'Crap!'
Nico continued to backpedal until his back touched the far wall. His face paled. He cursed himself internally for being such a fool.
Although he was expecting something similar to happen, Lucas had caught him completely unaware. The boldness of the noble shocked him.
Now with his back pressed upon the wall, the boy watched as the two muscular figures inched closer with the third - a servant with a drooping eye - standing at the exit to stop anyone from coming in and seeing the beating that was about to transpire.
Once the first bulky lackey reached the brown-haired boy's position, he didn't hesitate. His large fist was already heading toward Nico's face.
Lucas smirked in satisfaction. He knew in his mind that the scrawny boy would break at some point. It was just all about being patient.
Nico cursed again. He hurriedly erected a feeble defence to block the strike. His forearm raised itself on instinct in the blow's trajectory.
'Damn it!' Nico groaned. That seemingly normal punch had contained a mountain of force. He already felt a large bruise forming at the point where his arm had met his opponent's fist.
With a savage grin, the bulky figure attacked a second time.
Moving his other forearm, the brown-haired boy attempted to bar the second strike from hitting his midsection. The muscular servant smirked. Nico had fallen for his feint.
The lackey stopped his attack with lightning-fast movement and quickly shifted his momentum, launching a devastating strike to the boy's face.
Still adjusting to the feint, Nico failed to react in time. A battering ram of force hit his cheek. His neck whipped violently to the side.
At the same moment, the second lackey arrived and punched toward the brown-haired boy's midsection. Nico's back arched. A cry of anguish escaped his lips.
His body crumpled to the floor. Nico raised his hands to protect his head and face and positioned himself in the foetal position. A barrage of kicks and punches assaulted his exhausted body.
He was struggling to breathe and the intense pain of each attack hitting his flesh wasn't helping either.
"That's enough." Lucas motioned for his two burly lackeys to stop after a minute of the disciplinary lesson. He approached Nico's beaten figure.
Black and blue bruises were already forming on his face.
The skin on his hands had cracked. Thin streams of blood dripped onto the white-marble floor, tainting it crimson.
"Are you now willing to shun that dirty half-blood?" the haughty noble asked with a sneer. Nico's eyelids peeked open slowly. It took tremendous amounts of energy to do something so simple.
Gazing at Lucas's features, Nico inwardly scoffed. "N-No. Never." The lanky boy licked his burst lip. Feeling the metallic taste at the tip of his tongue, he showed a bloody smile before spitting at Lucas's face.
Not expecting such an action, the fiery-haired trainee staggered back in shock.
A stunned silence descended onto the lavatory. The noble had an aghast expression on his face. His lackeys, meanwhile, wore appalled expressions. Their mouths were wide open in astonishment.
Their eyes bulged and nearly popped out of their sockets.
They couldn't believe what they were seeing!
"HOW DARE YOU?" Lucas screamed in outrage. He couldn't believe a lowly piece of trash had the audacity to spit on him.
If word got out to the public that someone had spat on the heir of the Stanburg Family, the image his family had worked so hard to build up would crumble instantly. Their rivals would mock them relentlessly.
They would become the laughingstock of the Immortal Reach.
Instead of being a Noble House which was famed for its military accomplishments, they would be the House that had an heir who was spat on by some pitiful ant.
Lucas paled. If the people back home - especially his grandfather - found out that someone had expectorated on him, a beating would be the least of his worries… his very life might well be in danger.
A subtle shiver racked the noble's body. His arms trembled, itching to lash out at the vermin who lay on the floor. But he composed himself at the last moment.
Lucas signalled for the two brutes to continue with the beating. This time he ordered them to not hold back. The piece of trash had to suffer.
Nico gazed at the fruit of his efforts with grim satisfaction. Even though he knew he was just about to receive another brutal beating - this one even worse - he didn't care. From the first moment they met, Lucas constantly got on his nerves.
That feeling was only strengthened when he spoke about Leon like some profane, corrupted thing.
To Nico, the arrogant boy had it coming for him. Damned status or not. So finally, getting some sort of revenge was very… liberating.
Cries of pain soon rang out again from the brown-haired boy. The ferocity of the pummelling he was on the receiving end of had risen a notch. His thoughts were a jumbled mess.
Nico desperately held onto his consciousness, refusing to black out.
***
For the next few minutes - something which felt like an eternity to Nico - he held on for dear life. Every kick, punch or strike that landed on him failed to break his spirit. It only strengthened it instead.
Nico used every inch of his willpower not to submit. He would just be letting himself and his father down if he did. Something which he couldn't bear to do.
'You can do this, Nico!'
Gritting his teeth until his jaw felt like it was on fire, the brown-haired boy repeated this thought in his mind. He treated it as a mantra. A lifeline of sorts.
Something which would help him get through this dire plight.
With pain overwhelming his senses, Nico soon forgot about his surroundings.
The only company he had was his mantra and the never-ending pain. More time passed. Nico was struggling to hold out. His body became even more battered and bruised.
A few times he had spat the blood that was forming in his mouth onto the floor, turning it even more crimson.
With stark resignation, the boy soon realised that several of his bones were getting close to breaking. Particularly, that of his cheeks and arms… and a few of his ribs, too. Nico groaned internally.
The pain was getting harder and harder to withstand.
Watching the vermin suffer, Lucas continuously cackled in delight. A bright grin on his face.
'Serves you right.' he thought.
KNOCK! KNOCK!
Suddenly a loud banging noise reverberated from the door outside the lavatory, cutting the haughty noble's delight short. A startled look appeared on the face of the servant with a drooping eye. He looked toward his master for guidance.
Lucas clicked his tongue in annoyance. He gestured for the two muscular lackeys to stop.
"What is it?" he called out. The person on the other side turned silent, clearly not expecting to hear Lucas's voice.
After a few moments with no response, the heir of the Stanburg Family took it as a sign that the unwelcome visitor had left. Showing a crooked smile, he turned to look in the trash's direction.
The bruises had gotten worse. Several parts of his face had swelled up and blood continued to leak from a few of the larger cuts.
'That should be enough.' The fiery-haired man mused. As much as he wanted to continue seeing the brown-haired boy suffer, he couldn't overdo it. Besides, he had been gone for quite a while.
He didn't want rumours springing up about his absence… or lengthy time spent in the lavatory. They must not get the wrong idea!
Through his blurry vision and half-closed eyelids, Nico saw Lucas smirk. The noble had said something he couldn't quite make out. But with a bit of logical thinking, it was most likely a threat.
Soon, Nico's eyes drooped. The damage he had received took its toll.
'No!'
Nico's eyes closed as he lost consciousness.