Hunter Academy: Revenge of the Weakest

Chapter 249 58.3 - Crossing Hearts

The moonlight cast a cold glow on the disturbing scene as Ethan stepped forward, looking at the girl lying on the ground.

She, once caught in the web of torment, appeared vulnerable and shattered. Her disheveled hair clung to her tear-streaked face, framing eyes that betrayed a mix of fear, humiliation, and a lingering glimmer of defiance. The pallor of her skin, highlighted by the dim glow of the smartwatch's screen, accentuated the emotional turmoil etched on her features.

'She is a senior.'

From the corner of her arm, Ethan noticed the badge given to sophomore-year students. After looking at the other girls, he realized they also had the same badge on their arms.

'They are also sophomore year students.'

However, that was not the time to think of those details.

Ethan noticed the continuous slaps and hits seemed to etch lines of despair onto her countenance further, and her attempts to shield herself with folded arms mirrored a futile struggle against the overpowering tide of aggression.

'You!'

And that made his blood boil. After all, there was no way a person like him would expect such an occurrence to happen in front of his face.

"Stop that right now!" Ethan's voice reverberated through the secluded corner, disrupting the bullying scene. The bullies, caught off guard, quickly turned their attention to the source of the command.

"Who are you?" came a haughty voice, a tone that Ethan had grown accustomed to during his time at the academy.

The bully girls sneered, eyeing him with a mix of arrogance and disdain. One of them, seemingly the ringleader, stepped forward, her demeanor unapologetic. "What's it to you? This is none of your business."

Ethan's gaze remained steely, his determination unyielding. "When someone's in trouble, it becomes everyone's business. You don't get to torment someone just because you feel like it."

The leader of the bullies shot Ethan a mocking grin, her expression devoid of any remorse or guilt. It was as if what she was doing right now was something she had every right to, and the idea of rules was foreign to her.

"What's your hero complex, huh?" she sneered, her tone dripping with disdain. "This girl needs to learn her place. Maybe a little roughing up will teach her."

Ethan's jaw tightened at the callousness in her words. He felt the heat of anger rising within him, fueled by the blatant lack of empathy displayed by the bully. The moonlight seemed to accentuate the cold, unapologetic gleam in her eyes.

"You're not her savior, and this is none of your business," she continued, her grin widening. "Why don't you go back to whatever hole you crawled out of and leave us alone?"

The other girls snickered in agreement, a cruel chorus that echoed through the night.

'These girls.'

Despite Ethan's steely resolve, a sense of frustration and disbelief settled within him.

'How can a human do that to another?'

The darkness that shrouded the secluded corner seemed to mirror the moral void in the bully's heart from how she looked at the girl with a wide grin, how she licked her lips, and the blood dripping from the tip of her hands.

It looked like the girl was enjoying every bit of a second of what she was doing.

"This isn't something a human would do to another," Ethan stated firmly, refusing to turn away. "Right now, you're not being yourself."

This was what he genuinely believed. Even while he was confronting other demonic humans, he always thought something pushed them to become that way. He thought that in different conditions, nobody would turn that way.

The girl's smirk widened at his words, her tone mocking. "Oh, I'm pissed now," she hissed, her eyes glinting with malice.

SMASH!

Without warning, she raised her fist and delivered a brutal blow to the victim's face.

"AH!"

The sound of impact echoed through the night, followed by a gasp of pain.

"I am not being myself? What the hell?"

The bully girl mumbled. The moonlight played upon her features, casting eerie shadows that accentuated the malicious satisfaction etched on her face. Her enjoyment was palpable, a grotesque spectacle in the secluded corner of the backyard.

"Who do you think you are to say such a thing?"

Ethan felt a surge of anger and frustration, his empathy for the victim fueling his determination to intervene.

SMASH!

Ignoring his words, the girl raised her fist once again, delivering another brutal blow to her unconscious victim. The sickening sound of bones creaking echoed through the night, a chilling testament to the unbridled cruelty that seemed to consume her.

"You think you can change anything?" she scoffed, her tone laced with a twisted amusement. "People like you are all the same. Just weak, pathetic worms."

Ethan clenched his fists, his resolve unyielding despite the escalating brutality. The darkness that had enveloped the secluded corner seemed impenetrable, a stark contrast to the empathy and compassion he desperately tried to uphold.

In a final act of sadistic triumph, the girl loomed over her victim, her smirk widening with a perverse delight. "This is what happens to those who cross me. Those who act all and mighty in front of me while still being a whore."

The girl stood and turned her body fully to Ethan, looking at her with a smirk.

"Emma, haven't you gon-"

"Shut up."

One of her followers tucked her clothes, looking worried. After all, the target of her hits was now lying unconscious, with blood dripping from her head all over.

"Nothing will happen….Worms like these are resilient. Especially those who spread their legs like her."

