The Fish Fruit was within reach.
Elric could already feel it—that faint, restless pull emanating from the Devil Fruit Tree deep within his consciousness, as if something immensely powerful was about to be born into the world. The sensation was different from ordinary fruits, carrying a weight and presence that made his blood hum with anticipation.
He didn't intend to wait any longer than necessary.
"Oh my God... where is this place?"
"Is this... another world?"
Stepping out of the mirror passage onto solid ground, Elsa and Nana froze in place, their mouths falling open in synchronized shock.
Above them floated the vast air base island, suspended impossibly in the sky like divine territory torn from myth. Clean air flowed freely through their lungs—air without the choking ash and decay that had become normal. Brilliant sunlight pierced through thin, wispy clouds, warm and life-giving. The oppressive apocalyptic fog that had blanketed everything for weeks was completely absent here.
For a long moment, both of them genuinely believed they had somehow stepped through a portal into another world entirely—perhaps heaven itself.
"This is my base island," Elric said calmly, his tone matter-of-fact, as if floating islands were the most natural thing imaginable.
"From now on, the two of you will stay here. You'll be safe, fed, and protected."
He turned slightly, gesturing to two attendants who had been waiting nearby.
"Take them to clean up properly. After that, bring them to the resting quarters and explain the basic rules."
He gave simple, efficient instructions.
The attendants bowed respectfully and stepped forward.
Nana hesitated only briefly—biting her lip, glancing between Elric and the impossible floating island—then nodded in acceptance.
She had contacted Elric herself, after all. She'd sent that desperate message begging for rescue. She already understood, on some level, what kind of man he was and what would be expected in return for salvation.
Fast? Yes, undeniably fast.
But acceptable given the alternative was death.
Elsa, however, did not move forward with the others.
Her eyes flickered with calculation—that familiar pattern of thought she'd perfected over years.
Then she smiled faintly, that perfectly practiced expression of gentle regret.
"I'm grateful you saved me," she said softly, her voice carrying just the right note of sincere appreciation mixed with principled resistance. "Truly, I am. But I won't trade myself like a commodity, like some object to be bought and sold."
She paused meaningfully, her eyes meeting his with what looked like admiration.
"I only belong to the man I truly love. The one who wins my heart, not just my body."
Her tone was calm, principled, almost admirable in its apparent conviction.
She even looked at Elric with a trace of that special admiration—the exact carefully calibrated expression she had deployed countless times before.
A look specifically designed to make men hesitate in their demands.
To make them want to chase her approval.
To make them feel they needed to prove themselves worthy of her affection.
Throughout her entire life, this technique had never failed her. Not once.
Until now.
"Stop pretending."
The harsh voice didn't come from Elric.
Nana stepped forward aggressively, her eyes cold with barely restrained anger.
"Everyone knows exactly what you're doing, Elsa. We all saw through you long ago."
She pointed accusingly.
"You tried to trip me earlier when that monster was chasing us. You deliberately wanted me dead so you could escape. You're not some pure goddess—you're a manipulative—"
Elsa glanced at her calmly, seemingly unbothered by the accusations.
She had heard such things before from jealous women who couldn't match her beauty or charm.
They never mattered in the end.
Men always chose her regardless. Always forgave her. Always believed her version of events.
She was confident in that pattern.
Too confident.
Far too confident.
—
In the next instant—
Her vision spun violently.
Something invisible and impossibly sharp sliced through the air around her.
She blinked in confusion.
Her arms and legs were no longer responding to her commands. She couldn't feel them at all.
"What—?!"
Her body was suddenly suspended in midair, limbs separated by some unseen force, immobilized completely. She hung there like a grotesque puppet with cut strings.
Fear finally shattered her carefully maintained composure.
Crack!
A thunderclap echoed across the floating island.
Elric appeared directly in front of her in a brilliant flash of blue-white lightning, moving faster than her eyes could track. One finger rested lightly against her forehead—casual, almost gentle, but carrying the promise of absolute destruction.
"I need loyalty," he said evenly, his voice carrying no anger, no emotion at all. Just cold statement of fact.
"Not tricks. Not games. Not manipulation."
His eyes bored into hers.
"Submit honestly, serve faithfully, and you'll have everything—safety, comfort, luxury even in the apocalypse."
His gaze hardened like steel.
"But if you continue to play games with me, if you think you can manipulate your way into special treatment..."
Lightning crackled faintly around his fingertip.
"I don't mind leaving you alone in a sealed room with your limbs still separated until you truly understand your situation."
Elsa's breath caught in her throat.
For the first time in her entire adult life—
There was no calculation in her eyes.
Only pure, primal fear.
Behind them, Nana exhaled slowly, watching the scene with complex emotions.
She finally understood something fundamental about this man.
Elric wasn't like the other men Elsa had wrapped around her finger.
