theAnyluentialrd sat in the back of the bus reading a manga. His dark hair covered his face and his glasses were huge. A typical nerd. Ever wonder what it felt like to be Outerd? Right, Jason felt it every day. Mocked, bullied, and shunned by his classmates, he had driven him to nearly commit suicide countless times, but he couldn't.
He didn't know why. He just couldn't end his life. How he was such a bloody coward. How he hated this. The hopelessness, the fear. How he wished he had a different personality.
People may wonder why he would want to commit suicide if they found out. Wasn't it just bullying? But no it was something worse.
Jason was being ruined at home. People never knew about it. He was thdopted son of a political ambassador. The Hartford family as they were called. Powerful, wealthy, influential. It was a dream come true for any kid. Jason was no exception, happonnk that he had finally found a loving family at the age of seven.
Until he entered the family mansion for the first timecand he saw that Derek Armstrong, the ambassador, had four children. Now he was confused. He wasn't impotent as Jason suspected but was fertile.
He was sad and confused. It was two years later when he found out. It was a political ploy to elevate his father's status. When he found out it was too late. It became the worst years of his life as it went by.
His father physically abused him at every turn, venting his anger at him if anything didn't go his way. He was being used as a punching bag, beaten for the slightest misdemeanor. His siblings, two girls and one boy who were older than him, were spoiled, blaming him for any trouble they did, stealing fluids, small crimes, and yet Jason was punished and severely punished.
But the thing that pained him most was his mother, who sensually abused him every night from a young age. She had a fetish for female domination and bandages, and she practiced it on him. She used a strapon raping him, doing unspeakable things to him.
And to make things worse, his father knew but he didn't care. He knew, laughed, and mocked him along with his siblings.
Then his sister did the unspeakable. He recorded one of the sessions, blurred his mother and posted it a., over the Internet on a fake profile.
His name was now viral everywhere. The Ambassador had made rearrangements, making it look like he was the one who wanted it, and it was an act of rebellion against the family. There was no backlash for him, only for Jason. His life was ruined.
School, which was already a nightmare, became hell. He was bullied, mocked, and lonely. No friends, no help. Shouldn't he commit suicide?
But deep down he knew that nobody would miss him. They wouldn't even hold a funeral. He would be an excuse. A sorry existence. And that hurt more than anything.
Tearscwere falling down his eyes as he sat alone in the back seat. All this started when he got adopted. If he could turn back time, he would refuse and stay like that.
He cleaned his tears. He shouldn't crush here. He's still in the school bus.
The class where here as they were going on a school trip. Right now everybody was chatting, some making out, and some joking and smiling with each other.
His sister, Maddie, was chatting with her boyfriend. She was the same girl who recorded him and posted it on the Internet. She had no remorse for her actions. She didn't care that she ruined someone's life.
Why had he come on the school trip? He was lamb for the slaughter here. Another reason why. They had awakened yesterday.
Ten years ago, monsters, arcs, ghouls, beast folk, and demons arrived from gates that opened in the sky. Attacks rang from every part of the country. This war was known as the Third World War. But this time, no ugly dictators were the cause. Something that will even make a dictator pass in fear.
People thought they were doomed. That armageddon has finally struck. But suddenly, humans awakened abilities that had never been seen before. Ranging from F rank to SS rank, abilities were rampant.
The humans faced the monsters in a long war that lasted ten years when Jason was only three. The humans managed to drive away the monsters and seal the crack.
As a result, the gates opened, and humans had to go in and eliminate the monsters, knowing that gate breaks could occur. Humans immediately turned it into a profitable career as humans who underwent that became hunters.
Since the years had passed, every teenager who had turned eighteen underwent the Awakening Test so that they could get their ranks.
And as usual, the F ranks were treated as animals. No guild will take them, they were shunned and ruined for life while the S ranks were the elite staying in the upper echelons of society.
Jason thought that maybe his luck would be better. At least let him awaken as a B rank and finally be treated as a human being. He was so hopeful that he would eventually be something noticeable in life.
But yesterday had proven to him that he was truly a failure in life. He hadn't awakened Frank. Nah, he had awakened FFF rank: Linguistics.
The school had erupted in shock and laughter. That day was the most terrible in his life. No one had gotten an F rank except for him in his class, and it wasn't only an F rank but also in Linguistics.
Apparently, he could speak to animals. His new nickname was born immediately. Dr. Doolittle had been born.
The school was so embarrassed to have unearthed such a failure that they wanted to expel him, but due to his outstanding grades, they decided to let it go, gritting their teeth that this was his final year in school.
And now here he was. A bigger failure than he already was. He decided that was enough thinking and decided to go on reading his manga. That was his pastime now. It had consoled and soothed him, finding comfort in the characters.
The students were now throwing things at one another.
"I can't believe we're going for a fucking school trip," Maddie said, pecking her boyfriend Prince as she spoke. "Such a waste of time." She hadn't yet told her father that she had gotten an A rank: wind manipulation. She just couldn't wait.
