Chapter 5 – Cruelty
"How could you be here and not call for us, huh?"
Grouping around Zane, the boys looked at him with amused smirks, some snickering under their breath.
"I don't recall having to tell you where I should be. Are you my dad?" Zane replied, raising an eyebrow. His sarcastic tone made the lead boy frown, his eyes growing colder with anger.
"Hahaha, running your mouth as always." Cracking his knuckles and punching the palm of his hand, he grinned with venom. "Let's see if you still have that attitude once I carve your face in, bastard. Hold him."
Without wasting a second, the boys moved in to grab Zane, who found himself cornered from all sides. Stepping back against the wall, he met their eyes with a cold, unflinching stare.
"Come here, ugly bas—"
BANG
The first boy lunged forward, arms outstretched to grab him—only to get slammed in the face by Zane's backpack. The impact knocked him to the ground, his face turning crimson from the hit.
"Y-You bastard!!" he howled in pain. "He hit me!!"
"Grab him!"
The rest of them lunged at once.
Zane hurled his bag toward another boy, hoping to land a hit, then followed up with a flying kick, sending one of them stumbling backward. But by that time, the others had already closed in and caught him.
"Let go…" he growled, straining against their grip. But physically, most of these boys were stronger than he was. It didn't take long before they overpowered him and forced him to the ground, his face pressed hard into the concrete.
"Let… go!" he yelled, fury flashing in his eyes.
"Shut up, you inbred."
Stomp
The leader stepped forward and stomped violently on Zane's face, wrenching a cry of pain from him. He felt his cheekbones rattle from the brutal blow. Then the boy twisted his foot, grinding it into Zane's face with deliberate cruelty.
"Always talking and running your mouth like you're hot shit. But who are you really? Just an ugly bastard with no talent whatsoever. Haha, I heard you want to take the Injection tomorrow, huh?"
"Hnng!" Zane clenched his teeth, glaring up at him with blazing red eyes. The boy ignored his rage, continuing the mockery without restraint.
"Wait, really?!"
"He does, yeah."
"Hahaha, that's hilarious! You really think a worthless bastard like you could get accepted? Pfft! I can't breathe!"
Laughter exploded around him as they pinned him down harder, while the leader kept stomping on his face, scraping his skin and leaving raw, bloody scratches. Zane didn't say a word. He took the beating in silence. Their words didn't matter—he had heard worse. This wasn't the first time they had jumped him like this.
He just had to endure it… until they got bored. That was his method every time, as he had no way of fighting them, and if he had one, he would've fought them.
"Come on now, speak. Why do you want to take the Injection, huh?" the leader leaned forward, grinning widely. "It's not because you actually think you can become a Dimensional Knight, right? I mean… you're not that delusional, are you?"
"…"
Zane looked down, his expression eerily calm despite the throbbing pain he felt everywhere.
"He's talking to you, you stinky rat!"
BANG
One of the boys couldn't wait any longer. He drove a flying kick straight into Zane's gut.
"GAH—!"
The air was knocked clean from his lungs, and for several seconds, he couldn't breathe.
"COUGH! COUGH! HAH!!" he gasped, curling up, choking on his breath.
"Hahaha! Don't kill him yet, I still want to know why he thinks he wants that injection. He can't even finish ten laps around the field, and he wants to become part of the strongest squad in all realms? Hahaha! Someone make it make sense!"
"It's… none… of your business…" Zane croaked. His voice was raw and strained.
STOMP
"Hm? None of my business?" the boy sneered. "Oh, yeah, you're right. It's not. After all, tomorrow, I'll be accepted into the test while you—you pathetic bastard—will stay rotting in this dying world for the rest of your worthless life. Or better yet…"
He pulled his leg away and crouched down, lowering himself to Zane's eye level.
Zane's head snapped up, trying to resist the arms that held him down, but it was useless. He was still locked in place—trapped. All he could do was stare at him.
Then the boy whispered something that made Zane completely freeze in place.
"You might follow your bitch of a mother to the afterlife," he said, voice low and venomous. "I'm sure she'll be happy to welcome her loser of a son after such a long time."
