158: Chapter 159 Savior

Chapter 158: The Savior

With an innocent smile on his face, Mark said nonchalantly, "As long as you endure this senior year of high school, I won't cause you any more trouble."

"Of course, if you try to escape, no matter where you go, I will always be right there by your side."

"You!" Maria's mind was instantly thrown into a panic.

"Let's go."

Seeing her terrified expression, Mark couldn't have been more delighted. The corners of his mouth curled slightly as he reached out a hand toward Maria.

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"We're planning to go to Sean's house for a party, and you're coming too, right, Maria?"

His tone was extremely forceful, giving Maria a feeling that refusal was not an option.

Maria swallowed hard and looked back toward the restrooms.

She didn't want to go, because she knew that if she did, she would absolutely be bullied by this guy.

"What are you hesitating for, Maria?" Mark followed her gaze toward the restrooms, a mocking sneer appearing on his face.

"Hahaha, you're not counting on that guy from earlier to come help you, are you?"

"I bet he was so scared when he saw me walking over that he ran into the bathroom to hide."

"After all, for an ugly duckling like you, no man would ever be interested."

Mark's words were like sharp blades stabbing straight into Maria's already fragile heart, leaving her cold all over. She began to tremble imperceptibly, and a self-deprecating smile involuntarily touched her lips.

Yes!

Yes!

Mark is right!

I must have been dreaming just now.

How could a boy ever like someone like me?

He only just met me; those words earlier were probably just polite talk, and I actually took them seriously.

"Heh, it's too ridiculous, truly too ridiculous, Maria."

"You're actually counting on a man you've known for less than half an hour to save you? Get real."

"Even the parents who gave birth to you and raised you since you were little haven't protected you, so how can you count on him?"

Mark saw Maria letting out a silent laugh and thought she was mocking him. His face suddenly turned fierce. "Maria, what are you laughing at? Do you think I'm funny?"

Faced with the questioning, Maria didn't react at all, still immersed in her own world that was about to shatter.

This feeling of a dream breaking made it difficult for her to pull herself out for a moment.

Her lack of response made Mark realize his authority was being challenged. He looked around and suddenly felt as if everyone's eyes were on him.

"Damn it, Maria, did you forget what I just said?"

"It seems I really need to give you, you bitch, a good reminder of what kind of attitude you should have when facing me."

Maria still didn't look at him directly, her head remained lowered as she laughed to herself, though her smile was tinged with bitterness.

But how could Mark see that? He only thought Maria was resisting, and this act of resisting him in public deeply stung his fragile and sensitive ego.

Seeing that Maria still dared to ignore him, and thinking back to how she had been talking and laughing with a boy earlier, the fire of anger in his heart suddenly surged to his head. "Maria, you brought this on yourself."

The thought flashed through his mind, and he immediately raised his hand to slap Maria's face.

He just didn't notice that as his hand was raised, a tall man in a black trench coat and a fedora had already locked onto him from a distance.

This was Locke.

His earlier trip to the restroom wasn't because he felt nauseous enough to vomit, but because he intended to find a secluded place to take out the lacrosse mask to remove the mind-muddling effects of the alcohol.

Fortunately, within seconds of putting the mask on his face, that chaotic feeling completely disappeared, replaced by immense clarity and calm.

He had just walked into the main hall when he witnessed this scene.

"This guy truly deserves to die."

As Mark's hand was about to strike Maria's face, Maria, who was still immersed in her collapsing internal world, was suddenly awakened by a fierce, demonic voice.

"Maria, let me out. This person actually dares to lay a hand on you. Let me deal with him."

No!

Maria wasn't seduced by this demonic voice; seeing the palm swinging toward her, she subconsciously shrank back and raised both hands to block. However, Mark was a member of the school ice hockey team, strong and sturdy; how could a weak girl like her resist him?

Because he was in a fit of rage, this slap used almost most of Mark's strength. The wind from the swing made Maria instinctively close her eyes.

But Maria waited for several seconds with her eyes closed, yet that familiar pain did not appear on her body.

She even thought she was hallucinating.

Mark saw the tall man who had suddenly appeared behind Maria and easily caught his hand. A flash of displeasure crossed his face, and he scolded with a dark expression, "I advise you to let go. This is a private matter between classmates. You'd better stay out of it."

Locke stood there quietly, staring at Mark expressionlessly. Because half of his face was covered by the shadow of his hat's brim, combined with the transcendent aura he intentionally or unintentionally emitted, the previously arrogant Mark couldn't help but tremble.

"You—you let go of me right now!"

Mark yanked his wrist hard, using almost all his strength, only to find the hand being held was like it was caught in iron pincers, not moving an inch. He couldn't even make Locke budge.

This massive disparity made even a bully like Mark, who ran rampant at school, swallow his saliva. Fine beads of sweat began to break out on his forehead.

Mainly, Locke's expressionless face shrouded in shadow, along with his calm and composed manner, made Mark feel like he was looking at a demon, and he couldn't help but become panicked.

Fuck, who exactly is this guy?

Why is his strength so immense? Could this be a professional fighter that bitch Maria specifically hired!

Mark thought of ten thousand possibilities in his heart, but he could never have known that Locke, standing before him, was from a different world than him.

Locke lowered his eyes without speaking, slowly increasing the pressure in his hand. While not crushing the other's bones, it would leave a deep, painful impression.

"Aaaah—!"

Mark immediately cried out in pain from the immense force Locke applied to his wrist, letting out a wail like a dying pig. "Let go, quickly! I'm a student of Florence Academy, you can't do this to me!"

"Let me go!"

