Worse than death, brutally murdered

"Trying to run?"

Landing heavily on the ground, Xuan Ye could not stop himself from retreating as his Observation Haki sensed that Miss Bakkin was actually attempting to escape.

"Today, none of you are getting away." Amidst a continuous series of deafening explosions, Xuan Ye's feet glowed a fierce crimson, and his figure vanished once more.

"Oh no!" Miss Bakkin, who was just about to flee, wore a face full of terror as a ghastly, demon-like visage suddenly materialized directly in front of her, fixing a deadly stare upon her.

"Illusion: Ensnared Emotions."

A ripple of black energy surged forward with lightning speed, striking straight at Xuan Ye.

"Did you really think that trick would work on me twice, you old hag?" A chilling voice resonated directly behind her, making every hair on Miss Bakkin's body stand on end.

"Aah..."

With a miserable scream and a fountain of blood, Miss Bakkin's face contorted. Transforming into a streak of light, she plowed heavily through the earth, gouging out a massive fissure before collapsing amidst the rubble, hanging onto life by a thread.

Compared to Weevil, Miss Bakkin was utterly useless in combat, possessing nothing of value save for a bizarre Devil Fruit.

With just a single strike, Xuan Ye had completely immobilized her. He had originally assumed Miss Bakkin was formidable, so he had poured his absolute full strength into that kick. To his surprise, that very kick had nearly slain her on the spot.

Vanishing once more, Xuan Ye materialized with a sharp blade in hand, raising it high to bring it down upon Miss Bakkin's terrified head.

"Impact: Penetration!"

Panting heavily and reeking of blood, Weevil suddenly appeared on Xuan Ye's right side, his right fist wreathed in white energy that caused the very air to vibrate.

Without a second thought, Xuan Ye abandoned his attempt to kill Miss Bakkin, swinging his blade horizontally to intercept Weevil's onslaught.

"Bang..."

The ground shattered violently. Xuan Ye was forced back a few steps before steadying himself, his expression turning pitch black.

"Mom, are you alright?!" Covered in blood and riddled with wounds, Weevil threw himself protectively in front of Miss Bakkin, glaring warily at Xuan Ye.

"Cough... cough... I almost died back there." Slumped on the ground, Miss Bakkin felt as though every bone in her body had been pulverized, leaving her entirely devoid of strength.

"Mom, don't worry! I'll protect you." Panting heavily, the wounds on Weevil's body began to heal at a visible rate.

"You idiot son, you'd better give it everything you've got, or we're both dead today."

Miss Bakkin forced the words out with immense difficulty. She certainly did not want to die; she had only just managed to gain control of this foolish pseudo-son, and she had yet to claim the treasures of the world for herself.

"Struggling in vain."

Standing tall, Xuan Ye gazed at the mother and son as if they were already corpses.

"I won't let you kill Mom!" Weevil shouted resolutely, his eyes burning crimson as he lunged forward without looking back. "Mom, I'll stall him! Run, and don't look back for me!"

"Courting death."

With chilling eyes and a torrent of endless flames erupting around him, Xuan Ye raised his hands, his fingertips glowing crimson as countless energy rays blasted forth.

"Clang... clang..." Like a humanoid tyrannosaurus, Weevil smashed through the incoming beams with brute force, his fists overflowing with energy as he rapidly closed the distance to Xuan Ye.

"Impact: Radiance!"

As he drew near, Weevil's entire body was enveloped in a brilliant white energy that condensed like crystal before unleashing a shockwave that distorted space itself.

"Piercing Ray!"

Pressing his hands together into a triangular shape, Xuan Ye compressed his flames, unleashing a razor-sharp, rotating triangular beam that tore through the sky.

"Screeech..." A sound sharp enough to rupture eardrums echoed across the entire battlefield.

"Boom... boom..." Red and white clashed as the sky roared endlessly. Across Fishman Island, apart from Jinbe, who could barely make out the blurred figures, the rest of the inhabitants could only look up and feel as though the heavens themselves were tearing apart.

