In an instant—immediately following the explosive surge of molten heat—
All of Rick's enormous enlarged hands melted completely into bubbling, dripping red magma.
Not just burned. Not just destroyed. Liquified.
Not even blood remained—just superheated rock and steam.
"AAAAHHH!"
As Rick screamed in absolute agony, his voice raw and animalistic, a figure suddenly materialized directly in front of Erin Summers through spatial displacement.
A man.
A stunningly, impossibly handsome man with perfect proportions and an aura of overwhelming power.
Erin blinked rapidly, her oxygen-deprived brain struggling to process what she was seeing.
Molten magma still dripped casually from his clenched fist, hissing as it hit the pavement—
There was absolutely no doubt about what had just occurred.
This man had saved her life.
But who is he? Why did he save me specifically? What does he want in return?
Before she could grasp even the beginning of answers, the mysterious man vanished again—teleporting with impossible speed straight toward the screaming Rick.
"B-Big brother! Please don't kill me—don't kill me!"
Ricks earlier arrogance had completely evaporated, replaced by pure survival terror.
"I'll be your little brother—no, your dog! Your loyal servant!"
"Just let me live! I'll do anything!"
The moment he had witnessed the magma-wielding man casually appear and instantly melt his monstrous hands into liquid rock, Rick knew with absolute certainty he was hopelessly, catastrophically outmatched.
Even with his two combined abilities—Enlargement and Thousand Hands—he couldn't possibly survive even one more direct magma strike.
Desperate begging was literally his only remaining chance at survival.
But Elric didn't even slow down his approach.
He genuinely despised Rick's type with every fiber of his being—violent thugs who preyed on the powerless, predators who terrorized those weaker than themselves, men who took sadistic pleasure in dominating and hurting others.
There was absolutely no universe in which Elric would let someone like that continue existing.
BOOM—!!
Another concentrated magma fist crashed down with volcanic force.
Simple. Direct. Absolutely final.
Rick was completely obliterated—his body reduced instantly to nothing but molten slag and ash, not even bones remaining.
The self-proclaimed king of Ginkgo Heights died exactly as pathetically as he'd lived.
But Elric wasn't remotely finished with his work.
With a casual flick of spatial awareness, he instantly exchanged positions—teleporting directly into Building 2's interior where Rick's gang had been operating.
Inside, dozens of violent thugs were still actively smashing furniture, looting apartments, celebrating their "victories"—completely unaware their leader had just been vaporized outside.
Elric moved through them like a supernatural specter.
Some were precisely sliced into neat pieces by invisible spatial cuts from his Surgical Fruit ability.
Others were simply engulfed by expanding waves of magma, their screams cut mercifully short.
The entire systematic extermination didn't even take five minutes total.
When Elric calmly walked back out of Building 2's entrance, the structure behind him was completely, utterly silent.
Not a single thug remained alive. Not one rapist, not one looter, not one violent opportunist who had terrorized innocent residents.
Justice delivered with absolute efficiency.
On the blood-stained pavement outside, Erin Summers clutched her chest tightly, gasping and coughing as she struggled to recover her breath.
Rick's monstrous crushing grip hadn't quite broken her ribs—but it had very nearly suffocated her completely. She desperately needed several minutes just to restore normal breathing.
She looked up with watering eyes—
And saw him stepping out of Building 2.
The man who had saved her life. The magma user. The teleporter.
Her eyes widened with genuine disbelief and dawning comprehension.
She had awakened supernatural powers several days ago during the initial outbreak. She had genuinely believed—with the confidence born of never being seriously challenged—that she was strong. Powerful. Elite.
But now, watching this man who had casually annihilated what she couldn't defeat, she finally understood with crystal clarity—
She was nothing compared to him. An amateur pretending at strength while a real monster walked the earth.
"Thank you... thank you so much—"
She tried to express genuine gratitude, her voice still rough and damaged.
But Elric cut her off with brutal coldness before she could finish.
"No need for thanks."
His tone was absolutely flat, businesslike, final.
"From today forward, you belong to me. You're my woman now."
He gestured dismissively toward Building 9 in the distance.
"Clean yourself up. We're going there immediately."
"What?"
Erin recoiled instantly, shock and outrage flashing across her beautiful features.
"That's impossible!"
"I absolutely will not agree to that!"
She liked women exclusively. Everyone in the online community knew that about her. It was part of her public brand and personal identity.
Even if this man was impossibly handsome—even if he had just saved her life—
She was NOT going to become any man's woman. That went against everything she was.
Elric didn't even blink at her vehement refusal.
His expression remained completely neutral, unmoved.
"I'm informing you," he said, his voice dropping to something icy and dangerous. "Not discussing or negotiating with you."
He didn't have the time or patience to "slowly bend" this woman's will through gentle persuasion and gradual seduction.
And he had absolutely no intention of letting someone this beautiful, this powerful, this high-value simply walk away free after he'd expended effort saving her.
She belonged to him now. The only question was whether she accepted that reality willingly or by force.
Erin tried desperately to negotiate, her voice tight with controlled panic:
"Listen—I can repay you with supplies instead. Clean preserved food, purified water, medical equipment—enough resources for weeks of comfortable survival."
"But I absolutely cannot agree to becoming—"
She shifted her stance subtly while speaking, positioning her hands behind her back—
Preparing to summon her Halo light wheels for either defense or rapid escape.
But she had moved only a single inch—
When a completely silent flash of surgical blade-like spatial energy sliced through the air with perfect precision.
SHLICK—!
Erin gasped sharply, her eyes going wide—
Her arms suddenly felt completely weightless. Disconnected. Wrong.
Her hands—both of them—were simply gone.
Severed cleanly at the wrists. Cauterized instantly by the spatial cut so there wasn't even blood.
Her breath caught in her throat as her brain struggled to process the impossible.
Before she could even begin to scream—
"Whoosh."
Elric appeared instantaneously right in front of her through spatial swap, moving faster than her eyes could track.
His hand clamped around her throat like an iron vise—not quite crushing, but absolutely controlling.
His voice was quiet. Deadly. Final.
"I said I wasn't discussing this with you."
His grip tightened just slightly—enough to make breathing difficult, enough to emphasize his complete physical dominance.
"And I genuinely don't like repeating myself."
Erin's mind raced frantically as terror flooded through her system.
He cut off my hands. He can teleport. He controls magma. He just killed thirty men in five minutes. And I can't fight back. I can't run. I can't even breathe properly.
The mathematical reality was brutally simple:
Resistance = Death
Compliance = Survival
Her pride, her identity, her preferences—none of that mattered anymore in the face of absolute overwhelming power.
This was the apocalypse's fundamental truth laid bare: Power determines everything.
There is 50 chapter Advance, in my patreon. If you are interested can check it out.
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