"What nonsense are you spouting!" Yamato's Conqueror's Haki erupted from her body. "You... you're starting to irritate me!"
"Regrettably, Miss, we've no desire for conflict either..." Saint Killingham slammed his trident into the ground.
"But our loyalty compels us to fight to the death."
"You can't even die, can you?" Kozuki Toki raised a delicate eyebrow, but her hand gripping the sword hilt betrayed her rage.
The two newly forged Named Blades, crafted by all the swordsmiths of Wano Country, trembled, emitting a resonant hum as if begging their mistress to let them drink deep of the enemy's blood.
"Lady Imu's gift of Immortality doesn't diminish our devotion to her."
"Hmph." Kozuki Toki had lost all patience for words.
After all, when you traced it back... the source of Lily's Devil Fruit powers and all her abilities... It was her.
The one who, over eight centuries ago, had gifted her sisters the Human-Human Fruit, Mythical Type, Model: Demon!
"This is... a headache," Sommers murmured, stroking his beard. "You're strong. We're struggling to even slow you down... But we'll do our best to make this last a little longer."
"Enough chatter." Kozuki Toki leaped from Yamato's back, soaring into the air. "Lion's Roar - Thousand-Cut Valley!"
Countless slashing waves rained down upon the God Knights.
Gunko channeled her Devil Fruit power, attempting to deflect the slashing waves in different directions.
But behind them, Yamato had reverted to her human form and was charging toward them.
"If I take you all down, I can go help Father, right? Then I won't hold back. Divine Leg - White Serpent Drive!"
Hearing the thunderous clashes outside the palace and sensing the Conqueror's Haki permeating the battlefield, Michael knew that Yamato and Kozuki Toki, who had been following him, had also engaged the Holy Knights.
"Toki... she's ferocious," Michael murmured, a faint smile playing on his lips. "But what else would you expect from my daughter? A little ferocity is a good thing."
He strode down the long corridor, pushed open the palace gates, and entered the hall of the Empty Throne.
"This place... it's steeped in the arrogance of a tyrant." Michael gazed up at the towering throne and the swords embedded in the floor around it, never to be withdrawn—symbols of mutual restraint and the maintenance of peace.
How... ironic.
The twenty kings who had overthrown the tyranny of the ancient kingdom, swayed by Lily's manipulation and coercion, cast aside their moral burdens and became the Celestial Dragons.
Now, the Celestial Dragons' reign was drawing to its end. And the one who would bring about the nation's destruction was still him—Michael.
Indeed, one might choose the wrong name, but never the wrong title. Archangel of the End... The name lived up to its reputation.
"Deep down, I never wanted to be a dictator... If you hadn't disappeared, I would never've taken this path! I wouldn't've broken ties with Toki, I wouldn't've ruled the world, and I wouldn't've... killed Joy Boy! This is all your fault!"
Piercing shrieks echoed through the Room of Flowers.
Yet amidst the violent screams, Michael could discern Lily's voice.
The voice seemed to be pleading with him. Pleading for one last look. Pleading... for him to end her himself.
Michael didn't respond.
He ascended the steps leading to the Empty Throne, then turned his back on it without hesitation or regret, and walked toward the entrance of the Room of Flowers.
Having entered the chamber, Michael marveled at the transformed environment.
The vegetation here consisted of species that had existed over eight hundred years ago.
Despite the drastic climate changes that had occurred, these extinct plants thrived here... Lily had channeled her Devil Fruit powers into sustaining them.
No wonder the Immortality granted by the Perennial Youth Operation couldn't withstand her immense energy drain... This was why Lily targeted individuals with shared bloodlines who had never consumed a Devil Fruit for assimilation.
Michael's gaze shifted forward, landing on the giant straw hat resting atop the stone platform—the very hat Joy Boy wore when transforming into his Nika form.
Beside the platform stood two young women.
One was Nefertari Vivi, standing motionless with her eyes shut, showing no signs of awareness.
The other...
"Lily."
Michael stared at the girl before him, unable to utter a word of reproach.
In his experience, he had been separated from Lily for a few months. But for Lily, this reunion marked the end of an eight-hundred-year separation.
Perhaps he should've disregarded her personal wishes back then and taken her with him.
The Lily before him was no longer wearing the regal attire she wore as Imu.
Instead, she was clad in a long, white dress. Pure and pristine. Just like her name.
"Lily." A pure white lily.
But... From her eyes flowed a deep, swirling darkness. Michael could sense the rage and... sorrow burning within those eyes.
"Lily, how have you been these past years?" Michael tried to sound casual. "As the child Imu and I raised, you should've become the most exceptional Wise King."
"Wise King? That's just your wishful thinking." Lily blinked and walked toward Michael.
Her pace quickened, transforming into a run.
Just like the "pure" Lily of old, she rushed into his embrace.
Michael didn't attack or defend. Instead, he opened his arms, like a father welcoming his daughter home.
There was no trace of negative emotion, only comfort and... love.
"Why did you save me? And then abandon me! Why did you never look at me properly! Even after I gave up seeing you as a man and tried to accept you as my 'adoptive father'... You left me then! So I thought, Archangel of the End... if I set the whole world ablaze, you would surely appear! Even when my demonic spikes pierced Joy Boy's heart, you didn't return! I hate you! I love you..."
Michael let Lily vent her emotions, patting her back. Afterward, they fell into a long silence. Lily stopped speaking, closing her eyes as she absorbed Michael's scent and warmth, like a child who had been away from home for too long.
Finally, Michael broke the silence.
"It's all my fault."
"So, Lily, my daughter... I've come."
"I've come to kill you."