But at least, the girl is kind enough to persuade Jay to leave. So the man declines his intention to cut Dean’s hand.
However, he takes the chance to kick Dean’s chin from below as he walks toward his men. It knocks Dean’s head to the back, even shaking his brain which makes him unable to move for a moment.
Dean's brain keeps questioning why life treats him so cruelly like this. He believes he never did anything wrong to anyone so far. He only intends to protect Monica's feelings, not wanting her to be hurt by this womanizer.
On the other hand, Jay only becomes even more amused with Dean's predicament. Seeing the weak struggling only emphasizes his status as a man with power and authority.
“Peels off his tattoo,” says Jay, whispering to one of his bodyguards before leaving.
He walks away by wrapping his arm around Monica’s hips. He laughs so wild like a champion has just won his prize. Monica just looks back at Dean with a bit of sympathy, but no more than that.
One of the big dudes sits on Dean’s body, pinning him down with his more than 100 Kg weight. He holds Dean’s left hand with his foot, and then starts peeling his skin, the tattooed part with Monica’s name.
Dean screams in his agony. He pleads, but no one responds to him but the big dudes’ laughter. So many people are around, but they only watch from afar. All they can do is murmur by restraining their voices.
“Someone! Stop them.”
“Why would I risk my life to save a stranger?”
“They are Maverick Watson’s men. No one can oppose them.”
“You better turn a blind eye on this.”
It’s only the other paupers who show some concern. But those ignorant nobles push the paupers away, preventing them from making a conflict with Maverick Watson.
“Don’t you dare meddle into their issue! This town will be obliterated if you anger them.”
Dean is no longer able to bear the pain and the desperation. His screaming is dying out. At least, the heaven isn’t turning a blind eye on him, and starts crying with its drizzling.
“Bozo, that’s enough! We leave!”
Dean has lost consciousness after that torture. This is the first time he experienced this much pain, both mentally and physically.
Somehow, the unique gemstone in his bracelet is cracking after some of his blood touches it. Some kind of white, thin plasma is leaking out, and then seeps into his wounded hand.
Suddenly, all the people around him feel a weird chilling aura. It’s as if all the heat and energy around that place just suddenly disappears, being sucked into Dean’s body.
Deg!!!
They just look confused. But then...
Crash!!!
Some branches of thunder crack the night sky. And then, the rain disperses those people, leaving Dean alone, laying wasted on the ground.
Meanwhile, hazes start coming out of Dean's wounds. His peeled skin is healed by itself at a high rate.
Some paupers come to him. But then, Dean wakes up, and he starts coughing some blood.
“Hey, are you okay?”
“Can you get up?”
He rises with a lifeless face, looking so numb as if he no longer cares if he is still alive or not. Neglecting with what is happening to his wounded hand, he walks away staggered like a living zombie, while holding his broken ribs.
“In the end, the universe is still turning a blind eye on me,” he mumbles in desperation, without knowing what the universe has done to his body.
He gets back home by foot in the middle of rainstorm. To be exact, getting back to Monica’s house where he has been living in these past three years. As he opens the massive front door, he is welcomed by a middle-aged lady with a sour face.
“Where have you been? Where is Monica?”
She is Evie Lawson, Monica’s biological mother. She is so strict. But at least, she never treats Dean unfairly. She is simply strict and mean to everyone, to all her children, including Dean the freeloader.
“Getting drenched like this, look at what you have done to our house! You make the floor wet.”
She comes closer. As she touches Dean’s shoulder, there she feels Dean’s body so hot, which makes her so awry. She even sees some haze around his body.
“You? Better get back to your room and take a hot bath. You might get a fever because of this. I don't want to have to take care of another sick people in this house. Go!”
Dean just walks away, still with his lifeless expression.
“Don’t forget! You have to wake up early! Our garden is definitely damaged by this storm.”
“Yes, Mam!”
Despite the fact he is being treated like a slave in this house, he still gets a decent room like any other family member. There’s a hot bath inside his room, and he sinks his body there according to the orders of the old lady. Not long, he is fallen asleep there.
Oddly, the hot water suddenly turns colder much faster than it should be. There’s even some thin ice on the surface. That oddity shakes him, and that thin ice is just melted.
“What’s going on? How come the water getting cool down this fast?”
He is still not able to think straight. His head is still dizzy due to a high fever. He gets out, takes a towel, and then walks toward his bed. And there, he suddenly falls to the bed like a falling tree, naked.
