“Live. ♜ ♦ ♗ ♦”
Lord extended a finger and said calmly, “You just need to live, nothing more.”
“Bakudo #1: Sai!”
“Bakudō #61: Rikujōkōrō!”
Seal!
Frank’s hands were bound behind his back, and Kido temporarily sealed him.
Thud~
Frank looked at Lord in astonishment.
“What are you doing?”
“You’ll know soon enough.” As Lord spoke, he snapped his fingers.
Snap!
The Abyss of Despair suddenly appeared, and Frank felt the ground vanish beneath him, plunging downward at extreme speed like a meteor.
Several seconds later, the sound of a heavy object hitting the ground echoed from deep within the pit, accompanied by Frank’s miserable screams.
Lord followed right behind, leaping down into the Abyss of Despair as well.
Bottom of the pit.
Having crashed onto the bottom of the pit, Frank didn’t suffer too much damage since he was a Soul, but cold sweat still broke out across his forehead.
Free-falling for several seconds—even when he used to skydive, it wasn’t as thrilling as this thing!
After calming down a bit, Frank finally noticed that the surrounding environment was exceptionally dark, and the silent atmosphere felt rather oppressive!
What on earth is he planning to do?
Frank’s expression turned somewhat peculiar.
He thought to himself that Lord first bound his hands and then threw him into a sinkhole—why did this operation look a bit familiar?
Wait a minute…
Isn’t this move the exact style they used to treat those prisoners of war back in Vietnam?
“Wait, Lord.”
Frank suddenly had a bad premonition.
Looking at Lord in front of him, his eyelids twitched wildly.
“You don’t mean to have me crawl out of here, do you?”
“Smart, Frank.”
Leaning on his walking stick, Lord said calmly, “I want you to crawl out of here.”
“…”
A vein popped on Frank’s forehead.
“Are you fucking kidding me? My hands are tied up by you, how is it possible to crawl out of here?”
Lord raised an eyebrow slightly.
“Lord, are you fucking crazy?”
Sweat was already seeping from Frank’s forehead.
“This hole is at least a hundred meters deep, how could a human climb up without using their hands!”
Lord: “Then stop acting like a human.”
“???”
Looking at Lord’s expression, Frank’s heart instantly grew cold, realizing he wasn’t joking.
“You’re serious?”
Frank said with difficulty.
“Of course.”
Lord nodded and smiled, “If you want to live and avenge your wife and children, you must rely on yourself to crawl out of here.”
“What if I can’t do it?” Frank asked again.
“What will be the result? Starve to Death in this place?”
Lord narrowed his eyes slightly, pressed his walking stick against Frank’s chest, and his lips moved slightly, “Frank, the first erosion is about to begin.”
“The first erosion?”
Just as Frank wanted to ask what he meant, he suddenly felt an excruciating pain strike from the depths of his Soul!
An unimaginable, excruciating pain!
It even caused this man known for his iron-will and toughness to roll on the ground in agony, his teeth clenching so hard they creaked!
He had once tried to extract bullet fragments remaining in his body without anesthetics, but the pain back then didn’t even amount to a ten-thousandth of this!
The erosion came quickly and went just as fast.
“What the fuck is this?”
Frank lay weakly on the ground, looking blankly at Lord.
“The erosion of the chain.”
Lord continued, “Remember what I said before? The chain not only connects the physical body and the Soul, but it also symbolizes whether your Soul and inner self are complete! Under normal circumstances, the speed of chain erosion is not this fast. But inside this Abyss of Despair, the erosion process of the chain will be shortened to seventy-two hours! Once the chains on your chest are completely eroded away, it means you will lose your inner self. Your wife and children, your memories, your past, your experiences—all these things will vanish along with it. And you— will turn into a monster devoid of pity and reason, acting purely on instinct and feeding on human Souls.”
This method was very risky!
But Lord had no other choice.
Currently, wanting to turn an ordinary person into a Shinigami, this was the only viable method!
Who told him to be dirt poor right now?
He didn’t even have a most basic asauchi.
Even if he wanted to learn from Rukia and inject the power of a Shinigami, Frank’s Soul probably wouldn’t be able to bear it!
Not just anyone could become a Shinigami.
Nor could just anyone, like Kurosaki ichigo, be born with massive Spiritual Pressure and perfectly withstand the power of a Shinigami.
He couldn’t do that, and Frank even less so!
“What if I turn into a monster?” Frank asked.
“By that time—” Enjoying the story? Read on at novelping.com.
Lord interrupted him, a chill leaking from his tone, “I will personally execute you!”
Lord was serious!
From his words, Frank had not the slightest doubt, and could even sense the faint, lingering killing intent in Lord’s eyes!
But strangely enough…
Frank did not feel afraid; instead, his heart became extremely calm.
To him, his wife and child were among the few memories that could make him feel warmth.
If even these were to be stripped away, he might as well just die!
The Punisher never feared Death!
He only feared that the deep revenge for his wife and child remained unavenged, and justice had yet to be served!
“Come on, Lord!”
Frank bared a mouthful of white teeth, fanaticism flickering in his eyes as he grinned, “Instead of turning into a monster without even memories, I’d rather die at your hands!”
Frank understood one thing very clearly: wanting to gain power meant paying a price!
And now…
This opportunity had arrived, and he only needed to pay a “tiny” price!
A trace of appreciation appeared in Lord’s eyes as he spoke, “Good resolve. Since you’re already prepared, let me remind you of one more thing.”
“Alright.”
Frank listened with a serious expression, knowing that what Lord was about to say was very important.
Lord continued, “The erosion time is about seventy-two hours, which is around three days. But in reality, it varies depending on individual circumstances, and the final erosion of the chain will far exceed the pain and speed of all the previous ones combined. If you don’t want to turn into a monster, there is only one way: find that power hidden deep within your Soul, the one that has never been unearthed! It might be a person, an animal, or an object—in short, an existence that embodies your Soul and belief. Have a psychological dialogue with it. Then call out to it!”
Explaining too much actually wasn’t good, so Lord simply stopped explaining and only told Frank some necessary things.
As for whether he could succeed, it would all depend on fate!
“I understand.”
Frank said very calmly, “As long as I find the power hidden deep within my Soul, I can survive and gain the power for revenge, right?”
“Simply put, yes.”
Lord nodded slightly, then said, “I’ll wait for you up top. I hope you succeed, Frank. I really don’t want to execute you with my own hands.”
“Hehe…”
Frank laughed loudly, “Too bad, I’m afraid you won’t have that chance, Lord!”
Lord smiled, “Then I’ll wait and see.”
Clang~
Treading on Qi bricks formed by Spiritual particles, Lord walked step by step back to the top of the pit under Frank’s watching gaze.
Seventy-two hours later…
Everything would be revealed!
Would the Punisher Frank fall into becoming a Hollow, or would he transform into a Shinigami?