Thud
The sickening sound of fist meeting flesh echoed behind the school.
The quiet place was filled with wicked cackles and madness as three large teenagers continuously rained blows upon another teenager named Yuto.
Yuto's bruised and swollen eyes squinted in pain, feeling a throbbing sensation all over his body.
Blood dripped from his lips as he gritted his teeth, proof that Yuto was still fighting back.
"Hoo, look at this bastard."
One large person with a scary face and yellow hair named Kurata thrust his fist, which struck Yuto's swollen eye.
"...Ugh!"
"Haha, Indeed, this is fun."
Another person, Hayama, has a medium build and long brown hair. Both of them were clearly violating school rules.
He kicked Yuto's stomach.
"...Gah!"
"Hey, hey, you're already poor, weak, and daring to challenge us. Know your place, you cockroach."
"...".
The silent third person had a slightly larger body. Large due to his fat combined with a massive muscle mass, people thought he wasn't a high school kid.
It was natural; he was the leader of the thugs at Yuto's school who always bullied anyone they considered weak.
He was also a renowned sumo wrestler, having almost reached the professional level during his high school career. His name was Gozui.
Even so, Yuto suppressed his disgust to spit on his round, fierce-looking face. Although he was famous, his behavior was that of a common lowlife.
Gozui grabbed Yuto's neck and lifted him, face to face.
Yuto gasped for breath, with pain spreading like thousands of ants gnawing at his flesh.
Hot with the cold touch of death. (A scorching heat mixed with deathly cold.)
Yuto's blurry vision barely allowed him to recognize the silhouette in front of him. The black shadow spoke.
"Hmph, I thought you were different from other weaklings, but you're just the same in the end..."
The disappointment that came out of the big guy's mouth was like a knife slicing Yuto's ears. He gritted his teeth, saving all his strength to retaliate.
"Ah..."
Yuto's hoarse voice sounded like a small whisper amidst the violence. This instantly caught the attention of all three of them.
"Hooh, this bastard can still move."
"Boss, finish this cockroach off, and let's hit the arcade like yesterday."
The other two thugs clicked their tongues as they put their hands in their pockets.
Their eyebrows twitched warily when they saw Yuto's hand slowly lift, trying to grab their boss's hand.
Kurata and Hayama grudgingly admitted it. At first, they just wanted to bully a young orphan named Yuto in front of them.
However, without them realizing it, this kid had strong convictions and still refused to submit to them.
Unlike others, they stomped on. Most of them would immediately beg for mercy and would do anything, even become slaves, to avoid becoming their punching bag.
But Yuto was different.
Despite having a thin, malnourished body, he kept fighting, and every time he did. Their boss, Gozui, would consider it entertainment and start beating him every day.
It seemed illogical, but it was also good for relieving stress from boring school life.
"...Huff,".
Yuto, with his last strength, gripped the thug boss's wrist.
Because of his small size and physique, he couldn't grasp it all, only a part, but that was enough for him.
'Damn thugs.'
Yuto cursed in his heart.
With a little strength left in him, Yuto took a deep breath. His action made Gozui grin ferociously. Yuto's body floated and faced the thug leader directly.
"What now? What are you gonna do now?"
Yuto was silent; he kept regulating his ragged breath while gathering strength to at least retaliate against their actions, even just once.
Slowly, the pain that blurred Yuto's vision and mind subsided, and he could see his surroundings somewhat clearly.
Right in front of him, he sniffed the disgusting smell from the thug boss's mouth and furrowed his brows.
'Does this pig brush his teeth? His breath is awful.'
"What, huh!? Where's your arrogance now?"
'Arrogant, you're the arrogant one, you bastard!?'
The world seemed to spin for a moment after Gozui violently shook Yuto's body.
"Come on, where's your ferocity, don't disappoint me."
Yuto fell silent and stretched his neck back, looking at the cloudy sky, which resembled his dark heart with no light.
"...ou."
"Huh!? What did you just say?"
Gozui brought their faces closer until Yuto felt this was the right moment for revenge.
"...I said..."
