On the Red Line, Lily—who had witnessed Joy Boy's final moments with her own eyes—let out a soft sigh. She dismissed her demon form, then turned to Carl and said,
"Saint Carl, Joy Boy is dead. Your contributions are undeniable. Speak—what do you desire? I can grant you anything."
Carl's lips curled into a faint, mischievous smile.
"Anything? Lady Lily, you shouldn't make such sweeping promises, you know."
Lily's expression remained unchanged as she calmly replied,
"As the ruler of the world, I do not speak empty words. Tell me what you want. Even if it is this world itself…"
She paused briefly, locking eyes with Carl, and continued in a low voice,
"…I can give it to you."
Carl chuckled noncommittally.
"And how exactly would Lady Lily hand it over to me? Don't tell me I'll need to sign a transfer deed?"
Though she didn't quite understand the term "transfer deed," Lily had long since grown used to the odd expressions that occasionally popped out of Carl's mouth. Instead of answering, she slowly turned around and raised her waterfall-like sea-blue hair, revealing the Void Throne sigil on her back.
If nothing else, the gesture itself was extremely alluring—but it was also a show of vulnerability, a clear drop in her guard.
Fortunately, Carl's interest in Lily at the moment was genuine. He had no intention of stabbing her in the back.
Instead, he simply crossed his arms, his eyes openly admiring the pale, flawless skin of her exposed back.
Though Lily had braced herself for the possibility of Carl suddenly attacking or attempting to deceive her—perhaps even questioning the meaning of the mark on her back—she heard nothing. All she could feel was a burning gaze tracing across her skin.
Suddenly realizing what was happening, Lily whipped her head around and glared at him with furious eyes.
"Saint Carl!!"
Carl blinked innocently.
"What? Did Joy Boy come back to life?"
Lily clenched her teeth.
"I asked you to look at the mark on my back. What exactly were you looking at?"
"Oh, that's what this is about. You should've said so sooner, Lady Lily. I thought you turned around for… something else. I mean, it's not like you wanted me to give you a back scratch, right? Haha."
Lily couldn't help but laugh through her frustration at Carl's cheekiness.
"Then go ahead and try."
As soon as she said that, Carl didn't hesitate. He stepped forward and gently placed his hand on her smooth back, slowly caressing it.
The bold action completely froze Lily for five whole seconds. The heat radiating from his palm flushed her cheeks with a hint of red, and her body trembled slightly.
Carl, still playing innocent, asked,
"Lady Lily, why are you shaking? Is my hand cold?"
Without waiting for an answer, he increased the speed of his movements.
"Let me warm you up then. Friction creates heat, right?"
Lily could no longer endure it. She slapped Carl's wicked hand away from her back and shouted,
"Enough!!!"
...
The four Gorosei rushing over—Nusjuro and the others—were all startled by Lily's outburst. And when they saw how close she and Carl were, their pupils collectively dilated in shock.
Nusjuro was the first to react. He spread his arms to block Saturn and the others, lowered his head, and said solemnly,
"Don't approach. We wait here for Saint Imu's orders."
"Saint Imu… looks like a... woman?"
It took him a while to finally squeeze out the word woman. The moment he did, Nusjuro's eyes turned sharp with killing intent. Just as he was about to rebuke him, Peter's eyes widened to the point of bulging—streams of blood burst from his eyes, nose, and other orifices.
Nusjuro paused for a moment, then snorted coldly.
"Fool."
Saturn and Marcus Mars quickly realized what had happened—Peter had clearly angered Imu. And they both knew exactly what happened to those who offended her. They'd seen the gruesome fate of Warcury not long ago.
"S-Saint Imu… please… forgive—"
He tried to beg, but before he could finish, thick, black liquid began seeping from his body. His flesh melted away, dissolving into nothing, and only a blackened skeleton dropped from the sky into the sea below.
One of the Gorosei, almost at the peak of global power, had died. And his death was both brutal and pitiful.
...
In the distance, the Marine Admirals who had witnessed it all wore varied expressions.
Borsalino's signature line seemed unusually fitting this time.
"Kowai ne… one of the Five Elders is really dead?"
Akainu frowned, glancing toward Carl. Seeing Carl unfazed, his frown relaxed again.
Among the Admirals, Lucía—who knew more about Mary Geoise's secrets than anyone—remained the most composed. The most shocked, of course, was Aramaki.
His face was full of disbelief as he shouted,
"Oi oi, what the hell just happened?! That dead guy wasn't one of the Five Elders, was it!?"
Kuzan pursed his lips beside him.
"Did Dragon blind you? Of course it was."
Aramaki didn't even bother getting mad at being called blind. He shook his head and muttered,
"Incredible… good thing we've got Saint Carl…"
...
On the other side, after executing Peter, Lily seemed much more at ease. Carl, however, gave her a rather strange look. Noticing his stare, Lily's previously calm expression darkened again.
Carl stared at her for a few seconds before speaking.
"Lady Lily… are you on your period or something? Peter did a lot for you, and you just killed him like that?"
Lily's brow twitched. Her voice was cold.
"First of all, I haven't had any relatives for a long time. Secondly… in this world, if I want someone dead, they die. Peter was just a dog I kept around. If he's dead, so be it."
Carl's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Oh? Then what if Lady Lily decided she wanted me dead?"
The air temperature around them dropped suddenly to freezing.
Lily didn't flinch. Her expression remained blank as she said,
"I'll add one more thing—everyone except you."
Carl stepped forward again. Their noses were nearly touching now. He stared into her golden eyes, flecked with black patterns, and murmured,
"So, what you're saying, Lady Lily… is that you can't bring yourself to kill me? Or is it that you can't?"
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+150 chapters on p@treon/tambeerg