Soon, only Garling and the Five Elders remained standing.
At that moment, the ground began to shake violently, and endless roaring sounds echoed through the arena. Then two beams of light, one black and one red, burst from the ruins.
When the light faded, Lloyd and Gulando faced each other. Apart from their clothes being slightly torn, both stood firm, their spiritual pressure stable and solid.
Now that Lloyd's bloodline factor had awakened, he no longer suffered from stamina issues. Gulando, however, relied on the massive internal blood reservoir within his body that continuously fueled his strength.
What puzzled Lloyd was that, despite how much blood Gulando had absorbed, his power had hardly increased compared to before.
Gulando glanced at Garling and the Five Elders nearby and laughed, "So you're all still here. I apologize, but my son and I just got a little carried away."
He spoke with confidence, as if fully in control.
Saint Saturn stepped forward and said, "Saint Gulando, you should come with me to see Dr. Vegapunk for an examination right away."
Gulando laughed heartily, "Saint Saturn, I think you're senile! I feel great. What is there to check? You just want to lock me away, don't you?"
Saturn had never been called senile to his face. Anger flickered in his eyes, but Gulando ignored him and turned his gaze toward Lloyd with a half‑smile.
"My child, did you enjoy sucking underground just now?"
Scarlet light flickered on Lloyd's hands. He had indeed absorbed a large amount of blood from Gulando moments ago, and as a result, his lifespan had increased by nearly a hundred years.
However, although he had taken all that blood from Gulando, not a single drop actually belonged to Gulando himself. Gulando's body was like an endless reservoir, filled with blood that was not truly his.
The effects of absorbing blood with the Vampire‑type Fruit differed from those of the Blood‑Blood Fruit. The Vampire‑type allowed its user to gain lifespan and recover from injuries by absorbing blood, but it did not increase their overall power and did not produce negative emotions. This meant Lloyd could absorb from that vast human blood bank without hesitation.
He estimated that if he drained Gulando completely, living tens of thousands of years wouldn't be an issue.
But Lloyd didn't care about that. All he wanted was to kill Gulando now.
Simply using his Dark‑Dark Fruit to nullify Gulando's devil fruit ability wasn't enough, because Gulando's own blood, filled through and through with his ability, permeated his flesh. A single drop could revive him — that was essentially his passive skill.
So when Gulando said he was unkillable, it wasn't bravado — he was right.
Lloyd narrowed his eyes. With a flick of his finger, four dark tentacles shot up from beneath Gulando's feet, dragging him into the shadows.
Gulando flicked his hand, and a long crescent blade erupted from his palm, slicing through the tentacles.
He launched into the air, stirring a dark red sea of blood that surged toward Lloyd.
Lloyd slashed through the blood sea with a single stroke of his blade.
Gulando attacked again with his blade, but Lloyd avoided the strike using Observation Haki, slipping through the attack's opening.
Lloyd materialized fully and tightened his grip on the Demon Sword Muramasa, which radiated a heavy black aura. He swung the blade backward, aiming for the back of Gulando's neck.
Clang!
The metallic collision rang out. A blood‑covered armor reinforced with Armament Haki had formed on the back of Gulando's neck, hard enough to block Muramasa's strike.
Their blades clashed again and again. Black and red sword energies scattered. Their figures flickered with each strike.
The Five Elders could only erect barriers to defend themselves from the sword energy.
Garling casually cut away the flying sword energy with a single strike, his eyes fixed unblinkingly on Lloyd and Gulando battling in the center.
Despite his skill, Lloyd could not use Conqueror's Haki to coat his blade — and eventually he was forced backward by Gulando's "White Chapter Technique."
Lloyd plunged Muramasa into the ground and spread his wings wide. After stabilizing himself, he slowly stood, eyes narrowed, staring thoughtfully at the blade in his hand.
Swish.
Gulando landed not far from him, electric red arcs dancing on the blade he held.
He raised the weapon and pointed it at Lloyd, laughing.
"Child, when it comes to swordsmanship in our family, you are still too…"
His words were cut off abruptly.
Red energy began to pulse along Muramasa's blade, fiery and violent, as scarlet sparks danced along its edge.
The Five Elders watching gasped.
"Is that an Armament Haki coating?"
"This is unbelievable! It looks like Saint Lloyd is using it for the first time. He actually awakened it during combat!"
"As expected of someone from the Figarland Family… What enviable talent."
Only Saint Saturn and Saint Warcury remained silent among the elders.
Saturn was calm; he had overseen Lloyd's talent evaluation at birth and knew he was the most gifted heir of the Figarland Family in generations. Although Lloyd's awakening of Armament at this moment was sooner than expected, it was still within reason.
Saint Warcury, on the other hand, was internally screaming in frustration. This is unfair! Why must heaven favor the Figarland Family so much?!
Lloyd slid his hand along the blade, finally pressing it to its tip in a posture he had been training.
He held Muramasa flat against his chest and looked at Gulando.
In the next moment, his figure vanished — but Gulando's eyes widened in shock.
Two intersecting blade energies, one black and one red, pierced his body and pinned him in place.
Lloyd reappeared behind him and said, voice calm and cold, "Thanks to you, I have finally mastered White Chapter Technique. Allow me to let you be the first to test this strike."
Gulando tried to turn, but he was locked fast by the intersecting blade energies. The violent Conqueror's Haki within them began tearing at his flesh.
Still, a strange smile clung to his blood‑splattered face.
Looking down at his cracked and shattering body, he said, "It's time…"
His body exploded.
Lloyd seized the opportunity and immediately prepared to absorb the scattered blood using Almighty Pull.
But suddenly, the earth beneath Lloyd's feet trembled and softened.
Wriggling vein‑like roots emerged from the blood‑soaked ground.
The earth quickly turned a deep red.
Then a horrifying scene unfolded.
One Gulando after another emerged from the sea of blood, surrounding Lloyd.
___
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