Rise of the Harem King
Chapter 32: A past of pain.

Chapter 32: A past of pain.

"What happened?" the girl asked in a gentle tone.

In front of her stood her childhood friend: a small boy with beautiful green eyes filled with tears. The boy had a bruise on his cheek, another on his knee, and his clothes were completely dirty.

At the time, Lara was only 13 years old and still attended a regular school. In fact, that would be her last year in that place, though she didn’t know it yet.

Still visibly shaken by what had happened, the boy hesitated to answer the question. Perhaps he didn’t want to involve his friend in his problems.

Everyone knew that Lara had a strong sense of justice and always did everything she could to help those around her. Perhaps he feared that involving her would only get her hurt.

"Zey," she called the boy by the affectionate nickname she had given him, "you know you can trust me. Tell me what happened. Did someone hit you?"

Zey finally gave in, and after taking a deep breath, he began to explain what had happened that morning. According to him, it all started when he was on his way to school but accidentally bumped into one of the older boys from high school.

It wasn’t the first time he had trouble with the seniors. For some reason, they enjoyed picking on Zey, labeling him as a coward.

And, of course, the boy, still too weak, could do little to defend himself from it.

But that day had been worse. Zey couldn’t hold back his tears as he explained that his precious sketchbook had been taken from him. Apparently, the older boys thought his drawings were funny and pathetic.

Wanting to protect what was most precious to him, the boy did something that was out of character: he fought back. Zey knew that retaliating would only make things worse, making those guys even angrier at him, but he couldn’t help it, he simply couldn’t take it anymore, and that was the last straw.

"Those cowards," Lara growled upon hearing the story, anger flashing in her eyes. "Do you know where they are now? Why didn’t you tell me about this sooner? I would’ve dealt with them long ago if I had known."

The boy didn’t answer most of her questions, but he still guided his protector to the place where he knew the boys would be.

It was an abandoned and forgotten warehouse in the poorest part of the city. Many youths liked to use that place to do drugs, drink alcohol, and engage in other activities they couldn’t do in the middle of the city.

Without thinking much, the young and reckless Lara stormed forward, kicking the door open with force. Back then, she could use the full potential of her class, which made her incredibly powerful. It was hard to imagine anyone could defeat her, not even the older students.

Fueled by a burning desire to protect those around her, she confronted the arrogant and cowardly men. She simply couldn’t forgive someone who preyed on the weak to feel better about themselves.

The girl’s confidence was well-founded, and with her overwhelming strength, she managed to take on three high school boys on her own.

It could have been a story with a happy ending, where the poor victim of bullying was saved.

That is, if there had been a victim.

And that was when Zack, in the way he had always loved, stabbed the girl in the back. Then, he used his powers to destabilize her mind.

[The Guardian Beast.]

An animal that would do anything to protect its own. A monster that became invincible when it had to defend its master.

It was a class that depended entirely on the user’s mental state and their desire to protect. Truly, it was an extraordinary power...

But at the same time, it was so fragile.

As the very person she was supposed to protect turned against her, Lara felt part of her power vanish. And from that moment on, it seemed that power would never return.

Wounded, she still tried to fight back, but the numerical disadvantage and the bleeding gradually overpowered her. To make matters worse, even more seniors joined the horrifying scene.

As promised, Zack handed over the voluptuous young woman, who was beginning to draw attention due to her appearance, to those depraved men.

Then their leader, having finally subdued the girl, decided to grope her, forcing himself on her.

The others drew closer, forming a scene of absolute terror.

Lara managed to kick one of them away, screaming desperately for help, her cries echoing with fear and a deep trauma being carved into her soul.

Again, those disgusting hands touched her, but it was at that moment she was saved. Luckily, an explorer, passing by, heard her screams.

The young men were arrested, and...

Lara felt a sharp pain in her head, as though her memories were about to be rewritten.

The only reason she didn’t break that day was because, in the last moment, she had been saved. Knowing this, Zack knew exactly what needed to be done to break that woman properly.

After she was forced to live through an unimaginable nightmare, her ego would finally be shattered. And with that, the boy could use his abilities to mold the woman’s mind however he pleased.

She would become a loyal puppet, his gift to Luis. With this, the boy would grow even closer to that fool, trusting him completely.

In doing so, Zack would turn the Belforts into his next pawn in his climb to power.

Just as he had handed Lara over to the seniors back then to gain their trust and loyalty, he would now do the same to use Luis as the next step in his ascent.

And so, he would go from one useful person to the next, climbing what people called the social pyramid. After all, Zack was a man with endless ambition and not an ounce of empathy.

But his perfect plan did not take into account that Davi could surpass even his most optimistic predictions.

And getting up once again, the boy went on the attack. Alexia, who was slowly recovering, wielded her sword, but did not attack, allowing the boy to pass.

The truth was that she still had enough power for one last effort, but she simply didn’t want to stop Davi. Those who fight for someone they don’t believe in will inevitably see their spirit fail first.

So, the boy, pushing his body to its limits, screamed and landed a punch with all his strength on Zack, sending him flying.

Taken by surprise, Zack tasted blood in his mouth as one of his teeth was broken by the blow. After spitting some blood, he stared at the man who had ruined his plans with indescribable hatred.

At the same time, Davi had already turned his focus to Lara, wrapping her in his arms. He just wanted to convey his warmth to her in that moment and, somehow, ease her intense pain.

The illusion that had ensnared her shattered as Davi struck Zack, but her mind had still been severely damaged. That’s why she fainted and collapsed into the boy’s arms, which he held carefully.

While feeling his head spin, Davi gently laid his friend on the ground and then turned to face his enemies. But they didn’t need to attack him; the boy seemed on the verge of collapsing at any moment.

Still, Luis, who had been observing everything until that point, stood up with a confident smile. Then, he revealed the gun in his hands.

Davi recognized that weapon, because it was similar to the prototype Luna had given him.

In an instant, a shot pierced the dimly lit room and struck Davi in the chest, leaving him no time to react.

Davi spat blood onto the floor as pain consumed his body. He fell to his knees, his surroundings growing darker and darker, as though the world itself was fading away.

With calm and confident steps, the blonde advanced toward his much-desired prey. In his eyes, he could no longer hide his lust and uncontrollable desire.

How long will you reject what your soul has already accepted?

Lara heard the voice of an ancient beast sound in her mind, as she opened her eyes, slowly recovering.

At that moment she saw before her the scene of tragedy that was taking place. With the rest of his strength, Davi still tried to defend himself, but he couldn’t even get up.

Meanwhile, Luis walked slowly, his sadistic smile widening as he fired another shot at his enemy.

A surge of power ignited within the girl, who had long known what decision she had to make.

The master she was meant to protect, the one she wanted to save, stood before her. For a long time, her instincts had been telling her that this was the right choice.

Then, she roared, the power and desire to protect overtaking her.

She grabbed the first rock she could find on the ground and hurled it at Luis with such force that he fell unconscious after being struck in the head.

Quickly, she took Davi in her arms and kissed him gently, promising to protect him from anything. The boy responded by passionately kissing the woman, expressing his love and activating his ability. But he was not the only one doing so.

At that moment, the bond of master and servant was sealed.