King's Heights stood at the highest point of the Dressrosa Kingdom. It was the core residence of the Donquixote Family, a luxurious villa complex reserved for executives and above. From afar, it resembled an extravagant seaside resort, refined and elegant, hiding its cruelty beneath beauty.
Within the estate was a separate compound. One of its rooms was exquisitely decorated, warm, and comfortable, radiating an atmosphere entirely unsuited to the horrors tied to this place.
Outside the room lay a small garden.
Flowers bloomed in abundance, filling the air with sweet fragrance. A grape arbor stood not far away, heavy with ripe fruit.
Inside a leisure pavilion, a little girl sat happily, swinging her legs while eating grapes. She wore a polka dotted dress, a monocle over her left eye, and had a neat green bob haircut.
Sugar.
Outside the garden, numerous armed guards stood watch, their presence clearly meant to protect her.
"Gladius sama."
Several guards straightened immediately as a man approached. He wore a dark blue trench coat, his hair styled like hedgehog spines, and a mask with circular lenses covering his eyes.
Gladius, the Pop Pop Fruit user, capable of making himself or objects explode at will.
"Is Sugar here?" Gladius asked calmly.
"Sugar sama is inside," the guards replied confidently.
Gladius said nothing more and walked directly into the garden. None of the guards dared to stop him.
As he stepped onto the garden path, Lucien felt an overwhelming sense of familiarity.
That was right.
Lucien had once again taken Gladius's appearance.
Still unable to resist old habits, he had chosen the same route as before. Usurp Doflamingo from within.
"That's strange," Lucien muttered softly. "Why does it feel like I've already done this?"
Every step felt natural, as though his body already knew what came next.
The following sequence unfolded exactly as expected.
Sugar was controlled first.
Then Senor Pink, Machvise, Dellinger, Lao G, Jora, and the others followed.
Afterward, Sugar was used to lure Pica and Diamanti away, leaving only Doflamingo and Trebol behind.
As Lucien walked toward the castle's backyard swimming pool, he rubbed his chin thoughtfully. That uncanny familiarity made a possibility surface in his mind.
Perhaps his future self had already done this once.
It fit perfectly with his worldview.
Naturally, the genius known as Donquixote Doflamingo reacted ahead of time, just as before.
Then the battle erupted.
Half an hour later.
"Sixteen Holy Bullets, God's Execution."
"Kamehameha."
A blue white meteor descended from the sky, dragging a long tail of light behind it. Eternal brilliance swallowed the heavens.
The world was consumed by blinding radiance.
A massive mushroom cloud surged upward, wrapped in a halo of destruction. Shockwaves spread like tidal waves, erasing everything in their path.
An area spanning ten thousand meters vanished instantly.
When the light faded, only a vast abyss remained.
Thunder and lightning crackled within the lingering black clouds before slowly dispersing. Gentle sunlight poured down once more.
It was over.
Doflamingo had been defeated, once again in utter misery.
Lucien descended from the sky, hovering a foot above the ground. He moved horizontally until he stood before Doflamingo.
From Lucien's tailbone, a black thorn extended, curling through the air like a venomous serpent before piercing straight through Doflamingo's heart.
A massive amount of demon blood flooded in.
Doflamingo's shattered body convulsed violently. His face twisted in agony, veins bulging beneath his broken sunglasses, eyes bloodshot and filled with despair.
Among all who had received demon blood, the quantity injected into Doflamingo was second only to Katakuri.
...
Lovers' Avenue was one of Dressrosa's most famous streets.
A place meant for romance.
Naturally, it also housed legitimate foot massage parlors, massage houses, and various entertainment venues.
As a prosperous kingdom, Dressrosa lacked nothing in food, clothing, housing, transportation, or pleasure.
Morning sunlight streamed onto a balcony as a gentle breeze stirred sheer curtains.
Lucien woke atop pristine white sheets, stretching lazily. A pleasant tingling spread through his body.
After controlling Doflamingo and his subordinates the previous day, Lucien had not returned to King's Heights. Instead, he had come here, to a high class foot massage parlor.
The true owner behind it was still Doflamingo.
Women from the Longarm Tribe, Longleg Tribe, and others filled the establishment. They were charming, mature, experienced, and pleasant to converse with.
This was why Lucien enjoyed lingering in such places.
He had no particular virtue.
He simply loved helping others.
As he stretched, the white sheets shifted.
A tiny figure crawled out, eyes still half closed.
Golden hair cascaded down her small frame, decorated with two flowers. Her cheeks were flushed, faint red veins visible beneath her skin. Her pupils had changed completely, now glowing with purple diamond amber light.
Mansherry.
The princess of the Tontatta Tribe.
As for why she was in the bed, that was entirely Lucien's doing.
After controlling Doflamingo, Lucien had immediately found Mansherry, carefully extracted a single drop of blood, and turned her into a demon.
Next would be Bartholomew Kuma.
"Master," Mansherry said softly, yawning.
Ten minutes later, Mansherry sat on Lucien's shoulder as they exited the massage parlor.
Lovers' Avenue was quieter than usual.
Yesterday's battle had shaken the entire kingdom.
Yet overnight, all damage had been repaired without a trace.
Pica's Stone Stone Fruit had clearly been put to work.
After visiting Lovers' Avenue, the Corrida Colosseum, and Green Bit, Lucien prepared to head toward Doflamingo's weapons factory.
Then he stopped.
A firebird streaked across the sky, trailing blazing feathers as it flew straight toward King's Heights.
Lucien's expression shifted slightly.
"Fire Fist Ace, Marco the Phoenix, Diamond Jozu," he muttered. "What's going on? More than ten commanders are here."
He was certain.
Not only Ace, but Marco and nearly all Whitebeard's division commanders were present.
Fifteen out of sixteen.
At the moment, Lucien had no intention of eliminating Ace. With Marco and the others present, it simply was not worth the trouble.
If it were only one person, that would be different.
Lighting a cigarette, Lucien wondered whether he should intervene to save Doflamingo.
Then it happened.
Boom.
Two terrifying pressures erupted from King's Heights.
The sky darkened instantly. Rolling black clouds filled the heavens as black red lightning tore downward, striking vertically again and again.
Storms formed shockwaves that spread across the entire kingdom.
This was a clash of Haoshoku Haki.
The sky itself seemed split in half.
Inside King's Heights, two overwhelming Haoshoku collided head on.
Doflamingo staggered back several steps, his face turning ugly. He was clearly at a disadvantage.
Trebol, Diamanti, and the others retreated immediately, barely daring to breathe.
Marco and the other commanders did not move an inch.
The difference between the two sides was painfully clear.
"Fufufufu," Doflamingo laughed darkly. "Fire Fist, what do you mean by this?"
A vein throbbed on his forehead. If Marco and the others were not present, he would have already attacked.
"I only want the Tontatta Princess Mansherry," Ace replied calmly. "I know she's in your hands."
Ace hovered ten feet above the ground, golden red flames roaring around him. His gaze burned as he looked down at Doflamingo.
Behind the sunglasses, Doflamingo's eyes turned icy.
He was furious.
But he did not dare move.
At that moment, a voice echoed inside his mind.
Lucien's command.
As the progenitor of demons, Lucien could issue orders to demons within a certain range through a telepathic ability.
This power affected only demons.
Nothing else.
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Powerstones?? (´ε｀ )
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