"You've been hiding in that pile of corpses all this time... If you hadn't been unlucky enough to run into us, you might have actually escaped, you remnant of White City."
"Why waste time talking? Just kill him. Grab the stuff and let's get out of here!"
"Kid, blame your bad luck."
One of the soldiers grinned savagely as he raised his rifle, aiming it at Law.
They felt no guilt whatsoever!
To them, Law's continued existence was merely an inconvenience, an eyesore.
Cornered and with nowhere to run, Law clenched his teeth, his eyes burning with hatred and resentment!
He hated his own weakness, but he hated even more these inhuman butchers who had slaughtered everyone in Flevance.
'Is this the end? I haven't even taken my revenge on this despairing world... I refuse to accept this!'
Just as the soldier's finger began to tighten on the trigger, a flood of images flashed through Law's mind: his father, mother, sister, the nuns, and his friends from the church...
But at that moment, unnoticed by anyone, a figure had quietly slipped behind the soldier about to fire.
The Leg Strength Enhancement Shoes instantly switched to their maximum third-level setting. With the combined electrical and magnetic stimulation of acupoints in his feet, the muscles in his right leg surged to their absolute limit.
Secret Art: Lineage-Shattering Kick!
Abel channeled every ounce of strength into a devastating kick aimed squarely between his opponent's legs.
This kick was earth-shattering—not in its raw power, but in the catastrophic consequences it unleashed.
In that instant, it felt as if something had shattered.
The soldier Abel ambushed felt a searing pain erupt between his legs. As if all strength had been drained from his body, he collapsed to his knees, his face ashen, eyes bulging, and drool spilling from his open mouth.
Though the pain was beyond unbearable, he could only open his mouth in a silent scream.
The agony was worse than death itself!
Overwhelmed by the torment, the soldier lost consciousness, his vision blackening as he crumpled to the ground.
The entire sequence unfolded in an instant. The other soldier and Law, who had been resigned to his fate, both stared in stunned disbelief.
They couldn't fathom why anyone else would be here. Just watching that kick made their legs clench involuntarily in sympathetic pain.
In this situation, even if Abel had used his [I'm Just a Passerby] ability beforehand, it would have been rendered useless. He could no longer be ignored—reducing one's presence wasn't the same as becoming invisible!
But Abel, having landed his strike, didn't freeze like them. Nor did he try to retrieve the gun he'd dropped.
Instead, he hurled the object in his hand at the other soldier.
This action finally snapped the soldier out of his daze!
Almost instinctively, he rolled to the side, perfectly dodging... a banana.
That's right, what Abel had thrown was just a banana.
"You're asking for it!"
The soldier's face flushed crimson with rage, his anger compounded by embarrassment at his overreaction.
He'd been tricked by that brat!
He immediately rose, raised his gun, and aimed...
"Huh? Where did he go?"
"Get down!"
Abel, who had already taken advantage of the chaos to hide, saw Law still standing there dumbfounded and shouted urgently.
Whether Law would grasp his meaning was up to fate.
Fortunately, Law wasn't stupid and had already recognized Abel. He immediately obeyed, lunging forward and flattening himself against the ground.
A split second later, the banana lying near the soldier's feet exploded with a deafening boom, sending him flying into the air.
The poor bastard probably died without ever understanding what had happened.
Only Abel secretly regretted wasting 5 Transaction Points on the Banana Grenade.
Still, considering its destructive power and deceptive nature, it was a worthwhile investment.
After all, who would fear a banana enough to stay away?
The feeling of killing someone for the first time wasn't pleasant, but for Abel, who had woken up surrounded by countless corpses, it wasn't as unbearable as he'd imagined.
Bang!
Suddenly, a gunshot drew his attention.
He turned to see Law had picked up the soldier's gun and, with a fierce expression, shot the unfortunate soldier whose testicles had been blown off earlier.
Law now radiated a terrifying aura that warned others to stay away. In a single day, he had witnessed his parents murdered, his sister burned alive, and his fellow nuns and church companions gunned down—a crushing despair no ten-year-old could possibly endure.
"How does it feel to kill someone for the first time?" Abel asked, his tone inscrutable as he slowly took the gun from Law's hand.
He took the weapon to prevent Law from suddenly snapping and harming him.
The reason he ultimately decided to save Law was because he believed this future Supernova had investment value, and the cost of saving him would be negligible.
He was confident that as fellow survivors of Flevance and former members of the same church, Law would remember this life-saving debt forever.
Though his motives were somewhat utilitarian, Abel felt no shame.
He wasn't anyone's father, saving people for no return. What else would he do it for?
Law didn't immediately answer Abel's question, but he didn't resist Abel taking the gun either.
This was undoubtedly good news.
Abel had no desire to save a madman who was incapable of communication and prone to self-destruction... At least, Law hadn't reached that point yet.
Law took several deep breaths, the emptiness and numbness in his eyes gradually fading. Finally, he spoke: "It feels terrible... but it won't stop me."
"Abel, what are you doing here...? Back then, I clearly saw Sister Mary and everyone else..."
Upon hearing this, Abel's face twisted with perfectly measured rage. "Those bastards deceived Sister Mary! It was a trap to lure us into their net. Everyone was shot down. In the chaos, I was hit and collapsed. I don't remember anything after that. When I woke up, I found myself dumped here. This precious protective suit saved my life."
"Law, thank God you didn't come with us back then. Otherwise, we might never have met again. By the way, how did you survive?"
Law lowered his hat, his expression pained as he recounted his own ordeal. "Everyone died... my parents... my sister, who was hiding in the hospital... In the end, I hid among the corpses and was transported here, but I was still discovered. If you hadn't saved me, I might already be reunited with my family."
Sometimes, living is more painful than dying.
Now, the only thing keeping Law alive was his burning desire for revenge!
Revenge against this twisted, hopeless world!
After sharing their stories, the two fell into a heavy silence.