CHAPTER 129: CHAPTER 129: NIGHTMARE_1

Lance didn’t say a word, simply acting as an observer.

Dismas’s life was actually quite simple. He was born in a small city to a family of candle makers. Because they had a craft, their family was better off than serfs, and they could even be considered middle class.

But from a young age, he disliked making candles, finding such tasks insipid and tedious. Instead, he preferred to get into street fights with other children.

He grew up in this environment, honing decent fighting skills in the meantime. In an effort to rid their street of the local gang’s protection rackets, he even formed a small team with some peers to control their street, earning enough respect that even the local police showed him some deference.

His upbringing on the rougher streets imbued him with a thuggish air and shaped his daring and aggressive character, but he would soon suffer greatly for it.

The cause was a woman, the daughter of a tailor from their street. He had grown up with her; she was his childhood sweetheart. They both had feelings for each other and had planned on getting married.

But then, a very melodramatic incident occurred. One day, while the young couple was out, the woman was harassed by a man. Given Dismas’s temperament, he couldn’t possibly endure it. He lashed out with heavy punches, knocking the man down. When two guards tried to retaliate, he overpowered them easily.

He was quite pleased with himself at the time, but he later discovered that the man was the son of a noble. Realizing the trouble he had caused, both families agreed that the young couple should flee the area to avoid disaster.

But at that moment, he was young and reckless, utterly ignorant of the world’s ways, and convinced he had done nothing wrong. How could he agree to leave?

Perhaps he knew all too well that if he left, the lives of both families would be ruined. So, he didn’t go. Instead, he waited for that noble to come and cause trouble.

"I could have left with her, but I foolishly chose to jump into the fire pit!"

Dismas spoke with considerable emotion, reflecting on his past foolishness. If only I had taken our families and left for another city, would things have turned out differently?

As Dismas continued his story, Lance quickly understood the depth of his regret.

The noble did come looking for trouble, but Dismas managed to deal with him each time. After a few days of calm, he even thought things were fine.

This continued until one day he suddenly fainted. When noise woke him again, he found himself bound. He soon realized he had been betrayed; someone had drugged him.

Then, a more horrifying scene unfolded before him. His childhood sweetheart was also brought in, bound. She was now being violated on the bed opposite him, and the perpetrator was none other than the noble he had beaten up that day.

"It was deliberate. That bastard intentionally bound me there to make me witness it all."

Dismas gripped the reins tightly, his expression terrifyingly grim.

"I struggled like a madman to break free, but the effects of the drug hadn’t worn off yet, and my body was too weak and numb. I could only watch helplessly as it all happened before me."

Through Dismas’s account, Lance truly began to understand the depths of human malice. The noble kept torturing the woman to humiliate Dismas. But that wasn’t enough for him. In a fit of rage, the noble eventually slit her throat but spared Dismas.

Dismas had desperately wanted to save his beloved, but he could only watch helplessly as everything unfolded.

"Have you ever seen someone bleed to death? Her appearance... rolling on the sheets, a dark stain spreading... until it soaked through the linen."

Dismas’s expression was pained as he muttered to himself. As he continued speaking, he started to sob.

"Honestly, I loved that girl. I loved her, truly..."

The woman bled to death before his eyes, but it wasn’t over yet. Soon, he realized why that man had spared him.

Because just then, a team of police charged in. News of a brutal rape and murder case then spread throughout the city. He was labeled the murderer, while that bastard actually became the hero who caught the killer.

There was simply no avenue for appeal. Even the judge was one of their people. The public, swept up in anger, couldn’t wait to execute him—the supposed criminal—on the spot.

No matter how he explained, it was useless. When he was thrown into prison, he finally understood that everything he had been proud of was gone. In the face of power, he was just a pathetic clown.

But that bastard didn’t stop at just having him thrown into jail. He continued to use his influence, targeting Dismas through both the guards and the other prisoners.

The inmates even attempted to assassinate him more than once. Thankfully, his skills allowed him to thwart their plots and overcome them. However, he would then be thrown into solitary confinement by the guards, where he wouldn’t see the slightest glimmer of light for days.

"I saw her countless times in my dreams. That was what kept me alive in prison..."

Years of prison life did not demoralize him. On the contrary, he grew stronger with each setback. He became exceptionally vigilant during this long period of confrontation. This environment also fostered his ruthless nature, the only way he could survive in prison.

Moreover, the prison housed many talented individuals, and he even learned quite a few things there.

He hadn’t given up. He was waiting, unwilling to die with a sullied reputation, nor willing to let his enemy go unpunished.

"I want to fight for what’s mine, not to prove how great I am, but to reclaim what I’ve lost!"

Then one day, his opportunity came. A riot broke out in the prison, and he seized the chance to kill several guards and escape, regaining his freedom.

"But this freedom is not what I wanted..."

That night, the prison riot triggered a response from the city’s garrison. A massive manhunt ensued throughout the city. To avoid capture, he had to hide in the foul-smelling city sewers.

But he was destined to pay the price for his choices. He was forced to catch the rats hiding in the sewers for food to stave off starvation.

Days passed, and he successfully evaded capture. But, sick and starving, he nearly died right there in the sewer.

Exhausted and ill, he had no choice but to use the connections he had made in prison to find a notorious Broker.

To stay alive, he reluctantly took on an immoral job. The advance payment he received for providing his services as muscle finally gave him some respite.

But he was bound by the contract. To complete the task, he steeled himself for one last robbery.

Have I become desperate? Yes. But have I been greedy? Dismas questioned himself.

The answer was affirmative. Tormented by illness and desperate to survive, he had turned to those forces lurking in the shadows; at that point, he truly felt he had no choice.

However, once he had recovered, he could have chosen to abandon the job and find another way to repay the advance, or simply walk away. As a wanted man, additional trouble hardly mattered.

But he was greedy. He coveted the substantial reward for the job. Knowing full well it was an immoral act, he proceeded anyway.

Only, this task would become a nightmare from which he could never escape.