* * *
"So, was that all for the last words?"
*Bang*
*Bang*
*Thud*
*Bang*
Old Tigo widened his eyes in horror as he watched one of his workers fall in his own blood. On the other hand, Mayor Lucca continued firing shots into the heads or hearts of the others. All of his shots were always on the mark.
The others, except Old Tigo―stood up in panic, trying to run away with all the strength they could muster at that very spark of the moment, attempting one last chance to save themselves from being helplessly murdered; alas, it was by no means possible for them to survive any of it.
Horrified gasps rang out from the Mirthwater residents, especially from those in the backline.
Old Tigo himself knew what Mayor Lucca's actions signified, and he closed his eyes in defeat.
Two of the restaurant workers managed to jump down from the platform, but were still shot by Mayor Lucca and the other guards who joined in executing the rest of them.
With blood drenching the grass and the wooden board of the raised platform, it dripped below, hand in hand with the lives and souls that involuntarily slipped out from their very flesh.
Everything went quiescent. A serenity that lulled the victims out of their dreams.
That was it, until the front rows of the residents in the city, near the gate of the yard of the Mayor's Office―along with the nobles on the other side―began clapping at the spectacular performance orchestrated by Mayor Lucca.
Mayor Lucca himself walked to the back of the temporary platform, bending his back politely to bow in the direction of the nobility. A faint, mirthless smile on his face, unbothered by his own cruelty and ruthlessness.
Shortly after, he turned back and walked steadily toward Old Tigo, whose head was still pressed against the wooden floor.
Grasping a handful of Tigo's hair, he yanked upward, lifting the dazed man, who had yet to recover from the earlier scene.
Leaning down, Mayor Lucca whispered into Tigo's ear, "Don't try to talk your way out of this, senior. This execution is just a ruse. You know what they're really after, don't you?"
There was a chilling edge to his tone, a sinister allure that coiled around his words like a serpent, enticing its prey to surrender.
It was the kind of voice that sent shivers down the spine—a ghastly whisper that promised both dread and inevitability, like a devil beckoning its sacrifice to embrace the abyss.
"… But they had nothing to do with all of this?" Old Tigo choked on his own words.
The desperation in his voice rose after witnessing the unjust loss of lives that should have been spared. Tears mixed with blood streamed once again down his face.
His breath hitched as he struggled to comprehend the inanities of it all.
"These are good people, Lucca… They are just trying to survive, and yet what have you done? They pay the price for the greed of others. Those who never have enough! Why??? Why???"
Each word laced with profound senses of forlornness, a cry for justice. The value of integrity seemed to fall on deaf ears, leaving him feeling utterly defeated in the face of such unnecessary tragedy.
Mayor Lucca countered, raising one of his eyebrows in humorless hilarity and slight boredom.
"Yes, they do. But you know well enough that in our line of work, there are always consequences. Don't tell me you've forgotten that, too? It has always been this way for the longest time. When you mess with them, the others around you pay the same price. I just do what I should do. At least their deaths are swift in my hand. What more could you ask? Now tell me Tigo!!? Where is it??? Where do you hide it?!!"
"… ahahaha… ahahaha… ahahahhahahahha…" Old Tigo's maniacal laughter gradually grew louder. Piercer. Reverberated like a death knell.
Each cackle was knotted with sorrow, a desperate attempt to mask the anguish that clawed his heart.
"I see that you have lost your mind…" Mayor Lucca mocked him, his voice dripping with disdain.
