Meanwhile, Mr. Ackerman, on his deathbed, looked at Kanzaki with eyes full of hope and entrustment, and then the last spark of light in his eyes extinguished.
Seeing this, Kanzaki's pupils trembled slightly. In the nick of time, he used all his strength, and a barely perceptible electric arc flashed across his eyes again. His entire body shot out instantly, and his fist slammed hard into the chin of another burly trafficker who had been watching at the door.
Kanzaki pushed away the incoming arm with his left hand and smashed his right hand hard into the burly man's chin. The burly man immediately fell backward onto the ground, his life unknown.
Having exhausted all his strength, the side effects of excessive lightning use began to set in, and he collapsed onto the ground.
Damn it, there's still one more, Kanzaki's eyes were bloodshot, he bit his lip, forcing himself to stay awake, and struggled to get up.
The burly man with the axe was startled by this and reached out to grab Kanzaki.
Mikasa, at this moment, looked at her mother and the fallen Kanzaki, terrified and helpless, her eyes full of tears. Mrs. Ackerman, seeing the ax-wielding man grab Kanzaki, struggled desperately and bit the ax-wielding man's hand.
Instantly, the ax-wielding man's hand was a bloody mess. The trafficker cried out in pain, his eyes red, and he raised his axe, ready to strike Mrs. Ackerman.
"Ah! Damn you!" Kanzaki's brain was almost shut down. He desperately forced himself to gather his spirits, having drained almost all the strength and electrical energy from his body. He lunged at the ax-wielding man, slamming his head hard into the ax-wielding man's forehead.
The ax-wielding man was knocked to the ground, his head having suffered another heavy blow, and he fainted.
You damned bastards, I will utterly annihilate you maggots sooner or later! Kanzaki roared in his heart, full of hatred, just before his consciousness almost dissipated.
And with that, he exhausted all his strength, completely fainted, and fell into a coma.
"Husband…" Mrs. Ackerman ran to Mr. Ackerman, checked for a breath, tears streaming down. She kept reaching out, trying to staunch the profusely bleeding wound, but it was ultimately futile. She pressed her ear to his chest, heard the stopping of his heartbeat, and her eyes were filled with despair.
She quickly went to Kanzaki, picked him up, and went to Mikasa, taking her hand and softly saying, "Mikasa, let's go quickly."
Mikasa, at this moment, looked at her mother and Kanzaki, her eyes regaining a bit of spirit, filled with tears, her body trembling uncontrollably.
The fat man on the side was now awake, blood oozing from the corner of his mouth, looking disheveled. He pulled out a crude pistol from his in my arms, which he had bought with a lot of money from the nobles who controlled the Underground City in the Royal Government, for self-preservation. He didn't expect it to come in handy now.
He suddenly lunged out, tackling Mikasa, who was being led by Mrs. Ackerman, and at the same time immediately aimed at Mikasa's temple and shouted, "Don't move, or I'll kill your daughter."
Mrs. Ackerman, who was about to resist, immediately dared not move, her eyes full of despair, and Mikasa struggled desperately.
The fat man knocked Mikasa unconscious with a single blow, and at the same time, he grabbed the unconscious Kanzaki by the neck, picked up the dagger on the ground, and was overjoyed. Three Eastern people, of all ages and genders, he would definitely make a fortune.
"Madam, you don't want anything to happen to your two children, do you?" the fat man shouted at the terrified Mrs. Ackerman.
"Please don't hurt them, I'll cooperate with you," Mrs. Ackerman said painfully, immediately raising her hands and cooperating as she was tied up.
The fat man woke up the ax-wielding man.
"Damn it, I was actually ambushed by a brat," the awakened ax-wielding man shouted resentfully.
"This kid is suspicious, does he have a weapon in his hand?"
The fat man looked at Kanzaki warily.
"What weapon? He's just a bit strong, you were careless. Kids from the deep mountains are wild," the ax-wielding man hadn't seen the scorch mark on the fat man's neck, or he wouldn't have said it so lightly.
"That guy isn't dead, is he?" The ax-wielding man looked at his unconscious companion on the ground. The fat man checked for a pulse.
"He's still alive, but he's severely injured. He might have trouble eating from now on." Looking at the distorted face on the ground, the fat man looked hopefully at the unconscious Kanzaki.
"But it was all worth it, we actually got three Eastern people this time," the ax-wielding man said excitedly.
