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"So that's what the potion was for!"
"More or less. It's a healing potion I worked on with Professor Slughorn. Just a single drop can heal all these external injuries."
As he spoke, Wade fed a drop to each of Abraxas and his companions.
Abraxas and the others were completely powerless to resist and could only be forced to accept the treatment.
Sure enough, the potion worked wonders. Very soon, all of Abraxas's external injuries healed completely, as if they'd never been beaten at all.
"All done! Now they don't have any evidence that we beat them!" Anne said happily.
Wade glanced at her, then said, "That's not it… It's only after healing them that we can start on the second round."
"!!"
The moment the words left his mouth, Henry and Alphard charged at them again…
"Ahhh!" Abraxas and his group let out another round of hopeless screams.
Anne was stunned. Heal them and then beat them again? And then heal and beat them yet again?
You're a devil!
But… it doesn't seem like a bad idea.
...
Another ten minutes passed.
Abraxas and his little group were now standing intact in front of Wade and his companions.
Their physical injuries had been healed, but the wounds in their hearts remained.
"I… I'll definitely tell my father about this," Abraxas whimpered tearfully.
These twenty-something minutes had felt unbearably long to him.
Because Wade and his group had used every method that Abraxas himself had once employed to bully others, now turned against him.
Abraxas couldn't understand how Wade and the others knew about all of this…
"You're of course free to tell your father, and you can certainly tell the school. We won't stop you at all," Wade said with a smile.
"Don't think that just because you healed our injuries with potions, there's no evidence left! Overusing healing potions also leaves traces!" Abraxas, for once, had a flash of cleverness.
However… it was completely useless!
"Abraxas, you're mistaken. The reason I used healing potions on you wasn't to cover up the evidence. It was purely to make your suffering last longer," Wade said in a gentle tone.
Abraxas met Wade's gaze, and for no reason at all, he felt a chill run over his entire body, goosebumps rising.
This guy is a total devil!
Tom continued, "Forgive me for being blunt, but given your long history of offenses, your words don't carry any weight. Even if you report us to the school, who do you think the professors will believe — us, who have no prior record, or you? In the end, at most it'll be considered a mutual fight. That's not enough to get us expelled."
"Mutual fight? How can this be a mutual fight? I… they can testify that it was you who beat us!" Abraxas shouted in frustration.
"They're your friends. How can their testimony be trusted? If their words count, then…" Tom pointed at the companions behind him and said, "They can also testify that you were the ones who struck first."
A sinister smile crept over Tom's face. "As long as we're not expelled, then… we can keep this game going. Don't worry, I still have plenty of tricks I haven't used yet."
Abraxas and his little gang, just imagining the prospect of getting beaten up every day, were nearly scared out of their wits.
"No, no, no! What would it take for you to let me go? I… I won't tell my father, and I won't report it to the school. Could you please let me go…"
Wade smiled. "Of course we can. Even if we'll have fewer amusements every day, as long as you behave and stop bothering us, we have no reason not to let you go."
"Alright, alright! I swear I'll never dare provoke you again!" Abraxas cried, tears streaming down his face. "But… but if someone else comes to bother you…"
"Then we'll just keep beating you up," Wade said expressionlessly.
"W-what? But it's clearly someone else provoking you, how can you still beat me up?" Abraxas was utterly baffled by Wade's words.
"No choice. Who told us that you're the only one we can find? As for who else might be targeting us, we have no idea…" Wade replied with an innocent look.
"You… do you people have no sense of reason?!" Abraxas was completely dumbfounded.
So basically, as long as they got bullied by anyone, they'd come after him, whether or not it was actually his doing?
"Abraxas, are you still not awake? We're bullying you, you know? When you used to bully others, did you ever talk about reason?" Wade glanced at Tom. "Looks like he's still not convinced… Give him another couple of rounds of dragonfruit, plus two sets of CPR."
"Hm? What's dragonfruit?" Tom was puzzled.
"Oh, it just means make him see a bit of red, bleed a little…" Wade explained.
Thud! Abraxas collapsed to the ground. Though he didn't know what dragonfruit was, he definitely understood the part about bleeding.
"No, please! I give up! I give up, really! Oh — I have an idea! I know who else is plotting against you! I'll tell you who they are, and where they are right now! Just… just let me go…"
"See? Now that's much better!" Wade clapped his hands in satisfaction and then took out a piece of parchment. "Write down everyone you know. Every single one of them!"
"If I write it all down, you'll stop coming after me?"
"Obviously. Once I've found them, why would I still bother with you? Or… wait, could it be you've grown attached to this little side entertainment? Hiss… never thought you'd have such a peculiar hobby!"
"No, no, no! I don't have any such hobby! I'll write it right away!" Abraxas hurriedly grabbed the parchment, then turned to his little gang and said, "You lot think carefully too, don't leave anyone out…"
"Don't even think about playing any tricks, Abraxas. If you deliberately write something wrong, I'll know immediately," Wade said lightly.
Abraxas shuddered again.
"N-no, I wouldn't dare!"
With Wade seemingly able to see through all his thoughts and memories, his spirit had already been beaten into submission, and naturally, he dared not play any more games.
…
Five minutes later, Wade and his group walked out of the small storage room.
Inside the room, Abraxas and his little gang were huddled together, weeping bitterly.
Once they had walked a fair distance, Wade finally took out the list Andre had provided and carefully compared it with the one Abraxas had written.
"You don't trust Andre?" Tom asked in a low voice.
"He swore an oath. If he doesn't want to die, he absolutely won't lie to me," Wade said.
"Then why are you doing this…" Tom asked.
"Heh~ First, by pretending not to know who the others are and extracting another list from Abraxas, we can protect Andre from early exposure. Second, getting an extra list from Abraxas ensures that if Andre's list missed anyone, we won't overlook them." Wade handed the two lists to Tom.
"You really are thorough…" Tom remarked with some admiration.
"Tom, you must remember this: whether it's something big or small, you should always think it through as thoroughly as possible. Otherwise, a small slip could ruin all your efforts. This is also why I keep telling you not to underestimate anyone."
Tom pondered over this, then compared the two lists himself. Sure enough, he found a few names that Andre had missed.
"Andre's list is missing a few people…"
"He's been investigating in secret, it's normal for there to be gaps. Alright, let's go find the next unlucky fellow!"
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