Edward returned home after accompanying Aurora to the edge of town, where someone was waiting to take her to her house in the upper-class neighborhood.
When he opened the door to his house, he found his father sitting at the table, waiting for him.
"Let's talk a little, my son. I haven't seen you in a whole month, and now you seem to be spreading your wings," Abraham said, smiling gently.
Edward nodded and sat down across from him.
"Father, I want revenge on that guy."
Abraham stared at him for a moment. "That this is the first thing you bring up in our conversation means you haven't stopped thinking about it."
"They beat you, Father. They even robbed you. And now I have the strength to take revenge, and I know you won't stop me, so I'm just letting you know."
"Haha." Abraham laughed. "It's true that I'm not going to stop you from getting revenge. I'm no saint or hero, just an old man who knows that evil must be punished. But you're not strong."
"Father, I am strong, I have four beasts that make me better! Even though I'm still at the beginner levels...!" As he spoke, his father threw a punch that he didn't see coming. Suddenly, his nose met an old, rustic, but powerful fist that knocked him off his chair.
His body fell backward, and, dizzy, he tried to find his father's figure, as if asking, "Why?"
His father came up to him shortly after and held him up.
"If you were strong, no matter how distracted you were, the blow from old bones wouldn't have hit you," he said, and helped him up.
Edward grabbed his nose, feeling intense pain and blood flowing. He had been taken by surprise, but even so, he probably couldn't have avoided it. A father's deliberate blows always teach a lesson.
That blow... had made him understand that he really wasn't strong.
'...I couldn't even see it,' he thought.
The story that Beast Masters were, in all instances, stronger than ordinary people was a cheap tale. He had just experienced it.
'How dangerous,' he thought ironically.
"I'm sorry, Father." He bowed his head in shame.
"Hahaha." Abraham patted him on the shoulder and hugged him gently. "You are certainly my son."
"Father?"
Abraham patted him several times on the back and then looked at him again.
"Go, beat him up for me. You're not strong, but you're stronger than him. No matter what he says to you, just beat him to a pulp, but don't kill him. Then come back here, I have something important to tell you," he said.
"Father?" Edward looked at him, confused.
"Don't talk, you don't need to talk. Stop your bleeding with one of your beasts and do what you want to do. For now, you can do it."
At first, he didn't understand why his father was saying that. But after thinking about it for a moment, he understood.
Joel's son has been a Star Student for two years, but his talent is low, so he spends most of his time at the academy completing missions or searching for resources.
If he hadn't come yet, it was his chance to beat up that bastard and collect his debts.
Now, he didn't understand why his father suddenly sent him away and urged him to go like that, when he had just punched him in the nose to show him his weakness...
'I see.' His eyes sparkled. 'He means I can take on Joel, but not his son yet. That I have to wait until I grow up... right?'
He smiled softly. "Okay," he replied, and after being urged a third time by his father, he left the house, determined to find that bastard and beat him up.
Joel lived in the "village" and had a certain status among the inhabitants because his son was strong. Although his status was not as high as Lord Henry's, he was still one of the most respected, especially in the area where Edward lived, where he was considered a minor lieutenant.
'He lives in a big house, this bastard,' Edward thought as he looked at the three-story house where this guy lived. As expected of an extortionist and father of a Beast Master, he had money.
He entered the house, crossed the garden, and no one stopped him...
Inside the house, Joel was complaining loudly as he kicked everything.
"Shit, shit. That damn bastard will pay for this!" he roared as he hit everything in his path.
His wife stood to one side, stiff. She was afraid to move. When her husband got like this, only exotic things could calm him down, but she couldn't think of anything.
'Should I find him some exotic prostitutes or a virgin?' she wondered, fearing that this stupid old man would destroy the entire house that had taken her son so long to build.
These thoughts were inappropriate for a "wife," but of course, this marriage was not based on love, so it was normal for her. She didn't care, as long as she could reap the benefits of being this lieutenant's wife.
If she had a problem with being his wife, it was precisely the fact that he was too temperamental and broke everything when he got angry.
'If only someone would come and beat him up to calm him down...' Although her long-awaited wish was not going to come true, as few dared to mess with her husband in this place.
Perhaps only her son could calm him down...
BOOM*
Suddenly, the front door of the house was kicked open. The sound caught the attention of both of them, and they frowned.
"You little piece of trash!" Joel roared as soon as he saw who it was.
Edward looked at the mess in the room and smiled. "It seems I've come at a good time. Since destroying things is your passion, I'll help you a little..." Edward said coldly and approached him.
At that moment, Joel regained his composure.
'No... I can't beat him. A weapon. I need a weapon.' He immediately turned and lunged at the nearby drawers, quickly opening them, and suddenly a sharp dagger appeared in his hand. 'Yes...' He smiled and immediately went to turn around, but it was too late.
Edward managed to get there before he could wield the weapon and struck him hard on the arm, disabling it in an instant.
"Aghh..." He fell to the ground, rolling in pain, but he couldn't even make much noise, as a powerful kick soon kicked his mouth. He felt his world spin before a barrage of blows rained down on him.
His bones broke, and his flesh screamed in pain, but he couldn't do anything. He would surely remember the beating for the rest of his life. He would remember the humiliation, but also the pain.
He would want revenge, but he would be afraid.
His body would constantly remind him of how it felt under the fists of a young man barely 18 years old...