"Okay." Helen nodded tamely."Hey, are you deaf, kid? Didn't you hear me?" Brody strode up, shoving Frank right then."It's okay, boss. Must be deaf and blind." One of his goons hurried forward to keep the peace."S-Shut up!" Brody slapped him across the face, snapping angrily, "I'm not blind or deaf! You don't have to tell me!"On the other hand, Frank did not attack right away despite being shoved, only saying coolly, "Leave before I get angry, or you'll all die here."His threat left Brody laughing, and he pointed at himself as he snorted. "Hey, are you really blind? There's so many of us, and you're telling us to leave? You should be leaving right now—but your girlfriend stays!""Urgh, we had to run into some imbeciles." Frank sighed, clenching his fist. "Last chance. Leave now, all of you."As he slowly looked up, his eyes flashing murderously, several of the thugs were flinching in terror.One of them said, "Brody, I-I don't think we should mess with him. Why don't we jus
Helen asked softly, "So may I be frank with you?" Frank did a double take but soon said quietly, "Yeah.""I've actually missed you… That's why I wanted to stay. I didn't want to leave you," Helen said and shyly hid her face in his chest.Kat's male classmates shot him glares of jealousy, but there was nothing they could do—Frank was simply on another level.Even the car he drove was a rare sight for most of them, and they would have no hope of having a beauty throw herself into their arms.Soren was especially snorting as he glared at Frank in jealousy, though he soon had an idea.At the same time, Frank was laughing and teasing Helen. "Tut, tut… How shocking is this? Ms. Helen Lane, CEO of Lane Holdings whom every Rivertonian reveres as an ice queen, saying something like that to a bum like me. Who would ever believe that? I'm so touched… I've truly been blessed…"Helen flushed up to her neck and thumped his chest with a knuckle.She was always serious and never good when it
"Soren's right. That bastard is nothing good!" The boys nearby quickly agreed."You can see his true nature now, can't you, Kat?" Soren smiled smugly—this was what he wanted—to tarnish Kat's image of Frank while salvaging her impression of him.However, he simply did not understand that Kat had already seen through him.Slapping his hand away, she snapped coldly, "What Master Lawrence is is no business of yours. You don't get to badmouth him!""Kat!" Soren could barely hide his rage and snapped, "I'm just worried about you and don't want you to be tricked, especially by the likes of him!"As he finished, he turned toward Frank pointedly."Oh, sure!" Kat sneered in disdain. "So I should let you trick me instead? It's time you understand what you did—it's really sickening if anyone had to put it into words. And Master Lawrence was nice enough to not hold it against you, but you had to keep badmouthing him every time. I'd be blushing if I were you!"Soren flushed from Kat's usual b
Soren bellowed in rage, "Fucking take her! Anyone who does gets fifty grand!""Fifty grand?!"The bootlickers could not care less about chivalry after Soren shouted his reward, and all of them leapt toward Kat."You pricks…Damn it!" Kat cursed, but she was already giving up.She was immediately at a disadvantage. Not only did she have to deal with the three bodyguards behind him, and her own classmates standing between her and Soren. She knew the extent of her abilities too—it had just been a few days since she started out as a martial artist, and she had barely enough vigor to beat all these boys.Instead, she felt the stinging sensation on her cheek and turned to lunge at Mandy—she will get some payback, even if she could not reach Soren for now!"Argh!"Even as Mandy cried out in panic, Kat floored her with a single slap, leaving her cheek swelling like a bun.With that done, she stood her ground, she turned toward her best friend Lily, shaking her head exasperatedly to te
"Hmph."Frank snorted, his feet moving too quickly for the naked eye to follow.He disappeared from sight as if a phantom, leaving them looking around aimlessly."What? Where did he go?""How did he do that?!"Frank was already behind them.Crack.Pure vigor shot out of his fingers, leaving the thugs floored and screaming as their nerves and tendons were blocked, and they would not be standing up for over two weeks.Only Brody was left, and he was on his knees in fear.Frank wasted no time with him and turned toward Kat, who was already subdued and pressed against the floor by one of the bodyguards. Her cheeks were covered in bloodstains, but she kept fighting back without yielding.However, her retaliation was limp and tickled the bodyguard at best."You're asking for it!" Frank bellowed and charged toward the bodyguard like a storm.Even before he could look up in shock, Frank punched him, sending him rolling over the floor, his neck snapping with an audible crack."What
