One Piece: Path to Power

Chapter 38: [38] Encephala Island (III)

[2850 words]

Double Upload of Chapters 37 and 38. Make sure you don't miss the latter.

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"Stay still, annoying woman!"

Boom!

*Crash*

Kaido's giant club swung continuously, sometimes slamming into the air and sending out torrents of air, while other times driving into the ground, sending powerful tremors to echo out.

Yet none of them connected. 

The Queen danced through the attacks, dodging with ease, leaving a chain of craters behind that threatened to shatter the Citadel apart.

"Glory of the Queen!"

.

A purple light surrounded her body, though quickly disappearing. It was odd. The next second, it seemed that her speed increased!

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"Curse of the Queen!"

.

This time it was Kaido whose body shined in light, though this time it was a dull red. 

The rampaging ogre visibly slowed down, much to his frustration. 

*Whizz* The Queen flickered in front of the hulking figure, her weapon stabbing at his abdomen. 

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"Charge of the Queen!"

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The blade glowed orange as it pierced the giant's stomach, drilling in. 

"Ugh!"

Kaido let out a heavy groan as his body was sent flying into the thick iron walls. 

*Crash* A powerful seismic boom went off as the twenty-plus-foot tall pirate's large frame was carved into a wall that was quickly littered with cracks.

A soft voice followed his fall: "I ate the Attribute-Attribute Fruit, making me an Attributing Human," the Queen said with disdain. "I can give and take away qualities from myself and others; you stand no chance."

…

[Nearby]

'The weight really got ten times heavier,' Damien muttered in his mind. 

His knees felt heavy by the overpowering sensation within his nervous system; his body telling him to shut down. 

He then slowly looked up, matching the gaze of the disdainful Overlord. 

A certain repulsive feeling built up in his mind, despising the condescending eyes of Enigma. The frustration soon turned to fury, something within Damien's mind bursting out. 

A powerful shockwave of Haki exploded out from the young pirate, reflecting brightly in his eyes. 

*Creak* His knees shook, though slowly gaining strength to stand. Enigma's smile twitched at the turn of events.

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"Lost Words: Onslaught."

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The spitfire of orange symbols resumed, shooting in great numbers and speed toward the struggling pirate. 

They took barely a second to reach their target. But it was enough time for Damien to regain movement. 

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"Devourer Space!"

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A wide, rectangular-shaped barrier materialized out from the young man's palm. 

The red energy was hungry and began to eat up the open space before it, leaving a void behind. 

The archaic symbols crashed onto the barrier. But they were not enough to pierce the ward, slowly fizzling away. 

Enigma was about to unleash another attack, but it all fell within Damien's scope. 

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"Assail."

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The large barrier shook for a split second before rushing forward like a hungry beast. A trail of broken air followed in its wake. 

*Vvoosh!*

The wind howled momentarily before disappearing as the sound waves themselves were obliterated. 

Enigma saw the coming attack and shuffled to the side. 

His large frame barely dodged the barrier that had gone through the wall and disappeared into the horizon, not before leaving a hollow trail through endless clouds. 

"Wha-!" 

Yet when Enigma regained his bearings, he saw a shadow appear a meter in front of him. 

The attacker's eyes shined red in Observation as if reading his every move. Damien, who had appeared, reached out with his hand. A small red conical structure formed beyond the open palm.

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"Deathly Fracture!"

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The red cone flipped on itself, allowing the tip to point outwards as it spun at great speeds. With a standard stab, Damien crashed into the abdomen of the Overlord, drilling into the enemy. 

*Bzzzzz*

It was the sound of drilling! The attack spun fast enough to emanate loud and ear-piercing sounds that sent rattles through the chamber.

[Attack Image (in Discord)]

Enigma's mouth dropped with blood as he took the brunt of the attack. 

"Ugh!" he roared out as he felt the crimson energy grind into his lower ribs, threatening to reach his heart. 

