"Danzel Harrington!" The prison guard called my name as he knocked loudly on my cell door, then opened it without waiting for my response. I was in the middle of folding the blanket and tidying up the bed.

"Harrington, pack your belongings and get out of here. I hope we never meet again," commanded the guard, and I stood up to grab my worn-out black duffel bag, containing my worthless possessions.

After ten long years, I finally breathed the fresh air of freedom. My steps halted in front of the prison gate, staring in awe at the changes that had taken place outside. Where should I go from here?

My entire family is gone. Should I visit their graves? I clenched my fists tightly, suppressing the pain in my chest.

Armed with the meager funds I received from the prison and a piece of paper with the address of a motel designated for ex-convicts like me who wanted to start a new life, I boarded a bus that stopped at a nearby bus stop.

The bus took me to the city center, which had changed significantly. Some buildings that I remembered were no longer there. The diner where my family and I used to spend evenings celebrating our achievements was now replaced by a coffee shop with a mermaid logo.

The empty grass field that used to be there had turned into an electronics store with the logo "Mrk - Merrick" printed prominently on the wall. Seeing it, I couldn't help but clench my fists again, feeling the surge of hatred.

"Bugh!" My shoulder hurt as I bumped into someone. "Ouch! Damn it! Why did you stop in the middle of the road, you stupid man!" cursed a woman as her coffee spilled and soaked my clothes.

Was this woman stupid? She was the one not looking while busy pressing something flat in her hand and suddenly bumped into me, yet she acted like she was the victim.

The woman, wearing a wide-brimmed hat, was busy flapping her dress and handbag to get rid of the coffee stains.

"Hey, you idiot! Why didn't I hear an apology?!!" The woman now stood up straight and looked at Danzel, but soon her forehead furrowed. Her face was so familiar, resembling someone I knew.

"Oh, God! Don't tell me... Don't tell me you're Danzel. Danzel Harrington?" The woman gasped and covered her mouth with both hands.

"Lyra?" I guessed hesitantly because the woman who used to be my girlfriend before I went to jail looked so different. Her appearance was extravagant; her clothes were too revealing, showing cleavage, and her shorts were so short they might as well be underwear. While the Lyra I knew before was a simple and modest woman, not following trends.

Our communication was cut off after two years in prison, and her last words back then left me with questions.

I still loved her deeply, and she knew I had been treated unfairly. In her last letter, Lyra promised to expose the Merrick family's corruption. But that was the last I heard from her.

At that time... I was prepared for the worst possibility, that she might have sacrificed herself to defend me. So, seeing her now standing in front of me looking like this cheap woman was a huge shock.

"You're out?!" Instead of being happy, I felt like she was avoiding me as I stepped forward to hug her.

"Yes, today. I thought you were gone, Lyra. How are you? Are you... still alone?"

No longer avoiding, but now Lyra's face looked disgusted hearing my words.

"Mm. I'm sorry, Danzel, but I'm married." She arrogantly tapped her right ring finger, showcasing a diamond much larger than her finger.

"Oh. Do I know the lucky guy?"

With her eyes, Lyra seemed to assess my shabby appearance from head to toe.

"Yes. You know him. But sorry, Danzel, I'm in a hurry. Hopefully, we won't meet again. Bye."

A luxury car stopped right by the roadside where I was standing; the driver got out and opened the door for Lyra, who strutted away with her chest puffed up and full of arrogance.

The driver intentionally bumped into me. Both the driver and the employer were equally arrogant!

Not content with that, while I was still on the roadside, observing the cold Lyra, the driver sped up, splashing dirty water from the road all over my body.

"Damn it! You rude bastard!" I shouted at Lyra's car.

Now not only was I dirty, but my body also smelled of the dirty water. I cursed myself for getting this misfortune even before I could do anything.

The disgusted glares from passersby, covering their noses, embarrassed me. After ten long years, my life still hadn't improved. I remained in this wretched state, an underprivileged person.

With weary steps, I made my way to the address written on a scrap of paper. After twenty minutes of walking, I arrived at a grimy motel hidden behind towering buildings.

"Hey, you! Newbie!" A loud, husky voice of a woman startled me suddenly. She stood in front of a door marked as the receptionist's. She must be the guardian of this place. I approached her and handed over the sheet of paper with the recommendation from the prison.

As she walked to get my room key, the woman shouted the rules that must be followed here.

"No stealing! No killing! No causing a ruckus! If anything goes missing, it's not our responsibility. You must protect what belongs to you. Here's the key, find a job quickly and get out of here!" She ordered me harshly.

But I could see her lustful eyes scanning my face and body, and I shuddered as I saw her tongue darting out, trying to entice me. I quickly moved away from there and headed straight to my room.

