Boom! Boom!
The raised hills were pierced through one after another. Lucien was sent crashing across the land, carving out a long, blood-soaked gully before finally falling into the ruins, barely clinging to life.
He had held on for more than ten minutes, but now his body simply could not endure anymore.
His stamina and ki were almost completely exhausted. His broken left leg steamed violently as multicolored threads crawled across it like sluggish worms, regenerating at an agonizingly slow speed.
Lucien's face was drenched in cold sweat and blood. He did not even have the strength to lift his head.
"He actually lasted this long…"
Ulti and the others stood there with messy hair, their chests rising and falling as they panted heavily. Even they could not hide the trace of admiration in their eyes.
"But coming here alone to cause trouble for us is still stupid," Jack snorted, his brutal face full of disdain.
"Should we just kill him?" Sasaki said coldly. As one of the Headliners, the Fishman swordsman revealed sharp teeth and a cruel expression.
"Wait."
A weak voice came from behind.
Kaido walked forward, supported by Page One. His injuries had already recovered to a large extent, but his aura was still extremely unstable.
"I'll give you one chance," Kaido said, staring at Lucien. "Surrender to me."
This was already the highest recognition Kaido could give. He genuinely acknowledged Lucien's strength.
"Hehe…"
Lucien leaned against the broken ruins. Steam poured off his body as he looked at Kaido with pure contempt in his amethyst eyes.
"You're just a defeated opponent. If it wasn't for these people, do you think you'd still be alive?"
"Don't be ungrateful," Kaido replied, his pale face darkening as ferocity surged in his gaze.
Lucien did not answer.
He struggled to stand up, using the ruins to support himself. Blood dripped continuously from his mouth. His right arm began to twist and expand, forming the shape of a dragon's head. Behind him, a dragon's body, claws, and tail took form as well, until a five-meter-long dragon figure emerged and charged straight at Kaido.
"Kill him!" Kaido said coldly.
Pfft!
The dragon form was shattered in mid-air.
At the same time, Lucien's body trembled violently. His left chest exploded outward, flesh and blood spraying everywhere. Internal organs and minced meat scattered across the ground.
Before they even landed, several more attacks slammed into him.
His already fragmented body was instantly riddled with holes.
Steam surged violently. The multicolored threads spread at a crawling pace. Lucien's aura plunged to absolute zero, leaving him with barely a single breath.
He could not even move a finger.
For the first time, Lucien truly felt it.
The terror of death.
This was not an illusion or a near miss. This was the genuine feeling of standing at the edge of annihilation.
And he had brought it upon himself.
"It seems he's a Devil Fruit user too," Queen said solemnly. "To still have a breath left after this."
They stared at Lucien's nearly dismembered body and could faintly sense his weak breathing.
"I'll send you on your final journey," Jack said, lifting his scimitar. The cold blade gleamed as he stood before Lucien.
Boom!
Just as the blade was only a few centimeters from Lucien's head, a massive bear paw suddenly appeared in mid-air.
The air expanded violently.
Jack was blown away, sent flying like a cannonball.
Sand and shockwaves rolled outward. When the dust settled, a tall and imposing figure stood before King and the others.
It was Kuma.
But his appearance had clearly been altered. This was not his true form.
"Who are you?" King said sharply, his expression turning grave.
Kuma did not answer.
Instead, he opened the book in his hand.
One by one, figures walked out.
Charlotte Katakuri holding a trident. Cracker with a longsword. Smoothie, Snack, Daifuku, Oven. Doflamingo, Pica, Diamante, and more.
Every single one of them had altered appearances, their true faces concealed.
As a Demon, the most basic ability was to reshape one's body without any sense of distortion.
"These people…" Queen muttered.
The auras coming from them were terrifying. None of them had ever been seen before, yet every single one radiated overwhelming pressure.
It was as if they had appeared out of thin air.
Which faction did they even belong to?
Katakuri and the others did not waste time with words.
The moment they appeared, they attacked King and the others directly.
Only Kuma, Law, and Mansherry stayed behind.
"ROOM."
A surgical space unfolded.
Law immediately began treatment. At the same time, Mansherry activated her healing ability, while Kuma repelled the accumulated damage from Lucien's body.
Lucien's aura, which had nearly extinguished, slowly began to recover.
Then it started rising.
Faster and faster.
He had truly walked through the gates of hell.
"Katakuri…" King muttered while exchanging blows.
Something felt deeply wrong.
The abilities, the fighting style, even the pressure.
Everything felt exactly like Charlotte Katakuri.
"Oven."
"Daifuku."
"Cracker."
Queen and Jack also began to realize the same thing.
Abilities do not lie.
Even if their faces were different, everything else was identical.
As for Kaido, he had barely recovered when he was forced into a one-sided beating by Pica.
Boom… rumble…
The atmosphere trembled.
An incomparably terrifying aura burst outward, scattering the clouds and tearing the sky open. A ray of sunlight pierced through, illuminating the entire battlefield.
Lucien stood on the ground.
He no longer looked like a dying corpse.
Invisible shockwaves rippled outward from his body, causing the earth to quake violently. Hurricanes spiraled around him.
"This is the Saiyan near-death ability," Lucien muttered.
"Recover from the brink of death, and combat power skyrockets."
He clenched his fists.
The air itself vibrated.
Golden flames erupted around him, burning fiercely, while dense golden lightning crackled across his body. He stomped his right foot, and the ground exploded as mountains rose from all directions.
"How is that even possible?!" someone shouted.
The battles in the distance stopped.
Everyone stared at Lucien as if a massive mountain was pressing down on their chests.
He recovered this fast?
And his aura was even stronger than before?
This completely defied common sense.
Kaido felt it most clearly.
"He can make the atmosphere shake with just his presence…"
"Is this thing even human?" King muttered grimly.
"This power…" Lucien laughed softly, his amethyst eyes shining with madness. "It was worth risking my life for this."
The feeling of death was horrible.
Lucien admitted it.
He had been scared. Terrified.
He valued his life more than anything. Even making this decision had taken him a long time, and after finally committing to it, he had specifically prepared Mansherry and Kuma.
He never wanted to feel that again.
But power and life were inseparable.
Only with enough power could his life truly be secure.
This time, he succeeded.
However, the near-death ability had severe limitations. Otherwise, he could have pushed his combat power to a level capable of shattering worlds, at least reaching Super Saiyan 4. At that point, a casual energy wave could destroy a planet.
Even Super Saiyan 1 was already planet-level.
His current power was terrifying, but he still did not know how far it was from that stage.
What a waste.
More importantly, the power gained from near-death growth was extremely unstable.
It was like suddenly being handed a god's weapon without knowing how to use it.
Right now, even using forty percent of this power properly would be impressive.
Pfft…
A flash of light.
Everyone's vision blurred.
The next moment, King was already flying through the air, smashing through mountains and triggering massive explosions.
Lightning flashed again.
Lucien appeared above Queen, stomping down violently.
Then he vanished and reappeared above Jack.
Two enormous mushroom clouds rose into the sky, shockwaves ripping through the surrounding abyss.
When the lightning flashed again, Lucien was already standing in the air, slowly clenching his fist, silently savoring the terrifying power flowing through his body.