When Joy Boy saw Lily unveil her Demon form, he was utterly stunned. He cried out in disbelief:
"How did you get that Fruit!?"
Lily smirked and mocked,
"What a surprise... So there are things even Joy Boy doesn't know. But don't expect me to explain anything to you."
Joy Boy's expression turned cold.
"It doesn't matter. Even if it really is that Fruit, it won't bind me. If you think you can take me down with just a Devil Fruit, you're sorely mistaken."
"Is that so? I beg to differ..."
Lily opened her palm toward Joy Boy. Fine black markings flickered faintly in her hand.
In the next instant, a massive black demonic shadow emerged behind Joy Boy. Its glowing crimson eyes locked onto him like prey.
Before he could react, the demon's maw opened wide and swallowed him whole.
Spiraling black markings wrapped around the demon's form, and the moment Joy Boy was consumed, those same spirals began to bind his body tightly, rendering him completely immobile.
...
Elsewhere, Carl stood with his arms crossed.
With interest, Carl observed the demonic entity, trying to discern the nature of Lily's Devil Fruit powers.
Suddenly, several of Joy Boy's clones broke through the battlefield and charged at Carl, unleashing a barrage of white Gatling blasts.
Carl didn't even look back. Dark tendrils erupted from his back, wrapping around the clones and disintegrating them instantly.
"Damn you!!!"
Joy Boy's furious roar echoed from within the demon's shadowy body. The massive mouth squirmed grotesquely, like it was chewing gum, and then—spat Joy Boy out in a lump of glowing white matter.
The attack was devastating—and humiliating.
Joy Boy struggled to reform his glowing body. But this time, it was marred by blotches of black across his luminous form.
Carl chuckled when he saw this.
"A spotted mutt, huh?"
Joy Boy didn't have time to respond to the insult. Inside his body, dense black markings had begun to crawl and dismantle his form.
This was the true power of Lily's origin—deconstruction.
Feeling the severity of the situation, Joy Boy's heart sank. Carl alone had been difficult enough to deal with. Now, with Lily joining the fray, things had turned even more perilous than when he'd faced the Twenty Kings eight hundred years ago.
For the first time, Joy Boy seriously considered retreat. Unlike the past, this wasn't a situation he could recover from. With Lily's Power and Carl's Darkness combined, they could seal and annihilate him completely. There would be no escape—not even by embedding his will into a Devil Fruit like he had centuries before.
He knew it deep down—if he lost here, the Nika Fruit might vanish from the world entirely.
He glanced over at Carl. Carl still had his arms crossed, showing no signs of moving.
A thought flickered in Joy Boy's mind—this was his best chance to flee.
The Light of Nika flared, and blinding white light exploded outward. Joy Boy struck a desperate pose, like a cornered animal ready to lash out.
Lily didn't suspect a thing. She assumed Joy Boy was losing control in rage. Her body twisted like a serpent, transforming into a black, fluid-like mass and surged toward him.
But before she could get close, Joy Boy's form erupted with an even stronger light, flooding the entire space in white brilliance—then vanished without a trace.
...
Within the white sea of light, Lily reformed her physical body, scanning the area with a frown.
Joy Boy's presence—both form and aura—had completely disappeared.
She lightly tapped the air with her toes. A massive black magic circle unfurled beneath her. Standing at the center, she raised her arm high, and a pitch-black pillar of light shot into the sky.
Soon, countless Devil Fruits emerged from within the dark beam—each covered in spiraling markings and pitch-black in color. Any knowledgeable observer would instantly recognize them as alternate forms of Devil Fruits.
As the black fruits materialized, a tremor rippled through the air. From each one, black humanoid limbs extended outward. Then wings. Then full demonic forms—each one distinct, bearing black bat-like wings and monstrous features.
The demonic army formed around Lily, taking position as her elite guard.
Lily had clearly fallen for Joy Boy's feint. She assumed he was hiding nearby to launch a surprise attack.
But from afar, Carl saw through Joy Boy's real intent.
It wasn't that Lily lacked intelligence—she had lived for over eight centuries. But she had fallen victim to her own assumptions. She couldn't imagine that after all this time, Joy Boy had finally embraced the idea that retreat, no matter how disgraceful, was sometimes the only option.
Carl, the embodiment of darkness, watched with eyes like bottomless black holes. Joy Boy's light meant nothing to him. He could see clearly: Joy Boy was speeding toward the sky.
With a sharp sonic boom, Carl vanished from where he stood.
...
Moments later, as Lily scanned for Joy Boy within the Nika light, a sudden gust split the air. From above, two figures came crashing down—Joy Boy and Carl, locked in combat, light versus dark.
Seeing them, Lily instantly realized what had happened. Her expression shifted to frustration and embarrassment. She raised her hand, and the demonic army surged forward.
Carl grinned and unleashed a repelling force, knocking Joy Boy away—and right into the advancing horde.
The next second, a wild display of Devil Fruit powers erupted from the demonic army. Beast-formed demons rushed Joy Boy first, swarming over him.
Then came a storm of elemental attacks in every color imaginable, bombarding him from every direction.
Even as Joy Boy broke free from the tidal wave of claws and fire, a barrage of Paramecia abilities followed. A ray of violet light froze him mid-air for just an instant—just long enough for sticky mochi to wrap around his legs, yanking him back into the monstrous tide below.