During the night, the temperature inside his room is dropping to below 0 degree Celsius. Yet his body is hot as hell. He is even drenched by sweat like he is sleeping in a sauna.
At last, he wakes up early in the morning so fresh. He even stretches his arms, and there he realizes all the pain in his ribs has magically gone.
“Eh? How?”
He leaves the bed, and looks in the mirror, finding the drastic change in his body. He looks so ripped and fit unlike what he remembers. Even the wound in his hand is gone, the same with Monica’s name in it, no longer there.
“What happened? I believe they peeled off my skin last night. Was it just a dream?”
Suddenly, a girl enters his room. “Hey, Dean! Get your ass off of your bed now! My mom is calling you!”
Dean turns to her, and that girl’s face suddenly turns so red. She is Eliza, Monica’s older sister. And just like her mom, she usually acted so mean toward Dean, but not this time.
That girl is blushing red as she finds Dean totally naked. She sees everything, and is just stunned there without taking her gaze away. It’s the first time she learns how ripped and sexy Dean is.
“Aw, shiit!” Dean rushes to pick the towel, and immediately covers himself.
“What the fuck is that?” the girl shouts. “How dare you show that ugly thing to me?”
“It’s your fault to enter my room without knocking the door.”
“It’s my house! And you are just a freeloader here! Don’t you dare to talk back at me that way,” argues the girl by taking her gaze away.
“Sorry! I’ll put my clothes on now.”
As Dean looks for a change of clothes, that girl finds it hard to fight the temptation to take a peek. Until at some point, she accidentally meets eyes with Dean, and she starts blushing again.
“Just be quick!” She shouts as she gets out of Dean’s room.
And then, she quickly hides by leaning to the wall, holding her chest with heart thumping so crazy like war drums.
“Holly shit! What was that I just saw?”
Dean has been living with this family for more than three years now. But this is the first time Eliza feels this kind of feeling toward him.Unlike Dean who is still in the second year of academy, Eliza is not a teenager anymore. She had been dating a few men before this. Yet she still doesn’t understand why she gets this weird feeling.Dean only puts on short pants and a shirt, without wearing any underwear. He just knows, when Mrs. Lawson calls him, he has to go to her as soon as possible.“Where’s she?” he asks, after finding Eliza still standing near the door.“She… She is waiting for you in my grandma’s room,” replies Eliza, before walking away in a rush while hiding the blush in her face.“Damn! This is so awkward,” mumbles Dean, scratching his head while walking toward the end of the hallway on that same floor. “Should I apologize? How am I going to approach her after this?”He reaches the room of Eliza’s grandma. The door is wide open, but there’s no one inside. He simply knoc
The campus itself is about an hour away from the house. That’s what it takes to get there with a car. If Monica leaves without him, there’s no way he can make it by himself by pedaling a bike. “Monica, wait!” he calls as he halts the car at the front. It makes the car stop, and the driver immediately scolds him with an annoying face. “You stupid! I almost hit you!” “I’m sorry, Sir!” says Dean as he gets into the car. “Never do that again.” Monica glances coldly at him a bit. But then she immediately looks away by raising her chin high. Dean doesn’t like this kind of cold treatment. This is simply not the Monica he used to know. In the past, when they were still living in the orphanage, Monica would always cling to Dean, so afraid of losing him. Even more than that, when her parents came to take her home three years ago, Monica insisted on giving conditions to also adopt Dean if they wanted to take her back home. But as time went by, as she became more accustomed to living with
She is Tiana Whitley, the queen of the cheerleader squad. She has quite an aura for stardom with so many followers. And she has the talent in becoming the source of gossip amongst ladies, more than her abilities as the cheering squad.Dean can only clench his fists. Those fists keep shaking as he is struggling to hide his anger. Soon after the class is over, he immediately rushes to catch up to that girl to set the score with her.“Tiana Whitley!” He calls out loudly with so much dignity.Of course that one move attracts the attention of so many other students. Tiana has such popularity, and the way Dean calls her, by mentioning her complete name, makes them anticipate something interesting.Tiana turns back, and then smiles by deliberately putting on a smug face. “I didn’t know you had the nerve to call me this way? What is it now? Trying to express your feelings in front of everyone?”Due to the mounting anger, Dean sends a huge swing intending to slap her face.“Kyaa!!!”That girl
