Chapter 213: Ending the Ill-Fated Connection (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 213: Ending the Ill-Fated Connection (4)
“That’s none of my business. If you’re going to commit such barbaric acts, could you please do it somewhere else? You’re frightening the child!”
Hearing Cassia’s sharp voice, Gis felt his breath catch in his throat as his chest tightened.
Gis didn’t realize it, but this was clearly jealousy.
They say that the more loving a family is, the more severe the sense of deprivation an eldest son feels when a younger sibling is born.
It’s because the love that was once directed solely at him is now divided.
The shock of something you took for granted suddenly becoming not-so-granted is greater than one can imagine.
Most people overcome this process during their ignorant childhood, but not Gis. As an only child, he had received what could only be described as Cassia’s obsessive love, and deep down, he had come to see it as his due.
So, to witness that love being directed not at him, but at his half-brother, was bound to be a shock.
Though his words were filled with disgust and revulsion, a deep-seated affection for Cassia remained somewhere in the depths of his heart.
That was why he had tacitly allowed his subordinates to monitor and report on Cassia’s movements, and why he’d killed her former ‘clients’ who had bothered her.
If he had truly despised Cassia, his personality was such that he would have killed her himself.
Dammit…
Gis felt a wave of self-loathing at how he was still swayed by Cassia. Whenever he stood before her, he felt like he had reverted to a small child.
To the weak version of himself from a time when he could do nothing, only depend on his mother.
Cassia was Gis’s Achilles’ heel, one of his greatest weaknesses.
While Gis was drowning in a sea of self-loathing, the man spoke up to calm Cassia.
“You’re right, doing this in front of someone’s wall isn’t a good look. Very well. We’ll do as you say, ma’am. Hey, put him in the sack!”
“Yes, sir!”
A man with an impressive knife scar approached with a large cloth sack and began to search Gis’s body.
Daggers and hidden weapons stuffed in his pockets came clattering out.
With a disgusted look, the scar-faced man meticulously checked for anything else before stuffing Gis into the sack.
Gis didn’t resist.
He judged it better to be taken away quietly for now and escape once his battered body had recovered.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes, sir.”
The scar-faced man hoisted the sack onto his back and stood up. Just as they began to move and Gis started plotting his escape from within the stuffy sack, a voice stopped them.
“…Who on earth is he that you have to go to such lengths to take him away? You don’t need to stuff a common thief into a sack, do you?”
Had she sensed something was off?
Or was it a mother’s intuition?
Cassia pointed out something she didn’t have to.
Gis’s heart, which had grown cold, began to pound.
This was his chance.
His last chance to escape from these people claiming to be his victims.
If he called out to Cassia for help now, she would surely help him.
As a first-class dancer, Cassia possessed considerable martial strength.
If things went well, she might be able to rescue him and help him get away.
It was embarrassing as hell to be seen captured by these thugs, but was that really what mattered right now?
Gis opened his mouth.
But just as he was about to call for help, a thought flashed through his mind, and he froze.
It would be for the best if she managed to rescue him safely, but what if she failed?
What if she was subdued alongside him?
They would probably discover she was his mother, and she would be dragged into their revenge.
That couldn’t happ—
Fuck it! Since when have I ever cared about anyone else? I just need to save myself. Only me.
Despite his resolve, it was as if something was caught in his throat, and no sound came out.
In the end, Gis gave up on asking for help.
Yeah, fuck it. If I was going to ask for help, I would’ve done it sooner.
While he was struggling, the argument between the man and Cassia escalated.
“This is business for our merchant group. It’s no concern of yours, ma’am.”
“Should I call the guards? I’ll tell them that some suspicious people beat someone up in front of my house and then bundled him away. If you’re as confident as you say, you won’t mind an investiga—”
“Can you handle the consequences?”
“What?”
“I’m asking if you can handle what comes next.”
“…”
“Ma’am, an investigation by the guards is no big deal for us. It’s just a minor annoyance. However, the time wasted because of it will anger our boss. Are you confident you can handle his retribution?” the man said, glancing at the child in Cassia’s arms. It was as if he were saying, You might be able to endure it, but your child won’t.
Cassia bit her lip hard.
Honestly, she had no idea who was in that sack.
But her intuition was screaming at her not to let them go.
Dancers often got entangled in lovers’ quarrels as part of their profession. It was her intuition that had extended her lifespan as a dancer, and for that reason, she trusted it without a doubt.
She had a feeling that if she let them go now, she would lose something precious.
“I’m sorry for holding you up. Please, be on your way.”
But she had no choice but to let them go.
She wasn’t alone anymore.
She had a precious son, the apple of her eye.
Her lovely son could not be exposed to even the slightest threat.
In the end, she relented, and the man smiled.
“A wise decision.”
