The moment his words fell, Lucian Thorn wasted no more breath.
A blinding light suddenly erupted from within him!
Then, he slowly raised both hands, every muscle in his body tensing to its limit.
"Sun God… Apollo!"
BOOM—!
Golden radiance burst outward like a planetary explosion, expanding from Lucian's body in every direction!
The light blazed with unbearable heat, dazzlingly bright—it dyed the entire sky above Marineford pure gold in an instant!
Everyone instinctively shut their eyes against the glare.
Within that light, Lucian's body swelled violently. Every inch of muscle was reforged, his bones cracking and reforming with sharp, electric snaps!
One meter eighty… two meters… three…
When they finally opened their eyes again, the sight above seared itself into their memories forever.
In place of the man they knew stood a golden giant over five meters tall!
Golden hair streamed like molten light behind him, dancing freely in the sunfire.
His eyes—no longer divided by sclera or pupils—had become two blazing, golden suns! A suit of ancient armor engraved with solar sigils formed over his body, while behind him, divine flames coalesced into a burning cloak of pure gold.
And at his back… floated a massive sunwheel over five meters in diameter, rotating slowly, radiating overwhelming power.
The divine and tyrannical aura he exuded had multiplied tenfold!
"ROOOOAR!"
Lucian—no, now he was Sun God Apollo—threw back his head and let out a roar that shook the heavens themselves!
As his cry fell, a pressure greater than even Nika's awakening—hundreds of times stronger—descended like the collapse of the sky.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Across the plaza, countless Marines and pirates alike dropped unconscious without a scream, eyes rolling back, foam spilling from their mouths.
Their strength simply could not withstand this divine might—it was as if a true god had descended upon the world!
"AAAAAAAHHH!"
Even the Vice Admirals could barely remain standing. Their legs trembled violently; only by stabbing their weapons into the ground could they avoid collapsing entirely. Pain and terror filled their faces.
"Wh-what… what kind of power is this?!"
Even Sengoku, the battle-hardened Fleet Admiral, felt his throat dry and his lips trembling, unable to utter another word.
Beside him, Steel Bone Kong, the Supreme Commander of the World Government's forces, for the first time in his life, felt cold sweat bead upon his forehead.
Even Akainu's magma seemed to freeze for an instant. He looked up at the radiant god in the sky and—for the first time since becoming an Admiral—felt utterly insignificant.
And even the five arrogant Elders, newly descended and always unflinching, paled.
Ushi-Oni, Bakotsu, Sunaworm, Itsumade, Fengxi—five monstrous faces, each unique and grotesque—now shared the same emotion: sheer terror.
"What?!"
Their hearts surged like crashing waves.
"This… this is his trump card?!"
"Impossible… this aura…"
"Why—why does he feel even older, even more terrifying than Nika?!"
"It's as if… he could rival that Lord himself!"
This was no ordinary strength.
"What in the world is this monster?!"
It was domination—not merely physical power, but an absolute suppression that emanated from the depths of the soul itself.
It was as though they, the so-called gods of the world, were nothing but slightly sturdier ants before this being.
In the Whitebeard Pirates' ranks below, countless men were awestruck, trembling not in fear but in reverence.
"This… this aura…"
"Wait—that's the same pressure we felt back at our base!"
"So it was him… it was Lucian all along!"
"Pops… Pops actually lied to us!"
"Damn… that's so cool!"
They remembered it now—the same oppressive aura that had made even their souls quiver appeared once before, at the very start of the war.
At the time, Whitebeard had claimed it was his doing. But now, they knew—the true source was Lucian!
Among them, only Marco wore an expression of calm certainty. He had expected this all along.
"Gurararara!"
The elder Whitebeard burst into laughter, glancing proudly at the younger, stronger version of himself beside him. He elbowed his counterpart with a grin.
"Not bad, huh? My son's got some fire in him!"
The peak-era Whitebeard smirked back.
"What nonsense are you spouting?"
"He's my son too!"
"Not quite," the elder Whitebeard shot back without hesitation. "He's the one I recognized—nothing to do with you, old-timer!"
"Gurararara!"
"Gurararara!"
As the two Whitebeards bickered as usual, the god above finally moved.
In the sky—
Lucian lowered his head slowly, those twin golden suns locking onto the five monstrous elders below.
When he spoke, his voice carried the weight of divine judgment, echoing in every soul present.
"Elders."
"Are you ready… to face your deaths?"
The killing intent in his tone was bone-chilling.
Moments later, the five transformed elders sneered coldly in unison.
"What a joke."
"A mere pretender playing god dares to boast before us?"
"Don't get ahead of yourself, boy!"
"There has never existed anyone in this world who could kill us!"