Henry's gaze fell on Richard.
Richard was doing his best to avoid making eye contact with Henry, constantly glancing down and sweating hard.
Henry sighed. He walked forward and sat on the empty seat at the corner of the class.
For once, he glanced at Alysa. She sensed it and turned her head, but Henry had already shifted his attention to the window.
"Sh*t that was close. Still...why did someone like her join this school? Even though this is a pretty standard school, there were many better options for the rich."
Yes, Henry could analyze anyone at just a glance. The Bucci shoes and Pado watch she was wearing made him confident that she was rich.
The class proceeded as usual, a familiar cycle of lectures and notes. The majority of them were not focused at all.
Finally, it was recess.
Most of them left, and Alysa too. While Richard got up from his seat, suddenly he felt a grip that was pushing him down. He knew who it was. He turned, offering his best innocent smile.
Henry came close to his ear and asked,
"Why did you let her sit in my place?"
Richard stated,
"Dude, it was Mr. Oswald. He's the one who made her sit there, so I'm totally off the hook. You should've just been here earlier; this is your fault."
Henry removed his hand from Richard's shoulders.
"I see. Ugh, that baldy did that purposefully."
Richard turned to Henry and asked,
"Hey! Give me your phone; a new game just dropped, I'll install it and send you a friend request. I have been grinding the ranks daily."
"Fine. By the way, she is pretty, isn't she? Good for you, rich."
(Rich is a nickname for Richard.)
"Nah, she's not my type. Sounds like you've got a crush, though, don't you?"
"Huh?? Crush? Me? Come on, Rich, I can only dream of having her as my girlfriend. She is way out of my league." Henry flushed.
Richard chuckled,
"Fair enough."
Henry's expression crumpled, his hope clearly shattered.
*Brrrring!*
It was time for the next classes to commence. Everyone returned to their seats, and the class went on as usual with lectures and notes.
The last few hours passed quickly, and soon school was over. As students began to leave,
Richard told Henry, "See you tomorrow!"
"Yeah, bye," Henry replied.
Henry grabbed his bicycle and began his ride home. However, after pedaling for a while and reaching the halfway point of his journey, he sensed that something was amiss.
He fumbled in his pockets and sighed,
His phone was gone. Right, he'd lent it to Richard earlier, who was going to install a game. Spotting a stranger, Henry went to him and borrowed his phone to call Richard. Henry dialed Richard's number, which he knew by heart.
Richard answered the phone.
[ Hello? ]
"Richard, it's Henry."
[ Is this your new number? ]
"New number, my ass! Where is my phone, you idiot?"
[ Your phone?.... Oh, damn! My bad. I shoved it in Alysa's bag when the teacher walked in.]
"Alysa's bag? Are you f*cking kidding me? And my phone is silent too."
[ Sorry, I kept it in her bag by mistake, trying to hide it from the teacher. ]
"Tch. Do you have Alysa's number?"
[ Nope! ]
"Ugh... What am I supposed to do now? "
[ Wait! I can tell your phone's location. Give me a few minutes.]
[...]
[Alright! Your phone's currently on Bellinark Street. So, Alysa's there too.]
"Bellinark? It's quite far. Guess I have no choice."
[ Good luck! Take this as your chance to talk with Alysa. ]
"This idiot..." Henry muttered to himself.
*Call ended*
With a sigh, Henry started the twenty-minute journey to Bellinark. By the time he arrived at his destination, exactly twenty minutes had gone by.
Bellinark is not a crowded city. It was still in development, which meant most people were just passing through for work, not settling down.
Henry started looking for Alysa, his eyes moving over the growing street. He looked into the small shops with open fronts along the road, hoping to see her among the few customers. Then, he shifted his gaze to the vacant lots between buildings and the sporadic construction sites that were only partially completed.
Then he found a small building that was under construction, and he approached it. Something was unsettling about it, and then he caught a faint sound coming from within. As he entered, he discovered that the noise was emanating from the upper floor.
Carefully, making sure not to creak a single step, he started up the stairs, every sense alert.
Then,
BOOM!
