Chapter 15

Break their ribs or a leg, and they’re nothing but a helpless punching bag.

Once he was sure he had shattered all of Alex’s limbs, he stopped casting.

The lunatic twitched on the ground, muffled groans of pain slipping past his clenched teeth.

“Khgh… ghhkk…!”

“…Wait, are you crying?”

The rabid dog from earlier was gone. In its place was a pathetic man, tears streaming down his face.

“Hic… S-Stop… Please, stop…!”

“Don’t cry, you piece of shit. I have no interest in hearing a bastard like you whimper.”

For someone who loved making others cry, his own tears only disgusted him.

But Alex continued sobbing, unable to contain his misery.

“If you don’t shut up, I’ll hit you again.”

“…Hkk! Hhk—!”

The moment he raised a finger and pointed it at Alex’s head, the sobbing came to an immediate halt.

Clicking his tongue, he knelt down and locked eyes with him.

“Alex, what the hell is wrong with you? What’s your problem?”

“….”

“You got into the beta test. You got your skills. So why the hell are you wasting your time screwing with other people instead of doing the damn quest? Do you have some kind of disorder where you have to* be an asshole to survive?”

Alex, his tear-streaked face frozen in humiliation, clenched his jaw shut.

Not because he had no answer, but because his pride wouldn’t let him speak.

The sheer stupidity of it made him laugh.

Even after getting beaten to a pulp, the bastard still refused to lower his head.

“Yeah, figures. Talking won’t get through to you. You’re the type who lives by a pecking order. If someone has power, they’re above you. If they don’t, they’re beneath you. And if someone below you dares to talk back, it’s ‘how dare they,’ right?”

“….”

“If someone resists when you hit them, it’s ‘how dare they.’ If a woman gets angry when you harass her, it’s ‘how dare she.’ If someone argues against you, it’s ‘how dare they.’ That’s why you came here to kill me. That’s why you tried to kill that guy back there. Because how dare we talk back to you.”

This mindset wasn’t rare.

It was the same logic behind abusive relationships, workplace bullying, and the way some people saw violence as a response to defiance.

‘How dare they reject me?’

‘How dare they talk back to me?’

Even if they got punched back, they wouldn’t reflect. Instead, it would only fuel their anger.

Because to them, being hit by someone lower than them was an unbearable humiliation.

Unless they struck back and reestablished the hierarchy, they couldn’t stand it.

And this bastard… he was the same.

Even if he let him go now, Alex would find a way to get revenge later.

“But Alex, there’s something you’re not understanding.”

“….”

“There are no cops anymore.”

Alex blinked.

He looked confused, like he didn’t understand the words.

He repeated himself, slowly, deliberately.

“There are no cops anymore, Alex.”

“….”

“No police. No authorities. No one will punish me for what I do.”

“…?”

A dry, humorless chuckle escaped him.

Was this idiot really failing to grasp the situation?

“Alex.”

Locking eyes with him, he spoke softly.

“If no one is going to punish me… then why the hell should I let you live?”

“…!”

Alex’s face turned deathly pale at his words.

It seemed he had finally grasped the situation.

Way too late.

A smirk tugged at his lips.

“Why do you look so shocked? You were planning to kill me. So why exactly shouldn’t I kill you?”

“Uh… Uh…”

“Unless you have a reason I don’t know about? Go on, tell me. I’ll at least listen.”

Unsurprisingly, Alex couldn’t answer right away.

His eyes darted around frantically as cold sweat dripped down his face.

Nearly a full minute passed before he finally managed to force out a response.

“M-Murderer.”

“What?”

“If… If you kill me, you’ll be a murderer! Killing a person is murder!”

“…But you were fine with becoming one yourself. Why am I not allowed?”

Alex squeezed his eyes shut, his voice trembling as he stammered out another excuse.

“I-I was… I was just trying to threaten you…”

“….”

Wow. Just wow.

There were so many things wrong with that sentence, but more than anything…

The sheer stupidity of it was shocking.

Did he actually believe that excuse would work?

“Energy Drain.”

A dark haze swirled as the spell activated.

“GAHHK!? KRGH…!!”

Alex convulsed violently, his throat tightening as if he were being strangled by an invisible rope.

So this was what it looked like when used on a person.

Tears streamed down his face as he thrashed against the ground, but he made no effort to stop the energy from being drained away.

《All magic has been recharged.》

“Guugh! Haaah…!”

“Oh, you survived?”

He had cast the spell with the intent to drain Alex dry.

Yet somehow, even after the recharge was complete, the bastard was still alive.

What an absurdly stubborn cockroach.

He stepped closer, lowering his voice to a whisper.

“Alex.”

“S-Spare… Spare me…!”

“Yeah, I’ll spare you.”

Alex’s eyes flew wide open.

For the first time, hope flickered in the terror-filled depths of his gaze.

“F-For real…?”

“For real.”

“Hic—!”

Tears of relief poured from his eyes as if he had already been saved.

But he was celebrating a little too soon.

“Though I wonder… Have you lived a good life up until now?”

“W-What…?”

“I’ll be leaving now. Someone’s gonna have to help you out, right? But who would that be?”

With every limb shattered, there was no way Alex could move on his own.

If no one helped him, he would die a slow, painful death.

And who exactly would be willing to help him?

“Oh, wait. There is someone.”

He gestured toward the second floor of the villa.

Alex’s face drained of all color the moment he saw where he was pointing.

There, staring down from the window, was the man whose life he had just threatened.

“The good news is, he’s watching over you. He might even help! Isn’t that great?”

“Uhh… Aghh…!”

“Alright, I’ll get going, then. Make sure you get treated at that guy’s place. We’ll see each other again.”

“N-No… Nooooooo!”