The kid was being serious!The Sorano bodyguards all panicked even as they stared at Frank's calm demeanor. He just killed the bodyguard captain with a single strike, and he recently became a vigor wielder…He was as formidable as the Sorano retainers, and he was not someone they could hope to win!"Go… get the retainers!"One of the bodyguards quickly turned to flee, and Frank simply watched him go without a word.That was when someone shouted at him, "Don't get so full of yourself, you prick! You're a dead man the moment you came!" It was one of the bodyguards, who could not stop his outburst as he watched the bodyguard captain drop lifelessly to the ground."Hmm…?"Frank turned toward the bodyguard, locking eyes with him and asking just half a meter away, "You just called me a dead man?"The bodyguard gulped, regretting standing out just then.He glanced at the hundred over Sorano bodyguards behind him, but none of them were attacking Frank.It was simply laughable."
Frank remained impassive as he stared at the trembling Sorano bodyguard. "Your five minutes is over. Since you're not bringing Willy Sorano over, you can take me to him."He picked that bodyguard merely because he was the obvious coward—the more afraid they were to die, the easier they were to control.Gutsy ones would only waste more of his time."What? Mr. Sorano?" The cowardly Sorano bodyguard turned toward the other bodyguards hesitantly.However, they were clearly afraid that Frank would just kill their cowardly colleague and then turn his sights on them.They just worked here, and they certainly did not want to die!And while Frank's only opinion of the man was 'coward', the man could not be blamed.The Soranos were not a dynasty of martial artists like the Lionhearts, and their only real muscle were their retainers.And while the Sorano bodyguards' job title was bodyguard, they were really just your glorified security officers. They only took the job because it paid well
In around ten minutes, Frank found himself staring at a gigantic luxury mansion with over seven luxury cars lining the courtyard.Each of them were limited editions that would invoke considerable envy if seen in public—from the looks of it, they were Willy's very own collection.He then alighted without further harassing the cowardly Sorano bodyguard. He had a bone to pick with someone else, and he only killed before in rage and to establish himself.Now that he had found Willy's mansion, he had no reason to do it—he never liked killing and was always tolerant toward those who knew their place."Go." He waved off the cowardly Sorano bodyguard.The cowardly Sorano bodyguard actually thought he was going to die and was delighted that Frank did not kill him.After all, nothing could be more delightful than cheating death, and he even thanked Frank profusely, even though he was an intruder who barged into Sorano Estate.Frank was left shaking his head in bemusement—the standard of b
Willy laughed. "The fact that you showed up here means—"Smack!Frank said nothing as he slapped Willy resoundingly across the face, leaving him stunned.Seizing Willy by the neck, his eyes flashed murderously as he bellowed, "I asked you a question, so answer it!"Willy could barely keep up—he touched his face and felt the sting, finally realizing it was no dream.His face contorted with rage and humiliation as he looked up and glared at Frank. "Y-You hit me?! In my house?! Do you know what you're doing?!"Smack!"I told you to answer my question!" Frank bellowed as he slapped him again, leaving Willy seeing stars as his lips bled.It actually took Willy seconds to recover."Frank Lawrence, you—""Answer my question!"Seeing Frank's fury, Willy actually felt a pang of panic.He had no idea how Frank got inside his own house, but Frank was going to keep slapping him if he kept being stubborn. As such, he had to hold back his own rage and bellowed, "If you're talking about t
Frank did not even flinch as he watched Willy cackle hysterically, and he asked calmly, "So, are you done?""Eh?" Willy was taken aback by Frank's unaffected reaction, even asking blankly, "Aren't you scared? I know everything about you and your family in Riverton—Oof!"Willy could not even scream as Frank punched his lower jaw, pulverizing everything including his teeth into mush.All he could do was writhe around the floor in sheer pain."Maybe…"Frank remained impassive as he watched him convulse, speaking calmly, "Maybe my family will suffer like you threatened, but I'll do all I can to stop it before that. If it's a war you Soranos want, I wouldn't mind showing my chops and bathing your house in blood.""Insolence!"An elderly man in a white suit emerged from the door behind Frank just then, glancing at Willy before glaring furiously at Frank. "Bathe my house in blood?! Such bold words! Now state your name!"Gus Zeller then entered as well and did a double take in confus
"I bear you no ill will, Mr. Sorano," Gus retorted firmly at Willy. "Why would you mistreat you in any way? If anything, it does the Sorano family no good to start a fight without knowing why. After all, we're talking about a martial elite who's clearly outraged enough to charge into our own turf.""Fine. In that case, I'd like to hear the brat's story."Tony nodded, withholding his rage as he turned toward Frank with a cool glare. "What's your beef with my family, Mr. Lawrence? We should at least understand why you're trying to start a war here.""That's right." Gus nodded. "Hmph. Finally, someone who speaks like a human being." Frank snorted as he eased his foot over Willy's kneecap.Turning toward Gus darkly, he asked, "When you consulted me, we agreed that I'd bring you medicine to treat your recurring condition, didn't we?""Is that true?" Tony turned to Gus."Yes, it is." Gus glanced at him in turn, nodding solemnly and frowning.Frank then bellowed, "I happened to be bu
"Gus Zeller…!!!" Willy hissed furiously, but there was nothing he could do."Willy," Tony said quietly just then, "Gus is right. You haven't been found innocent of Zam's death, and now, you've brought more trouble to our doorstep. You're in the wrong here, so apologize to Mr. Lawrence now.""What?!" Willy's eyes widened so much they could pop out, and he shrieked even as he looked up at them, "Am I hearing this wrong?! This… This Frank Lawrence barged into our home, killed our bodyguards, and hurt me! And you're letting this slide?! When has our family become this weak?! Or do we not fight back when others shit on us these days?!""Silence!" Gus bellowed icily as he strode a step forward. "Let me make this clear—you've only ever been causing us trouble, and you're a suspect in your own granduncle's death! Don't try to cry your way out of this!"Then, pointing at Frank, Gus laughed despite himself. "Frank Lawrence sent a courier to deliver a medicine, but forget stopping him—you'd
Willy struggled violently even as he bawled, "Save me, Granduncle!!!"Tony promptly strode up and bellowed at Frank right then, "Stop! We were being reasonable here, but you'd hurt Willy instead?! Would you rather we not be reasonable?!""Calm down, Mr. Lawrence," Gus reasoned as well, reluctant to fight Frank."Heh…" Frank chuckled nonchalantly in spite of Tony and Gus' wary stances. "You're the ones who should be begging. Even before I came, there were only two options I was going to offer Willy."As he spoke, he crushed Willy's other kneecap with his foot—the man was in so much pain that he drifted in and out of consciousness, but all he could do was curse and yell Frank's name."I'll kill him if you come closer," Frank said just then, seeing that Tony was ready to attack.His warning promptly left Tony straightening warily—he could already tell that Frank was strong, and that killing Willy was a matter of will for him."Then what do you want?!" Tony bellowed, glaring at Fr
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