Gol D. Ace In Coiling Dragon

“Mira,” Ace whispered softly as he carefully lifted her into his arms.

“The sword,” Amira groaned. “Take…

It out…”

Ace didn’t need to be told twice; without hesitation, he immediately withdrew it from Amira’s shoulder and tossed it aside whilst suppressing his worry as he felt Amira’s body tense from the pain.

The more he studied Amira’s condition, the more his worries intensified. Not only had her face turned deathly pale, but her veins had become deeply prominent whilst also taking on a sickly purple-black colour as they wriggled around like worms in her body.

“Are you…”

“I’ll be…” Amira winced as a golden glow enveloped her body. “Fine.”

As Amira’s light element healing spell receded, her condition seemed to improve – albeit barely.

The sword previously discarded by Ace suddenly levitated before shooting off into the distance, where Ace sent Maria flying.

Ace’s eyes went from gentle and loving to cold and murderous as he looked up to find Maria hovering in the distance.

The killing intent he radiated as he stared at her was palpable to the point where many of the mortals present had to hold their breath as their bodies filled with sweat.

Even Maria, a genuine saint, felt her black leather armour stick to her body as she became drenched in sweat.

He didn’t say anything; he merely took a simple step in her direction, but as his foot landed, his already potent killing intent seemed to multiply as he willed his fiery mageforce to coat both his and Amira’s body, causing the temperature in the surrounding area to skyrocket.

It was an odd sensation, to say the least. Despite the temperature reaching smouldering heights, their brains felt as though they had been dipped in a bucket of ice water.

But Maria, who felt the brunt of his killing intent, felt like she was literally standing in front of the gates of hell, and Ace was the devil himself.

She had already been in an emotionally unstable condition from everything else that happened, but as she stared into those emotionless pitch-black eyes, she felt like she was staring into an abyss that threatened to devour her whole.

“MARIA,” Harriet roared as she tried to fly to the young woman’s side, only to have her path blocked by Wukong!

“Did this king say you can leave?” Wukong snorted, his staff descending like a bolt of lightning in an attempt to reduce the old woman’s head to meat paste.

“Fuck off!” Harriet snarled as she met Wukong’s staff head-on.

As frustrated as Harriet was, how could her rage compare to Wukong’s? Wukong was milliseconds away from being forced to watch his youngest martial sister’s eyes being gouged out.

Feelings of helplessness, anger, unwillingness, resentment, and a myriad of other negative emotions threatened to overwhelm him, but thankfully Ace arrived just in time. Even so, he was still left with a belly full of rage.

Never in his life had he ever felt so helpless. Though he never said it, everyone knew that he chose to become an Acolyte so that he could be near Ace and the others and prevent an incident like the one that happened last year from happening again.

And yet, the first time something like that happened, despite being so close, he was all but helpless.

And now, the fallen angel who kept him from being able to save his junior sister wanted to simply go so she could help her so-called princess.

Fuelled by an unyielding wrath, Wukong’s strikes suddenly increased in speed and power as his body began to swell slightly, almost doubling in size.

“DIE, DIE, DIE!!!” Wukong roared as his eyes reddened.

Harriet’s brows furrowed as she saw Wukong’s enraged state. As someone who descended from an upper realm, she had seen and heard of a number of strange and impressive abilities, so seeing Wukong’s state didn’t come as much of a surprise.

No. The reason behind her frown was because she knew that with Wukong like this, there was no way she would be able to help the little princess. All she could do was pray that Maria would be able to escape.

The princess in question had no idea what her former babysitter was thinking; she was too busy fearing for her life. Her whole body started to subconsciously tremble as she willed herself to escape, but her body refused to listen to her.

Ace was just about to take action and kill the woman who dared harm the woman he loved when Amira’s weak yet surprisingly firm voice reached his ears. “Don’t… kill… her…”

Ace’s eyes widened in surprise as he heard Amira’s strained words, but understanding came as she eventually finished her sentence.

