[: 3rd POV :]
The man had a cruel smile on his lips, knowing that Sasha had no choice.
Sasha felt her heart sink, and her world seemed to crumble around her.
This was her only chance, and if she didn’t comply, the repercussions would be severe.
“You know what will happen if you don’t comply with my words right…?”
The man said as he held her wrist tightly.
“If you do this, I will forgive you, but if not, then I will ruin your life”
He added, his grip tightening, and Sasha could feel the pain.
‘I’m sorry, Father… Please forgive me,’ Sasha thought, her heart heavy with regret.
“O-Okay, sir. I’ll go with you.”
She relented, knowing that she had no other choice.
If Sasha followed him, it will be the beginning of her torturous life, and Daniel couldn’t allow this to continue.
In an instant, as the man tightened his grip on Sasha’s wrist, a chilling presence materialized beside him.
All of the sudden, the man felt his back cold.
He never felt such a threatening sensation before.
It felt like the world had darkened and he was sweating buckets.
Daniel, silent and swift, appeared like a phantom.
His hand clamping down on the man’s wrist that held Sasha captive.
The sudden intervention caught the man off guard, and his cruel smile faltered.
“Stop,”
Daniel uttered in a cold, low tone, his eyes harboring an unmistakable killing intent.
The air seemed to thicken with the tension between them, and Sasha was stunt.
The man, sensing the danger emanating from Daniel, released Sasha’s wrist.
Hus arrogant demeanor wavering as he felt Daniel’s killing intent.
His eyes locked with Daniel’s, and for a moment, the world stood still.
Sasha, now freed from the man’s grasp, took a step back, her heart pounding.
She didn’t know what was happening.
But what she knew that Daniel was on her side despite not knowing who he was.
Even so, she watched in awe as Daniel stood between her and the aggressor.
“I don’t know who you think you are, but this isn’t your concern,”
The man spat, attempting to regain his composure.
Daniel’s gaze remained undisturbed, his voice cutting through the tension like a blade.
“You’re wrong. When someone’s being threatened, it becomes everyone’s concern.”
The man, though visibly angered, hesitated under Daniel’s intense stare.
The balance of power had shifted, and it was evident that Daniel wasn’t someone to be taken lightly.
However, he was Rankers and he can’t be intimidated by a nobody.
With a final warning glare, Daniel declared, “Leave. And don’t let me catch you threatening her again.”
The reason why Daniel would want to let him go was because, he didn’t want to cause a scene for Sasha.
It might be overwhelming for someone who had lived a normal life.
If he started bloodshed, it might cause an unreversible effect.
Hence, this time, he wish to choose peace.
However, the man chose a choice that Daniel didn’t want to show.
The man unleashed his pressuring aura and the atmosphere around them shifted dramatically.
The ground cracked beneath the force, and the chaotic winds swept through the area, causing bystanders to scramble for cover.
Despite the disaster, Daniel remained composed.
He was gazing at him with nonchalantly eyes that doesn’t care about what the man would do.
The man’s voice thundered with anger, “How dare you order me!?”
His aura intensified, wreaking havoc on the surroundings.
Yet, in the midst of the chaos, Daniel shielded Sasha from harm, his eyes locked onto the infuriated Ranker.
The man continued his tirade, boasting of his achievements, “Do you know who I am, you fool!? I am a Ranker!”
“A Player that has achieved Level 200, one of the top Players where even the Government would listen to my words!”
His aura surged with increasing intensity, and he challenged Daniel’s authority, “So who are the fuck are you to order me!?”
“You think you can order me, you insignificant pest?!”
The man screamed, his pride wounded by Daniel’s defiance.
“You’re nothing but a speck compared to me, a Level 200 Ranker”
“Who do you think you are to stand against someone of my stature?”
Daniel remained silent as though he’s witnessing the last moments of a clown before he dies.
“You’re probably scared out of your mind right now” The man laughed.
“Look at you, trying to play hero and failing miserably. Do you really believe you can challenge someone like me?”
