93 AGAINST FATE (2/2)

”You don't have to call me 'sir.' Just Sean will do. As for the result, it will be out any second,” Sean glanced back at his trainees. A couple of seconds later, they handed him a paper. After gazing at the details, his expression didn't change by much. Lirzod stood on his toes and tried to peek, but Sean folded the paper. He then said aloud, addressing the audience, ”A total of 12581 votes were cast, so the voting is valid. At least 6291 votes must be cast in favor of the new rule for it to be passed. And as for the result...” His pause only raised the suspense in the hall. ”Only 847 votes were cast against the rule change, so it's an overwhelming victory. New—”

”We won! We won!” Hundred and Lirzod were already celebrating with Lirzod before Sean finished his speech. Those in the crowd also cheered and whistled.

”New betting rules will be implemented in the test hall starting tomorrow,” said Sean, but nobody was paying attention to his words anymore, and the atmosphere in the hall turned livelier than ever as Hundred lifted Lirzod. Others joined and moved Lirzod around on their raised hands.

Sean's eyes eventually settled on Lirzod, whom many were congratulating, ”Did the boy win, or…” his eyes then shifted toward the crowd, ”did their greed for the fish meat make him win?”

A few minutes later, the atmosphere in the hall eventually settled. Lirzod came to Sean to thank him, but Sean said he was just doing his duty and then gave him a cover. ”I wouldn't say it's a gift, but… just a little help for your journey.”

A look inside the cover revealed the small but fresh sweet potatoes. ”Thanks for everything.”

”Again, I just did my duty,” Sean stretched his lips a bit, this time not so forcefully.

Lirzod then turned around and walked. After reaching the edge of the stage, he turned his head around. ”I was afraid, thinking whether the rule would get passed or not, but... the people on your deck have proven their worth and yours, too, Commander.”

After saying that, Lirzod left casually, but his actions brought an untaught smile on Sean's face.

Lirzod and Hundred then left the hall together. There weren't very many people in the streets anymore, for most voters had long left the neighborhood.

”Did you get this armor from the foster hall?” Hundred asked Lirzod the question he had been meaning to ask.

”I just found it on some street,” Lirzod said and laughed. ”How do I look?”

”It's a bit too big for your size, and…” he knocked on it two times, ”it's tough, too. It should weigh a lot.”

”That's why I've picked it up.”

”Huh? Are you alright in the head?”

”I'm totally alright… in the head, but not so much in the stomach,” Lirzod rubbed his belly. ”I feel weak. I want to eat something so badly, but I don't want bread.” His mouth turned down.

A few seconds of silence passed.

”Ten kilos, yet we didn't even get to eat a piece,” Hundred expressed a bit of disappointment.

”Well, we have eaten enough in the commander's room, right?”

”We did, but…” he glanced at Lirzod once before looking ahead, ”I didn't expect this restraint from someone who indulges himself into eating nuts often.”

”If we go a few days without nuts, they taste even better afterward.”

”U-Uh, so that's your reason,” Hundred covered his face with his hand. ”I should've guessed it.”

”Haha,” Lirzod chortled. ”I'm looking at the positives here. Still, it takes a lot of self-control to do this much. I couldn't even last a day without nuts a few years ago, you know.”

Hundred raised his shoulders a bit, ”I can't tell if you're disciplining yourself or spoiling yourself.”

”Of course, it's the former. I no longer eat nuts when my stomach is upset.”

Hundred sighed. ”Well, I guess that some temperance you've got there,” he sarcastically said.

Lirzod suddenly stopped. ”Did you hear that?”

”Hear what?”

”The scream,” Lirzod looked around.

”Scream? It must've been an echo,” Hundred put his ears to work. ”I can't hear any scream, though.”

”No. I heard it.”

A few minutes earlier.

”How long are you going to sit here?” Booboo was sitting beside Beren, their backs resting against the wall of a room, outside in the street.

Beren was looking at the newly-sharpened knife in his hands.

