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The divine soldiers had been waiting here for a long time. The moment they saw Hikaru and the others approaching, Shyarly, with his bloated figure, jumped forward to report:
"Hohoho~ Lord God, we just interrogated the zombies here. They said that the small building up ahead is where Moonlight Moria is hiding."
"Isn't it a bit unfair for so many of you to gang up on Lord Moria?"
Perona crossed her arms, frowning. She wasn't worried that Moriah would lose to sheer numbers—after all, he was one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea—but seeing the divine soldiers so well-equipped, with many of them carrying Seastone weapons, made her uneasy. If Moria let his guard down, things could go south fast.
"Huh? Do you really expect me to care about fairness and justice when dealing with pirates?" Hikaru sneered before waving his hand, signaling the divine soldiers to advance.
"You want to wait outside, or would you rather come in and witness Moria's miserable state firsthand?"
Perona pouted but didn't respond. She knew she was being unreasonable, but deep down, she hoped her words would provoke Hikaru into challenging Moria one-on-one.
Seeing her reaction, Hikaru released his grip on her and strode forward, following the divine soldiers.
Inside the castle, Moonlight Moria was busy working on his prized zombies. A group of unconscious warriors—Hikaru's God's Shock Team—lay in the distance, handcuffed and awaiting transformation.
"Hehehe~ Another masterpiece!" Moria cackled as he awakened the zombie before him. His shadow bats carried the lifeless body of the warrior whose shadow had just been stolen, tossing it aside like garbage.
As he reached for the next victim, the sudden sound of violent banging against the doors made his brows furrow.
Bang! ~ Bang!
Bang! ! !
With a thunderous crash, the doors were forced open, and the divine soldiers stormed inside.
"So... so huge!"
"Are we really fighting a giant like this? My blood is pumping—this is exciting!"
"Iron Cloud!"
The sight of the towering seven-meter-tall Moria left the divine soldiers awestruck, but they didn't falter. Without hesitation, they raised their weapons and unleashed a barrage of Iron Cloud shots, launching a ground-to-air assault.
"You... are all from the same faction? Looks like I'll be collecting a lot of shadows today!" Moria grinned wickedly, raising his hand. The dark mass beneath him began to writhe as if coming to life.
"Flying Bat!"
In an instant, the shadows scattered and transformed into monstrous black bats with oversized heads and tiny wings. They swarmed toward the divine soldiers, biting down mercilessly.
"Hahaha~ Gekko Moriah! Look over here!"
At some point, a large spherical Iron Cloud had formed in front of Shyarly. With a powerful push, he activated the shockwave hidden in his gloves. The massive iron sphere shot toward Moria like a cannonball, exploding with a deafening blast upon impact.
"It's useless!"
As the dust settled, only a black shadow remained where the attack had landed. Moria had reacted swiftly, switching places with his shadow just before the explosion hit.
A large number of divine soldiers were sent flying out of the castle. Some tumbled near Hikaru's feet, quickly scrambling away.
Inside, Moria was locked in battle with the priests. Recognizing they were outmatched, the divine soldiers had stepped back, watching from the sidelines. Only a few gunmen continued to fire occasional shots, attempting to disrupt Moria's movements.
"Perona, how long do you think Moria can hold out?"
Hikaru sat casually atop the Void Gate, his gaze fixed on Perona's anxious expression, enjoying her growing unease.
The priests had all mastered the basics of Haki, and after more than two years of training, they had also become proficient in Armament Haki.
Against Moria, who relied solely on the Shadow-Shadow Fruit, they had a clear advantage. As time passed, it was only a matter of time before he collapsed from exhaustion.
With so many attackers surrounding him, Moria had no chance to escape—let alone awaken his strongest zombie, Oars.
"No way! Lord Moria… He will definitely win!" Perona insisted stubbornly, but the hesitation in her voice betrayed her uncertainty.
"I like that tough attitude of yours," Hikaru smirked, lightning crackling at his fingertips. "But sooner or later, that sharp tongue of yours will soften under my thunderous attacks!"
BZZT!
"5,000,000 Volts—Brontosaurus!"
A massive, serpentine dragon of pure electricity, standing three meters tall and stretching ten meters long, roared as it surged toward Moria.
The four priests coordinated their attacks, forcing Moria and his shadow to separate before swiftly retreating.
"This is…?"
Moria's eyes widened as the Thunder Dragon grew larger before him. Instinctively, he swapped places with his shadow—a life-saving maneuver he had performed countless times.
But Hikaru had already predicted this.
The Thunder Dragon passed through the shadow, twisted mid-air, and continued its pursuit.
Moria switched positions again in the blink of an eye, but this time, his luck had run out.
Because the Thunder Dragon was still piercing through his shadow, when he switched places, it meant the attack struck his real body.
Electricity surged through Moria's massive frame, his body convulsing violently from the shock. A moment later, the Thunder Dragon detonated in a deafening explosion, sending Moria crashing to the ground. He coughed up a mouthful of thick, black blood.
Finish him while he's down!
This was a principle Hikaru had drilled into the God's Guard.
The divine soldiers seized the opportunity. With Moria sprawled on the ground, they raised their weapons and unleashed a relentless barrage—flame shells, wind shells, water shells, and impact shells raining down upon him.
Among them, one particularly ruthless soldier, Lao Liu, wielded a Seastone-coated staff. As if he held a personal grudge against Moria, he struck repeatedly—jabbing the weapon directly into Moria's thick backside with full force.
The intense weakness caused by the Seastone prevented Moria from using his Devil Fruit powers. He could only rely on his raw physical strength, thrashing wildly to shake off the divine soldiers clambering over him.
Despite the overwhelming assault, Moria forced himself back to his feet. His monstrous endurance kept him standing, and though he was battered and bleeding, he was still far from reaching his limit.
Staggering backward, he suddenly heard a sharp voice call out.
"Thunder…!? Wait—are you subordinates of that Thunder Fruit user who's been making waves lately!?"
"You're pretty sharp."
Hikaru stepped arrogantly into the castle, a smug grin on his face. Behind him, Perona looked at Moria, her expression filled with worry.
"Shichibukai, Gekko Moriah. Living comfortably in Paradise, are we? You've gotten a little too soft."
"Jihihihi! So it really is you—Divine Emperor Hikaru." Moria laughed darkly, though there was a hint of unease in his voice. "I don't recall having any grudges against you. Why are you coming after me?"
As he tried to catch his breath, Moria's gaze flickered behind Hikaru—only to freeze in shock.
"Perona!? What did you do to her?! Why is she following you?!"
"Hey, hey, don't tell me you've forgotten about my 'magic weapons.'" Hikaru smirked, pulling Perona into his arms. "You captured quite a few of them yourself, didn't you?"
"As for Perona? I wouldn't have the heart to kill such a cute little girl."
"Lord Moria… I lost… He captured me…" Perona's voice trembled with guilt as tears welled in her eyes. "I'm sorry!!"
"Damn it!"
Moria's eyes burned with rage. His fists clenched tightly, his massive body trembling—but despite his fury, he didn't dare make another reckless move.
"Qin Yun, if you have a problem, take it up with me! Let Perona go!"