Published at 28th of July 2026 12:01 pm

Chapter 231: Overflow

This chapter is updated by JustRead.pl

Chapter 231: Overflow

Slowly getting to his feet, he crossed the room toward the large blue mat spread across the center. Aside from it, the space was bare. If he wanted anything else, whether weights or the "treadmill" the robot kept insisting on calling it, all Ash had to do was say the word and it would slide out from somewhere.

As he gathered his focus, and what little courage he could muster, the voice he'd grown to fear and hate cut clean through his thoughts.

"So what's your planno, no! Don't say it. Makes it more exciting."

"You really are the worst."

"Sweet talker."

Standing at the center of the mat, Min was already waiting. Her hands and feet were wrapped, and dressed in black shorts and a black hoodie, she bounced lightly on her toes while rolling her shoulders. A sharp series of pops echoed through the room as she cracked her neck.

Still taking his time, Ash slowed his breathing, one measured breath after another, until the rise and fall of his chest nearly disappeared. His heartbeat settled, his pupils widened, and the tension clouding his mind melted away. It was a technique he'd taught himself during long hunts through the Dead Zones with his father.

It was also what led to the second skill he'd received from the System before unlocking his class.

[-5 Mana]

[Mana // 63/68]

[Slight Walk // Activated]

For the next thirty seconds, Ash's movement speed would be reduced by fifteen percent, while the sound of his movements dropped by ninety percent. Even his scent and mana signature faded. It was the perfect skill for scouting enemy territory.

Right now, he was using it for something entirely different. Walking straight at the enemy in full view.

"What're you doin? Take your stance. Don't tell me I've broken your weak ass already. Where'd the fire go? Lemme guess, baby wanna cuddle his pillow and cry about mean ol' Min?"

Her brows drew together. Normally he'd have rushed her by now. Instead, he kept walking with slow, deliberate steps.

Closer and closer.

She kept bouncing, kept waiting, but as he drifted into striking range, the bounce gradually stopped. For some reason, she didn't attack. The room felt strangely still, and something about the quiet way he approached made him seem... harmless.

His head remained lowered, his gaze fixed on the mat. Despite standing only a few feet away, it felt as though he barely occupied the space at all. Curious, Min leaned sideways to catch a glimpse of his face.

"You in"

SMACK!

The sharp clap exploded inches from her face.

Ash slammed his palms together with every ounce of strength he had, causing her to freeze for the briefest instant. What followed wasn't a punch to the face, but it would do.

The instant she'd flinched, she'd already leaned back. She'd recover too quickly for him to drop his hands, leap forward, and land a clean punch. So he did something he'd later regret.

He kicked her square in the crotch.

All twenty-seven points of Strength drove through the kick straight to her baby-maker. Nearly five tons of force lifted her clean off the mat before she crashed back down onto her knees.

Ash expected to feel triumph. Instead, the broken groan that tore from Min's throat made his celebration die before it began. A cold knot settled in his stomach.

Somewhere deep inside, he already knew.

He'd fucked up.

"Run, you idiot!"

Panic set in. Ash looked toward Split-jaw as the old man shouted, but too many thoughts crashed together in his head. The hesitation lasted only a heartbeat.

It was something else he'd later regret.

"Shoulda listened"

Before he could react, and faster than he'd ever seen her move, Min got her payback and turned his nuts into a speed bag. One tap, and agony exploded through his body. His legs gave out beneath him, and he hit the mat with both hands clamped over his crotch.

It took several long seconds before his breath finally returned in a ragged gasp, tears already stinging his eyes.

Lifting one leg to shake it out while rubbing her bruised lips, Min winced through a crooked smile.

"Can't say I hate ya for the effort. But damn, kid, not very hero-like."

His face had turned the color of a tomato. Rolling onto his side, Ash glared at Min through watering eyes, every word dripping with venom.

"You... deserve... worse!"

Thinking back on it, the kid was right. It was something she'd meant to address today, but getting kicked in the twat had put a damper on that. She'd tried not to dwell on it, beating herself up wouldn't change anything, but knowing Gregor was still out there waiting for them left her more on edge than she'd admit. Apparently, the kid had become a convenient outlet for some of that frustration.

