"Hmph."
Indra let out a contemptuous sneer.
He seemed to find Doflamingo's provincial, wide-eyed look amusing.
"This is but the most basic, superficial level of the Sacred Heart Art."
"As long as the seed within your body remains inextinguishable,"
"ordinary fatal wounds can be repaired by this True Qi on its own."
"Even if limbs are severed, they can regrow within a few days."
Doflamingo's pupils contracted violently once again.
Regrowing severed limbs!
This was practically immortality!x
While it couldn't compare to the exaggerated instant recovery of that monster named Abel,
for a human, this was already terrifying enough!
"Is this... the foundation of a high-dimensional civilization?"
Doflamingo murmured to himself.
Infinite awe rose in his heart for the so-called "SCP Foundation."
A mere casual reward from a field operative
was enough to make the so-called powerhouses of this sea fight to the death!
Just how many terrifying things were hidden within that organization?
Indra seemed to see through his thoughts.
The ice-sculpted mask turned slightly.
Those deep eyes pierced straight into Doflamingo's heart.
"Junior."
"Do not use your frog-in-the-well perspective to speculate on the abyss of the Foundation."
"Beyond this Universe..."
"What we contain are behemoths that can devour the starry sky, concepts that can alter causality, and even... the gods themselves."
Doflamingo's entire body stiffened.
Cold sweat instantly soaked the feathered coat on his back.
Devouring the starry sky?
Containing gods?
Topics of this level... just hearing them gave him a suffocating sense of pressure.
Compared to this...
Pirate King?
World Government?
They were as laughably trivial as children playing house!
"I understand..."
Doflamingo swallowed hard, his voice trembling.
"In this World, we truly are just... natives."
In this moment,
his worldview was completely shattered and then reorganized.
His ambition was no longer confined to this narrow sea.
Instead, he looked toward that even more vast and terrifying "real World."
"My Lord."
Doflamingo looked up, an extreme thirst flickering in his eyes.
"Since you have chosen me as your agent..."
"Does that mean..."
"I also have a sliver of a chance to touch that real World?"
This was what he cared about most!
He could be a dog.
But he didn't want to be a native dog kept in the dark for his entire life!
He wanted to climb up!
Climb to that position where he could look down upon all Worlds!
Even if it was just for a single glance!
Indra remained silent for a moment.
The surrounding air seemed to freeze.
Every second of waiting felt like a century to Doflamingo.
Finally,
that voice, like heavenly music, rang out.
"Originally,"
"with the aptitude of a low-level planar creature like you, you would have absolutely no qualification to enter the Foundation's sight."
"You wouldn't even meet the threshold for D-Class personnel."
Doflamingo's heart instantly sank.
But in the next second,
Indra's tone shifted.
"However,"
"my actions in this plane do indeed require an obedient and capable dog."
"If you perform well..."
"After I have dealt with that traitor and recovered the recipe for the Elixir of Immortality,"
"perhaps an exception can be made."
"To submit an application to the O5 Council."
Boom!
It was as if a thunderclap had exploded in Doflamingo's mind.
An application!
Even if it was just a "perhaps."
Even if it was just an "application."
To him, it was like the last straw a drowning man grasps!
It was a ticket to the New World!
"Listen clearly, junior."
Indra's voice became majestic and cold.
"I do not look at the process, only the result."
"That wandering physician named Bian Que..."
"No matter what means you use,"
"even if you have to turn this sea upside down,"
"you must find him for me!"
Doflamingo abruptly straightened his back.
The expression on his face was hideous and distorted.
It was the resolve of a desperate gambler.
"Please rest assured, My Lord!"
"As long as he is still on this planet,"
"even if he's hiding in a toilet at Marineford, I will drag him out and bring him before you!"
This wasn't just to please this "god."
It was for himself!
For the recipe of that "Elixir of Immortality"!
For the chance to join the Foundation!
That fellow named Bian Que... whoever you are...
You're dead!
"Very good."
Indra nodded slightly.
He seemed somewhat satisfied with Doflamingo's attitude.
"This Sacred Heart Seed is both a reward and a shackle."
"If you are ineffective in your duties..."
"Or if you harbor thoughts you shouldn't have..."
Indra did not finish the sentence.
He simply snapped his fingers lightly.
Crack!
The giant ice sculpture frozen in the pool instantly shattered into a sky full of ice powder.
Not even a single scrap remained.
Doflamingo trembled all over.
He clearly felt it.
The cool current at his brow, in that instant, seemed to turn into a venomous snake that could devour its host at any time.
With just a single thought from the other party,
he would vanish completely from this World, just like that ice sculpture.
"This subordinate... understands!"
Doflamingo buried his head even lower.
The cold sweat on his back had already turned into a river.
This was the price of power.
But he accepted it gladly!
"I will be watching you from the shadows."
After leaving behind those hair-raising words,
Indra's figure began to blur.
Like a reflection in water or a flower in a mirror.
Ripples spread through the air.
Then,
under the gaze of Doflamingo and all the Executives,
he vanished into thin air.
No Devil Fruit ability was used.
There were no traces of high-speed movement.
He was simply... "erased" from this space.
This method once again caused everyone present to gasp in cold air.
Only after confirming that terrifying existence had truly left
did the atmosphere on King's Plateau finally relax.
"Huff... huff..."
Trebol collapsed onto the ground, gasping for air in large gulps.
That disgusting face was filled with terror.
"Do... Doffy..."
"What kind of monster was that..."
"It's too scary... even when facing Kaido, I've never felt this hopeless..."
The other Executives weren't doing much better.
Each one was pale, as if they had just taken a walk through the gates of hell.
But Doflamingo paid them no mind.
He slowly stood up from the ground.
He elegantly brushed the dust off his knees.
Then he adjusted his signature sunglasses.
Though he had just been kneeling like a dog,
at this moment,
when he stood up,
that arrogant Joker had returned.
And...
he was crazier and more dangerous than ever before.
"Fuffuffuffu... Fuffuffuffuffuffu!"
Doflamingo threw his head back, looking in the direction where Indra had vanished.
He let out a chilling, wild laugh.
"A monster?"
"No, Trebol."
"That is an opportunity."
"That is the ultimate opportunity that will allow us to transcend this sea, and even transcend the Celestial Dragons!"
He spun around abruptly.
His pink feathered coat flapped loudly in the wind.
Behind his sunglasses, his eyes flashed with a predatory light.
"Pass down the order!"
"Use all of the Family's connections in the Underworld!"
"Whether it's Marines, pirates, or bounty hunters!"
"Double the bounty! No, make it ten times higher!"
Doflamingo stuck out his tongue and licked his dry lips.
His voice sounded like the roar of a demon.
"Dig three feet into the ground!"
"You must find that doctor named Bian Que for me!"
"If anyone dares to stand in the way..."
Doflamingo raised his hand.
Cold air swirled around his fingertips.
He gave a light wave toward a nearby stone pillar.
Crack!
The massive stone pillar was instantly frozen and then shattered into dust.
"This will be their end!"