Reign of Magic

2. Awakening of powers

As Neil watched his brother run, he kept attacking the people before him using the marbles in his pocket. Though the method was not strong enough to overpower them, he could at least gain some time for his brother to call for help.

First, he knocked the gang leader's gun, forcing him to drop it before he attacked the other men. His attacks were precise and perfect and at one point, one of the marbles hit his opponent's eye, rendering him howling in anguish.

Neil cheered at his small victory and continued to attack the men while he kept moving back, following his brother, glancing at him every few seconds. However, his plan completely backfired when he ran out of his marbles. All the seven marbles he had were used and now he had nothing but the slingshot.

A frown marred his face and Neil, too, started running. The men were momentarily down and it was the perfect time to get away from them. But he had miscalculated his luck and had barely turned around to follow his brother when a punch landed on his face. Blood trickled out from the corner of his lips and he hissed his pain.

"Do you think your petty tricks will work on me, kiddo?" He heard Ramin's harsh voice and his head snapped to him as he stared at him in horror.

'How the fuck did he get here so fast? Was he not....' He did not even have the time to comprehend what had happened when two men held his hands, trapping him from escaping. Neil gritted his teeth as he flailed his arms to flee from them. But the men's hold on him was strong and he bruised his forearms in his struggle.

"I will take care of your later. Let me catch that bastard first." Ramin glared at him and Neil started thrashing, making a feeble attempt to escape.

"Al..." He had barely opened his mouth when one of the men covered it, stopping him from alerting his brother. All Neil could manage was a muffled groan as he saw Alan's pace decreasing gradually while Ramin's approached him stealthily.

Neil continued to fight the men. However, it was all futile. Ramin had reached his brother and all it took was a push from him to throw Alan to the ground. And in the blink of an eye, their only source of calling for help lay shattered beside Alan.

"You two are smart," Ramin commented as he stared at the now broken phone while Alan's terrified eyes looked at Neil in worry. "But you are not smarter than me. It's not that easy to escape from me, kiddo." The man's eyes gleamed maliciously. He pulled Alan forcefully and Alan almost staggered on his feet by the sheer amount of strength he had used on him.

Alan barely had the time to stabilize himself when he was punched in the gut, followed by a kick to his shin. His legs gave away and he almost saw stars due to the intense pain.

"Alan," Neil shouted, mortified to see his brother collapse. He kept struggling. But the men were too strong for him. He was just fourteen. How could he defeat them when they were burly and powerful? He could not even budge.

Ramin was not done yet. When the boy fell to the floor, he squatted beside him and gripped his jaw, squeezing it hard and Alan almost felt his jaw break. His entire body was in pain, and he immediately broke out into a cold sweat. After that, he did not even have the strength to get up.

"Stop," Neil yelled again. "Let him go. Hit me instead. Let him go." Though he pleaded with the man to let his brother go, his words came out as an order.

"Oh, I will fulfill your wish, alright." Ramin turned on his heels and smiled deviously. "Let me first handle this one here."

He just held out his hand and one of his lackeys handed him the baseball bat. "Do you know why I do not prefer using a gun?" He stood suddenly and Alan's eyes widened when he heard the metallic bat clanking beside his ear. "I prefer smashing heads. It is more fun."

He struck the metal bat on the asbestos road and the jarring sound made Alan tremble. But he heard his brother holler before the man could hit him and smash his head. What he saw, shocked Alan completely.

Neil's eyes had turned red and even from where he was, he could see the red streaks in his eyes and Alan's lips parted, dumbfounded to see his state. Something about his brother had changed. But he could not point out what except for his eyes.

Neil gritted his teeth and mustered his strength; when he did so, he felt a surge of power in him. He had no idea what was happening. All his focus was on his brother and the man ready to strike his head. The power in him clouded his mind and he lost control immediately.

The men were stunned by the boy's shout. Then, just as one of them was about to punch him again to shut him up, the boy caught his hand and twisted it until the quiet road was filled with the sounds of bones breaking.

The man instantly dropped to the ground as he bellowed his pain while Neil stared at him coldly. He then kicked him hard and focused on the other man, who was staring at him as though he was a monster. He barely had time to react when his hand was wrenched behind his back and taking his momentary loss of focus, Neil snapped his neck.

Ramin was horrified to see the young boy handle two of his most muscular men with such finesse. They were rendered incapacitated in the blink of an eye.

Blinded by rage, Ramin changed his target and charged at Neil, who was already bolting towards him. He raised his bat to strike the boy.

But Neil was faster than him and he dodged the attack brilliantly. He was agile and Ramin did not even know what was happening.

Furious, he raised his bat again and this time, the boy did not evade him. Instead, he stopped him midway, his hand holding onto the other end of the bat.

Ramin was shocked by the amount of strength the boy possessed. He could not even move his arm, let alone retrieve the bat. Yet, what happened next blew his mind away and instilled fear in him for the first time.

The metallic bat in his hand exploded and shattered into pieces.