Clang!
A deafening crash echoed as Shiryu's body was flung like a cannonball, slamming hard into the basalt wall.
Boom!
The rock shattered, rubble flying in every direction.
Rumble rumble!
He crashed through multiple walls before finally coming to a halt. Eyes wide and mouth agape, he coughed up a large mouthful of blood.
His sword spun through the air and clattered to the ground with a crisp clang, the blade snapping cleanly in two.
Is she a monster?
Clutching his chest, Shiryu looked up in panic, staring into the distance in disbelief.
Not even during his clash with Magellan had he been this humiliated.
A howling gust swept past, clearing the lingering dust. In the dim light, a figure clad in black and red armor emerged.
Shiryu's heart pounded as he tried to rise, but before he could, a steel boot crashed down onto his chest.
Boom!
The impact pinned him to the ground as the solid floor fractured beneath him.
"You..."
Shiryu's eyes bulged. Blood spilled from his lips.
"Weren't you acting all arrogant earlier?" Kaguya looked down at the man beneath her boot, voice dripping with scorn. "Go on, show off some more, huh?"
She raised her leg and stomped on his chest again.
Crash!
Rocks splintered, the ground beneath spiderwebbing with cracks.
Cough, cough.
Shiryu's bloodshot eyes bulged, and with the crisp crack of bone, another mouthful of blood burst from his lips.
"C'mon, keep acting tough. What's the matter? Gone limp now?"
She raised her leg and stomped again.
Not yet satisfied, Kaguya continued, stomping on him seven or eight more times.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Blood spilled from Shiryu's mouth and nose. His body trembled violently, like a broken doll, utterly powerless. His hands stretched weakly as if trying to grab her foot, but even that simple action was now a distant dream.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Finally, when blood seeped from all his facial orifices and his body lay limp and unmoving, Kaguya stopped.
"Why aren't you moving? Playing dead, are we?" Kaguya nudged his body with her boot and sneered. "Weren't you full of yourself earlier? What happened?"
Of course, someone who had passed out couldn't offer a reply.
"How boring. I was just starting to enjoy myself," Kaguya said coldly. Then she raised her leg once more and delivered a vicious kick to Shiryu's lower abdomen.
Crack!
A crisp sound of bone breaking rang out. Shiryu was sent flying from a powerful kick, crashing hard into the wall with a thunderous bang.
Kaguya turned around, her pretty face now ice-cold. "Have you all seen enough?" she said chillingly.
"Huh, didn't expect such a young girl to have such a temper."
A coarse, masculine voice echoed through the empty prison.
Kaguya turned her head and saw a towering woman with broad shoulders and a burly frame. Her sharp, slanted eyes, long nose, and heavily made-up face gave her a brutish look—she almost looked like a man.
It was Catarina Devon, infamous as the most dangerous female pirate ever imprisoned in the deepest level of Impel Down.
Kaguya's expression was blank as she turned and walked toward her cell.
"Oh? Did I touch a nerve?" Catarina teased with a mocking smirk. "What's the matter? Gonna throw a tantrum now, little girl?"
Kaguya reached her cell and extended her hand. In a swirl of pitch-black mist, a black-red sword materialized in her palm.
Catarina's expression grew more amused. "That cell was built entirely from pure seastone. It's much stronger than the junk outside. You really think you can break it? Don't waste your strength."
Kaguya ignored her mockery. Her sword exuded an inky mist, icy cold and oppressive, like something from an abyss. Violent energy rippled out in waves, radiating a sense of despair and dread.
Catarina's face twitched. A bad feeling crept over her.
She can't possibly break it... right?
That cage was crafted from pure seastone, harder and more resilient than diamond. It was leagues above the diluted, low-quality ones used elsewhere.
In truth, Catarina didn't think herself much stronger than Shiryu. She simply couldn't stand Kaguya's arrogance.
It was precisely because of her confidence in the cage's strength that she dared to taunt her so brazenly.
To put it plainly: she was asking for it.
Sweat began to form on her forehead as she shouted, more bark than bite, "You clueless brat! If you make too much noise, the guards will notice! You won't be able to escape!"
"Are you an idiot?" Kaguya looked up, voice frosty. "Do you really think saying that will make me spare you?"
"What?"
Catarina's pupils shrank.
Before she could react, Kaguya swung her arm. A black blade of energy tore through the air like a massive beam of darkness, roaring forward like a tidal wave.
BOOM BOOM BOOM!
A deafening explosion shook the entire underwater prison as if an earthquake had struck. Rocks split, debris flew, and fierce winds swept through the chamber, kicking up a blinding storm of dust.
As the dust settled, Kaguya's silhouette appeared. In front of her, the once-impenetrable seastone cell lay in ruins, a gaping hole torn through its bars. The twisted remnants of metal and shattered basalt wall testified to the sheer force of her attack.
But then, an eerie, chilling laughter echoed through the prison like a gust of icy wind.
"How many years has it been? Imprisoned in this cursed cell for so long… and now I'm free at last. I really must thank you. And to repay your kindness… become my sacrifice."
A flash of crimson light suddenly erupted, and in the midst of maniacal laughter, it shot toward Kaguya like lightning.
A cold gleam flashed through Kaguya's icy gaze.