*Wooosh*

The 10-foot tall (3.01m) man was soon sent flying back into the nearby thick walls. The impact of the collision was strong enough to shake the very chamber. 

It was more than the room handle. 

*Crack*

The repeated assault befallen the tower was too much as it began to cave in on itself, collapsing from the stress.

Boom!

The beams and pillars cracked and broke apart, raining debris and destruction down. The citadel fell apart like a deck of cards, sending a huge cloud of dust into the nearby land and overtaking the bright skies. 

Thud!

Damien landed on his feet from a hundred meter or so fall. 

He quickly examined his surroundings, sensing an enraged threat.

"Abominable young pirates!" Enigma's angered roars resounded at the crash site, his eyes glowing in fury. 

Damien scrutinized the man. 

His core was sunken in, a clear hole present. Yet Enigma could still move around without much difficulty. 

Damien had used a move similar to one used in Sengoku, 'Deathly Rupture.' However it didn't focus on shockwave damage, but rather a drilling attack called 'Deathly Fracture'.

'One Piece physiques never made sense,' Damien muttered as he saw Enigma walking toward him. 

"You've exceeded my expectations thoroughly," the Overlord muttered with a hint of shock evident in his eyes. "Let's see how long you can keep this up…"

Enigma then reached out his hands to his side, his eyes glaring at Damien. 

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"Mind Lock."

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A deafening silence broke out. 

It didn't seem to have an effect. Damien blinked, trying to see what was coming, but that was the problem… 

'My Observation… is gone!?'

The Sin Incarnate felt a void in his mind; after years of usage, a powerful sense had simply disappeared, Enigma had locked away his Observation Haki!

"Now, let's resume!" Enigma shot forward without pause, his bloodied frame skidding through the air. 

The Overlord threw a tough punch dazzling with Armament Haki, slamming it onto the stunned pirate's chest.

BAM!

The impact sent tremors through the young pirate's body, shooting it across the ruined ground.

Damien was shot back a few dozen meters, his head ringing. 

*Whizz* Enigma appeared again in front of him, this time delivering a kick to his liver.

"Ugh!" The air was knocked straight out of Damien's lungs as the punch dug into his lower body. "What's wrong, boy? Can't keep up?"

Enigma began a barrage of attacks. 

Bam!

Boom!

*Crash!* 

The Haki-clad fists rained on Damien's figure, leaving bruises behind. 

He couldn't react as his mind would ring for every hit he took. Enigma was sending mental shocks through his body per hit, making it impossible to concentrate. 

Bam!

It was like unloading an endless flurry of deep hits at a punching bag.

A few dozen seconds of the one-sided attack had Damien flying into a nearby hill, his body leaving a gaping hole behind. 

A thick cloud of dust leaked out from the crater, displaying its cavernous depth.

"..."

Enigma stood tall in the silent aftermath, a satisfied smirk attached to his face. 

However, that smirk soon froze. 

The Overlord gawked at the slowly emerging silhouette in the dust. The figure became clearer as the dust settled, taking on the frame of a towering man. 

*Crack*

Enigma heard the audible cracks from the joints as if loosening some built-up stress. 

Damien spat out a thick wad of blood that was stuck in his lungs. His red eyes scanned the frozen Overlord, a grin now stretching across his face instead. 

"It took me a little while to adjust against having my senses robbed, but I feel better now."

*Fwooo*

The young pirate's body flickered as he nigh-instantaneously appeared a meter in front of the Overlord. 

BAM!

A solid punch drove into the abdomen of the pirate. Glistening Haki covered the fist as it dug up and into Enigma's core and evoked a groan: "Ugh!"

Damien began to impart his own hell onto his opponent. Powerful and controlled shots raining upon the Overlord. 

Every time Enigma tried to counterattack with a hook, he received a punch to the shoulder. An uppercut was dodged with a strong hit to the liver. 

Bam!

*Bang!*

Boom!

The attacks fell while ringing the nearby area with gong-like booms, rattling the earth below. Enigma took the brunt of the attack for but a minute, and yet his face was covered in bruises. 

