"When you have nothing to lose, you are free to do anything." — Patrick Ness
Adrian wanted to walk back to the Ravencrest family estate alone, but the whispers, the insults, and the pointing fingers followed him like a plague the entire way through the city streets.
Wherever he walked by, fingers were pointed, people whispered, and the rumours floated about his miserable life.
When he reached his room, Adrian pushed open the heavy doors to his bedroom and kicked it shut.
He took a deep breath, letting the stoic mask drop. The sheer frustration of being completely powerless finally boiled over.
"Fuck this shit!" Adrian threw a punch into the stone wall in pure frustration, and the rock cracked and splintered inward.
A small crater formed on the wall, sending dust falling to the floor, and his knuckles didn’t even bleed.
He was incredibly strong, yet in this world, he was considered absolutely worthless.
Just then, a soft click came from the bedroom door lock.
"My poor, sweet baby," A soft, calming voice whispered into the room, as Lady Katerina, slipped inside.
Right behind her was Blanca, still dressed in her black dress, looking at her brother with affection.
While the men of House Ravencrest didn’t really care about him and now despised him even more now for his lack of awakening, his mother and sister had always been deeply affectionate and possessive about him.
Katerina walked straight up to Adrian, not caring about the cracked stone wall.
She didn’t care that he was officially the laughingstock of the capital.
For her, she was her baby.
As she was close enough to him, she grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him into her bosom for a hug.
Adrian let out a tired sigh, too exhausted to fight her off.
He let her pull him in.
"My baby! You must be so exhausted. Let mom pamper you." Katerina pressed his face into her soft cleavage, wrapping her arms tightly around his head.
She gently stroked his hair, smothering him in the sweet scent of hers.
"You don’t have to worry one bit, sweety," Katerina whispered into Adrian’s ears. "Your mother is there for you. Always. no matter what."
"Let them laugh, my darling," Katerina whispered, pressing her lips to the top of his head, "They are blind idiots who don’t know how outstanding you are. You are perfect."
"And your father and your brother are nothing but useless fools," Katerina’s lips curled in disdain, "You are the only true man in this family."
Before Adrian could even pull away from his mother’s suffocating grip, Blanca crawled onto the bed, as she grabbed his arm and pulled him towards her.
Adrian stumbled onto the mattress, and Blanca immediately pulled his head down, forcing him to rest it on her lap.
She leaned over him, her hair falling like a curtain around his face.
Her crimson eyes were filled with love, staring down at him with adoration.
She gently traced her sharp nails along his jawline.
"Just say the word little brother, I will kill them all," Blanca muttered, her voice shaking with excitement.
Her breathing grew heavy as she stared at his face. "I will rip Lyra’s head right off her shoulders and mount it on a spike."
"I will poke Julian’s eyes out of his skull and feed his guts to the hounds."
"And if you want... Darius..."
"Just give me the word, little brother. Tell me who to kill first. I will make them bleed for disrespecting you."
Adrian lay there on his sister’s lap, his face still pressed against her stomach.
All this inappropriate affection was suffocating, but it was the only safe haven he had in the world.
He reached up and gently grabbed Blanca’s wrist.
"No," Adrian said.
His voice was calm, and Blanca shivered at his touch, leaning closer until her chest brushed against his shoulder.
"Why? Why should they get to live after what they said to you?"
"Because relying on you only proves them right," Adrian replied quietly, "It proves I really am just a helpless cripple who needs his sister to fight his battles."
He let go of her wrist and closed his eyes.
"They are my problem," Adrian muttered, exhaustion finally taking over, "I don’t know how yet... but one day, I will deal with them myself."
Blanca smiled, as she leaned down and pressed a long, lingering kiss against his forehead.
"Yes! I believe you."
His mother breathed out softly, as she sat beside him, her fingers running through his hair, "Of course. You are so brave, son."
"Take all the time you need."
"We will always be right here, waiting for you."
The next morning, the Imperial academy courtyard was swarming with students.
But as Adrian walked through the academy hallway, hge could feel all the eyes turn in his direction.
Word had spread like wildfire. The second son of Duke Ravencrest, the most terrifying vampire in the kingdom, was a useless good-for-nothing.
And on top of that, he was dumped by his girlfriend in front of hundreds of students, nobles, commoners and even his own parents.
It was a slap not just on Adrian’s face, but on the face of House of Ravencrest as well.
Yesterday was a mess, but from the looks of it, today wasn’t going to be any better.
And just as the thought crossed his head, his path was suddenly blocked.
His dear friend Julian Montfort stood in the middle of the walkway with four of his lackeys standing behind him like obedient guards.
