SHADOW BEFORE CREATION

Baston

Arthur slowly looked around him. He was standing on completely unfamiliar ground, in another world that undoubtedly carried the imprint of a Great Ancient. At that moment, he realized that every Great Ancient possessed their own world, a world shaped according to their image and will.

This world was slightly different from Bokrog's world. It was true that water filled its vast expanse, but the sky was not drowned in complete darkness. Instead, it appeared relatively clear, with a faint light filtering through, while patches of land were scattered here and there like silent islands in an endless sea.

{I see you truly deserve your reputation.}

A powerful voice echoed from below, carrying the weight of countless years and the authority of a ruler.

Arthur descended calmly, finding himself before a strange-looking creature. It was a gigantic crab with six sturdy legs and enormous claws. Its body was crimson red, surrounded by a dense aura overflowing with power.

"So… you are Baston, King of the Crabs," Arthur said calmly.

{And you are Arthur Narin, the Imprisoner of the High Priest, and the slayer of the Lizard King Bokrog.}

They exchanged faint smiles, but they lasted for only a moment.

In the next second, a thunderous collision shook the surroundings. Dust scattered from the ground beneath their feet before the two entities shot into the sky like colliding meteors.

The sounds of violent, relentless blows echoed through the air without pause.

Arthur raised his hand and struck with tremendous force. Baston took the blow head-on, then raised his claw and directed it toward Arthur's stomach.

Arthur smiled and coated his heart with Armament Haki, as though he already knew the attack would not target his stomach…

But his heart.

In the world of One Piece, you can only protect your body from the outside with Haki, but Arthur had developed Haki to the point where he could protect his heart and every internal organ as well.

Arthur lowered his hand toward his stomach, and at that moment, Baston smiled maliciously and changed the direction of his attack, aiming the claw directly at Arthur's heart.

The claw collided with Arthur's chest, but it did not pierce through.

{Bastard… you knew.}

Arthur smiled excitedly.

"Let's continue. I'm genuinely excited."

Arthur left things as they were, then raised his hand high and directed it toward Baston's head.

Baston smiled indifferently, as though he did not care about the incoming attack.

But before Arthur's hand could strike his head, everything changed.

Arthur smiled maliciously and opened his palm.

His fist transformed into long, sharp fingers, like a deadly spear.

At the last moment, he changed the direction of his attack and pierced Baston's eye, gouging it out without hesitation.

At that moment, Baston smiled maliciously, raised his claw, and struck Arthur's extended hand with unbelievable force.

{This is what I was aiming for.}

Arthur said as he retreated slightly, "So that was your goal."

Arthur's arm broke beneath the violent blow, and the two retreated from one another.

Arthur looked at his left hand, where the bone was clearly exposed, while Baston looked at the sea beneath him and saw his missing eye being swallowed by the water.

Suddenly, a powerful laugh erupted from both of them.

"You're really entertaining," Arthur said.

{The feeling is mutual… What do you say?}

Arthur answered confidently, "Yes. It's time for the real fight."

At that moment, a tremendous aura pressed down upon the ground beneath the two of them, causing the entire world to tremble.

Baston forcefully pressed his aura into his body, and his features began to change.

Darkness wrapped around him before disappearing in a fraction of a second, revealing a gigantic entity.

One arm was human, while the other was shaped like a claw. He had a human chest, while six long tentacles emerged from beneath him and struck the ground violently.

As for his head, it had transformed into something resembling an ancient flaming torch, with tongues of fire dancing within it.

Baston held a bone ring in his human hand.

On the other side, simultaneously, Arthur pressed his aura into his own body as well.

"It's time to use it."

With those words, King Bokrog's aura merged with the power of darkness inside Arthur's body.

But this time, the darkness did not form armor around him.

Instead, a unique and qualitative transformation occurred.

Arthur's hair began growing longer and longer, its color splitting between black and white.

The color of his body faded, and his ears became pointed.

The burns disappeared from his body…

Then appeared again, surrounding him with dark black markings that pulsed with a mysterious power.

{{It is time for battle.}}

Baston shouted in a thunderous voice, causing the earth and sky to tremble together.

The darkness dispersed from Arthur's body, revealing his new form.

{I shall fight you, you ugly bastard.}

Arthur raised his long, sharp fingers, thin and beautifully formed.

The air around him exploded as he shot forward like a roaring missile toward Baston's blazing head.

Baston smiled, raised the hand holding the ring, and controlled the water, stopping Arthur's attack.

{Oh… you control water? What about this?}

Arthur raised his other hand and began controlling the water as well.

{No… this is not enough.}

Arthur placed his hands before his chest, and a sacred celestial light began radiating from his body.

It was a beautiful and majestic light, as though Buddha himself had descended into this dark world in all his magnificence.

Arthur raised his sharp fingers.

{Now I will show you what a ruler means.}

The air thundered from the left, while the waters crashed violently from the right.

By combining these two elements, Arthur created something that had never existed in this world before.

A white lotus, surrounded by beautiful darkness.

{Let this world see the light.}

Arthur raised the lotus toward the sky and calmly released it upward.

He smiled gently.

Then the lotus exploded in the heart of the sky, transforming into a gigantic sun that tore through the darkness of the world.

With the appearance of the light, Baston screamed in pain and fell to the ground, groaning as he clutched his head, which was burning with his own flames.

Arthur calmly approached Baston.

"Little child… let this king put an end to your suffering."

He raised his hand toward Baston's head, and pure energy began emanating from his palm, as though preparing to erase his very existence.

"You bastard… who are you to control me?"

A voice screamed from within Arthur's body.

"I am you, Arthur."

"You are not me… Who are you?"

"I am all the kindness, goodness, and beauty you see in every world."

"Then you are nothing but an ugly version of me… I am the Sky Demon!"

With that thunderous cry, Arthur's body trembled violently, and his eyes ignited with a beautiful celestial blue color.

"Damn… I almost lost control of myself, just like last time."

Arthur looked at Baston, who was bent before him, then smiled calmly.

"Blood Demon."

With those words, Arthur drained every remaining drop of energy within Baston until he breathed his last.

Baston's body faded into the air, as though he had been nothing more than an echo in this world.

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