NOVEL WEB Chapter 279: 279 Petrified Seal
Hancock only realized after meeting Weevil there were fools in the world who couldn't distinguish between beauty and ugliness.
There were actually people worse than a fish…
The key condition for Sweet Fruit to petrify an enemy was making them fall for her.
"Probably... okay?"
Lynch wasn't sure if this monster formed from ghost energy and soul fragments could even comprehend beauty.
Logically, it should be possible. It was made from the souls of ninety-one people, and their thoughts likely influenced it.
If not, Hancock's curvy figure wouldn't have taken shape in the first place.
"Try it. I'll trap her, and you find the right moment."
Since the black shadow saw Hancock as a descendant of Amazon Lily, it likely wouldn't attack her.
As long as Lynch could trap it, the rest would be easy.
"Roar!"
Lynch transformed into Sun Candle Form, exhaling an icy breath.
The cave's temperature instantly dropped to -60°C.
The black shadow froze solid, trapped in the center of the ice.
Crack— crack— crack—
It struggled, and the ice fractured rapidly.
Lynch kept breathing out cold air, reinforcing the ice to keep it contained.
"Hurry up, I can't hold this for long!"
"I understand!"
The Empress rushed forward, sliding close to the ice.
As she neared the black shadow, the temperature plummeted to nearly -200°C. Her light clothing offered no protection, and she shivered violently.
Lynch eased up on the cold, he couldn't risk freezing Hancock by accident.
She quickly carved a hole in the ice, exposing the black shadow.
At the same time, the ice cracked even faster.
Inside, the black figure turned its head, its gaze locking onto the Empress.
Sensing her familiar aura, it didn't attack her, instead focusing on breaking free.
"I touched her!" Hancock shouted as she broke through the ice.
She raised her leg high
"Perfume Femur!"
The black shadow sensed fatal danger and instinctively retaliated.
But Sweet Fruit was a rule-based ability, as long as an enemy attacked, they would be petrified, no matter how strong they were.
Unlike most Devil Fruits, Sweet Fruit's power ignored Haki, making it nearly impossible to resist.
The Childlike Fruit of Sugar and the Ghost Fruit of Perona could be countered by simply coating the body with Armament Haki.
Of course, that might be because neither of them had awakened their fruits yet.
A black spike suddenly shot out from the Sky Thorn Spear, aiming straight for Hancock.
Just before it pierced her, Hancock raised the Sky-Moon Shield she had taken earlier—
Boom!
The attack was blocked.
At the same time, Hancock landed her kick, striking the shadow.
The area where she hit began turning to stone.
But only one-tenth of the shadow was sealed.
Sensing something was wrong, the black shadow abandoned its petrified part, turned into gas, and escaped through the hole in the ice.
Fortunately, its low intelligence meant it didn't think to retreat completely or use any advanced strategies.
Over the next three days and nights, Lynch and Hancock split the shadow into ten parts, petrifying and sealing each one separately.
The shadow behaved like a program, unless it sensed that Hancock was about to petrify it, it ignored her completely.
Otherwise, sealing it would have taken much longer.
Lynch and Hancock spent another day dividing the petrified shadow into twenty separate seals.
Everything went smoothly.
Thanks to the two guards' reports, Nyonba and the others knew that Lynch and Hancock were safe underground. So, they waited anxiously outside the temple instead of rushing in.
Marigold and Sandersonia, however, still worried about their sister.
At first, Elder Nyon was concerned too. But after thinking about Lynch and Hancock's strength, she relaxed.
Some people wanted to go in and check, but Nyonba scolded them.
"With your weak strength, you'd only get in the way."
Then she added with a smirk:
"Besides, this is a rare chance to deepen their relationship. A man and a woman, alone together for days... sparks are bound to fly."
"Reminds me of when Rocks and I, ahem, never mind!"
What Elder Nyon didn't realize was that this "romantic moment" was actually just Lynch beating up an ancient monster.
....
In the cave—
Twenty small stone sculptures, each containing a sealed part of the shadow, were neatly lined up.
"Alright, problem solved."
Lynch casually patted Hancock's butt, signaling her to get up.
"Enough sitting on my lap. Go rest."
In the dim light, Lynch secretly admired the shy expression on the Empress's face.
After being told twice, Hancock reluctantly shifted her hips away only to immediately cling to Lynch's arm.
"Lynch-sama, what should we do with the petrified black shadow?"
To be honest, Lynch felt a little overwhelmed by her sudden enthusiasm.
How could someone so cold and proud become so clingy?
In just half an hour, Hancock couldn't go three sentences without mentioning marriage and five sentences without sticking to him.
Though he enjoyed the attention from the most beautiful woman in the world, her passionate attitude still took some getting used to.
"Ahem... After I leave, lift the seals on a few statuettes and let them continue radiating Amazon Lily."
"How many you unseal is up to you just don't release too many. If it goes beyond what you can control, it won't end well."
Without the black shadow's radiation and will, Amazon Lily's strength would fade over time, eventually disappearing into history.
That's why the shadow couldn't be completely destroyed, a certain amount of darkness had to remain.
After all, the Empress is one of the strongest Shichibukai. As long as the black shadow doesn't have its artifact, even half of its strength wouldn't be a problem for her to handle.
There's no need to worry about the shadow escaping the cave.
The battle has already proven that, due to the will of the first Kuja Pirates, the black shadow will not leave the cave or harm the Empress.
As long as Lynch is gone and no men are around, the shadow won't go berserk again.
"Alright, I understand."
"By the way, if you have time, try talking with the black shadow."
"It has some level of intelligence and doesn't seem hostile toward you."
"Whether it's the upgraded ghost energy within it or the fighting techniques in its soul, I think you can make use of both."
People can cultivate ghost energy on their own, or absorb it from external sources and use it for their own purposes.
However, not all ghost energy can be absorbed. There's a deeper knowledge behind it.
Simply put, the ghost energy must be 'bonded' to you first.
At the current stage, level five is already the peak of power in the world.
If the Empress can harness this ghost energy, her mastery of it will instantly reach the absolute limit of level five.
When the barrier to level six eventually opens, she'll likely have no trouble breaking through.
The foundation behind this power is simply too vast.
Or rather, it's an upgraded ghost energy.
If Lynch were capable of absorbing it, even he wouldn't be able to resist the temptation.
.
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TO BE CONTINUED
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