"Yes, that's right, this money is enough for us to get residency in the Royal Government," the fat man also said longingly.
The two traffickers took Mikasa and Kanzaki, as well as Mrs. Ackerman, to another unknown cabin, dragging their half-dead companion.
Not long after they left, the Yeager father and son arrived at Mikasa's doorstep. Grisha Yeager knocked on the door and instructed Eren:
"Mikasa is the girl from this family. There are no other children nearby, so you should get along well with her."
"Mikasa? That depends on her attitude," Eren replied stubbornly.
"Eren, that's why you only have one friend," Grisha said with a helpless expression.
"Is anyone home? Mr. Ackerman, I'm Dr. Yeager."
A smell of blood? Grisha Yeager's nose twitched, and he quickly opened the door. Before him was a scene of human tragedy, and Grisha Yeager was utterly horrified.
"Dad, what's wrong?" Eren asked, confused, looking at his stunned father.
Grisha checked for breath and confirmed Mr. Ackerman's death.
"It's too late, Eren. Did you see a little girl, Mikasa, or her mother nearby?" The shocked Grisha asked Eren.
"No… no," Eren stood frozen.
"Stay put, don't run off. Dad's going to find the Military Police Brigade to help search. You wait for me at the foot of the mountain, understood, Eren?"
Eren's pupils trembled, his heart now filled with the shock of witnessing the dark tragedy of this world for the first time.
"Hey, by the way, can these three guys really be sold? We specifically killed their man and brought them over," the ax-wielding man asked.
"Take a good look at their faces," the fat man replied.
The ax-wielding man kicked Mikasa in the waist, flipping her over.
"She's not bad, but she's just a kid, not my type," the ax-wielding man said disdainfully.
"I don't care if you like her or not, they are Eastern people. In the past, humans were divided into several races. These guys are descendants of the Higashi Clan who fled from a place called the Eastern to Inside the Walls.
Take these guys to the Underground City in the Royal Government and auction them off to those perverted old masters. The other Eastern people are almost extinct, so they'll definitely fetch a good price," the fat man replied calmly.
"Their father doesn't look like an Eastern person. She's not pure-blooded Eastern," the ax-wielding man said snidely.
The fat man smiled slightly upon hearing this:
"Yes, but it doesn't matter, their mother is a pure-blooded Eastern. You absolutely cannot injure her body, and her skin must not be damaged, otherwise, we'll lose a lot of money!"
"Tch, I wanted to taste her too!" the ax-wielding man retorted stubbornly.
The boy lying on his side on the ground suddenly opened his eyes. Kanzaki woke up. After a good sleep, he felt his strength replenished again, and his mental state had returned to its peak.
Kanzaki had already determined that the side effect of his ability was actually fatigue, and he could return to his peak state simply by sleeping, with no sequelae whatsoever.
At this moment, Kanzaki's gaze towards the traffickers became increasingly sharp. The values he had deeply absorbed from a peaceful era began to crumble in his heart, constantly being reshaped, and killing intent began to spread. This was an irredeemable era of sin, and the root cause lay in the inaction of the current Royal Government.
Kanzaki looked at Mrs. Ackerman, who had not yet woken up, and felt a slight relief in his heart. He then glanced at Mikasa, who was lying on the ground. Mikasa had been awake the whole time, her eyes filled with pain and numbness. He frowned, feeling immense heartache. He knew that Mikasa was facing a spiritual dilemma at this moment.
"Is anyone there?" Along with the sound of a door opening, a familiar voice entered Kanzaki's ears.
Eren? Kanzaki's eyes widened and shone for a moment. The rope in his hand emitted a puff of smoke, and soon it fell off.
The two traffickers' expressions instantly tensed. The ax-wielding man shoved the door open.
"You brat, what are you doing here?!" the ax-wielding man roared.
"Uh, well, I got lost in the forest and ended up here," Eren said, tears still welling up in his eyes.
The ax-wielding man, at the fat man's signal, began to use his trickery to coax the child.
"Don't be afraid, there are big bad wolves in the forest, you know. If you just follow us uncles…" Before he could finish, a dagger had already pierced his heart. The ax-wielding man looked at Eren in disbelief.
"Die, you scum," Eren gritted his teeth.
At the same moment, Kanzaki suddenly kicked off and lunged at the sitting fat man, and the wooden floorboards shattered again with a crash.
