Year 1322 of the Sea Calendar.
The latter half of the Grand Line, Torrance Island, Sleepy Ancient Town.
Sephiroth, wearing a black suit with two sabers tucked at his waist, his long silver hair reaching his shoulders, and a handsome yet eerie face, slowly descended from high altitude. He retracted the black wings on his back and stood at the entrance of an ancient white church.
The pedestrians on the road merely glanced at the silver-haired young man who descended from the sky. Then, they stopped looking and continued to busy themselves with their own affairs.
Devil Fruit users were not uncommon on the Grand Line, so ordinary people here had a very high tolerance for strange phenomena and things; one could even say they were used to it.
Torrance Island was not one of the islands on the three routes in the latter half of the Grand Line.
Because this island was poor in resources and had no special products, the residents of Sleepy Ancient Town living on this island were not wealthy; one could even say they were poor. Even Pirates didn't particularly like to frequent this place.
However, on this island, there were ancient historical ruins, with inscriptions that ordinary people couldn't understand, giving the island a touch of mystery.
Sephiroth stood at the entrance of the ancient white church, a thoughtful expression on his face.
After a good while, he stepped into the church with its doors open inward, walking past rows of wooden seats.
Tap-tap! Tap-tap! Tap-tap!
Sephiroth's feet, clad in black leather shoes, stepped on the stone floor of the church, causing slight echoes in the empty space.
At the end of the church hall, beneath a large wooden cross, stood a middle-aged priest wearing a black robe and with short silver hair. After hearing the footsteps, he turned his head to look at Sephiroth.
The silver-haired priest smiled and spoke in a very gentle tone:
"Young man, you look quite unfamiliar!
You're from out of town, aren't you?"
"That's right... I came here from a very distant place."
Sephiroth nodded, sat down on the front-row wooden seat, and stared intently at the cross ahead.
"So, are you just passing through, or are you here to explore and search for treasure...?" the priest asked casually.
"Explore and search for treasure?
Is there some legendary treasure here?"
"Hahaha! I'm not really sure about that either!
It's just that our island has many ancient ruins, so occasionally some Pirates or adventurers come here, seemingly looking for the whereabouts of some treasure."
"Oh! Is that so?"
Sephiroth nodded first, then he asked another question:
"This church looks very old!
How long has it been here...?"
Hearing this, the silver-haired priest thought for a moment before speaking:
"About six hundred years, perhaps!"
"Hmm! That's a long time indeed... But I'm a little curious. Why was this church built here? The island isn't large, and the population doesn't seem high. It doesn't seem like a good place to spread faith!"
"Hahaha! That's true, you've hit the nail on the head."
The silver-haired priest chuckled, then spoke in a slightly ethereal tone.
"Hmm! I heard that a long, long time ago... A very powerful demon appeared in this world. He was bloodthirsty and cruel and ruled many islands with his strength and influence... Ambitious, he attempted to rule the entire world and stirred up a bloody storm on this sea, bringing endless disaster and war. So, those who wanted to resist him gathered together, worked in concert to kill him, and buried him on this island. However... Although the demon was killed by everyone, his will still existed in the world. Therefore, to prevent this demon from resurrecting and bringing disaster and war, people built a church on this island to suppress the demon's will."
"I see, that's truly a story with profound meaning!" Sephiroth said, enlightened.
The silver-haired priest chuckled, his tone slightly teasing.
"Hahaha! Legends are just legends, after all! Whether it is true or not can no longer be verified..."
As the two spoke, a faint, almost imperceptible black mist drilled into the silver-haired priest's nostrils, causing his consciousness to become momentarily hazy.
"Legends! Sometimes, they are more than just legends!"
Sephiroth chuckled and shook his head, stood up, and drew the butcher knife from his waist.
He walked to the front of the large cross and lightly swung the dark butcher knife toward the ground, cutting open a spatial portal.
Crack!
As Sephiroth stepped forward, the spatial portal opened, and a dark secret room appeared.
Squeak, squeak, squeak-!
A swarm of black bats split from his body, coalescing into a Bat Clone identical to his main body, and stepped into the dark secret room...
Before long, the Bat Clone came out holding a locked small bronze box and handed it to him.
After retrieving the Bat Clone, Sephiroth used the butcher knife to cleave open the rusted bronze lock on the bronze box.
Immediately, a round Devil Fruit with purplish-red skin covered in spiral patterns came into view.
This Devil Fruit was something Sephiroth knew very well!
Its name:
Zoan Type, Mythical Zoan, Bat-Bat Fruit, Vampire Form!
"..."
Sephiroth examined the Vampire Fruit, and he couldn't help but fall into a long silence.
After repeated confirmation that this was the thing that had been calling to him, he finally let out a slightly helpless sigh, opened his spatial storage, and put the Devil Fruit inside.
Then, he turned and left the ancient white church, standing on the street.
Sephiroth tilted his head slightly, gazing at the clear sky, and murmured softly, "Is this fate... or something else?"
After a good while, he chuckled lightly.
"No! This is just a clumsy story!"
After speaking, his black wings spread from his back, and as he flapped his wings forcefully twice, he shot up into the sky like an arrow released from a bow...