While I was working out, bench pressing, I noticed that the weight felt much heavier than usual, and because of that, I almost failed on my first set; racking the weights on an industrial size crane, I stood up while eying my arms which were beginning to heat up.
'Hmm, must be the poison I consumed during breakfast; it seems like she managed to obtain a powerful poison.' Thought Diddy with interest as he examined his body which also began to heat up.
As my body continued to increase in temperature, I could also feel myself weaken, and it was doing so at a decently fast pace to boot; with how much time had passed, I probably couldn't even bench my normal weight anymore. Though what was weird is I didn't feel an ounce of pain as my body continued to weaken; not once was I ever in pain; in all honesty, if it weren't for my increased body heat and the fact that I knew I was poisoned, I'd doubt I would ever know what was happening to me.
Since I doubted I'd be able to exercise effectively in these conditions, I decided to end my morning training short and head to the bath; leaving the gym, I headed back towards my room. Once I entered my room, I noticed the lady was gone, but I didn't think much about it in the first place and continued heading toward the bathroom; inside the bathroom, I took off my clothes, which were the clothes of the lady's now dead son as we were close in age.
Once I was fully nude, I got in the oversized bathtub, which was already filled with boiling water, and let the water caress my skin, leaving me feeling quite comfortable, though it would've felt better if I wasn't continuing to weaken.
'I must give her props; this is a very effective poison; I'm actually weak enough to where an average beast could kill me.' Thought Diddy with a smirk as he closed his eyes, though his senses were at an all-time high given his weakened state.
Thankfully, not long later, it seemed like the poison had finally peaked as I was no longer feeling my body continue to weaken; however, the poison was very potent, and my strength was probably only comparable to when I was merely two or three.
'I'm very glad she managed to find this when I was still in relative safety; if I was poisoned while in a dangerous place, that very well could've been the end of me. Though once I heal from this, I won't ever have to worry about this poison again.' Thought Diddy with a grin as he rested his head back and closed his eyes while basking in the boiling water, the dense steam nearly concealing his figure.
As I was resting in the water, I heard the door slowly open while a light figure sneakily approached me, though just from how she walked, I could tell who it was; I didn't even need to smell her scent to figure it out.
'Heh, she must've been practicing for this moment; however, her killing intent is a dead giveaway; she won't be able to sneak up on anyone if she can't first learn to hide her killing intent.' Mused Diddy calmly while continuing to be ignorant of her presence.
Once she arrived right behind me, she didn't hesitate for a single second before stabbing my neck with a knife; well, she at least tried to. Just before the blade touched my neck, I hardened my neck, and only my neck, causing the blade to only pierce the first few layers of skin before stopping right at my muscles, which only happened because I'm seriously weakened, otherwise it wouldn't have even punctuated my skin.
I don't know whether she noticed she failed or not, but she repeatedly stabbed me in the neck for an entire minute before eventually stopping from exhaustion as I could hear her heavy breathing from behind me.
"Why? WHY WON'T YOU DIE!?" Exclaimed the lady angrily as she sobbed while viewing Diddy's neck, which was practically injury free.
"Simple, because I'm strong, unlike you, who is weak, so pathetically weak you couldn't even kill me when I'm in such a weakened state, which, in all honesty, is beyond pathetic that there isn't even a word to properly express the emotion I feel." Remarked Diddy calmly as he grabbed the knife the lady attempted to kill him with and broke it like a stick before throwing them toward the sobbing lady.
Hearing the lady's crying quiet down after several minutes, I opened my eyes and looked at her, only to see her puffy red eyes, along with a fierce, determined expression. Seeing her like that, I don't know why, but I subconsciously smirked; for some reason, I could tell she had just changed on a fundamental level. It wasn't because she was now suddenly determined; she's always been determined to kill, so much so that even I had to acknowledge it, but her determination didn't amount to much in the body of a weakling. It seemed like she's finally decided to change that.
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'I wonder if I should give her that? I might as well; I don't plan on ever using it for myself; besides, I'm interested in seeing it in action. Yet, before I give it to her, let me see how strong her new resolve is.' Thought Diddy with a feral grin as he stood up and exited the boiling water while stopping just before the lady that looked at him full of hate.
"Any normal person would've killed you for what you just did, but I, on the other hand, I'm not normal, and you've just managed to ignite my interest, so tell me, how badly do you want it?" Asked Diddy with a savage expression while eyeing the lady, though it could be interpreted differently because of their positions.
