Elric raised his wrist slightly, the small mirror embedded in his watch glinting in the dim light. With a single thought, both Nana and Elsa were pulled into the Mirror World—vanishing from the ruined street as if they had never existed.
The next second, invisible threads stretched upward into the sky, connecting seamlessly with the rolling clouds above.
Elric stepped onto the air itself as if it were solid ground and vanished into the clouds, heading straight back toward the Ginkgo Community. His black trench coat billowed dramatically in the wind as he accelerated.
"Whoosh—!"
Wind tore past his ears as he glided along the threads at incredible speed. The devastated city blurred beneath him—ruined buildings, abandoned streets, scattered fires still burning in the wreckage of civilization.
In less than a minute, the floating island came into view on the horizon.
Just as Elric approached the air base, a familiar presence stirred in his mind.
Over the past three days, Elric had carefully linked every one of his women into the Heart Net—a psychic network that allowed instant mental communication regardless of distance. It was one of his most valuable abilities for coordinating his growing organization.
"Elric," Natasha's calm, composed voice sounded directly in his mind, as clear as if she were standing beside him. "We found two supernatural ability crystals during today's patrol."
A brief pause, then her voice continued with a hint of interest.
"And a very beautiful girl. She's currently being held in the Ginkgo Community under guard. Do you want us to bring her to you now, or will you come down?"
Elric's eyes lifted slightly, a faint smile crossing his features.
Today really was turning out to be an exceptionally good day.
If this new girl met the system's standards for adoption—and given Natasha's comment about her beauty, she likely would—that would make five new qualified women waiting to be integrated.
Which meant more Devil Fruit rewards. More power. More resources.
The system's generosity was directly proportional to the quality of women he adopted, and he'd learned to maximize that advantage ruthlessly.
"Bring her and the ability crystals to the headquarters building first," Elric replied evenly through the Heart Net. "I'll come down and meet you there."
With a slight adjustment of his body, the threads supporting him shifted trajectory. The floating island slid past above him as he changed course, descending toward the Ginkgo Community below rather than the air base.
Snap.
Elric landed lightly in front of a low-rise building inside the Ginkgo Community's central district. His coat settled around him as his feet touched solid ground again.
This was the only short building in the entire residential area—a modest three-story structure that stood out precisely because it wasn't a towering apartment complex.
Before the apocalypse, it had served as the property management office for the entire community.
Now it functioned as something far more important.
The headquarters of the Star God Shelter.
The name was... well, dramatic. Perhaps even embarrassing.
Its meaning was brutally simple: Elric was the god of this place, and everyone within its walls existed at his mercy.
Natasha and the other women had insisted on the name—deliberately chosen to engrave his absolute authority into everyone's mind, to establish from day one that this was not a democracy or a collective. This was a dictatorship with a divine figurehead.
Elric himself found it more than a bit over the top.
He rarely used the full name when referring to the shelter, preferring simpler terms. But he hadn't vetoed it either, understanding the psychological value of such branding in the apocalypse.
He glanced up at the large sign hanging prominently above the entrance, carved from wood and painted in bold characters:
STAR GOD SHELTER
He shook his head with a faint, self-deprecating smile and stepped forward toward the entrance.
But before he could reach the doors—
Seven or eight armed figures suddenly rushed out from inside, Desert Eagles raised and pointed directly at him. They moved with the practiced coordination of trained guards, forming a defensive semicircle.
"Stop right there!"
"This is Star God Shelter territory!"
"Identify yourself immediately!"
The multiple muzzles locked onto him with deadly intent, fingers resting on triggers.
Elric's frown was more from annoyance than concern.
These were clearly shelter guards—newly trained security personnel under Natasha's command. Survivors who had been given weapons, basic training, and orders to protect the headquarters from intruders.
He didn't feel like wasting time explaining himself or going through some tedious verification process.
Lightning flickered faintly around his feet as he prepared to simply teleport past them into the building.
Then—
The fog that had been obscuring his features suddenly thinned as he stepped closer to the entrance lights.
His face became clear.
The moment the guards recognized him—
Clatter! Clatter! Clatter!
Weapons hit the ground in rapid succession as if they'd suddenly become red-hot.
Every single guard immediately dropped to their knees, heads bowed so low their foreheads nearly touched the pavement.
"Mr. Elric!!"
"We're so sorry!!"
"We didn't recognize you!!"
"Please forgive us—we were completely blind!"
Their bodies shaking with terror. Genuine fear radiated from them—not the fear of punishment, but the fear of having offended something far beyond human.
Elric paused mid-step, genuinely confused.
"...?"
He hadn't said a single word. He hadn't even looked particularly angry. Why were they acting like he was about to erase them from existence?
Before he could voice the question—
Footsteps approached from inside the building, multiple sets moving in coordinated formation.
One after another, familiar figures emerged through the entrance.
At the very front walked Elsa.
Behind her strode Natasha herself, calm and composed, every inch the unquestioned leader of the shelter. Her posture radiated authority and absolute confidence.
At Natasha's side was Grace, her second-in-command and closest lieutenant.
Then came the others, flowing out in a procession—
One by one, Elric's women stepped into view, forming a protective semicircle around him. Their presence was both welcoming and possessive, marking him as theirs while simultaneously demonstrating their collective power.