Yuto paused briefly and gritted his teeth hard, 'Crack', smashing his forehead into the face of the kid in front of him.
"...Screw you!"
A cracking sound reached the ears of the other two, accompanied by a howl that echoed in the empty space.
"Aaaah!"
His body fell to the ground with a dull thud, with a smile of satisfaction on his face.
For the first time, Yuto could see a glimmer of light in his dark and chilling heart.
'Take that!'
His body felt light, as if the chains gripping the darkness within him had shattered into fine dust.
'Haha, so this is an eye for an eye, huh. This isn't a bad feeling...'
"Boss!"
"Damn cockroach!"
His two subordinates, Kurata and Hayama, shouted and rushed to the leader's side, finding blood smeared on their boss's bulging chest.
Clutching his broken nose, Gozui, still sitting, his eyes emanating a cold aura full of murderous intent.
Kurata and Hayama gulped their saliva and unintentionally took a step back.
The atmosphere became thick with dread, and even Yuto, who had felt relaxed, tensed up as the air felt like it was strangling his neck.
"How dare you!"
A large shadow loomed over Yuto, and a fist struck Yuto's face, who barely turned his head to the side, dodging a fatal blow.
Yuto's vision darkened instantly as a dry blow shook his brain.
After he regained consciousness, Yuto's neck twisted to the other side with pain attacking his nerves, especially on his cheek.
"You bastard!"
Punch and hatred poured from above, raining down on Yuto in the violence that slowly sapped the warmth from his body.
Sounds faded, and the pain gripping his body like a malignant disease, disappeared like a lie.
His body convulsed, with blood splattering every time a punch landed.
The once green grass beneath them was now blood-red, as the violence from Gozui reached its peak.
"Die!"
"Boss, stop! He'll die!"
"Let's just get out of here, boss!"
Yuto faintly heard the voices of Gozui's two subordinates, but he no longer had the strength to heed them.
"Aaaah!"
For the last time, with a beastly roar, Gozui landed a punch squarely on Yuto's right cheek, as the boy could do nothing but gasp while vomiting blood.
Time passed, and realization slowly dawned on the thugs, including Gozui, with horror.
Below, on the rustling autumn grass, a thin boy convulsed with a blank stare.
"Boss, let's get out of here!"
"That's right, boss!"
The pain in his nose stung his brain, making him realize what he had done.
Gozui lifted his blood-stained hands, trembling, before he abruptly stood up and ran from the spot, followed by his two subordinates.
"Wait, boss!"
"Don't leave us!"
Kurata and Hayama ran after the boss, leaving Yuto on the verge of death.
With his last strength, Yuto straightened his gaze to the sky, feeling the flame of life within him slowly fade.
Time felt slow, and his life flashed before his eyes.
Every day, he was faced with such unfair treatment. Initially, he wanted to live peacefully and hoped his high school years would pass calmly.
But the world mocked him.
Since childhood, he had to live in misery because both his parents died in a car accident, leaving him as the sole survivor.
There were no relatives or anyone who wanted to take care of him, until he had to live in an orphanage with strangers.
With people of similar fate, Yuto, who was somewhat older than the others, had no choice but to adapt and form a strong bond of brotherhood with the other children.
Under the care of the orphanage and the government, they lived peacefully until Yuto went to high school and lived independently.
It was also during this time that he experienced firsthand the harsh realities of life outside and how society viewed people like himself as discarded.
For what reason must I suffer like this?
Is it because I have no family, or because I am poor?
Or because the world wants me to disappear, because I sinned by leaving my parents to die before me in that car?
Regardless, Yuto realized that the World had abandoned him.
Even now in his dying breath, no salvation or help came for him, only a cold, painless wind exhaled a breath of death that numbed his body.
On the brink of death, thick and raw emotions flooded his heart. As the light in his eyes dimmed, Yuto uttered his farewell.
'...Curse you, world! And to those three...'
For the last time, Yuto spewed out all his overflowing emotions and breathed his last while staring at the sky with open eyes and a terrifying, sneering smile.
Remembering what he had done at the end of his struggle, he did not surrender even to violence.