The strange change in the sea caused Roger to feel a faint sense of unease. Before he could determine what was happening, an ink like darkness suddenly spread beneath his feet.
In an instant, the entire battlefield around Roger transformed.
The frozen ocean vanished, replaced by a vast and endless expanse of pitch black water. The surface of the sea looked calm, but its color resembled pure darkness, swallowing every trace of light.
Roger immediately attempted to use his abilities to escape the strange domain. However, the moment he tried, he realized something was terribly wrong.
The environment was no longer responding to his power.
An invisible force firmly restrained him in place, as if the very space around him had been sealed.
Akainu and the others experienced something completely different.
They stood steadily on the surface of the black ocean as if it were solid ground. Although the ice layer had disappeared, none of them sank into the water.
Aokiji frowned and instinctively tried to freeze the dark sea beneath him.
Cold energy surged from his body, spreading across the surface.
But the moment his freezing power touched the black ocean, it vanished instantly, like a clay ox sinking into the sea. The darkness swallowed the cold completely, leaving no trace behind.
His Logia ability was completely ineffective.
Roger narrowed his eyes.
He plunged Ace into the black ocean and spoke in a deep voice.
"Black Dragon. I know it is you. Come out, and let us finish this."
The moment his voice faded, a massive vortex appeared on the surface of the dark sea.
The black water spun violently.
From within the vortex, a figure slowly rose.
Lloyd emerged from the darkness.
The bat wings behind him had completely transformed. They were no longer ordinary wings, but two streams of darkness flowing like black flames behind his back.
At the connection between his scarlet right arm and shoulder, a dark halo slowly rotated. The violent power that should have been raging out of control was now completely suppressed beneath that halo.
When Roger looked at Lloyd, he felt something terrifying.
An overwhelming Darkness Power radiated from Lloyd's body.
At the same time, Roger felt a strange sense of familiarity, as if he had witnessed this scene somewhere long ago.
Roger shook his head and focused his gaze on Lloyd.
"I did not expect you to awaken as well," Roger said in a deep voice.
Lloyd slowly raised the Demon Blade Muramasa. The sword released a faint black glow that seemed to absorb the surrounding light.
His expression remained cold and indifferent.
"Yes," Lloyd replied calmly. "If anything, I should thank you."
During the previous battle, Lloyd's blood claws had pierced Roger's skin. Through that wound, Lloyd had absorbed a large amount of Roger's blood.
That blood carried the aura of Nika.
Lloyd's Dark Dark Fruit had already been developed to the edge of awakening. What he lacked was merely the final trigger.
When the Darkness Power within his body sensed the aura of Nika, it was stimulated instantly.
The final barrier shattered.
The fruit awakened completely.
Under Roger's watchful gaze, Lloyd slowly plunged Muramasa into the dark ocean beneath him.
A silent fluctuation spread across the sea.
In the next moment, the entire black ocean began to churn violently.
Lloyd spoke quietly, almost as if he were talking to himself.
"In return, try this."
"King's Command, Darkness Blargh."
The sea gradually became calm again.
However, everyone present could feel it clearly.
Beneath that calm surface, an indescribable terror was lurking.
Rumble.
A deep vibration echoed beneath the black sea.
Roger's expression grew serious as he stared down at his feet.
He tightened his grip on Ace. Conqueror's Haki erupted from his body, forming a powerful barrier that surrounded him completely.
Then it happened.
"ROAR!"
A terrifying roar burst from beneath the sea.
Under the horrified gaze of everyone present, a gigantic black dragon head erupted from the dark ocean beneath Roger.
The dragon was enormous.
Its head alone was the size of a mountain.
Inside the dragon's open mouth, a violently rotating vortex of darkness spun endlessly, releasing an incredibly dense concentration of Darkness Power.
Roger immediately attacked.
Holding Ace tightly, he unleashed one sword strike after another, each one infused with powerful Conqueror's Haki.
The crimson arcs of Haki slashed across the battlefield.
But none of them could stop the giant dragon.
Not even for a moment.
The next instant, the dragon lunged forward and clamped its jaws shut.
Roger's massive body was caught within its mouth.
Roger felt his body being violently torn apart and crushed at the same time.
The Darkness Power had undergone a terrifying transformation after awakening. Even Roger's powerful Nika infused body began to fracture under the pressure.
Cracks spread across his skin like spiderwebs.
Roger gritted his teeth.
Enduring the overwhelming pain, he forced his Nika power to surge again. His body expanded violently, pushing outward against the dragon's jaws.
Just as he was about to be dragged completely into the black ocean, he finally forced his way free.
Roger escaped.
But the price was severe.
His body was covered in blood. His aura had weakened drastically.
However, the attack had not truly ended.
Soon afterward, Roger's skin began drying rapidly.
His flesh shrank.
Within seconds, his entire body appeared decades older, as if time itself had devoured his life.
Although his body still retained its massive size, anyone could see the truth.
Roger was like a deflated balloon.
Only the last breath of life remained within him.
With trembling hands, Roger slowly raised Ace once again.
Faint arcs of Conqueror's Haki flickered weakly along the blade.
With a final roar, he swung the sword toward Lloyd.
"Kami… Avoid!"
A massive crimson blade of Conqueror's Haki shot forward.
However, Lloyd did not move.
He had no intention of dodging.
The sword energy passed directly through Lloyd's body as if he were nothing more than a shadow.
After awakening the Darkness Power, Lloyd had already broken through the spatial influence created by Nika's abilities.
Using that power, he could freely activate Kamui once again.
Roger watched as his final attack missed completely.
A trace of despair appeared in his eyes.
He raised his head and roared toward the sky.
Then suddenly, his other hand began pounding violently against his own chest.
Each strike was incredibly heavy.
The impact created a terrifying dent in his chest, yet Roger seemed completely unaware of the damage. He continued striking again and again.
Blood poured from his mouth.
Then suddenly, a dull drumbeat echoed from his chest.
Dong.
Dong.
Dong dong.
Dong. Dong. Dong.
The drumbeats grew faster.
Louder.
Soon the sound echoed across the entire sky and sea.
A vast aura erupted from Roger's body, sending ripples through the surrounding space.
Lloyd watched silently, his expression slightly narrowing.
In Lloyd's understanding, Roger was triggering the so called Liberation Drum of the Nika Fruit.
When the drumbeat sounded, the user would reach a state of complete revival.
It was similar to how Luffy could suddenly recover during battle.
However, Roger's situation was clearly different.
Luffy's Liberation Drum was simply his heartbeat. It activated naturally without effort.
Roger, on the other hand, had to strike his own chest to force it to begin.
The difference was like automatic control compared to manual activation.
The side effects were also completely different.
Luffy showed almost no visible damage when activating his ability.
Roger looked far worse.
His skin had dried so severely that it clung tightly to his bones. His enormous body had shrunk back to normal size.
He looked like a walking corpse.
More importantly, the people watching nearby showed no unusual reactions beyond shock at Roger's appearance.
They were not affected by the rhythm of the drums at all.
From the moment Roger first revealed his Nika Form, Lloyd had already noticed something strange.
The black flame clouds surrounding Roger were the opposite color of the white clouds seen around Luffy.
That difference had always felt wrong.
Roger had never truly been acknowledged by the Nika Fruit.
The power he displayed was incomplete.
A flawed version.
A heavily restricted imitation of the real ability.
Now he was paying the price for forcing that power beyond its limits.
Roger lowered his head slowly.
A foul, decaying breath escaped from his mouth.
With hollow eyes, he stared directly at Lloyd.
In a hoarse voice, he spoke.
"Black Dragon…"
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