"Mom, I am home," Adrian announced as he entered the house, but no one answered. As he started getting anxious, an old woman came from his mother's room. Adrian recognized her; she was the healer of the nearby village who had helped take care of his mother in his previous life.
"Granny Nana, why are you here? And where is my mother?" Adrian asked in a panicked voice.
Sigh, "Child, it seems your mother's condition has worsened while you were away from home. So, I was healing and taking care of her for the past ten days," Granny answered in a saddened voice.
"But how? She was perfectly fine when I left. There must be a reason, right?" Adrian questioned in a hurried and panicked tone. He did not want to lose his mother a second time. He could not see his mother in pain one more time.
"I am not sure about it, but it seems to be related to the incident that happened some days ago," Granny replied, seeming to be remembering something.
"W-what incident?" Adrian inquired, getting even more anxious about the reason for his mother's agony.
"It happened when your stepmother, Miss Blake, visited your mother. She created quite a scene and said mean things to your mother. But that was not the reason for your mother's condition. It was when she talked badly about you. About how you left the job of taking care of the horses and how you would've died in those two months of your absence.
Your mother couldn't handle hearing those harsh things about you, and her condition worsened day by day from that incident," Granny explained with a grim look on her face.
Adrian was seething with rage as he heard those words, but when he remembered his mother, his anger turned into worry as he asked, "Where is Mother right now?"
"She is resting in her room. You can go talk to her," Granny answered as she pointed towards the room.
Adrian slowly approached the door of the room, afraid of witnessing his mother's agony. But he gathered courage, put on a smile, and entered the room. The scene inside broke him. The pain he felt was hundreds, if not thousands, of times worse than the pain he felt when he died.
His mother's face had turned pale white, with bones protruding as that of a patient suffering from severe malnutrition. There were dark circles around her eyes, and she was looking at him with pure love filled within them. She had woken up when Adrian entered, as if she sensed his presence. Putting on a trembling smile, she opened her arms toward her dear son as if asking for a hug.
Adrian's smile broke down the moment he saw his mother raise her hands to ask for a hug from him. His tears started flowing as if the gates of a dam had been opened. He rushed towards his mother and entered her embrace. He tried opening his mouth to ask her about how she was, but no voice seemed to come out of his mouth. His lips were trembling as he couldn't stop sulking. But as he gained some control over his emotions, he escaped from his mother's embrace as he sat beside her.
"How are you?" Adrian asked with a trembling voice.
"Now that I have seen you, I am already healed, my son," his mom answered with a gentle and love-filled voice.
And as if this line was a trigger, Adrian lost control over his emotions. His tears began to flow out non-stop. He wiped them off multiple times but couldn't stop them from coming out. His mother once again took him into her embrace as he fell asleep in her care.
After 2 Hours...
Adrian woke up and found himself placing his head over his mother's lap as she caressed his hair. He got out of her embrace and looked at her.
"Are you alright, son?" his mother asked with a gentle smile; she looked much better compared to before now. But it wasn't enough to calm him.
A storm of fury, an unseething anger was asking to burst out and destroy everything that caused his dear mother agony.
"Yes, Mother, I have something urgent to take care of right now. I will return before night. And we are moving to Antinia City tomorrow, so be ready to leave tomorrow," Adrian replied urgently and left the room in a hurry before his mother could ask him anything.
His pain and anger were getting unbearable. He took his sword, which he bought in Antinia, and headed towards the Blake's Mansion. He had decided that today either he lives, or that wretched woman.
As Adrian rushed at his top speed, he reached his destination in a matter of minutes. He ignored the guards as he tried to break into the house. He enveloped his leg in aura and kicked the big metal door.
BOOM...
The door flew inside the house. The guards who were rushing towards him to stop him from entering the house stopped in their tracks when they saw this scene.
They all thought only one word, "Monster!" As they ran away as fast as they could. This door was made from one of the sturdiest metals, which not even a troll wouldn't be able to break. And it was sent flying with cracks on it.
Adrian entered the mansion, ignoring everything around him. There was only one person on his mind right now, Martha Blake, the woman who made his mother suffer.
"MARTHA BLAKE, YOU Bitch! COME AND RECEIVE YOUR PUNISHMENT!!!" Adrian roared, searching only for Martha. He had succumbed to madness due to his anger. This has never occurred to the calm Adrian before. This just goes to show how big of a mistake Martha made.
Martha and other members of the Blake family came out of their rooms after hearing the commotion.
"Hahaha bitch, you finally decided to show yourself!" Adrian laughed like a madman upon noticing Martha appear. Then his laughter turned into a menacing smile as he shouted, "Come, let me help you to travel to the afterlife in the most painful way as you deserve."
"What are you talking about, you slave? Who let you enter inside?" Martha shouted. But before she could utter another word, Adrian transformed into lightning as he appeared in front of Martha in the next moment.
Martha's eyes widened in surprise, but that happened only for a short period of time. In the blink of an eye, Adrian grabbed Martha's neck and started to apply pressure, squeezing it. He lifted her in the air as she struggled to get out of his grip, moving her legs in the air randomly, trying to breathe.
"Stop! Leave my mother alone!" Martha's son, Kane, who was 19 years old, attacked Adrian, wielding a sword enveloped in 2-star aura. Adrian flicked his hand, slapping Kane, which sent him flying. Martha, witnessing her son getting hurt, tried to shout, but only a low voice was heard, "Don't hurt him! Please!"
Although her plea was in a low voice, Adrian's ears captured every word clearly. Then his smile turned devilish.
"Wouldn't I be giving her an easy death if I killed her right now? She should also suffer the pain that my mother suffered," thinking that, Adrian released Martha from his grip and started walking towards her son, Kane, who was lying just some steps away from them.
Appearing in front of Kane, Adrian raised his leg and started putting pressure on Kane's head. His plan was to crush his head in front of Martha. He slowly started to increase the pressure as Kane began crying in pain -
"Aargh...
AAAAArrrgh...
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAArrrrrrGH...."
With every increase in pressure, Kane's cry of pain started getting louder. Hearing her son's cry, Martha came rushing toward Adrian as she grabbed Adrian's leg, trying to lift it. When it didn't seem to work, she held Adrian's leg as she pleaded, "Please, spare him. Do whatever you want with me. I will receive any punishment you give me."
"Oh, really?" Adrian questioned, raising his eyebrows in doubt.
"Yes, I will accept any punishment, just spare him. He is just a child!" Martha cried and begged, holding Adrian's leg.
"All right." Adrian removed his leg from Kane's head.
Then, his smile turned demonic, and he announced in a loud voice, "Then your punishment is to watch your son die in front of your very own eyes."