While Diddy was evenly fighting against three Vice-admirals, and Freyja was slugging it out with Dalmatian like a pair of brutes, Mael, similar to Freyja, was being pushed to his limit while fighting Doberman, who was not even using his sword.
Blocking his fists using my axe, I blasted him with a wave of plasma before striking him with my axe, which was laced with burning hot plasma, yet even so, he caught it with both of his hands before pushing me back and punching me in the stomach, causing me to spit out blood and grit my teeth as I was flung several meters away, though I eventually stopped myself.
'Haa, haa, t-this is difficult; if I had attacked this ship by myself, I would've died. Let alone dealing with three Vice-admirals like Captain, I'd be forced to fight five, and I'm barely holding my own against just one.' Thought Mael with an intense frown as he hovered in the air using his wings and glanced at Diddy, who had just kicked Cancer away, only to be sliced by Hosen after dodging Gion's sword from behind.
"Chaos Kong is strong, even capable of fighting back despite facing 3 of us, but after I kill you, it's only a matter of time before he and the rest of your lousy crew are killed." Stated Doberman ruthlessly as he glared at Mael before lunging at him, using geppo to maneuver through the sky.
Grunting in anger, I raised my axe above my head, manifesting a small ball of compressed plasma before launching it toward Doberman once he got close.
"Cruel Sun!" Yelled Mael loudly as he swung his golden axe down, launching the miniature sun to Doberman, who outstretched his haki-infused hands and stopped the sun's momentum, only for it to swiftly expand before consuming him in a fiery explosion.
"The only one dying here is you, Marine; I will not allow my free will ever to be stolen from me again!" Added Mael in exhaustion as he eyed Doberman, who came rushing out from the explosion with wounds and various burn marks on his body.
"If upholding justice means you must give up your free will, then so be it! I will not hesitate to uphold justice!" Declared Doberman wearily and solemnly as he charged toward Mael, who was doing the same, causing the two to collide with each other while engaging in close-quarter combat.
Blocking Doberman's flurry of blows, I slashed my axe at him, which he blocked, but I followed up with a solar punch to his face, knocking his head back, though he stood his ground and counterattacked with a kick to my side, breaking my ribs, and causing me to grit my teeth in pain, which was nothing compared to what I've been forced to endure as a slave. Using my arm, I locked his leg next to my body before swinging my axe down onto his head, prompting him to raise his arms above to try and stop my axe, though he only managed to slow it down for a brief second, which he then used to twist his body out of the way, evading my swing.
Getting kicked in the chest, I was forced back slightly, which allowed him to pull his leg free; retracting my axe, I swung down once more, only to stop and widen my eyes when I felt a stabbing pain in my stomach. Looking down, I saw a sword stabbed into my abdomen while a black hue receded from the blade, causing it to fall through my body and plummet into the ocean, though Doberman managed to catch it shortly after.
'W-What just happened!?' Thought Mael in confusion as he looked down at his bleeding wound, though he wasn't given any time to react as he was uppercutted in the chin, causing him to momentarily blackout.
"I need more focus." Muttered Doberman with a frown as he glanced at the sword in his hand before looking at Mael, who just regained his bearings after the punch.
Glaring at Doberman, I grabbed the hole in my stomach, trying to stop myself from bleeding, but it was proving useless; blood continued to pour out.
"D-Dammit! I-I should've been paying attention to his sword!" Muttered Mael angrily as he looked at Doberman with his slightly blurry vision, his exhaustion and injuries finally beginning to catch up to him.
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
"This is the end of the river, slave. Any last words before you die?" Remarked Doberman as he eyed Mael, who suddenly grinned and raised his axe into the air.
"I'm not a slave; I'm the third-mate of the Frenzy Pirates!" Yelled Mael as his body morphed into pure plasma while growing in size.
"Hmph, dying as a pirate isn't any more honorable than dying as a slave, but so be it." Stated Doberman as he eyed the hulking frame of pure plasma before grabbing his sword and holding it above his head while intently focusing.
