The two Valerian men came in closer, one in front of the other. Their gaze bounced between Shon, Professor Lilah, and the writhing Fraxians around the tents. Their expressions shifted from curiosity to disgust.

  “Ha ha ha, what do we have here?” The broad-shouldered one came in closer.

  A bony Fraxian woman on the pavement grabbed onto his ankles and let out a few raspy words. “Ethermine, please. Or ethermax?”

  Disgusted, the broad-shouldered Valerian stomped on her wrist. There was a loud crack, but he kept on walking. Seeing that, the skinny Valerian behind him spat on that Fraxian and let out a slur.

  Finally, they stopped right in front of Shon and Professor Lilah.

  “An academy Fragger,” said the broad-shouldered man, wrinkling his nose. “But a Fragger nonetheless.”

  Shon clenched his fist, taking every ounce of willpower to stay still.

  The skinny man followed suit. He eyed Professor Lilah up and down. “And we have a Fragger lover here.”.

  Seeing no reaction, the skinny Valerian kicked the tray of sandwiches out of the professor’s hand. A loud clatter. Immediately, the starving Fraxians pounced upon the food, picking up bread and ham off the wet pavement and stuffing them in their mouth.

  The skinny guy stomped on a sandwich but stopped when the broad-shouldered Valerian glared back.

  “Let them feed,” the broad-shouldered man laughed. “Dogs will be dogs.”

  The skinny guy immediately laughed along. “Yes, yes. What a bunch of pathetic dogs.”

  Shon stepped forward, but Professor Lilah pulled him back.

  “What do you want here?” asked the professor.

  The broad-shouldered man loomed over Professor Lilah, leaning in until his nose was inches from her face. “I’m putting these Fraggers back to their place. What do you say?”

  “You have just committed felony battery,” said Professor Lilah, unflinching. “I suggest you leave right now.”

  The Valerian man followed her gaze and saw the homeless woman he stepped on earlier. She was now writhing on the floor, a few bones protruding under her skin.

  “You think anybody gives a damn?” he laughed. “Nobody cares about these animals.”

  Shon wanted to refute him, but he was not wrong.

  “You’ve made your point,” said Professor Lilah. “Why don’t you leave us alone now?”

  “Ha! Leave you alone? A Fragger lover like you is no better than these damn Fraggers.”

  The two Valerians stepped in closer. However, as soon as they lifted their foot, Professor Lilah spoke, “If you lay a finger on me, I will make sure you rot behind bars for the rest of your lives.”

  The broad-shouldered man hesitated. He looked around. “Bullshit. It’s the Mill Row. It’s our words against yours.”

  “You are speaking to a Republic-Ordained Professor of a Stormrunner Academy. Are you sure your meager words carry any weight?”

  “You expect us to believe that?” taunted the skinny Valerian, but he promptly stopped as the broad-shouldered Valerian raised his finger.

  “And don’t you get any ideas on my student,” the professor continued calmly. “He is a Stormrunner recruit. You mess with him, you are messing with President Valtora.”

  This was the first time Shon saw Professor Lilah lie. However, he quietly played along.

  The skinny man turned to his partner. “They’re lying, right?”

  The broad-shouldered Valerian stared at the two, contemplating his odds. Finally, he turned around, holding his head high. “Fuck that bitch and her pet Fragger. It’s not worth it.”.

  As the two Valerians retreated, another half-conscious Fraxian vagabond limped into their way. Through the gaps of his remaining teeth, a few incoherent words squeezed out.

  This became the last straw.

  “Damn you! You fucking Fraggers!” the broad-shouldered Valerian shouted as he punched the beggar across the face. The homeless man collapsed immediately, but the attacks did not stop. The Valerian man stomped on his ribs again and again, cracking a few at a time.

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  “You fucking insects.” Another kick to the head and blood spurted everywhere. “How dare you touch me?”

  The skinny Valerian stood on the sidelines, terrified. He did not stop his partner, but neither did he join in.

  Shon stepped forward. He could not stand watching an innocent man getting beaten to a pulp. Although never trained in combat, he was confident he could take them on.

  However, Professor Lilah blocked Shon from walking any further.

  “Don’t. You cannot win,” she said quietly.

  “I’m sure I can kick their asses.”

  “But what happens afterward? It becomes our word against theirs.”

  Shon swallowed, a taste of dry bitterness in his mouth. The professor was right. A Fraxian youth defending a Mill Row beggar from two Valerians? Nobody would believe his testimony.

  “Am I supposed to just stand by and do nothing?” Shon seethed.

  “We call in law enforcement. I will serve as a witness. You can’t solve every problem with your fists, Shon. You use the instruments of law.”

  Professor Lilah took out a small tube from her pocket. She pointed it at the sky and pulled the string. With a shrill whistle, a blue flare shot up, combusting a hundred feet above them. The bright blue hue masked the entire Mill Row, sending all vagabonds back to their tents.

