Hate is like a calling, and love is like a gift.
Hating someone is painful, and the only way to stop that pain is through death; the side doesn't really matter.
I killed my sister, burned my mother to death, and the only person left who could ease the pain in my heart was my father.
Methods of killing him exchanged in my dark mind as I wandered through the moonlit forest.
"Could he happen to be dead somehow?" I thought, since I couldn't find the black-haired man despite patrolling the entire woods.
Since I was aimlessly wasting my energy, I decided to take a seat under a tree and gather back my strength.
"I am sure father is in this forest; he is not the type to run back to the other nobles and ask for help."
My old man used to be a hunter in his younger days, which is why he is confident enough to hang around adventurers who might even stab him in the back.
Keeping that thought in mind, I remained as calm as a cucumber, knowing I might be the one hunted if I let my guard down.
Looking at the only weapon in my arsenal, I thought of a way to upgrade it slightly to make it fit for both close and long-range attacks.
Making a rope from tree fibers, I tied it to the back of my pocket knife, extending its range.
Whoosh–!
I swung it in the air, slicing through the tree leaves, and I was confident that this little weapon would be the one to give Count Malvado the death he deserves.
I didn't have my enhanced vision at the time, so the only way to search for my old man was to look around the whole woods again.
One would normally feel tired from such an action, but I, for one, felt twice the strength in my body than usual. How could I not, when the last spike in my heart was about to be removed?
Blood covered my face, and my black hair was soaked in it, but I just kept wanting my face to be washed by it.
I fully admit, I am a madman.
My head spun in circles, just like how I patrolled the entire woods without spotting any evidence that my father was still alive.
If he had died, then everything would be over for me. The reason I lived this long was so I could kill all my family members in cold blood.
Since I was trying to find a needle in a haystack, I decided to use a magnet to call the needle to me.
"Water!! Thank heavens!! I finally have something to drink!!" I shouted as I took a sachet from my blazer pocket.
Gulp–! Gulp–!
I drank the liquid inside the sachet like a hungry dog, and thanks to that, I started hearing fast footsteps approaching me.
My father has always been someone fast on his feet, and when he got closer to me, he didn't stop running as he snatched what I was drinking.
However, I didn't bother getting angry, as my trap had worked perfectly.
The short black-haired man hid behind a tree and took something that couldn't be called a sip. However, he quickly spit everything out.
Cough-! Cough–! Cough–!
"What did I just drink?!" he exclaimed, throwing the sachet on the ground, only to freeze in shock.
"That is blood... I was drinking blood. No! Hein was drinking blood like it was water."
Swish–!
The moment his words ended, he found his right leg flying into the air as he released a roaring scream.
"Ahhhh! You son of a bitch!"
Whoosh–!
I pulled back my knife and rested the rope on my shoulder, letting the blade dangle on my back as I slowly walked toward my father.
"Ku! Kukuku! Kukukuhahaha!" I laughed.
For the first time in my life, I let out a laugh. However, it felt so broken that in the next second, my face became indifferent again.
I picked up the sachet from the ground and drank every drop of blood that was in it before addressing my father, who was rolling on the ground like a worm.
"Do you know whose blood you just drank?" He didn't reply due to the pain he was feeling, so I added, "It was the blood of your daughter, Tasha."
Unlike a certain woman, this man was able to shed a tear for his daughter. "Wha–!"
Thwack–!
Before he could say anything, I swung my knife to stab him in his other thigh, letting blood sprinkle onto my face as he let out a pained scream.
Wham–!
I took his right leg and hit him in the face, making him silent as a few of his teeth broke.
"Some people would tell you to be silent so they could kill you painlessly, but no matter what you do, I am still going to make your death as painful as it can get."
His eyes rolled around, unable to believe the monster he had created, and the man quickly begged, "Please don't hurt me. Just end me now."
Holding the hilt of my pocket knife, I stepped on his right hand before cutting off all his fingers.
"Wahhh!" the old man screamed through tears. "Please just k-!"
Before he could say any more, I shoved his fingers into his mouth and cut his voice box, ensuring I wouldn't hear him again.
Bam-!
He tried to toss the fingers away, but I kicked his jaw, forcing his middle finger to get lodged in his throat.
Tears of blood streamed from his eyes as he struggled to breathe, but I stepped on the joints of his arms, ensuring he couldn't help himself.
His head bobbed up and down, and all I could do was coldly stare at him as he ran out of breath.
I took a long sigh. "Phew... Now to the next stage of my life."
However, I later realized nothing was different from the past.