After a long, jolting ride, the elevator stopped at the naval harbor before the Gate of Justice.
The sea breeze pierced the cold, damp air and brushed the cheeks of the three escaped felons.
Sunlight spilled through gaps in the clouds, shining on Bullet's bronze skin, covered in calluses and scars.
He lifted his head and gazed at the blue sky he had not seen in so long, a low rumble rolling from his throat.
It was an outpouring of emotion from a man who had caught the scent of freedom again after years underground.
The Marines standing on either side of the pier's passage gripped their weapons and stepped back half a pace in unison.
The Marine Rear Admiral leading the way wiped away his cold sweat, summoned his courage, and approached Bullet.
He held a standard-issue Marine coat in both hands, his tone somewhat stiff.
"Douglas Bullet, please put this on and board the warship ahead."
"The Five Elders require you to reach the New World as quickly as possible."
"Please do not linger in the harbor, or the Five Elders may activate the neurotoxin inside you at any moment."
The Rear Admiral had barely finished speaking.
Bullet's relaxed expression abruptly darkened.
He looked down at the Marine officer before him, who did not even reach his waist.
"Are you telling me what to do?"
Bullet's massive hand swept through the air in a blur.
Before the Rear Admiral could pull the trigger at his waist, his entire body was lifted into the air.
Bullet's enormous hand clamped directly around the Rear Admiral's head.
"Let... let me go..."
The Rear Admiral's limbs flailed wildly in midair, and his saber fell to the ground with a sharp clatter.
"A dog of the Five Elders thinks he's worthy of barking