As soon as they were alone, Benjamin grabbed Alec by the collar and swung him around into a secluded stairway, where they could talk alone.
"What the fuck do you think you're doing?!" Benjamin hissed, saliva escaping like tiny spacecraft through his gritted teeth.
Alec returned the favor by grabbing Benjamin and giving him the same treatment, knocking him into the wall.
"Me?! Before you question my actions, think about what you are doing! Now, I do mind you targeting me, but I can handle it."
Alec's fingers tightened around Benjamin's shoulders. He leaned in close and spoke with an icy chill straight into Benjamin's ear.
"But go after Nicholas' orphanage again, and I'll take you down even if it costs me my life."
But Alec wasn't done there. It wasn't a proper threat without some substance.
He let go with one hand and landed a punch below Benjamin's ribs.
Sharp pain shot through Benjamin's entire body, and he lost the strength to stand. Alec let go of his other hand with a look of disdain and allowed Benjamin to sink to the floor.
"If you're going to harass me like a coward, the least you can do is be a man and focus on me instead of dragging in others who have nothing to do with this."
Alec left those words behind with the kneeling Benjamin and turned around before he took it too far and did something he might regret. But even if he had stayed and looked at Benjamin, Benjamin's face was facing downward.
Alec missed the confused frown that fought for a spot with the painful wincing on his face.
Benjamin stayed on the floor for a while before circulating his aura to ease the pain. By the time he left, lunch was already over, and students filled the hallways on their way to class. There was no sign of Alec.
Benjamin clenched his fists tightly. This situation couldn't continue like this.
Alec, on the other hand, was skipping class to hole up in a corner of the library that no one, not even the librarians, visited. It was a faraway corner on the first floor with books no one was interested in reading or even looking at. The books were about the mating habits of insects smaller than fingernails.
'Brother, I miss you.'
It was a collection written by a slightly eccentric magician a decade ago. They had obsessed over that topic and documented everything they could.
'I miss our talks.'
Naturally, Alec had read it all. His goal was to read every book in the library, after all. He couldn't skip the uninteresting ones just because they were uninteresting. What if he missed something that could be useful? That would be a shame, considering he had access to everything he had ever read.
'Though, I'm not sure talking to you would help.'
Right now, Alec was trying to calm himself by repeating and reading the contents of those books like they were a mantra.
'Anger management is a lot tougher with one of the Seven Deadly Sins strapped to you.'
Rage had almost consumed him. Even right now, Alec was trembling from the physical exertion of keeping his body still. His palms were bleeding from where his nails had pierced them. It felt like his jaw was about to snap.
'I really need to find a way to control these Sins.'
Coming face-to-face with Benjamin was worse than he thought it would be. Apparently, he still held a pretty heavy grudge against the guy who tried to have him killed. Who could have guessed?
It didn't help that Benjamin attacked him and accused him. It also didn't help that he had blackmailed Nicholas using Nicholas's orphanage.
Orphans were a sore spot for Alec.
If it had been anything else, he would probably have been able to control himself better. But coincidences lined up and threatened to pull another of the Seven Deadly Sins to the surface.
Considering what happened when [Gluttony] woke up, Alec did not want anything like that to happen with the other Sins, especially not [Wrath] and especially not in school.
"Alec? Are you around here somewhere? I thought I saw your back breeze past," Sarah called out in a whisper like she was talking to a startled doe.
Alec's tremors stopped, and he held his breath. He tightened his arms around his knees, perfecting the fetal position while trying to become as small as possible.
He did not want to be seen in his current state.
Fortunately, it seemed Sarah gave up when she didn't get an answer. Alec heard her footsteps fade away into the shallower parts of the library.
When silence returned to his lonesome corner, he finally breathed again. The first breath he took was unsteady, but with each time he inhaled and exhaled, his rhythm became steadier. With each breath he took, his resolve firmed.
He could get through this. He had to get through this. He was going to get through this.
Once he was finally calm enough to think rationally again, he rose to his feet and got ready to leave the library. But the moment he turned the corner, he was forced to a halt.
It wasn't because Sarah had sneaked back without him noticing.
It was because she had left a plate without him noticing. It had a simple sandwich on it.
'The cafeteria doesn't make sandwiches like that,' Alec remarked to himself.
With complex feelings rising in his chest, Alec sat back down and ate the sandwich. Despite being the only one in that part of the library, he didn't feel alone.
The sandwich both softened his heart and hardened his resolve.
There was no doubt about it. He was going to get through whatever his brother's novel had to throw at him, whether it be arrogant, murderous nobles, double-edged Skills, or monsterification.
After that, he was going to return to Earth and give his brother a good talking-to about writing utopias, not dystopias.
Alec left the library, returning the plate to Sarah without making eye contact.
Someone who looked more like a butler than a member of the staff greeted Alec with a bow.
"There you are. The Headmaster invites you to his office."