Even if the body withers away and disappears, the mind and will can still survive.
My will is eternal and indestructible.
I poured all of my will into you. Although the sun has already killed your body, even a few surviving cells are enough.
I will inject my blood and power into your body and use your body's resistance to sunlight to be reborn!
When that happens, you will become the first demon in history to overcome sunlight—the strongest demon!
A faint voice echoed in the depths of Nami's heart, making her suddenly open her eyes.
All she could see was darkness, darkness like hell itself.
Below her, something seemed to be flowing slowly—a black, thick river.
Nami lay on the surface of that river, staring blankly upward.
Am I…
not dead?
When she rushed out of the house and stood under the sun, using the last of her strength to hold Muzan back for even a moment, she had already prepared herself to die.
When Muzan tore through the bedding and sunlight fell onto her body, Nami had almost completely lost consciousness. Only her final determination remained.
She had no memory of what happened after that.
But she could feel the changes taking place in her body.
Power. Incredibly powerful energy!
Along with that power came an intensely evil will.
At that moment, Nami felt as if she were slowly sinking into the river. The feeling of suffocation made her increasingly miserable.
In that pitch-black world, she seemed to be falling deeper and deeper.
As she fell, another consciousness seemed to awaken in her mind.
Kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill! Kill every human who might threaten you and become the strongest demon!
I am a demon. I am destined to be different from humans. Humans are nothing but my food!
Muzan Kibutsuji is dead. I am the new Muzan Kibutsuji, the new Demon King!
I will live forever and become a true demon!
Nami opened her eyes again. This time, the world before her was no longer completely dark. It was still gloomy, but it was nothing like that pitch-black, evil, gloomy, and rotten darkness.
This was simply the night.
Under the night sky, a very faint moonlight shone through the window.
"Nami…!"
The moment she woke up, she seemed to hear a familiar voice.
That was…
Nojiko and Bellemere's voices?
Nojiko and Bellemere were demons too.
But this world no longer needed any other demons. I have overcome sunlight. I no longer need followers. One demon who can live without fearing the sun is enough—me.
That thought suddenly flashed through Nami's mind. Looking at the worried Nojiko and Bellemere, she suddenly reached out and grabbed both of them by the throat!
"Ah!"
Nami let out a scream. It was as if something had snapped inside her mind, and she completely lost herself in an instant. An overwhelming impulse took control, and Nami let out a beast-like roar.
"Nami?!"
Bellemere noticed the change in Nami and cried out in shock, "You…"
That was impossible. Although Bellemere had completely lost the ability to fight later on, she still remembered that Nami had regained her senses and fought Muzan. But the violent way Nami looked after waking up was clearly the behavior of a low-level demon.
Nojiko was just as shocked. She couldn't believe Nami would attack her, but that was exactly what happened. Nami had been about to crush both their throats when she suddenly swung her arms and sent them flying.
Bellemere and Nojiko smashed through the wall and were thrown into the room next door.
Luffy and Zoro were in that room.
"Nami?" Luffy looked at Nami as she suddenly charged toward him. He only had time to move back one step before her claws tore across his chest, leaving five scars on the chest that had only just healed.
Nami's body hunched over. Then it underwent a horrifying, unnatural change. Several long whips suddenly stretched out from her back. They twisted like worms, leaving Luffy stunned.
"Muzan Kibutsuji?!"
Luffy immediately remembered the Demon King they had faced before. Muzan had looked the same back then. Nami's appearance had not changed, but the long whips extending from her back and the intensely evil aura around her were exactly like Muzan's!
"!"
Bellemere's pupils shrank when she saw the whips. Of course she recognized Muzan's power. Unable to accept what she was seeing, she shouted, "Muzan Kibutsuji! What did you do to Nami?!"
But Nami was like a beast that had never learned reason. Only meaningless roars came from her mouth. She suddenly charged at Luffy. Luffy could not bring himself to fight Nami, so he dodged, but Bellemere charged straight toward her.
Yes, she actually ran directly at Nami!
Bellemere did not know how Nami's whips compared to Muzan's, but their power was obvious from the feeling they gave off. If one struck Bellemere, even a demon's body would suffer serious damage.
Yet something strange happened. Just as the whips were about to hit Bellemere, they suddenly stopped with incredible speed, halting inches from her. A look of struggle appeared in Nami's eyes.
Bellemere seized the chance to hug Nami. She saw the struggle in Nami's eyes and said through her grief, but with firm resolve, "Nami, don't lose to that man! You can beat him! You can wake up!"
Feeling the cold body of this "daughter" in her arms, Bellemere remembered everything that had happened in the past. They had finally, finally been about to escape Muzan's control, only for this to happen. She refused to accept it!
There was nothing Bellemere could do to help Nami now. All she could do was believe in her.
Nami struggled even more fiercely in Bellemere's arms. The tendrils behind her lashed about wildly. Even thunder began to rumble across the sky outside, as if a storm were about to come crashing down and destroy everything.
Yet none of it caused any real damage. It was as if the storm represented Nami's battle with Muzan inside her heart.
Get out of my body!
A burst of light suddenly erupted in the darkness of her mind. As Nami sank into the endless darkness, she began to struggle violently!
Perhaps she had heard Bellemere's call—the voice of the woman who had raised her for more than ten years. A spark of light returned to Nami's pitch-black eyes.
She was falling through a black, sticky river, seemingly without end.
