Oliver weaved through the darkness and walked towards the abandoned buildings.
The grass and shrubs rubbed against his clothes, pulling out strains of fibres.
'My stupid brother is probably there.' He looked at a dimly lit area on top of an abandoned building.
If he focused, he could even hear the giggle of young girls and the laughter of boys.
*Sigh*
Oliver kept on walking.
The kids, if they are the same age as his brother, were fifteen years olds. What were they doing inside an abandoned building at night?
'Better if I didn't know it. But today, I have to.'
Oliver made his way to the bottom floor of the building. He was not in a mood to walk slowly up the stairs, so he used his ability to grow blood tentacles and latched onto the grey, rotten walls of the building.
The windows were mostly destroyed, and even concrete was coming apart because of the roots of plants drilling into it. The building looked like it would crumble any second now.
Oliver used his ability to hook onto a few safe spots and made his way up.
The night was too dark, and his method was too unconventional for anyone to notice.
Even if they did, Oliver was not concerned.
If his memory serves him right, this was the time before the rich kids hired thugs to attack his brother.
So, only a bunch of kids would be inside the building now.
"Hey, bastard, GET UP!" Someone shouted.
*Thuck*
*Thuck*
The sound of something being hit resounded within the area.
The top part of the building was an open space with little cover.
By the time Oliver reached half way up, he heard screams.
Some were talking, a few shouting, and one screaming.
Oliver's mood turned for the worse.
"No, DON'T."
Suddenly, Oliver heard the voice of his brother. It was a muffled scream as if he was begging for them to stop.
But it was different from the scream he had heard before.
"Why would I? Kneel and beg, you bastard. Then I would stop punching your friend over here."
*Thuck* Sound of kicking.
*Aaah*
"NO. Okay. I will."
Again, Arin's voice spoke.
For obvious reasons, Oliver felt his blood boil when he heard it.
"Ah!" Oliver pushed himself away from the wall and used the chance to release one large tentacle of blood toward the top.
Instead of wasting time, he decided to go up in one swift motion.
The large tentacle swiftly flew up and latched onto the top of the building.
Immediately, Oliver pulled up his body, launching his body into the air.
*Swoosh*
His body flew into the air as parts of him turned visible under the lights. The force was too much, so he was thrown further than he intended. So, he used blood to create bat-like wings to glide down.
"Ahhhh!"
Shrill screams rang as the few teenagers cowered behind their male counterparts.
Oliver's sudden appearance caught them off guard. And his appearance, with bloody wings sprouting behind his shoulder when he descended, didn't make it any better.
"...."
The only one who recognised him paused, speechless.
'Why is my brother here?' He thought.
His brother. A coward who didn't dare to talk back to those who took advantage of him was here.
Why?
And what is with the bloody wings?
Did his ability improve during military training?
?????
A thousand questions popped up in Arin's mind.
Meanwhile, Oliver glided down onto the building smoothly. The bloody wings twisted and turned as it was absorbed back into his body.
Everyone paused, looking at this scene.
Oliver, after going through military training, had bulked up and looked a little intimidating.
The kids didn't know what to do.
"Who are you?"
A blonde kid with silver skin asked with visible hostility. His ability seemed to be turning his body into metal. Currently, one of his metallic feet was kicking a kid who was crouching before him.
The other five boys took out metal bats and even knives.
The remaining were three girls, who quickly moved to stand behind a boy who was sitting on a chair.
'The kid who is sitting on the chair is the leader.' Oliver concluded.
It was not the rich kid as he expected.
When the girls stood near him, the boy fondled their bodies and pulled one to sit on his lap.
"Victor. Ask nicely." The boy said and turned to look at Oliver.
Victor was the blonde boy with the metallic body.
"Who might you be?" He asked.
Oliver was amused by their reaction. They were behaving like experienced thugs. Even though someone older suddenly appeared before them, they were not shocked.
Meanwhile, his brother was looking at him with his jaws wide open.
"Arin, you said you would come home for dinner." Oliver ignored everything else and said.
The boy on the chair didn't like that he was ignored and yet, he kept quiet, observing everything that was happening closely.
"Brother, it's you!"
"Who else, dumbass. Dad is looking for you everywhere."
"Uh... but..." Arin's words trailed off.
He was returning home when he was told his friend was being taken away by the bullies.
Now, they were taking their time, torturing his friend right in front of him.
He didn't know why they were targeting him.
None of them could beat him individually, so they were using other methods.
Did he offend them?
When?
How?
Arin asked himself for answers.
One day, randomly, the bullies switched their target to him. Even though he beat them up, they continued to target him every day without reason.
Now, the conflict had escalated to the point they were using underhanded tricks to force him to surrender. And they were almost successful.
But how can he say this to his brother?
His brother, Oliver, was a weakling.
He was not as strong as him and couldn't use mana.
He wouldn't be able to help.
All these bullies were talented kids. The blonde kid, Victor, even had the ability to turn his body into metal. And he had heard that their leader was an A-grade talent, someone who would become an A-ranker in the future.
Even he was doubtful whether he could beat their leader.
And the obvious difference in number was too large.
'Once they team up…*gulp*' Arin gulped nervously.
'Now, I will have to even save my brother.' He thought.
"Why are you not answering me?" Oliver asked nonchalantly, breaking Arin away from his chain of negative thoughts.
"Brother, you need to leave," Arin said.
"That's not for you to decide." Suddenly, the leader of the bullies said while grabbing the breast of one of the girls.
*Aww* The girl moaned.
The rest of the bullies laughed when they heard the moan. They were taking the current situation far too lightly.
Oliver looked at the kid who was crouching before the bullies. He seemed to have vague memories of him. It was Arin's friend. Someone who died a few months earlier than his brother.
However, his thoughts were cut short when he noticed the blonde kid running towards him, his metallic hand lifted like a knife.
"Ah!" Oliver sighed.
Truth be told, he enjoyed violence. But he couldn't do what he usually did in front of his brother and friend. He was a little unsatisfied with the current situation.