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"Mindless Zone!"

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With great difficulty, he sent out an expanding domain of energy that would corrode a person's very mind. 

Yet Damien was a step faster. Naturally, he lost his Observation Haki, but his instincts formed over the past few years made it evident that a crisis was imminent. 

*Whizz!* He appeared ten meters away, outside the affected area. 

The only thing that remained was Enigma's heavy breathing and angry heaves. 

His furious eyes locked onto Damien. "You! How can you move after that mental trauma… it's unscientific!"

The Sin Incarnate shrugged at the words, all the while regaining his stamina. "You know, Enigma. A man of science and understanding like you will never be able to comprehend one specific concept."

The words evoked the man's curiosity. Such a magical thing may mean great things. "And what's that?"

Damien smiled, "Anime logic!"

"..." Enigma was lost for words, unable to respond to his adversary's confounding words.

The few moments of interchange were more than enough for Damien to stabilize his prior hiccup. 

He was about to charge ahead, yet his entire world seemed to change…

"I know not the nonsense you speak of, but now, I'll see how you do in a duel beyond your annoying durable body!"

The Overlord swung his right arm, releasing a burst of orange energy.

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"Laying the Board!"

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Damien felt a blinding light and then his mind shifted to a completely different realm. 

He woke up and his surroundings now became ethereal. Orange sky and floor for as far as the eye could see. 

No smell or sound, it was suspiciously serene.

He tried moving around but he couldn't. 'My body isn't here, rather just my mind?' Damien thought. 

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"Huhuhu, this is the Mindscape," Enigma's voice boomed through the infinite orange. "I've linked your psyche to this world; any damage you take here is reflected in reality!"

"If your mind dies, then all that will remain is the husk of your body, don't worry, I'll be sure to use it as a powerful tool."

The Overlord soon appeared in his entirety, spawning in front of the young pirate.

Enigma's once elegant clothing had been left with rips and tears, blood dripping out from them. The stylish hairdo had been left a mess akin to a bird's nest. Yet under all that abuse was a comfortable smile. 

"This is your Awakened ability?" Damien questioned. 

His opponent stretched out both arms as if taking in the spotlight. "That's right, the ultimate power. No one has lived after this attack, hence your Black Death Shakuyaku has no intel on this."

Damien remained silent, allowing Enigma to continue his villainous speech. Mostly because he would probably end up revealing the way out just by talking. 

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Enigma, on the other hand, took the silence as a victory. "Huhuhu! Don't worry, I won't just fry your mind, it's a little boring that way."

He then began to wave his hands like an artist creating a masterpiece. 

Damien watched as the area between the two began to take form. 

First, a blank board appeared. Soon enough, it was painted with a black and white checkered pattern. 

*Tuk* *Tuk* *Tuk*

Pieces soon fell from the sky and decorated the ends of both boards with ten on each side. 

A chessboard!

Damien then saw some tiny floating letters throughout the board, A1, E7, H3, and so on. They detailed each box to be able to move to. 

[Mindscape Image (in Discord)]

"I prefer to feast on the desperation of those brought here. Seeing them fall apart, piece by piece. Such an invigorating feeling!" Enigma manically said, his eyes flashing with ill intent. "The game shall go on indefinitely, but mere minutes in reality, so don't try to stall, young pirate. Let's begin, I will grant you the first move!"

Damien, who had been listening to the villainous speech for nearly ten minutes, could finally see a way out. 

'He's awfully confident, though I guess having the Mind-Mind Fruit gives one quite the IQ edge in such games,' Damien thought. 

He then inwardly smiled. 

'Sibyl, how's your chess skills?'

[I am the Picasso of anything to do with probability and possibility.]

…

[Outside]

"Cheh!" Kaido gritted his teeth as he was rained down by quick and powerful spear attacks by the Queen.

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"Royal Thrust!"

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The Queen's spear lit white as she raised it over her head and rushed forth. The blinding spear rocketed towards the ogre's abdomen and impaled him.

