Devil Fruit Powers In The Tower Of God - Chapter 55

The 30th Floor was one of the most beautiful places in the entire Tower. It was filled with incredible islands that floated on top of highly concentrated Shinsoo seas, and the mesmerizing beaches had a great variety of hotels that the Regulars could choose to stay in.

Above in the skies, the Archimedes, one of the five great Suspendships of the Workshop, was floating in the air. The ship was almost as large as the islands, and the only reason it was able to float in the air was due to the two large chunks of Suspendium that were attached to its sides.

Suspendium was mineral in the shape of a blue rock. The higher the purity of Suspendium, the better it will float in areas of high Shinsoo density. The purity level of Suspendium is also one of the factors used for the ranking and grading of items like Pockets, Inventories, and Lighthouses.

A few months ago, Lumen and his group had received an invitation for the Workshop Battle and had easily passed the Test on the 29th Floor.

Rather than staying in one of the hotels, they had rented a villa for themselves. It was in a more isolated place, detached from the rest of the buildings, but it had an incredible view of the island, and it also had a private pool.

The villa had different owners before Lumen’s team advanced to the 30th Floor, but they had suddenly disappeared without leaving a trace.

It was a couple days after the incident at the Hand of Arlene, and the whole group was taking a break while having fun at their pool.

Leesoo and Aleksai were playing volleyball in the pool. Most of the time, Aleksai would slam the ball as hard as he could and sent it straight towards Leesoo’s head, who was bȧrėly able to dodge it.

Hatsu was relaxing by swinging Ryu, his ice sword. Under the guidance of the sword’s spirit, he had made great improvements in his swordsmanship. Ryu even allowed Hatsu to Ignite him again, but only under the condition that the swordsman practices his swings every second that he could. Should he slack off even once, Ryu wouldn’t allow itself to be ignited.

Laure was a dozen meters away from the pool and peacefully sleeping. Despite his distance from the pool, some water would splash towards him from time to time, due to the ball hitting the pool. Without even opening his eyes or waking up, a barrier would pop up and block the water for him.

Saber was sleeping next to him and taking advantage of the shield that he would create.

Vespa was also next to him, making sure not a single drop of water gets on her wings. She was working on making a new poison and mixing some ingredients she had purchased.

Verdi was in the pool dressed in a cute pink one-piece swimwear. She was playing around with Archer, the small black snake while splashing water at it. The winged snake would gulp down large amounts of water and spray her with it.

Lumen was laying on his front, while Tiana was sitting on his back while giving him a massage. She was wearing a purple top and bottom swimwear that matched her hair color.

“Thanks for that.” Lumen told her as he got up and sat on a beach chair. “Do you want me to return the favor and massage you now?”

“No!” Tiana answered, and her face turned bright red. “Well, maybe later, when we are alone.” She bȧrėly whispered the last part.

At that moment, Verdi ran up to Lumen. She gave him a hug and started kissing him on the cheek.

“Verdi, what are you doing?” Lumen asked her with a laugh.

“I saw Tiana kissing you the other day, and when I asked her why, she said it’s because she loves you. So I’m showing you how much I love you now!” Verdi answered him and continued kissing his cheek.

Lumen rubbed her hair and kissed her on the cheek as well. “I love you too, Verdi.” After spending so much time with the cute girl, she had really grown on him. Verdi was like a little sister to him.

“Yay!” She kissed him one last time on the cheek and ran back to the pool. “Lumen’s love me the most!”

Lumen turned around, only to see Anak dressed in a black one-piece swimwear. She was looking at him expectantly while wagging her tail.

“Come.” He beckoned to her, and she jumped into his embrace. Anak kissed him on the cheek and offered her own. Lumen kissed her cheek as well, and her tail started swirling so fast, it looked like a helicopter’s rotor.

Androssi was laying on a beach chair, dressed in pink top and bottom swimwear, while watching them in annoyance and a little bit of jealousy. She didn’t specifically envy that Lumen was giving them so much attention, but she was jealous that there was someone that cared for them that much. Androssi might be a Princess of Zahard, but she also craved the attention of others. She just didn’t know how to express that, and the only way she knew to receive that attention was through the interviews from the various journalists.

