Chapter 41 – Pain and Hate
Dani removed the bandage on her right shoulder. “I don’t want to be caught and tortured like Carlos. I don’t like pain, after all…”
“Don’t talk like that, Dani!” Gina cut her friend’s words. “We don’t need to do such a mad thing! We just have to do what we normally do. We’ll either manipulate the wounds on Diego’s body to make them look like the marks of a monster attack or destroy the corpse!”
Elise’s heart felt like it had been hit by something hard. The request from Dani made her shiver like crazy.
“No…” Dani closed his eyes. “I was able to eavesdrop on Jorge and several of his men. Diego actually suspected us and wasn’t sure about the wounds on the people we killed. He also said that we must be targeted if he dies. Therefore, it is better to focus all their attention on me. They wouldn’t have thought you guys, especially Gina, would kill me. I will be the sole perpetrator of the oil theft plan.”
Gina’s tears started to flow. She hastily took out a new bandage to treat her best friend again. However, Dani pressed his palm to the woman’s chest.
“We promised to destroy this evil place, didn’t we?” Dani flashed a smile. “We’ve sworn to die to achieve our goal? If I don’t die now, our efforts will be in vain. All of you will be interrogated… No, maybe you’ll be killed right away. Diego was the first to detect our movements. The other people we killed in the past were just finding clues, not suspecting us to be the perpetrators. He is a capable person who managed to make Jorge believe in him.”
“No, Dani.” Gina’s voice sounded like a pained groan. “Your theory is too wild.”.
“You three should kill me,” Dani repeated her request. “So that you all have a role in my death…”
Still crying, Gina hugged her best friend’s body tightly. Her mouth opened, but no more words could come out.
“Remember our friends who died from the addiction, Gina.” Dani hissed. Her voice became hoarse as her tears also started to flow. “Louis, Greg, Melissa, and Rowan. They cursed the drug but couldn’t get away from it. Remember our struggles to get over addiction. We don’t want anyone to be like our friends or us, do we?”
“I-if only I decided to stop after we destroyed that small field in our home country….” Gina bit her lip harder. “But, when I found out that drug trafficking was still happening in our country, I couldn’t help myself…. I kept looking for the source…. And finally, I found information about this cursed place. Ah, if we had stopped at that time, we wouldn’t be faced with a situation like this.”
Dani rubbed the mage’s back gently. “I have no regrets, Gina. In the end, I died because…. Akkkhhhh!!!”
Elise backed away and covered her mouth with her hand. Her eyes widened, fixated on the smoke rising from behind Dani.
The smell of burning meat began to waft. Dani hugged Gina’s body back so tight as if she would crush the mage’s body.
Dani is in a lot of pain. Her mouth opened to the maximum, and her eyes rolled back. The heat from Gina’s hands was burning her back.
“I’m sorry…” Gina’s voice became so hoarse. “But I really can’t stop now. I won’t be able to calm down until the drug trade is fully gone.”
Dani’s smile returned. “It’s okay, Gina. Even if I’m gone, I’ll watch over you.”
Elise’s eyes became hot and blurry. She then turned her face away because she couldn’t take it anymore. The female warrior had not known the two women for a long time, but her heart was crushed when faced with such a tragic thing.
Still sobbing, Gina let Dani fall to her knees, then took a few steps back.
Now, it was Checo’s turn to come to Dani. His eyes had also started to glaze over.
“I’m in your care, Checo,” Dani spoke breathlessly. Her smile is still there, though weak.
“I’m sorry too.” Checo held his club high.
Dani closed her eyes, and Checo hit her temple hard.
Elise still couldn’t see the scene. Especially when Checo keeps hitting Dani’s head. The sound of the weapon shattering the skull made Elise even more frightened.
“Now it’s your turn, Elise,” Gina said in a low, barely audible voice. She didn’t look at the female warrior at all.
Elise forced herself to open one eye, immediately gasped, and backed away when she saw Dani’s bloodied head.
“No…. I can’t do this….” Elise choked.
“You have to do this to make Jorge believe in you. The wound from your sword will prove that you really played a part in Dani’s murder.” Raymund said in a casual tone, as if that scene was nothing but spectacle.
“Ah, you’ve never hurt a human before?” Checo asked with tears already flowing. “Well, I don’t think you need to participate. You’re already with us. Jorge would immediately believe you played a part in the murder of the traitor.”
Raymund took a deep breath. “No, Elise. This is your chance to practice killing. In the future, you may encounter missions that require you to kill your fellow humans.”
Elise looked up. “Sir…. What do you mean?”
She had no intention of asking such a question at all. It happened without her even thinking about it.
Checo and Gina looked at Elise and frowned.
“Again, you have to kill her. That’s so you get used to it.” Raymund continued.
“No, Sir Raymund.” Elise walked backward, almost tripping over a root. Her head felt light, disturbing her balance. “I can’t do that.”
The god snapped. “You want to go against my orders!? I’m tired of reminding you that you won’t know about your family, and you will also be tortured in hell!!!”
Elise squeezed her head with tears streaming down even more. This was already too much for the female warrior. Human life is a precious thing, and Elise doesn’t want to take it away from other people just like that. “I won’t do it, Sir Raymund!”
“Hey….” Dani’s hoarse groan floated in the air. “Can you guys finish this quickly? I really hate pain. It reminds me of my withdrawal moments in the past.”