Chapter 6 Everything Is Fishy About Everything

Pedro frowned as he looked down at the little boy, his expression dark and stern.

"How did you do that?" he growled, grabbing Adamax by the collar of his shirt. He was a man of quick temper, and he did not tolerate jokes or pranks.

"I'm warning you, kid," Pedro snarled, revealing his sharp fangs in a silent threat. "Don't mess with me. I'm not playing games."

His words were spoken with a tone of menace, and his gaze was cold and unyielding.

Adamax stumbled backward, stunned by the strange phenomenon. No matter how fast or slow Pedro walked, the steps always remained six strides long. It was as if time and space were bending to his will.

Adamax was at a loss for words, utterly bewildered by what he had witnessed.

Despite his shock, Adamax found himself lifted off the ground by the collar of his shirt. Pedro's strength was far greater than his own, and he was powerless to resist.

"Speak!" Pedro barked, his tone leaving no room for argument.

Adamax trembled as he hung suspended in the air, but he couldn't break free from Pedro's grasp. In a moment of panic, he blurted out the first thing that came to mind. "It's my talent!" he cried. "

"Talent?" Cian stood there, trying to wrap his mind around what he had just witnessed.

A talent was the only logical explanation, but it still seemed impossible. He turned to Adamax, who was still struggling to free himself from Pedro's grip. "Who are you?" he asked, his voice tight with tension. "What's your name?"

Realizing that his efforts to escape were futile, Adamax went still.

He met Cian's gaze with a wary look, and his voice was quiet and resigned as he answered. "Adam..Adamax," he said. "My name is Adamax."

Pedro didn't need to ponder much on the name as it was known. "You're Adamax 001?" he said, his tone heavy with scorn. "The kid with the most useless talent in all of Ulaetsria?"

Pedro released Adamax, letting him fall to the ground. He glared down at him, his eyes full of contempt. "You're the shame of Ulaetsria," he said. "How dare you show your face in public? Do you have a death wish?" His voice was loud and full of disappointment.

As Adamax listened to Pedro's tirade, he noticed that the man's anger wasn't solely directed at him. There was something more behind his words - a deeper meaning that was hard to decipher.

"Go back home and stay there," Pedro warned Adamax. "Don't leave without a guardian, or you'll meet your end at the hands of Gibron."

With that, he turned and began to walk away. But before he could get too far, Adamax called out, "Wait!"

Adamax mustered up a sudden burst of courage. "You said you were a powerful man here," he said. "If you're so powerful, who can hurt me while I'm under your protection?"

Pedro pulled a cigarette out of his pocket and flicked open a silver lighter. With a practiced motion, he brought the flame to the end of the cigarette and took a long drag.

Then, he tossed the lighter to Adamax, who caught it with surprising agility. The small, square-shaped lighter felt cool and heavy in his hand though.

"Stay out of trouble," Pedro said as he got into the car. "If you do, our deal will come to effect." And with that, he drove off, leaving Adamax standing alone on the street.

"Have I just been scammed or what?" Adamax asked himself, lifting a brow.

He stared at the lighter, turning it over in his hand. He wasn't sure what to do with it - keep it, throw it away, or give it back to Pedro. In the end, he put it in his pocket, still uncertain of its significance.

Adamax wandered the streets for a while, trying to stay out of sight. He ended up in a quiet, secluded spot, where the only light came from a single flickering street lamp.

The walls around him were dark and imposing, and he found himself at a dead end. He was lost and confused, unsure of what to do next.

Adamax sighed, muttering to himself, "Where do I go now?"

He kicked a pebble on the ground in frustration, sending it skittering across the pavement. He felt completely lost and alone, with no idea of what to do next.

Adamax leaned back against the wall to gather his thoughts, when suddenly he felt the wall give way beneath him. He tumbled backwards, falling into what felt like an open space behind the wall.

Gwop!

As he recovered from the fall, Adamax realized that he was no longer in an empty alleyway. He was in his own living room! He was completely dumbfounded, trying to make sense of what was happening.

