The sharp sound of flesh being pierced rang out.
Robin's face drained of color as her slender body trembled. She lowered her gaze in disbelief, staring at her chest where a hand had passed straight through her, relentlessly draining her life away.
It happened far too fast.
From behind, Nami saw the blood-soaked arm, then looked at Lucien, his chin resting lightly on Robin's shoulder. He was smiling, calm and affectionate, as if nothing cruel was happening at all. Robin's frozen expression slowly lost all warmth, and her desperate cry echoed across the battlefield.
"Robin!"
The roar of cannons and explosions failed to drown out her scream. Zoro, Chopper, and the others snapped their heads toward the sound.
Even Luffy, fighting at the far end of the battlefield, felt his heart shudder. He turned around just in time to see Robin, tears spilling from her eyes, reaching toward him as her body crumbled into ash and scattered into the air.
His chest felt as though it had been torn apart.
"No… Robin!"
Abandoning Akainu without hesitation, Luffy rushed toward her, his mind in chaos.
He had already lost Ace and Emma. He absolutely could not lose anyone else.
"Nami, dodge, now!" Luffy roared.
"No!"
As Robin's ashes dispersed into the wind, Lucien pulled Nami into his arms.
Zoro, Brook, and the others charged forward, their faces twisted with fury and desperation.
"Luffy, save me!"
Nami's voice shook with terror as she fell backward, stretching her hand toward him, despair filling her eyes.
Luffy screamed her name, his voice breaking.
Lucien wrapped one arm around her waist and lowered his head to her neck.
Bang.
In the span of three breaths, Nami's body shattered, just like Robin's, turning into fine ash that drifted away.
Two radiant lives vanished in an instant.
"I truly love them," Lucien murmured softly.
He watched the ashes scatter, the affection in his amethyst eyes unchanged. Then his gaze shifted to the nearest figure.
"Chopper."
A vast wave of Haoshoku Haki erupted from Luffy as he charged forward, but it was already too late.
"Luffy…"
Tears streamed down Chopper's face as pain tore through his body. Terror flooded his eyes.
"Chopper!!! You bastard!"
Zoro, Franky, and Brook reached the scene at the same moment. The instant they saw Chopper dissolve into ash, their fury exploded as they attacked Lucien without hesitation.
"Eight-Span Mirror."
Golden lightning flashed and vanished.
They never even realized what happened.
Zoro, Franky, and Brook's heads flew into the air, blood erupting from their necks like fountains.
Brook alone did not die immediately. Lucien's right hand, wrapped in soul power, seized his severed neck and tore Brook's soul directly from his body.
Before Brook could even scream, Lucien threw the soul into his mouth and swallowed it.
The three bodies collapsed, lifeless, their heads rolling across the blood-soaked ground.
Instant annihilation.
Boom!
Luffy crashed into the battlefield, his Fourth Gear collapsing. He crawled through the pool of blood, clutching Zoro's still-open eyes, unable to accept reality.
"Zoro!"
"Brook!"
"Franky!"
"This can't be real!"
His face twisted violently as tears poured from his eyes. Luffy cried like a broken child, his heart completely shattered.
Everyone precious to him was gone.
Gone right before his eyes.
"No… no…"
His voice turned hoarse as he slowly lifted his head and stared at Lucien. That face, calm and merciless, burned itself into his memory, especially those amethyst eyes.
Blood burst from Luffy's eyes as the vessels ruptured. Bloody tears streamed down his cheeks as he let out a final roar and charged.
At the same moment, thunder exploded within the magma abyss. The sky froze as a humanoid figure of radiant light stood above it, azure eyes filled with killing intent.
"Blackbeard, you are dead!"
Silver Dragon roared in fury, as if commanding the world itself, pressing both hands downward.
Silence fell over everything.
A massive black sphere descended, blotting out the sky and crushing the air itself. The shattered remains of Marineford were completely enveloped.
Terror seized everyone present.
"Has Silver Dragon lost his mind?"
"He's going to kill us all!"
"That damn Blackbeard, he pushed him too far!"
Sengoku, Rayleigh, Scopper Gaban, Garp, Marco, and Belo Betty all stared upward in horror. They could feel the destruction contained within that sphere.
"Luffy!"
Sabo's face turned deathly pale.
"Luffy!"
Garp's gaze snapped back toward Luffy, fear overwhelming his hardened expression.
Time seemed to stop.
The black sphere halted midair. Below, Enel, in his radiant form, pressed his hands downward, his bloodied face twisted with madness.
Despair spread across the battlefield.
Garp and Sabo lunged forward, reaching out desperately.
Too late.
Blood poured from Luffy's mouth and nose as Lucien's arm pierced straight through his chest, gripping his heart.
Luffy's fist stopped a single centimeter from Lucien's face before Lucien tilted his head and avoided it.
"I spared you once," Lucien said coldly. "This time, I'll grind you into dust."
Malice burned in his amethyst eyes. Not killing Luffy before had always been his one regret.
"Who are y…"
Recognition dawned in Luffy's fading gaze as memories from over ten years ago overlapped.
"You're not completely stupid," Lucien replied calmly.
His hand tightened.
Luffy's body rapidly withered before exploding into ash, vanishing just like the others.
"Luffy!"
Garp and Sabo screamed in anguish.
Lucien ignored them. He cupped his hands together as a blue sphere of light formed, expanding and compressing as beams illuminated the sky.
At the same time, Katakuri, Cracker, and others emerged, intercepting Garp and Sabo.
Silver Dragon's gaze collided with Lucien's.
Blackbeard, Sengoku, Marco, and everyone else unleashed their strongest attacks toward the black sphere.
No one could afford to stand aside.
Then, a blinding white light consumed everything.
The world collapsed into silence as a colossal mushroom cloud rose, five rings of light tearing across the planet itself.
Time and space warped.
Sabaody Archipelago, Auction House.
Lucien sat in Stussy's arms, momentarily dazed.
It felt as if he had dreamed something important, yet he could not remember it.
Nearby, Luffy had just sent Saint Charloss flying when he suddenly collapsed. He quickly stood again, confused.
As his vision cleared, he saw Zoro, Nami, Emma, Chopper, and the others standing around him.
Tears streamed down his face.
===
Powerstones?? (´ε｀ )
____
Patreon = _Zeph