Gol D. Ace In Coiling Dragon

Far off in the direction that Ace and Amira were urgently heading, a striking woman with milky-white skin and jet-black hair and eyes donning a form-fitting white leather armour that accentuated her voluptuous figure hovered in the air.

Her gaze was fixated on the severely injured body of Leona, Ace's Divine Beast partner. Leona, a lioness with obsidian fur tinged with a hint of crimson, who was larger than most horses.

Despite her grievous wounds, she met Shelia's gaze with cold indifference, refusing to bow her head in submission.

Shelia let out a light sigh, her hand lightly gripping her spear as she spoke, "It's unfortunate that you've already forged a bond of equals with Ace. Otherwise, I would have spared your life had you agreed to follow me."

In response, Leona let out a defiant roar, her feline eyes filled with clear disdain.

Though she couldn't comprehend Leona's roar, Shelia gleaned its intent by reading the almost human-like expression on the lioness's face.

"I concede that your partner is undoubtedly the most gifted human I've ever encountered," Shelia explained. "However, it is precisely for that reason that we of the New Yulan Empire cannot allow him to live any longer.

Had all of you chosen to remain within your territories, we might have hesitated to take action. But since you arrogantly entered the Necropolis of the Gods, we are determined to ensure that each member of the Gol and Baruch Empires meets their end within these ruins!"

Shelia raised her spear, poised to end the life of the Divine Lion once and for all.

Upon seeing this, Leona's fiery aura erupted as she prepared to make her final stand.

As a beast unable to wield weapons as effortlessly as humans, she was yet to begin comprehending the 'Concepts' of fire. Nevertheless, she relied on her powerful body and her mastery of profound mysteries to give her the power of a weaker peak saint despite merely being at the eighth rank.

And thanks to her unique bond with Ace, she was able to rapidly absorb his comprehension of profound mysteries. Whilst she presently focused on but a single profound mystery, her understanding of the 'Essence of Fire' had already surpassed her father's, reaching the peak of the peak saint realm, a mere half step from matching that of a prime saint.

Unfortunately, Shelia's comprehension was at a similar level. Coupled with the fact that Shelia, the dark-haired leader of the Cult of Darkness, was both a warrior and mage at the peak of the saint realm, it was no surprise that she easily dominated the young lioness.

However, even knowing she was outmatched this time, Leona remained unwilling to submit, even in her final moments. But just as she prepared to make her last stand, Leona's aura suddenly dissipated.

Leona watched as Shelia lunged toward her, spear poised to pierce her skull. However, instead of panic or fear, an air of calm and almost teasing amusement graced Leona's feline lips.

A sense of foreboding washed over Shelia, but she brushed it aside as the lion's final desperate attempt to stall for time.

"DIE!" Shelia screamed as her black battle-qi-coated spear sliced through the air.

But just before she could complete her attack and end her target's life, the hairs on her neck stood on end. Her battle-honed instincts, sharpened on countless battlefields, warned her of impending mortal danger.

Shelia acted on pure instinct, using the momentum of her spear thrust to pivot and face the imminent threat from behind. As she spun around, her abyss-like eyes constricted when she saw a familiar jet-black glaive enveloped in crimson flames hurtling toward her at blistering speed.

She had almost no time to defend properly, only managing to raise the shaft of her spear in time to deflect the glaive's tip from piercing her heart.

However, her hasty block was insufficient to fully evade the imminent peril. The diverted glaive, knocked off target, pierced through the collarbone of her left shoulder before shooting off into the distance. At the same time, Shelia herself felt as though she had been struck by a speeding truck, the impact's force jarring her insides before propelling her back like a shooting star.

"Damn," Ace muttered lightly. "I was hoping to finish that old wench with that strike!"

Though his voice sounded calm, the icy killing intent he radiated betrayed his rage.

Leona was not just his familiar; she was family. If he had been even a second slower, she would have perished. How could he not be furious?

"Seeing as your little Cult is so determined to cross my bottom line," Ace declared coolly, waving his hand to summon "God Slayer" back to his side. "I'll ensure that every one of you who dared enter the Necropolis pays the price... Starting with you!"

"With just the three of you?" Shelia asked calmly as she slowly floated back towards Ace, disregarding the fact that she could only use her right arm in her current state, paying all but no attention to Amira, who stood over Leona's severely injured body, using her insights into the profound mystery of purity to heal the black-furred lioness.

"No," Ace replied indifferently as he ascended into the air to confront his opponent. "Just me."

