Hoodlums hunt (6)
"What were you thinking?" Sebastian asked. "What were you thinking, when you decided to attack me?"
Sebastian's voice was cold. His stance was imposing, a display of his dominance over Derrick and the goons.
Derrick seemed to shrink under Sebastian's gaze, his confidence draining away with each passing second. He was a mask of pure terror as he looked at Sebastian.
"I don't understand. I already beat you at school. What made you think you could win against me?"
Sebastian's question sliced through the air, his tone laced with an edge of derision and a tint of contempt.
Derrick, trapped under Sebastian's scrutiny, and with a broken leg, could do nothing.
He was unable to think, unable to reply, unable to give him an explanation. He could only offer silence in return.
His previous bravado evaporated, leaving behind a fear that made words seem distant and unreachable. However, he found the strength to say something after much effort.
"Please! Spare me!"
Sebastian's response was a cold laugh, one that seemed to reverberate with a chilling finality.
"You thought you could catch me off guard, right? Derrick, we are not children on a playground. This is not about who can run faster or throw further."
Derrick could feel his heart pounding in his chest, each beat echoing his mounting dread.
He had underestimated Sebastian, mistaking their past schoolyard encounters for a measure of real power.
"I... I'm sorry, please!" Fear choked on further words, sealing his lips.
Sebastian observed Derrick with a maniacal gaze. "In the end, you really gave me another reason to beat you up. Exactly as I told her. Who would have thought you would do that the same day I said those words?"
Derrick, overwhelmed by fear and because of the confusion Sebastian's word created, remained silent.
There was no legitimate excuse he could find for his actions. He only had a growing realization of the depth of his mistake.
Sebastian's tone softened a little, though the underlying sternness remained.
"I gave you a chance, Derrick. For four years, you treated me like shit. I did nothing but beat you up one single time. What is it compared to what you did to me? Yet your ego brought you to assault me. You blow this out of proportion. I won't make the same error again.
Derrick's eyes widened with fear as he processed Sebastian's words, the gravity of his situation sinking in.
While lying there, vulnerable and in pain, he realized he provoked a monster—a storm he could not contain.
Panic set in as he saw the resolve in Sebastian's eyes, an icy determination that left no room for mercy or second chances.
"Please, I'm sorry, man. I didn't mean any of it. Please, you don't have to do this!"
Derrick's voice cracked as he begged, the arrogance and confidence that once defined him stripped away in the face of his impending doom.
His plea was desperate, but with his leg broken, escape was an impossibility, leaving him at the mercy of someone who seemed to have none left.
Sebastian's response was chilling. The mad grin on his face widened, and the crazed glint in his eyes intensified as he leaned closer, his voice dripping with mock curiosity.
"Were you begging me to kill you, Derrick? Is that what you wanted by attacking me?" Sebastian's words were filled with malice.
Before his schoolmate could muster a word, Sebastian moved. However, instead of delivering a fatal blow, he aimed to inflict pain on the man in front of him.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! STOP! AAAAAAH!"
Derrick's screams echoed through the alley.
"Hey! We can't disturb the neighbours, right? Please, don't scream, be polite!" Sebastian grinned.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! PLEASE!"
"Hahahahahahahaha, it's too late now, Derry. "
It was at that moment that Sebastian uttered those words. The same words he came up with when he learned how to recreate the system's skills without its aid.
"THRUN."
In that moment, as Sebastian pronounced the words of his spell, with a fervent grin and a mad glint, his hands became conduits of passional fury. A conduit for violence.
Flames leapt from his palms, a vivid, crackling orange that tore through the darkness.
These were not mere sparks or a simple trick of light; they were intense, searing flames capable of killing.
Derrick's eyes widened in horror as the flames burst forth from Sebastian's hands.
What he was seeing struck him with a force stronger than any physical blow could deliver.
The vivid, crackling orange flames that tore through the darkness were a revelation he had never expected—Sebastian was a Thespian.
Fear gripped Derrick's heart as this new truth dawned on him.
Derrick's body froze not just from his injuries but from the realization that his mistake was even worse than he assumed.
He had underestimated Sebastian, dismissing him as nothing more than a target for his bullying, only to discover that he was far more dangerous than he could have imagined.
It was at that moment that Sebastian stretched his hands and placed his palm over Derrick's face.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
Derrick's scream tore through the air. However, they were too far in the slums and too deep into the abandoned alley for anyone to hear him.
As the man's flesh touched the flame, an immediate sizzle broke the silence, sharp and enticing to Sebastian.
Flames licked up his face, cradling it in a fierce embrace that was destructive.
The meat's outer layer charred, transforming into a caramelized crust.
The sounds of sizzling intensified, causing a small flare-up.
The fire's glow reflecting off the meat's darkening surface highlighted the transformation underway.
However, Sebastian didn't have enough mana to kill the man that way, though he loved it.
He loved the screams his enemies made as they died in agony.
Maybe that was a little overkill. To kill a 17 years old that only wanted to beat him up was certainly not good, but he didn't care.
His excitement only grew as his flesh sizzled and the smell of burnt meat enveloped the alley.
"AAAAAH…" Derrick's screams now became feeble, he didn't have the strength anymore to even do that.