As Darius lay against the cold stone of Level 2, the blue light grew blinding. The agonizing pain in his shoulder suddenly turned into a strange, itching heat. He watched, eyes wide with shock, as his missing limb began to reconstruct itself.
It wasn't a normal human arm.
Yellow scales armored the forearm, and crimson feathers lined the thick muscle. His new fingers ended in curved, blood-red talons that scraped against the prison floor. It looked like a beast's limb, but held the shape of a man's arm.
Suddenly, a transparent blue screen flickered into existence before his eyes.
[Evolution System — Host Interface]
Host Name: Darius Race: Human (Evolution-Compatible Vessel)
Status: Stabilized
Health: 100% (Fully Restored) Stamina: 72% Strength: 14 | Agility: 16 | Endurance: 18
BEAST ARM MODULE Current Arm: Left Arm Model: Common Beast — Chicken Type Evolution Tier: Stage 1 (Common)
Passive technique: Minor Regeneration
ACTIVE TECHNIQUES
Talon Grip — Crushing grab, bone fracture.
Feral Peck — Concentrated impact strike.
EXP: 0 / 500
Darius stared at the screen, then at his yellow, feathered arm.
"So I'm half human, part poultry," he muttered, a crazy grin forming on his face. "Yeah. That sounds about right."
The Basilisk, seeing its prey stand up, let out a screech. It lunged again, swinging its massive wing to crush Darius against the wall.
BOOM!
A cloud of dust exploded. But the beast stopped dead. It tried to pull its wing back, but it wouldn't budge. As the dust cleared, the prisoners nearby gasped. Darius was standing tall, his new yellow arm firmly gripping the Basilisk's wing.
"So this is Talon Grip," Darius said. He tightened his hold. The sound of snapping bone echoed through the corridor. The Basilisk shrieked in agony.
"You—are done."
Darius hauled the massive creature off the ground and threw it into the air. He planted his feet, pulling his right fist back. He channeled every bit of his new strength into his knuckles, mimicking a move he remembered from his old world anime Hunter x Hunter.
"Let's lock in... Jajanken: Rock!"
His fist slammed into the Basilisk's face with the force of a cannonball. The impact sent the monster flying through the air, crashing through the iron bars of a far-off cell chamber. The beast didn't move again.
Darius stayed in his striking pose, staring at his hands. "Whoa... this thing is amazing."
Darius didn't have long to celebrate. The scent of the Basilisk's blood acted like a dinner bell for the rest of Level 2. From the shadows, glowing eyes appeared. More Manticores and several giant scorpions began to crawl out of the dark.
"Nope! I'm out!" Darius turned and bolted. "I can't handle a whole army of these things yet. I'll check the rest of this system later when I'm not being hunted!"
He sprinted back through the chaos, using his new Agility to weave between snapping jaws. He finally reached his cell block and dove inside, the remote locks clicking into place just as a Manticore slammed into the bars.
He leaned against the wall, panting, only to see the "Laughing Corpse" already lying in the corner, looking like he had never moved.
Darius's jaw dropped. "What? You're safe and back already? Who the hell are you? Hey, Mr. No-name, how did you run that fast? You look like you'd take two steps and break every bone in your body!"
The man turned his head, but instead of answering, his eyes locked onto Darius's left arm. He sat up, his face pale with shock. "What is that thing on your hand? That wasn't there when you arrived. Are you... a Devil Fruit user?"
Darius looked at his feathered, scaled arm and shrugged. "Yeah. I'm a Mythical Zoan."
"A Mythical Zoan?" the man whispered. "Then how did you get captured?"
"It's a long story," Darius said, sliding down to sit. "Now you tell me. Who are you?"
The man went quiet for a moment before sighing. "My name is Vaal. I was a pirate with a 30 million berry bounty."
Darius nodded. 30 million... Luffy's starting level.
"I thought I was the strongest," Vaal continued, his eyes darkening. "Until one day, I met that monster they call Garp. That man took us all out with a single punch. One punch! Next thing I knew, I was waking up in this cage. If I ever get out of here, I'll kill that monster no matter what!"
Darius let out a dry laugh. "Yeah, in your dreams. Even if you left here and trained for ten years, Garp would sneeze and send you flying into another sea."
Vaal didn't truly understand the scale of the Hero of the Marines, but Darius did. He remembered the manga—Garp was a walking Buster Call. He saw what the man did to rescue Koby and his legends at God Valley.
"Look, Vaal," Darius said seriously. "If you ever leave here—even by accident—you should just find a peaceful country and stay hidden. That's the only way you'll stay alive."
Vaal looked at him curiously. "Then who are you, really?"
Darius looked at his beastly talons, the blue light of the system still flickering in his mind. "Me? I was just a Soldier until yesterday. But the Navy branded me a pirate... so I guess I have no choice but to act like one now."
Vaal leaned back against the damp stone, his eyes hollow. "A soldier, huh? Serving people... then you really are in the wrong place. This prison is where service goes to die."
Darius stared at his scaled forearm, the golden light of the torchlight reflecting off his talons. "Maybe. But I think I'll keep serving people here, too. Just a different kind of service."
In his mind, Darius's goal was already shifting. He wasn't just a soldier from Earth anymore; he was a variable in a world he knew was headed for a Great War.
I won't just wait for Joy Boy, he thought. The people of this world have been under Imu's thumb for eight hundred years. If I can get strong enough with this Evolution System, I'll take that throne myself. And as for the Nika fruit... I can't bet my life on a 'destined' awakening. I need to build my own power.
He looked at Vaal, who was drifting back into a stupor.
The question is: what happens after I break these walls? Do I find Dragon and join the Revolutionary Army? Or do I gather my own crew and turn the world upside down as a Pirate King?
He shook his head, clearing his thoughts. Focus, Darius. You're in Level 2. You're currently a man with a chicken arm. You aren't killing Imu today.
"Hey, Vaal," Darius whispered. "Does the Navy ever come down here for anything besides feeding us to the beasts?"
"Questioning," Vaal muttered without opening his eyes. "Sometimes an officer wants to play with a prisoner. Or sometimes they check for 'talents.' Why?"
"Just wondering how much time I have to train," Darius replied. He closed his eyes and summoned the System interface. If he was going to survive, he needed to understand how to turn this "Common Beast" arm into something that could clash with an Admiral's and Emperor's sword.
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