The Awakened One, like a wounded jackal, rose once more, baring its malice at the tiny figures before it with a guttural growl.
Its slender forelimbs pressed against the ground, its powerful hind legs tensed, poised to sprint. Scraping the earth with savage force, it kicked up gravel and dust before unleashing astonishing speed, charging directly at Davy Jones.
Those two keys — it would reclaim them at any cost. It was its primal instinct as the ruler of the third layer.
Despite its massive body, the Awakened One dashed forward at a speed difficult to believe. In the blink of an eye, it surged past Buggy and Alvida, bearing down on Davy Jones.
But the next moment, it stumbled, tumbling forward and crashing into the ground with a thunderous boom.
"Hm?"
Davy Jones' gray-blue eyes shifted. The Awakened One's right hind leg had been severed cleanly — a perfect cut, not even bleeding.
Not far away stood a man, gasping for breath, a spotted round-brimmed hat on his head. His long sword, Kikoku, gleamed unsheathed. With a flick of his finger, he drew attention to the Awakened One's severed limb at his side.
It was none other than the man who had earlier been with Crocodile — Trafalgar Law.
Davy Jones regarded him with a meaningful gaze.
The Ope Ope no Mi's "Surgery" was already a tremendous drain on stamina, and Law had earlier been weakened by the Awakened One's siphoning. But none of that could extinguish his resolve for vengeance.
Burning with fury, he had saved up the strength for one last ultimate Room. Waiting for the moment when the Awakened One's attention was fixed entirely on Davy Jones, he struck, severing its right hind leg.
This was the perfect chance to finish the beast.
Law turned his eyes toward Davy Jones. His gaze alone was enough to convey his intent — urging Davy to deliver the killing blow.
And Davy Jones was never one to let prey slip through his grasp.
His wings unfurled, and like a blade he dove straight into the Awakened One's skull, once again shattering it with Armament Haki.
Crippled by the loss of its leg, the Awakened One struggled in vain, only to be slammed back down by the strike, its body slumping across the shattered ground.
Standing tall amidst its bristling fur, Davy Jones looked down into its dilated eyes — just as he drove a black staff into where it could not see… its brain.
This was the second time he had destroyed the Awakened One's brain.
This time, its body convulsed a few times, claws stretching weakly toward him, before collapsing for good.
The Awakened One was dead. Truly dead.
To Davy Jones, this so-called "Awakening Resurrection" was nothing more than forcing a creature to endure two brushes with death.
Law finally sank to one knee, staring blankly at Kikoku in his hand.
For a fleeting moment, he wanted to reverse the blade and drive it into his own chest — without activating Room.
But the instant he closed his eyes, he saw that awkward yet unforgettable smile — the face of Donquixote Rosinante.
His grip faltered. He lowered his head, pressing Kikoku against the ground. Slowly, he calmed himself.
He couldn't die yet. There was still one enemy he had to defeat.
From the Awakened One's corpse, Davy Jones claimed two spoils hidden within it: a turquoise serpent-shaped ring, and the final key — the Blue Key.
With this, all three keys were now gathered. All that remained was to find the gate at the tower's summit.
He pocketed the three keys.
Handling the serpent ring for a moment, he immediately sensed its effect — it enhanced the wearer's agility and speed.
Without hesitation, he tossed the ring to Kuro, who caught it quickly.
Kuro said nothing, only bowed toward Davy Jones as he departed deeper into the third layer. Silently, he strung the serpent ring on a cord and hung it around his neck.
Supporting the injured Hachi, he trudged forward. Buggy, meanwhile, had no choice but to drag the battered Crocodile along. Their captain would never allow Crocodile to die so easily.
Law tilted his head back, watching Davy Jones and his crew depart. From beginning to end, not one of them spoke to him, nor asked who he was, nor why he was there.
Davy Jones did not care. His crew cared even less.
The depths of the third layer resembled a demonic lair. But with the Awakened One gone, the monsters scattered like birds and beasts.
Unopposed, Davy Jones and his crew soon arrived before a great gate.
Just as depicted in the murals, a stone slab before it bore keyholes arranged like a three-leaf clover.
Davy Jones handed the three keys to Alvida. She stepped forward, fitting them into place.
After a deathly silence came a rumbling roar.
The ancient gate, sealed for countless years, creaked open amidst clouds of dust, revealing a yawning abyss of darkness within.
From that darkness came a sound — thump, thump — the beating of a heart.
The wounded Hachi and the unconscious Crocodile were laid at the entrance. The rest of the crew stepped inside slowly.
They lifted their gaze — and froze.
Suspended in midair was a gray-white, decayed heart. Long dead by all appearances, yet somehow still beating.
With each step forward, the pirates felt their own hearts seize painfully in their chests.
After only a dozen paces, Buggy and Mikita could go no further. Clutching their chests, they collapsed to one knee.
Alvida and Kuro glanced back at them. They too felt the crushing palpitations, as if their hearts would rupture at any moment.
But drawing upon the Terror Ghost's power, they forced themselves forward a few more steps. Only after twenty or so could they proceed no longer.
Only Davy Jones advanced freely. His Armament Haki, sharp as a spear and unbreakable as a shield, shielded him from the assault.
Even so, he did not approach rashly. Instead, he stretched out a tentacle and pulled Crocodile forward, placing him as a living shield.
As expected, the Corrupted Heart unleashed its invisible force upon the nearest target — Crocodile.
In an instant, it drained him as if by his own power, leaving him pale, lifeless, head drooping.
Davy Jones gave a brief nod at the sight.
"I forgive you."
With that, he hurled Crocodile's husk aside and slammed his fist toward the heart!
His punch did not touch its flesh, but his Haki burst forth tangibly, like a cannonball, and struck it.
His Armament Haki had broken through another barrier — projected outward beyond his body!
Yet what should have pierced the heart was blunted by its defenses. Still, the price was steep: the left atrium exploded.
Davy Jones narrowed his eyes. His Observation Haki revealed abnormalities in the right atrium, left ventricle, and right ventricle as well.
So the Corrupted Heart had four lives.
Another invisible shockwave surged toward him, but he instantaneously warped away with his teleportation.
His Haki-clad staff jabbed forward, spearing the right atrium. It detonated.
"Two lives remain."
He repeated the maneuver, dodging the next wave before driving a Haki-charged kick into the heart. The left ventricle burst apart.
"One life left."
Above the Corrupted Heart, countless black stars condensed, raining down upon him like arrows.
But not even that could hinder his teleportation. He reappeared at its forefront, unleashing dozens of tentacles that burrowed deep into its gray, rotting flesh, tearing it open.
Reaching inside, he seized a smaller heart pulsing faintly, and ripped it free — snapping every vein-like strand attached to it.
The Corrupted Heart, robbed of its core, shriveled rapidly, collapsing inward.
Deprived of its levitation, it crashed to the ground, resembling nothing more than a rotten, moldy persimmon.
Davy Jones held the small heart, feeling its beats weaken — as streams of indescribable power poured into him like flowing water.
The little heart died. But in exchange, Davy Jones' own heart grew stronger, absorbing fragments of its abilities.
Throughout the spire, every monster had been connected to the Corrupted Heart. Its death echoed in their minds, letting them know exactly who had slain it.
Like bees bereft of their queen, they fell into chaos and panic.
Some cowered in shadows, trembling in fear.
Others tore into each other, their order collapsing.
Without the Corrupted Heart, the spire's top would open hours later, revealing the sea once more. But already, its sides had become an isolated island.
Davy Jones did not care. In the darkness, he turned, savoring the sweet rain of terror that flowed into him.
PS: Access advance (200+) chapters at