After their conversation with Moria, Jake and Monet followed Perona's lead as she guided them through the castle in search of their rooms.
Perona floated in the air, her face adorned with a cheerful smile.
"This way, this way!"
She was still very young and found outsiders fascinating, so she was brimming with excitement.
Pointing at one of the doors, she said to the two of them.
"This is one of my favorite rooms I've decorated—you'll love it!"
As she spoke, she pushed open the wooden door, revealing a room splattered with bloodstains and littered with dismembered limbs.
"This is a room I designed based on a nightmare Moria-sama once described. I call it 'Reconstruction of Dreams'! See? Do you like it? This was a nightmare Moria-sama enjoyed and reminisced about for a long time—you'll love it too, right?!"
Looking at Perona's expression, Jake and Monet couldn't bear to shatter her beautiful fantasy, so they gently said.
"Um, Perona, we'd like to see what the other rooms look like too. It's not because we don't like this room, but because we don't want to miss any of the perfect rooms you've designed!"
Hearing Jake's words, Perona's face instantly overflowed with smiles.
She cheerfully approached Jake and said.
"You two don't seem to be the kind of bad people I imagined! But then again, if you were bad, Lord Moria wouldn't have let me interact with you. But can you tell me why Moria-sama was crying ? Did you bully Moria-sama?"
Monet smiled and replied to Perona.
"We didn't bully him. We just told him some good news. Sometimes, when people are too happy, they express it through tears. You must have experienced something similar before, right?"
Perona tapped her chin with her fingernail upon hearing this and said.
"There really was! I remember some time ago on my birthday, Moria-sama and Absalom prepared a super, super big cake for me. Although their birthday song was terrible, I was so moved that I cried.
If that's the case, then I'm completely relieved. But what news did you tell Moria-sama? I've never seen him cry like that before."
"Some things about his former companions. If you want to know in the future, you can ask him directly."
"Mhm, one day Moria-sama will want to tell me. I'll keep some of the surprise for then. Alright, alright~ Come with me quickly! The next room was inspired by the bandages on the Zombies~"
Listening to Perona's introduction, Jake and Monet exchanged glances and shook their heads helplessly.
Perona's aesthetic sense was truly something to behold.
After going through more than a dozen rooms, the two chose rooms themed around Vampires and werewolves respectively.
Although the beds were replaced with coffins and the surroundings were full of weeds, it was much better than the previous ones.
....
That night, Jake didn't rest.
Instead, he went directly to where Moria was and conducted some small experiments with him.
"Are you sure you want me to swallow shadows and then fight you? Do you know how much stronger I was when I fought Kaido compared to now? Not to look down on you, but if I swallow those souls, you might not even last one move."
When Moria said these words, his expression was full of confidence, as if he could already see Jake being sent flying by him.
But to this, Jake simply shook his head lightly and said.
"I just want to test where my limits are. I hope you can help me fulfill this wish."
Upon hearing this, Moria's face broke into a familiar smile.
This was the first time he'd heard such a request—during battle, instead of actively preventing the opponent from growing stronger, one would actively demand they become stronger.
Moria couldn't comprehend the thought process of such people.
In his view, such individuals either possessed absolute confidence in their own strength or were outright fools.
Either way, it wouldn't stop Moria from dealing them a heavier blow.
After all, he still wanted to reclaim some of the dignity Jake had cost him earlier.
Thus, the two rushed toward the other side of the island overnight.
As Moria charged forward, he continuously devoured souls.
With each soul consumed, his skin grew paler and more purplish.
After devouring several hundred souls, Moria's body had swollen to nearly twice its original size, with bulging veins covering his form.
His once snug clothing now strained against his massive muscles, some parts even tearing apart.
"Kishishi Jake, though I quite like you, I won't hold back in battle. If you happen to die by accident, I'd hope you'd at least grow stronger first."
In response to Moria's warning, Jake simply removed his Justice Cloak and replied with a smile.
"Many say zombies fear sunlight, and my Devil Fruit power happens to combine both lightning and light. Back there, with so many zombies around and me coming to discuss business, I naturally couldn't use this technique."
"But now that you've brought me to this secluded place, we can finally have our fight. I've been wanting to test this move for a long time!"
As Jake spoke, his body began glowing with increasing intensity.
The light radiating from Jake was blindingly bright, especially for Moria who had consumed countless shadows.
The brilliance made it nearly impossible for him to keep his eyes open.
"Be careful, Moria. This technique is extremely powerful. If you can't withstand it, tell me immediately and I'll stop. Don't push yourself too hard!"
"Kid, you're underestimating me too much. I was once a great Pirate who competed for the title of Emperor! Kishishishi!"
Jake grinned at Moria's words and shouted.
"Holy Light Apocalypse!"
How could one describe that scene?
Moria watched as the terrifying technique illuminated his island-sized pirate ship, feeling an indescribable sensation in his heart.
What was that?!
The sun?
In these waters shrouded in fog for centuries, could such a thing actually rise?!