"Hey now, that's cruel, Emilio… Pfft!" one boy laughed.
"He really doesn't care! What a bully!"
"Hey, I didn't say anything wrong," Emilio grinned. "Don't make me sound like a bad guy."
He stood up, casually dusting himself off as he kept joking with his friends—completely unaware of the shift that had taken place.
Zane's expression had changed.
Until now, he'd remained eerily calm, his eyes empty even under the blows. But as Emilio uttered those words, the calmness shattered.
His red eyes widened.
Their laughter faded into an echo inside his mind. The world around him disappeared. All he could hear was a static hum… and the voice in his own head. The words had struck deep—far deeper than anything physical ever could. They cracked something inside him that had long remained sealed.
It was as if all of his patience and nerves were severed. After years of truly being patient and taking everything on the chin, hoping the hell would come to an end one day, this exact moment was the straw that broke the camel's back.
Everything that Zane kept hidden in his heart and soul spilled out like a large, unstoppable wave.
"Hahaha—hm?" Emilio stopped laughing as he glanced down. Zane's head had drooped to the ground, unmoving. He didn't utter another word or make a single sound.
So he placed his foot back on Zane's face and mocked, "Wakey wakey, Zane. It's time for school, I'm your mommy speaking~"
"You're such a piece of shit, Emilio, hahaha!"
"What? I'm just giving our friend here some good memories. I bet he misses his mommy waking him up for school. Hahaha—hm?"
Mid-laugh, Emilio paused.
Zane had lifted his head slightly. Through the dirt and under his boot, he was staring up—his red eyes glowing, locked onto Emilio's with a light the boy had never seen before.
For a second, Emilio froze.
A crushing weight seemed to press down on his chest. A cold, primal fear gripped his spine. He felt as if his entire soul was gripped and pulled out of his chest, and the pain made him forget to breathe.
Something fundamentally wrong was happening.
'H-Huh?'
"I'm going to kill you," Zane muttered. His voice was barely audible, low and flat. But his eyes… his eyes were wide open. Unblinking. Unchanging.
"Even if I have to crawl through hell on my arms and bleed until my skin is peeled off… I will find you and make you wish you had never known me. You'd better put a bullet in my head now or slice me open with a knife, because the moment I walk out of this place alive… you will never know peace again. I will help you discover what real nightmares feel like."
He said it all in a single breath. A monologue, swift and chilling—like something rehearsed a thousand times in the dark.
Emilio's face went pale. Every word pierced him like a curse.
There was no rage in that voice. No trembling emotion. Just a boundless, hollow hatred.
For a whole second, his body refused to move. It was like his nerves had shut down.
And when he finally could move… he stepped back.
His first instinct—was to retreat. All of his body begged for him to run away as fast as possible. However... how could he run away? From Zane, of all people.
'Why… why am I stepping back?! Did this bastard just scare me?!'
The realization shook him. And it didn't sit well. His ego was hit hard.
"You… You bastard!! Kick him! All of you—start kicking him, now!!" he shouted, voice cracking.
"Huh?"
"I said KICK HIM!!"
The others exchanged confused glances. None of them had ever seen Emilio like this before. He looked completely rattled for some reason, and they didn't know why.
"Well, since you asked…"
"Take this!"
BANG
A heavy kick landed square on Zane's chest, making him cough violently.
"Oh, I'm in!"
Another boot slammed into his back, while a third struck his legs.
In seconds, the group was back at it—kicking, stomping, punching—relentless. Emilio resumed stomping on Zane's face with no care for how much damage he was doing. He didn't care if he shattered a bone or even killed Zane. His fear had taken control of his mind completely.
Meanwhile, Zane remained motionless, silent. Not another groan escaped his lips.
His eyes, now blank and empty, stared ahead without seeing.
And yet…
In that fleeting moment—through blood and pain and the dark fog of cruelty—something had awoken inside him.
He felt something inside him switch for the very first time, and suddenly, all the pain he was feeling was gone completely.