Naturally, Frank stood in front of him, waiting.Brusquely picking him up, he slapped him twice across the face and flung him back to his friends."Apologize!" Frank bellowed as he stood in front of a kneeling Soren, his murderous leaving the boys flinching."S-Sorry, Kat… We're just following orders… Sorry…"It was quite something, seeing every boy and bodyguard who attacked Kat earlier now kneeling and begging.Pico was going to say something but cowered behind his bar in fear at the sight, crouching as he dialed a number. "Hello, Mr. Blackfive? There's someone causing a mess in your bar. Yes, yes, yes… You should come right away!"On the other hand, while every boy and bodyguard who attacked Kat was kowtowing to her in apology, Soren never did despite being the ringleader.He was clenching his jaw and clenching his knuckles, showing no intent to yield."What, do you have something to say?" Frank growled at Soren, striding over to him and grabbing him by the hair. "I wasn't b
Frank sighed. "You should quit frequenting places like these.""Yeah," Kat replied and glanced at Helen, who came to help with an exasperated smile. "I was going to perform for you. I didn't think this would happen.""It's fine. Just don't talk." Helen smiled wryly, wiping the blood off Kat's cheek."Let's go." Frank looked around, nodding at Lily before starting to leave."Who told you that you could leave?!" A thunderous voice bellowed from the back of the bar, and a burly man over two meters tall and wearing a black tank top strode in.He was leading a group of men as they strode in through the back door, and the bar owner, Pico, was bowing immediately. "Welcome, Mr. Blackfive…""Uh-huh." Blackfive nodded nonchalantly, looking around at the messed up bar before turning toward Frank, "Aren't you going to pay us damages after the mess you made? That doesn't make sense, does it?"He picked up a fallen chair off the floor, sitting down and cutting off Frank's path.Frank scowled
"Frank…"Helen frowned, realizing that Blackfive was now after him.She did not want Frank to fight, but she was not about to let herself fall to Blackfive's dirty paws either.Frank nodded. "Don't worry, just leave this to me.""So? Are we fighting our way out, master?" Kat asked. She would never doubt Frank's strength—even if she was hurt right now, she was raring to go.Blackfive goons quickly encircled them when they heard Kat, while Frank gave her a bump in the head."Quit messing around already." He sighed exasperatedly. "Haven't you caused me enough trouble?""Well, what should we do?" Kat groaned miserably. "That bastard obviously won't let it rest.""D-Dad!" Just then, Baldie gained consciousness after Frank sent him crashing into a table with a kick.As soon as he saw his father sitting on a chair, he bawled as he rushed over, sobbing over his lap, "Dad, someone just messed up our bar and beat me up!"Seeing him bawling, Frank could understand why Baldie was suc
Baldie dropped to his knees with a thud.Not only did Frank possess superior abilities, but he had a functioning moral compass too?He certainly deserved the power of the spiritron vein!Baldie then said, "I guess I should warn you that there are people who keep their hands clean. They would do anything to further their mysterious goals, so you should watch out."Frank chuckled. "Don't worry. I never hold back when I should kill—just listen to the reverend, and leave if there's nothing else, or I might change my mind."At those words, Baldie turned to run without lingering another second. Frank then turned toward the beggar. "Is this what you want?"The beggar nodded, clearly not bothered to hide anything. "To be honest, I've been considering an issue—do all the people who gain superpowers deserve it? The dragon inside you, for example… I can't say that it's anything good."Frank nodded, smiling—she was right about that, as he thought the same himself.After all, it had done
Frank smiled, shaking his head. "No, you misunderstand. What I mean is that she's right. The paranormal, your mystical artifact—it all works using the same principle: You're all just a little stronger than the average martial artist."However, when you're up against the real deal like me, you're relatively weak and easily dealt with."Baldie was left flabbergasted. "No, no, no… That's impossible! We're not the same as martial artists. None of you stand a chance against us!"Frank shook his head. "What you're saying is impossible. Your kind is simply more gifted, while martial artists are less, and that's the only reason you're stronger than most martial artists."Baldie dropped to his knees with a thud, shaking his head repeatedly as there was nothing more that could tear him up inside.He had always believed that even if he was not divine, he was still an envoy among the mortals like the priests and monks in fiction. Naturally, he was convinced that the day would come when he tra
After strutting for so many years, this was the first time anyone had seen through the depth of Frank's abilities in its entirety.That alone set Baldie apart from the rest, or at least the average martial artist, if not placing him scarily high over them.Still, Baldie warned, "Word of advice, kid—mind your own business. This isn't my choice, as there's a larger faction at work here, and you'd be in trouble if you rubbed them the wrong way.""Really?"His warning only pleased Frank further.After all, this meant that there were more powerful individuals like Baldie!In fact, Frank was just getting sick of being invincible, or he would not have been amusing himself by tormenting baddies.And with Baldie's words, he found himself a new hobby… He had plenty of time to spare anyway, so he should use it!"What's that stupid grin for?"Baldie smiled in wry amusement as he realized what Frank was thinking.To think he had the bad luck to run into someone like him!"Simple, really.
