Chapter 488: Payback 2

"You should have killed me when you had the chance. Because now, it’s my turn."

The large inmate stared at Damien for several seconds, seemingly unable to decide whether he was serious. Then, gradually, a low chuckle escaped his throat.

The sound quickly grew into loud laughter that echoed through the cell block, drawing the attention of several prisoners who had already begun watching the confrontation. He looked Damien up and down, taking in his bruised face, bloodstained clothes, and battered appearance before shaking his head in disbelief.

"You?" His laughter continued for another moment. "You’ve got to be joking."

The other two inmates immediately joined him. One of them leaned against the wall as he laughed, while the other shook his head with an expression of open ridicule.

"I think that beating finally scrambled his brain," one of them said. "Maybe he doesn’t even remember what happened five minutes ago."

The other inmate stepped forward and casually shoved Damien’s shoulder. "Get back on the floor before we put you there ourselves."

Damien didn’t move.

The inmate frowned. He shoved him again, this time with considerably more force.

Yet Damien barely shifted. The man’s expression changed.

He had expected Damien to stumble backward just as he had earlier, but the prisoner standing in front of him now seemed completely different. Damien’s feet remained firmly planted on the floor, and his body didn’t even sway beneath the force of the push.

The inmate stared at him for a moment before trying again.

He pushed harder. Nothing happened.

Damien simply stood there.

The laughter around them gradually died away. A strange silence spread through the nearby section of the cell block as the prisoners began to realize that something was wrong. The inmate slowly lowered his hand and looked at it as though trying to understand why his strength had suddenly become useless.

"What the..."

Damien lowered his gaze toward the hand resting against his chest. He studied it for a moment before slowly raising his eyes to meet the inmate’s.

His expression was remarkably calm.

"You should move."

The inmate’s face twisted with anger. Rather than listening, he pulled his hand away and drew his fist backward.

"Who the hell do you think—"

His sentence never reached its end.

BAM!

Damien’s fist slammed directly into his face.

The impact was so violent that the inmate’s feet immediately left the ground. His massive body was launched backward as though he had been struck by something far heavier than a human fist. He flew several meters before crashing into the concrete wall with a thunderous BOOM that reverberated throughout the cell block.

The man’s body dropped heavily to the floor.

He didn’t move. Silence immediately descended over the entire area.

The prisoners who had been watching stared at the unconscious inmate in disbelief. Some looked from the fallen man to Damien, while others remained completely frozen, seemingly unable to process what they had just witnessed.

Damien himself was equally stunned. He slowly lowered his fist and stared at it.

He had intended to hit the man. He had wanted to teach him a lesson and prove that he was no longer helpless. But he hadn’t expected the result to be anything like this.

He had sent a grown man flying several meters with a single punch.

Damien’s breathing became slightly heavier as he looked at the unconscious inmate.

’So this is my strength now...’

A strange thrill spread through him. For the first time in his life, Damien felt genuine power coursing through his body. It wasn’t the kind of power that came from his family’s wealth, connections, or influence. This was something that belonged entirely to him. Nobody had given it to him, and nobody could take it away.

Before he could dwell on the thought any further, a furious shout erupted from the side.

"YOU BASTARD!" The second inmate charged toward him.

Damien turned just in time to see the man’s fist flying toward his face. The punch came with enough force to injure him badly if it landed, but Damien’s body reacted almost instinctively.

He raised his arm.

THUD!

The fist slammed into his forearm.

Damien didn’t even flinch.

The attacking inmate’s expression immediately changed. He had expected the punch to send Damien staggering backward, but the impact seemed to have done absolutely nothing. Damien’s arm remained firmly in place, and his expression showed no sign of pain.

Before the inmate could pull his arm back, Damien’s hand shot forward and clamped around his wrist.

The man’s eyes widened.

Damien’s fingers tightened.

"AH!"

A sharp cry escaped the inmate as pain shot through his wrist. Damien looked at him calmly, studying the man’s reaction as though he were testing the limits of his newly acquired strength.

"You hit me with this hand earlier," Damien said.

His grip tightened further.

"Remember?"

The inmate’s knees began to buckle.

"Let go!"

Damien ignored him. Instead, he twisted his body and swung the inmate sideways with a single powerful motion.

CRASH!

The man’s body slammed into the metal bars of the opposite cell. The impact caused the entire section of bars to rattle violently, and the inmate collapsed to the floor in a heap.

The third man froze.

Whatever confidence he had possessed moments earlier disappeared completely. His eyes moved from one unconscious companion to the other before slowly returning to Damien.

The expression on his face was no longer mocking.

It was fear.

"What... what happened to you?"

Damien slowly turned toward him. For a moment, neither man spoke.

Then a smile appeared on Damien’s face. It was not a reassuring smile.

There was something deeply unsettling about the expression of a man who had spent days being humiliated and beaten, only to suddenly discover that he possessed enough strength to overpower the people who had tormented him.

"I don’t know," Damien admitted.

He took a step forward.

"But I like it."

The inmate immediately took a step backward. "Stay back."

Damien continued walking.

"Don’t come any closer."

Another step.

The inmate’s breathing became increasingly frantic. He looked around desperately, searching for somewhere to escape, but there was nowhere to go. The prisoners who had been watching the confrontation had already moved aside, leaving the two men with a clear path between them.