Chapter 38 38: Second-Stage Gene Lock

— — — — — — Compared to those caught in the fight—like Veyron and Hancock—Things were actually a lot clearer from the livestream's point of view, especially after Merlin pulled the camera up higher. What was once a city-sized mass of dark red flesh had now condensed, churning into a massive ball of meat centered where the base used to be. Chunks of stone were occasionally spat out—remnants of flesh that had been petrified by Hancock's Devil Fruit powers, making them impossible to reabsorb. As for why Veyron and Hancock had been launched hundreds of meters into the air yet still couldn't escape the meatball's grip—it was because the flesh was constantly churning, oozing, and shifting like some kind of living liquid. While it spat out useless debris, it kept them locked dead center within its core. ... "So if we want out, we'd need to slice through hundreds of meters of this stuff in one go?" Veyron frowned, sensing the situation clearly thanks to his Observation Haki. Sure, ever since he got the [Swordmaster (Blue)] Trait, it wasn't hard for him to swing out a slash that spanned hundreds of meters. But there's a huge difference between slicing through air for hundreds of meters, water for hundreds of meters, and this mess of flesh—which was practically as tough and dense as reinforced steel. "Hancock, how long can you keep going?" Veyron asked. With a swift and elegant "Perfume Femur" kick, she shattered a sneak-attacking flesh tentacle that had come in at a tricky angle. Hancock quickly assessed her stamina: "Thanks to Miss Merlin's support and her recovery boosts, I could probably keep going for days without a problem." "Good to hear." Veyron nodded. "Then let's hold steady for now. Focus on defense—just don't let the meat swarm over us. I'll see if I can cook up something big." "Got it." Hancock nodded, her petite figure flitting around Veyron as she turned nearby chunks of meat to stone one after another. Meanwhile, Veyron continued swinging his blade by reflex, channeling part of his focus and spirit into the Bloodwing Blade. He'd been nurturing this thing for a while—it was about time he saw some improvement, right? The Bloodwing Blade wasn't ordinary—it had a will of its own. He'd known that from the moment he first saw it. Kaguya, who gifted it to him, had said it outright: this sword had never acknowledged either her or Yagokoro Eirin as its master, even when they wielded it. Veyron had come to understand that firsthand. Maybe it was that very first strike he unleashed after getting the blade—when he poured every ounce of his energy and focus into a single cut. Maybe that satisfied the sword's spirit. From then on, it responded to him—flowing freely in his hands, sharp or gentle exactly when he needed it to be. Still, he could tell the sword hadn't yet revealed its full power. So after he grasped the concept of Haki, he began nurturing it. In the world of One Piece, there are two ways to judge a blade's quality: First is material and craftsmanship—whether it's a standard sword, a Grade Blade, a Skillful Grade Blade, a Great Grade Blade, or a Supreme Grade Blade. The second, though, is on another level: the Black Blades. So far, only two are known—Shusui and Yoru. To forge a Black Blade, a swordsman has to infuse their weapon with Haki over time—embedding their will and conviction into the very metal. When the blade becomes completely dyed with that power—it becomes a true Black Blade. Veyron wasn't arrogant enough to think he could pull that off in just a few weeks after learning Haki. But after all this time, pouring his will into the sword—it wasn't asking too much to expect a little feedback, was it? As his spirit energy flowed into the blade, the red cloud-and-bird patterns engraved on it slowly began to animate... gently flowing and shifting, like a living thing. And then—Something clicked. Chirp—! A bird-like cry rang out in his mind. Only he could hear it. "Now! BLOODWING!!" Veyron shouted, slashing forward. In that moment, the muscles in his arm swelled to several times their normal size, veins bulging. A crimson slash burst out from the Bloodwing Blade, carving through over a hundred meters of flesh in front of them. Before the living mass could begin to seal the wound— A second, third, fourth, and fifth slash followed immediately, tearing a gaping exit wide open, letting sunlight pour in through the opening. Without wasting a second, Veyron wrapped an arm around the stunned Hancock's slender waist and leapt through the gap with her. --- "Guess we were still underestimating Veyron," Merlin said happily from the Antarctic base. "..." Nobody replied. Even if you assumed that meat wasn't tougher than steel—just regular flesh—seeing something the size of a hundred-story skyscraper get split in half from the inside out, all in the blink of an eye... Yeah, most of the livestream viewers were totally stunned. Even Fubuki, who'd seen some wild stuff in her own world, looked a little shaken watching those sword strikes. --- "Yo, you okay? Your arm doesn't look great." Floating above Raccoon City, Little Merlin hovered beside Veyron. Her staff pulled back what was left of his sleeve and examined his arm, which was visibly puffed up and throbbing with veins. "I'm good. Nothing serious." Veyron casually slashed again, this time with way more control and finesse than before, sending a flying slash to cut down the furious tentacles chasing after them. That was the second-stage Gene Lock—It was a complete upgrade over the first stage. If stage one was about unlocking combat instincts and gaining precision over your existing power—refining and focusing the strength you already had— Then stage two was about complete mastery of your body—and pulling out every ounce of its potential. In stage one, pushing beyond your limits was a trump card. In stage two? That kind of limit-breaking became the new baseline. Unlocking the second-stage Gene Lock massively boosted muscle strength, blood flow, nerve response, and sensory perception. It granted insane regeneration, lightning-fast reaction time, and ridiculous physical durability. The downside? Well, as you can see—His muscles and blood vessels would swell and clog from all that explosive energy. But for Veyron? With his [Photosynthesis (Purple)] Trait that gave him full-body recovery in sunlight? It was barely an inconvenience. "You good to keep going?" He glanced at Hancock. "Definitely!" The girl nodded with determination. She kissed her fingertips and summoned a pink heart over ten times larger than before. Thousands upon thousands of heart-shaped arrows rained down on the massive meatball monster, petrifying entire chunks of the dark red flesh into stone. . . .