"F**k..." Ripper placed his hand on the ground in front of him, crushing the fragments of earth in the crater, enough for it to become fine powder. Drifting into the fine powder, his blood dripped and dripped, forming a muddy substance in the ground. In such a sorry state, anyone would laugh, a 7th rank was just too powerful to be in such a situation.
In the crater, only a single devil was smiling.
"How do you like that? Do you like the pain? How is it? Do I get five stars for my performance? Please tell me?" Simon insidiously laughed before abruptly stopping as he got back up with his wounds completely healed.
Shocked, Ripper could only gasp as he clutched his wound in agony, growing paler by the minute.
"So are you going to kill me?" Ripper asked with a annoyed expression. Groaning in pain, the once mighty looking devil was now kneeling with a massive puddle of blood forming beneath him. With his vitality quickly losing strength, nothing could save him now.
"Haha...why would I put you out of your misery...now? The fun has just begun. I am not a forgiving person after all. Hundreds of necks were slit today because of you, so why should I grant you mercy? I feel quite content with watching you bleed while staring into my eyes...o wait, you can't see my face through my mask. Well, you will never see the face of your killer." Simon laughed as he slowly approached the helpless Ripper.
"I can feel your maddened smile...you are crazy!!! No noble Devil would ever do this to their opponent!" Ripper complained in anger as he felt a twitching pain in his crotch. Slowly Ripper began to feel dizzy, with the blood draining out of his body, lightheadedness would be the least of his many serious worried. As if drunk, his vision of Simon's approach began to drift and wobble as his sight began to degrade from strain. This would be his inevitable end.
"Noble? Opponent? Stop dreaming. You are my prey; a beast to be hunted and slaughtered. But even your meat is too nasty to consume, not even suitable for a burnt offering. Just squirm and die." Simon finally arrived at Ripper's body, handling his metal dagger with care. Looking upon this helpless creature, Simon felt a tingle in his heart. He felt satisfaction, nothing of the perverted kind, but of a relieved kind. Revenge is not simple, Simon deals in interest. By revenge's standards, Simon is a loan shark.
"Why did you kill my brother?" Simon asked with a cold voice as he knelt down and pointed his dagger at Ripper's left eye.
"Like I would tell-"
PUCHII
"AAARGGH! MY EYE!!"
Simon grinned as he removed Ripper's left eye using his dagger, twirling it about, Simon felt joy front the bottom of his heart.
"SADISTIC BASTARD!!!"
PUCHII
"AAAAAGGGH!"
Like a skewer, Simon's dagger collected a second eyeball. The now blind Ripper cried in despair as he became a blind devil. To die without sight, to die in agony, to die as an idiot; Ripper was experiencing such events. Without any sympathy, Simon removed the eyes from the dagger, dropped them on the blood soaked ground and stomped on them.
"Why...?"
"Ask my brother."
"Now why did you kill him?" Simon seriously asked as he poked his dagger lightly at Ripper's neck.
"I felt like killin-"
The dagger trailed down Ripper's chest, towards his wound. Simon chuckled as he dragged the blade, making Reaper internally scream.
"Why?" Simon asked again.
"It was Diva Balor Tev, he made me do it! He wanted me to destroy this place, but I don't know why... He just came with the money one day, and I agreed to do the job. He had so much money...enough for my to live exorbitantly for a Millenia."
"Balor Tev? Who is he?" Simon asked.
'I never wrote of a House Tev or a Balor. This is not part of the original story.'
"How should I know? He wanted Everyone dead, no questions asked. He wanted them to suffer too. It's not my damn fault, I took a job and did what need to be done. Now please... end my suffering!"
"Pfft...I can't, I am physically too weak to execute you. I honestly would do it if I could, but I am too weak. I am sorry for the mild inconvenience." Simon said with a plain voice as he inwardly chuckled.
'Let's see who is Balor Tev... I will kill him in a worse way...'
"You monster..."
Flop
The body of Ripper dropped to the ground, lifeless. With not a moment of self-realisation, Ripper died with an uncountable amount of regrets, with the main one being taking this job. Perhaps if he just stuck to raiding small towns, he could have lived past today.
"Rest in peace, Brother."
Simon closed his eyes briefly and bowed before exiting the crater by leaping up in one go. On the outside of the crater, the guards laid on the ground with grievous wounds. The hostages were also in bad conditions, but were not nearly as roughed up as the guards. Looking at Hecate, Simon scowled through his mask. 'Was this girl so valuable? More valuable than my brother?'
"Thank you hero...you have saved us from this insidious brigand. We are forever in you debt." Hadrius briefly bowed his head as Simon undid his bindings.
These words meant nothing to Simon, they only expressed consolation for his loss, nothing more. The only thing on his mind right now was an imbalance of energy that had started to build up just now. It seemed his state of mind had induced an overflow of chaotic VP, possibly giving him a chance to directly breakthrough past 4th rank. But all of this wouldn't be able to pay for his loss. His brother's life can't be bought with a breakthrough.
"How should I address you, hero?"
"Call me 'Half'."