"Haa... Haa..."
Without realizing it, Merlin's heart began to pound violently. He exhaled heavily, expelling the turbid air from his lungs.
A look of disbelief flashed in Merlin's eyes. "Mela... was that rich?"
"Not only was he an ability user himself, but he actually had another Devil Fruit in his possession?"
By the moonlight, Merlin examined the fruit in his hand, tracing the strange, jet-black flame patterns covering its surface.
Squatting slightly, he stared blankly at it. "What type of Devil Fruit is this?"
Merlin didn't know. He had never read the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia.
With a thought, he decided, "The Jungle Wolf isn't a particularly powerful ability. Using it to expand my equipment slots will be much more convenient for my future development."
More importantly, Merlin felt that extracting the fruit's source power without a physical vessel to contain it would likely cause it to dissipate and "escape."
And he had no way to contain this source power.
Merlin wasn't greedy. being able to extract the fruit's source from an ability user with his [Equipment Slot] was already incredibly lucky.
One shouldn't be too greedy.
However, there was no rush.
The self-healing ability from the Zoan type should heal his wounds completely before long.
He stuffed the Devil Fruit into his pocket.
Merlin walked into the main building and picked up the katana from the stand. Glancing around, he soon spotted a two-meter cage in the corner of the living room containing a large, brownish-gray cat.
It was a lynx.
About half a meter long, looking like a half-grown cub.
Its limbs were thicker and longer than those of a domestic cat, and it had distinctive black tufts of hair standing up on the tips of its pointed ears.
It had long, drooping fur on its cheeks, a light brown upper body, a whitish belly, and a tail only a palm's length long with a black tip.
It looked rather majestic.
However, right now it looked sickly. Its bright yellow feline eyes stared at Merlin with intense wariness.
"Hiss! Hah~"
The lynx opened its mouth, baring its fangs and hissing at Merlin in intimidation.
Merlin smiled, then walked over, picked up the cage, and headed outside. Passing Mela's corpse, Merlin noticed a destroyed revolver and felt a pang of regret.
Without delay, Merlin went to the rockery, set the cage down, and stared at the lynx inside.
This feline was one of the more formidable species of cats. Equipping it should provide greater benefits than the rat.
At that moment, Merlin focused his mind and activated the ability. His body underwent visible changes.
In the next instant, a Jungle Wolf covered in gray-brown fur, still wearing clothes, appeared at the entrance of the rockery cave.
Feeling the explosive power and abundant energy surging through his body, Merlin's eyes glowed with an eerie yellow light.
The little lynx in the cage fluffed up instantly, letting out a low growl to threaten Merlin.
Moving on all fours, Merlin jumped around the area. After transforming into his beast form, he possessed an instinctual command over this body.
He moved without any awkwardness, his nose taking in the various scents distributed in the surrounding air.
Then his body stretched and changed again—Hybrid Form. Wolf head, human body, sharp fangs and claws, covered in gray-brown fur.
Feeling his wounds healing even faster after activating the ability, Merlin pondered. He felt the power coursing through him, while also sensing his stamina and mental energy slowly draining.
He jumped in place, threw punches, and kicked.
Experiencing his current physical state.
"My physical strength right now is much greater than when equipped with the [Rat]. It's an all-around enhancement."
Analyzing this, cold sweat broke out on Merlin's back. It was lucky he had been decisive earlier and blasted Mela with grenades.
If Mela had been more alert, Merlin wouldn't have survived.
Maintaining his Hybrid Form, Merlin did a lap around the villa and found some ham and fruit wine inside.
After a full meal, he felt his stamina replenishing and his wounds healing even faster.
In less than twenty minutes, the wounds had scabbed over and no longer hindered his movement.
Merlin returned to the rockery, opened the cage door, and quickly reached in with his left hand. He grabbed the lynx by the neck and pulled it out. As the lynx hissed and scratched, he punched it hard on the head with his right fist. Thud!
After two more punches, the lynx went limp in his hand, motionless.
It had been knocked unconscious.
