008. Entrusting Her to Someone!

The guillotine that had hung over his head all this time was gone. Merlin felt clearer and more refreshed than ever.

After testing out his ability, Merlin opened the cage, reached inside, grabbed the lynx, and [Equipped] it.

Whoosh!

A lifelike image of a closed-eyed lynx suddenly appeared in the second frame of the [Equipment Slot] before him.

[Name: Unconscious Lynx]

[Effect: When equipped, grants you the biological traits of a lynx.]

[Synchronization Value: 1%]

[Evaluation: A healthy, strong lynx. As an all-around hunter among felines of its size, prolonged equipping carries a chance of permanently gaining the special talents of a lynx.]

A warm current flowed through his body.

He blinked. Now he had gained various traits far beyond those of a rat: keen senses and a strong, capable body.

He got to his feet and bounced in place a few times. He could feel that his body's explosive power had been greatly enhanced.

The boost was no weaker than that of his untransformed forest-wolf form. The only difference now was that he couldn't transform.

Merlin's eyes shone. His confidence was starting to soar.

"With the Calamity Fruit ability and the lynx's highly mobile physical enhancements, I should now be one of the top predators in this 'hunting ground' of Flevance."

As soon as he equipped the lynx, the [Equipment Slot] sent another message into Merlin's mind.

[Two "equipment" items detected. Merge them?]

Merlin froze for a moment. Once he had processed the message, he thought, I can merge the equipment in the Equipment Slot by expending my own stamina?

Did it bring over the mobile game feature where you merge smaller pieces of equipment into bigger ones?

If so, once I obtain the Origin Power of another Devil Fruit, could I use fruit to merge it into a Devil Fruit? Or merge living creatures into fruit to free up more precious Equipment Slot space?

[No]

Merlin declined to [Merge].

The lynx was too low-grade. He had no intention of merging it with the precious Calamity Fruit.

He didn't need to think too hard to understand how powerful the Calamity Fruit was. He believed he would find a better option in the future.

Besides, he wasn't in a desperate situation right now. He still had choices.

He closed the Equipment Slot.

He would put the matter aside for now.

Just then,

His pupils doubled in size, and his ears twitched. His keen hearing picked up distant sounds with startling clarity.

The gunfire was drawing closer. The executioners from other countries had clearly already pushed into the central district of Flevance.

Merlin glanced at Mera's suitcase. All that remained inside now were Beli and a few changes of clothes.

After a moment's thought, he tucked the suitcase into a crack in the rock inside the artificial hill's cave. Thirty million Beli was a fortune, and it might come in handy later.

He slung on his backpack and checked his dagger and the sword. Drawing it from its scabbard, he watched the blade glint coldly in the moonlight.

"Not a Famous Sword. Its quality isn't much better than my dagger."

It was about one meter and ten centimeters long.

The blade had a slight curve, and its surface bore a beautiful, burnished pattern—the classic Flame Pattern Steel Blade. It was a fine weapon, forged through countless hammer strikes.

He slid the sword back into its scabbard. It clicked sharply.

Holding the sword, Merlin picked up the cage beside him and went to the corner of the wall where he'd entered.

He tossed the cage out of the courtyard,

then picked up a rifle from the ground and took the gas mask from his waist.

He didn't care that it was dirty and pulled it straight over his head.

His disguise was complete.

Merlin crouched, leaped up, and hooked his left arm over the wall. He vaulted over with ease and scanned his surroundings. No soldiers from other countries were on the streets around the villa.

"Looks like the explosion here didn't draw them in. Makes sense. There are gunshots and explosions all over the city. They don't have time to come here."

Merlin looked toward the hospital in the distance, its pointed roof rising above the surrounding buildings. He considered the matter. "I don't need medical supplies anymore. Should I still go?"

The next moment, Merlin's gaze turned firm.

"I'm going. Doctor Trafalgar and his family treated me well in the past. Now that I can protect myself, I should at least go warn them. And Yol... I wonder how she's doing."

There was no telling how dangerous things were at the hospital by now. Those bastard soldiers would definitely go there to massacre people.

But there were some things he couldn't leave undone.

And running away all the time wouldn't get him out of here alive.