"Now, I understand. I understand. Is this how you vent it out? Like a child, you are, huh, Lucca? You pathetic bastard have sunk to this degreet―o become an obedient, dirty dog; wagging your tail, licking their asses. ARE YOU PROUD OF THAT? YOU FCKING SH*T. SHAME ON YOU!!!!!!! eiciuhfdjgurhuasdfjgur hsajcdjfdgursdjfhsdguuvnersd…"
"… I see that mingling with people on the underside has changed your demeanor to a degree of… Uncouth and unruly!!? Sigh, I knew from the start that despite your noble background, you were an oafish. So unbefitting of that name…"
"SO WHAT??? At least I am better than you. WAY BETTER THAN YOU!!! For a bastard who once called the nobility c*nt horses, you sure fit that spectacularly, willingly becoming a servant licking their rumps and sh*t!!? Wait, then what does that make you? A pig hypocrite b*tthole perhaps? Or maybe, their spunk, you punk!!!"
Old Tigo rants and raves in incivility, his voice a cacophony of fury and uncontrollable anger. Each word was venom, a desperate attempt to claw back some semblance of dignity. Each insult hurled was a cathartic release to this unknown man before him.
And surprisingly, it was evident that all those curses hurled at Mayor Lucca affected him greatly.
His face turned a darker shade. Eyebrows knitted tightly. His grim eyes twitched repeatedly, and his grip on Old Tigo's hair became harsher, crueler, and more vicious, pulling many strands of the latter's hair with unmerciful passion.
Old Tigo fought through the pain, keeping his mind clear to fling more obscenities to provoke him.
"You angry, huh? So, you do get angry, huh? I thought all of your emotions had been dumped in a filthy crap. Is it because that was how you cursed when you were still with us? No worries, I have one more guess. Let's see. It must be because of them, isn't it? You lost your wife, your son, your daughter. All of your family. So, you vent it out on the others…"
Unexpectedly, Mayor Lucca interrupted Old Tigo, leaning in to whisper something in his ear, ensuring that only Tigo would hear his actual words. However, those at the top of the building managed to catch a vague, shaky, breathy echo of his voice.
"Yes. It was indeed the case. Why should I be the only one who lost mine? Why can't the others feel the same way? I hate it. I truly hate it. So, I promised myself to torment others just like how I've been tormented. Don't worry, you said before that the child had a little sister too, right? I will hunt her down and send her too, soon, to his big sister, so they could be together in the afterlife as a family. You see, at least I am that benevolent. Not like those from the Central…"
Like an unforeseen bolt from a blue sky, Old Tigo left agape and wide-eyed in shock, never expecting him to really say that with plain, murderous intent.
It was no joke, and Old Tigo knew him well enough, along with all of his experiences so far, to truly understand that he meant it.
In disbelief, his lips shook like leaves in a torrential rain. "How? How can you say that, you devil…"
Without allowing Old Tigo to finish his words, Mayor Lucca released his grip on Tigo's hair, causing him to tumble to the ground. Standing up, Lucca swiftly cocked the gun in his arm and fired without hesitation.
*Bang*
*Bang*
*Bang*
*Bang*
*Bang*
It was five times in a row. Flowers of blood bloomed at Old Tigo's spine, shoulders, and legs, incapacitating him and inflicting tremendous pain.
Mayor Lucca drew closer and kneeled once more at Old Tigo's side.
"So, will you tell me now, Tigo, so I can make your death swift at least? We don't need to keep wasting our time playing this fictitious game, do we, old friend? You know, regardless of what you do, what words you use, or what will happen, it all eventually comes to one single end…"
"Is he here?" Old Tigo gritted his teeth, struggling to utter the question between his pained breaths.
"Yes…" Mayor Lucca briefly replied. The corner of his eye discreetly peeked in the direction of the top building.
Realizing something, El subconsciously turned to look at Sir Giles behind him.
And oh boy, he regretted it immensely after that.
The funny, casual Sir Giles he had known earlier never looked that scary to him.
El also noticed that there were odd, bluish hue veins with hints of purple on the surface of his whole left arm and left neck, enveloping half of his face too.
His eyes glared in a towering rage at the platform below, sending a spine-chilling sensation that spread all over El's entire skin.
Just as he hastily turned his attention back to the event unfolding below, the device that transmitted the sounds precipitously cut off, releasing a sudden burst of white noise.
* * *