"Relax, beautiful." Prince soothed. "We'll be back before we know it." He tossed a bra to one of his friends. Prince had also gotten an A rank ability and now he was feeling on top of the world.
He looked back at Jason, who was quietly reading a manga. He frowned in anger. How he hated this guy. His whole existence had disgusted him. He didn't know how he was his girlfriend's brother.
He grinned wickedly, motioned for his friend to pass the bra. Then he threw the bra directly into Jason's face.
The class laughed as the bra hung on Jason's face. Jason didn't say anything. He silently removed it.
"Sorry about that," Prince called out. He motioned for it. "Bring it here. That's a good boy."
The whole class watched. Prince had done it a lot of times and Jason had always complied. But they were in for a huge surprise.
Jason stretched out his hand like he was about to give it, then he dropped it on the ground.
The whole class gasped.
Prince's face swelled up in anger.
"Did you just do that to me?" He called out.
Jason didn't say anything. He turned back to his reading as if nothing had happened. But his thoughts were screaming.
"Shit! What did I just do?" He thought in a panic. "Have I really gone mad! Has my life really been spoiled like this?"
He just didn't know why he had done it. His mind had finally sparked and finally he had turned mad.
Prince got up, his face furious, then he calmed down with a smile on his face. He then walked to the back of the bus where the panicking Jason was.
"It seems you've forgotten where you belong?" He said quietly. "It seems I'll have to make you remember."
He turned his head to the teacher who was resting with a sleeping mask covering his face.
"Teacher," Prince called out. "This dog has forgotten his place. May I have permission to discipline it?
The teacher removed his mask and opened one eye. "Has it?" He asked. "Do what you want. No killing. Break a few bones while you're at it. Throw him out if you want."
Jason gulped in fear hearing that. He wouldn't, right? He can't be this evil just because he hates someone.
Prince turned back to Jason with a smile. "You've been a bad dog."
Before Jason could speak, a steel fist slammed into his jaw, snapping his face to one side.
"Oooh" choruses his classmates.
Maddie winced. "Yeah." She said. "This bastard felt this one."
Jason couldn't speak. His jaw was broken. He l ooked up in fear to see Prince with a maniacal gri n. His steel-covered fist rained down, smashing into his gut, making him spew out blood.
Prince gripped his head and smashed his fist into his face.
"Next time." He said, between punches. "You won't disobey me in your entire life, you rotten bitch."
He released his hold, proceeded to Jason's leg. His normal feet suddenly hardened, turning them to steel. He raised his foot and brought it down on Jason's leg.
An audible crack rang out.
Jason screamed out like a bled pig and began to sob. Prince picked him fr om t he throat, raised one finger, and it turned to steel. He swiftly stabbed it into Jason's eyes.
He screamed again.
"Please spare me!" He screamed out, pleading. "I prom ise it won't happen again. Have mercy!"
"Oh, I already have." He said. "But you haven't learnt your lesson. I think throwing you out will help you."
Jason struggled, his eyes gone.
He turned to his classmates.
"You can't allow him to do this." He said. "I did nothing wrong! I didn't offend anyone here!"
"No." A voice rang out.
Jason turned to the voice.
It was Maddie.
"You didn't offend anyone. She said, gazing at her phone. "But your existence did. You're an anomaly. You're not meant to exist."
"And now you'll be forgotten." She said. "And the world wouldn't know if you exi,,sted."
Jason's mind broke.
His sister had just ,said that to him.
Prince held him and made hiscway to the bus doors as it still drove on the road.
"Any last words?" He called out.
A low chuckle was silently heard.
Students dropped what they were doing, turning to where the voice was heard.
Jason, one eye gone, blood dripping, slowly raised his head. A low maniacal smile on his face that made Prince freeze.
"Fuck all of you." He said. "I will be back. And I swear to God, my face will be the last thing you ever see. I will ruin all of you."
Prince was shocked.
"Do you understand me!" He said. "I will ruin..."
Prince dropped him as the bus rolled by. The place was silent again. His hand had returned to normal.
"Whew." He said. "That's the end of that."
He sat down close to Maddie.
"Babe," he said. "Your father won't talk right.
He knew the truth. He just wanted to hear it.
--------
Meanwhile, Jason laid sprawled on the fractured asphalt , his remaining eye glazed with pain and panic. Blood pooled beneath him, dark and hot, pulsing from the ruined socket where his eye had once been.
Then thump.... thump... thump..... a rhythmic pulsing echoed. Jason turned his head, muscles screaming, vision swimming There, nestled in the gutter among cracked leaves and broken glass, was something... alien.
It pulsed. It shimmered. It was purple—deep violet with streaks of glowing indigo. Its skin was smooth but veined, like a plum carved by lightning.
He dragged closer, limbs trembling, painting the road with trails of red. The thing pulsed louder now, like it was excited. Or afraid. Jason was inches away when he heard it —not with his ears, but inside his head.
"Eat me."
Jason gazed at it ignoring his pain for a moment.
"What are you?"