In an instant...
The entire stairwell fell silent — so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.
What had just happened shocked everyone to the core.
It was too eerie.
Without any warning or visible sign, a man had been crushed into a bloody mist by nothing but a shadowy gesture. It was as if he had never existed at all.
These were prison guards from Impel Down. They had seen monsters of every kind.
But this? This was something new.
Panic immediately surged through the group.
What if they were next to be struck by the same invisible, untraceable attack?
Not one of them dared to move.
Their eyes slowly turned to Rokuya, filled with growing dread.
"Afraid?"
"Good."
'That was just an appetiser.'
Rokuya licked his lips.
Where the unfortunate guard had been obliterated, blood pooled on the floor, thick and crimson, flowing directly towards Rokuya like a river of red.
It was absorbed into his body.
DING!
Congratulations, Host. One life absorbed. River of Death life count: +1!
Rokuya wasn't surprised by the mechanical, loli-like voice in his head.
In the original series, Alucard had an almost infinite number of lives.
Each one came from a soul he had devoured.
With the River of Death, Rokuya could now do the same: slaughter enemies to absorb their lives, gain strength and even be revived if killed.
In fact, the more souls he claimed, the more times he could return. And, when needed, he could summon them to fight for him.
This was undoubtedly one of his most powerful abilities.
Imagine facing a Soulsborne or MMO raid boss, except this boss had millions of HP bars.
And there was no upper limit.
Back in the stairwell...
Hannyabal gulped.
He was terrified. But he didn't back down.
Steeling himself, he barked an order.
'This guy...'
He must be a Devil Fruit user!"
Load the Seastone bullets and get the Seastone net launchers ready!'
"FIRE AT WILL! FULL COVERAGE!'
As Deputy Warden, Hannyabal was quick to act.
But he didn't know that Rokuya wasn't a Devil Fruit user.
Had he eaten a mythical Zoan, such as the Bat-Bat Fruit, Seastone might have worked.
However, Rokuya's powers came from Alucard, so Seastone was ineffective against him.
TATATATATATA—!
Gunfire erupted.
Every guard opened fire in perfect unison.
The hallway roared with muzzle flashes and metallic thunder.
Rounds of Seastone bullets and reinforced Seastone prison nets flew at Rokuya in waves.
The barrage lasted several minutes.
Then, at Hannyabal's signal, the gunfire ceased.
He smirked, proud of himself.
"Hmph!"
"Did you really think you could beat me here? You forget where we are!"
But what happened next wiped the smirk off his face.
Through the smoke, Rokuya's body stood completely intact.
No, not intact — he was regenerating.
His shredded flesh and torn skin slowly knitted themselves back together before their very eyes.
"What the hell...?"
'Why aren't the Seastone rounds working?!'
Why isn't it suppressing his Devil Fruit powers?!'
Hannyabal's eyes bulged.
His brain short-circuited.
He stared, frozen to the spot, as Rokuya's body healed with supernatural ease.
This was beyond his understanding.
In all his years working as Deputy Warden, he had never seen anything like this.
Seastone bullets and nets had always been their ultimate trump card against Devil Fruit users.
This is how the prison had survived for centuries without major breakouts.
The handcuffs. The cells. The bullets. The nets. These were the tools they used to keep even the worst offenders in check.
But what about now?
It was all useless.
His mind reeled.
How was this happening?
How could someone be immune to Seastone?
How could someone like him even exist?