The shaggy-haired man's voice rose to a desperate shriek as he pleaded, "Wait, I can't kill anyone. Can we please just talk about this? What do you want from me?" He pulled and twisted at the chains that bound him to the table, but they remained firmly in place. It was a futile effort.
As the older man begged for help, the teenager shifted his weight from one foot to the other and crossed his arms in front of his chest. He let out a disinterested sigh and looked away, clearly uninterested in what the man said. "Rules are rules, play to survive or just get your face split in half by the razor, I simply do not care." the teen walk away from the camera lens, and the camera only showed the two adults, "I won't waste any more time with a simpleton being like you." His tone turned cold and the venomous hatred he held for the man was evident in his voice. But the question remains: why? They had only just met, and the only thing that connected them was their shared status as God's chosen ones.
"You have five minutes left to complete this round, and after that, I will eliminate both of you. However, the winner will receive a surprise," the adolescent declared before clapping his hands. The timer appeared on the live stream, and all I could do was wait for the outcome.
" What surprise will he give the winner? There is only one winner in this battle royale." Edel asked, stating the obvious. I couldn't give him an answer because I was just as clueless. This frustrated me - I could usually read people easily and manipulate them to my advantage, answering any question thrown my way or lying on the spot to cover my tracks. But this egotistical, psychotic individual was beyond my understanding. It reminded me of earlier when Edel had said that only someone crazy could beat this person. They were unpredictable and acted on impulse, as seen in their angry rants on live streams, but they also had a strategic side and could piece together plans. This is not a typical opponent I am facing.
"I would never hurt a woman, let alone kill one. That's not how I was brought up," he insisted to the lady. The man was desperately trying to talk his way out of the situation, using every tactic he had learned. But the woman's face remained expressionless as if she were in a completely different universe. She didn't even move her hands, her posture remaining unchanged. Meanwhile, the man on the other end was visibly distressed, his words tumbling out faster than the seconds ticking away.
" She doesn't seem right in the head, I mean the masked man explained how she a murderer but her demeanor is-"
"Very alarming." As I interrupted Edel, I realized my mouth had a mind of its own and was speaking for me. A person's character can often reveal itself through their actions, and from what I could see, she was at the lowest level with me. I am not passing judgment on her for being a murderer. It is of no concern to me. However, as I look into her eyes, I can sense an unsettling darkness and malevolent energy emanating from her, casting a black cloud over her presence.
"We were all born into a sinful world, but to escape this fate, we must follow the path of righteousness set by our Savior." Her words were spoken with the gentle tone of an angel, but her face revealed a different truth. "However, the light can be blinding and I prefer the darkness where my soul is comfortable, surrounded by the countless souls that have passed at my hands." Her eyes seemed to glimmer, but not with pure light. There was a hint of darkness behind the brightness, a tinge of malevolence lurking within her gaze. "And now, you are just another soul that will forever be entwined with mine."
" what the hell are you rambling about, lady?! Speak English !" The man's voice was a mix of confusion and anger as he yelled. His hands were tightly gripping the iron bar, his veins popping out in visible tension. It was ironic how he claimed not to want to hurt a woman, yet his hands were already on the bar before hers. Nevertheless, he positioned himself to strike first, just in case.
Words hold no value without true intention behind them. It's hard to trust someone based solely on their words, especially in a world as cruel as ours. People may seem kind at first, but that goodness can quickly fade when faced with the harsh realities of life. Keep pushing someone into a corner and they will eventually break, much like a mental patient who is not given a voice to be heard.
"Two minutes left, stop the chit-chatting and more blood spilling. I hire a clean-up team and I'm expecting blood and pieces of flesh." The adolescent's voice was laced with a twisted and wicked humor as he spoke. His fingers snapped impatiently, urging them to finish the game of manipulation and deceit.
"I can't-" Without waiting for the man to finish his sentence, she acts first despite his hands being on the iron bars. She forcefully pushes up the bar, causing the saw to shoot from the middle and split his face at the bridge of his nose. A loud crack echoes through the room as the sharp saw breaks apart the nose bone. The man was in pain, wanting to hold his split nose but unable to because his hands were bound to the table. He jerked his head back and let out a scream from the sheer agony. The woman sitting across from him remained unfazed, despite being the cause of his suffering. She sat there like a predator, watching her prey's every movement with a cold detachment.
" You fucking bitch!" His face contorted in a vicious snarl, and he lunged forward and grabbed the bar with all his might, directing the roaring saw toward her head. She reacted quickly, leaning back just in time as the blade whizzed past her face, slicing off the tip of her nose and grazing her hair. The metallic tang of blood filled her nostrils, but she didn't have time to dwell on it as she focused on avoiding any more damage from the deadly instrument in his hands. The blood trickled down her face as she stuck out her tongue to taste the crimson liquid.
Their muscles strained as they pushed against each other, using their raw strength to control the sharp saw. Neither of them wanted to get cut or face certain death from the blade. The white of their skin was replaced with a deep shade of red as the blood rushed to their faces. Both gritted their teeth and grunted in determination as they continued to push against each other with all their might.
"It was clear that he would emerge as the winner. He had a larger build and more mass, giving him an advantage over her petite frame. She wouldn't be able to hold out for long." Edel out his opinion.
A scoff left my tongue as I continued to stare at the screen, not wanting to miss a single detail, "The belief that size and strength determine success often leads to demise. It is a false notion that people born with disadvantages cannot rise to the top and compete against those who have had all the advantages from the start. In fact, they will do whatever it takes to reach the peak, despite the odds stacked against them." As I tried to convey my thoughts to Edel, he seemed confused and unable to follow my train of thought. I realized that I needed to find a clearer way to explain it to him so that he could understand. "In sports like boxing, people often place their bets on the taller and more muscular fighters, as they are seen as having an advantage. But for those who don't have height or muscles on their side, they must find other ways to come out on top. Speed is one such strategy; by being faster than their opponent, they can target weak spots and wear them down. This same concept can be applied to real-life situations. Those who seemingly have everything may also have a larger ego, and may try to take away the one thing that sets them apart from others. Once that advantage is gone, they are left with nothing but their average qualities."
" You think she will win? I guess we should know soon."
"It's logical, Edel. She's fast and driven, despite the exhaustion in her eyes. This isn't her first time taking a life. It seems like murder comes naturally to her; she could have been doing this for a long time. She's determined but not afraid. Facing someone who has no fear of pain is a dangerous situation. They will even hurt themselves just to make sure you don't survive."
With my own eyes, I witnessed her sheer determination as she pushed the bar with all her might, forcing the saw closer and closer to the center of the table. The loud noise of the sharp blade cutting through metal filled the room.
" You fucking bitch!" The man repeated the same sentence over and over, but the woman remained unfazed as she continued on. Without warning, she leaned forward and spat at the man with such force that she almost stood up. Her deep red blood splattered across the table, landing on the man's face and causing him to flinch and release his grip on the bar. The woman took advantage of this moment and pushed the saw deeper into his side, shredding his flesh further. His screams echoed in the room, growing louder as she pushed harder and the razor saw tore through him, creating a gruesome mess of blood and shredded flesh. By the time she was finished, the saw was coated in his insides and she was drenched in his blood, her eyes returning to their dull state.
" You were right, Yugin," Edel mutters.
It's a gift of mine to be right almost 99 percent of the time but I wished I was wrong because if that woman remains alive that egotistic fucker will have a hefty solider, especially if he used his red arrow on her.