Rescue and Trial

The next day.

Central Park.

In the woods behind the amusement park.

More than a dozen gang members lay sprawled in pools of blood.

Frank vigilantly surveyed his surroundings while methodically cleaning up the traces he had left behind during the fight.

Just a few minutes earlier, still uneasy, Frank had used buying ice cream as an excuse to leave his family. Following the direction from his memory, he had silently slipped into these woods to investigate.

Who would have thought that a group of gang members had actually gathered here?

However, their clothes and appearance differed slightly from what Frank had seen in the vision last night.

Yet something about it seemed strange.

These gang members appeared to be waiting for someone.

They kept craning their necks and looking into the distance.

The reason he thought so was that one of them was holding a photograph.

Were they seeking revenge?

Or...

After adjusting his angle several times,

Frank, a Marine Corps tactical sniper, finally made out the figure in the photograph with his exceptional eyesight.

It was a family portrait of the four of them!

Clearly, these gang members being here was no coincidence.

They had come specifically for his family...

Frank could not help recalling the vision he had seen last night.

No!

He would never allow that to happen!

Consumed by rage, Frank was immediately seized by murderous intent.

Using a silenced pistol and a combat knife, he cleanly and efficiently killed every one of them!

Although he also wanted to know who was behind this,

and how they had obtained a photograph of his family,

he had not left any survivors for interrogation, lest passing pedestrians discover them.

But it did not matter.

He already knew where to find the answers he wanted...

After cleaning up,

Frank emerged from the woods with a look of immense relief.

Then, as if nothing had happened, he bought three ice cream cones and returned to his family.

"Darling, why did you take so long? Was the line that long?"

His wife, Maria, asked gently.

"Yeah, there seemed to be an unusually large number of people today..."

Frank smiled as he handed the cones to the children, then pulled his wife into his arms. Taking turns, they sweetly shared the remaining cone.

Seeing the happiness on his wife and children's faces, Frank had never felt so warm and fulfilled!!!

Night fell.

Carl appeared at the restaurant right on time.

The first person he saw was Frank, who had clearly been waiting for a long time.

Before the other man could speak, Carl smiled and said, "Congratulations. You successfully saved your family."

A flash of shock immediately crossed Frank's eyes.

His first thought was that Carl had been secretly following him.

But he quickly dismissed that possibility.

He must have seen the outcome using precognition or telepathy, right?

Composing himself, Frank said in an exceptionally sincere tone,

"Sir, thank you very much for your earlier warning. Otherwise, I would have lost my beloved family forever today. I sincerely apologize for my reckless behavior last night!!"

Carl waved a hand and said meaningfully, "Your choice saved both you and your family. It also proved your worth."

There was no doubt that Carl's warning yesterday had been a deliberate test for Frank.

Although the Punisher was already renowned,

if Frank had chosen to run away from this matter or failed to deal with those gang members properly,

then it would have proven that he was simply unworthy of recruitment!

Even if Frank had luckily escaped disaster with his family, Carl would never have appeared before him again.

What he needed were truly capable people who could stand on their own, face crises head-on, and possessed courage, strength, and intelligence far beyond ordinary people!

This criterion alone was enough to eliminate ninety-nine percent of all candidates!

Fortunately, Frank had not disappointed him!!

Then Carl changed the subject and asked, "Do you want to know what happened after that vision from yesterday?"

"Huh?!"

Frank felt as though he could barely keep up with the other man's erratic train of thought.

But since the vision had been mentioned, he could not help feeling somewhat curious.

Wanting very much to see how things would have unfolded afterward, he nodded heavily.

"Then I'll trouble you, sir."

As his words fell,

Carl narrowed his eyes slightly, and a strange memory that did not belong to Frank suddenly surfaced in his mind.

The scene picked up right after the attack in the park.

After the attack, the badly injured Frank received rudimentary treatment at the hospital before gathering intelligence in his own way. In the end, he successfully uncovered the culprits who had murdered his wife and children.

However,

he naively believed that the law could give him a just outcome.

But who would have thought that those gang members would spend a fortune hiring a renowned legal team?

They successfully found loopholes in the relevant laws and escaped the punishment they deserved.

When he saw those gang members walk out of the courthouse with smug grins on their faces,

Frank fell into complete despair over the judicial system that always claimed to uphold "fairness and justice."

Only then did he see clearly that the "rule of law," "democracy," and "equality" politicians preached during elections were all nothing but lies!

So, he decided to seek justice for his wife and children in his own way...

[If you are guilty, you die]!!!

After becoming the Punisher, every criminal was placed on his kill list.

"Phew..."

After regaining consciousness, Frank let out a long breath and calmed his turbulent emotions.

There was no doubt that if he had truly suffered the same injustice as in that vision, he would absolutely have become the Punisher, fighting violence with violence.

Above heaven and earth, his family came first!!!

Even if it meant becoming an enemy of the entire world, he would not hesitate.

With his own hands, he would send every one of those criminals to hell!

But fortunately, because of Carl's appearance, that tragedy had not ultimately come to pass.

The fate of him and his family had changed as a result.

Frank's gratitude toward Carl was beyond words.

Lowering his head to glance at the family photograph he had taken from the gang members,

Frank seemed to have made a decision. His expression was solemn as he said,

"Sir, please tell me the truth. For it... I am willing to pay any price, even my life."

There was no such thing as a free lunch.

That single warning had already been an enormous act of kindness to Frank.

So even if Carl wanted him to assassinate the president now, he would obey without hesitation.

He knows what he's doing.

Carl had already seen through Frank's thoughts. The corners of his mouth curled upward slightly. "Very good. There is only one condition: swear loyalty to me and become my subordinate!"

"And, by the way, let me correct you. Strictly speaking, I am not a superpowered person. I am a dimensional demon god!!"

What was a dimensional demon god?

Well, whatever it was, it did not matter.

Frank said without hesitation, "No problem. As long as I can completely eliminate the source threatening my family's safety, I am willing to swear loyalty to you!!!"