Act 13: The Hero, the Protagonist

Foreword:

Those with strong fighting spirit will always have the upper hand.

Leo Tolstoy | War and Peace

[Part 1: Guardian Deity]

"Bring it on!"

The Universal Elixir flowed down his arm, half healing his injuries and the other half going into the little shark's mouth. Meteor casually tossed the Sharks Chili behind him, into the arms of the kitchen proprietress, and roared at Griffin Barton before clenching his fists.

Griffin Barton was completely immobilized, his mind frozen. Facing the General of Tears at full power, he also felt the terrifying spiritual pressure that the predecessors of the Madness Butterfly Sect had once faced.

The once free and unrestrained, scorching torrents now converged into one place. Under the sun-protective clothing, the Rose Shining Stone emitted a bright red light, like a sword bursting with flames, firmly locking onto Griffin.

You have nowhere to run!

The shooting star pointed towards the unconscious Claire Button.

"--Is this woman your lover? She's incapacitated. Although we don't know your name, the Police Department and the soldiers from Guangling Zhixi will find out! You, the one who orders ice blocks around, listen up."

"I am declaring my attack on you. If you simply run away like this, it will be the last time you two see each other, whether you live or die."

Griffin Barton was shaken; he was being tested!

Are we to have our final battle with General of Tears here?!

Are we really going to go all out against this terrifying guy? No, no, no! No, no, no, no, no! Something's not right! This won't do! This is absolutely not allowed!

Think of the predecessors of the Madness Butterfly Sect! Even without witnessing the nameless man's duel with the Religious order —just the battles recorded in the newspapers and the bloody statistics were enough to make Griffin Barton want to back down.

But what about Klee? That useless, stupid woman! She collapsed after just one punch!

What's wrong with her? Despite possessing the ability to receive blood, she became a burden in the very first round, hindering her escape!

Escape? Escape?! No, no, no, no!

Griffin's face was ashen as he struggled to convince himself.

This isn't fleeing; it's a tactical retreat! It's a strategic shift!

Are you going to abandon this wife?

Once the thought crossed his mind, Griffin could no longer suppress the urge to retreat. Homo sapiens possess a remarkable talent: they can easily convince themselves.

Nothing in this world is difficult if you're willing to give up.

The sacred blood was also a constant reminder to him that he was constantly under intense spiritual pressure, with red sores appearing on his skin from time to time, urging him to leave this place immediately. The blood of the calamity beast further strengthened Griffin's will to survive.

"You son of a bitch! I'll fight you to the death!"

Griffin shouted and cursed, but his body remained obedient. He dared not unleash his soul power; while cursing and challenging, he slid away like lightning, leaving a smooth, icy trail on the warehouse floor.

Just get out of here! Open the warehouse door! And run away!

My wife and children aren't as important as my own life!

Griffin! Wake up!

Klee is just a phase in your life, as Lord Pellegrini said.

Life is a series of different stages, and we must repeatedly overcome our own immaturity.

You can now abandon your closest relatives and loved ones! You've become stronger! You've already surpassed them by a great deal!

You will become a higher being, you will be able to reach the core circle of the Madness Butterfly Sect, you will become more cruel and cold-blooded, you can do it.

The scenery rushed past him like a whirlwind. He ran incredibly fast, stumbling and staggering a few times before smoothly and naturally standing up, rushing towards the warehouse's large iron gate like a figure skater!

"You bastard!" Bu Liuxing's eyes blazed with anger. He'd been waiting for ages, even sending out duel invitations. He never expected this guy to abandon his partner, utter a few polite words, and then run away!

"You can do it." Mr. Griffin didn't look behind him; he could feel that every second he was getting further and further away from that terrifying enemy.

Unfortunately, his good fortune didn't last long. He was only ten meters away from reaching the handle of the iron gate and breaking through to safety!

A bright green bomb pulled him back to the cold reality!

What is that? What exactly is it?

Everything happened so fast! Before Griffin could react, he felt a sharp, tearing pain in his ankle!

"Ooh ooh ooh ooh! Ooh ooh ooh!"

The powerful impact sent him flying, slamming him heavily against the iron gate. The sturdy bolt left a humiliating mark on his forehead. When he regained consciousness, he saw a broken foot on the icy pavement behind him—

--It was his shoes and right foot, along with patches of red ice flowers.

Further away, the General of Tears stretched his waist beside the fruit crates in the refrigerated display case, as if he had thrown something over there!

A watermelon?! A watermelon?! This guy threw a watermelon at me?!

A watermelon hit Griffin Barton's right foot precisely, freezing his foot and the watermelon projectile together as [Madness] created the icy surface!

He was so focused on escaping that he was moving too fast, and the muscles and bones of his ankle were torn apart by the immense force, freezing to the floor along with the watermelon flesh.

