A few drops of magma slid slowly from her fingertips, hissing as they splashed onto the asphalt.
"Sir. Miss."
A calm but cautious voice suddenly broke the tension.
Natasha was stepping forward when a black-haired man wearing glasses approached from the side. He brought five or six sturdy men with him, positioning himself confidently in front of Elric and Natasha.
His eyes flicked over the women standing behind Elric.
He swallowed hard.
Then, forcing a polite smile, he spoke.
"Hello. I'm the captain of the Red Blood Shelter. Our shelter welcomes all superpowered individuals."
"We sincerely invite you to join us."
"Don't worry. The Red Blood Shelter treats ability users with the highest respect. You'll receive top-tier resources, protection, authority."
"Oh?" Elric tilted his head slightly, the corner of his lips lifting. "Really?"
"Of course, sir. We—"
Bang!
A gunshot tore through the air.
The man's words were cut off mid-sentence as a bullet slammed into his shoulder. Blood burst out instantly, soaking his sleeve. He screamed, staggering back.
Everyone snapped their heads toward the shooter.
Elsa stood there calmly, gun still raised. Her pupils shimmered with shifting colors. She was breathing fast, her chest rising sharply as she turned to Elric, voice urgent.
"Elric… my eyes can see it. The aura above their heads—it's black. Some of them are even purple."
"I know." Elric nodded calmly, unfazed.
From the moment these people appeared, he had already noticed. The malicious intent hovering above the men was impossible to miss once you knew how to look.
Whatever they were promising, it was all a lie. What they planned to do after taking people in was another story entirely.
"Leave it to you." Elric waved his hand casually. "Use this as practice. These are just trash mobs."
"Yes."
At his command, Rachel stepped forward first, followed by Natasha, Elizabeth, Lily, and the others with combat-oriented abilities.
Will clutched his bleeding shoulder, staring at Elsa in disbelief.
"So there are eyes that can see malice, huh…" He suddenly laughed. "Well… then there's no helping it."
"I was planning to trick you all back to the shelter and—" He ripped off his glasses and flung them aside. "And then eat you."
The last word hadn't even fully left his mouth when blood exploded outward—not just from Will, but from the four or five men behind him as well.
Their bodies twisted violently as massive amounts of blood surged from their pores, wrapping around them like living armor. In seconds, they were no longer human. Only grotesque crimson figures remained, faces barely visible beneath layers of pulsing blood.
Their expressions were manic. Insane.
"What the hell…?"
"Is that a power?"
"All of them have the same ability?!"
The surrounding survivors froze in terror.
Elric watched with mild curiosity. "So it's a shared blood-type ability."
Interesting—but nothing special. Even if their powers were strange, they were still completely outclassed.
At first, Rachel and the others hesitated. Seeing human figures turn into blood monsters wasn't something anyone got used to easily.
But after a brief pause, they moved.
A translucent space unfolded.
Scalpel.
The blood creature lunging forward was sliced cleanly in half, its upper and lower body separating mid-air.
Before it could even reform—
Magma Fist.
A blazing punch evaporated half its body.
Thunder Finger.
A piercing bolt of lightning drilled through another blood figure, exploding it from the inside.
Iron Tears · Eye Whale.
A crushing force slammed down, pulverizing crimson armor like wet paper.
Abilities detonated one after another. The battlefield turned into chaos.
Everyone watching stood frozen.
Women… all of them? All superpowered?
And those abilities—they were absurd. Overwhelming.
This wasn't normal awakening. This was domination.
The blood creatures' initial ferocity vanished quickly, replaced by panic. They tried to retreat, tried to regroup.
But the Devil Fruit abilities were simply on another level entirely.
Still, because the women were new to real combat, their coordination wasn't perfect.
In the end, Will and one other blood-covered man collapsed to the ground, barely alive. Breathing. Broken.
Elric stepped forward, eyes calm, expression indifferent. "Looks like you get to live. For now."
