Demon Slayer Virgil [Isekai One Piece]

Since Charlos' "Mount" was covered in wounds, its speed was not very fast, but it couldn't be said to be slow either. It was probably the same as the normal speed of a bicycle.

For Zavia, this presented an opportunity.

While the pompous procession slowly made its way, Zavia had already reached the back entrance of the Human Auction House. Dispatching the guards with practiced ease, he slipped inside.

Despite its opulence compared to the surrounding structures, the auction house itself wasn't particularly large. Utilizing his spatial manipulation, Zavia effortlessly bypassed several surveillance Den Den Mushis and soon found himself backstage.

"Hurry, hurry! The esteemed Saint Charlos is about to arrive!"

A voice suddenly broke the silence, causing Zavia to swiftly roll behind a stack of shipping containers, peering out cautiously.

Thud!

"You idiot! What are you doing?!"

Before Zavia's eyes, a middle-aged man in an outlandish outfit and star-shaped sunglasses berated a nearby guard.

"I apologize, Mr. Disco! I'll fix it immediately!" The guard had fumbled, sending the crate he carried crashing to the floor.

(This is...)

Zavia's brow furrowed as he examined the crate's contents, now exposed by the fall. It held a collection of large, heavy collars, seemingly crafted from Sea Prism Stone. Each one had two white, bomb-like objects attached to the chain.

(Slave collars, huh...)

"You imbecile! What if someone saw and stole them?! These things are incredibly valuable!" The man, Disco, roared, kicking the guard viciously.

"I'm... I'm so sorry, Mr. Disco! I'll clean it up right away!" Despite the abuse, the guard remained deferential.

"Damn it, if 'Joker' finds out, I'm a dead man! ... Whatever, just get ready. Saint Charlos will be here in half an hour." Disco spat out another curse, but this time he refrained from further violence, instead urging the guard to leave.

"Yes sir!"

***

"Sigh, damn it, why are they all so incompetent? Whatever, I need to get ready too. There's a beautiful mermaid in this auction. I'm going to make a fortune!" Muttering to himself with excitement, Disco quickly left the scene.

"Hmph, a mermaid, huh? Consider it my good deed then." With Disco gone, Zavia emerged from behind the containers. Hearing about the mermaid, he contemplated for a moment before deciding to rescue her as well. Technically, by disrupting the auction, he would indirectly be helping all the slaves.

"But those collars are a problem." Even if the slaves escaped, the collars would force them to remain in place. This gave Zavia pause.

He decided to find the key to unlock the collars within the next half hour. Otherwise, his plan might fall apart.

Disrupting the auction while the slaves remained collared wouldn't exactly be a clean sweep. However, Zavia didn't plan to search every nook and cranny. The auction house, while not large, had a confusing layout that could easily disorient someone. It was likely designed this way to prevent anyone from sneaking in and stealing slaves.

Spreading out his Observation Haki, Zavia closed his eyes and focused on sensing the life forms around him.

Under Zephyr's meticulous guidance, Zavia had spent one week grasping the basics of both Armament and Observation Haki, two weeks honing them, and a final week putting them into practice, ultimately achieving mastery.

As mentioned earlier, Zephyr had trained Zavia for two months. The first month was dedicated to Haki training, while the second focused on mastering Life Return.

It had to be said, Life Return was an ideal technique for a swordsman like Zavia, or rather, for any swordsman. It allowed for complete control over one's body, from hair and internal organs to overall physique.

Don't ask how Zavia managed to achieve this in just two months. The answer lay in his "cheat," the Legacy of the Demon God.

While he hadn't unlocked much of its potential yet, this inherited power helped him rapidly master skills and autonomously refine them to perfection. This was why Zavia had been able to develop instant-kill abilities like Spatial Shatter and Spatial Lock.

Otherwise, with his natural talent alone, he would have at most achieved Spatial Lock, and even then, shattering it wouldn't have caused spatial turbulence.

Returning to the present, the world around Zavia turned into a blank canvas as his senses extended, as if all existence had become a single color.

"Found you." He quickly located the guard responsible for watching over the "goods." Without delay, Zavia dashed towards his target.

