At that moment, the figure of Wayne suddenly stopped on the roof of a freshly looted palace.
He looked around, gazing upon the Holy Land of Mary Geoise as dawn approached. The corners of his mouth lifted slightly.
Without looking at the camera, he spoke to himself, "Shiki, it's about to start. Are you ready?"
In Impel Down, Shiki's eyes widened when he heard those words. "Finally the moment has come."
Yes, Wayne's raid was nearly complete. His personal storage space was crammed full of gold and jewels. In addition, he had acquired five unknown Devil Fruits and two swords of uncertain grade.
No matter what, this plundering trip had been an enormous success. The only regret was that, to avoid detection, he hadn't gone deep into the core area, where the real treasures surely lay.
But it was too late now, because,
"WOOOOOO~!"
The piercing wail of alarms tore through the sky, jolting the entire Holy Land awake.
Inside a luxurious bedroom, Saint Saturn shot up from his bed, his wrinkled face twisted with rage as his eyes gleamed with cold fury.
"Damn it, who dares disturb the Holy Land!?"
He burst out of his mansion, and when he looked up, even this ancient ruler's pupils shrank to pinpoints.
"What?!"
A colossal meteorite, large enough to blot out the sky, was tearing through the clouds, plummeting straight toward the heart of Mary Geoise.
If it fell, it would obliterate the very seat of the world's power.
"Stop it! At all costs!" Saturn's roar echoed into the minds of every Elder Star.
A moment later, five monstrous auras erupted from the core district.
Saturn transformed into a massive ox demon covered in steel-like black quills, bellowing as he charged skyward.
Saint Nasjuro became a skeletal warhorse with blue flames blazing from its hooves.
Saint Ju Peter expanded into a mountainous sandworm that launched itself upward.
Saint Warcury swelled into a boar, its steps cracking the air like thunder.
Saint Mars took the form of a winged serpent-bird, the Itsumade , shrieking as it soared.
Five monstrous beasts rose together, unleashing an apocalyptic counterattack, shockwaves, poisonous mists, and devastating energy beams merged into a single catastrophic explosion.
BOOOOOOM!!!
The crimson meteor shattered less than a kilometer above the ground, breaking apart into countless fragments that rained across the Holy Land.
The crisis was temporarily averted, but then, the five Elder Stars turned their furious eyes toward the lone black figure floating in the sky.
"Arrogant thief! Who are you, to dare attack the Holy Land?!"
Wayne showed not a hint of fear. Instead, he grinned, cheerful as ever, like a carefree boy.
"Wayne. You can call me Wayne. And as for why I attacked…"
He paused, smile widening.
"Because I was bored. So I decided to kill a few Celestial Dragons for fun."
"INSOLENT FOOL!"
"IGNORANT CUR!"
Their rage exploded. Just as the Elder Stars gathered their power to strike him down, Wayne murmured:
"Lion Menace: Earth Coiling!"
RUMBLE!!!
The ground beneath Mary Geoise writhed like a living creature. Under Wayne's control, nearly half the Holy Land began to deform, buildings, nobles, guards, and slaves all twisted together, fusing into colossal, roaring lion heads.
Each was as large as a mountain, with fangs and maws that split the sky, bellowing thunderously as they charged at the Elder Stars.
The Elders' eyes went wide with shock; they were forced to abandon their attack and scatter to avoid being crushed.
BOOM! BOOM!
But their evasions doomed the city below. The magnificent palaces, the vast courtyards, the towers of power, all were reduced to rubble in an instant.
Even these ancient beings, who had ruled the world for centuries, trembled at the sight of such devastation.
"This… this power, is that the Float-Float Fruit? Shiki's ability!?" said Saint Nasjuro, disbelief thick in his voice.
"Impossible! That bastard Golden Lion Shiki is imprisoned in Impel Down! How could anyone else-" Warcury snarled.
Saturn glared up at Wayne. If they continued fighting here, no matter who won, Mary Geoise would be utterly destroyed.
"Damn it! We can't fight him here! If we do, everything will be lost!" Saturn barked. He reverted to human form and tried to force Wayne away from the Holy Land.
The others followed suit, except for Mars, who remained in his divine bird form, closing in on Wayne and pushing him toward the Red Line's skies.
Meanwhile, a man with flowing golden hair like moonlight emerged from the wreckage below, gripping a Western sword.
"Damn it! Could it be that Golden Lion Shiki bastard?" snarled Saint Garling, the captain of the God Knights. He brushed off the dust and brandished his sword.
"To attack the Holy Land, unforgivable!"
With immense strength and speed, he became a golden blur, streaking across the air toward the Red Line.
At the same time, deep in Impel Down's lowest level, Eternal Hell, Shiki was laughing uncontrollably.
"Shihahahahaha! That's it! That's what I wanted! Wonderful!"
He was overjoyed, after all, Wayne had just used his power, his signature technique, to destroy Mary Geoise.
In a way… it was as if he, Golden Lion Shiki himself, had razed the Holy Land.
At that moment, Shiki couldn't be more grateful he'd made a deal with that kid named Wayne.
Otherwise, even if he'd escaped Impel Down, he would never have had the guts to do this.
"That kid… he's a real monster!"
High above the Red Line, five figures surrounded Wayne, cutting off every escape route. He tried repeatedly to dive back toward Mary Geoise to continue the destruction, but two attacked while three blocked, giving him no room to move.
"How dare you defile the Holy Land!" bellowed Warcury, his boar form charging forward.
"Die!" Saturn roared, his colossal bull body moving with impossible speed, horns of black steel aiming straight for Wayne.
But Wayne showed no fear. Gripping a katana looted from a Celestial Dragon's mansion, he let out a slow breath, then an overwhelming wave of black and crimson lightning burst from him, shaking even the souls of the Five Elders.
"Conqueror's Haki?!"
"Where did this brat come from!?"
"Be careful-!"
Black and red lightning coiled around the blade, turning its silver edge pitch black.
Wayne raised his sword.
"Divine Departure!"