The Heir Of The Thunder God

4. No Longer Afraid of Death

Oscar grabbed the hand clutching his collar and slowly pushed the muscular arm away.

Then calmly, he brushed aside the knife that had been pressed against his face.

For some reason, it felt as though a powerful force had awakened inside him.

"I'll pay everything tomorrow night. For now, you should leave."

The words suddenly slipped from Oscar's lips.

His voice sounded calm and confident, as if this were only a trivial matter.

The fear from earlier had vanished without a trace.

The three intimidating men who had just been shouting and threatening him suddenly fell silent.

They exchanged glances with one another before nodding in agreement.

"Fine. We'll come back tomorrow night."

As though hypnotized, the three debt collectors obediently turned around and left.

Deep down, even they were confused.

Why had they agreed so easily?

Oscar himself was shocked by the sudden change within him.

His heart was no longer racing wildly, and he could control himself perfectly.

Even the words he had spoken earlier felt foreign, as if they had come from somewhere else.

And wasn't his lip injured last night?

His jaw had been bruised black and blue.

His bones had felt shattered into pieces.

But now...

There was no pain at all.

As Oscar stood there, confused while examining his body from head to toe, he suddenly remembered the faint light he had seen beneath his shirt earlier.

He quickly pulled out the black circlet.

There was no glow whatsoever.

The necklace still looked exactly the same as before.

Black.

Old.

Worn-out.

Nothing had changed.

At that moment, Oscar convinced himself that his eyes must have been playing tricks on him.

It had probably just been a hallucination.

Putting the strange incident aside, Oscar hurried to get ready for work.

After all, he had promised the debt collectors that he would repay everything tomorrow night.

---

While Oscar was busy working at the noodle shop, Derek suddenly arrived together with Geyssa.

"Oh? I smell poverty in here."

Geyssa deliberately glanced toward Oscar as she spoke mockingly.

Oscar remained silent.

But his heart hurt.

This woman had truly gone too far.

"Should we leave, babe? Maybe we should have breakfast at a five-star hotel instead."

Derek kissed the back of Geyssa's hand while gazing at her affectionately.

It was obvious he was deliberately trying to provoke Oscar.

"You're the best, sweetheart. But I'm already hungry. Let's just eat here."

Geyssa spoke in a spoiled, flirtatious tone.

She looked delighted.

And arrogant.

It was as though she enjoyed being treated like royalty by Derek right in front of Oscar.

Without the slightest shame, she wrapped herself around Derek intimately.

The two of them openly displayed their affection in front of Oscar.

Geyssa even kissed Derek's neck as though they weren't standing in a public place.

The sight made Oscar feel as though his heart were burning.

He gritted his teeth in anger.

The hand holding his pen tightened into a fist for a moment before slowly relaxing again.

Oscar forced himself to stay calm.

He was trying very hard.

He had to remain professional because he was working.

He couldn't afford to lose his job while drowning in debt just because of these two disgusting people.

Even the customers eating noodles nearby looked uncomfortable.

Several frowned in disgust.

Watching such shameless behavior in public made them look at the couple with contempt.

Patiently, Oscar served Derek and Geyssa's orders.

Eventually, every dish they requested was delivered to their table.

But Derek still wasn't satisfied.

He ate with annoyance written all over his face after realizing Oscar wasn't reacting to his provocations at all.

Throughout the meal, Derek constantly ordered extra chili sauce, condiments, and drinks, treating Oscar like a cheap servant.

"Don't think this is over."

Derek glared sharply at Oscar as he stood up from his seat.

Oscar said nothing.

A relaxed smile merely appeared at the corner of his lips.

He didn't care.

And he wasn't afraid anymore.

"You had the nerve to steal my girlfriend while I was away. Just wait and see what happens to your life after this."

Derek hissed coldly before leaving the noodle shop.

Oscar didn't respond.

Back then, Geyssa had been the one chasing after him first.

Not the other way around.

The truth was...

He had been the one used by Geyssa all along.

Oscar quietly began cleaning the table for the next customers.

Not long after Derek and Geyssa left, a group of street thugs suddenly entered the noodle shop.

Instead of sitting down to order food, they immediately started causing trouble for no reason.

One of them deliberately walked toward Oscar and slammed into the arm carrying a customer's order.

"Ah! Hot!"

Another thug shouted dramatically, pretending the spilled food had splashed onto him when it clearly hadn't.

Even the customer who owned the order stared in disbelief.

Everything had happened right in front of his eyes.

"Hey! You did that on purpose, didn't you?! Trying to pick a fight with us?!"

The thug glared furiously at Oscar.

The others crossed their arms while glaring menacingly.

...