"Ah..."
Bai Ye's voice deepened, a whimper-like low hiss from his throat.
The improvement in physical attributes was the most immediate and palpable, but to kill a dragon, physical prowess wasn't that crucial.
Even with enhanced physical attributes, Bai Ye didn't believe he could physically contend with the colossal creature before him with brute force alone.
What mattered was...
The 10% enhancement across all ability effects, coupled with the 15% weapon enhancement.
The Goro Goro no Mi was terrifying enough; even a 10% boost was significant.
Furthermore, the "Lightning Fang" characteristic of the Raging Beast already complemented the Goro Goro no Mi, so the 15% weapon enhancement could stack with the 10% ability enhancement, thereby bolstering the might of Bai Ye's attacks.
Of course, there was also...
"Dark Devour!"
Bai Ye suddenly thrust a palm forward. In the next instant, a shadowy vortex appeared before him, spinning and growing in the air like a pitch-black black hole.
And then...
Everything around it was sucked into the black hole!
The already dilapidated structures collapsed completely, countless fragments of rock being drawn into the black hole and ground into dust.
The dragon's enormous body was not spared. It was continuously dragged by the suction, and the moment it touched the black hole...
The dragon's back instantly tore open. Its sturdy carapace seemed brittle, ripped apart instantly, and large amounts of blood gushed out.
Terrifyingly potent!
The Devil Fruit's ability, seemingly simple, was terrifying because "Dark Devour" could ignore all defenses and tear them apart.
However, compared to the dragon's massive body, the torn wound was clearly too small.
Bai Ye needed something more formidable...
An attack capable of cleaving that body in two!
Bai Ye's fingertips brushed against the Lightning Fang. Then...
*Zzzzt!*
The sound of surging electricity erupted, and countless arcs of electricity coiled around the Lightning Fang.
Pitch black in color.
Perhaps influenced by the Devil Fruit's power, the electricity that manifested was entirely black, encircling the sword's blade.
In the next moment, Bai Ye raised his sword high!
At this very moment, due to Dark Devour, the dragon's body was being drawn in by the black hole.
Although it struggled fiercely, attempting to break free from the gravitational pull, the immense suction still greatly restrained the dragon.
With such an opportunity, what was there to wait for?
"Lightning Fang!"
Bai Ye let out a low roar and swung the raised Lightning Fang downwards with all his might.
*BOOM!*
The black electricity entwined around the Lightning Fang exploded in an instant, plummeting downwards.
The black electricity scattered, then condensed, scattered, condensed...
Then...
It gradually expanded, growing immense.
A colossal black lightning blade appeared, shimmering in the air.
Empowered by the Devil Fruit's strength, with every jump of the lightning arcs, the surrounding space was torn open.
Rifts of void continuously appeared, quickly permeating the surrounding space.
Like ravenous beasts opening their maws, they appeared grotesque and terrifying.
The next second...
*BOOM!* The black lightning blade struck the dragon's back.
The lightning blade shattered instantly, and countless black electrical currents clung to the dragon's carapace, continuously spreading.
Simultaneously, as the black lightning spread along the dragon's body, its hard carapace began to peel off piece by piece.
In the blink of an eye, the dragon's back was a bloody mess.
In agony, the dragon struggled even more fiercely. Around its edges, red bubbles suddenly appeared.
New Kagune!
From its body, blade-like limbs extended, one after another.
Beneath the shattered carapace, pairs of blood-red eyes slowly opened.
A terrifying aura, an extremely oppressive feeling.
The final part of its body, hidden beneath the ground, finally revealed itself and swept towards Bai Ye.
*Pfft!*
The moment of contact, the sharp edges sliced a portion of Bai Ye's waist.
Instantly, Bai Ye's body seemed to be split in two, and then...
*Rumble, rumble, rumble!*
The dragon's body propelled Bai Ye, smashing into a building on the side, pulverizing the outer wall. But it didn't stop, pushing forward, forward, ever forward...
The walls of the building continuously shattered.
Aside from the pain in his back, Bai Ye felt nothing but the constant impact, the constant shattering.
Until...
*RUMBLE!*
Another building was cleaved in half, tilting and collapsing downwards.
Bai Ye was flung out, tumbling in the air. Then, his massive fiery wings unfurled, suspending him mid-air.
"Your armor, the Black Order uniform, has been completely destroyed."
The clothes formed by Bai Ye's Steel Slime condensation were torn to shreds, becoming pieces of mud clinging to him.
Blood trickled from the corner of Bai Ye's mouth, and his abdomen was completely cleaved open, his internal organs almost visible.
His chest had caved in completely, and his left arm was grotesquely twisted, its bones clearly shattered.
But...
Bai Ye reached out and touched the wound on his waist.
As his palm grazed it, the wound rapidly healed. In the blink of an eye, it became a scar, and the scar continued to fade.
His collapsed chest puffed back out.
Bai Ye glanced at his arm.
*Crack, crack!*
His completely twisted arm made crisp cracking sounds as it slowly bent back into place.
The Devil Fruit's super-regeneration!
As long as he wasn't dead, any injury could be instantly recovered!
It was just a shame that the Black Order uniform was utterly destroyed. The constructs formed by Steel Slime could continuously repair their "durability," but if their durability was reduced to zero in one go, they were still rendered useless!
Apart from that...
Bai Ye glanced at the screen. Six minutes remained.
Bai Ye looked at the dragon. It was still restrained by the suction of Dark Devour, but not completely.
Its back bore horrific wounds from the lightning blade attack, but the dragon also possessed formidable regenerative abilities. While not as monstrous as super-regeneration, parts of its body were visibly healing.
If this continued, it would be difficult to kill the dragon within the time limit.
Thinking this, Bai Ye reached out forward.
"Dark Devour!"
As Bai Ye's low shout echoed, light and shadow reappeared in the air, spinning continuously and transforming into a black hole.
The terrifying suction emanated from the center of the black hole, savagely tearing at everything around it.
...