Feeling his exhausted lungs finally give out, Lucas fell to his knees with a huff.
"I… should be safe now…"
Clutching his pained chest with a scowl, Lucas couldn't remember the last time he'd ever pushed his body this hard.
Not really being that big on physical activity, Lucas was scrawny for a reason.
Yet somehow, he managed to hold out just long enough to make his clean getaway.
'I…I need to get in shape.'
Given that he will likely become far more physically active in the near future, it might be a good idea for him to start putting on some muscle.
That way, the next time homeless people chase him down a slum, they won't laugh at him for being so weak.
'No, wait… Why am I even treating this like it's a reoccurring problem? I never want to go through this shit ever again!'
Lucas shook his head with a sigh.
"Now, I just need to find my way home."
"I wouldn't worry about that if I were you. After all… you're not going anywhere."
Hearing a woman's voice behind him, a chill went down Lucas's spine.
Hastily pulling himself up, he turned around to see a tattooed black-haired woman glaring at him maliciously.
A cold bead of sweat rolled down Lucas's exhausted face.
'…You've got to be kidding me.'
Already knowing what would happen if he remained, Lucas immediately tried to run away. Still, the woman quickly grabbed him by the collar before he could.
"Didn't I just tell you? You're going nowhere," The woman snarled.
Balling up her spare hand into a fist, she slammed it right into Lucas's abdomen.
"GASP"
Having the wind knocked out of him wasn't a new feeling for Lucas, but it certainly wasn't something he particularly enjoyed.
As the woman released her vice-like grip on Lucas's collar, his body flew through the air before slamming straight into a nearby wall with a bang.
'Ow… That fucking hurt…'
Lucas slowly tried to lift his aching body but was sent flying once more by another kick.
While Lucas was being single-handedly beaten up by the black-haired woman, Valarie looked on at this sight with horror.
At this rate… he might even die!
However, she was too paralyzed with fear to help him.
Who knows what the one-eyed man would do to her? Or even worse, her hospitalized grandfather?
Valarie closed her eyes shut, muttering a silent apology.
"I'm sorry… Please forgive me…"
Despite not having any prior connection with the boy, she felt pity for him, someone who also ended up on the one-eyed man's bad side.
While it was the silver-haired boy's turn to suffer now… Valerie's fate wouldn't be any better.
Just as she was thinking this, a sudden scream pierced through the air.
However, instead of belonging to that of an adolescent boy, it seemed to belong to that of a full-grown woman.
"Aghhhh!"
Valarie opened her eyes in confusion, but what she saw left her dumbfounded.
The black-haired woman's face was clutching her face in pain as a trail of blood spilled down her hands.
Lucas, on the other hand, was slowly pulling his battered body upright with a wrathful look on his face.
There was a bloody wound on his forehead, with trails of blood flowing down his face.
"They say a good hit to the nose can cause an attacking shark to retreat… turns out humans aren't much different."
Lucas's bloodshot eyes scanned around his surroundings, and he quickly noticed a long wooden plank on the floor next to him.
As a cold light flashed across his eyes, Lucas picked up the piece of wood and brought it down on the black-haired woman.
(BANG)
Feeling the strength of the blow's recoil hit him, Lucas's hands shook as the piece of wood slid out of his grasp.
"Hah… Hah…"
Panting with exhaustion, Lucas looked down at the woman with a cold look.
'You get what you fucking deserve.'
Just as Lucas was about to pass out from exhaustion for the second time in one day, he heard a girl's voice call out to him.
"Is she… you know… dead?"
Sighing internally, Lucas turned his head.
'What is it now?'
Being beaten up by the black-haired woman this whole time, Lucas hadn't even realized that there was someone else watching them.
Which was why he involuntarily raised an eyebrow in the red-haired girl's direction.
'When did she get here?'
Valarie alternated glances between Lucas and the black-haired girl.
"…You do know who you just messed with, right? She works for 'One-Eyed Viper'!"
"One-eyed who?"
Valarie shook her head with an exasperated look.
"He's one of the most notorious loan sharks in the area! They say he's even a level 2…"
Scanning over Lucas's injured body, Valarie's gaze landed on Lucas's uniform.
"I can tell you're a student of the academy, so from one student to another student… well, former student… I'm going to give you some advice."
Valarie's mouth quivered as a shaky voice escaped her lips.
"Make sure to never come back here again. While you should be safe on the campus grounds if you ever come back… One-Eyed Viper won't ever let you escape. Trust me… I know."
Lucas looked at Valarie with a serious look and nodded his head.
'I never wanted to come here to begin with! Like hell I'm going to ever return!'
Feeling a pain in her chest, Valarie looked at the silver-haired boy with a mixture of longing and envy.
Due to her family's debt, Valerie would have to cancel her enrollment in the academy. Although she'd already missed orientation, she still believed she'd get the chance to attend.
Unfortunately, Viper had other plans for her… things so disgusting and vile that even the thought of them caused Valarie to inadvertently shiver.
If only she could somehow escape this hell…
Just as she thought this, a voice suddenly snapped her out of her thoughts.
"…So, you two were working together from the damn start! Just by looking at his uniform, it should've been obvious… You planned on running away to the academy all along!"
Valarie gazed at the black-haired woman in shock.
Despite the injuries she'd taken from Lucas, she had already regained consciousness!
No wait… Where were her injuries?
Taking a closer look, Valarie quickly realized the horrifying truth.
The woman's body was healing… regenerating her various wounds in real time.
As if that weren't bad enough, the woman seemed to have some kind of misunderstanding regarding Valarie's relationship with Lucas.
"Just you wait!" The black-haired woman shrieked, "We'll make sure your dear old grandfather pays in your stea-"
However, before the woman could finish, a loud smacking noise reverberated through the air.
The black-haired woman's eyes rolled up in her head, and her body fell limp once more onto the cracked asphalt pavement.
Tilting her gaze, Valarie's shocked pupils fell on Lucas, who was once more clutching the wooden plank in his arms.
"You…"
Lucas tilted his gaze at Valarie with an exhausted look.
"If you're going to run away, I suggest you do it now."
Without wasting another moment, Lucas turned around and bolted, travelling as fast as his battered body could take him.