"Twenty."
My eyes dilated as I froze when the lunatic suddenly kicked the door shut. And yet, even in the dark that immediately shrouded us, I could see his eyes glowing.
'Holy F...' I held my breath as the corner of his lips stretched into a grin. I rubbed my wrists against each other rapidly; my last act to free my hands.
"Damn it! Just why can't these ropes come off?!" I grumbled through my gritted teeth, inducing sinister chuckles from him. I glanced at him, only to see him hunching in as he laughed.
"Sh*t! Sh*t! Sh*t!"
"Ohh..." he wheezed, setting his eyes back to me. "... you are so pathetic. It's so funny!"
The lunatic squatted down, still laughing under his breath. I froze once again when he hooked the ax on the rope between my bound hands.
"Of course, this won't come off easily. This is a special rope made with special material! It may look old and flimsy, but it's more secure than a normal chain!" he explained in a knowing tone, butchering the faint hope in my heart. He smiled at me, batting his eyes leisurely.
"It's over. Just give up... man. Moreover, even if you survive tonight, you will still die. Do you know what why?" he cocked his head to the side, raising his brows. "Because you are so fucking weak. Your confidence is something else, but man, back it up with strength! Especially if you're so audacious to tell everyone your shop has anything a person needs!"
He shook his head in dismay, sighing heavily as his eyes grew colder. "Actually, I'm doing everyone a favor! I mean, they won't go through the hassle of going in here just to waste their time on fraud like you!"
"What the hell, man? Did you really come here because you want to buy something?" I gasped, getting the gist of the meaning behind his remark. "Why didn't you say so...? We offer pre-orders, man. I think we're having a misunderstanding here!"
"A misunderstanding? Really?" His brows furrowed, leaning his face forward as he bobbed it to examine me. "Did you, perhaps, hide the important goods you have? Wow... I never thought about that until now."
"Of course!" I lied through my gritted teeth. "Why would I leave my shop unguarded if I know there were valuable things inside?"
He nodded, rubbing his chin. "Make sense."
"Just... tell me what you want, bro." My voice toned down, studying him as he slightly calmed down. "I'll get it for you or I'll tell you where you can find it!"
"Hmm. Alright!" He breathed out sharply, fixing his eyes on me once again. "I need something, ugh... bag."
"Ah?"
He nodded, closed-lipped, swinging his ax. "I need a bag that can carry an entire house or people. Do you have it?"
"O — of course!" I stuttered. A bag that could carry an entire house?! Why won't he go to the magic tower?! They had loads of those! On the second thought, he also killed a magician before, so it was only fair he would go to this shady shop for that!
'Damn shady people!' I mentally ground my teeth, swallowing back all the words I spewed this morning as if I was swallowing rocks.
"Really?" His eyes brightened up. "Where can I get it?"
"There!" I jerked my chin towards the counter. "At the back of my shop! Out there! Outside! You will know it since it has a mark!"
"Alright!" he planted his palms on his thigh, pushing himself up as he unhesitatingly walked towards the door. I watched him in anticipation, waiting for him to leave. But alas, he halted in front of the door and slowly cocked his head back.
"Do you really take me for a fool?"
I couldn't even react when the ax suddenly landed an inch away from her head. I gazed at it in horror, wide-eyed. That was on purpose, I thought. This man's aim was no joke and the ax even pierced the concrete ground.
When I noticed it pierced the ground, my eyes dilated even more. This time, not because of fear, but in anger.
"You... dared hurt Bedo?" I asked in a dead tone, shifting my unblinking eyes to him. He was already approaching me and squatted down at my side.
"Bedo? Who is Bedo? You?" he inquired, pulling up the ax from the floor. "Ah, no... I think it's Ammon. It's written in that advertisement, right?"
I didn't reply anymore as I only stared at him, barely blinking. This man... wow... I would kill him.
"Wow..." he bent over while staring at me, simpering. "... that look in your eyes is one of my favorites! Hate. It's kill or be killed. But sadly, your fate is the latter."
"Hey! You — cunt!" The maniac leaped over me, sitting on my back while I wriggled.
"Stay still, will you? I might accidentally chop your head off!" he yelled, stepping on my elbows until they touched the floor. I winced at the sudden pain in my ankles and wrist as the rope pulled my feet up.
The cold surface of the ax's blade pressed on my shoulder lightly. "I'll start from here," he said, withdrawing the ax to blow on the blade.
Once he was done, he grinned at me as he held the ax up and swung it down unannounced without second thoughts.
CLANG!
"Ahh — ack!"
He lost his aim with the sudden tremor of the ground but he still grazed my shoulder. With my mouth open, some dust falling from above fell into it, making me cough. Meanwhile, this psycho sitting on my back looked up at the concrete ceiling.
"Hey, you freak!" I yelled at him, catching the freak's attention through my gritted teeth. "Did you ask who is Bedo? Ah — damn! It hurts!"
I glared at him after complaining, jerking at the ceiling. "That! Meet my baby brother!"
The freak looked up once again only to see that the ceiling was gone, replaced by piles of rubbles forming into a shape of a head! He flinched when the walls broke apart, leaving us out in the open.