“Ouch, that looked like it hurt,” Boreas crowed. “Are you going to cry, little baby?”

Tom picked himself up. The smart thing was to give into the general soreness, retreat into the pseudo room and let his avatar wail like a little kid, but he didn’t want to. Instead, he drew on his acting skills, such as they were, and pretended to be injured significantly more than he actually was. With a pronounced limp, he headed for the healing crystal.

Boreas stepped in his way a smirk on his face.

Tom could feel his own increasing fury. That smug face, the simple cruelty to someone weaker than him, pushed his buttons.

“You don’t look that hurt.” The older boy winked at him.

With a sinking feeling, Tom realised that Boreas knew about the protections that had reduced the damage from the fall.

Of course he did. Tom thought annoyed at his own slow thinking. Boreas was twelve, and had most likely fallen multiple times from the spot Tom had. His lack of sleep, Tom realised, was really affecting him.

“Now her,” Boreas pointed at Bir. “You do it. See if you can get further than your boyfriend,” he giggled.

Tom felt like rolling his eyes.

They could get through this. A little humiliation and it would be over.

“What’s happening?” A shrill voice said from the doorway. Ma stood there. “You’re not allowed to do that. I’m dobbing.” She turned to sprint away.

“Declan,” Boreas snapped, and the other boy sprinted toward Ma. There was a flash, and a barrier appeared in the doorway, blocking him.

Declan threw punches at it, but it held suspiciously well.

Boreas’ predatory gaze switched to Bir. She was being her usual timid self when exposed to older people. She had frozen.

“It’s okay, Bir, you just need to climb,” Kang whispered to her desperately.

“Move,” Boreas demanded and took a quick step and pushed her.

Bir fell. She wasn’t even trying to protect herself. Usually, such a small push wouldn’t have knocked her flat on her backside.

Out of the corner of his eyes Tom noticed the barrier fail, and Declan immediately rushed out to grab Ma. He would catch her quickly, long before she reached an adult. And then what? His thoughts ground to a halt. He didn’t like to admit it, but both girls reminded him of his sister in different ways.

If they were both picked on…

If they were hurt...

Boreas’ bullying was out of control.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

It was unacceptable.

Tom’s brain recognised what was happening, and he attempted to turn on Dampened Senses, but it was too late.

The anger filled him. It was a raw, uncontrollable force of nature.

The bully couldn’t be allowed to do this. An almost soundless growl escaped his lips. He was too furious for words. Only…

He needed to wipe that smug look off the older boy’s face. He sprinted at Boreas, his injuries forgotten, and then, disregarding his own health, he went for the one thing that could hurt the far taller boy. It was not like fighting the giant, but it was sort of similar. He led the charge with his head, and knowing full well that it wasn’t going to be pleasant, he slammed into Boreas’ knee. The limb he struck buckled, and the older boy stumbled. There was a flash of energy from one of the rings the boy wore.

Tom’s head rung from the collision.

Words couldn’t describe how ridiculous the attack had been as an opening salvo, but Tom was past reasoning. He didn’t care if he got hurt - all that mattered was injuring the other person.

“What the fuck! That hurt.” Boreas looked down at him in shock. The smug smile was replaced with an expression of pained anger.

Tom used his willpower to ignore the way the world was roiling to push himself to his feet. Then he tried to punch Boreas in the balls. The bully was too slow, and Tom felt a surge of elation. He was going to get him. The enemy would double over. Then he would pull the head down onto his knee and when Boreas fell, he would kick him into bloody submission.

Arnali’s hand flashed downward and deflected the underhand blow. He struck the inner thigh instead of where he had been aiming. Mentally, he cursed, but that didn’t slow him as he drew his right hand back. He was swinging with his left for the same spot.

“Feral.” Boreas proclaimed. His leg came up to protect his sensitive area.

Tom’s left-handed strike struck it - and did nothing.

“What the fuck did you do to my knee?”

Tom sensed the magic gathering in the boy and decided that, if the groin was off-limits, he could try to strike the hurt knee. It seemed his opponent was sensitive about it. He pulled his leg back to kick, but the magic completed its course of action. The world spun, and Tom found himself briefly staring up at the ceiling. He could taste copper in his mouth, but he didn’t care about that. He had a fight to finish.

He leapt to his feet, and was knocked to the floor again. His mind swam.

Stubbornly, he stood up once more. This time, a heavy force slammed into his ribs, and he was sent airborne.

He coughed blood.

“Boreas, what are you doing?” a screaming voice yelled. “He’s just a baby.”

Tom tried to stand, but couldn’t, and then he was suddenly being held by strong arms. The arms of a woman.

Healing magic flooded through him.

“Sorry, mum. He struck first. Head butted my knee and hit me in the balls.”

“He did, Miss Maurice,” Arnali said respectively. “I saw it myself.”

Tom found himself being placed on the ground. “You poor brave boy.” She was hovering over him. “Two broken ribs, and a shattered jaw. That’s not a proportional response. How could you? Where are you going?” Maurice yelled.

“You don’t control me, Mum. I don’t have to listen to your lectures.” Boreas yelled over his shoulder as the three boys left the room at a full on sprint.

Bir was still on the ground, crying. Ma was at the door, uninjured. Kang knelt to comfort the traumatised girl. Maurice left to follow her failure of a child, probably to berate him further.

That was good enough for Tom. He had saved them, even if the unhinged fury that plagued him, an external wave of emotions that had to be a curse of some type, had almost cost him a victory.

Then he remembered the fight. The knee, when he had struck it, had buckled, and made a distinct cracking noise. It had also forced the ring on Boreas’ finger to activate. He guessed that meant he had broken the leg, and then the healing artefact had fixed it.

But how?

How had his four-year-old body done that much damage to someone so much older?

Maybe there was something to unleashing blind rage in combat, he thought with a wry smile. Maybe he had missed his calling as a berserker.

Then he assessed his life experience. No, a cool head was what won fights. This alien anger that consumed him… it was dangerous.

He had to do something to get it under control.