One Piece: A Warlord's Path-Chapter 689: The Vampire Queen

Bang! Bang! Bang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

Inside the room, Kitayama was locked in a fierce melee with the members of the Elite Strike Team. Utilizing his mastery of the Rokushiki: Tekkai, his fists and body were as hard as tempered steel, clashing against weapons with a sharp, metallic ring.

However, facing over a dozen super-soldiers, each with a Doriki exceeding 500, further augmented by the Warrior-T13 Offensive Exoskeleton Combat Suits, even a member of CP0 found the situation troublesome.

Rumble—

A few fragments of stone fell as Gin struggled out of the wall where he had been embedded, leaping back through a nearby window.

"How is this possible?"

Kitayama glanced at Gin, initially dismissing him, but his eyes widened in the next second. Aside from the bloodstains on his clothes, the bloody puncture wound left by his Shigan was visibly, albeit slowly, knitting itself back together.

"Damn it! That really hurt!"

Gin grimaced, looking first at the wound on his chest and then at the massive hole in the ceiling before stalking toward the surrounded Kitayama.

"An Ability User? Or something else?" Kitayama stared intently at Gin. Though his face was hidden behind his Kabuki Mask, his expression was undoubtedly grave.

The "Man-Demon" Gin had a file in the CP organization's records: formerly the Combat Commander of the Krieg Pirates in the East Blue, known for his formidable strength. After the Krieg Pirates were wiped out, he was scouted by Golden Ring Aeridar, the Lord of the World Neutral Zone, and joined the Chris Pirates as a core member of the Elite Strike Team.

According to the original intelligence, he specialized in tonfa-hammers, was not a Devil Fruit user, and possessed no abnormal regenerative abilities. Now, it was clear that the intel was either flawed or severely outdated.

"World Government bastards... go to hell!"

Losing the first exchange had left Gin seething with rage. He spun his tonfa-hammers, bringing them down toward Kitayama with a whistling roar.

"Rokushiki: Tekkai—Shatter!"

Kitayama's eyes sharpened. He clenched his fist, a faint, near-invisible glint flashing across his knuckles as he threw a heavy punch.

THOOM—

A sound like a giant temple bell rang out. A powerful shockwave instantly erupted, tearing through the third floor, upending tables, chairs, and ornaments alike.

…

"Tsk, tsk... that's quite the punch!"

On the roof, Mina spoke with a teasing smirk.

The balcony had collapsed, but Aberly and Dick reacted swiftly, using Geppo to ascend to the roof and confront her.

"Mina-san, you've certainly hidden yourself well," Aberly praised in a low, heavy voice. "Truly, a woman who puts men to shame."

"Save the flattery. You're an agency directly under the World Nobles, the Celestial Dragons. You're the ones backing the Church of the Night, aren't you?" Mina pointed at Aberly and Dick, asking with cold contempt, "Which Saint or Saintess is it? Or is it Saint Aldrich Gustav? That crawling insect in the shadows!"

"Watch your tone, Mina-san!" Aberly snapped, his anger flaring.

"Heh... then come and kill me!"

The crimson light in Mina's eyes intensified, and the aura radiating from her body grew suffocating.

Rrip—!

The sound of tearing cloth echoed. To Aberly and Dick's shock, the muscles in Mina's back surged. A pair of massive, black bat wings patterned with blood-red veins burst through her clothes. With a wingspan exceeding three meters, the wings beat gently, kicking up a violent gust of wind.

"An Ability User!"

"A Zoan type!"

Aberly and Dick were horrified. They never expected this woman to be a Devil Fruit user. It explained her monstrous strength and speed, but they hadn't realized this woman, so famous in the underworld intelligence circles, was hiding such a deep secret.

On second thought, it made sense. She was a high-ranking executive of the Chris Pirates. Given that they controlled the World Neutral Zone and possessed unimaginable wealth and influence, securing a Devil Fruit to bolster their core members was only natural.

"I am the Vampire Queen!"

Mina spread her arms and tilted her head back toward the sky. A turbulent scent of blood and bloodlust surged out like a tide, forming a faint, visible red mist.

Hiss—

Aberly and Dick felt their breath hitch. Under the weight of that crushing bloodlust, everyone's movements faltered as a primal sense of crisis washed over them.

"This killing intent..."

Down on the third floor, Kitayama looked up. He knew his two companions didn't possess an aura of this magnitude.

"You're all dead meat!" Gin let out a sinister grin on his expressionless face.

"Hehehe~"

"They're finished!"

"Mina-san is getting serious!"

The surrounding Elite Strike Team members began to laugh maliciously.

Hearing the mocking laughter, Kitayama felt a chill of unease. Does that woman have another trump card? What else is she hiding?

On the roof…

"Die!"

Mina's red lips parted slightly, and she vanished instantly.

"Here she comes!"

The moment she disappeared, Aberly and Dick braced for impact.

BAM—

A streak of blood-red light flashed past, and a crimson high-heeled shoe slammed into Dick's face.

BOOM!

Dick felt as if he had been hit by a cannonball. He was sent flying across the roof, smashing into the steel guardrails. The metal twisted violently, spiderweb cracks appearing in the masonry.

"Puh—! So fast!" Dick spat out a mouthful of blood. A vivid shoe print was scorched onto his face, the skin bruised and swollen.

Swish!

The sound of breaking air cut through the silence. Mina closed the distance to Aberly in an instant, her claws lashing out. Aberly ducked, narrowly avoiding the swipe, and countered with a lightning-fast Shigan. With a wet thwack, his finger pierced Mina's abdomen.

"Got her!" Aberly rejoiced. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

But his joy was short-lived. Mina ignored the wound entirely. She grabbed his neck with one hand and hammered a fist into his stomach with the other.

THUD—

Aberly's body arched backward. The agonizing pain nearly forced a scream from his throat.

"Let's taste your blood!"

Mina's eyes were blood-red. She opened her mouth, fangs bared, and lunged for his neck.

"Rokushiki: Tekkai!!!"

In that split second, Aberly tensed the muscles in his neck. When her four sharp fangs struck, they hit like a pickaxe against an anvil, producing a metallic clink.

Mina blinked in surprise. Aberly seized the opening to break free and swing a heavy punch. Mina reacted instantly, tilting her head so the fist grazed past her shoulder.

"Bastard!"

Enraged, Mina brought her fist down like a cleaver, smashing it into Aberly's shoulder.

CRACK—

The sound of bone fracturing rang out. Aberly cried out as his body slumped to the right, the ground beneath him shattering under the sheer force of the blow.

"Die!" Mina roared. She raised her hand, fingers taut as a blade, and swung a palm-strike aimed directly at Aberly's throat.

"Rokushiki: Rankyaku—Slicer!!!"

Suddenly, a blue-white arc of compressed air sliced toward Mina.