He didn't chase. He didn't beg. He didn't try to win affection.
He simply decided what he wanted.
"From this moment forward," Elric continued, his voice remaining perfectly calm and flat—somehow more frightening than shouting would have been, "think of yourself as a tool without independent thoughts. Your opinions don't matter. Your preferences are irrelevant. You exist to serve."
"I... I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..." Elsa's voice cracked, tears streaming down her face.
"I surrender! I surrender completely and forever! I'll never—I'll never try anything again—please—"
Her psychological defenses finally collapsed entirely.
No matter how skilled she was at manipulation, no matter how many men she'd controlled, she was still fundamentally just a young woman in her early twenties. Faced with absolute power, with the cold certainty in Elric's eyes and the casual brutality of her dismemberment, fear completely overwhelmed every calculated thought.
Seeing her finally submit without any hint of continued resistance or hidden schemes, Elric lifted his hand.
The invisible Parasitic Threads loosened their grip.
With precise, almost surgical motion, he reconnected her severed limbs, restoring her bodily control and sensation.
The moment feeling returned in a rush of pins and needles, Elsa nearly collapsed to the ground. Her entire body was stiff, trembling uncontrollably. Her lips had gone pale. She didn't dare say another word or even meet his eyes.
From that moment on, all her pride, all her arrogance, all her confidence in her ability to control men—
Vanished completely.
She stood there silently, head bowed, utterly obedient.
Nearby, Nana lifted her chin slightly, eyes full of vindictive satisfaction as she glanced at her.
For the first time since the apocalypse began, she felt genuinely, deeply relieved. Justice, of a sort, had been served.
Soon after, the attendants—escorted both women toward the sauna section of the functional building for proper cleaning and preparation.
Elric, meanwhile, entered the rest chamber alone, his mind already focused on what came next.
Inside, Custard had already been waiting for quite some time.
She sat quietly on the edge of the bed, dressed in clean clothes that had been provided, her legs swinging nervously as she scrolled through her phone—one of the few still functioning with the base's power supply. When she saw Elric enter, she immediately stood up, setting the device aside.
"I'll help you change," she said softly, her movements practiced and careful.
Someone—probably Natasha—had already explained to her what was expected, what her role would be.
Elric did not refuse her assistance.
Soon after, the familiar system notification chimed in his mind.
Ding.
Congratulations, host, for successfully accepting a qualified adopter.
Devil Fruit Tree Growth +1
Fish Fish Fruit (Azure Dragon Form) has fully matured.
Attached Fruit: Fish Fish Fruit (Azure Dragon Form) is ripe and ready for harvest.
Unlocked material reward: High-quality starch supplies ×500 (100 lbs per bag)
Elric opened his system space interface, eyes gleaming with barely contained excitement.
"The Fish Fruit... finally."
If he consumed it, his physical strength, defense, regeneration, elemental control—everything—would rise to an entirely new level of existence.
Enough power, perhaps, to finally deal with that monstrous entity still lurking near the ruins of the old university campus.
That thing had been disturbingly quiet recently.
Too quiet for comfort.
Still devouring creatures at the edges of its territory, but no longer making large-scale movements or aggressive expansion—almost like it was dormant, deliberately cocooning itself for transformation.
Elric didn't trust that silence for a second.
When it woke again, it would undoubtedly be far more dangerous than before.
But not yet. There was no need to rush into confrontation.
He carefully placed the Fish Fruit back into the system space for safekeeping.
"There's no rush to consume it immediately."
"Two more rewards to collect first."
Before long, a respectful voice sounded from outside the chamber door.
"Master, Miss Nana and Miss Elsa are ready and prepared."
A pause.
"We'll withdraw now. Please call for us if you need anything at all."
The attendants departed quietly, their footsteps fading.
Elric looked up as Nana and Elsa stepped forward together—one resigned but accepting, the other utterly broken and obedient.
Time passed in the sealed chamber.
Then, the system chimed again with two rapid notifications.
Ding.
Congratulations, host, for successfully accepting a qualified adopter (Nana).
Devil Fruit Tree Growth +1
Slow Fruit is growing.
Unlocked material reward: AK-47 rifles ×50 with ammunition
Ding.
Congratulations, host, for successfully accepting a qualified adopter (Elsa).
Devil Fruit Tree Growth +1
Sluggish Fruit has fully matured.
Ding.
Target Elsa's overall score reached 95 points.
High-Score Adoption Reward Triggered.
Transparent Fruit is ripe and ready for harvest.
Slippery Fruit is ripe and ready for harvest.
Attached Fruit: Transparent Fruit – ripe and ready.
Attached Fruit: Slippery Fruit – ripe and ready.
Elric exhaled slowly, satisfaction washing over him.
Three Devil Fruits acquired in a single day.
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