BLEEDING UNIVERSE (The warrior in two worlds)

Chapter 4

Baron stood over him, his hands loosely by his sides, that same calm, terrifying smile still playing on his lips.

He hadn't even broken a sweat. He was acting with a level of cold, violent precision that his former teenage self could never have dreamed of.

The entire crowd outside the terminal went dead silent. Dozens of travelers, airport security guards, and taxi drivers stopped dead in their tracks, staring at the scene with wide, amazed eyes.

Nobody could believe what they had just witnessed. A skinny, ordinary-looking kid had just dropped a literal giant with a single, effortless punch. They looked at Baron like he was some kind of fearless martial arts master.

The giant thug looked up at Baron, his eyes wide with pure shock and fear.

Realizing he had just been completely disgraced and humiliated by a kid a fraction of his size, he dragged himself up, wheezing in pain, and scuttled away into the crowd like a beaten dog while people around whispered and mocked him.

Baron didn't care about the applause or the stares. He casually adjusted his backpack strap and walked away, blending seamlessly back into the crowded terminal building.

As he walked past a row of indoor benches, a sharp, ringing sound cut through the ambient noise of the airport. Baron reached into his pocket and pulled out his scratched phone. He looked down at the glowing screen.

The caller ID read a single word that made his entire body freeze: Mom.

His breath caught in his throat. Hearing her voice, seeing that name appear on a living screen—it completely caught him off guard.

In his past life, she had passed away in agony from a forced, engineered illness that the rich elite had cut off treatments for. To Baron, she had been dead for over a century.

His hand shook slightly as he pressed the green button and lifted the phone to his ear.

"H-hello?" Baron choked out, his voice thick with a sudden, overwhelming wave of emotion.

"Baron! Oh, thank goodness, you finally picked up!" a warm, loving, and slightly anxious voice blasted through the speaker. "I’ve been checking the flight tracker every five minutes! Did the plane land safely? Are you off the flight yet?"

Baron closed his eyes, a single tear cutting through the dust on his cheek. "Yeah, Mom. I'm off the plane. I just landed a few minutes ago."

"Oh, thank the Lord," she sighed loudly, and Baron could hear the familiar rustle of her kitchen apron in the background.

"You sound a little out of breath, sweetie. Are you rushing? Don't rush! Tuntadel City is huge and dangerous, you need to watch your surroundings. Did you put on the heavy jacket I packed for you? I checked the weather news this morning, and they said the capital gets a very cold breeze in the evening. Don't go walking around in just a t-shirt, you'll catch a fever before classes even start!"

Hearing her gentle, sweet nagging—the exact same worry she always had—brought a massive surge of warmth straight to his cold, ancient heart.

"I'm fine, Mom. Really," Baron said, a genuine smile breaking across his face. He just wanted to listen to her talk forever.

"It’s actually a bit warm right now, but I'll make sure to pull out the jacket if it gets cold. I promise."

"Good. And make sure you eat a proper hot meal as soon as you get to the campus," she continued, her voice filled with motherly care.

"Don't go spending your small food allowance on those cheap instant noodles, Baron. You need your strength for your studies. Your father and I are working hard here to send you the next batch of allowance by the end of the month, okay? Just focus on your books, don't worry about the money."

Baron’s chest tightened with a fierce, burning emotion. His family was scraping by, giving him everything they had, while the wealthy monsters of this city were already planning to ruin them.

"Mom, listen to me," Baron said, his voice suddenly turning incredibly firm, deep, and steady. "You and Dad don't need to overwork yourselves anymore. Do you hear me? Don't worry about the money at all. I am going to take care of everything from now on."

"Oh, listen to you, talking like a big grown man already," she laughed softly, clearly touched but not fully understanding the weight behind his words. "Just stay safe for me, Baron. That's all I want."

"I will, Mom," Baron whispered, his eyes hardening into flint. "I promise you... everything is going to be different this time. I'll call you when I get to the dorms."

"Okay, baby. I love you!"

"Love you too, Mom."

Baron clicked the phone off and slid it back into his pocket. The tender, emotional look on his face vanished in an instant, replaced by a cold, deadly serious aura.

His resolve to protect her was burning hotter than a star.

But before he could even take three steps toward the exit, two wealthy, beautiful young women deliberately stepped out from behind a massive concrete pillar, blocking his path entirely.

Baron stopped. He recognized them instantly.

It was Margret Grant, a girl from an incredibly powerful, high-society family, and her arrogant, stuck-up best friend, Kate.

Margret was stunningly beautiful, dressed in expensive designer clothes, a luxury handbag hanging from her wrist, and her nose turned up so high she looked like she was constantly smelling something rotten. Kate stood right next to her, crossing her arms and looking down her nose with identical elitist pride.

In his past life, Baron’s distant relatives had begged the Grant family to have someone pick him up from the airport out of sheer pity.

Margret had come, but she and Kate had spent the entire car ride treating him like an absolute dog. They had mocked his small-town background, laughed at his cheap clothes, and stuttered him into a state of deep, burning shame that ruined his confidence for months.