The man with glasses had been split in half by Rachel's attack. Only the upper portion of his body remained—but instead of dying, his flesh dissolved into a pool of writhing blood. The crimson mass slithered backward, flowing beneath the truck like a living thing.
"He's escaping!" Rachel reacted instantly.
She, Natasha, and Lily sprinted after the retreating blood mass without hesitation. As for the others, they surrounded the final survivor.
The man was already on his knees, gasping for breath, his body trembling violently. He looked like he was at death's door—no longer a threat.
At least, that's what everyone thought.
Suddenly, he burst forward.
Using the momentary lapse in attention, his blood-soaked body exploded outward. In the same instant, a dagger appeared in his hand.
Thrust.
The blade drove straight toward Elizabeth's torso.
"Hahaha!" The man laughed wildly, eyes crazed. "So what if you women are strong?! Aren't you still—"
His laughter cut off.
Something was wrong.
The dagger didn't sink into flesh. Elizabeth's body had already turned into pure lightning. Crackling arcs of electricity surged outward, her form expanding, brightening, swallowing everything in front of her.
"CRACK—!"
The thunderstorm collapsed inward. Every trace of blood on the man's body was instantly ionized. His scream didn't even last a second.
When the light faded, only a charred silhouette remained—then ash.
Elizabeth stepped forward, her body reforming into solid flesh. She looked down at her hands, eyes shining with awe.
"So… the human body can fully elementalize into lightning. Using it in real combat really is different."
She exhaled slowly, visibly impressed by her own ability.
From a distance, Elric watched the aftermath and frowned slightly.
"These women still lack combat discipline. To deal with trash like this, they already had to use full elementalization. Rachel needs to train them harder."
At that moment, Natasha and the others were still chasing the half-blood man beneath the truck. Elric didn't bother interfering.
Instead, he vanished.
In the next instant, he appeared in front of Shasha and her husband.
The remaining residents from the Ginkgo Society community were already trembling uncontrollably. After witnessing that battle, none of them dared breathe loudly.
Women with powers like that?
There was no need to even think about resistance.
These people had fled the community once already. By Elric's standards, that alone made them potential traitors.
Fear overwhelmed them.
"Mr. Elric—we won't go to the Red Blood Shelter anymore!"
"We'll go back to the community and stay obedient!"
"Please… please spare us!"
One by one, the residents dropped to their knees, begging desperately.
Only one man didn't.
John.
He gripped Shasha's wrist tightly, jaw clenched, eyes burning with stubborn defiance.
Elric looked at him—and smiled.
Interesting. This one wasn't afraid of death.
"Oh?" Elric asked calmly. "So what about you? From the way you're acting, you don't want your wife to return to the Ginkgo Club?"
John met his gaze without backing down.
It had to be said—despite the dirt and exhaustion, the man was still handsome. Even his ruined clothes were clearly luxury brands. Before the world ended, this man had definitely lived better than Elric ever had.
But now, his life and death rested on Elric's whim.
"Mr. Elric," John said firmly, "of course I want to return to the community with my wife. But—please don't target her."
"Heh." Elric laughed softly.
This was the first time someone dared negotiate with him under circumstances like this.
"Mr. Elric, I know money means nothing to you now. I also know I'm not qualified to bargain. But my wife and I love each other. We're not pretending."
"If you try to take her, we won't agree. Even if it means dying."
He spoke calmly, resolutely, holding Shasha as if shielding her from the world.
Looking at this, Elric hesitated.
But unlike him, Shasha didn't share that resolve.
She struggled lightly against his grip. Then, slowly, she raised her head and looked at Elric.
Her voice was soft. Almost hesitant.
"Mr. Elric… if I follow you… will I be able to eat until I'm full every day?"
"…And take a proper bath?"
Silence fell.
The answer was already obvious.
There is 60 chapter Advance, in my patreon. If you are interested can check it out.
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