Chapter 8: Dealing With the Unexpected

After Luke requested a light drink to help with his nerves and make his presence there less conspicuous, the bartender said, “That’ll be one silver coin.”

Luke stared blankly at the bartender before realizing that he was supposed to pay.

While his expression didn’t outwardly change, though the bartender probably couldn’t see with the hood on, he was inwardly panicking.

How was he supposed to pay without any money?

Before he had been sealed away with the evil god, he never had to pay for anything. He hadn’t spent a single coin on food, drink, board, and more. Neither did any of his ex-comrades as heroes designated by the country, so none of them had carried money on their journey.

He couldn’t believe he had made such a blunder right after being released from the seal.

The bartender quickly realized that Luke likely didn’t have any money, and his expression turned stern.

“Sir, I’d kindly ask you to leave if you don’t have any money,” the bartender said, keeping his tone polite.

Luke could feel heat burning his cheeks as people stared in his direction.

So much for laying low. He would undoubtedly be remembered as the stranger who tried to get a free drink at the bar.

Not wanting to cause a bigger ruckus, Luke got to his feet and walked towards the exit. He could feel several burning gazes on him. Right as he was about to reach the door, it swung open, and someone crashed into him.

He barely felt it.

The other person, on the other hand, stumbled back and cursed up a storm before demanding, “What the hell are you doing blocking the way? Move it.”

Luke wrinkled his nose in distaste, staring down at the stranger, but he still moved out of the way to avoid escalating the situation.

Unfortunately, that seemed to be the wrong move.

The stranger sneered and said, “It’s good you know your place, but you still owe me compensation for hurting me. You better pay up or I’ll make you pay.”

This was probably the first time Luke had to ever deal with someone like that. He had never thought there would come a day where someone would try to shake him down for money. If his ex-comrades were here, they would probably laugh at him for falling so low.

The very thought made him ground his teeth as the stranger snapped, “Did you hear me? I said fork over the cash.”

Seeing that Luke wasn’t responding, the stranger reached out to grab him. Before the stranger’s hand could touch him, Luke grabbed the man’s wrist.

“What do you think you’re doing?” the man barked as he tried to pull his arm free, but it was like wrestling with a stone wall.

When the stranger saw that he couldn’t break free, he raised his other hand to throw a punch. Luke easily caught it, keeping the man trapped and unable to move. Curses spewed out of the stranger’s mouth as he frantically thrashed about to escape Luke’s grasp.

Unfortunately, he was no match for Luke’s iron grip.

Someone who probably never had to fight for his life for a single day couldn’t stand a chance against a veteran like Luke who endured so much to get where he was today.

Feeling the man struggle made Luke feel strange, and he frowned underneath the hood.

It would be so easy to snap the stranger’s wrists, making him unable to grab or hit Luke. If that wasn’t enough of a warning, Luke could just break the stranger’s legs too. He could break the man’s ribs as an added bonus.

“Do it. Break his limbs,” the evil god whispered into Luke’s ears.

Those words snapped Luke out of it, and he released the man with a shove. The stranger stumbled back a couple steps with a murderous look on his face.

As the stranger was about to snap at Luke again, the bartender snapped first, “Enough. If you’re going to fight, do it outside. We won’t have any of that in here.”

Luke nodded his head in acknowledgment and shoved past the stranger. The man threw more curses at Luke’s back, but he at least didn’t chase after Luke to continue the fight. Once Luke was far away enough, he hid in a corner and breathed a heavy sigh.

He couldn’t believe he lost his composure like that. He had nearly blown his cover over nothing. If the evil god hadn’t spoken up, he might not have stopped in time.

“What a pity. You were so close,” the evil god said with a regretful tone.

Luke scowled and said, “Unless you have something valuable to say to me, I don’t want to hear it.”

“How rude. You shouldn’t ignore your newfound instincts,” the evil god said, causing Luke to tense.

Newfound instincts? Was the evil god referring to his desire to beat that stranger within an inch of his life?

While he had been annoyed to be put into that situation earlier, he would have never thought to retaliate that viciously before he had been betrayed by his ex-comrades.

“What did you do to me?” Luke asked, feeling his stomach churn.

“I’ve said it many times before. I’ve made you my warrior. Your exact title is still up for defeat. How about warrior of vengeance or warrior of fury?” the evil god said cheerfully.

“That’s not what I asked,” he snapped, slamming his fist against the wall beside him.

The wall cracked, kicking up a little dust as bits fell off.

“Why are you acting so upset now? You already knew the consequences when you accepted the deal. You can’t turn around and act upset,” the evil god said.

He gritted his teeth and said, “You never said I would feel bloodthirsty.”

“I’m the god of torture, suffering, sorrow, and all things wrong in the world. What’s wrong with feeling a little bloodlust? Did you really never expect something like this?” the evil god said with an exasperated tone.

When the evil god put it like that, Luke couldn’t refute it.

It seemed that he would have to be more careful from now on. Otherwise, another incident like before might occur, and Luke might not be able to stop himself in time.