”The strong walk over the weak like how we humans flatten the ants,” Booboo put his hand on Beren's arm. ”There's no need to give it a second thought because that's how the world works. The strongest decide what's right or wrong, no matter where you go. That's why it's not abnormal for children to rebel against their parents,” Booboo said in a slightly passionate tone, with a hint of bloodlust dwelling in his eyes. ”Royals do this all the time. They do it for power, but you have a better reason. Your father is near. Whatever you do to him is fully up to you. I'll be here, so if you need me, just call out my name, and I'll be there before you know it.”

”I…” Beren seemed to be in two minds.

”Believe me,” said Booboo in an urging tone. ”This knife will bring you freedom.”

”I…” after some thought, Beren shook his head. He then handed the knife back to Booboo.

”So you've decided to let him go,” Booboo's expression somewhat dullened, ”even after he brought you so much pain.”

”I've never wanted to kill him in the first place,” Beren said, wearing a lame look on his face, but his expression slowly changed for the better as he remembered Lirzod's words: All of your sufferings are not found only in you, so don't let them define you. ”I…” All the friends from different child booths had their own sad stories, some of which sounded worse than his own. Even his best friend's mother dropped her at a child booth when the going got tough and never came back, but his friend never slung mud at her mother during any of the conversations. ”I…” Beren stood and clenched his fists as his mother's image came to his mind. He remembered the time when he read one of the letters his mother wrote to her brother. In that letter, her brother looked down on them so much that he said whatever happened to Beren and his mother was their own fault, and that they were both worth dirt to anyone with a brain. Currently, Beren's blood boiled with all the emotions that memories whipped out. He took a deep breath. ”I just want to prove people wrong. I will prove that I'm stronger than I look, that I'm not worth dirt, and neither was my mother.”

Booboo's mouth slightly turned down. He took out the wine bottle and had ten full gulps before leaking out a sharp breath through his nose. ”Still and all,” he gave the knife back to the boy, ”keep it just in case as a countermeasure.”

Beren paused for a moment and then hid the knife under his shirt. ”I don't know how to thank you, uncle.”

”Just help yourself, and I'll be happy,” Booboo said and smiled.

Beren didn't smile back, but he looked focused. As he approached a nearby room, his heart began to beat loudly, and the memories of his mother from months ago flashed in his mind.

”I'm probably gonna die soon, but don't cry for me for days on end, Beren.”

”Aren't you afraid of death, mom? One of my friends said death is like a deep sleep, and one can't wake up from it.”

She was a little surprised. ”Yeah, it's like a deep sleep, but there are many things scarier than death in this world,” she told Beren. ”For one, sickness is worse than death. So many times every day, I feel like ending my own life, but I feel, yielding to defeat is worse than death. That's why I'm clinging onto life, fighting against my fate, so I can raise you long enough to bring you to the shore. Then I can peacefully...”

”Don't worry, mom. Even if you fall into a deep sleep, I will wake you up for sure.”

”Haha, how are you gonna do that?”

”By giving you hugs and kisses!” he jumped on her and cuddled her.

Coming back to the present, Beren's eyes had a layer of tears, but they didn't wet his eyelashes, much less stream down his cheeks. He was considering how foolish it was of him to think he could wake his mother up from deep sleep when nobody had ever done it before. He failed his mother back then, but at least now, he wanted to set things straight with someone else before they entered deep sleep, too.

About fifty feet away, inside a room.

There were ten trainees near the bed where Nick was resting. Together, they already offered him some fruits—mostly apples and bananas. After all, the amount wouldn't amount to much had they given him individually.

”Are you feeling okay now, brother?”

”Yeah, I think I'm out of danger,” Nick replied in a friendly tone and beamed a smile. ”Thanks for visiting me.”

”What are you saying? You are like our big brother. We've practiced together for many months. If we can't even come to see you, how are we supposed to show our faces to you later?”

”Haha, you guys are too frank.”

”By the way, Brother, who was that healer that helped you? We heard he's not from around here.”

”Ah…” Nick didn't know what to say. ”That… He was someone who owed me in the past. He came to repay the favor. Simple as that.”

”Oh, to treat such a threatening injury so fast, he must've been a skilled healer.”

”To my luck, yes,” Nick said and then went into deep thought. (Why is Mr. Roseberry interested in recruiting that fellow even though it hasn't been long since he boarded the ship? He even wants me to try and persuade him. I want to go and see that guy quickly, but resting on this bed will gain me more sympathy. He gave a once over at the ten guys. I don't care much about these idiots, but I hope that Sean will come to see me. I will make use of that opportunity and persuade him to teach me his martial art.)