"They actually... they actually used my soul power against me?! You piece of shit! They actually used my soul power to hurt me!?"

Meteor's hair stood on end, making him look like an angry Vajra, and he roared even louder.

"You actually abandoned your lover! You shameless scumbag!"

"I took such a long and winding road! I was heartbroken so many times! I stumbled and fell so many times! Only to find the most important woman in my life!"

He walked step by step toward the weak and powerless Mr. Griffin, his hair flying in the turbulent flow of spiritual pressure.

"But you lucky fellow! You found the most precious treasure in the world long ago! You didn't even blink an eye! You just casually threw it away!"

Griffin Barton cried out in alarm, "Don't come any closer!"

"Take your woman and run away! You bastard!" Bu Liuxing grabbed Claire Barton and threw her at Griffin like a rag doll.

The immense impact nearly ripped out Griffin's internal organs, and scalding blood gushed from his mouth and nose. He instinctively hugged his wife tightly, unable to run any further.

However, at this moment, Mrs. Clare regained some of her senses—

--Perhaps the roars of the two grown men were too noisy, or perhaps when Meteor picked her up and made a throwing motion, the holy blood in her body had a stress response, urging her to wake up quickly.

The moment Klee awoke, she felt her body was out of control, her limbs were wracked with pain, and her brain had suffered severe damage. She screamed in agony, her heart pounding.

But when she opened her eyes, she didn't see her gentle and kind husband, but rather Mr. Griffin Barton, who had long since lost his humanity.

Bu Liuxing angrily pointed at Griffin: "Stand up! You come and fight me!"

A strange, mocking laugh echoed through the air.

--Mr. Griffin revealed a terrifying smile; his heart had changed drastically.

"Bu Liuxing! Regret it now! You actually sent such a tender and delicious body to my side!"

Meteor exclaimed in shock, "What nonsense are you spouting!?"

[Part 2 - Cries for Help]

Mr. Griffin was seriously injured and desperately needed human flesh to replenish his strength. He finally understood why the initiation ceremony of the Madness Butterfly Sect involved eating a piece of flesh from a loved one.

Just as Bu Liuxing delivered Mrs. Keli to his side, this talented young man who had just joined the evil camp finally had an epiphany.

Nothing is irreplaceable; all of this is a test from God for him.

Once Klee gets past this hurdle, she'll surely understand and appreciate Lord Pellegrini's good intentions.

"I was completely disoriented and my mind went blank! I was terrified!"

Griffin embraced his wife, holding Mrs. Clare's mutilated chin, his fingers poking at the wound as if pounding the sinew of a steak.

"So only madness can overcome this terror! If I can eat her, I can definitely regain my strength. You personally delivered this powerful tonic to my side! It turns out the real elixir has always been by my side! My beloved, who has shared countless days and nights with me, is the divine medicine that will allow me to take the next step!"

Claire Barton, her head tilted to the side, was still in excruciating pain. She couldn't move; her limbs were out of her control. She stared in disbelief at her husband and at Griffin's mouthful of fangs.

"Bu Liuxing! Your soul power shouldn't be able to leave your body very far!"

Griffin shouted--

"--Using such a ridiculous tactic as throwing watermelons to attack me is only because the range of a spirit is limited and it can't reach me at all! Hehehe. Hehehehehehehehe!"

The meteor fell silent, but the projectiles in its hand never stopped.

He then hurled another enormous watermelon at Griffin, who was standing some distance away.

"--Madness! Protect me!"

Bright red blood spurted from the ankle wound, mixing with water vapor and liquid on the floor to form a solid ice shield. The scene was bizarre. It was as if a watermelon, like a cannonball, hit the thin ice shield but instead of exploding, it melted into soft slush at an incredible speed, becoming patches of armor for the ice shield.

"I'm growing! I'm growing! Yes! I'm growing!" Griffin was overjoyed. He saw strangely shaped frozen fruits and fresh produce flying over from outside the translucent red ice layer. They carried a strong impact, making a terrifying sound like banging gongs and drums.

A sailfish, over 140 centimeters long, suddenly broke through the ice shield's defenses, its sharp spines piercing Mr. Griffin's sternum, pinning him to the iron gate.

He finally snapped out of the excruciating pain and realized in a daze that he hadn't grown up fast enough!

Not enough. Not enough!

I have to actually eat Klee to become stronger, right?! That must be it!

He was so anxious that his eyes turned red; to survive the General of Tears, he had to sacrifice Lady Clery.

He had almost no strength left and needed to taste human flesh to regain his senses.

"Darling," Claire seemed to have guessed her husband's choice, and she pleaded desperately, "Darling, no, no, no... please don't."

"It's too late to say anything!" Griffin's mouth gaped wide open. Before Bu Liuxing caught up, before [Mr. Wei Meng. Wham Rap]'s iron fist reached his head, he had to make a choice!

