dmims Chapter 208: Keep Your Vow, Shandora's Final Echo
Chapter 208: Keep Your Vow, Shandora's Final Echo
Chapter 208 Respond to the Vow, Shandora's Final Echo
"There's no hope!"
Weber's desperate cry echoed in everyone's hearts.
What was once a sacred place is now nothing but devastating ruins.
The upper part of the massive bell tower collapsed, burying the ancient serpent god altar under a massive boulder weighing tens of thousands of tons.
Only the giant golden bell, covered with scorch marks and cracks from lightning strikes, lay half-buried in the ruins, like a giant with a broken spine who refused to fall, stubbornly proving an unfulfilled vow with its broken body.
"Hoo-hoo-" Weber's throat made a sound like a broken bellows as he lunged at the pile of boulders, frantically digging with his already bloodied and mangled hands, as if trying to move this heavy burden that symbolized the ruthlessness of fate by himself.
"The altar—strike it—it must be struck—"
Scales spread wildly across his neck, a purplish-black aura rose, and reason was being rapidly consumed by despair and Frido's madness.
"Waveper! Stop!" Zoro stepped forward to try and stop him.
"Don't touch me!" Weber yanked away, turned around and roared, his eyes already bloodshot.
"It's all gone! Nothing left! Sandia is finished! The promise—the promise too—"
Frido's whisper turned into a roar, and a violent aura erupted from him, sending the surrounding rocks flying!
Weber was on the verge of losing control again.
"whee--"
A sudden, strangely elastic laugh rang out.
Everyone turned around in astonishment, only to see that Luffy had somehow climbed to the top of the half-collapsed clock tower.
He stood beside the tilted, rickety golden bell and banged it with his hand, producing a dull sound.
"Luffy! What are you doing? Get down here! It's dangerous there!" Nami and Usopp shouted in panic.
Luffy ignored them, looking down at Waver, who was in despair, and his nervous companions, a pure smile that belonged to Nika appeared on his face.
"You guys, have you made a mistake?" He tilted his head, his rubber arms casually stretched out and wrapped around the remaining clock tower support to maintain his balance.
"The agreement is to ring the golden bell, right?"
"But the clock tower is already—" Weber cried out hoarsely.
"So?" Luffy interrupted him, his smile growing even brighter, carrying an undeniable certainty.
"Just because the bell tower is broken doesn't mean we can't ring the bell. Who says we have to stand on a perfectly good altar and use a specific method to ring it?"
He took a deep breath, his body expanding like a balloon. Nika's divine power combined with the elasticity of rubber, radiating a joyful and liberating wave!
"Listen up!" Luffy's voice, like a thunderclap, echoed throughout the ruins.
"A promise is a promise! Uncle Calgary believes we can ring it! I believe we can ring it! So, whether the bell tower stands or lies down, whether the altar is buried or destroyed!"
His legs plunged into the ruins beneath him, unleashing the power of his awakened Gum-Gum Fruit!
Centered on him, the surrounding ruins and rocky ground began to soften, twist, and deform like rubber!
"As long as this bell remains! As long as we stand here!"
Luffy's hands stretched out infinitely, like two giant white pythons, and wrapped around the huge, half-buried golden bell!
"I'm determined to make it ring out! To make it resound throughout the entire Sky Island! To let everyone hear it! That's it."
"Rubber rubber." All his strength, Nika's will, his obsession with the promise, his trust in his comrades, and his anger towards the enemy were poured into it!
"My promise to all of you!"
He didn't use a mallet, but his rubber fist, imbued with the rhythm of the drum of liberation, slammed it fiercely against the wall of the Golden Bell with a whooshing sound that tore through the air!
Thump! ...
An unprecedented, loud bell ringing beyond the limits of physics suddenly rang out!
The sound of the bell was no longer just a sound! It seemed to transform into tangible golden ripples, surging outwards like a tsunami from the center of the golden bell!
Wherever it passed, the scorched earth seemed to be infused with life, the twisted metal hummed, and even the deathly silence and despair that permeated the air were forcibly dispelled by this sound wave containing liberation and hope!
Waver stared blankly at the scene, at the golden bell that resounded with a deafening roar under Luffy's fist, and at the golden sound waves washing over this land that had suffered so much.
The restless scales on his arm miraculously calmed down, and Felix seemed to be overwhelmed by the unconventional act of freedom.