“I… want to… do it,” Amira whispered, barely audible.

As Ace looked into the eyes of the young woman in his arms, he saw nothing but resolve.

“Fine,” Ace acquiesced, his killing intent still not receding. “But the rest of her people must die!”

As he said that, his eyes fell on the dark-haired middle-aged man standing hesitantly beside Lance and Faye.

As soon as Ace arrived, everyone paused whatever they were doing to watch what was going to happen next, but as soon as the mortal fallen angel felt Ace’s eyes on him, he understood that if he wanted to live, he needed to escape.

Without a second thought, he took to the skies as his long, black wings flapped frantically. Unfortunately, the person he wanted to escape from was Ace.

Using his new and improved [Soru], Ace left a crater where he stood as he appeared above the head of the unsuspecting fallen angel.

“Die,” Ace muttered softly as a flame manifested beneath Ace’s foot, landing on the crown of the man’s head before exploding, creating an earth-shattering roar.

As the flames disappeared, the onlookers watched in shock as they found not so much as a trace of the angel’s remains.

Just like that, an expert with strength at the peak of the ninth rank had been completely and utterly incinerated.

Lance, Faye and all the soldiers watched in awe as Ace stood calmly in mid-air, looking down on the battlefield like a deity.

For many, it was the first time they had seen Ace take action; as such, although they knew he had to be exceedingly talented, many subconsciously believed the rumours of his strength had been greatly exaggerated, but now, after seeing it first hand, everyone could only acknowledge that the title ‘Son of Heaven’ truly was fitting.

“Ugh,” Granny Harriet grunted as she coughed a mouthful of blood whilst sliding back across the ground after taking a ruthless staff to the gut.

Still, Wukong refused to give her even a moment’s breathing room as he chased after her once again, the whites in his eyes having all but disappeared, being replaced by a deep crimson colour making him look like a deranged ape.

‘I won’t last much longer at this rate.’ Harriet thought to herself as she barely evaded another of Wukong’s crazed swings before taking one final glance at the young woman she had basically raised, who was now paralysed with fear. “MARIA, WHAT ARE YOU DOING JUST STANDING THERE?! RUNN!”

Hearing that, the princess of darkness finally regained some control over her body. Enough to turn her head in the direction of the familiar and comforting voice, but what she saw shocked her to her core.

It had to be remembered that after partially undoing the seal on her strength, Harriet’s strength returned to the peak of the saint realm, and yet, she was a battered, bruised, and bloody mess.

Still, it was that same battered, bruised, and bloody mess that still had the mind to worry about her safety instead of focusing solely on the monster in front of her.

Maria’s eyes welled with tears as her eyes reddened; seeing a woman she loved in so much pain was unbearable. Still, she understood there was nothing she could do here, not with both Ace and Wukong present.

She grit her teeth before taking one final look at Ace, who was indifferently staring straight back at her.

His face was void of any emotions, but those who knew him well understood that this was the face he made when he was at his angriest. It was the face he made when he was forced to suppress all of his emotions because if he was to allow his emotions in, he knew he wouldn’t be able to control himself.

Still, facing his indifference, Maria felt as though she was being looked down on.

“THIS ISN’T OVER!” Maria grit her teeth before she shot into the air like a bullet.

Ace did nothing to stop her; he merely watched her. But deep inside, he couldn’t help but agree. This was far from over. Until the Cult of Darkness had been completely and utterly uprooted, this would never be over.

Seeing Maria disappear into the distance with no one chasing her, a relieved sigh escaped the bloodied lips of the elderly fallen angel as she almost failed to dodge another of Wukong’s brutal swings.

“Since I can’t escape anyway,” Maria grinned sadistically as her body also began to swell with an alarming amount of pure energy. “I might as well get rid of as many of the Cult’s enemies as I can.”

“KONG, NOO!” Ace raised a hand, summoning as much mageforce as possible to surround the old woman, when he saw Wukong charge – almost mindlessly – straight at her as she prepared to blow up.

“BOOM!”