Merlin climbed down from the wall and ran toward his destination, taking stock of how his body felt.

Better than ever.

The lynx's powerful agility made running feel effortless.

His keen senses picked up the slightest movement in the space around him, more than a hundred meters in every direction. In the night, he was like a ghost.

Merlin ran faster and faster, carefully observing his surroundings. For a moment, he felt dazed, as though he had become a lynx racing through the mountains and forests.

The freedom was exhilarating.

The Lead Platinum Disease had been purged from his body, and he had equipped a lynx. His physical condition was better than ever.

Before long,

Merlin arrived in an alley beside the hospital. Inside the dimly lit building, gunshots rang out again and again.

A cold glint flashed in Merlin's eyes. Without hesitating, he dashed out of the alley and charged straight through the damaged entrance.

He reached the hospital's ground-floor lobby. Just then, he heard gunshots from nearby, the sound of glass shattering, and a pained cry that seemed familiar.

Merlin turned and rushed toward the sound. A few seconds later, a soldier came running around a corner straight at him. The moment he saw Merlin, he shouted, "Hurry! Chase him! Another infected kid got away!"

As he shouted, the two drew closer and closer. Merlin's eyes widened beneath his mask. He stopped, and just as the soldier reached him, he drew the dagger from his right thigh and plunged it into the man's chest.

With a wet squelch, the soldier screamed. Merlin raised his left knee and slammed it into the man's groin. Thud!

The soldier fell to the ground. Merlin pounced on him and stabbed him in the neck.

The soldier jerked twice, then went still. Merlin caught his breath and searched the man's waist. He took two grenades and clipped them to the fastener at his own waist.

Once he was done, Merlin quickly got up and ran toward the room where he'd heard the sounds. Ten seconds later, he stood at the doorway. At a glance, he saw a middle-aged man and woman in white coats lying in a pool of blood.

Doctor Trafalgar and Wife.

Merlin went over and crouched beside them. He touched their necks to check their pulses. The woman was already dead, but the man still had a faint breath left.

A flash of hope lit Merlin's eyes. Black Flame surged over his left hand as he pressed it against the man's chest. The flames immediately coiled around him.

Merlin's stamina drained like a burst dam. His eyes widened.

"Why is it taking so much out of me?"

Ten seconds later, the man coughed up a mouthful of blood. Doctor Trafalgar, who had been one step from death's door, opened his eyes. But when he saw Merlin's appearance, he immediately began to struggle. Merlin hurriedly said, "Doctor, don't move. It's Laplace. I'm trying to save you."

Doctor Trafalgar's eyes flew wide. He recognized Merlin's voice, but he was a renowned doctor and knew exactly how bad his condition was.

He turned his head and looked sorrowfully at his dead wife, then suddenly grabbed Merlin's left forearm with his right hand.

His eyes were wide, bloodshot, and full of pain. In his final moments, he had already realized that his eldest son, Luo, had escaped. Now, weak to the point of near collapse, he said, "Lami... Lami's... on the third floor, in the... Private Medical Room. Save her, please..."

As soon as he finished speaking, the hand gripping Merlin fell limp.

Merlin fell silent. The Black Flame in his hand faded, and his left index finger turned crimson. Despite expending nearly half his stamina and energy, he hadn't been able to bring the doctor back.

The doctor's faint life force had already vanished.

If only he were stronger... If only he had more stamina... Maybe he really could have saved him.

So his ability wasn't all-powerful after all.

Merlin caught his breath, feeling exhaustion and weakness throughout his limbs. Then a warm current began circulating through his body.

Merlin understood. "The lynx's Super Endurance..."

He looked at the doctor one last time and tried to pull away, but the man's right hand was still gripping him tightly. Merlin couldn't help murmuring, "If you don't let go, how am I supposed to find Lami?"

Just as he was about to wrench himself free,

the man's hand slowly loosened its grip at the sound of those words.

Merlin said nothing.

He got to his feet and looked at them once more, then immediately turned and ran out of the room toward the staircase.

But as soon as he reached the second floor, he ran straight into a soldier. The soldier quickly caught him by the shoulders and exclaimed, "Watch where you're going! Why are you so careless? We've finished clearing the floors above. Come help us clear out the ones below!"