Tears welled up again, but this time, they were not tears of despair, but tears of a burning, ignited flame!
"Knock—it rang—" he muttered to himself, then roared at the sky with all his might.
"But what's the use! Will ringing it defeat Indra?! What's the point of ringing the bell? It's just a death throes."
Weber knelt on the ground, just as everyone was at a loss for words to comfort him.
"Feed—! What's that over there—!!"
An old, hoarse voice, filled with unbelievable excitement, came from the other side of the ruins.
Everyone turned around abruptly and saw a figure staggering out from behind a pile of charred wood and twisted metal.
His head was covered in messy golden hair, his face bore the marks of gunpowder, and he wore simple leather armor in the style of the Sky Island people, but it couldn't hide his weathered and vicissitudes.
Most strikingly, he sported a chestnut-shaped hairstyle strikingly similar to that of Montblanc Nolando.
"You are?! That unfamiliar old man on Blackbeard's ship!!" Luffy exclaimed incredulously, his eyes wide.
The visitor was none other than Montblanc Kulik, a descendant of Montblanc Noland!
After Blackbeard left, he mustered all his strength to jump off the ship and stayed there.
When Kurik saw Luffy and the others, especially when he saw Waver's near-madness and Shandia's miserable state, tears welled up in his eyes instantly, but he forced them back and rushed forward, grabbing Waver's shoulder.
"Look at me! Shandian! I, Kulik, am a descendant of Noland!" His voice was hoarse but full of power.
"Listen! Shandia isn't over! As long as the Golden Bell stands! As long as Noland and Calgara's agreement remains, it's not over!"
Weber's bloodshot eyes were fixed on Kulik, and the will of Frido roared, almost bursting out of his mouth.
Kulik met his gaze without fear and said urgently.
"I know the altar was destroyed! But I know another way! A secret passed down only through our Montblanc family, unknown even to most of the Shandians!"
He pointed to the half-hidden golden bell.
"The Golden Bell—it's more than just a bell! Its base is energetically connected to the core of the true serpent god altar buried beneath!"
"As long as a sufficiently powerful and determined force can be injected into the bell, it can bypass the destroyed surface altar and directly activate the ley line beacon!"
He looked at Luffy, his eyes burning: "Straw Hat Boy! Nika—the drumbeat of liberation! I've heard the legend of Nika! Your power might just be the key!"
Just then, the sky suddenly darkened! A terrifying pressure, like solid leaden clouds, crashed down!
"Foolish ants—still stubbornly clinging to their ways."
Indra’s cold and vast will descended once more!
Although the physical body had not yet arrived, its vast divine sense had already locked onto this area!
Within the clouds, lightning converged, and dozens of Indian heroic warriors, clad in golden armor and exuding an aura far surpassing that of the previous chosen ones of God, appeared.
They descended from the sky like dumplings being dropped into a pot, completely surrounding the ruins!
The leading monk, wielding a lightning-powered scepter, coldly pointed it at the crowd: "By the decree of the Heavenly Emperor, eliminate all traitors and destroy the beacon of heresy!"
Without hesitation, the battle erupted instantly!
Zoro roared as he charged at the monk, his Three-Sword Style clashing fiercely with the Lightning Staff!
Sanji moved like lightning, his kicks raining down on the golden-armored soldiers!
Karna stood guard around Kulik and Waver, the flames of the sun burning any enemy who dared to approach.
Roger laughed heartily, his Conqueror's Haki sweeping out like a tsunami, instantly stunning a group of divine soldiers. He wielded his sword Ace, each strike carrying the power to split mountains and shatter rocks!
"Hahahaha! You guys want to break a man's promise? Ask the knife in my hand first!"
However, the enemy was numerous and powerful, and Indra's divine will loomed in the sky, constantly unleashing a terrifying thunderous pressure to disturb the mind.
The team was locked in a fierce battle, and their defensive line was being compressed step by step.
"Wave! Kurik! Hurry!" Luffy stood in front, unleashing his full power in Nikka form.
The rubber body twisted and bounced at incredible angles, knocking away the charging divine soldiers time and time again, but it was also struck by several bolts of lightning, and blue smoke rose from its body.
Kulik pulled the almost stiff Weber and rushed to the foot of the Golden Bell.
He quickly explored the special patterns on the bell wall that seemed to be decorations but actually contained ancient mechanisms.
"Here! Pour your power into it! But be careful! The bell is already damaged; overloading it with power might cause it to shatter completely!"
