Chapter 51: Chapter 51

'Attracted?' he pretended to play dumb of what the man was saying.

Simon grinned, showing rows of yellowish teeth, with the inside of his lips a little dark from smoking a cigar too much. 'The younger and more beautiful, the more attractive they'll become. Increasingly suitable to be one of my precious collection. You know this feeling, right? I've always been obsessed with pretty things. And as you know, beautiful things are destined to be collected. Collected, owned completely, and be admired. Easy as that.'

'Sorry, I don't understand your nonsense at all,' he prepared a stance, stretched his neck muscles and stiff hands while staring lazily at the man in front of him. 'But that doesn't mean I just let you take my boss.'

'So that's your real answer?'

'What do you think?'

His hand moved to fire the gun at Simon as the man prepared to attack him, hitting the man's right arm. It should have been the right point to weaken Simon's movements. From his observations, the man was right-handed.

'Nice try!'

The man laughed instead, clutching his arm. He furrowed his brows, forcing his brain to think of the best option to defeat the abnormal man as fast as he could. His body had started to become uncooperative because of the earlier battle, so his fighting speed had definitely decreased. In fact, he could feel his left hand trembling violently as the wound on his shoulder throbbed. The silence increased his anxiety even more, coupled with the terrified expressions on the faces of all the people attending the party.

What should he do now?

'Why? Are you scared? You better give up. Just accept my offer, and it will all be over quickly. Think carefully. You don't want this room will filled with piles of corpses because you were late in making your decision?'

He hated. He hated the grin of the old man who was sure to be mocking him in his heart. He hated seeing the face of the man who killed Arnold.

He hated him.

He hated him.

He hated him.

His head was filled with voices repeating those words over and over, filling his mind. His emotions were suddenly out of control. Ignoring his left shoulder which was bleeding from the wound from moving too much, he launched another attack. Shoot the man blindly until the contents of the bullet run out. The man dodged the shot, smiling triumphantly as soon as he realized he could no longer use his revolver to shoot him. He clicked his tongue, frustrated. Throwing the revolver out of his hand, then running towards Simon, who seemed to greet him with open arms.

'Too slow!'

His body flew away against the wall near the entrance after the man's fist hit his left cheek. Pain spread throughout his body, making him grimace in pain. His breath was raging, exhausted. A monster like this, could he beat it? It was far more terrifying than Levin Cumberbatch.

'That's all you have? Disappointing,' Simon shook his head softly, disappointed. 'You're wasting your own potential. Supposedly with your ability, you can beat me. Or at least, on my level. If you reconsider my offer earlier, you will become stronger.'

He tried to get up, using his right hand as a support to force his shaking legs to his feet. His body wobbled, but he had no time to lose. Not. If he lost and died now, he would not have the face to meet Arnold.

'Listen, Uncle. I don't know why Uncle did all this. But you should know, right? I can't possibly kneel to my parents' killer!'

He saw Edward who was still fighting Rufus. Without realizing it, he laughed at Edward's voice, which seemed to have managed to restore his fighting spirit.

'You can stand up?'

'It would be shameful history if I lost here.'

'Great. No one has resisted my attacks more than that,' Simon clapped his hands together, looked at him in amazement, then the man's expression took a sharp turn. Full of murderous aura, aimed the gun at Raymond. 'Let me see, how long can you handle it.'

Raymond's hand immediately took out Hazel's tool which he kept in his jacket pocket, hanging all his hopes on it.

Supposedly with this, he could kill Simon.

Using all his remaining energy, he ignited the device as Simon drew closer to him, pulling the trigger of the revolver aimed at Raymond's chest. As the bullet hit him, his hand managed to point Hazel's tool at Simon's heart.

'We're ... even,' said Raymond, softly. 'How was i...t?'

The man's eyes widened, aware of the large gaping hole in his chest because of the device. Raymond smiled with satisfaction. He could feel his legs, which were no longer able to support his weight, dropping his entire body onto the floor of the room. Makes a loud thud. His gaze slowly darkened, along with the pain that enveloped his entire body. Faintly, he heard the shouts of people calling out his name. He did not know. His ears began to have difficulty recognizing the owners of these voices.

So peaceful, calm. Only darkness accompanied him. It felt like he was starting to understand what Arnold was feeling now at the very second of his death. Was that friend thinking the same thing as him? Maybe Arnold was tired of everything. Maybe he wanted to rest, let go of all the bitter and dark life that the man has lived. Perhaps his friend's little heart believed in reincarnation, thinking that one day, there would be a time when he would be reborn as an ordinary person. Live with an ordinary life, without contact with the underground world. Perhaps, part of what Arnold had been telling him all this time was part of his own expectations.

He did not know. Only Arnold himself knew what he was thinking.

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