Nightmare

The doctors and guards did nothing but stare at Owain. His arms and legs were broken, blood leaking from everywhere. The floor was full of web-like cracks and broken tiles, along with teeth.

Floyd coldly looked at Owain's body. He had read the internal records from the academy's server and knew Owain was responsible for removing Zed from the academy.

Floyd wanted nothing more than to kill Owain for involving him in this mess, but for now, he patiently waited for him to awaken.

Ten minutes later, Owain regained consciousness with a deep grunt.

"Urgh!" He felt severe pain throughout his body. His jaw especially hurt the most since his face was banged directly on the floor.

With great effort, he opened his eyes, but all he could see was darkness mixed with red. It took him minutes to realize his vision was impaired by blood and sweat.

He released a loud scream when he felt he couldn't move his arms at all.

"Help me!" Owain begged. He wriggled on the floor, trying to rise with no success.

Neither the guards nor the doctors moved to help. The only thing they did was to wonder why he was punished in such a horrifying way.

"Anyone... please!" Owain lifted his head from the floor with grave efforts. He couldn't see clearly, but he could make out there were people in front of him.

"Shut up!" Floyd's cold voice rang inside the chamber, "Have some decency to accept your punishment without complaining like a pig!"

Punishment?! For what crime?!

"I have done nothing to deserve this!" Owain muttered while still wriggling on the floor.

"Still got the nerve to lie?" Floyd took a water bottle from the mini freezer. He then crouched in front of Owain and poured it on him.

"Argh!" Owain screamed as the cold water acted like salt on his wounds. The bright side was that the water cleared his eyes, but the pain was terrible.

"You abused your authority, and yet you say you did nothing?" Floyd asked coldly.

"What abuse?!" Owain angrily barked. He had joined the academy just a week ago, so what terrible crime could he have committed in such a short span?

Owain swore he would get even with Floyd after he recovered. He was not the type to take the thrashing like a dead pig.

"You want to take revenge?" Floyd asked with a twisted smile.

"N-no!" Owain didn't even get time to say more as his face once again crashed on the floor. What few teeth he had left also broke this time.

"You removed the students to accommodate transfer students, and yet you think there's nothing wrong?!" Floyd asked before stomping on Owain's arms.

"ARGH!" Owain couldn't understand what was wrong in his actions. Sure, he got favors from the government officials, but it was nothing new. Such activities were rather too common in most institutes.

After all, in any organization, it was necessary for the office bearers to have sufficient endeavors for contributing their best.

Not to mention, the benefits gained from such activities were shared among the management. In other words, the governing council would gain as well instead of him alone.

The money earned in the fundraiser was an example of this. These fundraisers consisted of donations from rich parents who were far too eager to see their child in the institute. On paper, the money was reserved for building new facilities or developing existing ones, but in truth, the money was for the management.

It was the right of the principal to manage such activities as long as everyone at the top got a fair share of it. So what wrong had he done this time?!

Floyd caught Owain by his hair and then tossed him to a nearby sofa. 

"Don't let him lose consciousness," Floyd coldly ordered the doctors. His mood was already ruined when he got the message a few hours ago.

Today he was to 'celebrate' his birthday at the resort, but everything was ruined by this bastard. The 'gifts' he had purchased for himself were still in the resort.

"Yes," The doctors hurriedly gave emergency treatment to Owain. They healed him enough to make sure he retained his consciousness for the time being.

"What wrong have I done in removing students?!" Owain asked.

His injuries had slightly healed, but the pain remained.

"You expelled Zed, and yet you ask what wrong you have done?" Floyd replied coldly. 

"Zed?!" Owain felt like his heart was stabbed with a knife. His body froze in disbelief and fright as Floyd's words set in his mind.

"You made me and others a target of 'that man' by removing Zed. So, you still think you have done no wrong?" Floyd slowly asked.

"That kid has such a frightening background?!" Owain felt as if his entire blood had been sucked out of his body. He lost his balance from the sofa and fell on the floor.

His face lost what color it had as he remembered the words Zed spoke hours ago.

"You are not understanding the trouble you are creating for yourself!" Zed's words rang inside his mind.

Back then, he had thought that Zed was just being arrogant. He had checked Zed's background and was sure the kid was nothing but a lucky slum insect.

Owain even laughed at Zed for being so cocky in front of him. Zed, on the other hand, had then told him that he hoped Owain could continue to laugh in the future.

Owain couldn't laugh now. His entire face was ruined as if a train had stepped on it. The other parts of his body were in no less pain due to the broken bones and internal injuries.

Owain glanced at Floyd, who was slowly walking towards him. He then thought of Zed's final words before he left: "Better search for a new city and a new job."

Owain now knew the words were more than just empty advice. But he couldn't believe the turn of events.

Today he planned to celebrate, now his life has turned into a joke. The decision that was supposed to elevate him to success has instead brought him to depths of hell.

He refused to believe this was real.

"Yes! This has to be a nightmare! There is no way a slum insect can turn my life upside down!"