"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
Frank sneered. "If you want him to live, you'll bring him over to Loggins Apothecary and have him kowtow to Nash in apology… It's either that, or you can wait until he dies screaming in three days. And you can trust me when I say he'll regret being alive then."With those words, Frank leapt off the second floor before anyone could respond, landing on top of one of Willy's luxury cars.As the Sorano bodyguards around him looked on in shock, he leapt into a dome car and drove off."Stop him! Stop him!" Emilio Sorano—Willy's father—bellowed manically at the bodyguards downstairs, having rushed to the scene after hearing what had happened."Oh… Okay!"The bodyguards finally came to their senses and finally gave chase.However, Frank had already put a considerable distance between them, and they had no hope of beating him even if they caught up.As such, they merely looked busy chasing after Frank but were actually doing it half-heartedly.None of them were eager to die anyway.And
Just as the Soranos' executives and retainers almost came to an agreement, an authoritative voice barked from the doorway, "What's going on here?!"Silence quickly ensued, with most of them keeping their heads down in reverence while an old man shuffled inside.His back was hunched and his visage ancient, but he carried himself with authority.He stood in the middle of the crowd, his eyes piercing studying everyone.It was none other than Zico Sorano, the head of the Sorano family, himself."Brother." Tony approached him and told him everything that had happened, keeping his narrative neutral as he reported the facts of what he had seen."Hmm… an Ascendant rank named Frank Lawrence?"Zico was focused on Frank, barely paying the writhing Willy any attention as he thought to himself in silence.Soon, he smiled enigmatically, with even the wrinkles on his face smoothening. "Well, that's decided." He chuckled. "Come tomorrow and send an escort with Willy to apologize to Frank Law
"Oh, you needn't worry."Zico smiled. "I've heard that there's been issues with Turnbulls and Lionhearts' arranged engagement, and it all revolved around Frank Lawrence."Emilio realized with a start. "Are you saying…" "Yes." Zico snorted. "We'll stay behind the scenes and let the Turnbulls and the Lionhearts deal with him. Ideally, his identity stays hidden and all of them get hurt in their conflict. That's when we come in…"Laughing coldly, Zico sighed. "The Five-Peat Archaeus is a discipline said to lead one to Transcendent rank, a path to immortality. What are the opinions of mortals in comparison?""I understand now… Thank you for your guidance, Father." "D-Dad? Save me… It hurts so much… Everything hurts…" Willy held out a hand to Emilio even as he rolled around.However, Emilio was already fantasizing about obtaining the Five-Peat Archaeus and did not have any attention to spare.Eventually, he shot the boy with a calm look and said coolly, "If you want it to stop hurt
As Matis put down the fruit basket he brought and frowned, Nash remained silent."It's…"Eventually, he sighed without mentioning a name. "Just forget it. We can't afford to mess with them.""Now, now. You're underestimating Matis, Nash!" a shrill voice spoke outside the door.Soon, a middle-aged woman dressed in yellow who sported permed hair and excessive makeup strode in, clicking her tongue.She was Mel Gunnar, Nash's sister-in-law."How terrible… What did you do to deserve this, Nash?" she exclaimed before turning to flash a proud smile at Matis. "But don't worry—with my son around, he'll find justice for you, whoever it was!""Exactly." Matis nodded. "Just tell us who it is. I'll definitely help you!""You really don't have to." Nash shook his head, not inclined to involve them and finding Mel's voice too shrill for his liking."Just tell us, Dad! Who did this to you? Was it my fault?" Kat pressed, clearly blaming himself for her father's injury since she believed Soren
"You just have to tell us if you need money… Now, see? Your father was attacked and can't even say who it was or demand an apology. You have to suffer because of your pride, messing with the unseemly sort."Although Mel's words were sympathetic, her expression did not show it—if anything, there was a hint of contempt.Frank could see that Nash and Kat's relatives were treating them strangely. Pausing for a moment, he turned back to Matis and said quietly, "Listen to me. The man who attacked Nash is not someone you can mess with.""Really?" Matis snorted in turn, releasing Frank and walking to his mother, snorting in contempt, "Did you hear that, Mom? He said I can't mess with the man who attacked Uncle Nash."Kat walked up to Frank just then, watching him anxiously as she asked, "Who did it, Master Lawrence? You could at least tell me, right?"Frank shook his head. "Ignorance is bliss, and it's none of your business. I can handle it myself.""Shut up!" Mel strode up, sneering a