Chapter 49 - are you tryna kill me?

"Search the whole area!" The signaling words of Elder Hong —the searched team dispersed dividing the group into five. Uno was with Elder Hong, Alexander Han, Elder Meng, and two other formidable-looking men.

Each group went for their designated search area while the group of Elder Hong started to march into the forest. Uno followed them not uttering a word. Glancing at him, Alexander followed elder Meng who's leading the group.

"Presenting ourselves to a mob group, I see." The sarcasm on Uno's voice was not concealed nor he tried to. Although he was not a bit hesitant to follow the group —he can take care of himself. What he does not understand is the fact that Elder Meng seems to know the area well yet he did not take action immediately knowing the location of the coke factory is in the heart of the forest.

They went deeper and further into the foreboding forest. The cold breeze and the rustling sound of the bushes screamed pass their ears. They halted after a good 10 minutes walk. Elder Meng's brows knitted, scanning the area.

He was uncertain about finding the right path to take, since the last time he was here was years ago, adding the complete darkness covering the forest, it gave him a tough time. He tried his hardest remembering his recollections to that 'place' route.

He commanded the two men who were with them to find some markings on one of the trees surrounding them. Uno scoffs at the struggling old fellow. Seeing his ridiculing eyes, Alexander spoke.

"Help us instead." though with his dashing figure and facial features, making him look like an elf king guarding the forest —his determination did not falter ever since the beginning. No one could tell what stories behind those burning eyes.

*scrush scrush*

"reporting from west. Elder, we found a drying blood on a rock shelter." A man's voice got through the walkie talkie Elder Hong's holding. With a press, he responded.

"You found them?"

"No, sir. Our team is still searching the area." Finishing his report, Elder Hong profoundly sigh. Alexander clenched his first hearing the man's report. It's not like he was not expecting it but still, deep inside him, he was hopeful that the person they are rescuing would not be found by that group.

"that's it! I'll find her on my own. I thought following you guys will take me find her immediately. I thought wrong." Uno spoke his mind. Giving them benefit of the doubt and letting Riggs go on his own, he thought that this group will know what they were doing yet the result only disappointed him.

"I found it! Is this it?" Alex urgent voice reached Uno's ears. Elder Meng immediately looked it up. Seeing a palm size letter carving on the giant tree trunk. Though the carvings were almost covered with thick brown particle —it was carved deeply as if the person who marked this assured that it will never fade over the years.

"it is, indeed!" Elder Meng confirmed seeing the markings closely.

The sound of the walkie-talkie interrupted them,

"Sir, we found an unconscious boy." he reported.

"Can you identify him?" Elder Hong inquired.

"It's the grandchild of old Feng, sir. He is given the first aid treatment. But we still cannot find the girl." The man on the line responded with all the information they have.

"Keep searching and get the child to Doctor Ma on the border." Elder Hong replied. Though there are questions on why that child was found in this prohibited area —he put them aside as their top priority is finding the girl.

Glancing at Uno's broad back and stance, he knew that the young man is formidable, meaning the girl came from a well-off family. He cannot let Alexander Han receive another heavy blow from these types of families and carry another burden on his back. The determination on elder Hong's eyes grew deeper. He is willing to trade anything to those people for Alexander's sake, be it his life or money.

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"Ahhhhhh!" The woman screams her lungs out feeling the excruciating pain which she could not discern of where is hurting more. Blood flows uncontrollably from her cut tongue throughout her mangled lips. Her bloody right eye was poked by Seraphina as if she only pop a balloon and now, she was shot on her feet.

The unending torture felt forever. She could not take it anymore. She screamed internally to just end her sufferings but she was robbed the ability to speak and plead. All she can do was scream again and again. Her hands were untied and roughly grabbed by the slender fingers of Seraphina.

She holds her left hand, pressed the gun onto the back of her hand, facing directly at the man beside the tortured woman and without a delay, a loud deafening bang resounded the four corners of the room —hitting two birds with one bullet.

The two other surviving hostages shuddered in fear. The terror of watching their colleague being tortured in front of them and now, one of them was shot dead. The other man peed his pants — shaking and crying. The last hope of negotiating their lives with the emotionless monster in front of them vanished. They knew that the girl came here to kill them.

Though they killed people and ruined a million lives due to manufacturing illegal drugs, they felt that they still don't deserve to be treated this way. Unbeknownst to their hypocritical minds, it was also the very reason that Seraphina went extreme. Their unremorseful acts and hypocrisy thinking that their precious lives worth more than the others but in fact, it was worth nothing.

*crack*

With a loud bone cracking, Seraphina let go the other hand of the girl. The woman weakly huffed losing all her energy. She felt her whole being getting numb by the minute.

Turning her head, Seraphina played with the dagger, now covered with blood pointing alternately to the two trembling men —as if choosing her next guinea pig.

"please! Don't torture us!"

"Please please, I'll do anything!" They pleaded in unison.

"Don't you get it yet?" Both men gulped hearing her answer. They do understand that it was their end but they still tried to plead desperately for their lives especially seeing what happened to Raquel —their female colleague who's now good as dead.

Seraphina chuckles lightly at the sight of the terrified men. "Do you believe in having a second life? reincarnation? going back to the past?" Not knowing what she was talking about out of the blue, they nod continuously in agreement even though they don't understand what was she saying.

"You see, in my last lifetime, I didn't get to see your fearful faces…" gazing at the girl she tortured moments ago, she continues.

"I also know what it feels like to be on her shoes. No tongue, sight, hands, feet, dignity, family… everything —maybe I deserved it at some point. Good thing is, I'm immune to pain now. Who knows, maybe that this isn't actually real but still… I don't mind being a monster, "

'I just wanted to protect them from people like us.' She finished her sentenced in her mind.

Seeing a silhouette, she swiftly threw the dagger on the opened door —its sharp tip perched at the jamb of the door.

"Dammit! Are you tryna kill me?!" Riggs quirky voice was heard.