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Looking up at the beast that I held so much hate for, the same beast that took everything from me before my very eyes, I responded through gritted teeth, suppressing my desire to lunge at him as that'll only result in my death, and if I'm dead, I won't be able to kill him.
"Want what!?" Replied the lady with a newfound resolve while hatefully looking at Diddy.
"How badly do you want to kill me!? How badly do you want to see my corpse before your feet!? Tell me how badly you want it!" Declared Diddy with a deranged expression while looking at the woman.
Hearing him say that, I closed my eyes and thought back to everything he's done, whether it was killing my husband, mercilessly slaughtering my two children, or murdering my best friend; I could feel all the rage that's been steadily building inside of my heart for the past two years come bursting forth like a tsunami.
"I WANT IT! I WANT IT MORE THAN ANYTHING! I'M WILLING TO DO WHATEVER IT TAKES TO SEE YOUR ROTTING CORPSE!" Yelled the lady in a frenzy with an equally deranged expression as she looked up at Diddy.
"Hehe, hahaha! Yes, that's what I like to hear!" Exclaimed Diddy with chaotic laughter before turning around and looking at the bath.
"If you wish to see me dead, you'll need strength for that, and a vast amount of it as well, so how about this, I'll give you a proposal; if you prove to me how committed you now are, I'll give you something that'll grant you immense power. A Devil Fruit of Legends." Added Diddy with a crazy grin while glancing at the lady.
'D-Devil Fruit!? I-I've heard the rumors of the legendary Devil Fruit; eating just one will grant you incredible power!' Thought the lady in astonishment as she looked at Diddy.
I wanted to question him about how he managed to come across the legendary Devil Fruit and why he didn't consume it for himself if it's stated to grant a person immense power, but I stayed quiet; I didn't wish to give him ideas.
"W-What do I have to do to acquire a Devil Fruit?" Questioned the lady while still crouched on the ground.
"Simple, survive in that boiling water for 10 minutes; if you can do that, I'll give you the Devil Fruit I found a few years ago." Replied Diddy calmly with a feral grin.
"T-That's impossible; I-I'll die within half that time!" Said the lady reflexively, though she was met with opposition.
"Don't care if it's impossible; I've already decided. Though, if your desire and determination to see me dead is so shallow that you're not even able to surpass your limit and change the impossible to possible, then you never had any hope of completing your goal. I'd suggest you take the easy way out and kill yourself now; at least then, you'd reunite with your family quicker." Replied Diddy with an indifferent expression while looking at her.
Hearing him say that, I quickly shut my mouth and looked at the boiling water before me; I knew I'd most likely die in there, but a part of me wanted to reaffirm my new resolution to kill that monster. During my mental breakdown after having failed at killing him, I suddenly realized a lot of things, but most importantly, I realized everything was my fault; this entire time, I've been shifting the blame of my situation to him, yet in reality, it was because of me.
Strength runs the world, something that everyone knows, yet I've taken it for granted as I have known nothing but wealth my whole life. Because of that, I thought wealth equated to power, but I was wrong; power equates to power and wealth, while wealth equates to nothing but eventual destruction.
Because of my lack of strength, I allowed that beast to take advantage of me and kill my family before my very eyes while I was utterly helpless to do anything about it; it wasn't his fault that my family was dead; it was my fault that I couldn't properly protect them.
'I'm sorry for my weakness, my husband Charles, and my two children, Alexia and Timothy; however, I've realized the truth, and while it may take some time, I'll kill that monster and avenge you all.' Thought the lady as she closed her eyes and cried slightly while gripping a silver locket hanging from her neck.
With my newfound resolution, I didn't hold back any longer; ripping the locket of my family from my neck, I stood up and glared at the monster that killed my family before approaching the edge of the bath. I don't know whether it was my desire to cement my determination or because I was hungry for strength to achieve my goal, but the boiling water beneath my feet didn't look as terrifying as usual.
"10 minutes." Stated Diddy just as she jumped into the boiling water.
The moment I landed in the boiling water, I released a guttural screech that couldn't fully express the sheer agonizing pain I was currently experiencing, yet even so, It couldn't compare to the pain I felt when my family died.
'10 minutes.' Thought the lady while screaming as her eyes never once left smiling Diddy.