Fighting Back

No.

Alister shook his head, his thoughts once again becoming lucid as awareness returned to him.

He could not do this.

"Zeri, consider this." Alister started with gritted teeth, his hands trembling as he resisted the overpowering urge to pick up the blade from the ground. "We cannot kill them, that will attract too much attention."

"What of it, then?" Zeri appeared as the surroundings drained off color and turned into a lifeless, frozen gray landscape again. "You are more than capable to kill them all. We share thoughts, and I can sense how much you want to take your revenge against them. I cannot fault you for that, too, for they have tormented your life. What are you waiting for?"

"You're right, and as you share my thoughts, you must know how much I want to just take this sword and reduce them all into smears." Alister gritted his teeth and glanced at all the people around him. "They did nothing and took the bullying as entertainment, but killing them would just make it harder for us to find the families. Don't forget, in exchange for this power, I made the contract to help you with your revenge. If we are associated with the slaughter of an entire school, there is no way we can move freely and find the families."

"That matters not, no one other than those from the twelve families will be able to oppose us." Zeri waved his hand and dismissed the argument, as Alister took a deep breath. The rage swirling in his mind and memories has mostly dissipated, as it turned into a tiny voice in the back of his mind that whispered of the sweet catharsis of revenge.

"That may be the case, but do you want... weak flies to follow us everywhere? We would be high-profile murderers that can't rest at all." Alister shook his head. "Believe me, for now, there is nothing I want more than tearing them to pieces, but we have to be patient."

"Fine, then, I will follow your judgement for now." Zeri touched the blade with his claw, and the blade disappeared into a swarm of tiny black cubes dotted with white before dissipating entirely into thin air. "I shall make it so the last few seconds do not happen."

Zeri waved his hand, and tiny black cubes appeared above his right hand, before it turned into a white glass orb filled with swirling gray energy inside. Then, he glanced at the cracked floor and smashed it.

"Let us see letting go of this chance would be your best option." Zeri said, disappearing into smoke as the color in Alister's surroundings returned.

The first thing Alister could feel was the distinct, satisfying impact of his fist connecting to one of the bullies' face.

Realizing that he was back a few minutes into the past, he took the chance to kick one of those who surrounded him towards the crowds. Although this time he still landed among them, he had vomitted from the pain now, evident from how the students all winced in disgust.

"What is going on in here?!"

Again, Alister heard that damnable voice, and as before, the three who remained standing tattled on him. But he was calm, not even bothered to look even as they piled excuse after excuse for him hitting them.

Even though he had to cut his own revenge short, Alister enjoyed the slight satisfaction he felt from tossing the two leaders like they were ragdolls. After they treated him with such cruelty for almost his entire time here, he was finally free, and if they knew what was good for them, they would no longer bother him.

--

It ended as he expected. His parents were called, along with the two students' parents, for him to tell fake apologies that all three students know to be nothing but a way to appease the school and prevent any smear to their reputation.

This was a religious school, after all, and as this was only Alister's first known infraction, he was suspended for the week. At least, there was a satisfying sense of victory from them being subjected to the same punishment.

His mother was the one who came to attend the talk mediated by the headmaster, and she also took him home afterwards. The ride home was silent, the two of them both had no idea what to say to the other.

"Alister, if you are being bullied at school, why did you not tell me or your dad?"

The question was presented kindly, with clear affection, and for a moment, Alister believed that everything would be okay.

But, there was a reason why he preferred not to, and it only became abundantly clear as his mother's phone rang.

He glanced at the name on the screen, and there it was, the name of his dad. On instinct, he braced himself, knowing the inevitable screaming match that may occur later.

"Melissa, I hope for his sake that kid was innocent."

"Richard, no need to be upset, he was only retaliating from being bullied for months, and the headmaster has made them apologize to each other." His mother explained as gently as she could.

"So instead of reporting, that damned kid went on and started a fight in the middle of the fucking school-"

"... Richard, I will not speak to you while you're angry."

"Don't cut me off, you bitch! You're spoiling him too much, and now look at him! Do you want him to be a good-for-nothing who was abandoned by their own family without being given money at all?!"

"That is enough!"

"Listen, if you want him to become a successful businessman in the future, you will let me teach him." His father snarled over the phone. "You coddling him will just ruin his future. Someone whose parents died without giving anything can't tell me how to raise my own kid!"

All Alister could do was listen.

It was always like this, though they loved him, his dad did not see him as anything else other than a vehicle to be exploited and used to fulfill the lifelong dreams his father had. His birth had put a stop to their own dreams, and as such, he was seen as a backup of sorts.

Be rich, find a good partner, and coast in life. That was the ideal he was given. But for Alister, none of that was worth the emotional pain he suffered almost every day.

"Why do you still bring that up!" His mother finally snapped. "It has been fifteen years, yet you never allowed me to heal!"

"I am the one who needs healing away from providing from you two! I worked hard, only to see your siblings get all the inheritance from your parents, while you don't even get pennies! You must be a useless-"

"Dad! That is enough!" Alister finally spoke up. "It's not mother's fault. Let's continue this at home."

Alister had no idea whether he was too satisfied with his chance of revenge, or Zeri gave him courage just from his presence, but he snatched the phone from his mother and turned it off, almost slamming the device down the car floor in his anger. Meanwhile, though Zeri was no longer visible to the naked eyes, Alister could sense his presence around.

It was like feeling a strange presence in places where there should not be any, Zeri's presence marked with a slight chilling fear and a laughter that Alister could occassionally hear from the back of his mind. The general feel was reminiscent of a ghost, but perhaps, considering his true nature, that is to be expected.

"You can just teach him a lesson he'll never forget, you know?" Zeri's words echoed, not in his ears but directly in his head. "Maybe break both of his arms when there's no one around?"

"I'll think about it." Alister dismissed the suggestion as quickly as he could, not keen on engaging with the demon on a battle of wills.

"Why do you insist on staying weak, despite how my powers now thrum in your veins, Alister?" Zeri asked, not content leaving the question there. "Once, you did not have the power to back up your decision, and thus, you stayed weak, always afraid of what would follow you once you took the plunge. Even in my world, actions did not come without consequences, and you must be willing to risk everything for not only the sake of victory, but also to shoulder the inevitable burden from the always present chance of loss."

"As I said, we need a base of operations for your revenge, and if we attract the attention of the law now, we are going to have a hard time." Alister said, trying to appeal to Zeri's common sense. "I still don't know which families you are looking for, and someone my age living on the streets without going to school will be suspicious. We need to blend in."

"If the currency of this world is all you need, then I can provide something, at least." Zeri answered. "Let me show you."

"Wait, we're close."

The car stopped in front of a simple, yet well-furnished home that is much longer than it is wide. A tiny garden could be seen at the spare space in front of the door, filled with grass alongside a few small chilli trees growing nearby. It was a touch of refreshing nature, and Alister found himself looking at the garden with appreciation. His mother did gardening as a side hobby, so it was not meticulously maintained, but it looked beautiful at a glance.

"We've arrived, Alister. Are you thinking about what you said? Say sorry to your dad later, okay?"

Alister scrunched his nose in disgust, and his distaste only grew as the car backed into the garage as he saw his father had already waited in front of the door for him.