"….Okay…."

After lecturing her friends, the girl named Emma slowly approached Ethan.

TAP! TAP!

Her luxurious boots made a sound with each step.

Standing right in front of him, Emma looked at Ethan with a condescending gaze. The moonlight revealed a cold certainty in her eyes, an arrogance that spoke of someone accustomed to exerting control.

"I know guys like you quite well," Emma said, her voice dripping with disdain. "Justice enforcers, obsessed with honor and purity. You're all the same."

She continued her approach, the tap of her boots creating an unsettling rhythm against the backdrop of the night. As she stood before Ethan, the moonlight revealed a cold certainty in her eyes, an arrogance born from wielding power over others.

"You all like virgins, those pure girls," Emma remarked with a cruel smirk. "Others, defiled. But for people like you, being a whore is a lot worse than being uneducated or stupid. Isn't this why you can never take it when you know the girl is better than you."

The weight of her words hung in the air, a challenge to Ethan's sense of justice. Emma's cruel satisfaction seemed to intensify, relishing in the discomfort she stirred.

"What if the girl you're so desperately trying to protect was a whore?" Emma continued, her voice laced with mockery. "What if she was really spreading her legs in front of anyone paying her? Would you still play the hero for someone so impure?"

She looked so sure of her words as if she knew him well. But, never once in front of the girl, Ethan wavered.

"No. I wouldn't."

Emma scoffed, dismissing his response with a mocking laugh. "You don't believe me, do you?" With a smug expression, she opened her smartwatch, displaying a series of photos. The images showed the same girl in various explicit situations with different guys, some of them explicit enough to be censored.

"There you go," Emma taunted, holding the smartwatch out for Ethan to see. "Your precious victim isn't as innocent as you thought. So much for your hero act. You really can't trust anyone these days, can you?"

The images on the smartwatch painted a damning picture, and Emma reveled in the shock she aimed to elicit from Ethan.

Ethan's eyes narrowed as he glanced at the photos on Emma's smartwatch. Disgust and disbelief painted his features, a tumultuous mix of emotions swirling within him.

Emma, sensing a crack in Ethan's unwavering facade, took it as a sign of her victory. A triumphant smirk played on her lips as she observed his reaction, interpreting his disgust as confirmation of her claims.

lightsnοvεl "Told you," Emma's triumphant smirk deepened as she continued her assault on Ethan's ideals. "All those heroes like you, they're the same," she sneered, gesturing dismissively. "Thinking they can save the day, be the shining knight for some pure, untouched damsel in distress. It's laughable."

"Pathetic."

"Huh?"

"It is just pathetic."

Contrary to how Emma thought, Ethan wasn't actually disgusted by the explicit pictures.

"Of course-"

"The fact that you keep talking as if everyone is the same."

Instead, he felt a deep sense of disappointment in himself, a realization that his own indecisiveness was why this girl could still stand in front of him and grin.

'She doesn't deserve to be saved.'

The images didn't disgust him; it was the manipulative use of them that fueled his frustration.

"Wh-"

"The fact that you feel entitled to torment others just because of some pictures is a lot more disgusting than those mere pictures," Ethan asserted, his voice cutting through Emma's attempts at mockery. "Even breathing the same air as such a vile woman like you is making me suffocate."

These words were Ethan's honest thoughts, a declaration of his disdain for Emma's cruel actions.

"Disgusting."

For the first time in his life, he felt this angry. If not for his impressive control of his emotions that were taught in his household and the values he held, he would smash this girl's face right here.

If that were a guy speaking such words, he would probably be in hospital right now.

SPIT!

He spat to the ground and went past Emma, ignoring the girl standing.

Emma's eyes widened at his actions; her gaze fixated on the spit staining her expensive boots. The audacity of his gesture seemed to strike a nerve, and her face turned crimson with anger. The twisted satisfaction that had adorned her features now morphed into a vindictive determination.ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ ɴovelꜰɪre.ɴet

"You think you can walk away from this?" Emma's voice quivered with restrained fury. "Let's see how brave you are when others join in."

Her decision to show Ethan his place went beyond just herself; she intended to rally the support of the other girls involved.

Emma's cruel intentions simmered beneath the surface as she prepared to escalate the confrontation, fueled by the insult Ethan had dared to deliver.

'Thank god she is fine.'

However, Ethan just ignored her and checked the pulse of the girl lying on the ground. He felt responsible because he just watched what happened instead of intervening and was angry at himself.

Emma's frustration deepened at Ethan's disregard for her threats. Seething with anger, she raised her voice, ordering the other girls to attack him.

"Just get this bastard."

At the mention of these words, Ethan just smiled, feeling a fist covered with Aura approaching him.

'This will be my retribution.'

Even if he could lessen the burden on this girl a little bit, he was fine with it.