"What the hell is happening?!" Henry shouted as the entire building began to collapse around him.
His legs were immobilized, trapped beneath the rubble of the building. It was sheer luck that he was still alive, although he was bleeding from his legs and hands.
He slowly lifted his head. In the distance, a masked man stood, cloaked and wearing a white demon mask with horns. His eyes widened in shock—Alysa was there as well.
"Who is that man?" Henry murmured, his voice barely audible.
What happened next was unbelievable. The masked figure transformed into a cloud of smoke, rocketing towards Alysa.
At the same instant, Alysa's hands began to radiate a bright purple light. She raised her arms, and shattered rocks and even cars floated effortlessly into the air.
The masked man charged at Alysa, attempting to punch her, but she thrust a car into his path. The vehicle exploded into fragments on impact, glass showering everywhere.
Before Henry could process what was happening, the masked man began to emit thick smoke from his own hands. It spread over 50 meters.
Henry struggled, pushing aside the rubble that pinned him.
"So...superhumans exist. Crap, I shouldn't have come here."
He gradually got to his feet, but the dense smoke made it hard for him to see. He could only hear distant, muffled noises.
Then, without warning, he coughed violently, and blood splattered from his mouth, staining the ground beneath him.
"F*ck! seems like I won't make it out alive at this rate."
Minutes passed like hours.
As the smoke slowly began to clear, Henry's blurry vision sharpened — and his heart dropped.
There, sprawled across the dented hood of the vehicle, lay Alysa.
Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth. Her face was swollen, her arms and legs covered in bruises.
The vibrant look she once had was replaced by a haunting calmness. She was not moving.
Henry was in extreme shock. He couldn't fathom anything that happened.
At least one thing was sure for him: the masked man in front of him was evil. Though he can't do anything against him. To be honest, what could a mere human do?
But Henry wasn't a mere human. Although laziness was one of his negative qualities, his courage and determination made up for it.
The masked figure moved nearer to Alysa, who lay unconscious, his silhouette looming over her.
"You should've listened," he said coldly. "As I warned you—The Dread still awaits. Accept the offer… and I'll let you live."
Alysa's fingers twitched.
Blood dripped from her lips as she pushed herself up. She was trembling, but it didn't stop her from giving up. She coughed, spitting out the blood, and met his gaze.
"I'll never join such an evil clan… even if you kill me," she said, her voice ragged but unshaken.
The masked figure chuckled softly, clearly entertained.
"Haha… I love strong words," he said, eyes glowing behind the mask. "But don't take your courage too far. It might cost you more than your life."
Meanwhile, Henry was convincing himself that if he didn't do something, the masked man would kill her.
"Alright. I can't let a woman die before my sight. At least I will try to help her escape. I hope that evil as*hole won't kill normal humans," he muttered.
Henry, struggling to keep his balance, picked up a stone with trembling hands and threw it at the masked figure.
But with inhuman reflexes, the man caught it mid-air and crushed it in his fist like it was nothing.
Tiny pieces broke apart and dropped to the ground.
"Sh*t it didn't work. What did I expect?" Henry's courage dropped just like those pieces.
He slowly turned his head toward Henry.
"...Bold," he muttered. "But foolish. I was already aware of you, yet I chose to spare you. You should have seized the opportunity."
Henry smirked,
"Leave her alone and try fighting me to death."
"Crap.. What did I just say?"
Even Henry doesn't know how he got this much courage. The person before him was a superhuman. Also called an Edge user in that world.
Alysa spotted Henry through the smoke and murmured under her breath,
"How did he get here? Did he… track me down? But why? He's not even an Edge user… That man will kill him without a second thought."
The masked man shook his head in disappointment.
"You filthy rats still don't know your place... I just hope you won't regret those words."
Henry stood his ground, blood dripping from his hands, fists clenched, and his breath severely ragged.
He knew it was a suicide. But all he did was follow what his heart said.
The masked figure moved forward.
"Let's see how far your heart takes you, rat."
Smoke began to swirl in his hands at an intense rate.
****
{ Some say following the heart is better than brain. We have to see if this holds true in this situation. }
To be continued.