"The Knights of God!"
Sengoku stared at the figures before him and spoke those words in disbelief.
As Fleet Admiral, he knew the Knights of God existed. Yet the World Government's supreme fighting force, which had always operated from the shadows, had appeared on the battlefield at Marineford.
Had the Five Elders sent them, or had it been that person?
It no longer mattered. They outranked even the Fleet Admiral.
From the moment the Knights of God appeared, Sengoku no longer had any say in how the battle would unfold.
The ten figures who had suddenly appeared on the Execution Platform stood like silent icebergs, radiating an aura utterly unlike that of ordinary Marines.
Their clothing varied in style, but every outfit was lavish and adorned with ancient patterns. Some faces lay hidden in shadow; others wore expressions of lofty indifference.
As though setting foot on this battlefield were a gift they had bestowed upon it.
The man at their head was tall and straight-backed. His thick mustache joined his sideburns and came to a sharp point beneath his chin, giving his hair and beard the shape of a forward-facing crescent.
He was Saint Figarland Garling, Supreme Commander of the Knights of God.
He did not even glance at the battered Sengoku. His gaze cut across half the battlefield and fixed on Pain Deva Path, who floated beside the enormous stone sphere, his aura visibly weakened.
"This is a purge in the name of the world. How dare aberrations like you run wild?"
Saint Garling did not raise his voice, yet it carried clearly above the moan of the sea wind and the groans in the distance, heavy with the authority of judgment.
Before the words had faded, his figure blurred!
He moved too fast for anyone to react. In