"No! You can't do this!"
"I beg you, spare these poor children!"
"Didn't you say you'd let us go? …You executioners, devils, you will surely be punished by the heavens…"
Bang!
With a gunshot, the nun, deceived and driven into despair, fell into a pool of blood.
"Blabbering nonstop. Do you believe everything I say? Hahahaha! If I hadn't said that, how else would you have willingly brought these brats to us? This really saved us a lot of trouble! Hahaha…"
"To tell you the truth, our orders are to leave no one alive in this country. Except for your king, who ran away with the royal family like a stray dog long ago, everyone else here—including the elderly and children—must die!"
A soldier beside him frowned. "Simon, you're talking too much."
"What's there to be afraid of? They're about to be corpses anyway, and the dead can't talk."
"Fire! Wipe them all out!"
As the soldiers grinned and raised their guns, fire spewed from the barrels.
The nun's last sight was one child after another being gunned down.
Hearing the children's desperate, helpless cries, she shed two lines of tears filled with regret before falling into eternal darkness.
"I'm sorry…"
Until her final breath, the nun never saw the merciful light of salvation descend upon these poor souls.
All that remained was despair.
…
In September of the Sea Circle Calendar year 1506, the North Blue nation of Flevance was destroyed in war by a neighboring country, and "White City" was engulfed in a massive fire.
During the entire event, neither the World Government nor the Marines participated in any rescue efforts.
The only known survivors were the former royal family of Flevance, who had long abandoned their country and sought the World Government's protection to escape.
Yet faintly, through the dark clouds, it seemed that a ray of sunlight pierced the despair and shone down.
…
Although "White City" Flevance was destroyed, the cleanup work continued.
For example, the bodies that the fire hadn't completely burned.
If they weren't disposed of quickly, plague would become another problem for the city.
So, the corpses were gathered at the border of Flevance, waiting for fuel to arrive so they could be burned together.
The piles of bodies were like a living hell!
An ordinary person would probably have nightmares for three days after just one glance.
Even the soldiers transporting the bodies would leave immediately after dropping them off, unwilling to linger in this ominous place.
After all, what's there to guard about a heap of corpses? Could they possibly get up and walk away?
But in the dead silence, a few corpses suddenly moved eerily—it was chilling!
Thud…
Huff… huff…
As a few bodies rolled off the pile, a small, blood-stained, battered figure struggled out from underneath, breathing heavily after nearly suffocating.
Then the stench of blood, rotting flesh, and other indescribable odors rushed into his nose.
"Urgh… urgh!"
He vomited violently, and when he saw his surroundings clearly, he retched even harder.
"So there really is a hell after death… and it's this terrifying!"
"No… this isn't hell… This is Flevance. My name is Gustavus… Abel!"
After he had vomited until there was nothing left, he finally finished merging the memories of two lifetimes.
In his previous life, he was a self-made "outstanding young entrepreneur" who still managed to look respectable.
By the age of thirty, with a bit of help from his in-laws, he had easily earned several small fortunes.
Then, in order to prove he wasn't just a freeloader living off his wife's family, he devoted himself fully to the company. As a result, after an exhausting day, he got into a car accident while driving late at night.
The next time he opened his eyes, he was here—in a place like purgatory!
The body he had crossed into was just as unlucky.
Gustavus… Abel was his name, born in the North Blue in a beautiful, wealthy land—Flevance.
He even had a happy family. His parents were well-known local merchants who held considerable wealth.
From a young age, he had received an excellent education. He was cheerful and generous, inherited his parents' good looks, and was handsome and well-liked.
If that was all, he might have been glad to have been reborn as this person.
But as more memories surfaced, words like "White City," "Amber Lead Disease," "One Piece," "World Government," and "Celestial Dragons" began appearing in his mind, making him realize just how terrifying a world he had come to.
And his current situation was dire.
After all, he had read the famous manga "One Piece" in his youth—who hadn't?—though once his career took over, he rarely followed it except for the occasional plot update.
For example, he remembered hearing a lot of complaints about the Hito Hito no Mi, Mythical Zoan Type, Nika.
"Great… I crossed over at the wrong time, and to the wrong place."
Recalling all this, Abel gave a bitter smile.
Living in the so-called "White City" of Flevance was no blessing. Almost everyone here suffered from incurable Amber Lead Disease, and by his generation, they would die in unbearable pain before reaching adulthood.
Looking at the clear white patches on his arm, Abel knew he was no exception. It seemed his luck had been spent entirely on getting this second chance at life.
What made it worse was that if he had crossed over a few days earlier, he might have escaped with his parents and searched for a cure.
But it was too late. To cover up the truth, the World Government had let Flevance be destroyed in war, and his parents, like everyone else, had died under blades and bullets.
Along with the deceived nun, and the innocent children gunned down…
Even the briefest recollection made Abel instinctively clench his fists.
Now that their memories had merged, there was no "him" or "me"—only one name: Gustavus Abel.
He felt it all as if it had been his own life.
One day, he would avenge his parents and every soul lost in Flevance.
But that would have to wait. For now, he simply lacked the power or ability.
"The most urgent thing is to escape. I might have gotten used to the stench here, but if the soldiers find me, I'll probably end up crossing over again… if I even get the chance."
Muttering to himself, Abel tried to stand up in one motion, only to roll straight down the pile of corpses.
His body was already in bad shape—he didn't know how long it had been since he'd eaten or drunk water—and the earlier vomiting had left him dizzy and weak.
"Damn it!"
Propping himself against a corpse, he caught his breath. The hunger and weakness gnawed at his mind.
In this state, trying to leave unnoticed and cross the border was a fool's dream.
At the very least, he needed to recover some strength.
The bad news was, there was neither food nor water here, and the longer he delayed, the greater the chance of running into soldiers.
"Damn it… I've already gone through something as crazy as transmigration—don't I at least get some kind of cheat ability?"
The moment he said it, a voice suddenly sounded in his mind:
[Wish Order System bound. Newcomer Gift Pack issued. Please check on your own.]