He was none other than Jenna's pathetic lapdog.
It was from him that Elric obtained the Ability Core. Now, standing in front of Elric once again, Liam's face twisted with fury.
"It's you!"
Elric instantly recognized him. And naturally, Liam and the seven or eight guys standing behind him recognized Elric too.
Those guys weren't strangers — they were all athletes from the university gym. The same ones who'd been with Liam that day at the swimming complex.
Back then, Elric had slashed at him, trying to end the threat quickly. But his knife skills had been clumsy — both strikes missed the vital points. Because of that, Liam wasn't killed; he merely passed out. His teammates panicked, but eventually carried him to the campus infirmary.
Under the care of the doctors and nurses there, Liam recovered.
Unfortunately, gratitude wasn't something Liam understood.
After regaining his strength — with his ability — he turned into the self-proclaimed boss of the infirmary, taking it over with his group of athletes. They seized all the food and water, and locked up the medical supplies.
From that day on, anyone who wanted medicine had to trade valuable goods for it. Those who couldn't? Liam and his crew beat them senseless and kicked them out.
Just last night, a feverish girl had begged for medicine. Liam's response? A kick to the stomach and the door slammed in her face.
So when they heard someone was trying to steal a medicine bottle today, Liam expected it to be another desperate fool. He didn't expect it to be Elric.
"Elric!" Liam snarled. "You better hand Jenna over if you don't wanna die. I'm not the same as before — my power's evolved!"
Elric raised an eyebrow, a small grin forming on his lips.
"Jenna?" he said casually. "Ah, you mean that blonde who used to follow you around like a queen bee?"
Liam's jaw tightened.
He'd been thinking about Jenna every day since she disappeared — whether she was eating, sleeping, or scared. Three or four days had passed, and not a single word from her. The thought gnawed at him.
And now Elric had the nerve to smirk?
"Oh, Jenna's doing just fine with me," Elric said, his voice light, teasing. "She's got a full belly every day, and every morning—" he smirked, pulling out his phone, "—she gets milk to drink."
He flipped the screen toward Liam.
Liam froze. The photo showed Jenna drinking from a bottle of milk, sitting comfortably, her hair loose, expression calm.
At first, his crew didn't get it. But once they saw the picture, every guy behind him went wide-eyed.
"No way… Jenna? That Jenna?"
The cold, aloof goddess of the university — the one everyone had dreamed of — now looked like that? So gentle? So submissive?
Liam's vision went red.
"You… you forced her to do that?!"
He roared, his whole body trembling with rage.
"Protective Shield!"
With a deep hum, a glowing green barrier formed around him — a shimmering dome of force. Then, with another loud boom, a second shield appeared, this one slamming down around Elric.
"Oh?" Elric chuckled. "Two shields now? So that's your upgraded ability?"
He tilted his head. "That's it?"
Liam smirked. "You'll eat those words soon."
Elric snapped his fingers, and in the blink of an eye, vanished from inside the barrier, reappearing right in front of Liam.
But Liam didn't panic. Instead, his grin widened.
"Boom!"
The shield Elric had just escaped suddenly shot toward him at full speed.
"Hahaha! You think I'm still that weak idiot from before? My shields move now — and I can control them! You're finished!"
The roaring barrier raced toward Elric's back.
But Elric didn't even flinch.
Snap.
His right hand turned crimson — molten — as flames rippled across his skin. A moment later, his fist erupted into blazing magma.
"Magma Fist."
He swung it backward.
The incoming shield met his molten fist — and shattered instantly, molten fragments melting into the floor.
Liam's eyes widened.
This wasn't the same Elric from before.
This was something far more terrifying.
"Wow!"
When Elric's magma fist connected with Liam's shimmering shield, it happened instantly — the protective barrier that Liam was so proud of began to melt away like wax under the sun.
"What—?!" Liam's eyes widened. "You've got magma powers too? You melted my barrier in one hit?!"
He stumbled backward, shock flooding his face. But Elric didn't even blink.He stepped forward, his right hand still glowing red-hot, and threw another punch — this time at the inner shield that protected Liam himself.
With a sound like glass cracking under heat, that barrier too disintegrated, turning into dripping emerald fragments before vanishing completely.
All of Liam's tricks had been stripped away in seconds.
But Elric didn't strike him immediately. Instead, he calmly drew a small fruit knife from his belt, pressed the cold blade to Liam's throat, and spoke in an even tone.
"How did your ability get stronger?" Elric asked. "Be honest. Or I'll slice you into eight pieces."
Liam's breathing went shallow. His once-cocky face was now pale and trembling. Despite his upgraded ability, he knew he was completely outmatched.
"I—I'll tell you!" he stammered."Two days ago, I found this… this blue crystal on the corpse of a mutated creature. When I held it, my powers… they just upgraded on their own!"
Elric's expression flickered with interest. "A blue crystal, huh…"
So it was true — these crystals, dropped from dead mutants, weren't just energy sources. They could enhance anyone's abilities — not just Devil Fruit users like him.
"An ability crystal," he muttered. "Makes sense."
Then, Elric straightened up, lowering the knife.
"Alright. That's all I needed to know."
And before Liam could even exhale in relief—
Boom.
Elric's right arm ignited again, his fist transforming into molten rock. He thrust it forward, hitting Liam square in the chest.
For a split second, Liam's scream echoed through the room — and then his entire body disintegrated, melting into a pool of red magma on the infirmary floor.
Elric stared down at it, calm as ever.
He had, technically, kept his word. He hadn't "cut him into eight pieces." He'd just… vaporized him instead.
"H-He killed him…"
A terrified voice broke the silence.Dozens of people — patients, nurses, and bystanders who'd been hiding in corners — stared in horror at the scene.
Even though it had been seven days since the world began collapsing, most students here had never actually seen someone kill a person before.
Now they had.
"Run!"
The surviving sports students — Liam's men — finally snapped out of their shock. They turned to bolt for the door.
But Elric's eyes were cold.
He wasn't a sadist, nor did he kill for pleasure. But he wasn't naïve either. Leaving loose ends in a world like this was suicide.
"No survivors," he said quietly.
He raised his fist again.
Boom.
A wave of molten heat flooded the room. The athletes didn't even have time to scream before the magma engulfed them, erasing them completely.
When the light faded, the smell of smoke and ash lingered in the air.
Elric looked at the blackened floor — the faint traces of what had once been Liam's crew — and felt nothing. No nausea. No shaking. Just stillness.
By now, he'd already killed more than a dozen people, directly or indirectly.He wasn't sure if it was because the system had rewired his psyche to survive the apocalypse… or because he'd simply accepted it.
Either way, he didn't flinch.
He turned back to the nurse, who was trembling so hard she could barely stand.
"Doctor," Elric said calmly. "You can look for the allergy meds now."
"Y-Yes… right away!" she stammered.
Within minutes, she returned with an armful of medicine bottles and boxes, hands shaking as she placed them on the counter.
"Go ahead," Elric told Liana, nodding toward the pile. "See if anything matches your allergy meds."
Liana nodded quickly and hurried forward. Even though she'd just witnessed Elric melt an entire group of people alive, her fear was mixed with something else — relief.
Because now she knew, without a shred of doubt, that she'd chosen the right person to follow.
A man who's decisive… ruthless when needed… she thought, rifling through the medicines.That's the kind of man who can actually survive this world.
She clenched her fists, determination burning in her eyes.
I have to recover fast… prove my worth to him. I can't get cast aside.
Her fingers trembled slightly as she picked out her allergy pills.
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