'The One!' Thought Mael as he stared down Doberman, whose sword slowly took on a black hue.
Once Doberman had turned his entire blade black, he suddenly snapped his eyes open and lunged at me with a speed he'd never displayed previously as he slashed down against my now plasma body, causing a large diagonal gash to appear from my shoulder down to my waist.
"Killing Lunge!" Yelled Doberman as he used his strongest and sure-fire killing technique before sheathing his blade in utter exhaustion.
"Now it's my turn." Said Mael in his deep voice as he turned around and eyed Doberman, who was shocked to hear his voice, though he wasn't given any time to question as he was forced to dodge an axe heading right for him.
"DIVINE AXE!" Yelled Mael as he channeled all of his strength into the swing of his brightly glowing plasma axe onto Doberman, who was blocking it with the broad side of his sword.
Despite using everything I had, he was still blocking my strongest attack, and this struggle lasted for some time until I started to feel my power begin to fade. If I couldn't kill him, or at least defeat him with this, it was over for not only me but my new cremates, which I didn't hold much sentiment towards, though ever since I escaped Mariejois a little over a decade ago, they were the only ones to treat me normally. Everyone would disassociate with me once they found out I was an escaped slave, and although my new crewmembers were far from pleasant, especially my Captain, they treated me normally, which was something that I enjoyed, and I wasn't about to let such an opportunity to slip away so easily.
"AXE OF THE DIVINE PLASMA!!" Yelled Mael as his plasma axe spontaneously increased in temperature, reaching heat levels comparable to Diddy's lightning.
(Note: Mael's current heat limit is about the surface of the sun, which is about 10,000 degrees F)
Pushing with the last bits of my strength, I sliced right through Doberman's sword, causing the blade of my axe to powerfully land right atop his chest as I flung him to the ocean; once Doberman resurfaced, there was a large cauterized gash on his chest while he laid their motionlessly. Seeing that, I breathed a sigh of relief as I reverted to normal before blackness consumed my visions; the last thing I saw before fainting was my new Captain smirking at me while fighting against three Vice-admirals.
'Heh, I've got one hell of a Captain.' Mused Mael as he fainted while tightly holding his axe, his body plummeting to the ocean below him.
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Seeing Mael beat his opponent, I couldn't help but smirk while Cancer, Gion, and Hosen sported ugly expressions, a sight that only spurred me on.
"Hehe, don't worry; you three are next!" Stated Diddy with a grin as he swung his bo-staff, forcing his three opponents to back way.
"Looks like Doberman has been defeated." Said Cancer with a frown as he glanced at the unconscious and grievously wounded Doberman floating in the ocean.
"Tsk, there's not much we can do about it right now; Chaos Kong won't allow us to go and assist him, though at least his opponent isn't a threat anymore." Remarked Gion lightly as she stared at the fainted Mael plummet to his death.
"Now it's our duty to keep him from helping his crewmate." Stated Hosen lightly as he looked at Diddy, who was glancing at the falling Mael with a frown.
Watching Mael plummet to the ocean, I was internally debating whether I should go and try to save him, but from the looks the three were giving me, that would prove difficult. Clicking my tongue, just as I was about to try it, Mael's body suddenly floated in the air before being gently placed on the ship.
"Heh, it seems like our playtime is over, Gion; it was fun while it lasted." Stated Diddy with a grin as he looked at Gion, who was suddenly lifted into the air while Sebas emerged from from a door leading into the ship.
"Hoho, sorry about that, Captain; some of those CP agents Janet spoke about had awoken, so I was forced to take care of them." Said Sebas with a slight chuckle as he floated in the air while looking worse than before, though it was fine since so did Gion.
"Has everything been taken care of? No reinforcements, right?" Questioned Diddy with a smirk, earning a nod from Sebas.
"Yes, everything has been taken care of; all that's left is to deal with these Vice-admirals, and it seems like our new crewmate has already started on that." Replied Sebas lightly as he suddenly waved his hand in the air, creating a psionic wall that shielded him from Gion's sword wave.