The Girl Who Looted Tomorrow

This was one of the Punisher’s core Law Path abilities.

Nolan could alter the direction of force.

When someone attacked him, he could redirect the incoming force, deflecting the attack or even sending it straight back at the attacker.

He could also alter the direction of the gravity acting on his own body.

By reducing its pull, he could make himself lighter and leap incredible distances. If he reversed gravity completely, he could even rise from the ground and fly.

Just before landing on the warehouse, Nolan had distorted the force of gravity and slowed his descent.

That was how he had touched down without making a sound.

It was also worth noting that using supernatural abilities consumed something known as spirituality.

In simple terms, spirituality was a practitioner’s mana.

Freya was now a supernatural practitioner too, yet she could not sense even the slightest trace of spirituality within herself.

Then again, her own abilities did not seem to require any kind of mana to maintain.

In a competitive battle game, she would probably be one of those fighter characters who did not have a mana bar at all.

Nolan gently set Freya down.

She rubbed her waist and muttered, “Couldn’t you carry me a little more gently?”

“You could’ve held me in your arms instead of tucking me under your arm like that.”

Nolan considered the suggestion.

“Carrying a girl I’ve just met in my arms would feel a little too intimate.”

“It could give people the wrong idea.”

Freya had no answer.

For some reason, his explanation actually made sense.

The two quietly searched the warehouse roof.

The building was badly neglected, so naturally, the roof was far from intact.

Before long, Freya found a small hole.

She waved Nolan over, lay flat against the roof, and peered through it.

The first things she saw were large crates sealed in layers of packaging.

A group of people dressed in completely different clothing were carrying them around and unloading their contents.

One crate had already been opened.

A worker pulled out thick layers of white protective foam.

He took a knife, cut through the material, and removed several large jars filled with cloudy liquid.

Freya could just make out shapes inside them.

They looked like octopus tentacles drifting beneath the surface.

The second and third crates contained entirely different materials.

There were bones from some unknown creature, twisted goat horns, and several bags filled with things Freya could not identify.

“These are probably ingredients for making potions,” Nolan whispered.

His expression grew grave.

This was not merely an Obsidian storage site.

It was a potion factory.

The Demon Path potions Obsidian had been distributing across Auxerre were probably being manufactured right here.

At that moment, Freya saw someone approach the unloading area.

The figure stood nearby and silently watched the others work, like an overseer inspecting the operation.

Unfortunately, the angle was poor.

The person had their back to the opening in the roof, so Freya could not see their face.

She could only see bright red hair.

Freya immediately remembered the red blur she had glimpsed just before dying in the previous simulation.

She hurriedly whispered, “That red-haired person might be Obsidian’s mastermind.”

Freya considered moving to another opening in the roof.

Perhaps a different angle would let her see the person’s face.

Before she could act, the darkness around her suddenly brightened.

The cloud that had covered the moon drifted away.

Moonlight poured down over the roof.

Freya and Nolan were lying low.

Even with the roof illuminated, they were unlikely to be noticed as long as they remained still and did not stand up.

Then Freya saw someone at the far end of the warehouse roof.

A lookout was standing in the opposite corner.

Obsidian had even stationed someone on the roof.

It made perfect sense.

If Freya and Nolan could realize that the roof offered concealment and a clear view of the warehouse, there was no reason Obsidian’s mastermind could not reach the same conclusion.

The lookout had failed to notice them only because the roof had been too dark.

For the same reason, Freya had not noticed the lookout either.

In an instant, every worker inside the warehouse stopped moving.

The pedestrians patrolling the surrounding streets also froze.

It was as though someone had pressed a pause button.

The next second, every one of them turned in perfect unison.

All their eyes locked onto Freya and Nolan.

“Run!”

Nolan did not hesitate.

He grabbed Freya, tucked her beneath one arm again, and leaped from the roof.

The two seemed almost free from gravity as Nolan began gliding through the air.

The people below were just as fast.

They sprinted through the streets like packs of rabid dogs, their necks craned upward and their eyes fixed on the two figures overhead.

The sight reminded Freya of the black figures from her death preview.

The ones that would overwhelm her thirty days in the future.

Nolan looked down at the relentless crowd.

His expression turned grim.

“I suspected it from your description earlier. Now I’m certain.”

“This is one of the three War Path specializations.”

“General.”

“And this is the General’s supernatural ability, One-Man Army.”

“The number of soldiers a General can summon depends on their Rank and strength.”

“At the lowest level, there may only be ten.”

“A sufficiently powerful General can command hundreds or even thousands.”

Nolan’s voice grew heavier.

“Every soldier summoned by this ability possesses the strength of a Rank One War Path practitioner.”

“What?”

Freya stared at him.

She had worked so hard just to gain the strength of a Rank One War Path practitioner.

Yet this person could apparently produce them in bulk.

An entire crowd of them, all at once.

As Nolan’s glide lost altitude, several pedestrians jumped toward them.

The first failed to reach high enough and fell back down.

The second and third rose close enough that their hands were almost able to grab Nolan’s coat.

Before they could reach him, an immense weight seemed to crash down upon them.

Their bodies dropped sharply.

Bang!

They struck the street so hard that their feet sank into the ground.

Nolan’s expression became even more serious.

Using supernatural abilities consumed spirituality.

His reserves were clearly not large enough to let him fly all the way back to the police station.

That was without considering the additional weight of Freya tucked beneath his arm.

Nolan looked down at the girl.

Countless thoughts passed through his mind.

He could abandon Freya, who seemed to possess little combat ability, and fight his way back to the station alone.

His chances of surviving would be fairly good.

There was another option.

He could remain behind and hold off the General’s soldiers while Freya carried the information back to the Special Affairs Division.

Nolan did not know what someone else might choose.

For him, there was never any question.

He was a police officer.

There was no world in which he would abandon an innocent civilian and escape by himself.

Nolan tore the identification badge from his chest and pushed it into Freya’s hand.

“Take this to the police station.”

“Go to the Special Affairs Division and tell them we’ve found a General of at least Rank Five.”

“Tell them to request Mobile Team support immediately.”

Their bodies rapidly descended.

They landed on the street, and Nolan placed Freya on her feet.

“Go!”

In most movies or animated shows, this would be the moment when the person being sent away hesitated.

They would argue, refuse to leave, or exchange a few emotional words with the person staying behind.

Freya did none of those things.

“All right.”

That was the only response she gave.

Then she turned and ran at a speed that made even Nolan pause.

The corner of his mouth twitched.

“That kid is definitely not from the Fate Path.”

No Fate Path practitioner should have been able to run that fast.

He had no time to think about it further.

The soldiers had already caught up.

Nolan turned around and swept one hand through the air.

He did not touch any of them.

Even so, the soldiers at the front of the crowd, still four or five yards away, were abruptly thrown backward.

They flew away at the exact speed they had charged forward.

Their bodies crashed into the people behind them and knocked down an entire section of the pursuing army.