History's Strongest Prisoner

A Vicious Start

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

All remaining prisoners were shot dead.

The Captain tugged on the tip of his hat, masking the discerning trace of malice in his eyes. And very subtly, he headed into his office space overseeing the Control.

Click.

He locked the door and reached for the phone on his desk.

[Is it done?] A rich but cold voice sounded out from the other end.

"Affirmative, sir... The kid is off the ship. Now, he's Mainland property."

[And what about the rat?]

The Captain thought of one of the prisoners he shot during the mass shooting.

During the final shooting round, they killed the last few remaining prisoners aboard. But that wasn't when he killed the rat.

During the first shooting round, he and his crew targeted non-lethal body parts, causing many of the prisoners to leave the ship hastily. But amidst the chaos, he killed the rat before the bastard could make it out of the aircraft. Even the crew members didn't know of his actions.

To keep the matter confidential, he had to limit the number of people knowing.

"All taken care of, sir." The Captain affirmed before thinning his lips. "Sir, what about the boy?"

[Him?...Heh~]

The Captain trembled, listening to the mysterious man's eerie laughter.

The man on the other end was a person he and many others had never seen before. Yet, his brutality was indescribable.

Gulp.

The Captain swallowed his built-up saliva

For the man to laugh... Was it good for him or not? Was his time of death already drawing near?

[Relax... In this hellish place, he won't be surviving for long. But you, Captain Stroma... It looks like you're in need of a long holiday. So why don't I give you one?]

Stroma felt like dying, shaking his head like a frightened chicken.

No! No! He didn't need it.

What holiday? What did the man mean?

....

~Cough. Cough. Cough.

Bain coughed as hard as he could, spitting out all the salty water he took in. He pulled his body to the sandy shores after an hour of constant swimming.

His limbs were sore, his muscles chilled from the icy waters, and his clothes soaked.

Breath... Breath… Breath…

He was out of breath, exasperated to no end.

Like him, many lay on the shore, trying to catch their breath. But there were still many at sea, injured and struggling for survival.

The open waters were dangerous, with all sorts of deadly sea beasts attracted to the blood of the injured.

Even when swimming, he saw several injured people get pulled down below.

Maybe because he had but a few surface scrapes and no bullet wounds, his fate was different from the heavily injured people pulled down while swimming for their lives.

Everything happened so fast that he dared not slow down, swimming for a full hour.

He swam and swam with his aching muscles, finally making it alive. And on his way, he spotted several 'local' boats shooting one another like crazy.

Who would've thought he and the rest would stumble on a battle at sea during their arrival?

Boom!

The heavy artillery and machine-gun sounds were too hard to miss.

Bazookas flying, people shooting like crazy, some with missile launchers on their shoulders, people cursing at the top of their lungs…

Augh~

It was at this moment that Bain knew just how chaotic this place truly was.

.

Cough. Cough!

Bain released all the water in his belly.

It was good to be alive!

Though Nine-Toe Sam's move aided him, he mostly managed to pull a successful dive with the advice his late brother, Shinji, gave him.

When he was young, Shinji and his mother would always take him to the beach at least once a year.

In fact, his brother was the one that taught him how to swim. And sometimes, he would give sage advice on what he should do when diving at various heights.

'Bother… You were good to me.'

A simple smile appeared on Bain's face. Even though his family was gone, they still lived in his memories.

Bain gathered his strength, first getting on all 4's before pulling himself upright.

Tonight, he had to find a place to rest.

Like so, the wobbly-legged Bain tied his military jacket on his waist and began his march into the unknown territory he swam to. But unbeknownst to him, a pair of deep eyes stared at him from a distance.

~Drip. Drip. Drip.~

The blond man lightly scrunched his hair, sitting on a boulder without showing any signs of breathlessness. He was calm like a steady stream. And beside him were 11 others.

"Overlord, shall we bring the boy?"

Kaizu's face once again stretched disturbingly. "No."

Everyone nodded, understanding their Overlord.

Bain Ratnier…

Kaizu licked his lips, recalling Bain's innocent expressions, as well as the few operations he watched Bain execute. He reacted smartly and faster than many aboard.

Though kind and naive, the boy was still brave and full of potential.

Eyes narrowed, Kaizu shivered in ecstasy.

Such a toy was rare to find. And he was looking forward to seeing it break. But not yet…

'Try not to die, my little lamb... It's a pity I must leave you... Let's see how much you grow once we meet again.'

He looked forward to seeing what Bain would become.

However, just as much as he anticipated their meeting, should Bain die before then, what he would do to the corpse or the person who touched his toy would be far beyond what any could fathom.

Even in death, Bain won't be allowed to rest if he disappoints him.

Bain Ratnier.

Kaizu chuckled, giving his little lamb one last look before fading away into the darkness with his crew.

Soon, they would meet again.

.

~Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

~Vrmmm!

~Crash!

~Bam!

Bain moved through the streets, watching a fierce cat and mouse chase.

In one instance, several people in vehicles were shooting one another. Seconds later, another random vehicle from nowhere suddenly crashed into a building. And following that, a drunken man stepped out and began firing like crazy after surviving such a crash.

But what was so eye-boggling was that the people along the streets acted as though it were nothing.

"..."

It was strange to say that though Bain was naive and innocent, he had no fear of what he saw. In another sense, even he might be taken as abnormal by others.

Bain walked about the streets, thinking of the reminders in his head.

'I have no guns, no money, no dagger.'

Additionally, he was still wearing his green military camo pants. Now, places were dark which helped him cover it up a bit. But he dared not enter any building wearing this.

Again, staying without protection and surrounding himself with people who had no qualms about taking one's life wasn't smart. At least he needed to fashion or find a weapon before mingling in such places.

Right.

'It's better I sleep out in the wild. Shinji taught me the basics of outdoor survival.'

Thinking like that, he hunched his wet and shivering body, leaving the boisterous streets. But little did he know that his actions were seen by quite a few.

"Boss! Look over there… This one looks new… Such a product should sell for a high price!"

"From his actions, I count he's alone."

"Alone? Then follow." The leader ordered with a large grin on his face. "Boys… We've made an easy catch!"

…