Lucien stood atop Zeus, his figure towering like a mountain suspended in the air. Flames reflected vividly within his eyes as he looked down upon the sea of black mist surging violently from Blackbeard, devouring everything in its path.
"Emperor Sword, Broken Blade."
Lucien did not waste a single word. He gripped Napoleon with both hands as fire and lightning intertwined along the blade. With a single swing, the atmosphere trembled violently. A lightning fire slash stretching over a hundred meters tore across the ground like a blade through butter, racing straight toward Blackbeard.
Blackbeard's expression changed instantly.
He slammed his right hand against the ground as massive amounts of black mist surged upward, twisting and writhing like a colossal beast opening its gaping maw.
"Dark Hole!"
The lightning fire slash was swallowed whole by the darkness. It slowed, sank, and vanished as if dragged into an abyss.
Lucien was not surprised.
The Dark Dark Fruit functioned like a miniature black hole. Unless an attack exceeded its limit, it would be devoured without resistance.
The surrounding space was almost completely engulfed in black mist. Buildings, debris, and corpses were continuously pulled in. Anything swallowed was subjected to crushing pressure and terrifying gravitational force.
"Prometheus."
"Zeus."
"Yes, Mama."
Lucien raised his right hand high.
Prometheus and Zeus surged forward, intertwining as their forms expanded rapidly, growing to nearly a hundred meters in size. Thunder and flame merged into a blazing sun of lightning, forcing light and heat to tear through the darkness itself.
Lucien hurled it forward without hesitation.
The energy contained within rivaled that of a small nuclear explosion. Even Blackbeard felt his heart pound violently as the overwhelming force rushed toward him.
"BIG MOM, are you trying to destroy this place?"
Above Blackbeard, the black mist rotated violently, condensing into a small black hole. It collided head on with the lightning fire sun, producing a terrifying shockwave.
A raging storm erupted outward.
The entirety of Impel Down shook violently. Cracks spread rapidly across copper walls and iron ramparts, the structure groaning under the strain.
Lucien laughed loudly.
He tightened his grip on Napoleon and raised it behind his back as Armament Haki surged and coated the blade completely.
"Damn it!"
Blackbeard struggled to maintain control of the black hole above him, barely holding off the lightning fire sun. He had not expected Lucien to launch another attack simultaneously.
This was the terrifying power of the Soul Soul Fruit.
Prometheus, Zeus, and Napoleon possessed independent will. They could attack freely without Lucien needing to micromanage them.
This was not a battle of one versus one.
It was Blackbeard versus five.
Prometheus, Zeus, Napoleon, Katakuri, and Lucien himself.
"Elbaf Spear, Ikoku."
A brilliant crescent shaped slash erupted forward, its sword pressure splitting the darkness like sunlight cleaving the heavens. It tore straight toward Blackbeard at the center of the black mist.
Blackbeard's scalp tingled as he forced the Dark Dark Fruit's gravity to twist the trajectory, barely diverting the slash.
"Whoosh…"
At that moment, an overwhelming sense of death descended.
A trident pierced through the air with a shrill scream, its timing flawless.
Too fast to defend against, too precise to evade.
The sound of flesh being pierced rang out.
Blackbeard screamed in agony as the trident, carrying terrifying force, punched through his left shoulder and carried him backward, slamming him into the wall and pinning him there.
The red light faded from Katakuri's eyes as he stepped forward, his metal boots clanking steadily against the shattered ground.
The number of enemies Blackbeard faced was never four.
It was five.
Katakuri had never left.
With Blackbeard incapacitated, the black hole above lost stability and was instantly obliterated by the lightning fire sun.
Blazing Hell gradually returned to calm.
Blackbeard remained pinned to the wall, blood pouring from his wounds like rain as he wailed in agony.
Prometheus settled once more atop Lucien's head.
Zeus condensed into a dark cloud beneath Lucien's feet.
Napoleon rested in his hand, infused with the combined power of flame and lightning, blazing fiercely.
Lucien felt an overwhelming sense of strength.
The sheer presence alone was divine.
"Ding."
The trident was pulled free.
Blackbeard collapsed to the ground, gasping desperately, his face pale with terror as he stared at Lucien and Katakuri approaching.
He had already decided to retreat.
As long as he lived, there was still hope.
"Dark Hole!"
Black mist surged once more as Blackbeard used every ounce of strength he had left, desperately carving out a path of survival.
Just Katakuri alone had pushed him to the brink.
Adding Lucien made the situation hopeless.
He already possessed the Dark Dark Fruit. If he could just obtain the strongest Paramecia, then even Lucien and Katakuri together would not be enough to stop him.
This was the final struggle of a cornered beast.
Katakuri and Lucien's eyes flashed red simultaneously.
Lucien saw only a brief image, Blackbeard escaping to the right, gone in less than a second.
Katakuri saw far more.
He saw the attack, the escape route, the timing, and even heard the future sounds.
Unlike Lucien's one second glimpse, Katakuri saw more than ten seconds ahead.
The gap between their Future Sight was enormous.
For Lucien to reach that level, years of training would be required.
"Katakuri."
Lucien tightened his grip on Napoleon. The blade expanded instantly, growing over ten meters long as Prometheus and Zeus poured their power into it. Thunder and flame filled the space, heat becoming unbearable.
Katakuri understood immediately.
Lucien had foreseen it as well.
Block the exit.
Wait.
As Katakuri vanished from his position, Blackbeard burst forward, dragging a curtain of darkness behind him as he charged.
"BIG MOM, die!"
Lucien smiled coldly.
The combined power of the three homies erupted into a world splitting slash that crashed head on into the darkness.
A massive pressure wave swept through everything.
At the exit, Blackbeard stumbled forward, covered in blood, desperate to escape Impel Down.
Lafitte and the others were abandoned without hesitation.
This operation had failed completely.
Hope had been within reach, only to be crushed by that old woman.
When he rose again, Totto Land would burn.
But before he could move further, the sound of air tearing apart rang out.
A spiked wolf tooth club, coated in Armament Haki, spun rapidly like a meteor hammer and smashed down violently.
"Mochi Slash."
"No!"
Blackbeard roared, terror filling his bloodshot eyes.
"Rumble!"
The impact shattered the ground. Stone slabs erupted into the air as the weapon shrank and reformed into an arm.
Katakuri stood over Blackbeard's broken body on the fifth level.
Blackbeard lay unconscious, drenched in blood.
The mochi beneath Katakuri's feet slowly reverted to stone.
That final blow had once knocked even Luffy out of Snakeman.
"Go help the others."
Lucien descended on Zeus. After giving the order, he flew down to the fifth level.
Two black thorns extended from his tailbone, wrapping around Blackbeard and injecting Demon Blood into his body.
Lucien did not intend to kill Blackbeard yet.
Too many secrets remained.
And Blackbeard was not his ultimate enemy.
His true targets were those three fellow transmigrators.
Once the Blackbeard Pirates were assimilated, combined with Magellan, Impel Down, the full might of the Big Mom Pirates, and Doflamingo's influence, Lucien would possess enough strength to witness the Marineford War.
Whether to act would depend on the situation.
In Lucien's eyes, the safest path was patience.
Let the Straw Hat Pirates become isolated.
Then strike.
Like demons entering a village, kill and disappear.
Marineford was being broadcast to the world. Too many eyes. Too many hidden monsters.
The World Government and the Revolutionary Army were not to be underestimated.
Remaining in the shadows was safer.
With the world's strength under his control, changing dynasties would be effortless.
Becoming the King of the World did not sound bad at all.