Sharp fangs pressed hard against Claire Barton's throat, and Griffin picked out the softest piece of meat to eat!

That was a wound that Bu Liuxing had personally opened. There was no need for a second chewing; it was fresh blood vessels and spinal nerves. Without the obstruction of skin and flesh, warm blood would soon fall into his stomach!

"Click--"

My tooth broke!

In the moment Griffin was lost in thought, he saw the fist of an armored warrior suddenly emerge from his lover's neck.

"Why... why did it come out of my wife's body?! Why?"

Before Griffin could figure out what was going on, before he could understand how [Mr. Wei Meng Rap] worked, a ferocious punch had already broken his teeth and cracked his jaw!

His body shifted sideways, about to flip over to the other side! The sharp spines of the sailfish tore at the flesh in his belly, ripping him open!

"Madness!"

He weakly called upon the spirit within him, hoping the deity within him could heal him.

Before the internal organs could be expelled, they were sealed in by ice, and life seemed to take its place before this fragile body could survive.

But can simply enduring beatings guarantee survival?

"Beep--"

Before Griffin's head could even hit the ground, his slumped, tilted body was struck squarely by Mr. Wei Meng's follow-up punch!

His head was like a speedball being pounded by a boxer—

"--Dulalalalalalalalalala!!!"

Claire Barton's torso emerged from the half-body of an armored warrior, ready to beat this bastard husband who had harmed his wife into a pulp!

The relentless punches were like the intense, high-pitched drumbeats of a metal band, pounding rapidly against Griffin Barton's skull and upper limbs.

Every punch! Every single punch shattered bones, broke through ice, and ruptured muscles!

The intense wind pressure nearly blew Griffin off the floor and into the air, then pressed him against the iron gate! Passersby stared at the gate with strange and horrified eyes; hundreds of uneven fingerprint marks were clearly visible on the metal sheet!

Even the iron gate's bolts couldn't withstand the power of the continuous, high-speed punches and flew into the alleyway!

Bu Liuxing unzipped the can and drank the cola in one gulp, so angry that he was practically fuming and tears were welling up in his eyes.

With a muffled thud, the metal door crashed into the outer wall of the publishing house across the street, and Griffin was covered in sores that not a single part of his body was unharmed.

His soul power barely allowed him to resemble a human being, but the flying soda can struck the ice shards, shattering his last vestige of human form and turning him into a pile of broken ice.

"I'm furious!" Meteor shouted. "This is outrageous! I'm so upset I could cry! How could there be such a beast in the world! How could he kill his own wife like that!"

The sudden appearance of [Mr. Wei Meng! ] inside Clare Barton's body was not intentional on Meteor's part.

He just happened to have that one extra bit of shrewdness.

If Griffin abandoned his wife in the first place simply to protect himself, taking Klee with him, Meteor could have used Mr. Wei Meng to track the couple down.

However, Griffin's murderous intent towards his wife triggered the [Wham Mr. Wei Meng] guardian mechanism, making it Clare Barton's guardian angel in that instant.

Bu Liuxing wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, holding back her anger, and was about to return to the kitchen to check on Shasha's injuries.

At this time--

Mrs. Clare, however, slowly and unsteadily got to her feet.

"Where are you going! This isn't over yet! This isn't over yet!"

Her mouth was completely rotten; her once beautiful lips and teeth had become horrific open wounds. Her throat made some unpleasant noises, and her eyes burned with raging anger.

Using her special ability of Soul Power, she shrunk the damaged tissue in her brain. Her powerful blood-bearing body possessed incredible regenerative abilities, and within minutes she was able to stand up and fight again.

Unlike her weak husband, this woman was much stronger.

Meteor didn't speak, but just looked at the woman who was swaying precariously.

My name is

"Claire Barton! You just killed my worthless husband! My hateful and pathetic husband!"

"But that doesn't mean I've lost!"

"I will not run away! Because my child is still in Pellegrini's hands."

"Come on! Bring it on! General of Tears! Our battle is not over yet!"

Mrs. Clare clenched her fists, trying several times to activate her spirit, but her spiritual essence had been severely damaged, and her soul power was difficult to leave her body.

Bu Liuxing stomped his leg hard, and the floorboards echoed with a deafening roar.

Mrs. Clare's legs went weak, her eyes rolled back, and she immediately fainted from the powerful spiritual pressure.

Meteor pointed at Mrs. Claire, who was slumped on the ground, but showed no intention of helping her up. He planned to let the city's law enforcement officers clean up the mess.

"I heard it! It's a cry for help—then I'll take care of it!"

I'm thirty years old today!

I also hope that everyone who follows this book will be as energetic as a shooting star and become the protagonist of their own life!

Mwah!