CHAPTER 175: LAURA’S RAGE

Chapter 175

Laura’s pale face was soaked in tears as she watched Ron take his final breath. Even in death, Ron refused to fall. He stood, his body resting against his massive hammer, his eyes gently closing as if simply drifting into sleep.

A heart-shattering scream tore from Laura’s throat.

"No!! RON!!!"

She clutched her chest as the pain burst through her like a blade. His last words echoed endlessly in her mind, each syllable driving deeper into her breaking heart.

It was too much. All of it.

She lowered her head, tears splattering on the ground as her thoughts spiraled.

Why did Ron have to die?

He didn’t deserve this. He had always been one of the kindest, strongest people she had ever known.

It’s because of me, she thought bitterly.

Because I cowered like a scared kitten. If I hadn’t hesitated... If I had just fought beside him... He would’ve protected himself instead of me. He would have lived.

Her hands trembled, then slowly curled into claws. With a choked sob, she dragged her fingernails down her cheeks, leaving red trails of pain, grief, and rising hatred.

But then a voice inside whispered—Is it really your fault?

She froze. Her tears still flowed, but her expression shifted.

Maybe I played a part, she admitted.

But the real monsters... were them.

Her head rose slowly, eyes burning with a new fury.

The men in black.

Those cursed bastards.

They did this. They’re the reason he’s dead.

Her sorrow began to twist, turning into something darker—something colder. Rage took hold. She didn’t resist it.

---

Metallo stood silently, gazing at Ron’s corpse. The warrior hadn’t fallen, even in death. He remained upright, defiant. There was anger in Metallo’s eyes—resentment, even hatred—but beneath it all, a reluctant sliver of respect.

"Such wasted potential," he muttered.

Had Ron joined the Cursed Order, he might’ve become a Dark Emissary, one of their finest. But Metallo had known—Ron would never betray his ideals. That made his death both irritating and admirable.

With a shrug of disdain, Metallo turned his gaze to Laura, who knelt just behind Ron’s body, sobbing uncontrollably with her face buried in her palms.

A cruel smile spread across Metallo’s lips.

"That’s what you get for defying us," he whispered, savoring the sight of her despair.

But after a few moments, the scene began to bore him. He conjured a long, glistening blade of metal in his hand and began walking toward her.

Two steps in—he stopped.

His eyes narrowed.

Something was wrong.

Laura was mumbling... low, incomprehensible words... but the air around her had changed. It had grown cold. Eerily cold.

Then she lifted her head.

Her eyes blazed with glowing blue light, no longer tear-filled but burning with elemental fury.

"It’s your fault," she said. Her voice was calm... but trembling with wrath.

"All of you... every last one of you... you deserve to die."

With that, Laura rose into the air, her body surrounded by swirling frost. The temperature dropped sharply. Ice crackled in the air as several enormous arrows formed, each glowing with the power of vengeance.

"You should all die!!" she screamed.

She hurled the frozen lances toward Metallo and his ally, Freak Eye.

Metallo reacted instantly, summoning a barrage of metallic spears to intercept the oncoming onslaught. The two forces collided with a deafening roar, frost and steel clashing in midair.

But the ice didn’t shatter easily.

It surged forward, overpowering his attack, cracking through his defenses.

"Crap!" Metallo growled. He pumped more energy into his spears, forcing a second collision.

This time, the two forces annihilated each other in a violent burst of cold mist and metal shards.

Metallo stared at Laura in disbelief.

When did she gain so much power? he thought, frozen by shock. His gaze darted to Freak Eye, who was now barely holding his ground against the relentless barrage of ice arrows.

Then it hit him—like a crashing wave of dread.

This girl... she’s stronger than us now.

The realization clawed at his pride. The question spun through his mind on a maddening loop.

How? How?! HOW?!

But there was no time to think. Another cluster of arrows was hurtling toward him, shimmering with lethal intent. Metallo roared, summoning every shard of metal within reach. They converged around him like a desperate shield, some forming a makeshift path as he scrambled to evade the storm of frost.

Freak Eye wasn’t faring much better. The unpredictable trajectory of the arrows, their frigid speed—it was too much. His defenses faltered under the pressure.

Laura’s screams pierced the air, raw with fury. She didn’t stop. She wouldn’t stop. The ice kept coming—wave after wave, each more furious than the last.

The only thing keeping Metallo and Freak Eye alive was her lack of control. Her rage was explosive, but her technique was wild—unrefined.

Still, they knew it couldn’t last.

Seasoned warriors, the two slowly adapted. They spotted patterns in her attacks, maneuvered around her blind angles, and avoided a killing blow. Their bodies suffered cuts, bruises, and burns—but nothing fatal.

Just when they thought the storm might finally end, Laura raised her hands to the sky.

The temperature dropped in an instant.