And with that, the men who called themselves members of a merchant group departed. Cassia watched them walk away.
She kept watching, even long after they were too far to be seen.
“Waaaaaah!”
It was the sound of her baby’s cry that finally brought her back to her senses.
“My sweet boy, are you hungry? Mommy will give you some milk.”
Cassia went back inside and nursed her baby. Seeing her son smile with pure bliss as he drank her milk, she felt everything was right with the world.
Right, who cares who that person being carried off was? I have my lovely son right here in my arms. I should just forget about it.
Cassia smiled fondly as she stroked her baby’s red hair.
It was as soft as down.
*
“Die!”
“Gahk…”
The fist landed squarely in his abdomen, and for a moment, Gis couldn’t breathe. The young man who threw the punch continued to swing his fists, seemingly indifferent to Gis’s condition.
Gis wanted to block the blows, but with his hands tied behind his back, he couldn’t.
Thwack! Thud! Thud!
A merciless assault rained down on him. It was only after Gis passed out that Hal, the leader of the victims’ group, finally stopped the young man.
“That’s enough. Beating him to a pulp is fine, but it’ll be a problem if you actually kill him. There’s still a long line of people waiting for their turn, you know.”
Hal jerked his chin toward the space behind the young man, where a long line had formed.
“I’m sorry. I got too carried away…”
“It’s fine. It happens when you’ve got a lot pent up. If you’re still not satisfied, go get back in line.”
“Yes, sir.”
The young man returned to the end of the line without hesitation. Watching him, Hal let out a dry laugh and shook his head.
“The kid’s got some real venom in him… Tsk, anyway, our dear Hero’s karma certainly runs deep.”
Hal turned his head and looked down at the unconscious Gis. His gaze was icy, a complete 180 from how he’d looked at the young man. It was only natural, as Hal, too, had lost something to Gis.
He poured a potion over Gis’s bruised torso.
He adjusted the amount, healing him just enough so he wouldn’t die.
After confirming the bruises were subsiding, Hal slapped Gis’s cheeks—smack, smack—to wake him.
After five slaps, his right cheek swollen and red, Gis finally regained consciousness. The first thing he did upon waking was try to bite Hal’s face off.
But Hal quickly pulled back, and the attempt failed.
“Haha! Our dear Hero is still full of energy! Looks like you can go a few dozen more rounds!”
“You son of a bitch! Untie me right now!”
“Alright, next in line, step forward.”
“I’ll kill you! You and all your bastards, I’ll kill every last one of you! I’ll skin you alive!”
“Alright, begin!”
“Fuuuuuck! You fucking bastards!”
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
“You’ve finally quieted down. I have to say, I didn’t expect you to keep screaming for three whole days. Even I didn’t see that coming.”
“…Tsk.”
Gis clicked his tongue and turned his head away from Hal’s gaze. It was an uncharacteristically subdued reaction. He had realized there was no way to escape his current situation, and that struggling would only please them.
Hal nodded, satisfied by the now-docile Gis.
“Good. I suppose we can stop with phase one now.”
Gis’s eyes widened.
Phase one?
These bastards have phases for their revenge?
What kind of bullshit…
Gis let out a hollow laugh, finding the situation absurd.
“What’s phase two? Torture?”
“Torture… In a sense, you could say they’re one and the same.”
A meaningful smile bloomed on Hal’s face. Seeing it, Gis felt a sense of unease for some reason.
“Hero, do you know how many families have suffered because of you?”
“I don’t know, and I don’t give a damn.”
“Approximately 118 households. And do you know how many of those 118 households are now unable to support themselves?”
“I told you, I don’t know.”
“A staggering 43 households. Because of your vile games, 43 families have been pushed to a point where they can no longer recover.”
Gis didn’t just like women.
He reveled in immense power and the thrill of using that power to ruin those beneath him.
And when he got bored, he would cast them aside without a second thought.
What happened to them afterward was none of his concern.
He was faithful only to his own desires.
“Orphans who lost their parents cry their hearts out, and heads of households are breaking their backs under the weight of debts left by wives or daughters who ran away. All of it is a tragedy born from your base and filthy desires.”
Hal’s thick palm clamped around Gis’s neck. As he squeezed, Gis’s airway was slowly cut off.
“Kh, ghk…! What… what are you doing… You said you wouldn’t kill me…”
Gis panicked.
Hadn’t he said he wouldn’t kill him?
So why was he doing this all of a sudden?
“St-stop… I was wrong… I can’t die…”
If he died, Hailey would die too. Gis pleaded desperately, but the grip on his neck only tightened.
His consciousness began to fade.
In the end, Gis’s consciousness gave out, the last thing he saw being Hal’s face, a single tear falling from the eye that wasn’t covered by a burn scar.
*
Gis regained consciousness.
I’m not dead.
