"Stop right there!"
My mother and I had only just taken a few steps when we heard Sasha's shrill voice yell at us.
"What do you want?" I turned and asked Sasha.
Sasha marched over in her high heels. "William Floyd, I know why you beat up David so badly! I know what you're up to!"
"Huh?" I was confused and had no idea what she was trying to say.
"You think that you can get back together with me after ruthlessly beating him up, don't you? I'm telling you now, that's impossible!" Sasha raised her chin and glared arrogantly at me.
"You think I'm trying to get back together with you? What a joke!" I scoffed.
My Sacred Halo could regenerate living cells and cure all sorts of illnesses, while my Profane Coil did the exact opposite. It worked by attacking the victim's immune system and worsened any illness that person was already suffering from.
David spent most of his time hanging out in pubs, drinking and womanizing. He had sexually transmitted diseases that could easily be treated if discovered early.
Unfortunately, he had offended me.
As a result, when I cast my Profane Coil Spell on him, his condition was exacerbated. He probably only had no more than another two months left to live.
Even after dying, any autopsy done on his body would only show that he died from an STD. Nobody would suspect that he had died from sorcery.
Meanwhile, Sasha was acting all high and mighty and had no idea that David had already passed an STD to her. I really marveled at how she thought so highly of herself and assumed that I was doing this just so I could get back together with her.
"What are you laughing at?" Sasha was enraged by my laughter. "You're nothing but a penniless bum, so you don't have the right to laugh! You think you're amazing just because you know how to fight? We live in a civilized society! David just needs to make a phone call, and he can put you behind bars for life!"
I frowned upon hearing these words. This was not an empty threat; David was the son of the CEO of a listed company. His family was quite well-acquainted with a few powerful politicians. If David's family were to make use of these connections, I was going to be in trouble.
"So, you finally realize how much trouble you're in now?" Sasha sneered at me in disdain as she went on, "You're just a useless piece of trash. You've got no powerful family to fall back on, and you don't have the connections either. I don't know where you found the courage to beat David up like that!"
"What… what are we going to do?" My mother started getting anxious.
"Don't worry, Mom, everything will be fine." I smiled and patted her on the shoulder to comfort her.
Sasha scoffed and said in a sarcastic tone of voice, "My, my. So, you've learned how to act all in control of the situation after we broke up, huh. I'm sure that jinxed mother of yours will end up worrying herself to death once your ass lands itself in jail!"
My expression fell as I narrowed my eyes at Sasha. "I don't care if you insult me, but you really shouldn't have insulted or cursed my mother."
Sasha was not too threatened by my words, puffing her chest out instead. "Why, are you going to hit me too?"
"Me? Hit you? That would simply be dirtying my hands!" I scoffed and pointed my finger at Sasha as I cast a Profane Coil Spell on her.
Black smoke appeared and went right into Sasha's body.
Sasha shuddered and frowned. "Why does it suddenly feel so cold?"
At the same time, I felt giddy. Suddenly, a wave of exhaustion washed over me.
My mother noticed this and asked concernedly, "Will, what's wrong?"
I shook my head vigorously in an attempt to wake myself up. "I'm fine. I just feel a little tired. I'll be fine after taking a rest."
"You're just looking for an excuse to escape, aren't you? Just say so then! Why bother pretending to be tired? You're really useless!" Sasha continued to mock me.
I ignored her and walked away with my mother.
Since I had already cast my Profane Coil Spell on her, she was going to meet the same fate as David. She was going to die in no time, so I could not be bothered to waste more time on her.
After my mother and I got home, I excused myself and fell asleep on my bed almost instantly.
When I woke up, I noticed two little clouds of mist. One was gold in color, while the other was black.
The two clouds were only as large as coins and were so sparse I could practically see right through them.
"Could my sorcery have something to do with these two clouds?" I wondered to myself.
Just then, my mother knocked on the door, and her voice snapped me out of my daze, "Will, have you woken up?"
"Yes, Mom, I'm up."
"You can really sleep! You've slept for nearly an entire day and night. You must be hungry! I already made lunch, so come out and have some food."
"Yes, Mom," I responded as questions filled my mind.
It really felt as though I hadn't slept for very long. How did a full day and night pass by just like that? That did not seem to make any sense.
Then again, if something as magical as receiving the gift of sorcery could happen to me, anything was possible.
With that in mind, I stopped thinking about this matter and headed out of my room after washing up.
