Chapter 18: Rage!
"Hmm..."
Asher stared at him, his gaze cold and penetrating. He had lived as a bullied outcast for most of his life, intimately familiar with the cruelty of those in power. Being ruthless was one thing, but killing someone who is trying to better others’ lives was something else entirely. It crossed a line that separated men from monsters. No matter how strong he will become in the future, Asher will never hurt the innocent.
"Tell me, why didn’t you stop him back then? Because of Stefanie, the whole slums in the outskirts look up to every one of you... If he truly wants to take over, a simple coup without bloodshed is enough. Why kill her." He sighed softly, shaking his head at the sheer, senseless greed of the Awakener society.
"He is lucky he’s dead." He turned his attention away from the cowardly Vice Guild Leader to Fat Pig, who walked towards them with a thick file of documents. She stopped before Asher, trembling slightly under his oppressive aura, and handed it to him.
He took the files, moving through them with a swift, analytical eye: "I am guessing all these belong to Stefanie, right?"
The two remained silent, staring at the ground, drowning in their own guilt.
"Alright!"
He smashed the files on the table before him, the loud smack making them flinch. His gaze was utterly cold, stripped of any remaining patience:
"Contact that illegal Lawyer of yours, and find a way to liquidate everything in five minutes... Send them to this account number." He said, showing her an account number on his phone screen.
Fat pig nodded furiously, eager to buy her life, and quickly took out her phone, and made a call. Instantly the call went through.
"Speaker."
She nodded at Asher, obeying without a second thought, and placed the call on speaker:
"Why calling me so late? It’s already 9pm." A deep, gravelly voice sounded from the other end.
"Good day, Sir Levi... Sorry for disturbing you this late. I want you to liquidate all my husband’s assets in five minutes."
Silence...
The other side remained completely silent for some seconds, processing the sudden, frantic demand, before speaking: "Did something happen between you two?"
"Yes... I want to leave, he shouldn’t have anything. Hmm... You don’t have to worry about anything, once I am gone, I will visit and pay you back." She said, improvising her lie perfectly.
"Hahahaha, alright then!! I don’t like your husband to begin with. I also have some hold in the assets, so I will do everything now... Remember your promise."
"Of course, I never go back on my words." Fat Pig said, her voice steady despite the sweat pouring down her face.
’Mr Levi... This name sounds familiar.’ Asher thought, staring at Fat Pig, whose size was twice him. He mentally filed the name away for later investigation.
’But his taste in women? It gives me the creeps.’
Five minutes later, the lawyer’s voice sounded again: "Okay, should I send it to your account number?" He asked.
"No, I will call a number, send it there." Fat Pig quickly said, and called out the numbers on Asher’s phone.
’This woman is good... You won’t even know she is trembling right now.’ He thought, genuinely impressed by her survival instincts and deceptive calm.
"Huh? This is a foreign number." The lawyer’s voice sounded, stunned by the sudden complication.
"Yes, please send it fast." Fat pig urged him quickly, staring at Asher in shock as the realization hit her.
’He didn’t use his normal bank account, but used a foreign one. Even if they track the assets, they won’t be able to locate him... This guy is dangerous.’ She thought, finally understanding just how meticulously calculated this young man was.
DING!
Asher stared at the phone, seeing the massive amount of one hundred million dollars register in his foreign bank. He nodded his head in approval; the foundation for his new guild and his wives’ cures had just been secured.
"I have sent it..." The Lawyer added.
"Thank you." Fat Pig cut him off, and quickly disconnected the call, and sighed in massive relief.
"Sir Asher, will you let us go now? I have liquidated everything, including this house we are currently in. I have nothing." She said, dropping to her knees.
Asher stood up, towering over her: "You did a very good job... Tell me, those kids, where do they live?"
"Huh? They’re all orphans. I think they play around here having the hope of seeing Stefanie." She answered in a low, shameful voice.
"Alright, then... Now, for the main event, the safe---"
"AHHHHHHH!!!!!!"
The three froze, the blood instantly draining from their faces, turning their heads to the closed door. The scream was piercing, filled with pure, unadulterated agony. Asher quickly rushed towards it, his C-Rank speed kicking in, and pushed the double door open, and froze.
Fat Pig and the vice Leader also froze in shock, staring at the absolute massacre on the compound.
Before them lay the mutilated bodies of the 30 men, their blood painting the concrete in sickening, abstract patterns. Asher stood frozen, not because of the dead bodies of the thugs—he cared nothing for them—but because of the five kids. They were all lying before the gate, their small bodies already turned cold, tossed aside like broken dolls.
Kneeling before the body of the boy, who previously pushed out his chest with innocent pride, was a black humanoid creature with long ears, and jagged claws. It kept digging into the boy’s body, pulling out his intestines and eating it whole in a sickening display of gluttony.
"AHHHHHHH!!!"
Fat Pig screamed in terror, her mind completely snapping at the horrific sight, and collapsed on the ground, fainted.
"That is a Dark elf!!!" The Vice Guild Leader screamed in absolute horror, stumbling backward.
Hearing the voices, the creature slowly raised its head towards them. It placed the bloody organs on the ground, and stood up to its full, terrifying height. Its height was a full 8 feet, with its five claws dripping with innocent blood. Its eyes glowed with malevolent hunger.
"Run!!! Run!! We can’t fight it! That’s a A-Rank monster!! We need to run!!" The Guild Leader screamed, turning to flee, abandoning all pretense of fighting. But before he could move, Asher grabbed his neck, his grip like a steel vise, and threw him directly towards the monster.
"AHHHHHHH!! You bastard!!"
BAM!!
The creature casually smashed his head with its claws, effortlessly killing the vice guild leader in mid-air. The dark elf completely ignored the falling body, its predatory gaze locking straight at Asher.
’This boy smells so good... He must have a good physique... If I eat him, I will recover my strength to the S-Rank.’ It thought, walking towards Asher, whose gaze was completely dark, swallowed by an abyssal, world-ending rage.
"How... How dare you kill the kids?!" He yelled at the creature, his voice vibrating with raw fury. His aura burst out without restraint, a golden explosion of Killing Intent smashing heavily on the monster, sending a whole A-Rank creature stumbling back to the ground.
’This?!! This Human’s Aura can actually attack someone?! But no worries, he’s just a C-Rank, I can kill him in one strike---’
The creature’s thought froze in its head, as the air around them suddenly turned freezing cold. A terrifying, abyssal black bony sword materialized from nothing and appeared in Asher’s hand.
’THIS?!!! That... That’s a Mythic-Tier weapon!!!!’ It screamed inwardly in pure, unadulterated shock, realizing too late that it had preyed upon the absolute wrong human.