How Do You Win a Man's Heart? (Please Read On!)

A charred figure fell from high atop the city wall, crashing straight into the mass of soldiers and refugees fighting below and sending dozens of them sprawling.

The sudden turn of events made both the Armored Figure with jet-black demon horns and the current king stop fighting. Remaining on guard, they both looked toward the blackened figure that had fallen.

"CP0? How did he end up like this? Who else has gotten involved?" King Natan's expression changed drastically as he stared at the familiar figure. He could not understand how anyone in the East Sea could have beaten one of the World Government's top agents so badly.

Then, under everyone's watchful eyes, Joseph, his entire body charred and reeking of burnt flesh, struggled to his feet.

After coughing up several clots of blood, he turned toward Natan and panted, "Vice Admiral Natan, hurry and seize the target. Bring him to the Five Elders. I'll hold off this unidentified third party!"

"..." The king in magnificent armor fell silent. He had not expected Joseph to still be thinking about the mission after being beaten into such a state. Even he, a king of a World Government member nation, found it astonishing.

Just what benefits had the Five Elders given CP0 to make them willing to risk their lives to this extent?

Seeing that Natan did not answer, Joseph's disfigured face stiffened. He widened his eyes and gave Natan a horrifying look.

"Are you going to defy the Five Elders' orders?"

"Don't think that being the king of a World Government member nation means you can go against the World Government's will!"

At those words, Natan's face instantly darkened.

"Are you threatening me?"

"This Oni Clan brat was only chosen because of his exceptional talent. As long as he dies, everything will be settled. Why would the Five Elders make such a fuss over some dead man with no connection to them?"

Natan's words enraged Joseph, and he instinctively tried to stand.

But the next moment, he froze in place, his bloodshot eyes trembling violently.

The air around him had become turbulent, while wisps of smoke and dust swirled around him. At some unknown point, the shadow of a winged figure had enveloped him, and a pair of wings slowly folded inward.

He abruptly turned his head toward Louis, who had silently descended, staring wide-eyed at the young man whose face was hidden in shadow beneath the sunlight.

"When did...?"

Bang... A blazing spear swept through the air and sent Joseph flying. He crashed into a small bunker, smashing it apart.

Louis shook the charred flesh from his spear and slowly exhaled a breath of hot air. "When will you... get rid of that bad habit of chatting with people in the middle of a fight?"

In the distance, Natan witnessed the scene with his own eyes and instinctively tightened his grip on his weapon. At last, he understood why CP0, which struck fear into countless people across the world, had been beaten so miserably.

If the Oni Clan member born among the natives gave him the same sense of danger as an unarmed adult encountering a cheetah...

Then this winged youth felt like a male lion—someone who instinctively inspired awe and trembling.

But decades of naval service and the composure befitting a king quickly brought him back to his senses.

He asked tentatively, "Who are you? Why are you involved in this—"

Suddenly, a heavy shield tore through the smoke and slammed directly into Natan.

The immense momentum was concentrated entirely on his chest. Even with the protection of finely crafted armor, he suffered severe injuries, vomiting blood as he was sent flying. After smashing through several wooden chevaux-de-frise, he staggered to his feet.

Pain twisted his face, while the blood spilling from the corner of his mouth soaked through his badly deformed armor and the splendid clothes beneath it.

Hearing the commotion, Louis glanced at the pained retired vice admiral, feeling rather speechless. It had not even been ten seconds since he had spoken.

Then Louis turned around and, with a raised hand, threw his sharp spear. It pierced straight through the CP0 agent who had been preparing to launch one final attack and die together with Louis, nailing him to the city wall.

After doing all that, Louis shifted his gaze to the figure who stood several inches taller than himself, their entire body covered in heavy armor and their gender impossible to discern. With his superhuman senses, he perceived the condition of her body.

The next moment, a thoughtful expression appeared on Louis's face.

"She..."

"No, this person seems... to be dying..."

The figure clad in heavy armor, her head concealed by a gas mask with only her straight, sharp demon horns exposed, casually threw the man wearing a Justice cape into the bonfire.

She stepped forward, advancing slowly with a Long-Handled Warhammer in hand. Muffled, brief words came from beneath her gas mask. "He's right."

With the warhammer in hand, she leaped forward and swung it down with all her strength at the man with whom she shared a blood debt.

Natan gritted his teeth, shoved aside the broken chevaux-de-frise pressing down on him, and fearlessly met her charge with his Rapier in hand.

"Bastard, when this old man was fighting pirates in the New World, your mother was still playing in the mud on the Highland!"

The warhammer collided with the blade in a deafening explosion. A massive shockwave burst from the point where the weapons met, instantly blasting away the ruins scattered around them.

After a brief stalemate, the two separated, only to collide again moments later.

One tall and one short, the two figures rampaged within the high walls like demolition machines. Swathes of rubble were hurled up by the aftershocks of their battle and scattered beyond the city walls.

Every soldier and refugee engaged in close combat along their path was swept off their feet.

King Natan, accustomed to a position of power, did not care in the slightest, treating the soldiers caught in the crossfire as if they were nothing.

But the other fighter could not accept such a thing. Her face beneath the gas mask gradually twisted, and then she gritted her teeth and began drawing her opponent away from the refugees still fighting.

Natan, who had spent decades roaming the seas, soon saw through all of this. Drawing on his vast experience, he slashed numerous wounds across her body, causing blood to stain her armor red.

On the other side, Louis stood before the CP0 agent nailed to the city wall and expressionlessly pulled out his spear.

Squelch... Blood gushed out, soaking and staining the city wall and grass red.

The intense pain forced the dying agent out of his unconsciousness. He opened his blood-red eyes and glared furiously at the blond youth before him.

Even now, Joseph could not understand why this guy, who had appeared out of nowhere, had targeted him without saying a word.

There was not the slightest sign that he intended to interfere in the affairs of the man with Oni Clan blood.

Louis ignored the dying man's furious glare and raised his hand toward the agent consumed by rage.

How could one win a person's heart in the fastest way possible?

Louis now provided a textbook answer.

First, plunge your hand into that person's chest cavity and grasp their still-beating heart.

Joseph's eyes widened. Blood gushed from his mouth and chest like a fountain. The agonizing pain made him instinctively want to scream.

But his throat, already ruined by flames and repeated blows, could no longer support a howl.

Louis paid no attention to the blood splattered across him and silently proceeded to the second step.

Quickly yank out the person's heart, hold it before its owner's eyes, and let him clearly watch his own heart beat.