely no effect. Instead, King would counterattack and pummel him even harder.
Boom!
The ground slowly cracked and a massive crater formed, with darkness continuously surging outward and flames burning fiercely. But, King sensed that something was off.
“Your body is really damn tough.”
His intent had been to slice Blackbeard clean in half with this strike, and though his blade had left a massive wound on Blackbeard’s body, it failed to cut through completely.
Haki and Darkness—two forces working together to resist his slash.
Previously, while they were still midair, King hadn’t noticed anything unusual as Blackbeard took hit after hit and began to fall. It was only upon impact with the ground, with the earth serving as a “chopping block,” that he sensed the peculiarity of Blackbeard’s body.
“Zehahaha! It’s useless! Whether it’s slashes or flames, none of it will work! I don’t know why your ability can disregard the darkness, but in the end, your attacks will still be absorbed by it!”
“When I cut off your head, let’s see if you can still act so tough.”
King didn’t only have a sword, he also had wings.
Right now, King was using his sword to pin down Blackbeard’s right arm while stomping on his left hand with his foot.
Although Blackbeard was temporarily able to hold back the sword using his strength, his wings had already positioned themselves like a guillotine, ready to swing down at Blackbeard’s head.
“Black Hole!”
Darkness surged forth—but its target was not King, it was Blackbeard himself.
As a Dark-Dark Fruit’s user, Blackbeard’s power resembled a black hole in appearance, but it’s true nature was darkness. He could not transform into an element, but he could merge into the darkness itself.
In addition to devouring external objects, he also possessed the ability to enter his own darkness. At this moment, his Black Hole was no longer an attack—it had become Blackbeard’s escape route.
However, this action was much slower compared to the elementalization of other Logia users. Although he managed to evade a fatal blow, three bloody wounds still appeared on his body.
The wounds were so deep that the bone was visible, yet they were gradually being assimilated by the darkness. During this process, there was even less screaming than usual—for Blackbeard, screaming was a way to lessen his pain. But at this moment, he no longer had the energy to waste on such things.
“Zehahaha! Looks like I’ve won, Conflagration. Isn’t it time for you to retreat?”
Their battlefield was already close to the coastline. Though the island was abandoned, the port was still capable of docking large ships—which was precisely why Blackbeard had chosen this location for the exchange.
After moving through the darkness, Blackbeard arrived at a relatively safe position—where the people sent by Marines appeared behind him.
If there were a ranking for the most shameless pirate, Blackbeard would definitely be on the list. Begging for mercy? He had done that before. Relying on the Marines? He saw nothing wrong with it at all.
After all, when he plotted to obtain his Shichibukai position, exploiting Marine forces was always part of his plan.
“Oi, oi, I’ve already followed through on our agreement and prepared Fire Fist Ace for you. That means I should officially be a Shichibukai now, right?
This guy is a senior officer of Kaido of the Beasts. Let’s take him down together!”
“Get lost. Don’t get in my way.”
Momousagi, who was leading the Marine forces, didn’t even acknowledge Blackbeard’s words. Instead, she kicked him aside without hesitation.
Most Marines didn’t care for Shichibukai’s suggestions—unless they had explicit orders from higher-ups.
The only mission Momousagi had received was to escort Ace. King wasn’t her target.
The Marines assigned to this escort mission weren’t from the aggressive faction—they didn’t believe every pirate needed to be eliminated on sight.
“King the Conflagration, you are not our target in this mission. I do not wish to engage in a meaningless battle.”
The World Government’s orders were to prioritize Ace’s escort. Momousagi had no idea why—but she would still carry it out.
“What a coincidence. I have no interest in you guys either. I don’t care what happens to this Ace person. But Blackbeard’s life belongs to me!”
“Pirate, we are not negotiating with you.”
“I’m also just informing you!”
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