Sensing her emotions, Lumen looked at her, but Androssi huffed in response and turned around.

“What? You want a kiss too?” Lumen jokingly asked her.

“Fuck off. No one wants your kisses.” Androssi crossed her arms under her brėȧsts and looked the other way.

At that moment, Merrie, who was also laying on a beach chair, dressed in a red one-piece swimwear, called out to the rest, while looking at her Lighthouse. “Hey, listen to this.”

Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned towards her.

“Apparently, FUG has a new Slayer Candidate that’s an E-Rank Regular. He had destroyed the Hand of Arlene on the 28th Floor and killed a member of the 10 Great Families, Khun Aguero Agnis, with the explosion.” Merrie read the information available on the Box.

Everyone was surprised hearing that. To become a Slayer Candidate as an E-Rank regular was a great achievement. That person either has to have power equal to that of a Ranker or limitless potential.

Lumen had a suspicion on who exactly might be the Slayer Candidate, but he was surprised that FUG was so open about this. They should be aware that he, someone who opposes them, was on the 30th Floor. Should he get to meet that Slayer Candidate, he would annihilate him. In fact, he would even go out of his way to do it. So why was this information released then?

“What?! Khun is dead?!” Leesoo yelled in surprise. Agnis wasn’t on a team with someone like Lumen, who helped them grow so much, but he was extremely strong. He was the best Light Bearer amidst the E-Rank Regulars and had an incredibly tough body thanks to being a member of the 10 Great Families.

“Well, the information states that he had been killed, but his body wasn’t found there. He could still be alive, but the chances are low.” Merrie replied to him.

“Lumen, we have to pay them back for this! Agnis was my friend! He was also a friend of half the group! We have to kill this Slayer Candidate.” Leesoo pleaded.

“I will go after him either way. I’m just wondering why they publicized this information. Urek killed off two of their Slayers, so they should be scared of him killing this one as well. They should also know that whenever I’ve met with FUG members, I’ve killed them all.” Lumen replied to Leesoo and turned towards Merrie. “Is there anything else?”

“Yes, it says that the Slayer Candidate is gathering the strongest team to compete in the Workshop Battle.” Merrie informed him.

“I see…” Said Lumen. He had learned from Absorcion that FUG was planning something big for the next Workshop Battle, but he didn’t know it will involve a Slayer Candidate.

“Well, they will be participating in the Workshop Battle, so we can just smash them there,” Androssi stated while cracking her knuckles.

Seeing that, Lumen told her. “If you act like a man, no one will like you.”

“Hateful bastard. No one likes you! And no one will ever like you!” Androssi jumped from her beach chair and started swinging punches his way. However, Lumen was easily able to catch her fists and held them in place. “As a lady, you have to act more gentle, don’t you know?”

“I will show you how gentle I am!” Androssi tried kicking him, but he tied her legs with a rope made of darkness. Another rope made of darkness appeared and tied her arms as well.

“Let me go! This is not how you are supposed to treat a lady!” Androssi yelled at him.

Everyone ignored her and started moving towards the inside of the villa, to start planning on how they will deal with the new Slayer Candidate.

“Let me gooo!” Androssi yelled, but they had already entered the villa.

A few more days had passed, and Merrie had gathered them all.

“I have some new information to share with you. Apparently, Agnis is still alive.” Merrie stated.

“He’s alive?” Leesoo asked with wide eyes. “How do you know this?”

“Emily told me.” Merrie showed them the smartphone-looking device.

“And you are sure that this is true?” Leesoo asked, remembering that Emily wasn’t all-knowing.

“Yes, I have found a way to communicate with a friend using Emily.” Merrie then explained how she was able to talk with Hwa Ryun by using code words. The two have been sharing a lot of information, and Merrie told them who the Slayer Candidate is.

“So, Bam, is Jye Viole Grace, the new Slayer Candidate?” Androssi asked in surprise and turned towards Lumen. “We have to save him!”

“I’m not sure about that.” Lumen replied. He didn’t have enough information to make a choice right now. Bam might as well have joined FUG willingly, and he didn’t know for sure if that’s the case.

“Are you planning on killing him?!” Androssi exclaimed.

