"Lord! This is an unforgivable blasphemy! Please allow me to uncover the mastermind behind setting up this altar and spreading this filth!"
It was clear that Law was genuinely furious beyond control.
He kept struggling, trying to break free of Roya's spiritual restraint. His muscles flared with explosive force, even tearing apart the Defense Force uniform he wore.
At the same time, his spiritual power erupted like a volcano, spewing out searing magma in every direction, striking indiscriminately at everything around him.
Fortunately, Roya's spiritual perception held absolute dominance, preventing Law's near-out-of-control power from leveling the entire tavern.
In that instant, Roya suddenly understood what was different about Law now.
The old Law would never have been this irritable.
Even with the title of Surgeon of Death, a surgeon was still a surgeon—calmness and composure were the very core of Law's nature.
So why was he now raging like a souped-up version of Kaido?
Was it really just because his faith had been desecrated that he would lose his temper to this extent?
Roya's thoughts raced, quickly analyzing the cause of Law's change.
"His condition definitely isn't from an implanted consciousness seed. A seed can warp someone's will, but that works gradually, subtly—Law's case is just a sudden shift in temperament."
"To change someone's personality from the ground up, reshaping how they judge and decide… such a method is far more insidious and unfathomable."
"If not for that distress signal, and the whisper from the sub-space, I might not have assumed from the start that something was wrong with both Pirate Star and Law…"
With that, Roya decided to hold back and observe further, to see if Law would reveal more flaws through his actions.
After all, Law's problem was still within a controllable range—for now. The true enemy Roya had to face was the mastermind behind these changes.
"Very well, then you'll take charge of investigating this matter."
"Vegapunk, come meet me in the Flower Hall!"
The latter words were sent directly by spiritual transmission into the consciousness of Vegapunk, who was holed up in his laboratory.
In the next breath, Roya's figure flickered, vanishing from the filthy underground chamber and reappearing in the Flower Hall—the highest, central point of Pangaea Castle.
Roya looked up at the Empty Throne. To his spiritual perception, it showed no abnormalities at all. That earlier distress signal might as well have been nothing more than someone accidentally pressing a switch.
"My lord, you've finally returned!"
Vegapunk arrived as summoned, kneeling at Roya's feet.
Roya lowered his gaze, immediately noticing that Vegapunk hadn't come in person, but instead through one of his cloned researcher bodies.
That was no small signal.
Expressionless, Roya went straight to the point: "Who sent the distress signal?"
To his surprise, Vegapunk admitted directly: "It was me."
Roya raised an eyebrow, realizing the situation was even more complicated than he'd thought.
Vegapunk began to explain: "At first, everything was fine. But problems within the Defense Force made me suspect that Commander Law wasn't himself.
"So I arranged to meet him here, intending to speak openly.
"But I never expected him to suddenly attack me—leaving me gravely injured!"
"In desperation, I had no choice but to use the Empty Throne to send a distress signal to the Pluton, because by then I already had ample reason to believe Commander Law had betrayed you, my lord!"
As Vegapunk laid out his accusations, Roya's spiritual perception had already delved into the pyramid's interior, where he found Vegapunk's heavily damaged bio-metal body.
Sure enough, just as Vegapunk claimed, his true body had been smashed into a heap of broken parts.
And judging by the wounds on that wrecked body, they were unmistakably the result of Law's signature Gamma Knife technique.
Had Vegapunk not possessed extraordinary innate talent in matters of spirit and consciousness, as well as numerous cloned avatars, that degree of bodily destruction would have long since snuffed out his soul, leaving him truly dead.
Vegapunk concluded: "My spirit managed to escape from my body in time. After sending the distress signal, I hid deep within the pyramid laboratory, terrified that Commander Law would find me."
—Spirit?
Roya's brow twitched, and his heart grew heavier.
The concept of the spirit body was something even Roya himself had only gradually comprehended after inheriting the massive energy legacy of the Star Dragon.
So how had Vegapunk, who had always remained stationed on Pirate Star, come to know of it as well?
Could his talent really be so great that he had grasped such a profound power without a teacher?
"Not only Law, but even Vegapunk may already have been corrupted?"
A crushing pressure weighed on Roya's chest. This unseen enemy had already shown terrifying ability—an ability to seize control of the human mind silently, leaving even the likes of Vegapunk and Law completely unaware.
What unsettled and enraged Roya further was that both Vegapunk and Law were his most trusted lieutenants. And now, without warning, they had become potential threats.
If it were only a matter of suppressing or eliminating them, Roya could not bring himself to do it. But how to free them from such elusive mental control—that, for now, he had no answer to.
After a long moment of thought, he asked in a measured tone: "Where is Lucci?"
Vegapunk replied: "Because he questioned Commander Law's decisions, Law sent him out to patrol for biological weapons.
"But it's laughable—every single one of those weapons was destroyed in the last great battle. How could there be any remnants? Even if some did survive, they wouldn't dare show themselves. Why send someone to patrol?!"
"And Lucci—he didn't just go alone, he took all the CP agents with him. That left me in Pangaea Castle blind and deaf. By the time I realized Commander Law had a problem, it was already too late!"
"Now the entire castle is under the iron-fisted rule of Commander Law and his Defense Force!"
"And what's more, I've heard rumors that Commander Law is conducting horrifying human experiments among the lowest classes of civilians!"
Roya raised a hand, cutting off Vegapunk's rambling accusations.
In a low, steady voice, he said: "Signs of heretical worship have been found in the Lower City. Law is already handling it. You'll go as well—the two of you together will resolve this matter for me."
With that, Roya willed his spiritual perception, instantly restoring Vegapunk's shattered bio-metal body to full repair.
Since both of you are in question… then I'll let you clash directly and see what comes of it.