40th, 7th, 519.
It was a few days after her death.
'Please. Can you at least retrieve her remains? I want to give her a proper burial.'
'Fuck off! The wolf is already cremated.' The fat man waved his hand.
The 17-year-old Varian still followed him persistently. 'Sir, is there anything she said during her last before she died.'
The fat man paused for a moment and glanced at the desperate teenager.
Not even an awakened. This teenager was destined to be a trash.
'Yes. She said something.' The fat man nodded.
'What?! Please tell me.' Young Varian asked, no, pleaded.
The fat man walked up to the teenager and Young Varian leaned down.
The fat man whispered into his ear. 'Don't tell anyone I said this, okay?'
Young Varian nodded desperately. 'Yes. I won't reveal to another soul.'
His tone turned serious. 'Swear on your dead mom.'
'Pardon?'
'It's a secret and I might be affected by doing this. So swear on your dead mom.'
Young Varian closed his eyes and gritted his teeth. 'Yes. I swear on my mom that I'll never reveal your words.'
The fat man smiled….mockingly and said word by word. 'She said, 'My son is a coward. He froze in fear. I hope he never enters Dungeons and stays safe forever.'
Thud.
Young Varian collapsed onto his knees as he clutched his hair. Tears dripped on the ground and he wailed.
Hearing these words right after losing her… crushed him.
He indulged himself in fighting and distracted himself by forgetting that scene.
Yes, he forgot about it.
But his subconscious didn't.
It etched itself deeply into his heart and soul, tearing him apart.
*** ***
Slap!
Slap!
The fat man cowered as his cheeks were completely bloodied. He looked at the demon disguised as a teenager in fear.
Crunch!
"Argggh!"
Varian crushed and snapped off a finger of fat man as he rolled on the ground in pain.
"Arrgh!"
Crunch!
"Argggh!"
After crushing the second finger, Varian smiled gently and said. "You son of a bitch! You will tell me everything I ask without omissions or I'll crush your fingers one by one, heal you back and repeat it until your mind breaks and you go insane from the torture. Am I clear?"
The fat man nodded at the devil's words. No. He tried to nod, but his head was too weak.
The slaps knocked the living lights out of him and he saw the world in a blur.
"Y..es." He whimpered as blood flowed from his nose and cheeks, painted his face in blood.
"Good." Varian smiled in satisfaction and brought the picture of a woman.
Her blue hair flowed down to her waist, and her red eyes were full of kindness. She was a beautiful woman.
Varian smiled at her picture and then turned back to the fat man.
"Do you remember her?"
The fat man peered through the blood that dripped into his eyes. He tried to think hard, but couldn't recall her.
He got a promotion last year, and he started to indulge. With greater power and resources, he lived his dream life every day. The two women were his 'gifts'.
How could he remember Amanda Konstant?
Varian saw the fat man staying still and smiled once again.
He raised his leg, and with little force, kicked him.
Boom!
The fat man felt like he was hammered as he puked out blood and crashed to the ground.
"Uargh!" He felt like his ribs were broken and his intestines were crushed.
Even though it was only a small force for Varian, it was too much for a Level 2 Earth Awakener.
Varian grabbed the fat man by the hair and dragged him to her picture. He whispered. "Late night of 36th, 7th, 519. Fire Wolf killed a woman, or that's what your reports say. Remember?"
The fat man's eyes were lost for a second before he shuddered violently.
He recalled his reason for promotion and felt that karma finally caught up to him.
"You… you…." He tried to say something, but looking at those cold, merciless eyes that shone with hatred, he could only gulp down and nod.
"How did she really die? Why was I not even allowed to see the fire wolf's corpse?" Varian tightened his grip on the fat man's scalp.
It soon turned unbearable as the fat man thrashed against the ground and whimpered.
"Tell me the truth." Varian paused.
"T-that's the truth."
Slap!
Varian held his scalp and slapped him. This time, the force was much louder and the fat man's body literally rotated.
He didn't stop there, and a golden light flashed.
Zap!
