Rise of the Eromancer

Chapter 16: A Snap

Rhys was completely dazed. His mind, fleeting in and out of consciousness as he tried to keep himself on his feet—he was used to this feeling, after all.

For years, without stop, all he had known was pain. And throughout the years, he realized that he wasn't in pain because he was weak; he wasn't in pain because of his face; he wasn't in pain because he was a Lowborn.

He was in pain because there are people out there who like inflicting it on other people, it just made it easier to hurt him because he was weak.

Lex, as well as the three in front of him right now were some of those people.

When Rhys was completely traumatized by the murder of his mother, he instinctively chose to just stick to himself from then on. Even as the government threw him into Old York High School, he remained completely stoic; his entire person, hidden from the world... literally.

But then, one time, Lex saw his face.

And that was it. That was the entire reason why he has been bullied for 6 straight years—because Rhys was way better-looking than him, and a Lowborn shouldn't have that right.

And Rhys, with that thought, could not help but just laugh as he looked at the three in front of him. And with his nose and mouth drowning in his own blood from being hit right on the face, the laughter that escaped his lips truly sounded... guttural.

"Fuck... did you really turn crazy?" Rob did not realize it, but he slightly took a step back as he saw Rhys laughing with his face dripping blood on the floor.

"You guys..." Rhys then whispered; his once lethargic voice now sounding menacing as he gasped for air from laughing too much, "...you guys should have just—"

"Stop. Fucking. Laughing!" And before Rhys could finish his words, Rob once again rushed toward him; his fist, locked onto his already bleeding face.

Rhys, even with his mind still a little dazed, did not let his focus stray away from Rob; his silver eyes, as calm as they could be as he watched as Rob's fist once again passed his face. This time, however, he caught his arm and did what he couldn't do back in the police station.

He pulled Rob closer to him, before grabbing the back of his head and using his own momentum against him to slam his face straight onto the hard wall.

"!!!" The sound of Rob's nose breaking whispered into the air, only drowned by the loud snap that reverberated the entire wall. Rhys did not seem to be done, however. As Rob's legs momentarily lost their strength from the impact and caused him to kneel, Rhys slammed his knee directly at the back of his neck.

The two thugs that were about to rush at Rhys, could really only halt their steps in shock from this sudden and unexpected scenario. And as Rob fully dropped to the floor, they watched as Rhys started violently stepping on his head.

The difference in strength between a Lowborn and a Commoner is wide—but that is if both were average in their category. Rhys trained and worked out for 6 years straight, only resting his body when it needed to.

And for an untrained Commoner that did not belong to the Strength type, this difference becomes thin.

"Fuck..." The one with the razor blades sucked in a deep breath, "...What are you doing!? Are you trying to kill him!?"

The two thugs wanted to lunge and ganged up on him to stop him—but they seem to be waiting on who between them will go first. Soon, however, they found that they did not need to do anything as Rhys stopped on his own.

"Heh... that's funny..." A small chuckle escaped Rhys's lips as he removed his foot from Rob's head; his shoe, creating a sort of squishy noise as he placed it on the floor.

"You guys..." Rhys then whispered as he covered his mouth with his hands. And then, with a deep breath, he brushed his hands up—lathering the blood on his mouth all over his face and using it to push his hair back,

"You guys should have really killed me when you got the chance."

There are usually two paths that weak people take once they gain power.

Some will be corrupted by it, addicted to the power that they start abusing and using it on other people because they think it is their right to do so.

Some will be humble. And coming from weakness, they have learned and appreciate what it is like to have no power at all—and thus they only use their power sparingly and when necessary.

But for people like Rhys, who have been abused by people with power---something in them just snaps...

...and they become a bit unpredictable.

***

"...What am I even doing here?"

Outside the empty construction site, Dr. Katarina Lopez stepped out of her vehicle. She was no longer wearing her uniform but was instead just wearing a loose t-shirt that hid her large breasts, and a pair of leggings.

After all, how could she even get dressed when Rhys, who just suddenly ran out and left her in the clinic, suddenly called her at 3 in the morning using an unknown number?

[Dr. Lopez, please come. I need you.]---those were his exact words before he hung up and just sent her a location on where to go.

"...Why am I doing this?" Katarina once again whispered to herself as she looked at the building. But then, as soon as she saw an unfamiliar car parked on the lot; the hesitation on her face quickly disappeared as she rushed inside the unfinished building.

And as soon as she did so, she heard a voice whisper into her ear.

"Rhys!" Katarina looked up, before rushing to the stairs and climbing up at a speed one wouldn't expect from a doctor.

"Rhys, answer me! Are you—" And as she reached the fourth floor, her words, and legs completely stopped.

"Dr. Lopez," Rhys then very slowly turned to look at Katarina as soon as he noticed her,

"I think... I messed up. But... I finally got the justice you've always been talking about," he then said; his voice, oddly calm even as blood dripped from every inch of his body.

"Rhys..." Katarina could really only just blink a couple of times, not really knowing what to say as she saw Rhys covered in blood...

...and on the floor were three people, completely unmoving; their faces, all mangled up beyond recognition,

"Rhys...

...What did you do?"