Chapter 106: Heart Broken

Zaid frowned. ’So something is going on after all?’

"Who are they?" he asked.

"It’s Kael Zachary. He came with Jackson Clark and Luke Shawn. Plus, they kidnapped someone... John, I think his name was? He’d come looking for me and told me he was an acquaintance of yours."

’Those damn bastards...’

Naturally, if he no longer had control over him, what would Zayn try to do first? Stop protecting him and start hunting him down through those bastards!

’I have to be careful. Kael is a lot stronger than I am.’

"All right, calm down and tell me a little about it. Why are you here, and why are you so badly hurt? Did they hurt you?" Zaid led Erick to a nearby plaza and asked him.

Since the place was deserted, Erick was able to calm down.

"They tried to destroy my books, so I got into a fight with them... I couldn’t win. Luke Shawn is Rank E, and that Kael is way too strong—maybe he’s already at Rank C," he said, holding up the book. "I was only able to save this precious collector’s item... Remember? The one I wanted to lend you, but you didn’t want it."

Zaid tilted his head. ’What didn’t I want?’

He looked at the book...

The Shadow God Dies.

’Didn’t I want it? I read it on the way to that damn church, and then... And then it burned up, didn’t it?’

For some reason, Zaid felt a headache coming on. It wasn’t real; it was just a... What the hell was going on?

"Oh... The one where you bought two," he said...

"Two? You’re crazy. I barely had enough for one—how could I have bought two? Food prices have gone up so much that what cost $300 a few months ago now costs over 1,500," he complained.

’...’

Zaid froze.

"Anyway, those damn bastards said your name several times and cursed you. They seemed hysterical. Did you do something to them?"

Zaid remained silent... Thinking about many things.

"Zaid? Zaid, are you there?" Erick shouted.

"Hm? Oh." Zaid nodded at him. "I’d like to read that book later. Lend it to me—I think it has some interesting stuff I saw online," he said.

"Huh? Oh... If you’re finally interested in reading, that’s fine." Erick nodded and repeated the other question. "Why is your brother trying to kill you? Did you steal his girlfriend or something? It can’t be... that woman from back then..."

Valia shuddered at the mention of this.

"What nonsense are you talking about? I just don’t get along with my family. That’s all." He stood up. "Let’s go to the academy. We’ve got things to do."

"Huh? Are you crazy? Look what they did to me!" He pointed at himself. "If I hadn’t run away, it would’ve been even worse!"

"I know. That’s why we’re going back."

"Huh?"

Zaid looked at him. "What do you think, that everything’s just going to stay this way? Don’t underestimate me, Erick. If my family wants to come after me, let them come at me head-on. Attacking my friends behind my back is what cowards do." He declared and stepped forward.

Erick shuddered and somehow felt protected—a strange sensation. "Aren’t you weaker than me? What are you going to protect me from?" he complained.

"Hehe." Zaid just laughed.

He still had 556 stat points ready to allocate... If he had to fight his brother, he wouldn’t hesitate to allocate a few. He hasn’t done so yet because he thinks he’ll need them for a good talent, but he knows there are priorities right now.

They walked back to the Academy; no one bothered them the whole way. They even went up to Erick and Zaid’s room, and no one interfered with them. Erick was amazed. He thought that as soon as they set foot in the Academy, Kael and the others would be right on top of them.

When they arrived at the room, the dorm supervisor was looking at the mess.

When he looked at them, he frowned.

"Is that how you pay the academy for the room it provides you?"

Zaid frowned.

Erick tried to explain. "Professor, it’s not like that. This was..."

"I don’t want to talk to you guys! I’m going to report exactly what I saw to the administration and give them your names."

With nothing more to add, the professor turned around and walked away, jotting down a few notes.

Although Erick tried to explain, Zaid stopped him. "Let’s go inside and check it out first," he said.

Although he wasn’t entirely convinced, he nodded. "Doesn’t it bother you when people slander you?" he asked.

Zaid shrugged. "I’m used to it. False claims don’t last long—didn’t you know that?"

Zaid went inside. His room was a mess, and even the walls had been partially damaged. But what hurt the most was Erick’s little library.

Erick threw himself onto it and looked at each of his books, torn to shreds and scattered as if they didn’t matter. His heart broke in two.

"No..." A lump formed in his throat. He wanted to speak, but couldn’t. He was in shock.

His prized book collection—which had cost him so much money and effort—was now a pile of torn, wet pages. The covers were marked with a highlighter, making them unreadable.

Zaid frowned. ’Damn bastards.’

He clenched his fist and patted Erick on the shoulder. "I’ll buy you a brand-new collection. Don’t lose heart," he said. He knew how important these books were to him.

The rest of the things weren’t recognizable either. It was unbelievable that the academy would allow this kind of destruction. He had always thought that powerful families stayed out of the academy’s way for fear of retaliation from the system.

’It seems not even that stops them,’ he thought. ’Well, I guess it makes sense, given how morally bizarre it is.’

Erick looked up. His eyes were red. "Are you serious?" he asked.

"Sure." Zaid got straight to the point. "We can go together—I’ve actually been looking for some books lately anyway."

Just as he said this, the already broken door was completely shattered when a kick sent it flying into pieces.

Erick didn’t have time to react to his words. He immediately stood up and looked toward the door.

Luke Shawn, Jackson Clark, and Kael Zachary were standing there.

Kael’s eyes widened when he saw Zaid standing in the midst of such a mess. "I thought you’d never come back to the academy, you bastard. Do you know how many days I’ve been looking for you?" He stepped forward until he was standing right in front of Zaid.

Zaid wasn’t intimidated by his presence. "I don’t really care how long you’ve been looking for me." He gestured around him. "I was told you did this."

Kael smiled coldly. "I did. What are you going to do about it?"