At that moment, Nick and others heard the sound of footsteps, for someone entered the room. When the ten people looked back, some of them recognized Beren and got quite surprised.

Nick, who tried to look through the gaps between the ten guys, couldn't clearly see who it was. Is it Sean? ”Who is it?”

”I-It's…” the ten guys didn't know what to say, and they moved aside, bringing Beren into Nick's view.

Nick's expression froze fleetingly, but then his brows squeezed together, and his head tilted down a bit. His eyes, however, were still fixed on Beren, who was staring right back at him. ”I don't even want to look at that trash. Someone kick that piece of shit away. If he's here by the time I open my eyes...” he clenched his fists. ”I don't know what I'll do to him.”

”You heard him, kid!” one of the guys barked, especially to intimidate. ”Leave!”

”I only came here to say just one thing,” Beren said, trying to look confident, ”and then I'll be on my way.”

”Didn't you hear us?” a man walked toward Beren. ”Not only did you dare hurt your own father, but now you are also trying to test his patience and goodwill!”

”Patience? Goodwill?” Beren ground his teeth, and all the emotions he had been keeping in check burst out at once. ”That fat guy sitting on the bed has none of those. In fact, he's so sympathetic that he left my mother to live on her own after knowing that she was with a child!” His words surprised the men and briefly froze them in their tracks. Beren continued, ”I don't care why he abandoned her, but I just want him to know...” as he was saying, one of the men quickly grabbed his hand and dragged him out, but he didn't put his hand on Beren's mouth, so Beren shouted, ”My mother, Quinna Kimani, never once spoke a bad word about you.”

Nick frowned for a moment, but then his fists loosened, and his eyes opened. ”Bring him in.”

Hearing Nick's words, the man pushed Beren back into the room.

”You can kill me if you want,” Beren said, his knees were struggling to stand straight. ”I'm not afraid.”

”Check him,” said Nick in an emotionless tone.

Another man came to Beren and inspected him and found the knife right away. As the knife got taken away, Beren's heart pounded against his chest harder than ever.

Nick didn't seem surprised, but he narrowed his eyes like a predator locking its gaze on the prey, ”So you've come with bad intentions for the second time.”

Though he asked, Beren didn't reply.

”Why did you not proceed with the plan?” Nick asked. ”Was it because I'm not alone?”

Still, there was no response.

”Those eyes���” Nick seemed visibly disappointed, ”I can't even tell if you're looking at me or not.”

Beren shifted his head and looked away.

”Can't even look me in the eye, huh,” Nick exhaled audibly. ”I see. Quinna raised a dud. She lets me down even after death.”

A surge of rage sparked in Beren's heart. ”Don't you dare badmouth my mother!” he roared and ran toward the bed.

The other men stepped forward, but Nick's hand gesture stopped them in their tracks.

Beren jumped onto the bed and punched Nick repeatedly in the face for tens of times until his hands bled, and he eventually stopped from exhaustion. The next moment, Nick grabbed Beren's tiny throat and squeezed without wavering.

The boy's tongue hanged, and his eyes popped out, but Nick's grip kept tightening. He felt utterly powerless.

”Let me make you look a bit prettier,” Nick gouged out one of the eyeballs.

A mad pain took over Beren's head, and all the men in the room were no less shocked.

With a wave of his hand, Nick tossed Beren onto the floor. ”Get him out of my sight.”

Two men hurriedly grabbed Beren as he howled and crazily rolled on the floor from pain.

As they were taking him out, Nick looked at the eyeball in his hand. (Will this be enough to show them my conviction?) He looked toward Beren once more. ”Wait.”

”Mm?” the two men, who were taking Beren away, stopped.

Nick got down from the bed and walked toward them, scaring Beren like never before.

Beren was shaking like a twig. He hurriedly shouted, ”Uncle! Uncle! Please help me, Uncle!”

