"D-damn… how did we end up like this…?"
Calix muttered while kneeling on the ground with his two subordinates beside him.
His eyes were wide with disbelief at how quickly their plans had fallen apart.
***************
A few minutes earlier…
Calix's eyes snapped open.
"Ghk—!"
He gasped for air, his body jolting upright before a wave of pain crashed through him.
"Ugh… damn it…!"
Every muscle screamed and his ribs ached, his jaw throbbed, and even breathing felt wrong.
"B-boss! You're awake!"
Calix stared at the two subordinates who were also greatly injured from the earlier fight.
"Oliver... Enzo..."
"Yes, we are here," Enzo responded while looking worried about how injured Calix appeared.
He thought he might have been hallucinating until Calix suddenly yanked his arm forward and pushed both of them backwards.
"DAMN IT!"
He slammed his fist against the bed.
"I lost… to that bastard?!"
His voice cracked with rage.
"And who the hell saved me?! Who?!"
Oliver flinched.
"I-it was… some students," he said quickly. "I heard they were seniors…"
Calix froze for a moment.
"…Seniors."
Calix dismissed the information quickly. Seniors were the type of people that he did not want to provoke under normal circumstances. The fact that they had bothered to help him was strange and unsettling.
"Forget about them for now. Let us move on to the next step of our revenge plan!"
Oliver and Enzo stared at each other for a moment and then laughed together.
"Yes, boss! Whatever you say!"
"Good. We have already missed today's classes anyway. I am sure that the physician has already told the instructors about what happened today, so we can use this opportunity to hunt down Edsel and that bastard Silas without being noticed."
Enzo leaned forward with excitement. "You mean we should sneak attack them when they are not expecting it?"
"Exactly. Sneak attack. We can ask around and find out which dormitory he is staying in. Then we attack him when his guard is completely down."
His eyes burned with obsession.
"I don't know how he got stronger… artifact, drug, whatever it is…I'll beat it out of him."
He raised his fist, trembling slightly from excitement.
"Imagine it…"
His voice dropped into a low laugh.
"Making the son of Marquis Domitius kneel… turning him into my stepping stone…"
Oliver and Enzo laughed with him.
"Hahaha, boss, that would be insane!"
Calix stepped forward. "This is how I rise."
"Hahahahaha! This is the life..." Calix laughed while trembling with excitement.
Suddenly, Oliver and Enzo's faces went pale as they stared at something behind Calix. Their expressions drained of all color, and their mouths hung open in terror.
Calix frowned at their reactions. "What are you two looking at? Are you afraid of me now?"
He turned around.
Edsel was standing directly behind him with his arms folded across his chest. He had been there the entire time, listening to every word of their plan.
Calix immediately tried to swing his arm at Edsel's face, but Edsel slapped him first. The force of the blow sent Calix rolling off the bed and crashing onto the floor.
"Damn it! Oliver! Enzo! Attack him now!"
Calix shouted while scrambling on the floor.
Oliver and Enzo both froze in place. Flashbacks of the earlier fight flooded their minds, images of how Edsel had beaten them mercilessly. Neither of them moved a muscle.
"What is wrong with the two of you? Do something!"
Calix screamed at his subordinates, but Edsel interrupted before anyone could respond.
"My, my, my... Who would have thought that you were planning to sneak attack me tonight?"
Edsel said while tilting his head with amusement.
Calix's body started trembling so violently that he stopped moving entirely. He stared up at Edsel from the floor, unable to look away.
"You..." He punched the ground in frustration. "No, I will not be scared of some puny weakling like you. Not under my watch!" He pushed himself up and started running towards Edsel with his fist raised. "Aaaaaah! Die!"
The moment he tried to throw his punch, time seemed to slow down around him.
"Calix!"
He turned at the sound of the voice and found himself on a vast field, riding a horse with his father riding in front of him. The Phelan territory stretched out in the distance, beautiful and familiar under the afternoon sun.
'How strange,' he thought. 'I was just at the academy. Was that all a dream?'
His father, Baron Phelan, smiled warmly at him. "Calix, what is bothering you today?"
"Well, I did not get along with my friends today. They said that I was too big and intimidating to be around."
Baron Phelan chuckled deeply. "That is because you take after me, son. Have I not told you that being strong is a good thing?"
"But you are kind, father. I am the opposite of you. I just want to make friends and be liked by others."
"You are not the opposite of me at all, Calix. You are both kind and strong. The other children might be afraid of you now, but if you show them a good heart, you will win them over eventually."
Calix looked down at his hands. 'No, father. I will not follow your way. Instead, I will win them over with my strength and my muscle. That is how the strong always win.'
He blinked.
He was lying on the floor of the infirmary, gasping awake. Oliver and Enzo were kneeling beside him while Edsel sat across from them with his legs folded, staring at him calmly.
"Oh, you are finally awake," Edsel said.
Calix stared at the ceiling for a long moment. 'Never mind,' he thought while trembling. 'I am the weak one now. This bastard is a monster. I should have followed my father's teachings from the beginning.'