"Get him an ice pack."

Turning away, she walked to the wall and pressed a hand against it. Motors hummed as a rack of towels slid from the wall, followed by a row of bottled drinks beneath it. She grabbed one of each, took a long drink, splashed cold water across her face, then dried it off with the towel as she headed for the door.

"Whereaghwhere're you goin'?!"

"Take the day, kid. I'll be back in a few hours."

Barely managing to stand, Ash gratefully accepted the ice pack. Relief washed across his face as he pressed the cold against his crotch with a shaky sigh.

"Few hours? What about training?"

The doors slid open with a soft hiss. Pausing in the doorway, Min looked back over her shoulder.

"Have him train you. You three can work on teamwork. Don't go easy on him, old man. Just 'cause he's your master now doesn't mean you go soft."

Without waiting for an argument, she disappeared through the doorway as the doors slid shut behind her.

"What a bitch. Does that then leaves?"

"Wish you would've told me your plan. I'd've warned ya. You know you deserved every inch of that hit."

Walking bowlegged, Ash hobbled over to the wall. He leaned against it for support before slowly, very carefully, sliding down to the floor.

"Think she'll get over it?"

"She already has. Just do yourself a favor"

"What?"

"Keep your nuts covered when you're around her."

"Already planned on it."

Split-jaw shot the boy a sympathetic grimace before wincing at the memory of what he'd just witnessed. The two of them let out matching sighs, their eyes lingering on the closed doors Min had disappeared through.

----

Still shaking out her leg, Min stopped by the kitchen and found Teal in the middle of a cooking lesson with Mr. Gates. The moment she stepped inside, she noticed his arm wrapped around Teal's waist. After letting them know the plan, she turned and headed back to the surface.

Today was the day she was supposed to meet back up with the Puppet Master. It was a meeting she'd been looking forward to and dreading in equal measure. With his puppet army, their chances against the Woon forces would skyrocket, but dealing with that old pervert always left her stomach in knots.

[The boy has talent.]

'Too bad he ain't got balls.'

[That's not fair, Min. Ash has a lot of trauma he's dealing with. Remember how you were after you left the island? Give him time.]

A twinge of guilt settled in her chest at her System's words. She knew she'd been too hard on him, but she couldn't seem to sop. Along with her stress, seeing the boy struggle reminded her of the person she'd once been. The disgust wasn't directed at him, it was aimed squarely at herself, and somewhere along the way she'd started taking it out on the boy instead.

'Only problem with time is we're runnin' out of it. If he doesn't get right with killing soon, Seo-jin ain't gonna be so patient.'

[Does he have to kill humans?]

'You know the answer to that.'

The silence that followed was answer enough.

In this world, holding back against another human was no different than hesitating against an elf or a demon. Humanity had abandoned any real sense of right and wrong long ago. All that remained was survival.

The strong eat the weak.

[Company ahead.]

'I know.'

She'd already crossed into the streets and left the Dead Zone behind. On the outskirts of Shatterbay, where gangs constantly fought over territory and scraps of power, she'd avoided trouble without much effort on her last trip. She intended to do the same today, yet as the distant voices drifted toward her, she realized she was walking straight for them. Her fists had clenched without her noticing, and her pulse was beginning to quicken.

[Min... don't]

Too late.

Standing before a broken, single story cement building, her hand was already gripping the rusted door.

With a sharp yank, the metal shrieked on its hinges as the door swung open, revealing a scene she'd witnessed too many times to count.

The strong preying on the weak.

Today, the strong wore the colors of the Century Boys, a smaller gang better known for their neon clothes and the ridiculous habit of shaving their heads.

The weak were a family of Shardless.

Off to the side, the mother lay stripped naked, pinned beneath two of the gang members as they assaulted her. A few feet away, the third pressed a pistol against the son's temple, forcing the trembling boy to carve into his own father with a butcher knife. The kid looked no older than ten.

The moment the three men noticed the broad figure filling the doorway, they froze. Their auras flared almost instinctively.

"Who the fuoh shit! It's Big Min!"

"Why da hell's she here?! You said Dead Hands were goners!"

"They're supposed to be!"