Five minutes later, he stood beside a headless corpse, a ring of keys in his hand. After obtaining the keys, Zavia cleaned up the body and bloodstains, ensuring no trace of the incident remained. Then, he entered the auction house's back area.

As soon as he stepped through the door, a wave of despair washed over him from the left. A ten-meter-tall iron gate stood there, behind which various people were held captive.

Thin, fat, tall, short, men and women, young and old, they were all there. Their faces were devoid of expression, or rather, they were filled with despair, for they were about to lose the most basic right of a human being – the right to live.

Ignoring these people, Zavia wandered through the area. Soon, he spotted a large fish tank at the back, inside which sat a beautiful mermaid. She wept silently within the tank, her face etched with terror, but her eyes, unlike the others, held a spark of hope rather than despair. It seemed she had only recently been captured. Standing before the mermaid, Zavia observed her closely.

Mistaking him for one of the auction house staff, the mermaid curled up upon seeing him approach, her eyes filled with hatred.

"Hey, don't misunderstand. I'm not one of them." Perhaps sensing her thoughts, Zavia lifted the lid of the tank and spoke to her. He knew that this thing had incredible soundproofing. If he didn't open the lid, he would appear mute to her.

"Eh? You're... not from here?" Hearing his voice, the mermaid spoke, her voice sweet and melodious, evoking a protective instinct.

However, Zavia felt nothing of the sort. "Yeah, that's right. I'm not from here. I'm here to rescue you."

"Really?!! But..." The mermaid's emotions surged with excitement upon hearing Zavia's words, but then, as if remembering something, her mood plummeted.

Noticing this, Zavia paused for a moment before it dawned on him.

(That's right, there's racial discrimination between humans and mermaids in the One Piece world. How could I forget!)

"Sigh, don't worry. I don't have any racial prejudices. In my eyes, there's no difference." Hearing this, a glimmer returned to the mermaid's eyes, and her expression softened.

(Seems like a simple-minded young lady.)

Seeing how easily she believed his words, Zavia couldn't help but think to himself.

"Alright, there's no time to lose. Here are the keys. Unlock yourself and find a place to hide." Tossing the keys to the mermaid, Zavia planned to let her hide while he caused a commotion, then take her away in the chaos.

However, as he spoke, he suddenly sensed a powerful presence. His gaze snapped towards the deepest part of the cage, where a thin, black figure sat leisurely drinking wine.

"You are..." Ignoring the mermaid, Zavia walked towards the source of the presence. As he got closer, he saw that it was an elderly man with white hair, glasses, and a scar over his right eye.

"Hmm? Young man, do you know me?" The old man looked at Zavia with a kind smile.

"This is truly... unexpected. I didn't think you'd be here, Dark King Rayleigh."

Zavia's expression turned into a mixture of helplessness and caution. Before him stood Silvers Rayleigh, one of the people he respected most in this entire pirate world. However, now was not the time to show excitement.

"Oh my, it seems you do know me, young man." Rayleigh took a sip of his wine and smiled without denying Zavia's words.

"You didn't deny it, which means Miss Shakky has already told you about me. I apologize for the trouble."

"Apologize for what? Having a marine like you around makes me happy for the people."

"Is that so?" Hearing Rayleigh's words about being happy for the people, Zavia felt a pang in his heart for some reason.

(Aren't you a pirate? Why would you care about the people?)

He shook his head slightly, feeling speechless. "Forget it. If you want to talk, we can meet at Miss Shakky's bar. Can you do me a favor now?" Pulling himself out of his thoughts, Zavia spoke up.

"Ho~, what's in it for me?" After all, they were still strangers. Rayleigh squinted at Zavia while shaking his wine flask.

"... A bottle of good wine and a favor from me." After two minutes of silence, Zavia replied.

"I won't say anything about the wine, but what do you mean by a favor from you?"

Rayleigh's gaze suddenly sharpened, seemingly displeased with Zavia's words. After all, Rayleigh was still a pirate, and given his status, a favor from Zavia wasn't worth much. However…

"Nothing much, I just personally think you might need it in the near future." Zavia met Rayleigh's gaze directly, his eyes filled with indifference.