BOOM!

Kaido was forced back twenty meters as the ground nearby was crushed.

"WORORORO! I haven't bled in a while," he mused as he saw a drop of blood come out of his mouth. "It was fun while it lasted!" Kaido smirked as his club sparked in thunder.

The entire ground below shuddered in pain as the ogre raged forth with his club in both hands. 

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"Divine Thunder!"

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The air currents around the club were bending as streaks of energy were released by the sheer momentum of the attack. Thunder echoed as his attack neared its destination.

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"Majesty of the Queen!"

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The woman twirled her spear in a circle as it generated a force and met the attack head-on.

Boom!

A mind-numbing explosion resounded as the enormous club clashed with the white spear, the earth cracked and was obliterated. 

The shockwaves exploded, sending the world into chaos. 

"H-How?! How can you have so much strength even after my fruit powers!?"

Kaido beamed a mad grin, showcasing a set of bloody teeth, "You're just too weak!"

Boom!

The Hundred-Beast's laugh was all that was heard as the entire nearby area was left broken and ravaged. The Queen was sent flying into the unknown depths, her fate coming to an end. 

…

[Five Minutes Later]

"How could this happen?! I lost? This is impossible, improbable, illogical!"

Enigma roared out as he saw his situation, only the king and the queen piece left while the former was held under checkmate.

Unfortunately, even the smartest human was no match against a System AI built on probability and logical reasoning.

"I've heard some people even call you the Chessmaster," Damien's voice boomed in the Mindscape. "Personally, I was never that good at the game."

"But the one thing I do know about chess is that there's nothing more dangerous than a pawn that thinks it's a queen."

The Sin Incarnate's voice echoed in the Overlord's mind. It took but a minute as the orange world began to crack; rifts and tears spreading across the uniformly-coloured skies. 

*Shatter*

The mindscape shattered like broken glass, almost as if Whitebeard himself had appeared. 

A blinding light once again took over. 

Moments passed and Damien snapped back to reality, his body once again his. 

He looked around and he was once again in the sea of ruins left from the collapsed Citadel. Dusty smell, bloody grass, giant broken pillars and structures littered around.

Thud!

A loud bang as a large shadow appears beside the young pirate.

"WORORORO! Looks like I finished before you," Kaido laughed as he saw the broken Overlord.

"My opponent was of higher quality, Kaido, their bounties widely differed, just like you and I."

The words brought an infuriating truth to light, much to Kaido's chagrin. 

"MA-Ma-Mam-Ma! You lost to a bunch of brats, Enigma!" Big Mom cackled from the side.

"Lost? I lost? Heresy! It is not over yet!"

"Sin Incarnate," he spat out. "You think I'm a pawn thinking of myself to be a Queen? Huhuhu! Let me show you why I'm the King of the New World!"

The Overlord's eyes had become red with anger as he locked once again onto the tired Damien. A powerful burst of energy shot out of the man's forehead as he showed his final card.

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"Lost Impulse!"

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Once again the surrounding world disappeared from Damien's eyes. Thought this time with a lost gray light. 

*Fwooo!*

The world then began flooding with colour that came in the form of gusts of wind. Almost as if he was stuck on the canvas of a masterful painter.

The cacophony of colours and designs began making sense, materializing into a familiar world.

A forest, a small cabin, a warm bed… And a person then appeared; a woman.

She had long white hair and lilac-coloured eyes, a beautiful face and a warm smile. "My lovely little Damien," She said. 

The voice Damien could never forget. 

The sole reason why Damien began his inhumane training and took the first step toward the path to power.

The woman extended both arms out and smiled the same way she did in Damien's childhood. "Come and give your mother a hug."

To Be Continued…

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Author's Corner.

I changed the fight scenes from the original quite a lot but they converged to the same climatic points. Let's see how things progress from here…

Images are available on Discord alongside other niche details: https://discord.gg/aJHHHPvb6q