News that Rocks was about to be a father left Kaido slack-jawed.
"You know the woman?"
"No clue," Shakky said with a shrug. "He let it slip once—half a year ago." Her eyes, though, stayed on Dimon. "So… how does my mix compare to your miracle liquor?"
Kaido answered before Dimon could blink. "Not worth one drop of Immortality Wine."
Bro… EQ? Ever heard of it? Dimon sipped the Margarita anyway. "If you want to try my wine, bring a Devil Fruit. Door's always open."
Shakky sighed, half teasing, half vexed. "Easier said than done. I'm tied to this bar these days."
"Your fans are half this island," Dimon said. "Ask them to hunt for you."
Her eyes lit up. "That's… actually perfect. Thanks, Dimon."
Gloriosa clicked her tongue. "Save it, Shakky. Your charm doesn't work on him. Right, Dimon?"
Dimon let the jab pass. I like women. I just don't drink from the firehose of thirst.
He lingered till dusk, listening to three queens of gossip unravel Rocks lore—Whitebeard recruiting Kaido, Linlin popping kids like popcorn, even that Katakuri was eight already—same age as Abel.
Back at the Immortality Bar, Dimon turned to the Lunarian boy.
"You're safe now. Go wherever you want."
"I… want to follow you, Lord Dimon," Abel said, fists tight. "I want to be strong."
Stronger than me? Fair—my muscles outpace my Haki by a mile, Dimon thought. But with enough 'food'…
Before he could answer, a tall shadow filled the doorway—a square jaw crossed by an X-shaped scar, black tattoo spread over his left chest. Hands still wet with blood, he set down a small treasure chest.
"Per our deal," the man said flatly. "One Devil Fruit for one cup."
"You picked it up off a corpse?" Dimon asked mildly.
"It's eight o'clock. Not midnight," the man replied, completely missing the joke. "Don't know what fruit it is."
The man—Hsiung to some, just "Fierce" to most—was all action. Dimon waved Abel to hold the chest, slipped behind the counter, and—out of sight—burned 100 demon points to conjure a fresh bottle.
He poured a full cup and pushed it over.
Fierce downed it in one go. For a heartbeat his stoic face cracked—that taste.
"Good wine," he said simply. "Thanks." And he was gone.
Abel returned the chest. Dimon popped it open, glanced at the warped, swirled fruit—and devoured it into the black smoke of his palms.
+800 Demon Points.
Balance: 300 → 1100
"Eight hundred?" Dimon blinked. Eight times a common zoan… what are you?
Then he remembered: 1,000 points unlocked his next power.
He didn't hesitate.
Spent 1000 Demon Points.
Unlocked Demon Skill II: Demon Form
(I & II shown; III–IV locked)
Knowledge poured into him like molten iron. The second skill was deceptively short on paper: "Manifest the Devil's aspect." But what it meant—what it could become—was vast.
"Abel, I'm stepping out."
He chose the north shore—quiet, empty, only the moon to witness him.
Black lightning crawled over his skin.
BZZT—BZZT—
Shadow burst from his back—wings, regal and terrible, unfurling into the night. Dimon beat them once and rose, spray blowing off the sea below.
"…I can fly." He laughed, boyish and bright, hanging over his reflection. The man in the water was still Dimon—only sharper, taller, wrapped in a gravity that felt… noble. Ancient.
In this form… I can carve the sigils. Like Im.
A thought he'd been dodging finally landed: Was Im also a demon?
Dimon lifted a finger and traced the air.
Lines of night bled into existence, connecting, locking, blazing with silent thunder until a five-pointed star shimmered in the sky—an arcane geometry that refused to be merely light.
A pentagram magic circle—hanging there, real.
He felt it slide into place with the click of a well-oiled lock.
"…A transit array?" he murmured, heartbeat quickening. "Or a gate?"
The sea held its breath.
The sigil pulsed once.
Space wavered—and something on the other side… answered.
◇ I'll be dropping one bonus chapters for every 10 reviews. comment
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on P@treon if you're interested:
patreon.com/MugiwaraTL