Zeus

Chapter 2

Merrick spun in the air like a top before crashing to the ground.

He looked up at Asher, terror and disbelief etched across his face. "What I do to Margaret is family business! What's it to you? Why are you interfering?"

"Is that so?" Asher sneered, pressing his foot firmly against Merrick's chest as he loomed over him. "Then open your d*mn eyes and see who I am!"

Merrick's gaze locked on Asher, his eyes widening as recognition slowly dawned. The man standing before him overlapped with the memory of a scrawny boy from their childhood at the church.

"Asher?" Merrick stammered, his voice trembling with shock. "You're supposed to be dead! How... how are you here?"

He slapped himself, as if trying to wake from a dream, and stared again. "It's you? Are you alive? How is that possible?"

"Surprised?" Asher scoffed, his tone sharp and biting. "Do you remember when we were kids? You used to torment me—stabbing me with pens, throwing ink on me, ganging up on me with your friends. Forgotten all that, have you?"

Merrick flinched, the memories crashing down on him like a tidal wave. This was Asher—the boy he had bullied relentlessly a decade ago.

The boy who had vanished. And now he was back.

"Asher... why are you back?" Merrick's voice shifted, laced with bitterness and rage. "Do you know how much I hate you? Because of you, I was always ignored. No matter what I did, they always thought I wasn't good enough compared to you!"

His voice grew louder, more venomous. "And those nine b*tches! No matter how hard I tried to win them over, they didn't care about me. They always said you were the only brother they had!"

"You!" Merrick's face twisted with hatred. "You took everything from me! I want you dead!"

Merrick's eyes burned with malice as he pulled a switchblade from his pocket and lunged at Asher.

But to Asher, the attack was slow and clumsy, almost laughable. With a single, effortless spin kick, he sent Merrick flying.

This time, Merrick didn't get up. Blood poured from his mouth, and his teeth scattered across the ground. He lay there motionless, like a beaten dog, unable to move.

"Do you know why I could take everything from you?" Asher's voice rang out, sharp and commanding, as he stood over Merrick. "Because I'm not like you—jealous, cowardly, and ungrateful! That's why people value me and not you. Do you understand now?"

Pfft!

"Ugh!" Out of rage, Merrick coughed up a mouthful of blood, his face turning ashen as pain twisted his features.

Asher looked away, his expression cold, unwilling to show even a shred of pity.

"Asher? Is that really you? Asher!" Margaret's voice trembled with emotion. She pushed herself up, leaning against the wall for support, and stumbled toward him. The moment she saw his face clearly, she threw her arms around him, tears streaming down her cheeks. "My poor child! Thank goodness you're alive! Where have you been all these years? Why didn't you come back to see me? Do you know how worried I've been?"

"Grandma, I'm back now, aren't I?" Asher said softly, patting her back to comfort her. Once she calmed down, his tone grew serious. "Grandma, do you know who those men in black were? The ones who massacred the church ten years ago?"

Asher had returned to Elyria City with two goals: to find his nine sisters and to take revenge. Seeing Margaret again, he couldn't hold back his urgency and pressed her for answers.

Margaret flinched at his words, her expression darkening as she turned away to wipe her tears. "Kid, it's all in the past. Don't ask anymore. Those people... they aren't someone we can afford to provoke."

Asher's eyes narrowed, his calm exterior masking the storm brewing within. As the true "King" behind the Pantheon, there was no one in the world he couldn't confront. "Grandma, just tell me the truth. Don't worry, I'm not a child anymore. I won't act recklessly."

Margaret hesitated, her gaze flickering with unease. Finally, she sighed heavily. "Asher, promise me you won't do anything rash."

"I promise," Asher said, his voice steady and earnest as he nodded.

Margaret said with a shaking voice, "When I woke up, I saw someone near the church. It was Orson, from the Harris family."

After speaking, Margaret seemed to remember something and grabbed Asher's sleeve. "Asher, I'm telling you this so you'll be aware. Don't do anything rash. Whatever you do, don't go after Orson. We can't afford to cross the Harris family, especially with their terrifying connections."

"Don't worry, Grandma. I won't do anything to Orson without thinking it through," Asher said, his eyes narrowing slightly. He then muttered inwardly, "At least not until I know the whole truth and have the evidence. He'll be fine until then. But after that, I can't make any promises. These are the people who made me leave home for ten years! They almost killed me! They almost took my sisters from me!"

"If I let them go, how will that debt ever be repaid?" Asher's voice was cold like it came from the depths of hell.

Just then, a pair of blood-soaked hands suddenly appeared, clutching Margaret's pants leg in a death grip.