Frost crept along the ground like a living thing. The very air turned thick with white mist. Metallo and Freak Eye both stiffened, their breath catching.

Above them, the sky twisted.

A massive whirlstorm of pure ice spiraled into existence, its cold tendrils reaching across kilometers. The pressure in the air changed. The storm didn’t just radiate cold—it radiated death.

There would be no outrunning this one.

Laura’s glowing eyes narrowed. Her voice was a death sentence.

"You’ll regret killing him... and you’ll pay with your lives."

Power surged into the vortex above. The earth beneath them trembled from the buildup. But then—suddenly—something snapped.

Her eyes dimmed. The glow vanished.

Laura’s body staggered in midair as weakness overtook her. Her energy—drained. She had pushed past her limits, expending every last reserve of energy in her grief-fueled rampage.

Metallo didn’t hesitate. He saw the shift instantly. With a savage grin, he conjured two massive metal fists and hurled them toward her.

Before they could connect, a sharp yellow beam cut through the air and struck Laura’s hands. The beam had been weakened by the lingering frost, but it was still powerful enough to destroy both hands on impact. Flesh tore. Bone shattered. Laura screamed in agony.

And then Metallo’s fists hit.

CRASH!

Laura was slammed from the sky and sent flying through the side of a crumbling building.

BOOM.

She hit the ground hard, coughing up blood as her shattered body twitched. Breathing was agony. Moving was a nightmare.

Dust settled.

Then—a shadow loomed.

A figure landed heavily in front of her. Her blurry vision cleared just enough to make out the thick beard. Fear gripped her as she tried to crawl away.

But it was too late.

A hand seized her by the hair and yanked her from the ground, lifting her limp, broken form into the air like a trophy.

Freak Eye stood with murderous intent blazing in his gaze. He looked down at Laura, his expression twisted in fury. This little girl... she actually has the power to kill two Dark Emissaries? There was no way he would let her live.

Suddenly, footsteps echoed nearby.

Freak Eye’s head turned sharply, a faint frown appearing on his face.

Laura, who was struggling to breathe, noticed the change. With what little strength she had, she turned her head toward the sound—and her tear-streaked eyes widened in disbelief. Her voice trembled.

"Why... why were you so late?"

A short distance away, standing beside Ron’s lifeless body, was a lone figure draped in black. His hair, perfectly parted in the middle, was half-white and half-black. His usual calm blue eyes now brimmed with overwhelming emotion—pain, anger, guilt, disbelief... all swirling together like a storm.

"I’m sorry, Ron," he whispered.

Then, Han turned.

His eyes locked onto the rooftop above—where Freak Eye stood, gripping a broken and bloodied figure.

Han’s body froze. His breath caught in his throat.

That... that’s Laura.

His sister’s arms were mangled, her body soaked in blood, her eyes dim and vacant. Every bone in his body tensed as a sickening weight fell over him.

The air around him thickened. His blue eyes shifted—then turned blood-red, glowing with intense power as his Eye of Defiance activated.

But Freak Eye didn’t flinch. The mental pressure didn’t even make him blink.

"Leave her," Han growled, his steps quickening toward them.

Metallo appeared beside Freak Eye, his twisted grin mocking Han’s rage. "Or what?" he asked with a sneer.

Han clenched his fists, his heart thundering. Laura was barely holding on.

Then, without warning, Freak Eye raised Laura into the air like a discarded doll. His third eye ignited with a golden blaze.

Han’s heart dropped. "Please, don’t—!"

Too late.

A piercing beam of golden energy burst from the eye, spearing straight through Laura’s chest.

Her body jolted once. Her head slumped forward.

"No..."

"You want her?" Freak Eye sneered. "Then take her!"

He hurled Laura’s lifeless body down toward Han.

Han caught her gently, cradling her broken form. His hands trembled as he searched for signs of life—heartbeat, breath—anything.

There was none.

Her heart had stopped.

Laura... was gone.

Han’s head lowered. His breath caught.

The world went silent.

Then, the air began to tremble violently. The ground quaked beneath his feet. Something inside him—his restraint, his humanity, his hope—shattered.

Crushed.

Obliterated.

Han slowly rose to his feet.

The blue in his eyes vanished—replaced by a blinding, pure white glow. Veins pulsed and crawled beneath his skin, radiating with power.

His voice came low and hollow, drenched in death.

"You damned Cursed... You killed Ron... and now her..."

He took a step forward, his killing intent swelling like a tidal wave.

"You dare... kill her?"

Then his voice rose—cold, enraged, and final.

"You... are... DOOMED."

---

System Alert

Overwhelming anger detected.

Attempting suppression...

Suppression FAILED.

Forcibly activating creation skill...

Creating new skill.....

New Skill Created

Skill: Berserker

Rank: SSS

---

To Be Continued...