Tres had finished tying Luke up. Luke had fainted, sitting on the floor tied up as Tres stood in front of him, examining his new system.
---
Demonic System
[System Notice] Demonic Core has been activated.
Skills Unlocked: Detect Hostility, Devour Fragment, Adrenaline Surge, Soul Strike
---
Demonic System… the one Luke has, and I was able to copy it using my system—System Replicator. Isn't this too OP? Yeah, hell yeah it is… No, I shouldn't get too excited.
Tres looked at the unconscious Luke as he bent down to his level. He sure gained a lot of muscle… He used to be just a scrawny guy that used to bully me… Still, how the hell did he get accepted into the Demonic Guild?
He fainted from a single soul punch, and I'm the same level—if not lower—than him… Should I try Devour Fragment on him? I mean, I have been seeing…
---
[SKILL: DEVOUR FRAGMENT]
Devour Fragment: Solidify the soul or the essence of the target to get a permanent growth increase.
Expected Gain:
– Demonic Energy: +0.6 – +1.2
Proceed with Extraction?
— Yes
— No
---
"Yes…" Tres said as suddenly an energy pulled something out of Luke, removing something small like a blood diamond. Tres took it in his hand and looked at it. It seems like first it extracts the fragment, and now I should devour it?
Just as he said that, another skill message appeared.
---
Extraction Failed:
[Soul Fragment Detected – Target Alive]
Devour Fragment: Partial Extraction Available
Restrictions:
• Full soul devouring impossible – target still alive
• Only surface essence, fear energy, and minor life–force may be taken
Side Effects on Target:
• Sudden weakness
• Emotional collapse
---
"Partial extraction? Well whatever… For now I should use the skill."
He threw the fragment in his mouth and bit it, breaking it inside his mouth.
---
[Devour Fragment Activated]
Extracting soul residue…
…
…Processing…
[Warning: Essence Purity Anomaly Detected]
---
It was too late—he had swallowed it. But suddenly he felt extreme disgust in his mouth. Tres fell to his knees as he vomited it all out. He felt extremely repulsed.
What… the fuck— th-that's disgusting…
---
[ERROR: Fragment is Corrupted]
Status: Corrupted Fragment
Source: Human host
Parasite: Demonic Core (Dormant / Feeding)
Processing failed. Corruption cannot be digested.
---
Just as he saw the error message, his throat burned.
A surge of black sludge erupted from his mouth, splattering onto the floor.
---
[REPLICATION SYSTEM – ALERT]
Anomaly Detected.
Foreign parasite attempted soul–latch.
Activating skill: White Door.
Purification Initiated…
Removing parasitic bindings…
Neutralizing malice…
Stabilizing host soul…
Purification Complete:
Corruption removed.
Fragment converted into Pure Demonic Essence +1.0
Status: Host safe. No lingering corruption.
---
"What?!" Tres forced himself up as he wiped his mouth. He wasn't concerned about what happened to him, but what he realized.
This…
He looked at Luke.
How come I didn't think of it this way? The Demonic Guild… They chose someone like him… Someone who fell from a single punch from someone as weak as me… Because they are using him as an energy source.
He looked at the unconscious Luke in shock.
…
Luke wriggled around but couldn't move his hands. Since he couldn't, he forced his eyes open to see Tres using a mop on the ground. His eyes flashed with anger, but he noticed he was tied up.
"WHAT THE HELL?! TRASH! YOU TIED ME UP? YOU FUC—"
"Shut up, Luke… You lost from a single punch from me."
Luke remembered how he fainted in a single punch as he felt embarrassed.
"That was pure fluke… Yeah, I wasn't in the right mind—"
"Luke…" Tres looked at him with pity.
Luke saw this, and his anger flared up, but Tres responded calmly.
"Luke… you have grown up. So have I. Why are you still trying to be a bully? Haven't you changed at all?"
His eyes widened as he looked at Tres.
This guy? The trash?! He is telling me this?
His eyes flared as he said, "I have, you fucker. I worked hard. I worked daily and got into the Demonic Guild, and I got accepted. I have finally started getting powerful… and… and they have said in a few months… in a few…"
Luke stopped.
He remembered one single phrase. Each time he went to the Demonic Guild to ask how long till he gets powerful, they always said in a few months…
"It's been 2 years… I haven't gotten any more stronger… I can't even beat a Demon Ant…" Luke muttered.
Tres looked at Luke, who was looking down, and said, "Luke… I know you were my bully in high school… but we were friends in middle school, weren't we? Can't we go back?"
A face filled with sadness appeared on Tres as Luke looked up at him. He remembered his past.
…
He and Tres used to be best friends until middle school—middle school where there was no one to mock anyone. Everyone was friendly with each other.
Luke used to help Tres play football. He taught him how to play basketball. A close friend of Trash Ivam… until high school.
"Hey! What the hell, this guy is called Trash?!"
A classmate of Tres laughed, as another one—sturdier in build—said,
"What! No way! Didn't this guy himself say that his name is Tres?"
"Yeah, I know, but I was checking the teacher's attendance register and I saw it. Trash Ivam. Wanna see it?" The classmate laughed.
The sturdier one walked over to Tres.
"Hey, is your name really Trash? I'm Evans." He smirked.
Tres sat there quietly as Evans slapped his head.
"Hey, come on, answer me!"
Everyone was staring and giggling among themselves as Tres heard them mutter:
"Trash? Really?"
"What the hell is that name?"
"Hey, stop bullying him!" Luke entered the classroom.
Luke, scrawny—just a little stronger than Tres—stood in front of him as Tres looked at Luke in awe.
But that was short–lived.
…
"What the hell? This guy is so weak." Evans looked at Luke, laughing, as Luke cried on the ground with everyone watching.
…
"Hey Tres… don't worry, I won't let them bully you. I'll keep helping you," Luke said to Tres with bandages on his face as he smiled. Tres felt immense guilt, but he couldn't do anything.
…
Tres saw Luke being bullied the next day as well.
The day after that.
And the day after that…
After four days, Luke didn't come to school.
Tres visited his house, but Luke didn't respond.
Because of Luke, for the past few days, Tres hadn't gotten bullied. He was ignored…
…
Luke came a week later.
And was instantly brought to the bullies.
Luke arrived to see Tres with a swollen face, sitting on the floor on his knees.
One of the boys said, "Oh man, I missed this guy. He can actually take a beating, you know?"
One of the girls said, "Ehh, you boys are quite boring. If it stays boring, I'm leaving."
Evans, their main bully, said, "Hold on, babe. What do you even like? You really are demanding." He chuckled.
"You wanna see a fight between losers?"
The girl's face lit up. "Oh yes! That's perfect!"
Luke's face twisted in fear as the girl said, "But it doesn't feel nice not to reward the winner. So let's make it—the winner will stop getting bullied and hangs out with us, yeah?"
"Anything for you, baby Natasha!" Evans chuckled.
The girl said, "Don't say baby. That's so cliché."
"Anyways, you boys heard. Let's start the loser fight," he smirked.
Tres, still on his knees, turned to Luke and looked at him.
Luke felt conflicted. Should he really beat up his best frie—
"If nobody starts fighting, I'll beat both of you to death!" Evans glared at Luke.
Luke, whose mind was torn, felt fear override everything in an instant as he jumped to attack Tres…
Luke won.
And he wasn't bullied anymore.
He hung around with them.
At first, it was fear, but slowly he eased up with them. They were normal guys too. They partied. They smoked. They illegally drank beer. They were high schoolers, he thought… And they included him at all times. Even after the girlfriend of Evans left, they didn't leave him. He stayed in their group.
At the cost of bullying Tres daily…