BOOM!
The magma hound tore straight through the massive white ape's chest with devastating precision. The creature had just launched itself into the air, reaching for Elric with murderous intent, when the molten canine construct punched a hole clean through its torso.
Its enormous body slammed down from the sky like a collapsing tower, crashing into the ruined street with bone-shaking impact. Dust and debris exploded outward in a massive cloud.
The survivors below threw their arms up, shielding themselves from the shockwave.
But the monster didn't die.
A violent white aura suddenly flared across its entire body, crackling with supernatural energy. The hole blasted clean through its chest—a wound that should have been instantly fatal—began to regenerate at a visible speed. Flesh knitted together, bones reformed, organs reconstructed themselves as if time itself were rewinding.
Within seconds, the wound had nearly sealed.
Elric's gaze turned icy as he observed from above.
"So it regenerates."
His voice was cold. This changed the calculation slightly, but only slightly.
He slowly clenched both fists. His arms transformed into flowing magma, the heat so intense it distorted the air around him in shimmering waves. Four molten canine heads took shape simultaneously, each one radiating enough heat to melt steel.
"Too bad for you."
Elric's lips curved into a faint, humorless smile.
"You ran into me."
If one magma hound wasn't enough to kill it—then four would erase it from existence entirely.
With Elric's current physical power and mastery over his Devil Fruit abilities, maintaining four magma hounds simultaneously was effortless. Child's play, really.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Four Magma Hounds crashed down in rapid succession, each one striking with the force of an artillery shell.
The white ape didn't even have time to scream.
Its body, its protective aura, its regeneration—all of it was completely overwhelmed, melted, erased from existence in a cascade of superheated destruction. The ground beneath it collapsed into a massive crater over ten meters wide, the edges still glowing red-hot as molten rock bubbled and hissed.
The temperature spiked so high that the surrounding air caught fire briefly before the flames extinguished themselves.
Below, the surviving students stood frozen in place, their faces blank with shock.
"...That's it?" someone whispered.
"...It just died? Just like that?"
"...Is he even human?"
They stared at the man floating in the air, their minds struggling to process what they'd just witnessed. The monster that had killed Liam and five others without effort, that had regenerated from a mortal wound—it had been casually annihilated in seconds.
Among them was Nana. Although she had contacted Elric before and received his response, she had never actually met him in person. She never imagined that the classmate who answered her desperate message would be this terrifying, this powerful, this far beyond anything remotely human.
He was like a god descending from heaven.
Elric ignored their reactions entirely.
He opened Room, the invisible spatial barrier expanding to collect the spoils left behind by the white titan's death. Items materialized in the air before him, pulled from the crater below.
This time, besides the familiar white ability crystal that monsters typically left behind, there was something else—something unusual.
A round bead, glowing faintly white with internal light, its surface smooth and warm to the touch.
Elric frowned slightly as he examined it.
He had seen something like this before—back when he killed the mutated locust tree on the interstate highway. Back then, he hadn't understood its purpose or properties. He'd stored it away for later analysis.
Now another one appeared.
I'll have Elizabeth study it later, he decided. The scientist would probably be thrilled to have new research material.
He casually stored both the crystal and the mysterious bead inside the Mirror World, embedding them neatly through the small mirror mounted on his watch. They vanished with a faint shimmer.
Then, stepping onto an invisible thread as if it were solid ground, Elric descended gracefully and landed in front of the group of survivors.
His eyes immediately found his target.
"You're Nana."
It wasn't a question.
"I'm Elric."
As he spoke, her information panel appeared before his eyes—visible only to him, courtesy of the system.
Name: Nana
Age: 21
Appearance: 92
Figure: 92
Quality: 100 (Pure)
Overall Rating: 92
Monthly Exchange Reward: 21
System Evaluation: Meets standards. Adoption will promote Devil Fruit Tree growth.
Nana's eyes widened in recognition and relief.
"...You're Elric?" Her voice trembled slightly. "You actually came..."
The surrounding students gasped, whispers spreading through the group.