Courting death.
But to her surprise, the crimson figure didn't attack her. Instead, it grabbed the severely injured Catarina Devon from the rubble. Despite her resistance, it bit down on her neck.
A man clad in a blood-red cloak came into view—long white hair, wrinkled face, sharp red eyes, and a goatee. His expression was sleazy, his presence reeking of flamboyance.
"Virgin... virgin blood... it's simply divine."
His sharp fangs pierced Catarina's neck, sucking greedily. He wore a look of bliss, as if savoring the finest delicacy.
Aren't vampires supposed to be handsome?
And isn't the one getting bitten usually a beautiful girl?
What is this nonsense?
If fans of vampire dramas saw this, their fantasies would be shattered. Clearly, not every drink labeled milk is pure—some are laced with poison.
Kaguya twitched, face contorted in disgust. Her stomach churned.
Even with someone this hideous?
Your tastes are truly... unique.
Virgin, huh? With a face like that, it would be surprising if she weren't.
Catarina's eyes filled with terror as she struggled violently. But it was all in vain. The man's bony hands gripped her throat like iron pincers, rendering her immobile.
Gradually, Catarina's once "full" figure shriveled up, becoming gaunt and dry. Wrinkles crept across her face, her hair turned ghost-white, until she resembled a withered corpse.
At that moment, Kaguya recognized the bloodthirsty figure.
The "Red Count" Baloric Redfield—a notorious pirate from Roger's era, said to be powerful enough to rival Roger and Whitebeard alone.
Though whether he truly lived up to the legend was debatable. Characters like Zephyr and Shiki, also veterans of Roger's time, were impressive. Shiki even cornered Roger once. But in reality, despite his strength, Shiki fell short of Whitebeard. Age and decline likely played a part.
"Ahhh..."
The Red Count let out a satisfied moan. With a casual wave, he tossed Catarina's withered body aside like a broken doll. When he turned around, he had regained the appearance of youth.
Kaguya's eyes narrowed. If she guessed correctly, this was the power of the Bat-Bat Fruit—a mythical zoan-type that allowed him to regain his youth and peak power by drinking blood.
The Red Count grinned, exposing his fangs. In the next instant, his body dissolved into a cloud of blood mist.
A mythical zoan that could transform the user into blood vapor—rare indeed.
But Kaguya didn't flinch. She hadn't taken him seriously to begin with. Her eyes remained frigid as she glanced coldly over her shoulder.
"Do all you fossils from Roger's era like to play ghost?"
"Oh?" came a surprised voice from the mist. "Didn't expect you to sense me. For someone so young, your power is impressive."
As the voice faded, the Red Count's figure emerged from the swirling blood mist behind Kaguya.
"No, it's just that your generation is too weak," Kaguya replied coldly, her voice dripping with contempt.
"Weak?" the Red Count burst into laughter. "That woman was right. You're an arrogant little brat."
"Your era is over. Clinging to your former glory to comfort yourselves now—that's just pathetic. Self-deception at its finest," Kaguya scoffed. "Foolish, pitiful relics."
The Red Count's face darkened instantly, as if his reverse scale had been touched. "Just a rookie, and yet so arrogant."
No sooner had he finished speaking than his body turned into a swirl of blood mist, sweeping toward Kaguya.
"Let me show you what true strength really is."
"True strength?" Kaguya replied icily. "You're just a decrepit ship from a bygone era. Don't make me laugh."
She swung her arm, unleashing a spiraling vortex of invisible wind that surged into a sweeping storm.
"Barrier of the Wind King."
Boom!
The blood mist slammed into the Wind King's Barrier, splattering in a spray of crimson.
"You fell for it."
A sinister voice whispered beside her ear. A figure emerged behind Kaguya—the Red Count.
At some point, the barrier had turned blood-red. Crimson had seeped into it and fused with the wind, turning it into a sea of blood.
The Red Count had infiltrated it.
Kaguya's pupils contracted. Instinctively, she elbowed backward, only for her strike to be caught mid-motion.
"You're still too green. Just because you've taken down a few grunts, you think you can stand above us old legends?"
A chill flashed in Kaguya's autumn-water-like eyes. She growled, "Get lost."
She spun and unleashed a powerful roundhouse kick.
Bang!
Her foot struck the Red Count squarely, sending him flying. He burst into a spray of blood.
But Kaguya knew he wasn't hurt.
"Fiery temper, aren't you?"
His voice echoed eerily through the empty prison. The airborne blood seemed to come alive, transforming into towering waves that rushed toward her.
Kaguya's heart tensed. She stomped the ground and leapt backward, but it was already too late.
The crimson tsunami roared forth, engulfing her completely.
"What a lovely beauty. I'm almost reluctant to harm you."
The blood gradually reformed into the Red Count. He approached the submerged Kaguya, licking his lips with a long red tongue, his eyes glinting with excitement.
"I wonder what you taste like? Hahahahaha."
He opened his mouth wide, revealing razor-sharp fangs, and lunged for Kaguya's delicate neck.
But then Kaguya slowly raised her head, lips curling into a strange smile.
"W-What... what is this?!"
A sudden scream of pure terror echoed through the prison. The Red Count's voice rang out in horror, as though he had seen something utterly terrifying.
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