Hastin felt hurt. He really did not think that Akemi would be so cruel. All he wanted was to help her escape. But who would have thought that the App would have changed her into such an inhuman person?
He could not understand why the App would want to kill all these people. From their faces, he could see that they all looked different from each other. He also noticed that they didn't know each other from before.
The App showed him the video of what happened as per the story he wrote. He couldn't understand what most of them spoke. But using their facial reactions, he understood that they all were screaming and begging for mercy.
He looked at the hand which Akemi twisted. He saw the red lines formed on his hand where she held hard. Suddenly an idea popped up in his brain.
He went towards the kitchen rack and opened a drawer. Then he picked up the knife and drew a long bloody line on his fingers. The blood dripped down. He did not stop at that. He drew a similar one on his other hand.
Akemi ran towards him and held him down. She snatched the knife from his hand and threw it away.
"How dare you?" She screeched at the top of her lungs.
"I was about to let you be and not report to the App. But look at you here, hurting yourself. So that you do not have to write the story? Do you take us as a fool?" Akemi took a cloth out of nowhere and tied it around Hastin's bleeding hands.
She pulled him away towards his study. Once she made him sit on the chair, she went inside the bathroom. When she came back, she was holding a first aid kit.
She carefully disinfected the wounds and put medicine on his fingers. Cautiously, she tied the bandage around the fingers and put a knot. She looked up at his face.
All of a sudden she felt pity towards him. But still, she hid her emotions well.
"Did you think, if you hurt yourself or make your hands injured, then we would let you be? Never! Don't you have a mouth now, all you need to do is dictate and I would type it for you? Because of your foolishness, already you are way behind your schedule" Akemi hissed and walked away to report to the App regarding his injury.
Akemi felt bad for both of them. Previously, everything was fine until she reached the gate. When she was about to open the gate, a system in her brain activated and issued a warning.
'Warning: Perimeter breach suspected. The victim is moving away from the assigned distance'
She felt like her skull was cracked open. Then one more warning message popped up,
'Return to the safe distance. Else you will face consequences!'
'Alerted: Slayer! Retreat! Retreat now!'
Akemi slowly backed off. She sat leaning against a huge tree holding the head with both her hands.
Suddenly all the pain disappeared and a screen appeared in front of her eyes. It displayed a message from the app.
'My dear, Akemi. I have asked you to take care of Hastin. Are you running away once again from your work?'
"No. I am going to buy lunch."
'That won't be necessary dear. You won't live anymore. If you are dead then who would you need the food you bought? It is all a waste of money and time.'
"Please, no! Do not kill me. I followed all the rules and regulations. I did not disobey any of your orders"
'Did you?'
"Yes. As per the rules,..." Akemi searched for the rules and regulations page.
There was a rule which stated 'She is not supposed to stay away from Hastin for more than ten minutes. The distance allowed between them is the maximum of twenty feet and no more.'
She was sure that the rule was not there before. But as Hastin warned her before, she could not go against the App. They were not aware of the harm which the App would bring upon them.
"I am sorry! It was my mistake. Please punish me accordingly"
'Punishment! Are you sure you want one? How about I ask Slayer to remove one of your arm'
Akemi shivered in terror. She did not expect that she would lose an arm for such a small mistake. At that time one more message appeared on the screen.
'As this is your first mistake, I decided to forgive you. But, you need to make sure that Hastin completes his task on time. You should not be on friendly terms with him. You should install fear in his mind. Create a situation where he would obey you blindly.'
"Ok. I will do as you say, please do not remove my arm"
Akemi cried holding the face in her hands. She thought the screen would disappear. But even after closing her eyes, she could still see it very clearly.
Slayer appeared on the screen and screeched. She jumped back and hit the tree behind her. She felt like her spine was broken.
She felt like the slayer was mocking her. She rubbed her eyes and stood up.
A message came out which said,
'Go after half an hour. Fill Hastin's mind with terror. If required use physical force. But just make sure that his hands were not hurt. You can even make him lose one of his legs. I do not mind. But make sure that he would listen to you and write his book.'
Akemi squatted down once more and waited approximately half an hour. Then she went back and terrorized Hastin. What she did not expect was that due to that he would self-hurt himself.
She did not know that this guy in front of her, who looked like an overgrown kid, had a courageous heart. He seemed fearless. His eyes were sharp and looked like twinkling stars.
"It is all done. Keep it away from water. If you try anything funny once again, then do not blame me if I forcefully remove one of your feet. My hands are tied as well. I hope you understand and do not cause trouble for both of us" Akemi tried to warn him as well as hint him.
She was not sure if he understood the hidden meaning behind her words. But she definitely did not want to see him get hurt.
When she walked out of the room, a message popped up asking for a status update. She took a deep breath. She tried to hide her fear and replied,
"Hastin tried to harm himself by slitting the fingers. Both his hands are badly injured and he could not write for at least a few weeks. So, I think we need to…"
'You really did not heed to my warning. Did you? I asked you to watch over him. And you just had to show me how wrong I am in selecting you over the other five. You will be sent back to the warehouse, where death will await you.'
"No, No! please don't! I will do whatever you say, please" Akemi started to beg the App.
Hearing the noise, Hastin came running out. He saw Akemi rolling on the floor holding her head. He knelt down and tried to lift her up.
"What should I do now? I am going to die because of you. I will be sent to the warehouse for your mistake. I hate you! If only not for you, I would have not been put in this situation." Akemi smacked his chest with full force.
Hastin was pushed backward and fell on his back. Akemi hugged her legs and cried while cursing him in an unknown language.