Locke remained unmoved. He was waiting for Maria; he was waiting for Maria to speak.

Maria, who had been panicking with her eyes closed, was initially confused upon hearing Mark's screams. "Is this my hallucination?"

"Stupid! Maria, how can you be so stupid? How could this be your hallucination!"

The demonic voice rang out again, which brought Maria back to her senses, though at first she thought some kind-hearted person at the bar had stepped in.

But when she opened her eyes, what she saw was a pair of hands like iron pincers reaching out from behind her, and those hands were firmly gripping the palm that would have slapped her face.

Maria looked back along the arm and immediately saw Locke's tall figure, nearly 1.9 meters tall and like a wall, standing behind her.

When she saw Locke's face and the raven perched on his shoulder, she was stunned.

Locke, who looked like the God of Death in Mark's eyes, seemed like a savior to her at this moment.

"You—you—"

Maria stared fixedly at Locke's cold face. Although this wasn't Locke's true appearance but a very ordinary mask, it still made her heart stop for a few seconds before it began to beat faster and uncontrollably.

Seeing Maria's questioning gaze, Locke slowly lowered his head and revealed a smile. "I'm late. Are you okay?"

His tone was very gentle, giving a feeling like a spring breeze. Especially for Maria, who had been in such a helpless environment earlier, Locke's current smile and comforting words were like heavenly music striking her heart, causing her breathing to quicken.

"I—I'm fine, thank you."

Maria was dazed for a few seconds, then forced out a smile, stammering her thanks to Locke. Following that, she couldn't handle Locke's gaze and lowered her head shyly.

Seeing her reaction, Locke felt that his intervention wasn't without gain, though of course, he had acted with a purpose from the start.

With her head lowered, Maria occasionally peeked at Locke out of the corner of her eye. "Is this what it feels like to have a crush?"

"Or is this the fate God has destined for me?"

"Stop daydreaming," Maria's dark side, Alan, interrupted her thoughts. "Although this man helped you, Maria, I don't really like his way of doing things."

"If it were me protecting you, I would definitely make this guy who dared to bully you pay with his life."

Alan's voice was cold and ruthless. Just by hearing the voice, Maria could imagine how yandere the smile of this woman, who had existed in her mind for many years, would be.

Behind the bar, Feynman, who had witnessed the whole thing, couldn't help but smile, secretly shaking his head. "Tsk, this newcomer really knows how to play the hero. His timing was perfect. Tsk tsk tsk, the younger generation is to be feared, truly to be feared."

Beside him, a white man in a security uniform lightly tapped his shoulder. "Don't we need to do something?"

"Let them solve it themselves." Feynman shook his head and sent the bar's bouncer away.

Are you kidding? Locke was one of their own; Feynman would naturally side with Locke no matter what.

And Feynman also believed that, given the composure Locke had shown before him at the start, he would definitely act with discretion and wouldn't cause any major trouble in the bar.

Although the bouncer received the order, he didn't leave. Instead, he stood behind the bar with Feynman, each holding a glass of wine, leisurely watching the drama unfold.

On the other side, Maria was just about to respond in her mind when Locke's voice rang out again, pulling her back.

"As long as you're okay. How do you want to handle this guy who tried to assault you?"

Locke directly used force to drag Mark off the stool, then lifted him like a piece of trash in front of Maria.

The roughly 1.8-meter-tall Mark was like a chick in his hand, completely without the ability to resist.

"I—" Maria was stunned. She hadn't expected Locke not only to block the slap for her but now to even want to vent her anger for her.

"Maria, quickly tell this guy that you and I are classmates and we were just playing around."

Mark's feet were off the ground, flailing in mid-air. Of course, he hadn't given up on trying to save himself.

But his other hand, which wasn't caught, used all its strength and couldn't even budge one of Locke's fingers. Only then did he immediately turn his gaze to Maria.

As soon as Maria met Mark's eyes, she felt the threatening intent in them, which made her instinctively shrink her neck.

"Maria, say something! I'm your classmate, we were just playing some Halloween games."

Mark was desperate, so desperate that even his tone became threatening.

Because Locke's grip was so strong, it felt like his hand bones were about to crack.

Under his urging and slightly threatening tone and gaze, Maria looked up at Locke and shook her head. Just as she was about to ask Locke to throw this annoying guy out, Lily, Sean, and their group arrived, having heard the commotion.

"Mark, Maria, what's going on?"

A group led by Sean surrounded them. When they saw Locke's tall frame and the strength with which he held Mark up with one hand, their pupils couldn't help but contract.

In fact, it wasn't just them; many onlookers in the bar, seeing Locke lift a 1.8-meter-tall young man with one hand, couldn't help but gasp in unison.

It was just that their gasps were drowned out by the heavy metal rock music from the stage above.

This highly impactful scene made Mark's friends in Sean's group, who had originally wanted to step forward and argue, immediately back down.

"Who is this guy? How can he have such great strength?"

"Even a bully like Mark is like a chick in his hand, completely powerless."

"Forget it, let's ask what happened first."

The powerful force Locke displayed kept them from swarming him, forcing them to calm down and start understanding the situation.

Being surrounded by this group of young people, Locke didn't seem panicked at all; after all, even if they all attacked together, it would only take him a few seconds.

At the same time, he couldn't be bothered to respond to Sean's questioning.

They were nothing more than a bunch of bratty kids in puberty; to him, they were no different from rats living in a gutter.

This group was like rats, all of them ants.

In fact, a scene like this didn't even require Locke to act; he only needed to give an order to the Vampires under his command, and this group of students surrounding him would completely disappear from the world by tomorrow.