Lara, the defiant woman froze, taking a few steps back as Hank replied to her statement.r
Hank was a little astonished by her behavior, but quickly got over his surprise. He looked at everyone in front of him too and found out that their glares had vanished and they were quite docile.r
‘Hehe, looks like they’re finally beginning to see reason!’ His thoughts rang.r
Quickly taking advantage of their current state, Hank pressured them to leave once more.r
“I’m saying this for the last time. If you cowards won’t get up off your arses and leave with me, we’ll all die!” r
The people became even more frightened as Hank finished his words. Initially, he was happy that they trembled with every word he spoke. However, their eyes displayed far greater horror than he could have imagined.r
‘A-am I that scary…?’ He asked himself.r
The people shrank back, trembling even more.r
“P-please… we weren’t planning on joining…” One of them broke the silence and said timidly.r
The others nodded obediently, looking subservient.r.
Hank was now even more confused. He gazed upon their faces well, trying to decipher what had them so frightened. That was when he noticed it… the 27 people before him… weren’t even looking his way.r
No, they were staring at something behind him… directly behind him!r
Suddenly, a hand tapped Hank’s shoulder, sending a chill down his spine. The hand was small, like that of a young teenager, but the pressure it exerted was more than anything he had experienced before.r
Hank could feel it now, the overwhelming presence of the being who was behind him. He could hardly move, yet he stiffly moved his neck and turned to see who the person behind him was. His eyes widened as he beheld the one who had sent everyone into an immediate state of subservience.r
Jeremy Lewis!r
————————————-r
“That’s quite an interesting speech you were giving, Hank. Why don’t you continue?”r
I smiled, staring condescendingly at the man before me. My hands were on his shoulder, as I used a little bit of my strength to pressure him, knowing that I could dislodge his joints at any time.r
Hank, as he was called by the system, was now trembling as he looked at me. Since I was shorter, his head was bent slightly, which made me feel slightly embarrassed.r
Usually, at times like this, the intimidator was meant to make the victims look up at him. It was a shame that my height, or rather the lack of it, nerfed the moment.r
“I-I… I’m sorry, I… I didn’t…” Hank stuttered while speaking, revealing his true nature in front of everyone.r
He was such a loser among losers, a truly remarkable sight indeed. If someone was a weakling, he ought to act like one instead of pretending to be strong.r
“It doesn’t matter anyway… your fate has been decided already,” I whispered.r
Instantly, Hank vanished into [Subspace], making my remaining vacant slots 48. There were 27 people left, so I could manage.r
As soon as he vanished, the rest of the deserters looked even more frightened by the sight, as they begged me with their eyes and mouth for mercy.r
“P-please spare us!!!” They cried.r
It was almost too amusing, but I didn’t have the luxury of time to revel in the satisfaction of having people at my mercy. r
‘These guys are even overreacting… they’re not even going to die. I’m just putting them in a place where I can preserve them. Welp, they don’t know that, though.’r
That’s what makes this whole thing fun.r
Sweeping past all of them, I tapped them lightly and sent them into [Subspace] in a flash. r
They all screamed as they watched one another vanish and even as they vanished themselves, they deemed it to be the end of their miserable lives. They were too slow to use the Gifts they possessed, too inexperienced in combat to even try.r
Saving the best for last, it remained Lara, the woman who stood up to Hank. She wore glasses, most likely due to her poor eyesight, and had the appearance of a woman in her mid-twenties.r
‘She’s not too bad looking either.’ I smiled, unconsciously sizing her up.r
Lara was shaken as well, looking at me with a glare of curiosity and fear… but not hatred.r
“Why are you doing this? Killing others… is it fun to you?” She asked me.r
Her speech was calm and collected, even though she was obviously scared.r
“Hmmn, you’re awfully curious for someone who will soon meet the same fate,” I said, nearing her.r
She didn’t make any futile attempt to struggle, but her body quivered nonetheless.r
“Just indulge me… call it the curiosity of a dying woman.” She replied with a nervous smile.r
I was also curious about her, but now wasn’t the time for further conversation.r
‘Time’s up!’r
I smiled, deciding to at least give her a few words of assurance.r
“Don’t worry. You’re not going to die, yet. Save your curiosity for the next time we meet.” r
A brief moment of shock was displayed on Lara’s face as I said this. I wasn’t sure if she would grasp the meaning of what I told her before she entered [Subspace], but to my surprise, a small smile formed on her face as she nodded.r
“Very well, then.”r
Lara got sent into [Subspace], just like everyone else. However, unlike them, I was slightly curious about her.r
Still, there was no time to dwell on such. I instantly looked in the direction of the Camp. It wasn’t very far, since the deserters hadn’t walked for too long before taking a break.r
“Let’s see if I can get there within a minute!” I grinned.r
Dashing swiftly in the direction of the Camp, I traversed several hundreds of meters and finally got to the entrance in no time.r
“I’m back… finally…” I said, heaving a little.r
Checking the time, I found out that I got to the entrance in a little over a minute.r
“Tch, have I gotten duller?”r
I could have been faster if I had used Aura in addition to running, but even with my base Stats, I should have been able to make it to the Camp in a minute. r
Brushing off the little worries in my head, I decided to contemplate the matter at another time.r
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