Chapter 24: Return of Emo [2]

A normal person would be shocked beyond their beliefs if they ended up seeing this scene. It wasn't any kind of teleportation ability, rather pure speed.

Boom!

A second later, the booming sound echoed through the air. Moving at an incredible speed, he was able to maneuver around, avoiding the trees and swatting away the branches and vines that would block his path.

The world had gained its beauty in a weird manner. Though the infrastructures built by humans still existed, a lot of land had been reclaimed by mother nature.

Vegetation grew out of buildings, gigantic trees three times larger than the average tree from the pre-apocalypse era.

Not even half a second... He had covered a large distance very quickly. He was present right in the middle of a jungle. There wasn't a single building present in this entire region, making him speculate that all the buildings here had collapsed.

"What year is it exactly?" Pondering slightly, he walked towards the largest tree within this forest located right in the middle.

This tree looked very beautiful, with every single leaf shining bright like a diamond. The multiple shining fruits on the tree, amid the night, just added to the beauty. Unsurprised by the look of the tree, he walked near it.

"Hmm, there you are..." The smile on the man's face widened as he looked at a particular fruit on the top of the tree.

A red-colored fruit that resembled an apple. There were a few more apple-like fruits surrounding it, but he was sure this was the fruit he was looking for.

As the man extended his arm, as if it was a magnet attracting a small piece of metal, the devil fruit, not putting up any resistance, automatically fell into his hand.

"Good, Good." Looking at the fruit for one last time, he took a bite of it. The juice of the fruit swept into his mouth, dancing around like naughty children.

But this didn't satisfy him much. "Indeed, this is just a low-quality devil fruit. Well, at least I enjoyed the nostalgia." He said in a relaxed manner.

Taking another bite of the fruit, he couldn't help but say. "Ah, if only I stored some of the fruits in the void realm... This doesn't even compare to the lowest quality of devil fruits growing on the cosmic tree."

With this, he took the third bite, finishing most of the fruit.

...

"Tomorrow, brother is going to come back! He'll surely play with Xai Huao! Especially after I give him the Devil Fruit. It must have matured today."

A little girl energetically said as she paused momentarily, lost in the world of her sweet imagination.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

She looked around to be 8 years old, wearing a blue robe. Her large pupils were sparkling purple, and her hair looked fluffy.

Anyone would have an urge to pat this little girl, especially with those eyes which looked like they belonged to some cute harmless puppy.

She was hugging a red-colored book in her left hand, a white ball in her right arm, as she continued walking with the energetic expression on her face.

On her way, she would occasionally pause, thinking of imaginary scenarios in her mind. A child's brain was surely innovative, hundreds of thoughts would pass through their mind every second.

She then looked at the ball in her arms. With a disappointed expression, she muttered to herself. "Since Brother is not here, Xai Huao will play by herself!"

With a single hand, she threw the ball as far as she could. After throwing the ball, with her tiny steps, she rushed towards it and grabbed it. After that, she once again threw the ball with all her might.

This continued for a few minutes. Just as she was about to throw the ball again, her eyes widened as she took a sniff.

"Sniff, sniff! Ummm, smells so good! What is it!" As the energetic child she was, she ran towards the direction of the smell.

"The Devil Fruit! It must have matured! That's why its smell is so strong today!" She became even more excited but did not forget to hold the ball and the book even tighter.

'Thankfully, this devil fruit radiates such a smell!' Xai Huao was a demon girl who was born with a strong sense of smell. Though she wasn't very good with directions, her keen sense of smell would save her every time. She wouldn't even have dared to come to this forest if it weren't for this ability.

She fastened her pace, but this was the moment a crunching sound echoed throughout the place.

'Huh? The smell just intensified... Wait! I smell another demon...!'

As she ran faster, the figure of a demon wearing a black robe appeared in her sight.

'He has already devoured half of the fruit! No, don't take such big bites!' The delicious white juice of the fruit poured all over the fingers of the man as he took another bite of the fruit, only leaving a quarter of it behind.

Seeing this, she ran even faster! But her small steps weren't of much use... As if sensing that the fruit had gotten smaller, the man took small nibbles.

'Is he making fun of Xai Huao?!' She got angrier as an agonizing pain hit her chest. Every single nibble of the fruit was akin to shots of arrows aimed at her heart.

As she saw the man taking the final bite, all hopes were lost. Her grip loosened, resulting in the fall of her book and the ball.

With a dramatic motion, she fell to her knees, trying to hide the tears.

Her already big pupils got even wider. The reason for her misery looked at the kid with confusion on his face.

"Hmm, a weird kid? Where are your parents?"

???

'A weird kid? A weird kid! Mister, you're the weird one here!' She clenched her small palm, banging it on the ground.

Listen if someone hurts you, or takes something from you then don't trouble him... Hehe, Use your strongest weapon against him!

The image of a woman with silver hairs and a red horn on her forehead appeared in her mind. The wise words of her mother.

'Hehe, I might just do that now...!'

Her gloomy face instantly vanished, replaced by a cheeky smile, but she tried to hide it quickly.

'Hmm, this kid is so weird.'

"Mister! You ate my fruit!" Suddenly jumping, she said, trying to sound angry.

Widen those cute eyes of yours; they are a lethal weapon! Puff your cheeks out!

These words rang in her mind. Of course, she misunderstood them and tried acting scary while doing those actions.

"Mister, Xai Huao is really scary! She will eat you like that fruit, so you better give me a new one!"

"Xai Huao? Did you own that fruit?"

"Un!"

"How so?"

"Well, since my childhood, I grew that plant with love and affection..." She shamelessly continued narrating the entire story, but all of them in his mind translated as Blah Blah Blah.

Maintaining the smile on his face, he continued to ask after she finished narrating. "You know that it takes 200 years for such a tree to grow, right?"

"Don't ask Xai Huao all that! My name was written on it, alright?"

"But I don't see any."

"Because you ate it big dumb dumb!"

"..."

'She's got a point, you know?' Bone sword couldn't help but comment.

A/N: Merry Christmas everyone!