Hell’s gaze made the blonde scoundrel feel afraid.
It wasn’t the kind of anger a normal person felt. It wasn’t the ferocity of a street thug, nor was it the authority of a police officer making an arrest.
It was something deeper and more primal that made the blonde scoundrel’s spine tingle — a killing intent that felt as though it came from a deep abyss, from someone who had truly seen blood.
The uniform Hell wore also made the blonde scoundrel wary.
In the eyes of the common people of this world, the dark uniform of Eden High Academy was a symbol of identity and status.
Anyone capable of wearing that uniform was either a future Adaptor, a brilliant Researcher, or some kind of existence with special abilities.
No matter which one it was, they were not targets a street thug like him could afford to provoke.
This youth, who didn’t look particularly strong and even seemed a bit sickly, was currently staring him down with dark, sunken eyes.
There was no redundant emotion in those eyes — no flames of anger, no contemptuous mockery.
There was only a hollow, bone-chilling calm.
But it was exactly this calm that made the blonde scoundrel feel an unprecedented fear.
He had only ever seen that kind of look in one type of person — desperate outlaws who had truly killed and possessed no reverence for life.
Combined with the Eden High Academy uniform, the blonde scoundrel’s intuition screamed at him: if he continued this entanglement, if he dared to say even one more word, he might not actually leave this street today.
It wasn’t just the simple possibility of being beaten up.
He would actually be killed.
Furthermore, given the other party’s status and background, even if something did happen, the death of a street punk like him likely wouldn’t cause a single ripple.
This thought flashed through the blonde scoundrel’s mind, making his legs feel weak.
At the same time, the sharp pain radiating from his wrist served as a constant reminder — the other person’s strength was terrifying.
That hand, which looked pale and slender, was now like a cold iron vise, clamping down hard on his wrist.
Waves of pain from his bones being squeezed hit him, making him grimace and bare his teeth.
He instinctively struggled, wanting to pull his hand back.
However, he couldn’t budge.
He couldn’t move at all.
That youth, who looked weak and thin, possessed strength like a machine in that slender hand.
No matter how much force the scoundrel used, he couldn’t move it even a fraction of an inch.
Cold sweat broke out on the blonde scoundrel’s forehead.
He didn’t know where this sickly-looking guy got such horrifying power.
His face was clearly so pale, those dark circles under his eyes were so obvious, and his whole body looked like he might collapse if a breeze blew —
But right now, the strength transmitted from that hand made the scoundrel feel like he was facing a beast in human skin.
In those few seconds while the blonde scoundrel’s mind went blank from fear and pain, unsure of what to do, he suddenly felt —
The other party’s aura changed.
It became even colder.
Even more terrifying.
It was as if something even more fearsome was quietly awakening in the depths of those hollow eyes.
The blonde scoundrel’s survival instinct finally overwhelmed all other thoughts at that moment.
“I—I won’t do it again! I won’t!”
He practically screamed it out instinctively, his voice turning shrill with fear and carrying a distinct sob.
“I was wrong! I was wrong! I’ll never do it again! Please let go! Please!”
His body involuntarily bent down in a posture of pleading, his facial expression completely distorted by terror.
Hell still didn’t speak.
He just coldly watched the blonde scoundrel, who looked like he was about to wet his pants, with a gaze that didn’t flicker once, as if he were looking at a dying ant.
After a few more seconds — seconds that felt as long as a century to the blonde scoundrel — he finally felt that terrifying pressure on his wrist slowly, bit by bit, release.
“Get out.”
Only one word.
Cold, brief, and brook no argument.
The blonde scoundrel stumbled back a few steps, clutching his swollen wrist, not even daring to look up at Hell again.
He turned and ran, his steps so clumsy he nearly fell, yet he didn’t even dare to stop.
He stumbled into the crowd and vanished around the street corner in the blink of an eye.
Hell stood where he was, watching the pathetic, retreating figure disappear from view.
The surrounding parents and students, after a brief moment of shock, gradually dispersed as whispers rose here and there.
No one dared to step forward to say anything, and no one even dared to look directly at the youth in the dark uniform for long.
He just stood there quietly, his black hair swaying gently in the evening breeze.
The expression on his face had returned to its usual calm, as if that suffocating killing intent from a moment ago had never existed.
However, Hell’s actions caused the young girls nearby — who already had a good impression of him — to look at him with literal hearts in their eyes.
“Wow… so cool…”
“That gaze just now was so overbearing!”
“And he did it to save that girl, right? Is she his sister? He makes her feel so safe…”
“An Eden High Academy student, handsome and reliable… Ugh, where can I go to get a brother like that…”
A few girls wearing the Affiliated Middle School uniform huddled together, chirping in low voices.
Their eyes occasionally darted toward Hell, their faces filled with infatuated longing and envy.
They looked at Hell as if he were a perfect male lead who had walked straight out of a shojo manga.
Even the parents who had originally just come to pick up their children began to whisper among themselves.
“I’ve seen that blonde punk several times. He’s always blocking the school gate to harass the female students. He’s long overdue for a lesson.”
“Exactly. My daughter told me just a few days ago that a blonde guy tried to hit on her, and she was so scared she took the long way home.”
“This young man did a great job! Looking at that uniform, he’s from Eden High Academy, isn’t he? No wonder he has such backbone.”
“So responsible at such a young age. He’ll definitely have a bright future.”
“If only every High Academy student were like him…”
The praises rose one after another, carrying admiration for Hell’s actions and a natural fondness for his status as an Eden High Academy student.
However —
As these praises reached Seshi’s ears, they left her with an indescribable, nauseating feeling.
She stood there, her obsidian-like eyes coldly sweeping over the infatuated girls and the praising parents, finally landing on Hell’s face, which wore a gentle smile.
Disgusting.
That was her only feeling at the moment.
This brother of hers — this guy who was avoided by the whole school and secretly called a “scumbag” by everyone — would do something like this?
A person who was essentially no different from that blonde scoundrel?
Scenes from this morning involuntarily surfaced in Seshi’s mind — Hell coming out of his room, that forced smile he wore when he saw her, that “Good morning, Xi’er” that made her skin crawl, and that hypocritical “Is your allowance still enough?”
What was the difference between him and that blonde punk?
It was just that one used greasy pickup lines while the other used fake “sibling affection.”
Seshi’s lips tightened slightly, the coldness in her eyes deepening.
‘Don’t tell me… he’s just deliberately acting this way?’