"Brugh!" The sound of my shabby tote bag hitting the grimy bedspread, whose last washing I couldn't even recall, filled the room, and then I washed myself in the bathroom. I didn't care about the remaining stains on the walls and floor of the bathroom; my focus was on washing away the stickiness and smell from my body.

I stepped out of the bathroom naked, revealing my muscular arms and the hardened abdomen from years of prison workouts. All this was for avenging one person. No, not just one person, but the owner of this city, Bash Merrick, and of course, Tom Merrick, the father of that loser who fired Mom and Dad for his own actions.

After changing clothes, I left room 217 of the motel and headed to a place I had longed to visit - Crescent Cemetery. I still had the memory of when the prison officers brought me here to witness the caskets containing Mom and Dad being lowered into their graves. It fueled my vengeance even further, burning against the Merrick family, who took away three of my beloved ones.

I swore to avenge them and make the Merrick family face the consequences of their actions against me for the past ten years!

Arriving in front of the graves of my three beloved ones, I fell to my knees and prostrated myself. An odd thing then happened when I lifted my gaze. My eyes suddenly locked onto a transparent screen displaying writing, accompanied by a voice that seemed to come from inside my head.

"What is this?! Hey! Hey!" I tried to dismiss the screen in front of my eyes, but my hand appeared to pass through the transparent display.

[Ding! Welcome, host, to The Ultimate Revenge System!]

[Start analizing program...]

[Name: Denzel Harrington]

[Age: 26 years old]

[Body condition: weak]

[Main Mission: Total Annihilation of the Merrick clan]

[Accepted?]

The screen blinked, waiting for my response. I felt that this might be a new type of virus, or perhaps just my hallucination, so I dismissed it. My hand made a sliding motion, and the screen magically disappeared from my view.

I left Crescent Cemetery and headed to the pub where I remembered Bash, Lyan, and Terry used to hang out. It was a place where they would attract followers with money, as they often treated the people there. That was how they used to gather their entourage.

When I arrived, the place was as crowded as ever. No one paid attention as I walked in because everyone was busy with their own affairs. I took a seat at the bar counter, my eyes searching around for Merrick presence. The bartender was a young man I had never known, well-dressed and attractive, who promptly asked, "Hi, what can I get you?"

"Can I get a beer?" I replied.

"Sure," he said.

The bartender handed me an open bottle. I impatiently took a sip, feeling the cold sensation slide down my throat, and as it reached my stomach, it spread warmth, a feeling I had missed.

Suddenly, my vision became blurry, and it felt like my feet weren't touching the ground. I stared at the beer bottle in my hand, then at the bartender, and the people around, who had gone from being lively to silent, all focused on me and that cursed beer.

My consciousness was almost gone as my body hit the pub's floor. A face I didn't recognize approached and whispered in my ear, "This is a welcome surprise from Bash to you, Harrington."

***

SPLASH!

A bucket of water on my face jolted me awake, gasping for air.

"Get up, you lazy bum!" a loud voice shouted in my ear. I woke up to find myself in Merrick's riverside cabin.

Satisfied and mocking laughter filled the air in front of me. There sat Bash Merrick, Lyan O'Connor, and Terry Wyatt. Their faces were still the same as before, though they now sported beards and mustaches, like awkward caterpillars perched on their faces.

"Oh, Harrington, do you think ten years in prison is enough to redeem yourself for ever messing up my face?"

"Of course not. I should've finished what I started. But don't worry, you've made it easy by showing up here," I threatened with a clenched fist. I tried to get up, but a kick to the back of my knee sent me back down. Two of Bash's henchmen, with body bigger than me, grabbed and punched my face repeatedly.

"HAHAHA!! What did you say? What?!" Bash taunted, followed by disgusting laughter from Lyan and Terry.

I felt the room spinning, my ears ringing, but my eyes could still see clearly as someone entered the room with deliberately seductive steps. She then sat on Bash's lap, wrapping her arms around his neck, and they kissed passionately without shame. When their tacky display of affection ended, the woman who had been my past and whom I still loved deeply spoke.

"Hi, Danzel. Didn't I tell you that you're familiar with my husband?" She played with Bash's beard. "If you still have those disgusting feelings for me, get rid of them now. I'm completely devoted to my husband."

"Lyra..." My voice was weak, cut off by Bash's command to his henchmen.

"Get rid of this imbecile and dump his body in the river as a feast for my fish."

"Click.”

The sound of a semi-automatic pistol's slide being racked echoed from beside me, and its cold muzzle was pointed at my temple. I closed my eyes.

The strange screen that had appeared earlier suddenly reappeared, still displaying the same question.

[Main Mission: Total Annihilation of the Merrick clan.]

[Accepted?]

Though I didn't fully understand, seeing the name Merrick and the accompanying sentence, without hesitation, I chose to accept!"