Two days passed quickly. They had arrived with five ships and were leaving with six. The fleet's numbers had surpassed two thousand, and they had also gained Fujitora as a hidden trump card.
After sailing for more than two additional days, on a bright moonlit night, the six ships followed the Log Pose and Mogan's experience to reach their first destination in the New World.
Sleeping Island.
"Judging from this old blueprint, this island really isn't that big."
It counted as a small island, consisting of one main town and several villages.
"Not big, but more than enough to fit our people."
Sleeping Island could house tens of thousands without issue. They only had a little over two thousand.
"Disembark."
The old harbor of Sleeping Island wasn't large. Once their six ships docked, there was barely any space left. If they planned to station here long-term, renovations would definitely be necessary.
"This atmosphere totally lives up to the name Sleeping Island, meow. Feels like vampires and werewolves could pop out at any moment, meow."
Very close to the harbor was the island's only town—Midnight Town.
The distance from the port to Midnight Town was only about one kilometer. Leaving part of the crew behind to guard the ships in case of danger, Vane led a group straight into the town.
Mogan could only walk along the main street. Looking around, he said,
"When I came here many years ago, it looked exactly like this. Hardly anything has changed."
Fujitora was also in the group. Tapping the ground with his wooden staff and sensing it for a moment, he said, "The materials used in this town are exceptionally good."
This town had been built before the island was officially opened. The construction was indeed heavy-duty. The ground was paved with thick stone slabs, and the houses were made from carefully cut bluestone blocks.
"A pity. It's completely lifeless. No one's lived here for too long."
"Spread out and take a look. See if there's anything of value in this town."
The buildings weren't tall, mostly two or three stories on average.
The tallest structure was a bell tower that looked about five stories high.
"The overall structure of the houses is fine, but doors, windows, tables, chairs—those all need replacing."
"That's a minor issue."
While others were assessing whether the town could be put to use immediately and occasionally checking for valuables, no one was particularly invested. This had only ever been an ordinary town. The original residents had evacuated in an orderly manner. Anything truly valuable would have been taken, leaving little behind.
"Outside the town, there's a slightly raised hill. Back then, when they faced the plague, they could only cremate the bodies and bury all the ashes together."
"That sounds creepy… but since they were burned to ashes, no need to worry about vampires popping up, meow."
Vane tapped the ground lightly with his toe and spread the wings on his back, circling more than ten meters in the air.
Sleeping Island's Midnight Town was very likely the Sleeping Ancient Town he had been searching for. And it might also hide a powerful Devil Fruit.
But where would it be? If only there were some kind of treasury he could search.
Whooo—
A strong gust of wind blew in from the sea.
Clang!
A somewhat muffled bell tolled from inside the bell tower.
In the pitch-black night, the heavy toll instantly drew everyone's attention.
Meowth looked around warily. "No way, meow. Feels like vampires are about to come out, meow."
"It really does feel like a movie scene. The bell rings and then the vampires show up."
Mogan explained, "There are no vampires. It's always been like this. Every midnight, a strong sea wind blows through."
"The bell inside the tower is set up to be struck by the wind. When people hear it, they know it's time to sleep. Otherwise, they'll be short on rest the next day."
That explanation made sense. Still, it was genuinely unsettling. If pirates had once landed here to rest, they probably would've been scared half to death. And if anything unpleasant happened at the same time, word would spread that this place was cursed.
"The bell tower."
Vane flew toward the tower. At the top was an opening large enough to enter; the wind poured in from there.
There should have originally been stairs connecting the levels, but after so many years, the stairs were long gone. Even the platforms had disappeared.
All that remained was a thick black wooden frame suspending what looked like a bronze bell.
"This is the most mysterious place in Midnight Town. The highest chance of something being hidden."
Vane searched the structure thoroughly but couldn't find any place where a Devil Fruit might be stored. In the end, he climbed beneath the bell itself to check.
Inside, there was only a clapper attached by a chain. The inner walls of the bell were perfectly smooth.
Buzz—buzz—
The Cursed Sword at Vane's waist suddenly began to tremble uncontrollably.
"What's going on?"
The Cursed Sword was wicked, capable of drinking blood—but moving on its own like this was a first. Had it gained consciousness after absorbing too much of his demon blood?
Clang!
The Cursed Sword shot out of its scabbard on its own and slashed at the clapper.
The clapper was hollow!!
A blood-red Devil Fruit appeared inside, its stem shaped like a pair of bat wings.
"A Mythical Zoan—Vampire Fruit?!"
Judging by its appearance, this was definitely his target fruit!
The next second, he saw the sword's tip thrust straight into the Vampire Fruit. The Devil Fruit rapidly shriveled.
NO!!!
Vane felt like the world had gone absurd. He had considered before whether he should eat a Devil Fruit himself.
If he didn't, he would rely on his elf energy, swordsmanship, physical skills, and Haki to dominate the world. As things stood, once he fully absorbed Articuno and Regice's energy, plus his swordsmanship, physical techniques, and Haki, he would likely already be at the Yonko level.
He also still had fragments of the Red Orb and Blue Orb, possibly unlocking even greater power.
If he did eat one, it would have to be a fruit he truly wanted and had the chance to obtain. The Vampire Fruit was one of his envisioned targets "if" he ever decided to eat one.
Just moments ago, when he first saw the fruit, he had hesitated over whether to eat it.
Well, no more hesitation now. There was nothing left to eat!
"You damn thing, if you…"
After "eating" the Devil Fruit, the Cursed Sword began to transform. A pair of black-and-red bat wings appeared at the guard, accompanied by a blood-red glow.
Hiss!
A pair of slender, delicate feet emerged from the red light. Then pale hands, a small body bathed in holy radiance, pink hair, and black-and-red eyes.
For reference, she resembled Krul Tepes from Seraph of the End.
"…Huh. This… might actually be pretty good."
What the hell!
His sword had turned into a vampire loli sword spirit.