The man’s arrogance fueled his insults, each word dripping with disdain.
“You’re probably some low-level Player struggling to survive in this world” He insulted.
“And here you are, pretending to be a guardian, pathetic.” He added as his aura grew.
Sasha, standing behind Daniel, felt a surge of anger on his behalf.
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Yet, Daniel remained quiet, unswayed by the man’s attempts to belittle him.
“Let me tell you something, ‘hero.” He said with sarcasm.
“You can’t change the natural order of things”
“The world is changing and soon, the strong will dominate the weak, and that’s how it should always has been”
“You should be thanking me for not crushing you beneath my heel,”
The man sneered, convinced of his superiority.
“Are you done…?” Eventually, Daniel spoke and he was mocking him.
“You think your words mean anything to me?” Daniel widened his eyes.
“How stupid” He spat his salivae on the ground.
At the same time, he was pissed, because only then did he remembered who the man was.
In the alternate future, he was a promising Player and one of the leading players in the world.
However, when Apocalypse destroyed the world, he created his own turf where he treated people as though he was a monster himself.
The reason why Daniel was angered by this is that he remembered a certain woman that he was closed with that ended up being treated like a toy.
The only last memory he had saw was her lifeless body on the grave.
In the end, out of vengeance and hatred, he managed to kill the man with his own two hands.
However, Daniel would never thought he would encountered the same man who had tortured 2 of the women he loved.
‘How laughable’ Daniel started laughing and it startled both the man and Sasha.
“What happened to you? Have to gone crazy from being too scared of me?” The man mocked, making Daniel laughter louder.
“You’re right” Daniel said.
“The strong eats the weak and that has been proven from the past” He declared.
“But you’re wrong about one thing” Daniel.
“And that is…I’m the strong one and you’re the weak one” Daniel stated.
Immediately, he was enraged by Daniel’s bold declaration.
“How dare you!”
The man lunged forward, his attacks fueled by a burning fury.
He swung with ferocious strength, aiming to prove Daniel wrong about his perceived weakness.
However, Daniel moved, effortlessly dodging his strike.
“You’re too slow” Daniel insulted.
“If this is the strength of a ranked, then, I’m greatly dissapointed” He shooks his head.
The man’s frustration grew with every missed blow, and his attacks became increasingly erratic.
“You think you can dodge me forever, you insignificant insect?!” the man roared, his face contorted with rage.
Despite his Level 200 prowess, each attempt to land a hit on Daniel had failed.
Even so, each of his attack was so devastative that it created cracks all over the place.
“You’re not worth my time,” Daniel remarked, his words cutting deeper than any physical blow.
“What did you just say…?” The man had veins all over his head.
“You heard me right” Daniel mocked.
“How dare you! I’m a ranked!”
Eventually, he summoned his trump card where his body turned into molten magma and his surroundings turned into volcanic atmospheric.
Even so, Daniel felt nothing from him.
Having said that, he jumped forward, attempting to melt Daniel with his body.
However, the unexpected had happened.
Instead of being melted by his body, Daniel caught his fist with his hand.
Yet, there weren’t any evidence of his hands burning.
“How are you not melting!?” The man questioned.
“Like I said earlier on, you’re not worth my time” Daniel muttered.
At the same time, Daniel eyes became white like Ice and there was a crown of Ice.
Even his body was covered by a frost armour.
From the first that he caught, the man’s hand was slowly turning into ice before spreading throughout his body.
“S-Stop! W-What are you doing!?” The man questioned as he began panicking.
He couldn’t get his hands off from Daniel and he was starting to feel cold from it.
“What’s wrong? I thought you were a ranked? Can’t you handle some cold?” Daniel mocked.
“P-Please, I’m sorry!” The man began pleading as he realized that Daniel was someone who he shouldn’t mess with.
But it was too late for regret.
“I-I will do anything you want! And I promise to leave that girl alone!” He pleaded, but Daniel was not listening.