"Pfft..." Doubling over with a mouthful of blood, Xuan Ye wore a cruel grin as he grabbed Weevil's right arm, spun around, and hurled him violently toward the ground.

"Super Fire God Spear!"

With a freezing gaze and his arms crossed before his chest, Xuan Ye watched as flames rapidly coiled high in the air, forming a thousand-meter-long gigantic spear that came crashing down with crushing pressure.

"Impact: Unbreakable Epic!"

Landing heavily on the cratered ground, Weevil let out a grunt of pain before roaring like a beast as he looked up at the descending giant of destruction.

"Boom... boom..." Terrifying fissures spiderwebbed across the earth as Fishman Island trembled, leaving a massive, staggering crater in the ground.

"Huff... huff..." Touching down, Xuan Ye swayed slightly; his stamina was nearly exhausted.

"Thud..." As debris rained down, a deep, bone-exposed hand reached out from the pit and slammed heavily onto the earth.

"I... won't let you kill Mom." Crawling prone on the ground, his chest ribs clearly visible, Weevil glared with bloodshot eyes.

"You... don't have the qualification." Materializing instantly, Xuan Ye wore a sinister sneer and brought his foot down mercilessly, crushing him into the earth.

"Aah..." A heart-wrenching shriek pierced the air as one of Weevil's battered arms was snapped clean under Xuan Ye's heel.

"I won't let you kill Mom." Screaming in agony, Weevil rolled over, gathering the last vestiges of weak white energy into his remaining hand and punching desperately toward Xuan Ye's stomach.

"Struggling in vain."

Enwreathed in flames, a cold, merciless blade swept horizontally through the air. An arm flew off into the void and slammed heavily into the ground.

"This is for my master."

With a ferocious, blood-spattered face that made him look like an escaped fiend from hell, Xuan Ye did not hesitate. Waving his hand once more, he brutally severed one of Weevil's thighs.

"This is for my mistress."

"Aah..." The endless screams continued amidst the utterly ruined landscape. In the distance, the deeply traumatized fishmen watched in sheer terror as the demon performed his cruel handiwork.

"Aah..." As the other thigh was hacked off, Weevil was reduced to a human torso, blood soaking the earth crimson.

"This is for little Xing."

"I told you, I will make you wish you were dead. And I always keep my promise. Whatever you owe my master, I will pay you back tenfold, a hundredfold, a thousandfold!"

Consumed by madness and grinning hideously, Xuan Ye stood like a reaper from the underworld, cold-blooded and merciless with his blade.

"Isn't your recovery ability supposed to be amazing? Go on, heal yourself then." The blade flashed, slicing off a thin layer of flesh that fluttered away into the air.

"Today, I will carve your flesh and strip your tendons. I'll make you wish you were dead, and make you regret ever being born into this world!"

"You... you... you're a lunatic!" Even Weevil, despite his diminished intellect, was paralyzed with terror.

"Enjoy yourself. Next, I'm going to make you pay back every bit of this a thousand times over."

With that, Xuan Ye completely lost himself to madness, slicing away Weevil's flesh one knife-stroke at a time, fulfilling his promise to strip the tendons from his body.

"Aah... aah..." Ear-splitting, earth-shattering screams echoed relentlessly across the wasteland.

An hour later, absolute silence gripped the area. Every single fishman stood pale-faced, kneeling on the ground in utter dread as they stared with terrified eyes at the horrifying silhouette standing amidst the ruins.

Drenched in blood and wearing a twisted expression, Xuan Ye stood holding his blood-stained blade. Beneath his feet, a completely defleshed, gory skeleton finally collapsed heavily onto the earth.

For a full hour—a grueling sixty minutes—Xun Ye had tortured Weevil. Just as he had sworn, he made him pay back his debts tenfold, a hundredfold, a thousandfold, plunging him into a living hell.