Garen held the sobbing Nami tightly with one arm, while raising his massive sword high with the other.
The sword came crashing down.
Though Garen's blade was a heavy greatsword, its edge was still sharp. With the weight behind it, it slashed through the air with unstoppable force.
With a crisp sound like slicing through vegetables, Arlong's terrified and panicked expression was frozen on his face forever.
In the end, he couldn't face death as nonchalantly as he had just claimed.
A paper tiger used to bullying the weak could never learn to face death with dignity.
Nami didn't look at Arlong's corpse. She simply collapsed powerlessly against Garen's chest and sobbed loudly.
At long last, she was freed from her nightmare. And finally, she had found someone with whom she could cry like an ordinary girl and let all her pain out.
Garen let Nami vent her emotions freely in his arms, but his attention was drawn by a new change in the system: the powerful Arlong had provided a massive amount of experience points, far exceeding the combined gains from the dozen or so mermen foot soldiers and officers Garen had slain earlier.
Garen successfully leveled up to Level 6.
With the level-up, his physical strength had once again taken a significant leap.
He could feel it clearly: if he were to face Lieutenant Hammer again now, he probably wouldn't even need to talk him down—he could fight him head-on.
And the new skill he acquired upon reaching Level 6 wasn't a random reward, but Garen's signature move—
A strike like a charging bull, light piercing like a rainbow, power shaking mountains, force quelling oceans, beauty rivaling Yasuo's E, and finally, the classic kill move that sends the enemy back to base—
Demacian Justice!
[Demacian Justice]: "Garen summons the power of Demacia, dealing massive damage to a target."
"The more evil the target is, the higher the damage inflicted."
This skill was still quite different from the one in the game, and the description was so brief that Garen couldn't fully grasp it.
"What does it mean by 'the more evil the target, the higher the damage'?"
Garen couldn't help but ask the long-silent system in his mind.
Surprisingly, the system responded for once:
"This skill's damage will be increased based on the target's degree of evil."
"Determined by how evil they are?!"
Garen asked, confused:
"How is this evil level judged?"
The system answered again:
"It is based on the host's own moral values, and is assessed by evaluating the target's malicious intentions and the severity of their actions."
"Malicious intentions and severity?"
Garen mulled over those two phrases, then suddenly had a lightbulb moment:
"Does that mean…"
"The worse the crimes someone has committed, the greater the damage this skill does?"
After all, minor pirates could only rob and kill. But powerful pirates could commit atrocities like massacring cities or destroying entire nations.
If the damage was boosted based on evil, then this Demacian Justice could, in a sense, be a skill that scales with the strength of the enemy—perfect for slaying villains.
But this time, the system replied coldly:
"This question does not require an answer. The host is encouraged to explore on their own."
And with that, the unintelligent system once again returned to standby mode, leaving Garen to figure things out on his own.
Many unanswered questions still lingered in Garen's mind: What was the formula converting evil level into bonus damage? Was there a maximum limit to the bonus?
And how exactly was "evil level" quantified?
Garen pondered for a long time, but couldn't come up with a clear answer.
Still, he eventually realized why the system said, "This question does not require an answer."
Because no matter how the bonus damage was calculated, he'd be using this ultimate skill to strike down evildoers regardless.
As for the rest… he'd figure it out after using the sword a few more times.
Thinking that, Garen finally let go of the problem.
Just as he was about to return his focus to the real world, a sudden noise interrupted his thoughts.
Bang bang bang!
A series of heavy, urgent metallic thuds rang out—it was the sound of fists pounding against Garen's thick breastplate.
Snapping back to reality and looking down, Garen saw that Nami was blushing furiously as she hammered her small fists against his chest.
Nami looked up from his arms, locking eyes with him. Her tear-streaked, fair cheeks were flushed with an enticing shade of pink as she pouted and shouted:
"How long do you plan to keep hugging me?!"
"Ahem…"
Garen finally realized how inappropriate his behavior had been.
Meanwhile, the onlookers around them were watching the pair—some with blessing, some with envy, some with curiosity, and others with rage.
The curious gaze came from Nami's older sister, Nojiko. She was watching the interaction between Nami and Garen with great interest, a faint smile tugging at the corners of her lips.
The angry glare came from Sheriff Genzo, who treated Nami like a daughter. His face had turned dark as soot as he glared at the knight hugging her.
"Bastard!"
Genzo finally couldn't hold it in and shouted,
"Let go of Nami right now!"
Nami, face red as a tomato, squirmed in Garen's arms—but couldn't break free from his firm embrace.
"Hold on…"
Garen silently exited data mode and returned to his real-world form, clad in a white suit. With a serious face, he said:
"When I was wearing the armor, I couldn't feel anything."
"You!"
Nami gave Garen a furious glare, then gave up her token resistance.
As they finally pulled apart, her cheeks were now completely red, and she could no longer regain her usual composure as the confident "Cat Burglar."
"Nami."
Garen stared into her eyes and said solemnly,
"I have a question for you."
"Huh?"
Nami was caught off guard. She felt the heat on her face rising again, and her heart pounded loud and fast in her ears.
She hesitated for a while, then blushed and softly replied:
"Y-you can ask…"
But Garen suddenly turned his head and pointed at a group of surviving fishmen who had already been subdued by the Marines:
"Over there. Any of those guys as guilty as Arlong? Anyone else who deserves to die?"
"Huh?"
The delicate and complex expression on Nami's face froze.
Garen, oblivious to Nami's inner turmoil, continued:
"Any cold-blooded murderers? Truly evil scum that don't deserve to waste food by staying alive?"
"I can help the Marines save some rations."
"You…"
Nami glared at Garen, then gave an exasperated huff:
"Hmph!"
The fishmen nearby all began trembling in fear.
These so-called lucky survivors had mentally prepared themselves for a life in a Navy prison, but now the death god was turning his attention back to them.
After a moment of frustration, Nami still complied and cast a scrutinizing gaze at the remaining fishmen.
Except for Hatchan, who looked visibly sorrowful, the rest couldn't even lift their heads under her stare.
"That one!"
Nami pointed at one fishman who was trying to hide his face, then said through gritted teeth:
"He used to love torturing and killing humans!"
"Over the years, he's murdered no less than ten villagers from the nearby islands, just for fun."
"N-no, I didn't…"
The fishman shook his head weakly, his blue face turning pale with fear.
"That… that was Arlong's order!"
"Heh."
Nami gave him a mocking sneer.
She knew the truth well: Arlong never forced this guy to kill. In fact, he had scolded him several times for going too far—after all, this fishman had killed a lot of the "tax-paying humans" under Arlong's rule for no reason.
"Perfect."
Garen began walking toward the fishman, reactivating his data mode:
"I just learned a new sword skill. You'll make the perfect test subject."
"Sword skill?"
Tashigi's eyes lit up instantly, locked onto Garen with intense curiosity.
Garen stood in front of the fishman and raised his massive sword slightly.
"I-I really didn't…"
The fishman tried to defend himself in terror, but couldn't find any convincing words:
"I swear I didn't…"
Garen's voice was cold and merciless:
"Face judgment."
Then, he raised his greatsword high:
"Justice!"
(End of Chapter)