The one holding the gun stepped forward and leveled it at her.

"This ain't your territory. What cha want?"

Without a word, Min stepped inside and slowly pulled the rusted door shut behind her.

"There's three of us, dumbass! Get lost before we start takin turns!"

The bald idiot never finished.

Min crossed the room in a blur, seized him by the crotch, and lifted him clean off the floor. His squeal barely had time to leave his throat before she spun him hard enough that flesh tore beneath her grip. His body slammed into the wall with a wet crack, and only then did his two buddies realize just how badly they'd misread the situation.

They turned to run, but no one was leaving this broken building until Min had her fill.

For a minute or so, screams tore through the rotting walls. Then came the dull thuds of bodies hitting concrete, splintering wood, and walls giving way beneath monstrous force. The entire building shuddered with each impact. Crimson sprayed across the boarded windows, thin ribbons of blood seeping through the gaps between warped planks as flashes of aura lit the cracks from within. The violence raged for barely two minutes before the last scream cut short.

Silence settled over the building.

It was strange. As Min wrenched her fist free from one of their shattered skulls, warm blood running down her forearm, the quiet that followed felt... wrong. There should've at least been crying.

When she found the reason why, her expression never changed.

Picking up an old tarp stiff with grime, she wiped the worst of the blood from her hands before leaving the carnage behind. Even so, she paused long enough to pull the rusted door closed again. Quietly.

[You're gonna leave them?]

'Not my problem. Got enough of those.'

It didn't take long to reach the rooftop with the hidden entrance, and avoiding any more trouble proved just as easy. The only problem was that no matter how many times she reminded herself it wasn't her responsibility, that scenes like that played out every day out here, the image of the woman holding her son refused to leave her mind.

While Min had been fighting, the Shardless mother had taken the knife from her child, held him one last time, then driven the blade into his heart before burying it in her own.

It wasn't the situation that stayed with her, it was the expression on their faces.

They looked so peaceful.

Descending the stairs to Borvavich's workshop, normally she'd be convincing herself to ignore her disgust and bloodlust when dealing with the man.

Today, it barely registered. Right now her mind was filled to the brim with a single question...Why?

The woman had been used by scum. Her son forced to butcher his own father. Then she killed her own child and then herself.

So why...

Why had they looked so happy?

She couldn't make sense of it.

"Ah! My magnificent goddess returns!"

The old man's voice bounced off the concrete walls, shrill enough to finally cut through the haze.

"My glorious warrior! My muscle"

"Mm."

"Something happen?"

Min kept walking.

The puppet master blinked twice before hurrying after her.

"I had several far better greetings prepared."

"Mm."

"I even practiced them!"

"Mm."

"...I'm starting to think you're upset."

Another distracted grunt escaped her as she rubbed the back of her neck.

The old man frowned for all of three seconds.

"Was it because of the...incident?"

No response.

"I've reflected deeply on my actions."

Nothing.

"I've grown as a person."

Silence.

"...I only built one replacement."

That finally earned him a glance. It wasn't an angry one. It wasn't even annoyed. It was the empty look of someone who hadn't actually heard a word he'd said.

"...everything ready?"

Something was wrong with her and it was sucking all the fun out of the room. Without another joke, he quietly led the way deeper into the workshop.

The pair passed rows of half-finished puppets, scattered tools, and workbenches buried beneath gears and springs. Welding torches hissed somewhere in the distance while unseen machines clattered behind the walls.

Min barely saw any of it. The woman's face lingered in her thoughts.

"Here we are."

Borvavich stopped in front of a thick steel door tucked behind a hanging canvas she'd never noticed before.

Min frowned.

"That wasn't here."

"Of course it wasn't."

The old man's grin slowly returned.

"A proper artist never reveals his masterpiece before it's finished."

He rubbed his hands together, almost vibrating with excitement.

"I've been waiting for this."

Heavy locks clacked one after another. With a dramatic flourish, he grabbed the handle and pulled. The door groaned open, and Min's wandering thoughts vanished.

Her eyes widened while her jaw slowly fell open.

"...Old man..."

A grin spread across her face for the first time since leaving the farm.

"...I think you deserve another flash."

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