Shelia gazed deeply at the black-haired young man before her, memories of their first encounter stirring a faint sense of regret within her. If she had known things would unfold like this, she would have chosen to eliminate him outright instead of attempting to control him.

Nevertheless, dwelling on unalterable past choices was futile. Shelia took a deep breath, clearing her mind of distractions as she assumed a one-handed battle stance. Her shadowy battle-qi enveloped her body and weapon.

"If you had abandoned your little pet to die and fled, you might have lived a few more days," Shelia remarked indifferently. "But since you seem so determined to meet your end, allow me to…."

Before Shelia could finish her sentence, Ace, whose entire body was now jet-black, executed three near-simultaneous, ground-shaking kicks, creating giant explosions with each one. In an instant, he appeared in front of Shelia.

Ace, no longer interested in her ceaseless chatter, had grown weary of listening. All he desired was to see her head beneath his feet.

The battle between Ace and Shelia erupted in a blaze of fiery fury and eerie darkness.

Ace unleashed his self-created "Blazing Glaive Art," a martial art that incorporated the very essence of fire into each of his attacks. His glaivesmanship was a symphony of wild, passionate, and explosive strikes, every movement dripping with the very essence of fire.

Shelia, already injured and with only one good hand remaining, faced the relentless assault with unwavering determination.

Her shadowy battle-qi enveloped her weapon as she countered Ace's blows, but her disadvantage was evident. Each clash sent shockwaves through her body, testing the limits of her endurance.

Ace's mastery of Observation Haki gave him a profound advantage, allowing him to peer into the immediate future, predicting Shelia's every move before she executed it.

His movements were a dance of anticipation and a flawless combination of offence and defence. He dodged each of Shelia's strikes with uncanny precision and attacked positions she attempted to move into before she even finished moving there. It was this incredible ability that allowed him to slowly but surely suppress the former Empress of Darkness, not giving her a moment to catch her breath.

Shelia, despite being a warrior at the peak of the saint realm, struggled to keep up. Ace's relentless onslaught pushed her to her limits, and she was barely holding on. Her every action was an intricate balance between survival and exhaustion.

She had long since heard the rumours of Ace's prowess after incorporating the 'Concepts' of fire into his glaivesmanship; she had even seen a glimpse of it when he took on the first Deathgod Golem.

Still, she refused to believe that it would give him the ability to oppose her, even with her injuries.

She was a peak saint as both a mage and a warrior whose insights into the laws of darkness were a mere step away from that of a prime saint. Even with her injuries, she was no weaker than peak saints like her husband.

And yet, Ace, a boy whose cultivation had only just reached the seventh rank, was able to force her to this point…

Calling it shocking was an understatement. It should be impossible! And yet, the proof was laid out right before her eyes.

One of the most shocking parts about Ace's strength was the power of his body. Despite being a human, Shelia could sense that in his current state, Ace's physical ability was faintly approaching that of a warrior at the peak of the saint realm. He really was like a humanoid Divine Beast.

The secrets behind Ace's powerful body could be separated into four parts:

Firstly, after using [Imposing Devourment] to break through to the seventh rank, the normal power of his body had improved so that it matched that of a weaker magical beast. Still, at most, that allowed his body to match that of an ordinary human warrior's at the middle stages of the seventh rank.

Second was his [Armament Haki], which, when used, raised his warrior realm by one full realm to the middle stages of the eighth rank.

Third was the power of his soul using [Impose]. It had to be remembered that right now, Ace's soul had already reached the level of a prime saint. When he used [Impose], he was able to once again increase his physical ability, bringing it to the level of a warrior at the early stages of the saint realm.

Lastly was his pseudo-battle-qi. Once again, because of the power of his soul, despite only being a mage at the early stages of the seventh rank, his spells had the power of a magus at the middle stages of the saint realm.

When combined, it gave Ace heaven-defying physical abilities faintly surpassing that of even Apex Divine Beasts like Leona.

As the battle raged on, Ace's fiery attacks intensified. He forced Shelia back, step by step, until finally, he sent her flying with a powerful strike that sent her crashing into a massive tree. She collided with it with a bone-rattling thud before slumping to the ground.

Ace looked down at her from above, exuding a silent air of dominance like a young god of fire. "To try and compete with me in close quarters in your current state is nothing but foolishness," he declared with unwavering confidence. "I suggest you bring out your true power now before it's too late!"

His words hung in the air, a challenge to Shelia to reveal her full potential before their battle reached its climactic conclusion.

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