My mother had spent most of the year in hospital, so it had been a long time since I had her cooking. When I tasted the familiar flavor of her dishes, my appetite grew instantly, and I wolfed down everything.
To my surprise, I noticed that the two clouds in my head slowly grew larger and thicker as I ate.
Eating could help increase the size of the clouds? This discovery delighted me, and I started eating even faster.
My mother sat across the table and smiled lovingly at me as she watched me eat. "Will, you don't have to eat so quickly. Nobody's fighting you for the food."
I nodded in response but did not at all slow down after that.
"Will, my stay in the hospital has surely been a burden on you, hasn't it? You've been taking care of me ever since you graduated, so I don't suppose you've started looking for a job yet, right?" she asked.
"Nope, not yet," I answered nonchalantly as I focused my attention on the food.
Before today, I would have probably lost my appetite had I heard her ask me this question.
Now, I had sorcery skills. Earning a living was not going to be a challenge anymore.
"I contacted a friend of mine in the morning, and she told me that the factory she works at is looking for workers, so I'm going to start work there from tomorrow onward. If you don't have anything going on, why don't you look for a job as well? We've borrowed quite a bit of money from several people to pay the hospital bills, so I think it's best we try to repay them as soon as possible."
I finally stopped eating when I heard that she was going back to work. "Mom, you've just recovered from a major illness, so why don't you stay at home and rest for a while more? You don't have to worry about the money. I'm a university graduate, so I'll definitely be able to earn much more than you every month."
"I've spent almost the whole year lying in bed, so I've rested more than enough. Besides, I already promised my friend that I'd start work tomorrow."
"In that case… all right then."
My mother was someone who did not like to stay at home all day and preferred to work, so I gave up trying to convince her otherwise.
Just then, the sound of noisy footsteps came from outside the house.
"Helen Gleeson! Come out right now!" An ear-piercing voice rang out.
I didn't need to go outside to see who had come. That voice belonged to my father's sister-in-law, Jessie Tanner.
I wiped my mouth clean and went with my mother to see what they wanted.
Jessie was standing outside with her son, Tyler Floyd, as well as around 15 hooligans. All of them were armed with a bat each and had vicious expressions on their faces.
"Jessie, what is this all about?" my mother asked, puzzled.
Jessie put both hands on her thick waist and declared loudly, "I'm here to take back the house! You and that little bastard had better pack all your things and get out right now!"
"Jessie Tanner, what the hell is wrong with you? This is MY house! If you want a house, go back to your own!" I snapped rudely.
My father and his younger brother had fallen out over the way my grandfather had divided the inheritance.
When my father was still alive, his younger brother's family did not kick up such a big fuss. But after his passing, they only became more and more unreasonable, finding various other means and ways to oppress my mother and me.
In the past, I was too young and unable to do anything about this situation, so I never dared to say anything even if we got pushed around.
That wasn't the case anymore. Anybody who tried to oppress us now had to pay the price!
Jessie's heavyset body trembled in anger when she heard me call her by her full name. "You rude little bastard! How dare you call me by name like that?"
I glared back at her defiantly. "If you want others to respect you, you've got to learn to respect others first!"
"Respect, my ass!" Tyler pointed the wooden bat in his hand at me and yelled, "f**k you! This house belongs to the Floyds! You and your w***e of a mother better get out right now, or I'll kill you, you little bastard!"
I pointed a finger at Tyler and snapped furiously, "Tyler Floyd, you better watch your mouth! You're my cousin, so I don't plan on pursuing this matter this time. But if you say that sort of thing again, I'll slap your mouth right off your face!"
Tyler sneered. "Ha! I'm your cousin? I'm not your goddamn cousin!"
"What do you mean?" I frowned. Tyler seemed to be implying something else.
Tyler pointed his wooden bat at my mother. "You want to know what I mean? You've got to ask that w***e next to you!"
"You're asking for a beating!" Fury boiled within me again when I heard Tyler insult my mother once more.
"A little bastard like you has the guts to throw tantrums?" Jessie gave me a nasty stare as she spat disdainfully, "That shameless mother of yours was already pregnant when she married your father. You're not a Floyd at all! You're just some bastard your mother had with some man out there!"
"That's not true!" I yelled at Jessie. I did not believe her at all.
"You dare to yell at my mother! If you don't believe her, you can go ask your shameless w***e of a mother!" shouted Tyler as he marched toward me with a furious look on his face.
"I said, if you insult my mother again, I'll slap that mouth right off your face!"
I raised my hand and slapped Tyler across the face.