That Elric? The classmate from before the apocalypse? The one everyone thought was average, unremarkable?
Elric didn't waste time with explanations or pleasantries.
"Come with me," he said flatly.
Then his gaze shifted, locking onto another figure in the group.
"You—" he pointed, "—and her."
His eyes settled on Elsa, the legendary campus beauty whose reputation had preceded her even before the world ended.
Though her face was dirty and her clothes torn and ragged from days of survival, her beauty was impossible to hide—far surpassing most women he'd encountered. Even in this state, she was stunning.
The system chimed instantly in his mind.
Ding! New qualified adopter detected.
Name: Elsa
Age: 22
Appearance: 95
Figure: 95
Quality: 100 (Pure)
Overall Rating: 95
Monthly Exchange Reward: 48
System Evaluation: Meets adopter criteria. Adoption will promote Devil Fruit Tree growth.
HIGH-SCORE ADOPTER DETECTED — HIGH-VALUE REWARD TRIGGERED.
Elric's eyes gleamed with satisfaction.
Ninety-five? And a high-score bonus reward?
This was a massive gain—far exceeding his expectations. Now the Azure Dragon Fruit he'd been eyeing was essentially guaranteed, and there might be even more valuable rewards waiting beyond that.
Today's rescue mission had turned into an unexpected windfall.
"Well?" Elric said calmly, his tone betraying nothing of his internal calculations. "You two unwilling to come?"
"Yes!" Elsa answered instantly, without even a second of hesitation.
She didn't care about dignity or playing hard to get. She wanted to live, and the man before her was clearly strong enough to guarantee that survival. Nothing else mattered.
"Of course I am!" Nana followed immediately, though she shot a brief glare at Elsa before nodding firmly at Elric.
She hadn't forgotten being tripped. But that could be dealt with later.
But before Elric could prepare to leave, a shrill, angry voice cut through the moment.
"Elric, we're all classmates!"
A heavyset female student—the same one who had demanded the boys sacrifice themselves earlier—stepped forward with righteous indignation painted across her face.
"You're a man—shouldn't you protect all the girls here?"
She gestured dramatically at the other female survivors.
"You only take them and leave the rest of us? Aren't you being completely unfair?!"
The surrounding students went silent, exchanging uncomfortable glances.
Some looked at her with disbelief. Others with pity. A few even took subtle steps backward, distancing themselves.
Does she have a death wish? several thought simultaneously.
Elric turned to face her slowly, his expression utterly calm. Too calm.
"...You're brave."
His voice was almost admiring.
CRACKLE!
Lightning erupted from his body without warning—bright blue-white arcs that danced across his skin before concentrating in his hand. He pointed a single finger at the woman.
In the next second, she collapsed.
Her body convulsed once, then lay still—reduced to charred remains, smoke rising from the blackened corpse. The smell of burned flesh filled the air.
No scream. No mercy. No hesitation.
The other survivors recoiled in horror, several of them crying out. The message was crystal clear: Elric was not their savior. He was not obligated to help. And demanding anything from him was fatal.
Elric looked at the stunned survivors with complete indifference.
"You can go to the Ginkgo Community Shelter if you want," he said conversationally, as if he hadn't just executed someone. "Tell them I sent you. Whether you live or die after that—"
He paused meaningfully.
"That has nothing to do with me."
Without another word, he activated the mirror embedded in his watch. The small reflective surface suddenly expanded, becoming a portal to another dimension.
With a casual flick of his wrist, both Nana and Elsa were pulled into the Mirror World—vanishing from the street as if they'd never existed.
Invisible threads emerged from Elric's hands and feet, extending upward to connect with the clouds rolling across the sky above. The [Empty Path] technique activated seamlessly.
Elric rose into the air once more, his body lifting effortlessly as the threads pulled him forward at high speed. Within seconds, he was nothing but a distant speck against the clouds.
Destination—Ginkgo Community.
The hunt was over.
And the harvest had begun.
There is 70 chapter Advance, in my patreon. If you are interested can check it out.
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