The moment Marin saw the little girl's broken arms in Orien's hands, something inside him snapped.
Without thinking, he rushed forward and snatched her away.
Startled, Orien took a step back.
"Kid, what are you doing?" he asked, brows furrowed.
Marin glared at him. "What am I doing? What have you done?"
Holding the trembling girl close, Marin's voice lowered into something cold and sharp.
"She's a child."
Without wasting another second, he pulled out his phone and searched for the nearest hospital. He didn't wait to argue. He didn't even look back. Cradling her gently, he raced through the streets, disappearing into the night like a blur of fury and compassion.
He reached the hospital in mere moments.
The nurses sprang into action as he barged in, blood on his clothes and urgency in his eyes.
"She needs help. Please!"
They admitted the girl immediately. Marin stayed in the hallway, pacing. He didn't call anyone from the academy. He didn't eat. He didn't sleep. He just waited.
The night crawled by.
Only when the doctor stepped out in the morning and said, "She's awake," did Marin finally allow himself to breathe.
He entered the room and saw her blinking up at him, groggy but safe. He sat beside her, gently brushing her hair back.
"You're alright now," he said softly. "But… why did you steal that bread?"
The girl lowered her eyes.
"I was hungry. I had no food for the last three days. Nobody would give me a job… said I was too young."
A lump formed in Marin's throat.
After ensuring she was stable and under good care, Marin left quietly. He made his way back to the academy, not saying a word to anyone. As soon as he reached his dorm room, he collapsed face-first onto the bed. His body was heavy, but his mind raced.
He couldn't let it go.
A few hours later, he got up and headed to the reception desk.
"Hey, Caleb," he said. "I need Orien's room number."
Caleb raised an eyebrow. "Orien? He doesn't live in the dorms."
Marin frowned. "Then where does he live?"
Caleb hesitated, then leaned in. "You really shouldn't hang out with him much, Marin."
"Why not?"
"Because…" Caleb sighed. "Orien Valcoran is known as The Revenger. He doesn't believe in courts or investigations. He lets victims choose punishments. Then he delivers them. Ruthlessly."
Marin's eyes narrowed because he had just experienced first hand what he meant by that.
Caleb continued. "He once killed a man who stabbed a woman in self-defense. The woman attacked first, but her family wanted revenge… and Orien gave it and killed that man claiming self defence."
Marin clenched his jaw. "Why does the academy allow this?"
Before Caleb could respond, a sudden commotion echoed from outside. A crowd had gathered near the bulletin board.
"What's going on?" Marin asked.
Caleb turned pale.
"Remember the scientist Orien brought in the other day? The one doing human experiments?"
"Yeah…"
"He died during treatment. His body couldn't heal from the damage. Orien's punishment was so brutal that even his regeneration failed him after some time."
Marin felt a wave of sickness rise in his chest. He didn't know what to say. What could be said?
Caleb looked at him. "The thing is, Marin… Orien is one of the academy's strongest enforcer. It would take an army to stop him. No one wants to try."
Marin didn't respond. His fists were trembling.
"…Do you know where he lives?" he asked finally, voice tight.
Caleb nodded slowly, handed over the address, and warned,
"Be careful."
Marin moved like a man on a mission. But as he neared the location, he froze.
There, in a small garden by the side of a stone path, stood Orien — talking to three strangers.
Marin didn't recognize them. He didn't cared who they were.
Orien glanced over and noticed Marin approaching. He smirked and turned to his company.
"You may go now. I'll handle him."
Once the others had left, Orien crossed his arms casually.
"Didn't expect to see you again so soon, kid," he said with a half-smile. "You ran off last night. Where'd you disappear to?"
Marin didn't smile back.
His voice came out sharp. "Why did you broke that girl's arms?"
Orien blinked, surprised. "What? She was a criminal and the victim needed Justice."
Marin's voice grew louder. "She is a child! She was hungry for three days! You think that deserves broken bones?!"
Orien shrugged. "Her punishment was chosen by the victim. I just executed it."
Marin cut in, furious. "And you agreed with it? Without even asking why she stole? What kind of justice is that?"
Orien raised an eyebrow. "Did you care about the scientist's 'why'? You knocked him out without blinking. He experimented on humans… but he said it was to save humans, didn't he?"
"That's not the same!"
"It's exactly the same," Orien said coolly. "The girl stole. The man she stole from worked twelve hours to earn that bread. He had every right to be angry."
"She was starving!"
"So she should've asked, not stolen. And when caught, she still ate it. She didn't return it. She didn't apologise either."
Marin's eyes blazed. "It was just bread."
"To you, maybe," Orien said, voice hardening. "But bread earned through sweat is no less valuable than gold. If I let her go, what's next, huh? Picking pockets ?Drug-running? Extortion? It always starts small."
Marin gritted his teeth. "You don't know that. She could've turned out fine!"
"And you don't know she wouldn't," Orien shot back. "That's how criminals are born. From excuses. From pity. From letting 'small things' slide. They always start small , but as the small things gets ignored they go bigger and bigger."
Marin had no counter. His thoughts were a storm, crashing into each other with no clear answer. But he didn't wanted to let this go. Not like this. He refused to let Orien walk away with a logic this cold and no heart.
So he did what people do when they're losing an argument but still want to win.
He charged himself with his plot armor and threw a punch.
The moment his fist flew toward Orien, the enforcer evaded it easliy, grabbed his arm, and flung Marin across the garden like a ragdoll.
Marin hit the ground with a grunt.
Orien stood over him, calm but firm.
"Kid," he said with a sigh, "that was a very bad idea."
He extended a hand, but his voice was colder now.
"I'm a lot stronger than you are. Right now."
Marin lay there for a moment, staring up at the sky, rage and helplessness battling in his chest.
He didn't know who was right anymore.
But he knew one thing — he wasn't done yet.