"What the...?" he gasped, utterly confused.

A chill ran down his spine as he heard a familiar, yet heartbreakingly distant voice say, "Welcome home, Adamax 001." He froze, his heart pounding in his chest, afraid to turn around and see who was speaking.

He didn't have to think twice about who it was. The mocking tone left no room for doubt. But it wasn't just the voice that gave him away - it was the palpable sense of danger that hung in the air.

With a deep breath, Adamax opened his eyes and turned to face the source of the voice. As he did, a single question burned in his mind: What was this person doing in his mother's house? When he opened his eyes, he was met with the chilling sight of...

Seated elegantly on the couch, the man was dressed head to toe in white. He wore dark, oversized sunglasses, concealing his eyes, and his long, slender fingers were clasped around a glass of clear liquid.

"S-Sir Leon?" Adamax stammered, his voice shaking with fear.

Even though the soul inside of him belonged to an older man, Adamax still feared the aura of Sir Leon the same way one would fear death.

Leon placed the glass on the side table, never breaking eye contact with Adamax. His voice was low and threatening as he spoke. "Where have you been?"

Adamax shivered. He wondered what kind of power someone as dangerous as Sir Leon would have then. Also, he wasn't sure if talent and power inspectors were allowed into the student's private home but at this point, he had only one resolution which was calling for help.

"Mother!" Adamax screamed in terror, and his mother came running from another room. "What is it, Max?" she asked, her voice full of concern.

Adamax glanced from her to the man sitting chilling in their living room and then spoke. "He..he.." he raised his hand to point at Sir Leon but his mother rushed to him and held his finger down.

"You never point at your teacher like that, especially not this one," she scolded, giving Adamax a stern look. She turned to Sir Leon and gave him an apologetic smile. "I'm so sorry about that, Sir Leon," she said, her voice polite and deferential.

Leon dismissed her apology with a wave of his hand. "It's no trouble," he said. "I just need to speak to him privately, for a moment before I leave." His tone was casual, but there was a hint of steel in his words.

His mother nodded and retreated from the room, leaving the two of them alone. Adamax stood there, dumbfounded. He couldn't believe that his fire breathing mother had just apologized to a man who was younger than she was.

The next thing Adamax knew, he was being pulled up the stairs by Sir Leon. They ended up in his room, and the man closed the door behind them.

He turned to Adamax, his face hard and unyielding. "Don't try to act smart with me," he said, his voice filled with menace. "You know who I am, don't you? So where were you?"

Adamax could feel his heart racing as Sir Leon's face was only inches away from his own. He could see a tiny, white light shining from the inside of the man's black glasses.

Sir Leon sniffed the air around Adamax, as if he were a predator assessing his prey. Then, he stood up to his full height and smiled, a predatory grin that made Adamax's blood run cold. And then he spoke, his voice low and menacing.

"You were with Gizoro, weren't you?" Sir Leon asked, his voice dripping with assurance.

"Huh? How did you...?" Adamax stammered, his mind reeling.

Sir Leon slipped his hands into his pockets, looking unruffled and calm. He gave a knowing smirk. "I'm a Russell," he said. "Not just any Russell, the third son."

Adamax was completely lost, no clue what "Russell" or "Gizoro" meant. But he had a feeling it wasn't the right time to ask questions. Sir Leon was making him nervous, and he didn't want to provoke him.

"Your mother thinks you were with me," Sir Leon said, his voice cold and unconcerned. "If she finds out you were out on the streets alone, you'll never be allowed to leave the house again."

And with that, he turned and walked out of the room, leaving Adamax to stare after him, stunned and speechless.

"Everything is so fishy about everything," Adamax said, letting out a long sigh. He had to figure out what was going on in this strange world.

He needed to learn more about his new home, if he was ever going to get by. Maybe then he could start to live a better life than he had in his past one.

{If you find any issues in this chapter, please reach out to the author ^⁠_⁠^}