Merlin stuffed the unconscious lynx back into the cage. With a thought, the [Equipment Slot] appeared before him. He mentally selected [Confirm] to consume the source power.
At this moment.
The wolf-shaped energy image in the equipment slot was wrapped in a brilliant blue glow.
It spread from the outside in.
Merlin instinctively understood that the source power was being devoured and consumed.
In just ten minutes, the Devil Fruit source power was completely consumed. Merlin looked at the equipment slot, which now displayed two [Frames] side by side.
Simultaneously, as the Jungle Wolf fruit power vanished, the sense of power it provided disappeared with it.
A feeling of loss washed over him. Merlin once again felt his own weakness.
Merlin pursed his lips and took out the unknown Devil Fruit from his pocket. In the next instant, it vanished.
In the first [Frame], an image of the black fruit appeared.
[Name: Devil Fruit]
[Effect: When equipped, grants the ability to manipulate Calamity. Using jet-black flames as a medium, you can absorb, store, and release the effects of calamities (Absorption and storage require understanding the composition principle of the calamity). Your ten fingers can each store one type of calamity.
However, it also imposes a restriction from nature (PS: This restriction is integral to this source power; it can be "weakened" but not erased).]
[Synchronization Rate: 1%]
[Evaluation: A supernatural creation born from the ingenious combination of pure wish power and the world's source.]
Merlin's gaze focused, feeling the bodily instincts that appeared once again.
Through the display of the equipment slot and his instinctive comprehension of the Devil Fruit power, Merlin now knew what kind of ability he had obtained.
Paramecia type... Calamity Fruit.
Immediately, the [Equipment] name changed.
[Name: Calamity Fruit]
Feeling the ability inside his body that he could now use instinctively.
Under the moonlight, a brilliant light appeared in Merlin's eyes. "My Amber Lead Syndrome... it seems I can cure it."
Because disaster and suffering were forms of Calamity.
And the scope of the Calamity Fruit's ability was precisely to manipulate calamities within living beings whose composition principles he understood.
At this moment, Merlin sensed several types of [Calamities] existing within his body. One of them was the toxin-based calamity known as Amber Lead Syndrome.
Merlin had been dealing with this Amber Lead toxin for over a decade; he knew it inside and out.
He extended his right hand. A cluster of deep, pitch-black flames rose up, emitting heart-palpitating vibes.
Merlin felt no heat or destruction from this flame, but it gave him a visceral chill.
His right hand, wrapped in black flames, slowly pressed against his chest. Instantly, the black flames surged and covered his body.
With a unique perspective, Merlin could perceive the various calamities within him.
The most obvious ones were...
The pale white representing Amber Lead Syndrome.
The light red representing external injuries.
And various other shades of colors he couldn't specifically describe or understand.
With a thought, the accumulated Amber Lead toxin in his body was slowly absorbed.
Within the pitch-black flames, a faint white halo began to emerge.
Moments later, Merlin let out a long sigh of relief. The subtle, bone-deep pain that had plagued him for so long vanished completely.
The calamity representing Amber Lead Syndrome had been absorbed and extracted.
Merlin held up his left index finger. The pale white discoloration on the skin was gone without him realizing it.
Because he understood it, the [Absorption] was complete. And because he understood it, the next step was [Storage]. Merlin touched his left middle finger with his right hand. In the next instant, the middle finger turned pale white from the base up. The Amber Lead calamity was successfully [Stored].
At that moment, Merlin instinctively understood that he now possessed a [Bullet] of calamity, which could be [Released] through contact with the black flames.
A wisp of black flame flickered in his eyes. He realized that the stored calamity was a one-time-use [Bullet]. Once released, it would disappear; it wasn't a permanent existence.
"I see. So that's how it is. The calamity is like a bullet that I have to store myself. My body is now like a ten-round pistol.
"Not a Desert Eagle with infinite ammo."
"However, Devil Fruits have a stage called Awakening, and the [Equipment Slot] has the effect of deeply excavating the potential of [Equipment]."
"In the future, maybe I can permanently store the calamities whose composition principles I understand."