“A hero?”

Cobra and Vivi clearly did not expect the Lord of The Zodiac to descend here in such a manner.

They expected even less that Star Lord would pass such a judgment on Queen Lily’s life and achievements.

However, Star Lord clearly had no intention of explaining further to the father and daughter.

He simply raised his hand.

At the bottom of his eyes, the Fruit Encyclopedia reacted as always.

[Source of Lineage Factor Discovered (Wish—Contract Bestowal—Nefertari Lily)]

[Analyze this substance to obtain ‘Source Energy of Lineage Factor’ and unlock Lineage Factor Technology—’Contract Bestowal’]

[Initiate analysis immediately?]

And with Cobra having clearly stated his position, Roy did not hesitate.

“Analyze.”

He answered silently in his heart.

Thus—

VMMM!

The next moment, Cobra and Vivi watched in astonishment.

That ancient contract left behind by Queen Lily, manifesting within this mausoleum, began to emit a magnificent light as Star Lord raised his hand.

Beneath the ground, the contract mark engraved with the lily flower pattern started to gradually change.

The lily flower pattern slowly dissipated, the scattered light drifting like stardust before Star Lord until it filled the entire tomb.

And from within that scattered light, an illusory figure appeared.

That long blue hair, that striking figure remarkably similar to Vivi, silently declared her identity.

“Ancestor Lily?”

Both Cobra and Vivi widened their eyes; they hadn’t expected this.

What was this? Had Star Lord summoned their ancestor’s soul?

But Star Lord naturally knew that was not the case.

Because as the Fruit Encyclopedia analyzed Lily’s ‘Contract’, his mind gradually came to understand the essence of her contract power, as if confronting a memory from the distant past directly.

In his mind, he could almost even hear a voice.

“I shall distribute My power among you, so that you may complete the rebellion against the tyrant and the unification of the world. Your souls shall each bear one-twentieth of My power, until the great undertaking is finished.”

“As My subordinate gods, you shall obtain the highest authority in the world, and your bloodlines shall never end.”

That was the voice of ‘God’, though His voice back then seemed even more obscure and dark.

His self-address was also not ‘Mu’.

And what He spoke was the first part of this contract—the part Lily had already fulfilled.

“After the tyrant surrenders, I shall reclaim My power at the highest point of the world. At that time, your descendants shall move into the divine domain, standing above the heavens, coexisting with God for generations to come.”

This was the second part of the contract—the part Lily did not complete.

At this point, Roy finally understood everything he had seen earlier in Doflamingo’s memory.

The contract signed between the Abyss and the Initial Twenty Kings was divided into two parts.

The first part was the Abyss bestowing one-twentieth of its own power to each of the Twenty Kings, granting them unfathomable might and immortal bodies to overthrow Davy Jones’s rule.

The second part was that the Abyss would reclaim these powers during the first Levely, and the Twenty Kings and their families would become ‘Celestial Dragons’, forever ruling over everything in the mortal realm.

Lily ultimately chose to resist the Abyss; she did not offer her sword, nor did she complete the second part of the contract.

She very likely even did something while the Abyss was reclaiming its power, causing the Abyss to become ‘Imu’.

That was why there was one sword missing beneath the Empty Throne, and why one name was absent from the Celestial Dragons’ national treasure.

Of course, even though Lily ultimately chose to betray—

It could not change the fact that she had signed a contract with Imu.

Her soul had already returned to the Abyss.

And what remained here—

“Is her final wish.”

Star Lord knew this well.

When she came here, built this tomb, and left behind a portion of her power and contract along with her message—

The heart of that Queen Lily, who was about to march toward her death, must have been filled with wishes.

She hoped her plan would succeed.

She hoped her descendants would be safe.

She hoped that in some future era, the world would regain its freedom.

And for Lily, who at that time possessed one-twentieth of the Abyss’s power, her wish inherently carried power.

Therefore, this scene manifested here.

“The promised one.”

Queen Lily, emerging from the light, seemed to carry joy and expectation.

“Have the Drums of Liberation sounded once again?”

She said so.

Even though it was clear from her slightly vacant eyes that she possessed no true consciousness—what remained here was only the afterimage and lingering obsession of a past monarch.

Star Lord didn’t find her words strange.

Queen Lily had clearly been aware of Joy Boy and Davy Jones’s plan.

In her mind, the one who would ultimately come here and lead Alabasta into that final battle would inevitably be the new ‘Joy Boy’.

She couldn’t have imagined that ‘The Zodiac’ would appear in this era.

However, Star Lord looked at the expectation within Queen Lily’s afterimage.

After a moment of silence—

THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!

A heartbeat like the sound of drums rang out a moment later.

The sight left Vivi and Cobra nearly stunned.

“Drums of Liberation…”

They had naturally heard Queen Lily’s words just now.

Although they didn’t know what the Drums of Liberation were, in that moment they both arrived at the same confirmation.

