Within the Figarland Family's territory, Lloyd heard the desperate cries of the Celestial Dragons echoing from outside and smiled faintly at Lucia, who stood beside him.
"They actually see me as their savior. It's rare to see them begging someone so humbly."
Lucia lowered her head respectfully and replied in a gentle voice,
"Young Master, you are the savior of this world. As long as you are here, I believe the heavens themselves will never fall."
Lloyd reached out and gently caressed Lucia's smooth cheek.
"Compared to being some savior, I'd rather protect the people who matter to me."
Lucia looked at him with tearful eyes, her gaze overflowing with affection.
Outside, the desperate cries of the Celestial Dragons were soon drowned out by Zunesha's thunderous footsteps.
Without another word, Lloyd's figure blurred and vanished into the darkness.
Lucia immediately spread her wings and flew toward the edge of the Figarland Family's territory.
Ahead, Zunesha fixed its eyes upon the Red Line, letting out excited trumpeting cries as it charged forward.
Above Mary Geoise, Shalria stood among the fleeing Celestial Dragons, biting her lip as she watched the colossal elephant draw closer with every step.
Unlike the others, who had completely lost their composure, Shalria remained surprisingly calm.
She instinctively looked toward the Figarland Family's territory.
The moment she did, an indescribable sense of security filled her heart.
Beside her, Saint Rosward's face had gone deathly pale. Frantically, he ordered the black-clothed guards to stand in front of him.
Just as Zunesha was about to collide with the Red Line, a pitch-black vortex suddenly appeared in the night sky.
A moment later, Lloyd stepped out of the swirling darkness.
The ordinary Celestial Dragons lacked the strength to notice his arrival in the sky, but they all heard his indifferent voice.
"A mere beast dares to run wild here."
For an instant, everyone froze.
Then overwhelming joy erupted across Mary Geoise.
"Saint Lloyd!"
"Saint Lloyd has come!"
"We're saved!"
Lloyd completely ignored their excited cries.
His gaze merely drifted downward, briefly meeting Shalria's flushed, excited face within the crowd.
Then he slowly raised his hand toward the charging Zunesha.
Darkness surged around him.
Before the countless Celestial Dragons, who looked upon him as though he were a god descending from heaven, Lloyd's eyes flashed with a brilliant violet light.
Massive deep purple gravity rings instantly expanded outward, completely enveloping Zunesha's enormous body.
The crushing force was terrifying enough to pulverize mountains.
Even Zunesha's colossal limbs buckled beneath the overwhelming gravity.
Its gigantic body crashed violently into the sea, sending waves thousands of meters high crashing in every direction.
Lloyd remained expressionless.
Endless darkness poured from his palm like a black tide before condensing into an enormous hand that blotted out the sky.
It descended upon the struggling Zunesha.
"Darkness Seal."
Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!
When the gigantic hand struck, not even a single drop of seawater splashed upward.
Instead, the overwhelming force completely displaced the surrounding ocean, creating a massive vacuum where the sea itself vanished.
Everyone on Mary Geoise, including the Five Elders, stared at the unbelievable scene in stunned silence.
Garling gripped the hilt of his sword tightly as he looked toward Lloyd standing proudly in the sky, his eyes filled with unmistakable pride.
Even the normally composed Saint Nusjuro wore an expression of complete disbelief.
"Saint Lloyd's power has reached this level... No wonder Imu-sama..."
Realizing what he had nearly revealed, Saint Nusjuro immediately stopped speaking and discreetly glanced toward Garling.
Fortunately, Garling's full attention remained fixed on Lloyd, seemingly unaware of his unfinished sentence.
At that moment, another Celestial Dragon suddenly cried out,
"Look! That beast is still alive!"
Everyone hurriedly looked toward the sea.
As the displaced seawater rushed back with deafening force, they finally saw Zunesha lying motionless within the massive crater.
Above its head rested an enormous straw hat.
It had been that giant straw hat which absorbed the devastating impact of the Darkness Seal.
Lloyd showed no surprise.
He had already sensed Joy Boy's presence atop Zunesha and knew he would intervene.
Standing on the elephant's head, Joy Boy looked directly toward Lloyd above Mary Geoise.
He casually waved a hand.
The gigantic straw hat immediately shrank before returning to its normal size atop his head.
Pressing down on its brim, Joy Boy unleashed an overwhelming burst of Haoshoku Haki.
The violent Haki spread like a tsunami, instantly sweeping away the lingering darkness surrounding him.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
Towering black and crimson lightning streaked across the sky, covering the entire sea.
Joy Boy's eyes shone brilliantly as his voice thundered across heaven and earth.
"Celestial Dragons, this time..."
Before he could finish speaking, Lloyd vanished.
His body transformed into a streak of black light and instantly appeared before Zunesha.
Instead of attacking Joy Boy directly, Lloyd placed his pitch-black right hand against Zunesha's body.
The devouring power of darkness erupted from his palm.
The glowing golden inscriptions covering Zunesha rapidly faded away at a speed visible to the naked eye.
As the ancient markings disappeared, the giant elephant's skin began shriveling and withering.
Zunesha was utterly powerless to resist.
Already suppressed by Lloyd's gravity, and burdened by the vast difference in size and speed between itself and Lloyd, it could not even touch him.
Seeing this, Joy Boy's expression instantly darkened.
His figure flashed forward as blazing fury filled his eyes.
"You Celestial Dragon! You're still as despicable as ever!"
Only after Joy Boy closed the distance did Lloyd withdraw his hand from Zunesha.
He casually caught Joy Boy's incoming fist with his palm and sneered.
"Despicable? Compared to stealing someone else's body, what I'm doing is insignificant."
Joy Boy's expression froze.
Grinding his teeth, he snapped,
"What nonsense are you talking about? Luffy willingly..."
Lloyd laughed coldly.
"Hahaha! Don't tell me you're about to claim Luffy willingly handed over his body to you. If that's true, then your rubber face must be even thicker than this beast's hide."
The merciless ridicule caused Joy Boy's face to shift from green to pale.
With an angry roar, he compressed his arm.
A terrifying burst of force exploded from his rebounding fist, launching Lloyd backward through the air.
Golden light blazed within Joy Boy's eyes as he immediately pursued.
However, Lloyd had already regained his balance.
With a flick of his wrist, the Demon Blade Muramasa appeared in his hand.
He swung it once.
A pitch-black slash streaked through the sky like dark lightning, hurtling straight toward Joy Boy.
Sizzle! Sizzle! Sizzle!
An ear-piercing sound echoed across the battlefield.
Joy Boy caught the slash with one hand.
A mysterious white glow spread across his palm.
The sword energy twisted unnaturally, as though it had become something tangible.
Joy Boy seized it, then casually hurled it aside.
Lloyd narrowed his eyes as he watched the scene unfold.
"So... you can assimilate even intangible attacks like sword slashes."
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