And hanging off Julian’s arm was his ex-girlfriend Lyra.
While she wore a skirt that was rolled up way past the academy dress code, barely covering her ass, she was rubbing her large breasts against Julian’s arm, ignoring the crowd, just to make Adrian jealous.
"Oh! Look who it is," Julian mocked, stepping forward. Sparks of blue lightning crackled across his knuckles, "Our very own, the super famous Trash of the so-called monster Ravencrest family."
"I am surprised you are actually shameless enough to show your face today."
"Sweetheart! Why are you wasting your time with him?" Lyra giggled loudly, as she reached up and traced her fingers down Julian’s chest, feeling his muscles, "Let us go some place... quiet."
"You are getting naughty already? Can’t you wait for after school?" Julian smirked as his hand dropped on her ass, squeezing it right in front of Adrian.
"Hehehehe!" She leaned into his touch, letting out a soft, pleased sigh for everyone to hear.
Then she turned her face to look over at Adrian, her expression immediately twisted into absolute disgust.
"Don’t look at me, Adrian," Lyra sneered, "I belong to a real man now. Someone who actually has a future. Someone who can satisfy my needs."
"A real man, you say? That’s funny." Adrian smirked, a dark, mocking amusement dancing in his eyes, "Up until yesterday, you were the one on your knees every night, eagerly pleasing me and begging for more. You certainly didn’t have any trouble calling me a real man when your mouth was full."
Hussshhh!
The crowd gasped collectively, as the words swept through the corridor. This was a brazen mouthful of a slap to not just Lyra, but Julian himself.
And fair enough... Julian’s face immediately turned a sickly shade of green. The veins in his neck bulged as his arrogant smirk twisted into pure, humiliated rage.
"What’s the matter? Upset" Adrian’s smirk widened, "Don’t you worry. I have already done most of the work."
"I stretched her pussy into a wide-open cave? You won’t have to work hard any longer." Adrian taunted Julian as he turned to look at his ex-girlfriend, "Tell me, Lyra... Can you even feel that tiny thing of his inside you?"
Lyra’s face turned bright red with absolute fury and embarrassment. "Shut up! Kill him! Julian, break his legs!"
"You are going to eat those words, you trash," Julian spat. He raised his hand. A thick bolt of blue lightning shot out of his palm, aimed directly at Adrian’s chest.
It was fast, but Julian was only a recently awakened individual. He was inexperienced. He was sloppy.
Adrian tilted his body sideways. The lightning bolt completely missed, blowing a chunk of stone out of the wall behind him.
Before Julian could even blink, Adrian closed the distance between them thanks to his vampire strength.
He may not have awakened, but his physical strength were easily equivalent to an Iron Stage warrior.
Before Julian could react, Adrian had alread grabbed Julian by the throat, as he lifted the arrogant brat off the ground.
"Achkk... Ghk!" Julian choked, a strangled gurgle ripping out of him as his feet kicked helplessly in the air.
"Is this your real man?" Adrian asked, his voice calm as Adrian slammed Julian brutally into the nearest stone pillar.
THUD!
CRACK!
"AAARGHH!" Julian screamed in agony as his ribs fractured from the impact, a broken, high wail tearing out of his throat.
"Ghhk... Aah! My chest... My chest!"
Lyra shrieked, backing away in terror, as she turned towards the lackeys who were standing still on their spot like useless dolls.
"What are you doing?! Help him! Kill the freak!"
The four lackeys finally snapped out of their shock and charged.
"Let him go!" the lead lackey roared, drawing a broadsword coated in wind magic.
Adrian tossed Julian into the dirt like a bag of garbage.
WHUMP!
Julian hit the ground on his shattered side.
"Ugh... hhhaah! Aaagh...!" A raw groan spilled out of him as he curled in, clutching his chest, wheezing through the pain.
Adrian spun around just as the first lackey swung the glowing sword at his neck.
Adrian ducked under the blade, and drove a powerful right hook into the man’s stomach.
BOOM!
"GUH! OOORGHH!" The lackey’s breath exploded out of his lungs. The physical force of the blow shattered the lackey’s ribs.
"Hhk—blargh!" The man vomited blood and collapsed instantly twitching on the stone groaning in pain, "Aaahhk... hhgh..."
Just then the second lackey lunged forward with a spear. But Adrian sidestepped just in time and grabbed the wooden shaft.
He yanked the spear towards him and the man stumbled forward as Adrian grabbed his extended arm and slammed his palm against the elbow joint.
SNAP!
CRACK!