  At the sight of the blue luminance, the two Valerians instantly stopped. The vagabonds in Mill Row carried no flares. This was a cry for help from an outsider. All law enforcement within five miles must have seen that flare, and they would take it seriously.

  The broad-shouldered man threw his victim onto the ground and took a few steps away. He grabbed his partner and started retreating into the labyrinth of alleyways.

  By the time the cops showed up, they would have long disappeared.

  Before he even realized it, Shon began striding toward them. He was sick of their condescension, their bloodlust, their cowardice. These Valerians, they kept getting away with it. He despised feeling so powerless. He remembered the train ride a few days back, where he was forced to stand and watch a Valerian scumbag beat up a Fraxian thief with no consequences. This time, he could do something. He would not let them get away.

  However, Professor Lilah stepped in front of him.

  “Shon, stop right there.” She stared into Shon’s eyes, now blazing orange with rage. She shuddered a little but did not relent. “The police are already on their way.”

  “We both know that’s gonna take too long. These men will be gone.”

  Shon pushed gently against the professor, careful not to hurt her under his adrenaline. He felt guilty that she had to witness his anger, but he could only keep it all inside for so long.

  “Nobody should take the law into your own hands,” Professor Lilah refused to bulge.

  Taking the law into his own hands. Was this what he was doing right now? What about the Valerian man on the train? Had he been taking the law into his own hands when he punched the thief?

  But what about right now? Shon glanced over at the two Valerian men, now tiny specks blended into the chaotic canvas of convulsing shadows. If he did not do something now, they would escape justice.

  “I am making sure they face the law.” Shon pushed again.

  “This isn’t self-defense. You cannot perform citizen’s arrest. When you hurt them, you are committing a crime.”

  “So what? It’s still the right thing to do!”

  “Think about the bigger picture, Shon. You are a Stormrunner candidate, a student of the Academy. You are supposed to embody the best of all Fraxians.”

  “Fuck that. It isn’t my duty to represent other Fraxians.”

  “The moment you entered the Academy, it became your duty!” Professor Lilah raised her voice.

  Shon was taken aback. He had never seen Professor Lilah yell. Before he could respond, the professor continued. “We fought for decades for your right to education. I fought harder than anyone to prove that you can become dignified members of society. Are you going to prove us wrong, all because you can’t hold back your temper?”

  Shon’s eyes fell to the ground, defiance clashing against shame within him. The professor was not wrong. He did live a sheltered, privileged life that many Fraxians would give everything to have. With that, there were responsibilities bigger than his own education and dreams.

  He had always been ready to fight his hardest for the future generations of Fraxians, but what about turning away from a fight? Why must he turn a blind eye to injustice or stand by while other Fraxians got hurt?

  “I know this isn’t fair,” Professor Lilah said, as if reading his thoughts. “But whether you like it or not, you are in the limelight.”

  Shon’s mind was racing. Resentment. Rage. Denial. Why must he pay this steep price just to receive an education? Why must he live with this burden when other Valerians could just… live?

  But despite all the reluctance, Shon understood that this responsibility was inevitable. No amount of cursing his circumstances could change anything. Life was not supposed to be fair. The lottery of birth was simply another manifestation of Mother Nature’s cruelty. His mere existence as an Academy Fraxian had warranted the burdens.

  And whether he liked it or not, there was but one simple choice: act rashly right now and waste his life in prison, or eat up all the injustice and endure patiently, until the day he was strong enough to make his own change.

  Slowly, Shon unclenched his fist. Beside him, the badly beaten Fraxian remained lying on the ground. From his swollen lips and shattered teeth, a weak whimper escaped. At least he was still alive.

  The two Valerian men escaped into the alleyways. Shon kept his gaze on them till their silhouettes faded completely into the dark.

  Shon closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

  He looked at the sky, taking in the eerie silence that ensued the chaos. All the whimpers and cries and cacophony of life had disappeared. After a long moment, he heard some noise at last.

  The two Valerian men reemerged from the darkness, all their cruel arrogance suddenly stripped away.

  As they drew closer, Shon located the reason for their unease. Three dark shadows stood beyond them. Seeing that the cops finally arrived, Shon let out a breath of relief.

  However, something seemed off.

  The two Valerian men were trembling with fear as the shadows closed in. There was no siren, no barking orders, no arrest. Shon shivered, a sudden chill creeping up his spine.

  As a sudden gust of wind blew away the clouds, Shon could finally see them clearly under the moonlight.

  They were no cops. Despite the chilly air, their arms were bare. Gigantic dragon tattoos coiled around each of their arms.

  At a closer look, Shon understood why the air had become so unnaturally cold. The men’s eyes were glowing fiercely orange.

  They were manipulating thermal energy.

  The air cooled down further, but the three of them showed neither fear nor fatigue. This was not some Fraxian fight-or-flight response. This was an intentional projection of power.

  And the only thing on their faces was grim bloodlust.