That was his first thought upon waking.
Genuinely relieved that no harm would come to Hailey, he kept his eyes closed, pretending to still be unconscious.
First, he checked his body’s condition.
Not as bad as I thought.
His whole body still ached from the damn poison, but he no longer felt the pain from the bruises he’d accumulated from being beaten nonstop for the past few days.
And on top of that, his limbs were untied!
What’s going on? These bastards aren’t the type to let me go this easily.
Puzzled, Gis opened his eyes.
He sighed when he saw Hal sitting in a chair across from him.
“Of course.”
Gis leaned back against the chair, crossing his legs in a defiant posture. His eyes darted around, scanning his surroundings.
It was a dark, unfamiliar space.
A single oil lamp placed between him and Hal cast a precarious light on the two of them.
Gis asked, “You healed me and even untied me… What are you planning? And who are these bastards around us?”
Several people were standing in the darkness, beyond the reach of the lamp’s light. Gis had noticed them the moment he scanned the area.
“To notice them right away, you truly are the Hero. I was planning to mess with you a little, but it’s a shame it turned out this way.”
Gis smirked.
He thought he knew what was going on.
It was obvious. They were pretending he was alone, giving him the hope that he could escape, only to snatch it away. Such a childish trick.
But he wasn’t one to fall for such a simple prank.
Such uncreative bastards. Just you wait until I escape.
When he did, he would visit each one of them and personally give them a taste of his creativity.
Gis chuckled.
That laughter died the moment more lamps were lit, illuminating the room.
His expression hardened like never before.
“Hey… what the hell is this?”
“Do you remember the story about the families who were ruined to the point they could no longer make a living? This is a continuation of that story.”
“How the fuck is this connected to that story, you bastard!” Gis shouted, pointing at the naked men surrounding them. The men ranged in age from young adults to middle-aged, and even the elderly.
But regardless of their age, they were still fucking men. Not wanting to see any more naked men, Gis squeezed his eyes shut. Hal chuckled at the ridiculous sight.
“We wanted to help those poor people. We, of all people, knew how they felt. But we were also your victims. Naturally, we didn’t have the luxury of helping anyone.”
That was when these men appeared.
Pederasts, suspiciously wealthy.
They wanted to add Gis, who held the title of ‘former’ Hero, to their collection, and Hal’s group wanted Gis to suffer.
Their interests aligned perfectly.
“In exchange for handing you over, we’ve received a sponsorship from these gentlemen. The funds will be used to pay off the victim families’ debts and to operate an orphanage.”
“Wh-what?! Who the hell decided that!”
“We did. You said it yourself, Hero, as you were smashing my face in. The weak just have to do as the strong say. Right now, we are the strong, and you, Hero, are the weak.”
“That’s such bullshit…!”
He was about to ask where the logic was in that when a fat, slovenly middle-aged man with sagging breasts and a potbelly stepped forward.
“Hal, my boy. I’ve waited this long out of consideration for your circumstances… but I can’t wait any longer.”
“Ah… my apologies. I was being too selfish. Please, you may begin enjoying yourselves now.”
“Mm, good. How exciting.”
The middle-aged man nodded with a satisfied expression, and at his signal, the men began to close in on Gis.
“Wh-what the fuck. Enjoy what?!”
Gis scrambled to his feet and picked up the chair. In his desperation, he intended to use it as a weapon. He swung it at the closest young man.
“Die!”
The young man dodged the chair with just two steps and instantly appeared behind Gis. He wrapped his arms around Gis’s defenseless back, pinning his arms.
Gis was horrified.
“Fuuuuuuuuuuck! You’re touching me, you bastard! Get that fucking thing off me right now!”
“Oh… these muscles… exquisite… A flawless, supreme physique.”
“You motherfucker!”
Gis struggled to break free from the young man, but for some reason, the man didn’t budge an inch.
“Give it up, Hero. That man is a knight.”
Gis recoiled in horror at Hal’s words.
“A k-knight?! Why is a knight in a place like this?!”
The knight answered instead of Hal.
“When it comes to beauty, distinctions like man and woman are meaningless. I have fallen for your beauty.”
“Shutupshutupshutupshutup! Hey, Hal, you son of a bitch! Just hit me! Torture me! That’s better for you guys too, right? Isn’t it?!”
Hal smirked at his desperate cry.
“Does beating and torturing you give us money or bread? On the other hand, selling you does. A whole lot of it.”
“You crazy…”
“Come on, you’ve enjoyed yourself plenty until now, haven’t you? Just think of this as paying for all that fun.”
With those final words, Hal turned his back.
As he left the room, he heard Gis’s screams, along with comments like, “It’s been a while since we had such a fine specimen,” and “We’ll make your body unable to live without a cock,” but he decided to pretend he hadn’t heard them.