Facing the frenzied Joy Boy, Lloyd remained completely motionless. A blinding white light surrounded his body as a powerful repulsive force formed a spherical field around him, expanding outward and firmly blocking Joy Boy's relentless barrage of fists.
Maintaining the force field did not hinder Lloyd's movements in the slightest.
He advanced toward Joy Boy through the storm of white fist shadows. Deep purple gravity waves suddenly materialized from thin air and descended upon Joy Boy, instantly flattening his body beneath their overwhelming force.
Pop!
Joy Boy's body snapped back into its normal form.
Under the suppression of the gravity waves, he suddenly leaped upward, his torso stretching vertically from the waist. After spinning several times through the air to accumulate momentum, he swung his head forward and delivered a powerful headbutt toward Lloyd.
However, Lloyd's body was not made of soft rubber.
Flames rose from the back of Lloyd's neck.
He had entered the unique defensive state of a Lunarian, making his body as hard as iron.
Bang!
Joy Boy's head collided with Lloyd's body, producing a sound like metal striking metal.
Because of the Nika Fruit's absurd properties, Joy Boy's forehead immediately developed an enormous bump, making his appearance unusually comical.
Under normal circumstances, Joy Boy would have made an exaggerated expression in response.
But his mood was already terrible.
He simply raised his hand and pressed firmly against the swelling, forcing the bump back down.
Crack!
Black and red Haki lightning erupted around Joy Boy.
Arcs of electricity flickered around the corners of his eyes as he stared at Lloyd with a cold expression.
"Celestial Dragons, I haven't been this angry in a long time..."
Lloyd merely raised the corner of his mouth in disdain.
"Oh? Should I be proud, then?"
Joy Boy narrowed his eyes slightly.
He did not respond.
Instead, he poured an enormous amount of Nika Power into his left arm.
In the blink of an eye, Joy Boy's arm expanded to a size far beyond even that of a Giant. Black Haki covered the enormous limb in spiral patterns resembling those found on a Devil Fruit, radiating an overwhelming sense of destructive power.
His gigantic fist slowly retracted into his wrist.
A harsh grinding sound echoed through the air, as though an enormous spring were being compressed to its absolute limit.
At the same time, Demon Blade Muramasa floated beside Lloyd.
Deep purple gravity halos revolved around Lloyd's arm, while red, fluid-like Haki flowed across his hands.
Both Lloyd and Joy Boy possessed Devil Fruit abilities and Haki that stood at the absolute pinnacle of the world.
Neither had thrown their attacks yet.
Yet the surrounding space already seemed to have solidified under the pressure generated by their confrontation.
A bolt of lightning streaked across the dark heavens.
Deafening thunder followed.
At the same instant, Lloyd and Joy Boy attacked.
"Gravity Wave, Dragon Might!"
"Nika Nika... Mingwang Fist!"
Boom!
Their fists collided in midair.
The resulting roar shook the heavens and earth.
Even the lightning streaking across the sky was forcibly interrupted by the shockwave generated by their collision.
Above the point of impact, the dark curtain formed by the Black Sea churned violently. A gigantic dark vortex gathered at its center, while several enormous dark tornadoes rose from the Black Sea below, connecting sea and sky and creating a genuine forbidden zone where life could not survive.
At the center of the collision, the gravity halos around Lloyd's arm hummed continuously, releasing terrifying power capable of overturning mountains and seas.
The Haki patterns covering Joy Boy's enormous arm writhed like living things as an equally immense force surged outward.
Neither side retreated.
The battle had reached a deadlock.
Lloyd's thoughts shifted.
Demon Blade Muramasa, which had been floating beside him, immediately transformed into a streak of black light and shot toward Joy Boy from above.
Joy Boy's expression changed slightly.
His straw hat suddenly spun upward, expanding rapidly before transforming into a shield that positioned itself beside him.
However, after using the projection of the D. Clan, the straw hat's abilities had been severely weakened.
Whoosh!
Demon Blade Muramasa struck the straw hat.
The weapon was successfully blocked, but the blade directly pierced through the top of the hat.
Demon Blade Muramasa remained embedded in the straw hat.
Below, dense black energy gathered within Lloyd's eyes.
The next instant, Demon Blade Muramasa began rotating violently.
The spinning blade rapidly ground through the top of the straw hat, carving out an increasingly large hole.
As the damage to the straw hat continued to spread, the two D. Clan projections on the battlefield trembled slightly.
Their forms gradually became more ethereal.
Before the God's Knights could launch another attack, the two figures transformed into scattered points of white light and vanished into the air.
Joy Boy's expression changed when he saw his beloved straw hat being damaged once again.
He immediately reached out and grabbed its brim with his free hand.
At the same time, he swung his arm violently and threw Demon Blade Muramasa away.
But that momentary distraction weakened the strength of his left arm by several points.
In a battle at this level, even a moment of distraction was enough to decide the outcome.
Lloyd seized the opening.
The gravity halos around his arm suddenly bloomed with an eerie purple radiance.
The terrifying force pushed Joy Boy's enormous fist backward.
By the time Joy Boy realized what was happening, it was already too late.
No matter how much strength he poured into his arm, he could no longer resist Lloyd's offensive.
Joy Boy's arm began trembling violently.
Then, under the overwhelming force of gravity, it was forcibly pushed away.
Haki and gravity surged over Joy Boy like a tidal wave.
"Wah!"
Joy Boy spat out a massive cloud of white gas.
His body rapidly deflated like a balloon with a hole in it, shrinking at a speed visible to the naked eye.
At that moment, Zou, whose trunk had already been severed, suddenly rose from below.
It stepped upon a white flame cloud and moved directly in front of Joy Boy, blocking Lloyd's attack and buying Joy Boy precious time to recover.
Joy Boy immediately activated the Drums of Liberation.
The rhythm echoed from within his chest, and his withered body began regaining its vitality.
Zou, however, was not nearly as fortunate.
Having taken Lloyd's attack head-on, its enormous body was instantly torn apart. Blood covered its surface, while its internal organs were blasted into a gruesome mass.
Zou released one final, mournful cry toward the heavens.
Its enormous body completely collapsed.
Chunks of flesh and blood tore apart before Joy Boy's eyes, while scarlet blood splattered across his body and face.
Joy Boy slowly wiped the elephant blood from his face.
Combined with his twisted expression, his appearance resembled a demon crawling out of the depths of hell.
But Lloyd had no intention of allowing Joy Boy even a moment to mourn Zou.
The heat radiating from Zou's flesh and blood had not yet dissipated when Lloyd launched another attack.
The Drums of Liberation were still beating within Joy Boy's chest.
His injuries had not yet fully recovered.
Even if he wanted to avenge Zou, he simply did not possess the strength to do so.
He could only retreat awkwardly.
Lloyd pursued him relentlessly through the sky, driving Joy Boy from one position to another like a hunted animal.
Lightning occasionally flashed across the dark heavens.
Whenever the sky was illuminated, Joy Boy's figure could briefly be seen running through the air before disappearing into the darkness once more.
Under the flashes of lightning, his appearance resembled the legendary Warrior of Liberation.
Yet directly behind him, a figure wielding a sword remained in relentless pursuit.
The contrast was obvious.
The so-called Warrior of Liberation was currently fleeing for his life.
On Mary Geoise, Wanda and Carrot could not help exchanging glances as they watched the bizarre scene unfolding in the sky.
The same thought simultaneously surfaced in their minds.
"If Pedro saw this scene, his expression would definitely be very interesting, right?"
=≠=
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