The beggar continued, "The way I see it, those ghosts are basically people with superpowers. They are driven by their own desires to hurt the living, while some have trouble controlling their powers after suddenly awakening to it."Her unexpected explanation actually enlightened Frank.Ghosts and hauntings notwithstanding, they were just people who could do what normal people could not—but they were fundamentally no different!Without hesitation, Frank rushed forward when a tall, well-rounded bald man appeared before he reached the graves. "Does no one ever listen?" He laughed coldly.Frank felt a powerful burst of energy from his words—he was clearly trying to make them obey, but they were not listening!"In that case, I'd just have to be tough on you!"At those words, a bead appeared on Baldie's palm, and it shot up to the sky!At the same time, an unusual energy converged and ultimately morphed into a monster.It was basically a pile of rotting flesh crawling with maggots.
Frank smiled, shaking his head. "Don't worry—I'm neither blind nor deaf. I knew what was happening from the start, and I'd be even more upset if I were in your shoes."The stall owner sighed in relief at Frank's words and turned to leave, not forgetting to curse the beggar under his breath.At the same time, the beggar straightened herself off the ground and sat cross-legged, whipping out a large meatloaf out of nowhere and chomping down on it.Frank sat beside her too, not bothered that he was wearing an expensive suit and certainly not concerned about getting it dirty."So, do I pass your test, reverend?"The beggar said nothing, instead handing Frank the meatloaf that her dirty hands had left darkened. "Hurry up. It's good."Frank took it, not minding it at all and finishing it in a few bites. "It's good, but I can make something better. How about it?"The beggar was suddenly on her feet, stretching her back and yawning. "Next time. I'm busy.""What is it? Can't I help?" Fra
After Mr. Creston handed Frank his phone, Frank nodded. "Good, at least you're cooperating. So you can do it yourself!"Mr. Creston was left befuddled—what the hell?! He was already being so cooperative, and the brat still wanted him dead?!"Friend, a gentleman is as good as his word," he said. "People would laugh at you.""Laugh at me?" Frank chuckled coolly. "Who would dare laugh at me? Also, I think it might happen if I don't wipe out people like you.""What…!"As Mr. Creston realized from Frank's calm tone that he was not letting him off the hook, he ran without hesitation.But to Frank, he was slower than a tortoise and disappeared in the blink of an eye.Frank then whipped out Mr. Creston's phone and called the number in it.A coquettish woman answered the call. "Hey, buddy!"Frank laughed at the way she greeted him as if they were old friends. "Reverend Quietus, I presume? Why don't we meet up, if you don't mind?""I certainly don't mind." The woman laughed too. "Who
Frank smiled and nodded. "Ladies like you are rare these days."Drunken Moon snapped her fingers, grinning. "That's exactly why we need to work hard to eliminate all the terrible women. There would be more good girls that way, don't you agree?"I'm not out to make men happy—just to set a standard for my fellow girls. Not everything is black and white, since anything can be relative. Even if men were all gone, bad women would still be bad women. Don't you agree?"Frank nodded in agreement.Thirty minutes later, the stout Mr. Creston sat up on the bed, clearly startled.Frank, who was watching from a bird's eye view, was caught by surprise—how did that man sense his presence?Still, he understood when he saw that Mr. Creston was holding a gleaming yellow talisman.Shock soon turned to curiosity as Frank thought most street geomancers these days were conmen, but somehow, a working talisman was there right in front of him. Hence, Frank made up his mind to find them right then."I
Frank was not only the smart guy out there in the whole right world. In other words, Mr. Creston had that in mind too!He was helping because he had felt insulted after Frank flexed on him earlier, and Dani was still useful to him—for now.When she handed over the company, however, he would not hesitate to kick her out! On top of that, he would make sure that she took the fall for all the dirty deeds they did together.In the end, she would not even be able to defend herself, while suffering lawsuits and public condemnation!Even so, she said, "I understand now. But it's never too late—I swear I'll change if you give me a chance!"Frank simply turned to Zein. "Actually, this man had the right idea—if he gave you a chance, who would give him one?"We're all adults here, so act your age. I'm sure you understand how a good opinion, once lost, is lost forever.""I get it!" Dani quickly said. "You don't have to keep me around, just—""No!" Frank snapped and crushed her left hand und
Dani was under the impression that even if the goons were not the best, they were on the cusp of reaching that level anyway.It turned out to be just her wishful thinking—when against the truly powerful, she was a lamb at the mercy of the butcher's knife, no matter how many people she brought! "To be honest, I'm curious as to what you're thinking." Frank snorted as he strode up to Dani. "Why dump a man who loves you dearly for some prick you don't even know? Being abused in that state and still thinking that you'd chosen wisely—do you actually have a brain?"Seeing her launching, he knew she was not listening, and he tore her ear off!The horrific pain jolted Dani to her senses, and she was left clutching what remained of her ear as she stared at the seemingly handsome man.She was under the impression that Frank would let her live even if she lost, but it was once again wishful thinking.He would kill her, and savagely at that!And she was certainly right, since Frank had ne