“Star Lord is the person Ancestor Lily spoke of!”

And accompanied by that continuously beating, resonant drum sound, the father and daughter watched in awe as the starlight on Star Lord’s body spread in rhythm with the drumbeats.

At the same time—

“It truly has been… a long time.”

Queen Lily’s lingering thought seemed to hear that roaring drum sound as well.

A smile appeared on her face.

“Then, I leave it to you.”

“Return freedom to the world.”

As those words fell, Queen Lily’s lingering thought dissipated with gratification.

The starlight gradually covered the lily flower on the scale-like platform, and the stars replaced the contract mark that had belonged to Queen Lily.

In the next instant—

VMMM!

Accompanied by a powerful surge of Source Energy of Lineage Factor, a brand-new contract mark formed out of thin air.

[Analysis complete, obtained 500 points of ‘Source Energy of Lineage Factor’]

[Unlocked Lineage Factor Technology—’Contract Bestowal’]

As the Fruit Encyclopedia displayed the text, Star Lord slowly raised his hand.

And in his palm, a mark similar to the Abyssal Sea Contract, yet entirely different, had manifested in illusory colors.

On that contract mark were patterns resembling ‘stars’.

[Lineage Factor Technology—Contract Bestowal]

[Can bestow Source Energy of Lineage Factor to oneself or others; bestowing a contract requires consuming Source Energy of Lineage Factor]

[Low-Tier Contract—Requires consuming 50 points of Source Energy of Lineage Factor, enhances the contractor’s power]

[High-Tier Contract—Requires consuming 300 points of Source Energy of Lineage Factor. After the contracted individual dies, ignoring any conditions, additional Source Energy of Lineage Factor can be consumed to ‘Remold’ them. Can stimulate the power of the contract to obtain explosive strength enhancement in a short time. The main body’s power can undergo partial ‘Descent’ through the contractor, and many additional methods to utilize ‘Source Energy of Lineage Factor’ are unlocked]

[Whether high-tier or low-tier contract, the main body can retract its power at any time]

The contract mark in Star Lord’s hand silently illustrated the fact.

He had mastered a contract power similar to Imu’s.

Or to be more precise—Star Lord now understood that the so-called contract itself was merely a method of utilizing the Source Energy of Lineage Factor.

The only difference was—

“Imu currently has three types of contracts. If we account for the power He possessed before being weakened by Queen Lily, His mastery of the Lineage Factor was clearly even greater.”

“And the contracts I can currently create are only these two types, high-tier and low-tier… the gap is still quite large.”

Roy did not deny this fact.

In the utilization of the Source Energy of Lineage Factor, he was still just getting started.

And Imu, even though His current state was clearly diminished, was still far above him.

However, that wasn’t important.

Because the ability to draw a comparison at all was enough to show that he and Imu had already stood on the same level, at least in terms of power hierarchy.

Next, he just needed to catch up.

THUMP! THUMP!

The Drums of Liberation were still beating.

Starlight and golden radiance intertwined—the stars replaced the lily flower mark.

The changing of the guard and the passing of the era’s baton took place here.

“Hm?”

And at that moment, among the Straw Hat crew, who were celebrating the addition of a new companion—

Luffy, who had been sticking chopsticks up his nose and stretching his face to make everyone laugh, suddenly trembled…

…bumping into Sanji beside him, who was catching up with his sister and trading stories of their respective years apart.

“Luffy? What’s wrong? Are you drunk?”

Sanji looked at Luffy, also somewhat confused.

“Ah, seems like it?”

Luffy scratched his head: “Did you guys hear a sound just now?”

“A sound?”

The Straw Hat crew looked at Luffy in confusion: “Do you mean the sound of Usopp imitating the Island Eater goldfish farting just now?”

“No, no, no, it seemed like… the sound of drums?”

Luffy placed his hand over his heart, his words uncertain.

“It feels really strange—my heart feels like it can’t help but want to respond.”

He muttered.

“Ha!?”

Hearing his odd words, the Straw Hat crew naturally became even more puzzled.

They certainly hadn’t heard any ‘drum sounds’.

“Heart!? That’s no small problem—Luffy! Quick, let me check if your body is okay!”

Chopper rushed in front of Luffy, looking nearly on the verge of tears.

“Hehe… it’s fine, it’s already over anyway.”

Luffy grinned: “It was probably just my imagination. And I feel really energetic right now.”

Of course, Chopper didn’t believe him.

He still insisted on giving Luffy a simple check-up, and ultimately did reach the conclusion that Luffy’s body was very healthy—healthier than ever before.

Yes.

In the brief interval before the duel for the World’s Strongest Swordsman began, the above events occurred in the ancient country of Alabasta.

The sinner and hero of the old era and the Lord of the Stars completed the passing of the era’s baton.

A certain ‘Summit War’ destined to change the world also ignited its initial spark.

But clearly—

The world was still completely oblivious to this.

☆☆☆

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