"Money! Women! Power! Influence! Strength! I have it all! So why...?"
As night fell, Aeridar, wrapped in a robe, stood before the immense floor-to-ceiling window of his room, gazing at the brilliantly lit palace below. A sense of emptiness and loneliness washed over him.
In his previous life, he was a nobody. Money and women were things he only dreamed of, and the power and supernatural strength he now possessed were only ever fantasies he'd concocted. Now, he had everything he'd ever dreamt of.
In terms of money, there were few people in the entire world who could rival him. As for women, he could have his pick of them, a harem of thousands if he wanted, not to mention the second-most beautiful woman in the world as his wife.
In terms of power, he controlled a country of tens of millions. As for influence, even the most powerful force in the world, the World Government, and the most insane force, the Yonko, didn't dare cross him.
And his strength, on par with an Admiral, placed him among the small group of the world's most elite fighters. At his level, strength didn't come easily; his Impact-Impact Fruit was already awakened, and further progress would require a long, arduous process of training his body and Haki to maximize his abilities.
"Hoh hoh hoh..."
Aeridar ran his tongue over his face, a twisted, maniacal look in his eyes. "How much longer will this boring life last? I can't wait for the biggest war to finally come!"
VWOOM!
A powerful aura erupted from Aeridar, like a hurricane, instantly engulfing the room and scattering everything inside.
Creak...
Suddenly, the door opened. Mina stepped in, looking at the chaotic room. "Captain, are you frustrated again?"
"Life is too boring," Aeridar said without turning.
"Is that so...?" Mina gave a seductive smile and casually took off her jacket, revealing a large expanse of her pale skin. "Is it still boring now?"
Aeridar turned around, a blazing fire lighting up his eyes. "No... it's not boring anymore."
....
In a luxurious hotel room, Cavendish, his face flushed and smelling of alcohol, staggered over to the bed.
"A good... good place! This nobleman... likes it, yes, I like it very much!" Cavendish muttered to himself, his eyes glazed over. He flopped onto the bed without taking off his clothes or shoes, not even bothering to unbuckle the Durandal at his waist.
Zzzzz...
A soft snore quickly filled the room.
Time passed. The large, round moon hung high in the sky, casting its brilliant light through the window and onto the floor.
"Jie, jie, jie... Kill! Kill! Kill everyone! Shred them! Shred their arms and legs! Shred their bodies!"
A cruel, eerie laugh echoed in the room. In his sleep, Cavendish's expression twisted. A cold, malevolent fury filled his eyes, as if he'd become a completely different person.
Whoosh!
Sshh-sshh-sshh...
Suddenly, the new Cavendish vanished from the bed. Almost at the exact same moment, several long, narrow slashes appeared on the walls, as if they had been cut by a sharp blade.
"Jie, jie, jie, jie!"
A ghostly figure appeared in the shadows of the room. But in the next moment, it vanished again.
Slice, slice, slice, slice...
A strange wind blew through the room. The walls were covered in crisscrossing, narrow gashes. The cabinets, lamps, tables, chairs, and even the large bed were all shredded into useless trash in a matter of seconds. The entire room was in shambles, as if a master swordsman had run rampant inside.
Standing in the middle of the ruined room, the altered Cavendish held his sword and stared out the window at the brightly lit palace.
"Wait... wait..."
Suddenly, Cavendish's expression began to change, as if he were struggling. After a moment, his face returned to normal, and he shouted, "Hakuba! I didn't give you permission to come out! Huff, huff..."
Cavendish was breathing heavily as he tried to put Durandal back in its scabbard.
Zzzzz...
A few seconds later, he lowered his head and a faint snore escaped his lips. His face, which had just returned to normal, began to twist into a cruel grin again as his golden hair slowly stood up on its own.
"Shut up! Go back to sleep! You idiot!"
It turned out that Cavendish had a dual personality and was a sleepwalking murderer. When he fell asleep, he would become his second personality—the one he called Hakuba—who was also known by the Marines and the Rommel Kingdom as the "Kamaitachi of Rommel."
Hakuba's swordsmanship was twice as strong as even the swordsman prodigy Cavendish's. Because of Hakuba's bloodlust, which made him act like a crazed, mindless killer, Cavendish usually kept him suppressed. Hakuba, in turn, knew that Cavendish would try to interfere, so he typically only came out when Cavendish was asleep.
While Cavendish was annoyed by Hakuba getting him a bounty, he also enjoyed the fame and popularity that his second personality brought him.
Suddenly, Hakuba's expression began to struggle, and Cavendish's face reappeared. "Hakuba, if you kill someone here, don't drag me down with you just to get yourself killed!"
"Cavendish, you coward! I'm going to shred everyone! I'm going to shred everything! Jie, jie, jie..." Just as Cavendish finished speaking, Hakuba's face returned, letting out a chilling laugh.
"You bastard! You have no idea what this place is!"
"Who cares?! I'll show you a bloodbath!"
"What did you say?! I won't let that happen!"
Their faces and expressions rapidly switched back and forth as Cavendish and Hakuba argued. Unfortunately, it was late, and after all the alcohol, Cavendish's sleepiness was too much to fight off Hakuba.
Zzzzz...
Finally, Cavendish couldn't hold on any longer and fell into a deep sleep, a soft snore escaping his lips.
"Jie, jie, jie... That idiot, Cavendish!" Hakuba took control of the body, pulling the half-sheathed Durandal back out. "I'm going to shred everything!"
Slice!
With a single slash, the huge floor-to-ceiling window shattered, the glass crashing to the ground. A strange wind blew, and Hakuba vanished from the spot.