Chapter 11: Scream of a Demon
"T-they… killed Jasper first. A quick neck snap. They gave him a quick death, which came as a surprise, but others were not as lucky…"
Kang said with horror in his eyes.
"Beau—the bravest of our party—charged straight at Rav'akari, trying to buy others time to escape, but he got brought down quickly.
"Six black-bladed swords were protruding from his body—he was bleeding like a crimson river—and he was still alive.
"They didn't finish him off.
"Instead, they defiled Leonie in front of him. They knew that Beau had feelings towards her, so they took their time with Leonie.
"She was like our big sister, and hearing her scream hurt us more than any knife stab into the heart would.
"She was begging for them to stop, but they just laughed and continued to assault her… until she was left broken and shattered, her spirit crushed beyond repair."
Kang hid his face in his hands, trembling like a leaf in a storm, and those memories were etched deep into his consciousness.
He was never going to forget what he saw—Rav'akari made sure of that—and he would never be able to live a normal life anymore.
"It was then Arina and Soul's turn—they did the exact same as with Leonie and Beau, but this time, they took even longer.
"Soul's skin was slowly peeled off as he was forced to watch what they were doing to Arina—they forced his eyes open with small clips so he wouldn't close his eyes—and I saw how Soul got broken.
"His eyes turned blank—I never thought human eyes could look so empty and lifeless."
Kang gulped, hugged himself, and then said.
"I-I don't want to talk anymore. I-I don't want to…"
"…"
Kael stood over the couch, looking at the crying Kang, and his fingers were stabbed into his palms.
They were bleeding.
"They didn't let you go, so you have to live with those memories. Oh, no. They wanted you to live with the guilt of your actions!"
Kael said sharply.
"?!"
Kang's eyes shook open, and he turned around—then he saw Kael standing over the couch, and his heart rate spiked.
"They died because of you, didn't they? Your guilt is so overflowing that even I can see that. Survivor's guilt? No, I think it is betrayer's guilt."
Kang's lips trembled, and he flicked his wrist—a crimson revolver appeared in his hand—and he then reached out to a pill on the table.
He took it, covered the pill with his hand, and when he opened his hand again, there was a bullet in the palm.
The pill had turned into a bullet!
"You're right. It is my fault. I wish it was just me, but I wanted to live. I did not want to die!"
Kang screamed and stuffed the revolver into his mouth—his eyes trembled, and his hands shook—he put his finger on the trigger.
"You told their whereabouts, didn't you? Why did you do that?"
Kael asked coldly.
"…"
Kang closed his eyes with tears flowing from his eyes, pulled the revolver out of his mouth, and said with a trembling voice.
"When they finished making a camp at the abandoned Ants Village, I-I went on the scouting mission to find the bandit camp.
"But while I was making my way through the forest, they appeared—they surrounded me from all sides—laughing, and laughing, and laughing.
"I could barely move, frozen with fear as they closed in on me.
"I thought I was going to die the most horrendous death I could think of, but no, they said that they would let me go if I told them where the rest were.
"I thought about acting dumb, but they would've known I was lying. Thus, since there was a chance to escape the possible pain, I gave them their location.
"However, they took me there as well and just made me watch—they wanted me to know what I just did.
"I swear, Kael, I swear that if I had known the extent of their cruelty, I would've just let them kill me, I would've truly!"
Kang pleaded, his revolver-holding hand trembling and the tears streaming down his face.
"You knew what they were going to do then. You just regret that you had to see it."
Kael said coldly, grabbed the barrel of the crimson revolver, and stuffed it back into Kang's mouth—his eyes bulged wide. The M|&V*|*LE&MPY&R* t&ea#m^ wo-r%ke#d ha&r!d^ on th%i^s c#h.a.p@te*r+.
"Pull the trigger, Kang. It is the right thing to do. You caused their deaths, so it isn't right that you get to live.
"I don't care about the pain you're in. You shouldn't be allowed to walk the earth any longer when the others can't."
Kael said.
Kang trembled, with tears mixing with his snot, and he then closed his eyes—the finger on his trigger stopped trembling.
The finger pulled the trigger.
Bang!
The bullet tore through Kang's head, the back of his head exploding in a shower of blood and brain matter.
Splash!
The blood splattered across Kael's face, and he frowned in disgust.
He took out a napkin, wiped off the blood from his face, and stood over Kang's lifeless corpse—his revolver-wielding hand fell limp to his side.
The hand let go of the revolver; it thudded on the ground and quickly vanished as well.
It was the creation of Kang's Blessed Power, and since he wasn't alive anymore, the revolver also didn't exist anymore.
"She was Soul's love of his life, and you caused her death, so I am sure that my brother approves your death."
Kael stood up, walked over to the door, and wanted to leave before anyone came snooping around.
The gunshot was pretty loud, after all, and it was definitely heard outside the building.
Crack! Screech! Rip! Spurt!
"…"
Kael stopped in shock, and his head turned around slowly, like a rusty door hinge—he saw Kang's body sprawl out on the floor in a pool of blood.
It was moving.
The limbs turned tangled, the skin peeled off like a layer of paint, and his eyes exploded out of the sockets.
"Graaaaaaah!"
Kang's tongue stretched out of his mouth—it turned into as long as a whip—and it lashed across the room.
The grotesque body of his stood up—since the skin had peeled off, he was now a horrifying sight to behold, with bulging muscles and exposed tendons.
"What the fuck is that?"
Kael asked with a shaky gaze.
"Uhh…"
Kang snapped his head towards Kael—without the eyes, he should be blind, but it was clear that he was still able to see him.
With the mouth stretched open, the tongue shot out of his mouth and lashed towards Kael!
"Shit!"
Kael tackled through the door and rolled backwards down the stairs—the tongue lashed past him and wrapped around a railing.
The tongue pulled Kang out of the apartment, and he just turned his eyeless gaze towards Kael and screeched like a demon.