"Ahhhhh!!!"
Disco clutched his arm, writhing on the ground in pain. His voice cracked with agony.
Lloyd didn't spare him a glance. Calmly, he looked down at Monet and spoke with cold precision, "If you try to run, you'll pay the price."
Snowflakes drifted around Monet, but the moment Lloyd finished speaking, the flakes vanished into thin air. Monet's body shook violently, but she nodded stiffly, terror etched into every motion.
Lloyd rose slowly and turned his head to look.
The Celestial Dragons were already close, one of them holding a smoking golden flintlock pistol. That shot had just come from him.
Among the group of Celestial Dragons gathered in the Holy Land, Lloyd didn't remember most of their names — but he recognized the one leading them.
This Celestial Dragon was Rosward Saint, the father of Saint Charloss, the same Charloss who would later be sent flying by Vice Admiral Garp on Sabaody Archipelago.
Rosward sat arrogantly on the back of a slave, snorting in disdain. "How dare you shout in front of me? Ungrateful wretch."
A man in a pristine suit beside him immediately stepped forward and said with forced respect, "Rosward Saint, there's still one more here who insulted you. Your subordinate will go teach him a lesson now!"
Rosward glanced at him dismissively. "Dying like that is too easy for him. Beat him half to death and bring him back."
"Yes, Saint Rosward!"
A cruel gleam flashed in the suited man's eyes. With a blur of movement, he vanished.
The next instant, the suited man's head — severed from his body — spun through the air, landing perfectly at Rosward's feet. His expression remained unchanged from just moments before, as if mocking Rosward.
Rosward screamed in shock, lost his balance, and toppled off the slave's back, slamming harshly onto the frozen ground.
Silence.
The attendants and slaves Rosward brought stared vacantly at him lying on the floor, until Rosward's furious curses broke the stillness.
"Bastards! Do you want to die?! Hurry up and help me up!!!"
Only then did they snap back as if awakening from a nightmare. Two suited men rushed to lift Rosward — only to be slapped back so hard they staggered.
The others immediately dropped to their knees, trembling uncontrollably.
Those already kneeling beside Lloyd felt dread twist in their chests. Not only had they just seen a Celestial Dragon humiliated, they were standing beside the one responsible. With the Celestial Dragons' history of executing anyone who dared defy them, they knew this meant certain death.
None of them had seen exactly what Lloyd did — the suit man moved so fast that it was impossible to track. If his headless body hadn't been lying at Lloyd's feet, they would've thought they were hallucinating.
Monet covered Sugar's eyes with shaking hands, trying to protect her, though her own face was pale with fear.
Blood still dripped from Lloyd's hand — he hadn't killed the suited man, only struck him with an incomparable strike.
Disco's arm had stopped hurting, but he sat frozen on the ground with a blank stare, his mind utterly blank.
Rosward stared at Lloyd, who stood among the crowd like a blade among straw, gritting his teeth. "How dare you! I'll slaughter your entire family!!!"
"Hmm?"
Lloyd was lifting Monet and Sugar to leave when those words made him pause.
His eyes narrowed under his glasses. Without hesitation, he scooped up Monet and Sugar and in an instant appeared before Rosward.
Rosward's attendants reacted first, charging toward Lloyd like frantic wolves, but before they could reach him, their bodies exploded outward into clouds of crimson mist.
In the blink of an eye, Rosward stood alone, still bewildered, shouting angrily, "What do you want to do? Do you even know who I am?!"
Lloyd gently placed Monet and Sugar on the ground, stood upright, and removed his sunglasses. He tugged at his high collar and then lowered it again, speaking with cool clarity.
"Then tell me, do you know who I am?"
Rosward didn't answer. His eyes were wide, disbelief and terror choking his voice.
Under the stunned gazes of everyone present, Rosward's body began trembling violently, shaking like leaves in a storm. No one had ever seen a Celestial Dragon display such fear — least of all before a mere outsider.
All eyes turned back to Lloyd. Though half his face was still hidden by his collar, his black and gold eyes stared unblinking.
Lloyd reached out and pressed a finger against the bubble helmet Rosward wore, his voice soft yet resolute, "You think you're above me by wearing this?"
A crisp crack echoed. The helmet shattered into countless fragments, some of them cutting Rosward's face — though he didn't notice. His jaw quivered as he stammered, voice trembling, "L‑L Lloyd…"
Then, a mighty surge radiated outward.
Haki — not just any, but the terrifying spectrum of Conqueror's Haki — spread like an invisible tempest. Everyone except Monet, her sister, and Rosward collapsed, unconscious from the overwhelming force.
"Saint Lloyd!" Rosward finally called his name.
Monet's eyes widened, gazing at Lloyd in astonishment.
Because Monet came from a distant village, she didn't know Lloyd was the man known as Admiral Black Dragon — but she did understand the significance of the title "Saint."
Only the Celestial Dragons dared to use that title.
This young man who claimed to be a Celestial Dragon was the one who had bought her and her sister — yet now Rosward trembled before him? Why?
In truth, there was no official hierarchy among the Celestial Dragons — not in the eyes of the world. But within their secret internal order, some families were far higher in prestige. The Figarland family, Rosward's lineage, stood even above the Five Elders. One Figarland was more noble than any individual Five Elder.
Ordinarily, Rosward would never have shown fear before someone like Lloyd — especially someone he assumed was merely a pirate. But the words Rosward uttered earlier — the threat against Lloyd's family — were enough to condemn him.
Now Rosward prayed desperately that Lloyd hadn't heard him.
But Lloyd did hear him.
Lloyd leaned down, his voice as cold as the depths of judgment.
"Rosward, did you just say you wanted to kill my entire family?"
Rosward could not answer. His fear had consumed all other thoughts.