Dean doesn’t immediately apologize, as he is still stunned and confused with the bizarre condition of that room. Until he remembers some rumors, telling about a club that consists of nerds and geeks who have strong and weird interest in fantasy novels and also witchcraft. “Um, is this the so-called Illuminati Club?” he asks. “Yes, it is! Ah, um… My name is Daniela.” Suddenly, the girl with the golden hair introduces herself with a shy face. “And my friend here is Sara. By the way, are you interested in joining our club?” “No, I just came here looking for…” Suddenly, Dean hears the door closing. As he turns back, he is startled to find another girl behind him. This one is so beautiful and majestic, a bit taller than the other two, with silky long hair, in a big and long dress that is usually worn by those of nobles. This kind of attire is so rare to be worn by any other students on campus. Dean isn’t that unfamiliar with this one, because she is the most popular figure in the uni
Dean is taken aback by that question. Clearly, he has experienced some oddities in himself recently. But he keeps in denial and tries to ignore it.“Um, can I borrow your money?” asks Dean as he comes over to her. “I need to get home, but I didn’t bring any money with me this morning.”Knowing that Dean is trying to ignore her concern, Mary just puts on a tired face. But then, she takes out a piece of 20,000 Estol bill from her pocket, the third highest denomination of the Estuaria currency.She reaches it out, and Dean takes it with a bit of confusion. That one bill can help him survive living by himself for a month, not something someone would borrow to get a taxi.“Are you flexing or what? Don't you have money smaller than this?” he asks.“That’s the smallest one that I have,” says Mary.“How am I going to pay this,” mumbles Dean.“You don’t need to pay for it. That’s just half of my daily allowance. You can keep it.”“Damn! What are you? A philanthropy? I said to borrow your mon
“You look like someone who runs away from home. Where are you going?” asks Mary curiously. “Do you need a ride?”“Home? Like I have one,” replies Dean with a sour face.“No way?! Don’t tell me the family who adopted you just kicked you out of their house,” utters Mary with a disbelieving face.Dean doesn’t seem to have any interest in talking with her, and simply walks away. Hence, Mary drives the car backwards, so slowly following him.“Do you have a place to go? You know what? You could stay in my house if you want.”“What the?” Dean stops, and Mary also stops the car. “God damn it! Why are you so persistent with me? I don’t remember ever doing any great deed to you.”“Maybe you have done something good to others, and the universe brings you together with a good person like me?” replies Mary with a bit of a teasing smile.And there Dean remembers about the old beggar which he encountered last night. Only then does he pay a bit attention to his bracelet. As he takes a look at it, he
Not just the mad face, Dean also notices something strange in Mrs. Palmer’s voice. It sounds like the voice of two different people. It’s like a strong and low male voice mixed with a weak and high pitch female voice, a bit hoarse and dark, telling Dean to stay away from her.“No! Get away from me!”The commotion attracts Mrs. Lawson and Mary’s attention, who are currently in the living room.“What was that?” asks Mary, immediately getting up in a startled.Mrs. Lawson feels a bit awkward, and then politely asks permission to take her leave. “Uh, it’s only my sick mother,” she says with a unsure smile. “Sorry! I hope you don’t mind if I leave you for a moment.”Mary nods with a smile. But then, she also notices the strangeness in Mrs. Palmer’s voice when that old granny screams again. Hence, she just follows Mrs. Lawson from behind without asking her permission.Upon getting to the second floor, they both find Monica and Liza coming out of their respective rooms. Just like Mrs. Lawson
Apparently, Dean’s condition is the same. The two of them are shaking as if they are stunned by an electric current. Mrs. Lawson approaches them, but she is suddenly pushed away by some strong force, slamming her quite hard to the wall. Liza intends to do the same. But Mary appears, and immediately pulls her away. “Holy shit! What’s happening here?” mumbles Mary with her pale face. “Get away! Don’t even touch them!” Mary comes back with a certain jar in her hand. It’s not clear what she is going to do with that jar. But she simply abandons the jar on the table after finding what’s happened to Mrs. Palmer and Dean. “What should I do now? There’s no way I can trap him when it’s already like this.” She then sprinkles powder around Mrs. Palmer and Dean. Her behavior only makes Monica and Liza even more curious. Moreover, Monica, who has always known Mary as an outstanding student, now sees Mary as a stupid and old-fashioned girl. “What the hell are you doing? What are those?” “Er,