ARMSTRONG ACADEMY – HALLWAYS – COLLECTION HOUR
Collection hour.
It was a ritual now. Every month, the Family's collectors passed through the classrooms. The weakest paid. The richest paid more. Those who refused learned not to refuse.
This month, there was a new student.
Sitting at the back of Class C, arms crossed, gaze empty. He looked at no one. No one looked at him.
Three collectors approached.
"Hey, new kid."
He didn't answer.
"Are you deaf? It's collection hour. You have to give exactly 6000 yen."
The new student looked up.
"Why would I give my money to idiots like you?"
The collector sneered.
"Do you know who I am? I have the status of Big Cousin in the Family."
He raised his fist.
"You're gonna get it, asshole."
The punch flew.
WHAM.
The new student didn't move. He dodged with a tiny head movement.
His hand grabbed the collector's arm.
CRACK.
The arm broke.
The collector collapsed, screaming.
"AHHHHH! YOU FILTHY MONSTER!"
The new student looked at him. His eyes were empty.
"Monster…"
His voice was calm.
"That's right."
He stood up.
"I am a monster."
Flashback.
---
CITY V HOSPITAL – MORNING
A delivery room. Nurses. A doctor. Screams.
The baby came out. He cried. He screamed. He was alive.
Then the room went cold.
The nurses stepped back.
The doctor's eyes widened.
The baby had a T on his chest.
Since time immemorial, the clans of the past era ruled over the economy, culture, superstitions. One of them spoke of the Berserker.
Individuals born with a T on their chest. Their Ether allowed them only one thing: naturally superior strength. Nothing else. An enormous gauge, but limited to the physical.
No telekinesis. No fireballs. No portals.
Just strength.
But strength… titanic.
---
SHARKY'S HOUSE – A FEW YEARS LATER
The father extended his finger toward his son. Sharky, still a baby, wrapped his hand around it. Gently. With love.
CRACK.
The finger broke.
The father screamed.
The mother rushed over.
"What happened?"
The father looked at his son. His eyes were filled with fear.
He hadn't meant to.
Never.
But his strength was uncontrollable.
---
SHARKY'S LIFE – AN ORDEAL
Furniture broke. The floor cracked under his footsteps. School supplies exploded in his hands.
He couldn't touch anything without breaking it.
Children mocked him. They called him "monster," "brute," "dangerous." They didn't want to play with him.
Adults looked at him with suspicion. They whispered behind his back. "He'll end up in prison," "He's unstable," "He needs to be locked up."
Sharky learned to touch nothing anymore. To speak no more. To look no more.
He learned to be invisible.
And to hate the world.
End of flashback.
---
BACK TO THE PRESENT – CLASS C
The screams echoed. The collectors called for reinforcements.
They arrived in droves. Family members. Tough guys. Fast guys. Dangerous guys.
Sharky defeated them all.
One by one. Without effort. Without emotion.
His fists struck like hammers.
His legs crushed like anvils.
He grabbed one man, threw him into another. Then a third. Then a fourth.
The bodies piled up.
They formed a throne.
---
IN THE COURTYARD – MIDAS AND AMÉLIE
Midas sat on a bench, watching Amélie draw a butterfly in her notebook.
A lackey came running, out of breath, panicked.
"Boss! Boss, come quick!"
Midas looked up.
"What?"
"It's the monster! He's defeating all our men!"
Midas stood.
"All of them?"
"All of them."
Amélie looked up. She looked at Midas. She looked at the lackey.
Her gaze drifted into the void.
Future. Image. Midas on the ground. Blood. A T on a chest.
She blinked.
Back.
"Midas…"
"Not now."
He ran.
---
CLASS C – THE THRONE OF BODIES
The door opened.
Midas entered.
His men were on the ground. All of them. Neatly piled, forming a sort of platform. A throne of bodies.
At the top, the monster sat.
Arms crossed. Gaze empty.
His eyes were a boiling red. Not anger. Weariness.
He had taken off his shirt. On his back, a brand. A T.
Dirty. Burned. Indelible.
Midas looked at him. He knew that mark. He had read books. Legends.
The Berserker.
Sharky descended from his throne of bodies.
Each step cracked the floor.
He stopped in front of Midas.
"Filthy monster," someone in the crowd whispered.
Sharky didn't look away.
He looked at Midas.
Midas looked at Sharky.
"So," said Sharky. His voice was deep, raspy. "You're the boss?"
Midas didn't answer.
Sharky smiled. A shark's smile.
"I've heard about you." He approached. "Midas Grey. The orphan who took control of the academy in three months."
He spread his arms.
"I came to see."
Midas clenched his fists.
"To see what?"
Sharky stood in front of him. They were nose to nose. Sharky's red eyes plunged into Midas's dark ones.
"To see if you're as strong as they say."
The wind rose.
The flags in the courtyard snapped. Leaves flew.
Everyone held their breath.
Sharky spread his arms.
"So?"
Midas didn't move.
The fight seemed inevitable.
---
TO BE CONTINUED…