"It seems like Mr. Michael is attracting the monsters." Liam looked at the flying monsters heading toward the town, growing in numbers.
"This is our chance… Let's go, James." Liam gestured to James.
But James still hadn't moved. Now, the hesitation in him was clear. He looked toward the town, where the monsters were also headed.
"What are you doing? The sea is this way." Liam questioned, but deep down, he already knew James's answer.
"You go ahead... I'll catch up with you later."
Hearing those words made Liam frown. He quickly grabbed James's shoulder, stopping him from running.
"You know better than I do... Don't let your grandfather's efforts be in vain."
Suddenly, flames erupted from James. The fire spread around, causing Liam to wince at the heat, but the feeling quickly subsided as Liam's energy enveloped his arm.
"Let go..." James growled loudly.
"No!" Liam intensified his energy, tightening his grip on James's shoulder, preventing him from escaping. It seemed like a small fight was about to break out, but then, the flames from James slowly diminished. Liam could feel James's shoulders trembling, and he sighed.
"Please... He's the only family I have left." James groaned.
"Alright..." Liam sighed, slowly letting go of James's shoulder.
"Thank you..." James mumbled. After that, he turned his head toward the town. But just at that moment, he felt a sudden pain in his neck. His legs wobbled, and he collapsed to the ground, unconscious.
Liam looked down at James lying on the ground, with a regretful expression.
"Sorry... I promised Mr. Michael."
***
"Huff... huff..." Michael panted, pressing his sword into the ground to keep from falling. His body was now full of wounds caused by the monsters, especially from the bizarre creature constantly supporting them from behind. He had used up all his recovery potions, but his mana couldn't be restored, causing the electric energy around him to fade.
"Damn it! I should've killed that guy sooner..." Michael began to regret being too cautious earlier due to not fully knowing his opponent. He knew that ever since the monsters surrounded him, his fate had been sealed.
He leaped into the air, avoiding the giant wings flapping toward him, then used his electric sword to block the massive tentacle that whipped at him. The blow sent him flying far away, crashing into nearby trees. The sound of falling trees lasted for a few seconds before a sharp stone spike shot toward him from a distance.
Unable to keep up with the constant attacks, he didn't have time to defend. The stone spike stabbed into his abdomen. Feeling the sharp pain, he tried to pull it out. A large amount of blood flowed out, but it quickly stopped as the heat from his electricity sealed the wound.
Before he could catch his breath, another monster rushed at him, using its large tentacle to strike him. But before it could get close, it was sliced in half by the electric sword in Michael's hand, even though the sword was starting to run low on energy. He felt dizzy, and everything around him began to blur. Shaking, he held his sword in a defensive stance.
"Perhaps by now, the kids have escaped..." He smiled in contentment, then shouted, charging into the monsters like a fish jumping into a frying pan.
"It seems the old man is exhausted..." The bizarre creature behind the monsters observed Michael closely, waiting for the right moment. Just then, he saw Michael being grabbed by one of the monsters' tentacles.
"Now's the time..." The creature immediately plunged his trident into the ground, causing earth walls to rise up, isolating Michael from the other monsters. With his strange legs, he quickly leaped toward Michael, his sharp claws aiming at the old man's chest.
"Argh!" Michael gritted his teeth, struggling to free himself from the tentacles. Electric currents burst out from his body, causing the monster pain, but the electricity quickly faded. The excruciating pain surged through his body; his energy was completely drained. Blood flowed from his chest, leaving a large hole through which one could see the surrounding land and scenery.
"James... I'm... sorry." Michael muttered his final words before his vision was engulfed by the monster's mouth.
The bizarre creature, after obtaining Michael's heart, quickly ran back to his hideout. Throughout the process, he couldn't stop thinking about the bloody heart in his hand, trembling with happiness, his eyes filled with greed.
"I finally got it... After eating this heart, I'll become the strongest in the town." He quickly opened his mouth, revealing crooked, sharp teeth, then swallowed the heart whole.
"This is power..." He felt the boundless energy from the grade C heart, but something wasn't right.
The creature frowned. "Why haven't I reached grade C? It feels like this is only the energy of a grade D heart..."
"Hopefully, it's not a big issue." He tried to wait, hoping the heart would take effect.
"Damn it..." He angrily kicked a nearby rock to pieces.
"The old man's core already had problems..."
He sighed, holding his head in thought for a few minutes. Then, he decided to grab his trident and head toward another house.
"No point in staying here... The remaining people in the town should be enough to get me to grade C."
***
"Neck hurts too much..." James groaned as he reached up to rub his neck to ease the pain.
"Where... am I?" Opening his eyes, all around him were only rocks. It seemed like this was some kind of cave.
"This is a cave on a random island, far from Atlas town..." Liam's voice rang out.
"What?" James finally snapped out of it. He remembered everything that had happened since he passed out. It seemed like a nightmare, but it was all real. He frowned, anger building.
"Why?" James shouted at Liam.
Looking into James's furious eyes, Liam sighed. "You know... you..." But before he could finish, James's punch landed straight on his face.
Liam thought to himself, "Might as well let him punch... let him cool off. It's going to hurt."
"Why?" Another punch to Liam's face.
"Why?" Yet another punch.
…
And so, 20 minutes passed. Liam lay on the ground, feeling the endless punches. He was in pain, though the injuries quickly healed thanks to his energy. But at some point, he couldn't take it anymore.
"Enough!" Liam unleashed a powerful burst of energy, pushing James away. He stood up, shouting angrily.
"ARE YOU STUPID? DO YOU WANT TO DIE?"
"Yes... I want to die..." James screamed, tears streaming down his face.
"I have no reason to live anymore... Let me die."
Liam heard this, and couldn't help but frown. He was also deeply saddened by Michael's death. This family had helped him a lot. But he was powerless too. He had promised Michael he would take James to the academy, but with his current state, it seemed impossible. Liam had underestimated the severity of James's mental state. He worried that James would soon take his own life if there wasn't a solution.
If James needed a reason to live, then this was it.
"So, you don't want revenge?"
"Do you want the man who killed your grandfather to roam free out there while you die just to escape the pain?"
Noticing that James had stopped crying and was standing still, Liam continued to provoke him.
"Do you want that to happen?"
"Do you want to die like a coward, or will you keep living and become stronger to avenge your grandfather?"
Liam shouted directly into James's bewildered face.
"What do you want?"
James was feeling overwhelmed with emotions. Earlier, he had only wanted to die because of the immense pain from his parents' deaths, and now his grandfather's death. He was angry with himself for being powerless and took it out on Liam. But deep down, he understood the situation with his grandfather better than anyone. Thanks to Liam's words, the only emotion left in James was pure anger toward that bizarre creature.
"I want revenge..." James muttered.
"What?" Liam asked calmly.
"I want revenge!" James yelled in anger.
Seeing that James had snapped out of his negative state, Liam couldn't help but sigh in thought.
"I hope what I did was right..."