A couple of seconds passed, in the span of which Nick took a few steps, but nobody came for help. Sensing that Nick had ill intentions, one of the two men holding Beren looked at the other, and they subtly nodded to each other before making it look as if Beren managed to slip out of their grip through his struggle. After falling on his butt, Beren desperately crawled his way out on his four limbs, like a wounded rat searching for its freedom from a despotic cat.

Though Beren managed to come out of the room, so did Nick, stepping over the thin bloody trail.

Just when Beren was about to get back to his feet to make a run for it, Nick's foot stomped him back to the floor. He cried out in pain and spat out a mouthful of blood.

(One eye might not be enough. An arm, in addition to that, should suffice.) Nick pressed his foot on Beren's back harder. ”You brought this on yourself.”

Beren felt like he was getting crushed by a mountain. He couldn't breathe at all. With great effort, he looked to his right, in the direction where Booboo was supposed to be sitting, but the spot was empty. Even the rest of the street seemed empty without a soul roaming around.

”Brother Nick,” the ten members came out of the room, and hesitantly said, ”aren't you punishing him a bit too much?”

”You guys don't come into my business!” Nick yelled, his daunting gaze making him look even more menacing. ”This is what happens when someone goes against the wishes of the strong. Even if he's my own flesh and blood, a weak thing is worthless.” He turned Beren over with his foot and then picked him up by his shirt and looked at his son, who was missing his left eye, and grinned. ”You look much better now, son of Quinna.”

”Tphoo!” Beren spat in Nick's face, shocking the onlookers.

”You little shit!” Nick let go of the shirt and grabbed his throat right away. ”Do you want to die so badly? If not for the location we're at, I'd have granted your wish, but don't worry. I have my own ways of teaching you a life lesson.”

Despite the immense pressure binding his throat, Beren still kept struggling for freedom.

”The moment you messed with me, your fate has been sealed. There is no point in fighting against it.” With brute force, Nick ripped Beren's arm out and tossed the boy away, leaving everyone in utter bafflement.

Beren screamed as blood poured out of his open shoulder. Despite his cries, there was no remorse in Nick's eyes, who looked indifferently at his own son's miserable state.

Even though the pain was too much to bear, Beren, afraid of losing his life, tried to get back to his feet, and run away. His footsteps weren't under his control, and he couldn't even run straight. After going past the ten men, he couldn't keep on going for long.

Just as he ran desperately from those men, a familiar youth came into his view at the corner of the street. Though there was only about a fifty feet distance between them, after taking five more steps, he could no longer control himself and fell headlong.

Lirzod's eyes enlarged, for he had recognized Beren right away. He ran to Beren, who was already on the floor. ”Hey, kid!” he tried to talk to Beren, who already seemed to be on the verge of losing his consciousness. Looking at the boy's condition, Lirzod's blood boiled.

”That fellow is the one who won Kitchen Wars,” one of the ten men stated in surprise.

”I heard he fought against Hardy Brothers and got severely injured. But he looks okay now.”

”Then, needless to say, he got healed by someone.”

As the other men were talking, Nick took a look at Lirzod, ”So that's the rumored brat, Lirzod.”

Just then, Hundred also entered the street and was briefly revolted by what was going on. In that little time during which he tried to understand and digest what was going on, he noticed the change in Lirzod's expression.

The sheer anger flooding through Lirzod's veins made him stand and hastily stare at those eleven men, and his eyes stopped on Nick, who was still holding onto Beren's arm.

”Are you the one who hurt him?” Straight away, Lirzod scuttled toward Nick at full speed like an angry ram, his heart already gripped by rage, and a thick vein throbbing out of the skin in his right arm, but ten men were standing between him and his target.

”This is our family matter,” Nick coldly and bit casually said. ”Don't interfere.”

”AHH?” Lirzod's fuse sparked off. ”You want me to listen to a scum who assaults a child?”

When two men tried to stop Lirzod, he whooshed past them like a whirlwind.

(He can move so fast while wearing that big chest armor!) All the ten trainees were greatly surprised, especially the two in the front.

”If you don't stop,” Nick raised his voice while wearing a slight angry frown on his face, ”I won't hesitate to rip your arm out, too.”

Lirzod leaped over the rest of the men and went straight for Nick, ”Do it if you can!”

Nick dropped the arm and met Lirzod's attack with his own punch.

Both fists collided with a thundery bang.