"Arrggh!" The lighting burned his skin, roasted his flesh and charred his bones.
The howls didn't stop for a while.
"Boo, heal him."
A blue light flashed and a healing potion was poured onto the almost roasted body.
Varian raised his finger, and a golden arc crackled on it.
"Wa..it… I will tell y—." The fat man pleaded, but all he got was a feast of lightning.
The healing potion kept him alive, but the lightning coursing through every inch of his body made him wish he was dead.
"Wa..it"
Zap!
"P… lea.se!"
Zap! Zap!
"A-st-.."
Zap! Zap! Zap!
Even if he tried to confess, the lightnings only increased.
It seemed less like an interrogation and more like a torture.
It was.
Varian's smile only grew brighter as he shot arc after arc of lightning.
Boo stood in the corner of the spaceship and glanced at its master like it was introduced to him for the first time.
Even though it was a holographic body, it still trembled.
'I should not piss him off…'
ZZZap!
Finally, Varian stopped. Looking at the living flesh in front of him, his smile receded.
He said. "I want to do this all day, but you seemed to be saying something."
The charred flesh tried to open its mouth, but no sound came out.
"Boo, give this thing a better healing potion."
"YES!!"
Boo hurriedly retrieved one of the rarer healing potions they found in the hideouts and administered it to the… thing.
The fat man winced as his dying consciousness was surfaced to life.
Every fibre of his body was crackling with lightning and he could no longer feel his limbs.
The worst was the pain. Every nook and corner of his body was burning and the searing pain pushed him to say those words, regardless of the consequence.
"Astor… butler." He uttered and tried to open his eyes. That was all he knew, but he tried to speak more. He was quickly running out of energy.
In fact, even uttering those words felt like hell.
The demon said, "I see. That's all you know, right?"
He nodded, or at least tried to as his face moved only lightly.
"What do you want now? Another healing potion? Or… hehehe," The demon's voice was bone chilling.
He found the energy deep within him and muttered. "K.kill me… please."
He remembered the demon was the teenager from back then. The one he unknowingly crushed and sought pleasure in his misery.
Somehow, he went from an unawakened to overpowering him in a mere year.
After what he had done, there was no way this demon would not make his life a hell.
A 18 or 20-year-old Level 3 would soon reach a level much higher than him and that'd push his life, both professional and personal, into hell.
After living the life of a king for the past year, he didn't want to live as a slave.
Plus, the pain at the moment was also pushing him to the brink of insanity.
So…
"K… ill me."
Shuaa!
A huge lightning bolt shot at the corpse and exploded it to pieces.
Varian didn't give a fuck and turned back to Boo. "Dispose this room. I want to take a nice clean bath. This blood is disgusting me. Also, find their info."
"Yes, sir!"
Varian cleaned himself thrice as he calmed down.
Meanwhile, Boo collected the information as asked.
(Astor Clan.
First Class. Only under Prime Families.
The head of the Astor Clan is an Intermediate General of Earth Army — at least Mid Level 9.
The members of their clan account for at least 10% of the high-ranking posts of Earth. They run the famous 'Sacred Halls', one of the leading training halls.
They are also rumored to have a close connection with a Sovereign.
Recent News:
Their allies, Martin Clan, which specializes in medicine, had its secret formulae stolen. They were spread to its rivals and sold in the black market.
Martin Clan stands on the brink of a financial collapse.
The day after, it lost twenty Level 7s raiding a High Dungeon. It was a heavy blow.
Another close ally, the Ganbold Clan, which specializes in mining rare minerals, also faced catastrophe.
Its mines were destroyed by Shadow Order activists. The Level 8 Vice Family head was killed.
….
As he browsed through the strange news, one article caught his interest.
'Astor Clan's servants were killed in an accident. They are now looking for new servants. At least Level 2 to apply. If you perform well, you can join the clan and change your surname.'
Varian snapped his fingers.
"Let's go!"
***
A/N: Seeking constructive criticism. Please give a review of what you liked and disliked. I want to improve the quality of the story. Your help is needed. Thank you.