Chapter 12 : One Piece (2)

“Ha.” Divine Proclamation was ridiculously powerful.

‘I’m at least twice as strong in this domain.’ A 50% stat boost, and 100% increase in mana, holy power, and holy efficiency. An incredible buff, turning me into…

“W-Why?! Why are you unharmed?!”

“…a monster.”

“Gah!” I punched Enel in the face, sending him flying.

Boom!

“Enel. If you don’t want to die pathetically, use your full power. You call yourself a god?” My warm-up was over. I drew the Holy Bow from my Inventory and cast a spell.

• Low-Grade Radiant Magic

• Shining Arrow

I nocked the arrow of light.

“Let’s see you withstand this, Enel.” I fired at Enel, who was just getting back on his feet.

“Gaah!”

Seeing the incoming arrow, Enel transformed, enlarging his body and turning it into lightning.

• 200 Million Volt

• Raigo

Enel became a giant of lightning, towering over the land, intoxicated by the power coursing through him. He caught the arrow.

“Ooh.” I watched as the arrow dissipated upon contact with his hand. Raigo, Enel’s ultimate attack, was powerful, making him at least twice as strong.

But…

“It doesn’t matter how strong you get.”

I was at B-rank level, the peak of human potential. Enel was at best low C-rank, reaching high C-rank with Raigo. The difference was clear.

“I’ll kill you!”

“Huu.” I watched Enel charge towards me, stored the Holy Bow, and drew the Holy Sword, closing my eyes to focus.

A technique I knew but couldn’t use before: the advanced sword technique known to Hunters.

‘Coating a sword with mana is called Aura.’

Aura, easily achieved by D and C-ranks, could make even a twig sharp enough to cut through steel. But at B-rank, at the peak of human potential, its power was vastly different. Depending on the user’s skill, it could cut through space and dimensions.

Mana Burst.

“Here I go, false god.” I channeled Mana Burst into the Holy Sword.

[…!]

[Mana Burst achieved!]

[Low-Grade Radiant Swordsmanship proficiency surpasses its limit!]

[Low-Grade Radiant Swordsmanship (E) evolves into Mid-Low-Grade Radiant Swordsmanship (D)!]

[Mid-Low-Grade Radiant Swordsmanship proficiency reaches 100%!]

[Mid-Low-Grade Radiant Swordsmanship (D) evolves into Mid-Grade Radiant Swordsmanship (C)!]

I felt my swordsmanship sharpen and accelerate. I swung downwards.

“Impossible…”

Upper Yard, along with Enel, was split in two.

“Huu… so this is Mana Burst.” Incredible power. And…

“Cough…”

…incredible recoil.

“That hurts…” Mana Burst compressed mana to its limit. The power was immense, but so was the recoil. Coughing up golden blood, I cast a healing spell.

• Low-Grade Radiant Magic

• Radiant Embrace

The pain subsided slightly.

“Now, to do what I must.”

I flew to Enel’s bisected corpse. His eyes were wide with disbelief.

[Activating Plunder.]

[Attempting to plunder target: Enel!]

“No, stop.”

[Plunder cancelled.]

I cast two spells:

• Low-Grade Radiant Magic

• Radiant Cage

A barrier trapping everything but me.

• Radiant Eye

A spell allowing me to see the unseen.

I stored the Holy Sword and took out an apple.

“I’ll give you three seconds.” I looked at something made of lightning struggling against the barrier. The essence of the Devil Fruit, trying to escape and find a new host.

“Enter this fruit in three seconds, or you’ll be annihilated.”

I had pondered how to extract the Rumble-Rumble Fruit’s power after killing Enel. Devil Fruit users’ powers transferred to a nearby fruit upon their death. So, if I could capture that essence and force it into a fruit I chose…

I threatened the lightning essence to enter the apple or be destroyed. It initially ignored me, desperately trying to escape the barrier. But Radiant Cage was inescapable unless broken from the outside, and the essence, lacking physical form, couldn’t interact with the barrier. It couldn’t even use its lightning powers without a host. It was powerless.

It gave up and entered the apple.

“The Rumble-Rumble Fruit.” I finally had it. A yellow, spiky fruit resembling lightning.

I took out a Penalty Removal Ticket.

[Use Penalty Removal Ticket (C) on Rumble-Rumble Fruit (A)?]

[Y/N]

“Yes.”

[Removing penalty from Rumble-Rumble Fruit.]

The curse of the sea was gone.

“Alright. Here we go.” I ate the fruit. I expected the usual disgusting taste of a Devil Fruit, but…

“It’s delicious?” The penalty removal must have affected the taste too. It was sweet, like pineapple.

[Rumble-Rumble Fruit consumed.]

[Acquired Trait: Lightning Devil (A).]

[…!]

[Trait: Radiant and Adaptive Angel does not tolerate the existence of Lightning Devil!]

[Radiant and Adaptive Angel attempts to purify Lightning Devil!]

[Lightning Devil resists purification!]

[Lightning Devil resists purification!]

[Lightning Devil fails to resist purification!]

[Lightning Devil purified!]

[Purified Lightning Devil imbued with holy radiance!]

[Lightning Devil transforming!]

[Trait: Lightning Devil (A) becomes Trait: Holy Lightning (S)!]

<Trait: Holy Lightning (S)>

Holy lightning imbued with radiant light.

Abilities:

• Holy Lightning Generation

• Holy Lightning Control

• Holy Lightning Transformation

“…”

My angel Trait had done it again. What couldn’t it do?