After dinner, Lloyd departed from Saint Garling's bedchamber alone.
When he reached an empty courtyard, his steps suddenly came to a halt.
Without warning, Demon Blade Muramasa burst from his right hand, slicing through the air and shooting toward a shadowed corner.
A splash of vivid red blood scattered instantly. Muramasa embedded itself deep into the stone ground.
The blood pooled again, writhing unnaturally before rising upward. A humanoid form took shape, eventually solidifying into a middle aged man.
His appearance closely resembled Saint Garling's. The most striking feature was his peculiar cone shaped hairstyle, unmistakable and unsettling.
The instant Lloyd laid eyes on him, an overwhelming surge of murderous intent erupted from deep within his chest.
He raised his hand slightly. Muramasa responded, flying back into his grasp. At the same time, darkness surged from beneath Lloyd's feet like a living tide, swallowing the entire courtyard in an instant.
The middle aged man showed no sign of panic. Instead, he let out a soft chuckle.
"Lloyd," he said calmly. "Is this how you greet your father?"
Lloyd's voice was cold, devoid of emotion.
"Gulando," he replied, "do you truly find those words amusing?"
Gulando shrugged casually. His gaze drifted toward the darkness writhing beneath his feet, curiosity flashing in his eyes.
"So this is the Dark Dark Fruit," he said with interest. "Fascinating. Let me see how much strength you have now."
As he spoke, Gulando extended his palm. Blood flowed outward, condensing into a crimson sword that pulsed as if alive.
Lloyd tightened his grip on Demon Blade Muramasa, his eyes locked onto Gulando without blinking.
The blood sword continued to flow and shift. Gulando smiled faintly.
In the next instant, Lloyd swung Muramasa.
A sharp clang echoed through the courtyard.
Gulando, who had been standing several meters away, was suddenly directly in front of Lloyd.
Muramasa and the blood sword collided violently.
Surprise flickered across Gulando's face.
"Not bad," he said. "Your Observation Haki is well trained."
Out of the corner of his eye, Lloyd noticed the spot where Gulando had originally stood. Another figure remained there, slowly fading away.
An afterimage.
His speed had reached an absurd level.
Only monsters could be born into the Figarland family.
Lloyd had no interest in conversation.
His free hand darkened instantly, forming into a claw as he thrust it toward Gulando's heart.
A blood hole split open across Gulando's chest.
Yet before Lloyd could follow through, the wound was forcibly pulled back together by the power of darkness. Gulando's expression shifted as he twisted his body aside, narrowly avoiding a fatal strike.
He spoke quietly.
"I nearly forgot. Against you, I cannot rely too heavily on my Devil Fruit."
In the next moment, Gulando's blood sword was completely devoured by Muramasa.
Lloyd brought his blade down in a decisive slash.
Gulando immediately coated both arms in Armament Haki, blocking the attack head on.
He pushed Muramasa away with brute force, then drove a kick toward Lloyd's abdomen.
Before his leg could fully extend, dark tentacles erupted from the ground, binding his limb tightly.
Lloyd seized the opening and thrust Muramasa straight through Gulando's body.
Gulando frowned. He grabbed the blade bare handed and ripped it out of himself, retreating in a flash of movement.
Once clear, the wound on his body writhed grotesquely, sealing itself completely in the blink of an eye.
He looked at Lloyd and smiled.
"That was dangerous," Gulando said. "I nearly died."
Suddenly, Gulando's eyes turned a deep, violent crimson.
He widened them abruptly.
Lloyd's body trembled.
He felt his blood surge violently, as though it were trying to tear itself free from his veins.
Without hesitation, Lloyd transformed his entire body into darkness, forcibly suppressing the abnormal sensation.
Gulando grinned, revealing scarlet stained teeth.
"You endured it," he said approvingly. "Just as expected of my son."
Lloyd exhaled slowly.
"No wonder you coveted this Devil Fruit," he said coldly. "This ability is troublesome."
Had his physical strength been any lower, his blood would have been completely drained in that instant.
Gulando rolled his neck and laughed softly.
"I truly wish I could show you a blood fireworks display someday," he said. "That sight is indescribably beautiful."
Lloyd snorted.
He raised his hand and released Almighty Pull, dragging the entranced Gulando directly toward him.
Gulando burst into laughter.
At the moment his body was about to be seized, his right hand transformed into a strange dark red mass and grabbed toward Lloyd's arm.
Lloyd's pupils contracted sharply.
He immediately canceled his technique and rendered his body intangible, entering the Kamui state.
Gulando's hand passed straight through Lloyd's body.
Drops of dark red blood splashed onto the ground.
Where they landed, vegetation withered instantly. The decay spread rapidly, turning over half of the once lush courtyard into lifeless gray stone.
Seeing this, cold sweat formed on Lloyd's forehead.
Magellan's Poison Poison Fruit surfaced in his thoughts.
In terms of pure toxicity, the Blood Blood Fruit was no weaker.
Gulando withdrew his hand and stood still. Studying Lloyd closely, he pinched his chin.
"This is not elementalization," he murmured. "A truly miraculous technique."
Lloyd did not lower his guard.
He maintained his intangible state as he retreated several steps, then solidified once more. Armament Haki coated Muramasa and both of his arms as he attacked again.
Gulando met him head on with bare fists alone.
Relying purely on overwhelming Armament Haki, he clashed directly with Lloyd.
Even without his Devil Fruit, Gulando's raw power eclipsed Lloyd's.
Weaponless and ability sealed, Gulando still showed no weakness. In fact, he gradually began to suppress Lloyd completely.
From this alone, it was evident.
Gulando possessed the strength of an Emperor.
Lloyd was barely holding on.
Yet Gulando appeared satisfied.
As they exchanged blows, he spoke with excitement.
"Excellent," he said. "Even Garling did not possess this level of strength at your age. My efforts with you were not wasted."
A vein bulged on Lloyd's forehead.
Hatred surged through him.
"You did it only for yourself!"
The words tore free from Lloyd's throat like a roar.
Brilliant electric light erupted from his body. Lightning crackled violently as a silver ribbon slowly formed behind him.
Gulando's delight only grew.
He glanced toward the crescent moon hanging in the sky.
"Good. Very good," he said. "It seems the records were accurate. The royal bloodline of the Mink Tribe can indeed control their transformation voluntarily."
By now, Lloyd could no longer hear him.
His pupils turned blood red.
His hair lengthened steadily, transforming into a silver hue reminiscent of moonlight.
Unlike his previous transformation under a full moon, his rationality was rapidly eroding.
Madness consumed him.
Just as when he had first been sent to the Kingdom of Sol by Kuma.
At this moment, Lloyd was no longer a man.
He had become a pure killing machine.