Stella

"No—!!!"

With a tearing cry, Tesoro charged forward like he had lost control.

He reached out, desperately reaching.

As if, if he were just a little faster, if he took one more step—he could catch her.

"She's mine—!!!"

His throat was already so hoarse that his voice cracked, yet his shout only grew louder and more frenzied.

"I'm almost done saving enough money!!!"

"You can't take her away!!!"

That was not a shout.

It was a tear.

It was him ripping himself apart and throwing out the last shred of his obsession.

But in this world, the resistance of the weak had never meant anything.

Bang!

Two figures moved at once.

The Cipher Pol guards flanked him from both sides, their hands clamping down on his arms like iron pincers.

Precise. Cold.

Crack—!

His joints were forcibly twisted backward, and his bones let out a teeth-grinding sound.

Agony exploded instantly, racing from his arms straight into his brain.

Tesoro's pupils abruptly contracted, but he did not stop.

Even with his body locked down, he kept throwing himself forward, kept struggling desperately.

Like a beast nailed in place that refused to lower its head.

The next second—

Boom!

His body was viciously slammed to the ground, his face smashing directly into the stone floor!

Cold.

Damp.

Filthy water reeking of rot and rust flooded into his nose and throat all at once.

He choked violently, his breathing cut off.

His chest heaved hard, but he could not draw in any air.

Yet he still struggled, crazily struggling, his fingertips digging viciously into the ground.

The gaps between the stone slabs were rough and hard.

His nails peeled back, his flesh tore open, and blood slowly seeped out, spreading along the cracks.

But he still forced himself forward with everything he had,