“They wouldn’t make someone they don’t trust a Slayer Candidate.” Lumen answered her.

“Wait, you are serious!? I won’t allow you to kill him!” Androssi stated. Bam was the first person that had actually cared about her, and that meant a lot to her. She knew that Lumen cared a lot about her and the rest of the group, but Bam had a special place in her heart.

“There is no need to fight.” Merrie tried calming her down. “Apparently, he is being threatened with the safety of his friends, you.” She pointed at Androssi and the rest that had taken the Test on the 2nd Floor with her.

“How?” Lumen immediately asked. His teammates were the few people that he actually cared about. At first, he thought it might be the person that has been spying on him, but that person was focused solely on him. The other one he thought about was the black-haired man he met on the 28th Floor. However, that man called himself Bam’s teacher and said he cared about him and his friends, so it wasn’t him as well.

“With you,” Merrie answered him. “FUG has told him that they have sent you, the masked Regular, to monitor his friends. They’ve shown him footage of you fighting and killing three Rankers.”

“What?!” Everyone exclaimed and turned towards Lumen. They have spent nearly 7 years with him, and they were sure that he wasn’t part of FUG, considering how many members he has killed from that organization.

“Wait, you have killed three Rankers?” Leesoo asked in surprise.

“Maybe.” He replied to Leesoo and turned towards Merrie. “But that’s not the point. You said that he is not willingly a part of FUG?”

“Yes.” Merrie confidently confirmed.

“Well, maybe we can consider saving him.” Lumen told them, and Androssi quickly gave him a hug. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

A few more months passed, and it was the day before the Workshop Battle is about to begin. Thousands of Regulars had arrived on the 30th Floor with an invitation to the battle. However, there were no signs of FUG and their new Slayer Candidate. Everyone knew that he would be participating in the Workshop Battle, but no one knew where he and his group were residing.

The day passed like any other day until the clock turned to 00:00, and the next day began. All electronics then stopped working, and all Regulars heard a message.

“Hello, E-Rank Regulars at the Workshop Battle. I’m IO, who will be in charge of this Workshop Battle.” All devices on the Floor transmitted this message.

“Are you having a good time in the beautiful nightscape of Sephia Island. The beach here is the most beautiful place on the 30th Floor, so don’t miss it. But no matter how beautiful this nightscape is, you must be looking forward to departing, so it might be a bit boring for you.”

“So, for your entertainment, we’ve prepared a game for you. And the price for this game is 248 tickets to ride on the Archimedes that will depart in two days!”

“The ones with the ticket will ride on the Archimedes! And the ones who don’t have a one, can’t get on.”

Blue spheres of light appeared above each E-Rank Regular that was participating in the Workshop Battle.

“Now, use the item we give you and get the tickets for the Archimedes!”

The spheres of light descended into the hands of all the Regulars, and they transformed into a gun.

“The rules of the game are, one shot, one oportunity!”

“Use the gun that we gave you to shoot other Regulars. Then you will get a ticket and be sent to the Archimedes right away! But you only get one bullet per person. Unless you use this opportunity right, you will fail the Test right away.”

“If you want to have some fun, you can steal the gun from another Regular and get the bullet from it. The owner of the stolen gun will fail, and you have to use your own gun to shoot.”

“The chamber of each gun can hold up to six bullets. If you put in more than two bullets in a gun, you can use the control handle on the left side of the gun.”

“The control handle could be set to Dark or Light. The gun is normally in Dark mode, but if you switch it in Light mode, the Regular who you shoot will get a ticket and be sent to the Archimedes. However, you can’t shoot yourself with the Light mode.”

“But remember, no matter how many bullets you might have, you can only shoot one shot in the Dark mode. If you miss this shot, you will fail the Test!”

“After the game begins, the first one to shoot gets the item Blood Tamara!”

“The one that shoots the most Regulars with the Light mode gets the item White Heavenly Mirror!”

“And one more thing. If you shoot Bong Bong, the fairy of luck that wanders around the island with the Light bullet, you will get a ticket for the Archimedes and a very special item. So try that one as well.”

“For your information, don’t shoot or hurt people who aren’t Regulars. If you do, you will fail right away. Then after a minute, the protection of the gun will be removed!”