The hilt of Enma felt icy cold in Daren's grasp, as if he were clutching a shard of frozen crystal. Though it was merely an illusion, eerie wails suddenly echoed through the surrounding void.
The air's temperature seemed to plummet to freezing, and despite the blazing sun, a chilling wind swept through.
Daren focused intently on the Enma in his hands.
One second.
Two seconds.
Three seconds...
Still no change?
He raised an eyebrow.
But at that very moment—
An inexplicably powerful suction surged from Enma's blade, nearly impossible to resist.
"Shit!"
Daren's pupils contracted sharply, and he couldn't help but curse inwardly.
Under this mysterious pull, he was alarmed to find his Armament Haki surging uncontrollably from within.
Without any conscious effort, his entire sword-wielding arm became enveloped in a stern black hue, fully coated in Armament Haki.
And that wasn't all.
As the Haki covered his arm, Enma emitted a piercing hum, like a ravenous shark sensing blood, voraciously absorbing Daren's Haki!
Sinister black and red flames danced along Enma's blade, while Daren's arm muscles pulsed rhythmically, as if being drained.
"This sword... something's off!"
Feeling his Armament Haki being siphoned away like a receding tide, Daren's expression shifted.
His proficiency in Armament Haki was his weakest attribute, barely over 30 points—only at a "proficient use" level.
After all, it had only been two or three months since he joined the training camp and began systematically honing his Armament Haki.
In his previous battle with Kozuki Oden, his lack of strong Armament Haki had been a significant disadvantage, making him wary of Oden's slashes.
Frankly, Daren's current Armament Haki strength was even less than Zoro's when he first acquired Enma in the original Wano Country arc.
At Enma's current rate of absorption, it wouldn't take ten seconds before his Haki was completely drained!
From Daren's perspective, the Enma in his hand, shrouded in Haki and emitting eerie black and red flames, resembled a bloodthirsty, greedy beast.
It had latched onto his arm, frantically siphoning his life force!
Five seconds passed.
Daren's complexion began to pale.
Eight seconds passed.
His right arm's muscles and skin visibly shriveled, the skin becoming dry and withered, resembling a piece of crumpled firewood.
"Daren-san... are you alright!?"
"Let go of the sword!"
Amatsuki Toki watched in horror as this bizarre transformation unfolded, unable to suppress her alarm.
"Let go?"
Cold sweat beaded on Daren's forehead as he stared intently at Enma.
But then, a fierce determination flared in his eyes, and a defiant grin spread across his face.
"You want my Haki? Then I'll feed you until you're full!"
With that, Daren let out a sharp exhale.
Suddenly, a change occurred within him. His withered right arm regained its fullness, a healthy sheen returning under the glistening sweat.
However, his body visibly thinned, his cheekbones becoming more pronounced.
Seimei Kikan!
A secret technique of Rokushiki, accessible only to those who have mastered all six forms, allowing complete control over every part of the body.
Armament Haki, like Devil Fruit abilities, draws energy from physical stamina.
Having trained his physique to monstrous levels, Daren's stamina was his greatest asset!
Though his Armament Haki wasn't as potent as that of true masters, he possessed an exceptional physique and unparalleled endurance.
In simpler terms,
Daren's Armament Haki might lack brute strength, but supported by his immense stamina…
it was astonishingly enduring!
"I'd like to see if you can really drain me dry!"
The madness in Daren's eyes only grew deeper.
That's just the kind of person he was—born with an unyielding, relentless fury in his bones. If someone dared to punch him, he'd come back swinging for their life!
It was this level of sheer, stubborn ferocity that allowed him to endure hellish training where others broke, and to cut down his enemies in battles where survival seemed impossible.
Now, man and sword were locked in a fierce, unrelenting clash.
Ten seconds,
twenty seconds,
thirty seconds,
...
As the seconds ticked by, the eerie ghost aura burning around Enma intensified. Its initial wails, sharp and tormented, shifted—first unwilling, then helpless, and finally... almost laced with a strange, faint moan of pleasure.
The blade seemed to ignite, glowing crimson as the ghostly aura surged upward like a blazing torch.
In contrast, Daren's body was steadily wasting away. His flesh thinned, his frame shrank, and the bones of his face jutted out sharply, like a traveler parched from a ten-day trek through a desert.
His face turned deathly pale, lips cracked and dry, looking utterly drained. Yet his eyes only burned brighter—hot with frenzy, glowing like ghost fire deep in hollow sockets, terrifying to behold.
Forty seconds, fifty seconds...
Each moment dragged like an eternity. For Daren, not even a full minute had passed, yet every second was pure hell.
And then—
Buzz, buzz, buzz!
As if pushed beyond its peak, the Enma in Daren's hands began to tremble violently.
This was no longer the resistance or struggle from before—it was the shudder of something pushed past its limit, now forced to release everything it had!
The ghost aura turned into raging black-purple flames, roaring wildly up the raised blade.
"Finally reached your limit, huh!"
Daren's eyes shone with unmatched intensity as he suddenly swung the sword downward in a vertical slash!
Though he had clashed with countless swordmasters, he'd never trained in swordsmanship himself—he knew no techniques.
This swing came purely from the instinct passed on through Enma.
To Amatsuki Toki watching, Daren's movement looked awkward and clumsy—like a child swinging a stick in a game of pretend.
Yet that casual slash...
...brought silence to the world.
It was as if something had torn through the air.
Amatsuki Toki's eyes widened in stunned disbelief.
Then—
Shhhhk!
BOOM!!
A towering pillar of seawater, over a hundred meters high, split apart and blasted into the sky.
A massive, gaping trench—so deep the brown seabed peeked through—ripped out from beneath Daren's feet, stretching all the way to the horizon.
The sea... had split open.