She forced herself to steady her body and looked toward the surface. The light in her eyes seemed to come from the sky. Above the river, a crack had opened in the pitch-black world, and a faint glow struggled through it, reaching toward Nami.
"Bellemere…"
Nami softly called her name and fought her way upward.
But at that moment, countless tendrils seemed to appear beneath the black river. They wrapped around Nami's body.
Don't go! Don't leave! You are the Demon King! Stay here, and you can enjoy endless life and freedom. No one will ever be able to control you again. Nothing will ever make you afraid. You will become the most perfect demon in history, crossing from the realm of half-demon into the realm of true demons and enjoying the "eternity" that humans can never reach.
The cold tendrils wrapped around Nami's ankles and calves. Some even coiled around her waist and pulled at her hands. At the same time, countless icy thoughts poured into her mind, filled with endless hatred, anger, and temptation.
Nami's breathing grew faster. She wanted to reject everything, but a voice in her mind kept telling her to accept it. If she did, she could have every beautiful thing in the human world.
Her face began to change, as if one half belonged to Nami and the other to Muzan. Two different selves were clashing fiercely.
She used all her strength to swim upward, but the cold hands beneath the water held her body fast. Gradually, she felt her strength running out. In that cold, sticky darkness, she could not even breathe. She grew more and more exhausted, and colder and colder.
Nami stared desperately at the only light above her and suddenly reached upward.
The next moment, another hand appeared above her.
It was Bellemere's hand!
Bellemere grabbed Nami's hand, as if she were trying to pull Nami out of the river.
But Nami was too exhausted. Even with Bellemere's help, it was difficult to escape the hands below.
"Nami!"
Just as Nami was about to lose hope, another woman's voice rang out.
It was Nojiko's voice.
Nami's eyes lit up, and the single hand above her became two.
Her body suddenly felt much lighter. With the help of her adoptive mother and sister, she finally began to rise. She could feel herself moving toward the surface. She could escape this darkness!
"Don't leave!"
But Muzan Kibutsuji's voice suddenly rang out.
The former Demon King appeared before Nami and shouted, "Don't leave! You should inherit my will and become the strongest demon! You have everything I ever wanted, so why are you betraying me?"
Nami looked at Muzan and replied tiredly, "I don't care about anything you wanted."
"If you refuse to inherit my will, you cannot possess my power. A world without power is a miserable one! Do you really think you can protect Bellemere and Nojiko? The strong are everywhere in this world! There are countless beings more terrifying than me! With your current strength, facing them means certain death. If you inherit my will and power, you will have a much better chance of surviving! Only then can you protect the people you care about!"
Muzan grabbed Nami by the throat and said, "You are not allowed to leave! You belong to me!"
Nami gave the Demon King a miserable yet contemptuous look. With some difficulty, she replied, "Muzan Kibutsuji, you really are… pathetic."
"!"
Muzan's pupils shook. But before he could say anything else, another voice came from above—a man's voice.
"Nami!"
It was Luffy's voice, and his hand came down with it!
Crash!
Luffy's fist slammed into Muzan's face, driving him deep into the river. Luffy then grabbed Nami's hand as well and used his immense strength to pull her upward.
With the combined strength of Luffy, Nojiko, and Bellemere, Nami finally broke free of Muzan's control. She quickly rose toward the surface, drawing closer and closer to the light.
"You will regret this!"
Muzan's voice suddenly rang out from beneath the water. "Do you really think the path of the demon ends here?! There are other demons in this world who have taken a different path. They are also searching for a way to overcome sunlight. You have the potential to succeed, which makes you the perfect material for them! You will come looking for me, Nami!"
Suddenly, the Demon King seemed to calm down. He said coldly, "I will wait for the day you come crying and begging me for help. But I will not refuse you, because…"
"I am you!"
"!"
A blinding light suddenly appeared before Nami's eyes. She burst out of the darkness and into the light. Even the faint moonlight shining through the window made her uncomfortable, and she froze for a moment.
"Bell… mere…"
She stared blankly at Bellemere, who was holding her. Bellemere froze when she heard Nami speak, then was overcome with joy.
She hugged Nami even more tightly. "Nami! I knew you would come back!"
Tears seemed ready to spill from Nami's eyes. She gritted her teeth and hugged Bellemere back.
"Yes, I'm back!"
Luffy watched from a distance and grinned, showing his bright white teeth. Nojiko also stood in the room, looking tired but relieved.
"It's finally… all over."
Nojiko spoke softly.
Everything…
Was it really over?
No. It was nowhere near over.
Nami's heart felt heavy. Muzan's final words still echoed in her mind.
Muzan was not dead. He had merely taken shelter inside her body, and there was no telling when he might appear again and take control of her body.
But Nami did not say any of this. She simply hugged her "mother" in silence.
"Yes… it's all over."
By the time Nami spoke again, she had already made up her mind.
Electric sparks danced across her fingernails, and Bellemere, who was in her arms, instantly lost consciousness.
Because Bellemere's back was turned toward Nojiko, Nojiko did not know what had happened. And with her level of strength, she could not react to Nami's speed.
Nami laid Bellemere on the bed, then instantly appeared behind Nojiko and used lightning to numb her body as well, making her fall asleep.
She looked at Luffy, who was still standing, and said softly, "When the sun rises tomorrow, all of this will disappear."
She had made her decision.
Since Muzan was inside her body, then…
she would let the sun purify everything!
----
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