Weber looked at the golden bell so close to him, at the fierce battle around him, and at the sacred land that his people had protected with their lives, which was once again stained red with blood.
Frido's will screamed for destruction, but Kulik's words, his companions' fighting spirit, and the last vestige of his inner commitment to the promise were like three ropes, pulling his soul, which was about to sink, back tightly.
"—I—I'll provide the energy—" Weber's voice was like sandpaper scraping as he raised his scaly arm and slammed it down on the spot Kulik indicated!
"Frido—give me your strength!!"
The dark purple desolate power surged into the Golden Bell like a flood bursting its banks!
The bell trembled violently, and the cracks on it made a cracking sound as if it could not bear the weight. The purplish-black light spread along the lines of the cracks, but it appeared extremely unstable and full of destructiveness rather than activation!
"No! This won't do!" Kuli shouted anxiously, "This power is too violent! It will destroy the bell! It needs guidance, it needs willpower!"
Seeing this, Luffy punched away one of the warriors who was trying to sneak up on Kurik and roared, "Uncle Kurik! Tell me what to do!"
'
Kurik looked at Luffy, then at Waver who was struggling to stay afloat, a resolute glint in his eyes.
"Straw Hat Boy! With your power, not to destroy, but to resonate! Awaken the slumbering promise within the bells! The promise between Noland and Calgara!"
"Shandia's four-hundred-year wait! Awaken them all!!"
He turned to Weber, gripping his other arm, which was not covered in scales, and spoke in a voice like a final testament.
"Shandians! Remember! You are warriors of Shandia, not puppets of the demon dragon!"
"Your hatred, your anger, should be used to protect the last hope, not to bring destruction! Believe in him! Believe in the Straw Hat Boy!"
'
"Just like—just like how Calgara believed in Noland back then!!"
After saying that, Kurik suddenly shoved Waver toward Luffy, then turned around and resolutely faced the oncoming warriors!
He drew the dagger from his waist and, like his ancestors, let out an indomitable roar.
"Men of the Montblanc family—never break their promise!!"
"Hey!!!" Luffy and Waver shouted at the same time.
Kulik's figure was instantly engulfed by lightning—
As Weber watched this scene, the bloodshot in his pupils receded like a tide, replaced by a profound grief and—awakening!
The scales that were spreading wildly on his arm suddenly stopped, and the purplish-black power was no longer violent. Instead, it gathered in his palm like rivers flowing into the sea.
This force slammed heavily against Luffy's outstretched rubber hand, which was wrapped in Nika's divine power!
Luffy closed his eyes and activated the Listen to the Voice of All Things at full power!
He heard the mournful tolling of the Golden Bell, the weeping of the earth's veins, the sound of the waves as Noland sailed, the final vow of Calgary, and the unwavering faith of two nations and two men through four hundred years of wind, frost, rain, and snow!
"Everyone—did you hear that—" Luffy murmured. Nika's divine power and the desolate power guided by Waver, which contained all the sorrow and wishes of Shandia and the power of Frigid, did not repel each other.
Instead, it was under the shared will of this agreement that a wondrous fusion began!
White and dark purple light intertwined, spiraling into the golden bell!
Thump! ...
This time, the bell sounded completely differently from when Luffy struck it with brute force before!
It is no longer just a torrent of sound, but a shock to the soul, an echo of history!
The golden bell seemed to come alive, with every crack on its surface shimmering with a blend of gold and purple light. The sound of the bell was like tangible ripples, eventually soaring into the sky!
It pierced straight into the thunderous divine realm of Indra that shrouded the sky island!
Wherever the beam of light passed, the scorched earth seemed to be purified, the wails of the dead turned into sighs of peace, and even the cold will of thunder in the sky seemed to be shaken by the bell that contained too much heavy emotion, and a slight pause appeared!
Weber collapsed to the ground, gazing at the towering pillar of light, and tears finally streamed down his face. But these were no longer tears of despair; they were tears of relief and resolve.
He did it, the last warrior of Shandia, ringing the bell of the promise.
Luffy stood beside the pillar of light, Nika's figure appearing incredibly sacred in the light. He looked up at the sky and made a vow.
"Indra—! Did you hear that?! That's the sound that shatters your order—!!!"
The golden bell of Shandora, in its broken state, carries the souls of two peoples and a promise spanning four hundred years, and resounds once again!