The burly man grinned wickedly, taking a slow, deliberate step toward Di Ruqing.
Each step he took made her heart pound faster.
And just as the distance between them vanished—
She moved.
Her pale face tightened with resolve, a flicker of fire in her eyes.
It was her last stand.
Tap! Tap!
She charged forward, her every motion trembling with exhaustion yet burning with determination.
In the blink of an eye, she was in front of the man—
Her left fist ignited, turning into molten magma.
BOOM!
She swung fiercely at his abdomen, the air warping from the heat.
But the burly man only sneered.
"Too slow, little girl from the Di family!"
"If I hadn't underestimated you before, you'd never have touched me!"
He reached out with terrifying speed—
Before Di Ruqing could even react, his massive hand clamped tightly around her untransformed arm.
Her delicate, snow-white arm was trapped in his iron grip.
Di Ruqing struggled desperately, twisting and pulling with all her might—
But the strength difference between them was like heaven and earth.
Her resistance only made his smirk widen.
"Useless! Useless! Completely useless!"
He let out a low, cruel laugh.
"Struggle all you want, girl—it changes nothing! So what if you're a natural-type Devil Fruit user? So what if one day you might grow strong enough to become a Seventh-Tier Sovereign?"
"In my eyes right now, you're nothing more than a tiny bug—one I can crush between my fingers anytime I want!"
His face darkened with twisted excitement, voice thick with malice.
"But don't worry… I won't kill you just yet."
"I'll keep you alive, at least until the Elder arrives… until I've taken your Magma Fruit for myself. Then you—"
"—AAAGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
His sentence cut short, replaced by a bloodcurdling scream.
Pain shot through his arm like molten metal eating into his flesh.
He looked down in horror—
Di Ruqing's left arm had turned completely into magma, blazing red-hot.
The heat had scorched through his palm, the skin charred black, the flesh peeling and bubbling.
"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!" he roared in agony.
"You little brat! You dare to hold back!? You dared to hold back against me!?"
"You can already transform your whole arm into magma—AND YOU HELD BACK—AAAGHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Another scream tore from his throat—
this time deeper, sharper, and infinitely more painful.
The pain didn't come from his arm.
It came from… below.
The pain of shattered eggs.
"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Veins bulged in his neck, his vision went red, his body trembled violently.
"YOU DAMN LITTLE WITCH!! YOU'RE DEAD! YOU'RE DEAD!!"
He roared, shaking with fury, his face contorted with bloodlust.
Then—
THUD!
He lashed out with a savage kick.
Normally, Di Ruqing would have dodged easily—
but she was far past her limits.
Her body no longer responded to her will.
"Ungh—!"
The kick slammed into her midsection, sending her flying several meters before she hit the ground hard, rolling to a stop.
Her breathing was ragged, her limbs weak.
"Damn you! Damn you! You miserable little brat!"
The burly man looked down at himself—his burned hands, his bleeding pants—and his fury reached its peak.
He started walking toward her again, each step crushing the dirt beneath his boots.
"Step. Step. Step. Step."
He loomed over her trembling body.
His voice turned cold—
hoarse, like a demon whispering from hell itself.
"I'm not going to kill you quickly, girl."
"I'll make you understand what happens when someone dares to anger me."
"I'll break every one of your fingers—slowly."
"I'll crush every bone in your arms and legs."
"I'll make you beg for death…"
Then his lips curled into a grin so cruel it barely looked human.
"And right before the end… the Elder will arrive. He'll take your power… and give it to me."
He chuckled darkly, the sound more beast than man.
His words sent chills down Di Ruqing's spine.
She was only eighteen—
a girl, still young, still human.
And at that moment—
her fear overwhelmed everything.
Her trembling grew worse.
Her pale face turned ghostly white.
Her mind screamed silently—
Someone… please… help me.
Father…
Father…
Her thoughts spiraled in panic, her vision blurring.
"Keheheheheheheh…"
The burly man threw his head back and laughed maniacally.
Then—
BAM!
He kicked her again.
Her small body flew backward, crashing into a tree with a dull crack.
"Now you're scared, huh?" he mocked.
"Too late for that, girl!"
"Far too late! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
His laughter echoed through the burning schoolyard as he stepped forward again, towering over her.
Di Ruqing lay curled on the ground, helpless, eyes wide with despair.
"Someone… please…"
"Someone save me…"
Her voice was barely more than a whisper, trembling and broken.
"Give up," the man sneered, spreading his arms wide.
"No one's coming to save you. Not in Tongcheng. Not anywhere. Right now—"
He grinned, madness in his eyes.
"—I am the true king of this city! KEHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
But—
Before he could take another step—
Whoosh!!!
A violent gust tore through the air from his left.
"Who!?"
The burly man turned—just in time to see a blinding flash of lightning streak toward him.
A storm-charged Tempest Kick—carrying the full force of a thunderclap—
hurtled straight at his chest.
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