"What…?"Nash did not expect that even a bodyguard of the Soranos would be this pompous, let alone suffer such harassment. He was just here to deliver some pills!Moreover, he knew plenty of pharmacies and apothecaries, but he kept true to his honest nature, smiling as he said, "Please, sir—I'd never lie to you. Mr. Lawrence prescribed these pills to Mr. Zeller. You can check with Mr. Zeller if you don't believe me."Sadly for Nash, some people were simply abusive, having no regard for good manners as they would bully anyone who seemed soft."Are you deaf?!" the bodyguard snapped, leaping to his feet. "I just told you that some mook like me doesn't get to contact Mr. Zeller—it's on my head if you're just here to cause trouble! You can contact Mr. Zeller yourself if what you said is true, and then he'd tell us to let you in. Now get out of here already!"He pushed Nash to the floor again."Hey…!"Nash was really frustrated but soon realized that whatever he said was pointless.
"Wait, Gus Zeller's medicine… from a Mr. Lawrence?" Willy mused to himself, and soon a certain Lawrence's face came to mind.As Willy's expression turned cold, Nash saw the expensive car driving into Sorano Estate and Willy who sat at the back.Noticing the bodyguard fawning all over Willy, Nash could see that Willy was a big deal, and someone like him would most likely help him out.He walked up to Willy's car, bowing nervously and asking gingerly, "Mr. Sorano? I'm here to deliver medicine to Mr. Zeller, but I wasn't allowed in and couldn't contact Mr. Zeller. Could you please—""Shut up!" the bodyguard bellowed at him right then. "Did you just ask Mr. Sorano to run an errand for you?! Who do you think you are?!""No! That's not what I mean!" Nash threw his hands up in panic. "This is medicine, and I'm sure Mr. Zeller needs it urgently to be free of pain soon. That's why I'm asking a favor… Could you please pass this to Mr. Zeller, or just call him? I'm really sorry for taking up
"What?!" Nash froze at Willy's outburst.Did that mean Willy and Frank were… enemies?Willy continued to laugh savagely. "You see… the name Frank Lawrence means a lot to me. I dream of killing him every night, and I could skin him where he stands! And you! You're making me run an errand for that prick?! What's wrong with you?!"Nah was dumbstruck, and he leveled a pained stare at the pills Willy crushed under his foot."Please, Mr. Sorano…" He reasoned, "You could just say no if you didn't want to help! How could you ruin the pills Mr. Lawrence made? It's for a member of your family!""Hahaha… Just shut up already!" Willy laughed, pointing at Nash as he bellowed, "I've finally caught on now… so this is why Gus was vouching for Frank Lawrence, even though that means humiliating me! He's in league with Frank!" Pointing at the pills on the floor, Willy kept laughing coolly. "Well, here's the proof. Let's see what Gus has to say for himself!""What are you talking about, Mr. Sora
Frank coincidentally happened to be at the same hospital.Noticing the bloody mess that was Nash, he barged into the operating room to save Nash, chasing out all the other doctors. There was no telling what punishment Nash would have been subjected to if not for Frank, but he was still a bloody mess—all his nails were torn off, and every bone was broken.Frank could not help feeling regret and rage—Nash looked a decade older now!If only he did not send Nash to Sorano Estate!"Willy Sorano!" Once Frank had the name of the culprit after Nash told him everything, he called Loggins Apothecary to transfer Nash over for better care.Then, he strode out of the operating room, standing off against Ghent Loeb and the many Sorano bodyguards he brought.Already furious, Frank was not polite at all, though he remained calm. "Get the fuck out of here, and I'll let you live. Refuse, and you will die.""Bastard…" Ghent actually felt a small pang of panic from the death aura spilling from
Ghent snorted coldly. "How dare you, Frank Lawrence! That's a man of the Sorano family you just killed!"He leapt into the air, running along the wall as he charged down the hallway at Frank like an eagle.His fingers were outstretched, with red pure vigor swirling around them like claws, tearing shrilly and audibly through the air. The Sorano bodyguards had to clasp their hands over their ears!It was not surprising that Ghent was confident of himself, as he was Ascendant rank.However, he was just only in the early phase—it really was not enough against Frank!"Hmph. You're asking for it…"Frank did not turn—he already knew Ghent was streaking toward him.He steadied himself, inhaling deeply before turning.Then, he launched a punch swirling in golden pure vigor that met Ghent's claw attack.Fist and finger collided, the terrible shockwave that ensued, quickly knocking everyone off balance.Blood splattered across the hallway walls, leaving a sight of gore.When everyone
Even before the two bodyguards at the front could react, Frank had leapt up. Then, seizing them by their throats, he crushed them with an audible crunch!"Go! Kill him!"Seeing that Frank was attacking, the bodyguards certainly knew it was the end for them.Since they were not getting away anyway, they pulled out their machetes and clubs as they charged toward Frank."Hmph!"Frank handily threw the two dead bodyguards at them, running along the wall as they charged down the hallway and instantly leaping behind them."Trying to run? No chance," Frank told the bodyguard who was ready to flee. It was the last thing the bodyguard ever heard.That same bodyguard had bellowed at the others to charge at Frank, intent on using them as a diversion while he ran away.Thud!Frank punched him in the throat, breaking it and watched as he collapsed on the floor in terror, no longer breathing.Seeing that Frank had cut off their escape, the Sorano bodyguards could not stay calm at all and
Jim had the right idea—Frank had gone to Sorano Estate for payback.Every time he remembered the torture Nash had been put through only further fueled his rage, murderous intent, and profound guilt.Not only did the man allow him to stay in his house, but he also got hurt because of him.If Kat found out, even she would surely not react well to him."You're going to die, Willy Sorano!" Frank growled, clenching his fist as his eyes flashed with fury.He would make everyone pay for what they did to Nash, be it Willy or anyone else who was involved in torturing Nash!He would not hold back, even if it meant war against the Soranos!He strode out of the hospital, getting into a taxi that took him straight to Sorano Estate, since Helen had left in his car.He just so happened to run into the same bodyguard Nash spoke of."What are you doing here, kid?" the bodyguard asked loftily.Just as Nash had said, he was no more than a glorified doorman, but he was utterly despicably haughty
Frank certainly had nothing to say to that scumbag and crushed his throat with an audible crunch.He dropped the bodyguard in a pool of his own blood, his eyes wide open even as he died, still having no idea how that happened.How could someone really cause trouble at Sorano Estate?"Phew…"With that done, Frank strode up to the front gates of Sorano Estate, inhaling deeply before kicking it.The towering steel gates collapsed along with a portion of the wall attached to it."What? What was that?""Earthquake?"The Sorano bodyguards all quickly assembled at the gates and were left staring in shock at the young man who strode out from the dust, his expression impassive.They then froze when they saw their colleague lying dead nearby in a pool of blood."W-What the hell?""A-Are we under attack?""No way, for real?"Even as the bodyguards traded glances from how ridiculous the whole thing was, the young man spoke. "Bring Willy Sorano to me."His words were calm, but there w
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