He swung the side of his hand like a blade, striking hard at the man's neck. This most fragile part of the body was severed instantly by Kanzaki's full-force blow, chunks of flesh mixed with blood flying out and landing on the floor.
The fat man clutched his bleeding neck, his eyes wide, his face twisted in pain and ferocity. He had no idea what had happened. He gibbered incoherently, and soon fell to the ground, twisting his body in agony, suffocating to death.
Seeing this, Eren quickly took the dagger and stabbed the dying fat man twice more.
"You damn scumbag, you beast, die! Die!" Eren kept swinging the dagger in his hand, his expression ferocious and savage, striking with powerful blows again and again, blood constantly splattering onto him.
At this point, the corpse beneath Eren had already been hacked into a bloody mess by Eren.
Was this Eren's first time killing someone?
Kanzaki frowned, watching Eren's frenzied desecration of the corpse, feeling a strong physical discomfort.
Kanzaki looked at the blood on his hands, feeling immense disgust and revulsion. He violently rubbed his hands against the wall and wooden boards, leaving a long bloodstain on the wall. Afterward, Kanzaki quickly ran to untie Mikasa and Mrs. Ackerman.
"It's alright now," Kanzaki hugged Mikasa tightly, cradling her head, and gently stroking and comforting her.
Mikasa's eyes gradually regained their light, but upon seeing the blood splattered by Eren's violent mutilation of the corpse with the dagger, her pupils trembled slightly.
Kanzaki saw it and immediately looked at Eren.
Due to the sudden attack and the inexplicable massacre by the traffickers, he felt an innate anger and resistance towards such killing and bloodshed. "Please stop, you're scaring my sister," Kanzaki shouted at Eren, displeased.
Eren heard this and stood up blankly, looking somewhat dazed at the gruesome corpse beneath him. He threw the blood-stained dagger onto the ground, took a deep breath, and walked towards Kanzaki and Mikasa, saying, "I'm Dr. Yeager's son. You must be Mikasa, you should have met my dad."
"Your skills just now were amazing! Did you teach yourself?!" Eren looked at Kanzaki, now somewhat excited.
Is his mind only filled with fighting and killing?
"Um… Let's not talk about that right now…" Kanzaki frowned, a little speechless, and subtly gestured towards Mikasa on the side.
"Oh, oh! By the way, who are you?" Eren looked at Kanzaki, a bit confused. He didn't seem to remember his dad mentioning such a person.
Kanzaki thought for a moment about Mikasa's current situation and decided to stay with Mikasa as a family member, "I am Mikasa's brother."
Eren nodded upon hearing this and said, "Eren Yeager."
"Kanzaki… uh, Kanzaki Ackerman," Kanzaki extended a hand.
Eren also reached out to shake, but noticed Kanzaki's outstretched hand was hesitant. He then realized his right hand was covered in blood, so he quickly switched to his left, only to find that hand was also covered in blood. Eren quickly tried to wipe his hands on his clothes, but his clothes were also covered in blood.
Seeing this, Kanzaki patted Eren on the shoulder, considering it an introduction.
Soon, Kanzaki fell into thought: should he activate Mikasa Ackerman's bloodline? This world was too dangerous. Mikasa would be safer after activation no matter what, but now that the traffickers were gone, how could he activate it?
Mikasa slowly came back to her senses, glancing at Mrs. Ackerman, who was still unconscious.
"Brother, there's still one more person!" Mikasa's eyes suddenly widened as she quickly called out a warning.
Just then, a burly man suddenly walked out of the next room and grabbed Eren.
"You brat! Was this all your doing?!" He fiercely squeezed Eren's neck.
"Mikasa, this is a cruel world. Faced with evil, we have no retreat; we can only choose to fight, because fighting is our only way to survive in this world." Kanzaki, with his back to Mikasa, tried to awaken Ackerman's fighting instinct through words.
Eren, at this moment, was being choked, but hearing Kanzaki's words, he still felt a huge shock. Then, he mustered all his strength and shouted:
"Fight!!"
Mikasa was deeply moved by these words. They were the murderers of her father. I want to live with my brother, I want to protect my brother, I want to protect my mother... But... Mikasa's eyes glistened with tears. She picked up the dagger, her arm trembling. Killing was still too difficult for her.
"I'm sorry… I don't think I can do it…"
Kanzaki placed his hand on Mikasa's, slowly lowering her hand that was gripping the dagger. Killing was not necessarily the path Mikasa had to choose. Let him bear this thorny and bloody path alone.