Someone outside kicked the thin wooden door.
And with a bang, it flew off its hinges and skidded across the kitchen floor, smashing a flower vase Ellie had worked so hard to take care of.
The three men stepped into the small apartment.
They were big, smelled of cheap cigarettes, and wore leather jackets with the "Iron Fist" logo on the back.
Leading them was Garen.
He looked very muscular with with a scarred lip and a heavy brass knuckle on his right hand.
"Morning, Rio," Garen growled. He kicked a kitchen chair out of his way.
"I didn't hear you say 'Come in,' so I helped myself."
Ellie let out a small gasp and scrambled behind Rio. She gripped the back of his shirt, her fingers shaking.
"Rio... what do they want? We paid last month!"
"Last month was last month, little girl," Garen laughed. He stepped closer, his heavy boots thumping on the floorboards.
"When interest goes up, there is an increase in price. And your brother here is a very slow earner."
Rio didn't move. He stood in front of Ellie, his heart thumping.
In his old life, this was the moment he would drop to his knees. He would put his hands behind his head and let them kick him until they got bored.
As an F-Rank pushover type, his only skill was taking a beating. If they hit him, they wouldn't hit her.
I have to play the part, Rio thought. If I kill them now, the police will come. The guilds will notice and I'm not ready yet.
He lowered his head. He relaxed his muscles, trying to look like the Pushover they remembered.
"I don't have it, Garen," Rio said, his voice flat.
"Give me three days. I'll find a raid and carry heavy bags like I use to. Just leave her alone."
"Three days? You said that three days ago!" Garen snarled.
He pulled back his fist as the sunlight caught the dull gleam of his brass knuckles.
"Maybe you need a reminder of who owns this street."
Garen used his fist to hit Rio's stomach.
It was an intense hit, with the intention of breaking his ribs and lungs.
In the past, Rio would have fallen over, puking and gasping for air.
But this time, it felt different.
[System Notification: Damage on host.]
[Status: Damage Absorbed: 10 Points.]
[Wrath Counter: 1/1,000.]
Rio felt the hit, but the pain didn't spread. It was like a pebble hitting a tank.
The 1,000x System took the force of the punch and sucked it into a dark corner of his mind.
But as the damage was absorbed, a new, stabbing pain started in his chest.
[Warning: Suppression of Wrath Detected.]
[You are holding back 1,000x Retaliation.]
[Result: Internal Hemorrhage. Your body is tearing itself apart to keep from exploding.]
Rio coughed. A small drop of dark blood hit the floor.
It wasn't because Garen was strong; it was because Rio was trying too hard to be weak.
He felt like a steam engine with a blocked pipe. His skin began to smoke slightly as his body temperature increased.
"What's the matter, scum?" Garen mocked. He leaned in close, breathing his stinking breath into Rio's face.
"Usually you're crying by now. Did you get a thicker shock absorber over the night?"
Garen looked past Rio's shoulder. His gaze shifted to Ellie.
She was peeking out from behind the doorframe, her face pale and tears in her eyes.
A slow, disgusting smile spread across Garen's face. He tapped his brass knuckles against his chin.
"You know, Rio... you're right. You're too slow at earning. But your sister?" Garen reached out a hand toward the door.
"She's pretty. If the scum can't pay with gold... maybe the sister can work it off at the Iron Fist club."
The air in the room suddenly turned freezing cold.
Rio's head slowly stood up. His hair shadowed his face, but his eyes were no longer brown.
They were a dark, veiny crimson, glowing with a strange light.
[Wrath Threshold: CRITICAL.]
[Manual Control: Overridden.]
"Take your hand..." Rio's voice sounded like two grinding stones. "...off the door."
Garen pretended like he didn't hear Rio.
In his head, Rio was still the F-Rank trash that everyone kicked for fun.
He didn't see the red glow in Rio's eyes or the way the floorboards were beginning to groan under Rio's feet.
"Or what, Scum?" Garen laughed. His hand was inches from Ellie's hair.
"You're going to bark at me? You're going to beg louder?"
Garen reached out to shove Rio aside.
He used his whole strength, trying to slam Rio against the kitchen stove so he could get to Ellie.
It was something he had done a dozen times before.
Usually, Rio would fly backward and hit the ground. But this time, Rio didn't budge.
Garen's hand hit Rio's shoulder, and it felt like pushing against a mountain of solid iron.
Not a single muscle in Rio's body flinched. Instead, the force of Garen's own shove traveled back up his own arm, making his elbow pop with a painful click.
"What the….?" Garen grunted. His eyes went wide.
He pushed again, harder this time, his face turning red with the effort he was applying. "Move, you piece of garbage!"
Rio stood like a statue. Behind him, Ellie was holding her breath.
She gripped the back of his shirt so hard her knuckles turned white. She could feel a strange, dry heat coming off her brother's skin.
It felt like standing next to a furnace in the middle of winter.
Inside Rio's mind, a lot was happening.
The [1,000x Wrath System] was no longer just a notification at the edge of his vision.
It was a pressure building up in his chest, looking for a way out.
[Warning: Internal Pressure at 99%.]
[Suppression Failed.]
[System Demand: THE DEBT MUST BE RETURNED.]
Rio felt a shift inside his soul. He realized he couldn't play the Scum anymore.
If he didn't vent this energy right now, the 1,000x multiplier would tear his own internal organs apart.
The System wasn't asking him to fight; it was commanding him to.
"Garen," Rio said. His voice was flat and cold. "You broke my door."
"I'll break your neck!" Garen roared. He pulled back his right hand. The brass knuckles caught the light as he swung a heavy hook at Rio's jaw.
Rio didn't duck or raise his arms to block. Instead, he simply reached out his right hand.
He extended his index finger and placed it very, very lightly against the center of Garen's chest. It was a tiny movement, like he was pointing at a spot on a map.
[Action: Gentle Poke.]
[Force Detected: 1 Newton.]
[Multiplier Applied: 1,000x.]
The sound that followed was a sharp, explosive CRACK, like a tree snapping in half.
The air in the kitchen rippled. Garen didn't have time to react.
The 1,000 Newtons of force hit his ribs like a sledgehammer. The front of his leather jacket tore open from the sheer pressure.
Garen was thrown backward as he soared through the open doorway, sailed across the hallway, and slammed into the brick wall of the neighbor's apartment.
The bricks didn't stop him. Garen went straight through the wall, leaving a jagged hole.
Dust and bits of red brick rained down in the hallway, coating the two other thugs who were standing there with their mouths open.
A heavy silence followed. The only sound was the drip of water from a broken pipe in the hallway and the distant sound of Garen groaning behind the rubble.
Rio didn't look excited. He just looked down at his finger.
A tiny wisp of heat rose from his skin where it had touched Garen's chest. The Infinite symbol in his vision pulsed once, then dimmed.
He slowly stepped over the broken door frame. He walked into the hallway steadily.
The two remaining thugs backed away, hitting the opposite wall. They looked at the hole in the neighbor's room, then back at Rio.
"That was for breaking the door," Rio said. He looked at Garen's legs, which were sticking out from the pile of bricks. "Now, let's talk about the interest."