Steven was standing in front of me like a statue. Even the air felt heavy. I could clearly see anger and disappointment in his eyes. His face was calm, but his eyes were not.
In a cold and controlled voice he said,
"Leo… do you know what you have done?"
There was no shouting in his voice, and that made it worse.
I clenched my teeth and shouted back,
"Yes! I know what I did. And I don't regret it!"
My breathing was heavy. My heart was beating fast.
"When my father was alive, that man always talked to us with respect. He helped us. He treated us kindly. But after my father died… the town chief didn't even think once about what we were going through. Not even once!"
I was about to say more, but Louis cut me off.
"There are many people in this town who hate your father," he said in a hard tone. "Will you kill them all? Is that your solution?"
His words hit me hard. I couldn't answer immediately.
Then he said, slower this time,
"I trusted you, Leo. But today… you disappointed me."
Before I could react, a strong kick hit my face. I almost fell. Blood started coming from my nose. The warm smell of blood only made my anger stronger.
"Now I will give you punishment." Steven said,
My body was trembling. There was fear inside me… but still, I didn't regret what I did.
I slowly stood up and took my fighting stance. I started to release my inner aura. I could feel the energy moving inside my body.
Then Louis' serious voice echoed,
"Don't even think about using your aura. If you do, I will make sure you can never use it again."
A cold fear ran down my spine. I sealed my aura immediately.
Without aura, I rushed forward and threw a punch at his face with all my strength. The punch landed… but he didn't move even an inch. It felt like I hit a wall.
He didn't dodge. He didn't block.
In the next second, his punch hit my stomach. My breath stopped. Then more punches came — ribs, chest, face. I could only feel the impact. Blood started coming from my mouth. With every punch, my confidence was breaking.
I stepped back. Drops of blood were falling on the ground. My legs were shaking.
Then Steven spoke in a calm but deep voice,
"If you don't have patience, you will never take revenge. Hatred will make you hollow from inside."
He paused for a moment and looked at me.
"Did you even think once? If you were caught, what would happen to your sister? She would grow up without you. You are not strong enough yet to solve everything with force."
When I heard that… something inside me broke.
Rim.
I didn't think about her at all. She already lost our father. And if she lost me too?
Tears started falling from my eyes. My anger slowly melted away.
I stood up with difficulty and lowered my head.
"I'm sorry… I was wrong. I won't do anything until I become truly strong."
A small smile appeared on Steven's face.
"Go and put medicine on your wounds. Your punishment — three months of aura training. And combat training… without using aura."
I quietly said, "Okay."
That night, I went to Rim and apologized. "But while she slept, she held my finger with her tiny hand." . I slept beside her. I don't even remember when I fell asleep.
When I woke up in the morning, Steven was already awake. Sunlight was entering the room.
I quietly said to myself —
From today, I have a new goal. I will become stronger than Steven. "I will make him proud. And I will clear my mother's name, my father's name, and now Steven's name from the word 'traitor.'"