"UGhhh! AAAAAGHH!" The loud crunch of bone echoed through the courtyard.
The lackey’s arm bent completely backward, and the jagged white edge of his bone tore cleanly through his skin and uniform, spraying dark blood across the pavement.
The man let out a bloodcurdling scream, dropping to his knees, voice cracking into a hoarse, sobbing howl.
"My arm...! Gghhhaah! My arm! AAAGH!"
Adrian didn’t even blink, as he kicked the screaming lackey in the face, shattering his jaw.
CRACK!
"MMMPHH—!" The scream died into a muffled groan as teeth and blood sprayed.
The man tumbled across the ground, jaw hanging loose, a low, animal whimper leaking out of him.
"Nnghh... ahh... hhnn..."
The remaining two boys were not stupid and they didn’t rush in and kept their distance.
They were going to use long range attacks as they unleashed their magic.
"Earth Spike!" one lackey shouted.
Three rock pillars erupted from the ground right beneath Adrian. Adrian tried to dodge, but the rocks smashed into his knees such that the impact threw him off balance.
"Wind Cutter!" the other lackey yelled.
A sharp, invisible blade of compressed air slammed into Adrian’s back. It sliced deep through his jacket and tore into his flesh. Blood immediately spilled down his spine.
"Aghhh!" Adrian grunted in pain and dropped to one knee.
He was strong, but he was completely outnumbered and outgunned by ranged magic. He had no defence to protect his body from the spells.
Before he could get back up, a heavy boot slammed into his face and Adrian crashed backward into the dirt, tasting the blood in his mouth.
Julian stood over him, he was panting heavily, clutching his broken ribs.
His face was twisted with humiliation.
He had just been overpowered in front of the entire academy by someone he had been publically calling a cripple, a trash.
He needed to reassert his dominance.
"Hold him down!" Julian ordered frantically.
The two remaining lackeys rushed forward. They grabbed Adrian by the arms. Adrian struggled viciously, his muscles bulging, but the combined strength of the two lackeys, fueled by their mana, was just enough to keep him in place.
"You made a very big mistake! very bad!" Julian clenched his fist and threw a punch into Adrian’s gut, forcing the air out of his lungs.
"You are nothing but a cripple I can trample any time I want," Before Adrian could recover, Julian pulled his arm back and punched Adrian again in the face, snapping his head back.
"You are nothing," Julian spat, blood dripping from his lip. "You have no magic. You have no future. You’re just a filthy, rabid dog that needs to be put down."
Julian raised his right hand. Blue lightning cracked and gathered wildly around his fist, growing brighter and hotter.
Lyra watched from the sidelines, a sadistic smile returning to her face, "Fry him, Julian! Show him his place!"
Julian didn’t hesitate. He slammed his lightning-covered fist directly into the centre of Adrian’s chest.
BZZZZT!
Electricity tore through Adrian’s nervous system. The smell of burning flesh instantly filled the air. His muscles seized violently, but Adrian bit his lips to hold back his screams and not give these bastards the satisfaction.
The lightning cooked his skin, burning through to the muscle tissue, and Julian kept the current going for a full ten seconds before finally stepping back, exhausted.
Ten seconds was the absolute limit he could go for now.
Adrian finally dropped on both his knees and fell face first on the ground where he lay completely motionless in the mud.
Smoke rose slowly from his body as blood pooled out from his mouth and the deep cuts all over his body. He was half-dead.
"Let’s go. Leave the trash where it belongs."
Julian grabbed Lyra’s hand and left. The lackeys dragged away their broken bodies, and the crowd slowly dispersed, leaving Adrian bleeding out alone in the middle of the courtyard.
Adrian couldn’t move. His vision was swimming in black spots. His chest burned with every shallow breath.
The physical pain was excruciating, but the absolute humiliation burned far worse.
Why did the God do it?
He never did any harm to anyone.
So why was he left all alone to be humliated like that.
Why was he left to die.
If only he had power.
If he could awaken in his next life.
If only he gets the strength.
He will not let anyone trample all over him.
He will crush them all.
And he would do anything to get powerful. Anything.
Even if it meant signing a contract with the devil himself. He would sell his soul without any hesitation.
[DING.]
Out of nowhere, a loud, mechanical bell rang directly inside his skull.
[Compatible host detected.]
[Host: Adrian Ravencrest]
[Binding protocol initiated.]
[Linking to soul core...]
[Synchronization: 17%...]
[Synchronization: 54%...]
[Synchronization: 89%...]
[Synchronization complete.
[System initiation commencing.]
[NTR Investment System awakened.]