The World!

"But did Dad misunderstand something?"

"I wasn't targeting my brother." He tilted his head, looking confused.

The tractor rolled over a stone, and the whole vehicle jolted violently.

Locke took the opportunity to snatch Vampire Hunter from his hands.

What had he been thinking, buying this brat that novel?

"Cut the act. The book from the day before yesterday, the spider last week, the one from last month—"

"Those were all accidents." Dio curled his lip, then suddenly pointed toward the roadside. "Dad, look! Fireflies!"

Locke instinctively turned his head and saw specks of green light indeed drifting through the grass.

But when he turned back, Dio had somehow snatched the book back and was waving it at him smugly.

"..."

The night wind poured into the cab, carrying the coolness of dew.

"You..." Locke suddenly sighed. "Do you know that Clark, that silly boy, still thinks you're really afraid of the dark? Every night you stayed at Jonathan's house, he left a nightlight on for you."

"And today, he even secretly told me..."

Imitating Clark's honest tone, Locke said:

"Little brother Dio may always love playing pranks, but that must be because he's too lonely~"

"?"

Under the moonlight, the lines of Dio's profile suddenly sharpened, as though strange patterns had been drawn across his face.

He abruptly clenched the book's spine, and the parchment cover let out an overwhelmed groan.

"Clark is an idiot!"

The words were forced out through clenched teeth, carrying a chill that did not match a child's appearance.

But Locke keenly noticed that the tips of the boy's ears had turned slightly red beneath the moonlight.

"Clang!"

The tractor crossed a dirt slope and took the final turn. The outline of Locke's home came into view.

"Dio, get along with Clark from now on. He's a good kid, and I think you are too." Locke rambled on. "What if Clark gets angry one day? That'd be terrifying. You wouldn't want to get punched into the sky, would you?"

The tractor stopped outside the house. He pulled out the key, while Dio stuffed the book into his backpack and seemed to mutter something under his breath.

"What?"

Locke had not heard clearly.

"I said!" Dio raised his voice, glaring at him with reddened eyes. "He was the one trying to take it from me!"

The instant he shouted those words, a drop of water splashed onto the dashboard.

Dio himself seemed stunned as well. He hurriedly wiped his face with his sleeve, then jumped off the tractor before it had even fully stopped and rushed into the house.

Watching that small figure stumble through the door and disappear, Locke could not help touching the back of his neck, chilled by the night wind.

Had he really failed to treat them equally?

No.

Perhaps he had been so focused on treating them equally that he had overlooked Dio's feelings.

Locke sighed.

For failing to notice the child's emotional problems, he could not help feeling that he was truly a terrible parent.

Time quietly passed amid the farm's golden waves of wheat.

Another year went by.

Locke's farm had expanded by another thirty acres. The newly purchased combine harvester gleamed silver in the sunlight, the barn was piled high with plump oats and wheat, and after becoming more financially comfortable, he had even built a small windmill mill on the western side of the farm.

The neighboring Kent Farm remained the same size, because Jonathan and Martha devoted more of their energy to raising Clark.

The exterior walls of their barn had been freshly painted red, and their vegetable garden was filled with Clark's favorite sweet corn. Though they were not particularly well-off, it was enough to let this special boy grow up healthy.

The relationship between the two boys remained stable, though there was still an inexplicable distance between them.

But perhaps because Locke had pointed it out, Dio had at least stopped bullying Clark.

But clearly...

That false peace merely lacked a spark to ignite it.

For instance, one afternoon...

Locke stood beside the newly repaired fence, watching Dio and Clark "play" in the open space beside the wheat field.

If one-sided chasing could count as playing.

"Clark! Give me back my book!"

Face flushed red, Dio furiously chased after Clark.

"What's so interesting about reading these books?" Clark nimbly darted between the haystacks, holding a copy of Basic Physics high over his head. "Come play!"

"You bastard! Give it back!"

With an angry shout, Dio charged straight at Clark.

But Clark's reflexes made it impossible for that move to hit him.

Dio stumbled and fell straight to the ground, lying motionless.

Seeing that things were going badly, Clark swallowed and was about to step forward to help the fallen boy.

"Sorry, Dio, I..."

They were going to fight again.

Busy repairing the fence, Locke sighed and was about to step in when he suddenly noticed something.

No way?!

"Dio! Stop!"

His heart nearly leaped out of his chest. The wheat field at the edge of Locke's vision became a blur of golden streaks, and all he could hear was his own ragged breathing!

Locke had never run as desperately as he did at that moment!

In the distance, Dio shakily rose to his feet, his blond hair seeming almost to burn beneath the sunlight.

His body trembled at an unnatural frequency, and the air behind him twisted eerily.

A golden humanoid phantom with bulging muscles suddenly emerged!

"The World!"

"Beat him up!"

?

Clark stood frozen in place.

W-what world?

What did he mean, world...?

Before he could think any further, that invisible golden figure moved.

It was faster than the human retina could capture, leaving only a scorching afterimage in the air.

Before Clark could even blink, a heavy fist slammed viciously into his abdomen!

"Urgh—!"

He flew away bent over, breaking three fence posts before finally stopping. Clark curled up in the dust, his face full of disbelief.

What hit me?!

What did I get hit by?!

Could it be...

"Dio!"

He raised his head, saying incredulously, "So you can too?!"

"Shut up!"

Dio screamed hysterically. The unseen golden phantom behind him assumed an attacking stance.

"You bastard! You always take my things away like this!"

"But now I've surpassed you! I'm going to teach you a harsh lesson, Clark!"

"Beat him up, The World!"

"Boom!"

The golden fist hovered right before Locke's nose. The overwhelming gust from the punch even blew off his cowboy hat.

Yet he still spread his arms and stood in front of Clark, staring fixedly at the golden monster floating in midair.

"Dior Kent!"

Locke's voice was like ice. "Call this thing back!"

"How could you hit your own family so hard?!"

It was the first time Dio had ever been rebuked so harshly by his father.

Dio's pupils shrank in fright. "But Dad, this time it's real. He was the one who provoked me first!"

The boy began trembling, and the phantom behind him started flickering unstably.

"Bastard!"

"You've always been on his side!"

With Dio's scream, the golden phantom shattered like broken glass, exploding into countless motes of light.

He turned and ran into the distance, heading nowhere in particular.

Clutching his faintly aching abdomen, Clark blankly watched the direction Dio had disappeared in.

His blue eyes were filled with confusion and hurt, while the shock in his heart refused to settle.

"Uncle Locke." His voice trembled. "What was that thing Dio used just now?"

Locke took a deep breath and glanced at the purple phantom behind him that only he could see.

He crouched down and placed his hands on Clark's shoulders.

"Listen, kid, this is complicated."

Ruffling the boy's hair, Locke softened his tone. "Are you okay now?"

Clark shook his head and said quietly, "I'm fine. My body heals really fast."

"It won't hurt after I get some sun."

"It's just..." The boy hesitated. "Does Dio really hate me that much?"

"No, he's just..." Locke paused, seeming to search for the right words.

"Too angry. Angry at me." He sighed.

"Clark, Locke! What happened just now?!"

"I saw Clark suddenly get sent flying!"

Jonathan and Martha's anxious shouts came from the distance.

Clearly, they had been drawn over by the commotion earlier.

"Clark..." Locke stood up. "Go back first. Don't let Martha and Jonathan worry."

"If you really have to, tell them Dio and I have something to deal with. You should be able to find us at that windmill mill later."

"The windmill mill? Dio's..."

Clark looked as though he wanted to say something, but in the end, he nodded.

"Okay!"