Chapter 163: We Are as Good as Dead
In the novel, those kinds of fruits were not supposed to appear this early yet. They were meant to be revealed much later, during the Magus Spire Arc — when Zian and the others discover the truth hidden inside that tall structure.
That moment was supposed to show not only where the fruits came from, but also the dark corruption inside the Spire.
As it turned out, it had once been a place people truly respected, where the finest magus gathered to learn and grow. There was a time it meant something.
But that meaning was already gone — at least for Ruvian. Because behind its grand image, it had quietly become a secret base of the demons.
In the depths of that place, the demons continued their work silently.
Morals did not matter to them.
They tore lives apart as they pleased, twisted them, and reshaped them into whatever they needed. And among the many twisted creations born from that hidden madness...
...was that Devil Fruits.
Ruvian stared at the demon who was standing still at the edge of the broken wide window of the VIP lounge. Then, the demon raised the fruit in his hand into the air.
The surface of the fruit was deep violet, almost black in certain angles, with faint glowing veins pulsing beneath the thin skin. Its shape resembled a human heart, subtly contracting and expanding as though it were alive.
A moment later, the demon sank its teeth into the pulsating fruit, and within seconds, it had already devoured it completely. Watching the demon carefully, Ruvian frowned, his gaze narrowing as a thought crossed his mind — the kind he did not like entertaining.
If that thing truly did what he suspected...
...then the situation they had managed to stabilize might tilt again.
And not in their favor.
"Watch out!"
Irene yelled, her voice shattering with raw panic, as she hurled her hands forward and cast [Magic Barrier] around them in a split instant — just as a towering surge of blue flame came roaring toward them
Silvena lunged to Irene’s side and forcefully reinforced the [Magic Barrier], pouring her mana into it as a second layer slammed into place over the first, thickening the shield like a fortress.
She shot a sharp glance at Ruvian, a flicker of unease flashing across her face before it deepened into clear worry.
"Ruvian, what exactly did he just eat?" she asked, her voice tight but edged with a nervous lilt. "That’s not like... a normal snack those wretched demons have during a fight, right?"
She paused, then added with a faint, uneasy smile,
"No, wait... actually, please tell me it is."
Ruvian didn’t answer immediately.
He was still trying to recall the content of the novel.
He was completely certain that their research on that fruit hadn’t been completed yet.
It shouldn’t have been.
And so, driven by a relentless pull of curiosity and grim necessity, he could only watch it unfold — to reconfirm something with his own eyes. Besides, what could he even do now?
The demon had already swallowed it.
The moment had already passed.
Irreversible and final.
Furthermore, there are also the other demon’s raging blue flames closing in around them, locking them in place of a blazing cage.
As he was deeply focused on observing the demon...
...he saw the demon who had just swallowed the fruit suddenly jerked, his entire body tensing as if something inside him had snapped.
A low, guttural sound forced its way out of his throat.
Then, his frame began to swell.
His muscles tightened, then bulging, stretching against his skin as though they were growing faster than his body could contain. Veins surfaced violently across his arms and neck, thick and pulsing.
Later, a dim, black aura started to seep out from him. Even the air around him seemed to warp, as if rejecting that dark energy’s presence.
The demon’s head snapped upward next.
His eyes burned into a deep, unnatural red. Not just glowing, but bleeding with it, the color spreading across his sclera until there was nothing human left in them.
’This...’
Suddenly, Ruvian realized something was off about the demon’s transformation...
First, he could tell the demon couldn’t control the surge of Dark Mana at all. It was spilling out of him, wild and unrestrained. And secondly, most troubling of all — the demon was beginning to lose himself.
’Just as I thought...’
Ruvian narrowed his eyes.
’The Devil Fruits are still incomplete. Their research isn’t finished yet.’
Because if they had truly completed it, the transformation would be entirely different. It would unfold in an instant, and the Dark Mana, no matter how vast, would remain perfectly controlled under their command.
However, in this unfinished state, it was far more dangerous, chaotic, and unstable. Perhaps even deadlier than a perfected result!
’Still, this is definitely not good...’
But before his thoughts could fully form, Irene’s voice came through, her voice eerily calm.
"Not to interrupt your thinking, but just so you know... that flaming demon just pulled out the same fruit from his dimensional storage, and he’s already eaten it too...."
"So, what’s the plan now?"
Ruvian rubbed the back of his head.
’Haa... damn it. There’s really not much we can do against two of them after they’ve already powered up to the level of High Demons.’
With a storm of thoughts raging inside his mind, he finally exhaled a long, weary sigh.
For a quiet moment, he said nothing... then, at last, he spoke.
"Let’s run."
"Huh?"
Hearing that, both of them blurted at once.
Their voices rose in stunned disbelief.
"What? Run? Seriously?"
Silvena shot back, wiping the sweat from her forehead with a quick swipe.
"Why don’t we just split and fight them? Irene can take the flaming one — she’s stronger than him anyway. While the two of us can deal with that other guy."
Ruvian shook his head.
"No, this isn’t the same anymore. Not after both of them ate the fruit. That thing doesn’t just give them more Dark Mana, but it also boosts all their abilities to the next level. They’re basically as strong as a First-Class Magus now. And sure, Irene can still handle one, since they’d be on the same level..."
He let out a small sigh before continuing.
"...But the Dark Mana around them is way more unstable and volatile. Fighting it head-on would put us at a disadvantage — that energy is corrosive and toxic for us humans. And also, even with the two of us together, dealing with a High Demon wouldn’t be easy."
Silence settled over their small barrier, heavy and suffocating.
"So if we keep fighting them head-on....
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[Chapter 163: We Are as Good as Dead]
