As soon as the words left his mouth.
A thunderous blast erupted in the night, utterly shattering the inn's peace.
Amid a cacophony of crashes and bangs, the hallway ceiling began to shake violently as dust and splinters rained down without end.
And through the clamor, Garen raised his sword and kindled its flames.
Golden-red firelight instantly illuminated the darkness.
The danger instincts of Lucci's Zoan Devil Fruit Ability were triggered to their limit, and a bone-chilling cold spread from his spine through his entire body.
Abandon the mission! I have to run!
Lucci made his decision without hesitation, turning to smash through the window and leap outside.
But a fierce wind rushed at him from beyond the window, and through the blur, it seemed as though a savage dragon was striking from afar.
"Dragon Claw!"
That fist, as swift as an eagle's dive and a white rainbow piercing the sun, blocked Lucci's path before catching him off guard and driving toward his chest.
"Iron Body!"
Lucci raised his arms before his chest, instinctively unleashing the Rokushiki ingrained into his body.
His powerful muscles, as tough as forged steel, abruptly tightened, and his flesh reflected a metallic gleam.
Dragon Claw collided with Iron Body in a crisp, resounding clang of metal.
Yet before the invisible soundwave could spread, Lucci's body was launched backward like a cannonball.
Flying back, Lucci smashed through walls and floors in succession before crashing into the inn's lobby amid bricks and rubble, embedding himself in a human-shaped crater in the floor.
"Who are you?!"
Lucci climbed to his feet, his neat black suit now reduced to tattered rags.
"Chief of Staff of the Revolutionary Army, Sabo."
Sabo adjusted the top hat on his head and smiled as he stood before Lucci.
Then another explosion sounded upstairs.