The kneeling guards trembled even harder at the sight, pressing their faces against the ground.
Only then did Elric fully understand.
To the shelter residents—the refugees, the survivors, the desperate people seeking protection—he wasn't just a powerful man anymore.
He was an existence beyond normal comprehension. A living god who could descend from the sky, erase monsters with casual gestures, and rewrite fate itself with a thought.
This reputation... is getting a bit out of hand, Elric thought with mild exasperation.
Behind the main group stood Emily, Yana, and Oli, the last still carefully applying medicine to the burns on her face from her earlier punishment.
Natasha's eyes turned cold as ice as she surveyed the kneeling guards. When she spoke, her voice carried absolute authority.
"Article One of the Sanctuary Rules," she said with deliberate slowness, ensuring every word was heard and understood. "No disrespect toward the Founder—Elric—under any circumstances."
She glanced down at the trembling guards with evident contempt.
"You dared to point guns at my husband."
A faint orange glow appeared around her palm as magma began to form.
"It seems you're eager to experience what happens when flesh meets lava."
The women immediately closed in tighter around Elric, instinctively forming a more protective circle. At that moment, Natasha's gaze sharpened further. The guards, still pressed against the ground, trembled so violently they looked like they might pass out.
Magma swirled more prominently around her hand now, hot enough to distort the air and cause visible heat shimmer.
She had changed dramatically since the apocalypse began.
Back at the university, Natasha had been cold and aloof—but not actively ruthless. Reserved, perhaps. Distant. But not cruel.
Now, as the leader of a shelter in this brutal new world, she carried the decisiveness of someone who had learned firsthand what mercy cost. Hesitation meant death. Weakness invited exploitation.
Elric glanced at her, understanding her reasoning but not wanting pointless bloodshed.
"That's enough, Natasha."
His voice was calm but carried clear command.
"The punishment doesn't fit the crime. They were doing their job. No killing."
Natasha immediately extinguished the magma without argument, though her expression remained cold. She turned sharply to address the guards.
"Hurry up and thank Mr. Elric properly," she snapped. "He just spared your worthless lives."
"Thank you, Mr. Elric!"
"Thank you! Thank you!"
The guards bowed repeatedly, voices shaking with relief and residual terror. Several were openly weeping.
Elric understood exactly what Natasha was doing—this wasn't really about the guards at all.
She was deliberately shaping his image in the minds of everyone watching. Not as a tyrant who killed on whims, but as a god capable of both wrath and mercy. Someone whose favor meant life and whose displeasure meant death, but who could be reasoned with and appealed to.
Calculated. Effective. Necessary.
He didn't stop her from playing this role. It served both their purposes.
With a subtle flicker of spatial distortion—barely visible to normal eyes—Elric and his women teleported directly inside the headquarters building, bypassing the entrance entirely.
This place had once been a mundane property office dealing with complaints about parking and maintenance requests.
Now it functioned as the nerve center of the Star God Shelter, where all major decisions were made and resources allocated.
Dozens of refugees were waiting inside the main hall, sitting on benches or standing nervously, awaiting job assignments, food rations, or housing allocations.
When they saw Elric suddenly appear—surrounded by Natasha, Grace, and Elsa in a display of obvious power—the hall went completely silent.
Then—
"Mr. Elric!"
"Founder!"
"Sir!"
One by one, people bowed or knelt, panic and reverence mixing in their expressions. No one dared meet his eyes directly.
Elric raised one hand in a casual gesture.
"Alright, enough. Clear the hall. I need privacy."
He exhaled softly.
"Bring the ability crystals first. And bring me the girl you found."
Being stared at like this everywhere I go is exhausting, he thought.
He sat down in the central chair—once used by some property manager to handle tenant disputes—now unmistakably transformed into a throne through context alone.
Grace leaned against him naturally, her body warm against his side.
Natasha nodded crisply.
"Everyone out. Now."
"The girl is resting in one of the upstairs rooms. I'll bring her down personally."
The refugees quickly dispersed, filing out through side exits with obvious relief.
"Husband," Elsa said softly, stepping closer once the room had cleared, "while we're waiting... would you like to hear the shelter's progress report? We've accomplished quite a bit in the past three days."
Elric smiled faintly, genuinely interested.
"Sure. Go ahead."
He casually reached over and pinched Grace's cheek playfully, earning an indignant glare and a sharp elbow to his ribs that he ignored.
Elsa gestured to someone waiting in the shadows.
"Bring the compiled report."
A woman in her thirties stepped forward from a side room—well-dressed in clothes that were far too clean and polished for the apocalypse.
She handed over a thick document folder with an overly bright smile.
Elric nodded approvingly.
They're running this like a real organization now. Professional structure, documentation, accountability.
He reached out to take the report—
Then froze mid-motion.
Two enormous shapes abruptly filled his entire vision, blocking out the document completely.
Along with an overpowering wave of cheap perfume that made his eyes water.
Elric slowly raised his head, his expression carefully neutral.
The woman standing directly in front of him—practically pressed against him—was definitely not one of his women.
There is 70 chapter Advance, in my patreon. If you are interested can check it out.
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