Slayer just stood there as if he couldn't hear Henry's orders. He remembered that Alex was his first and only friend. How could he kill his friend?
"What are you doing? Why don't you do as I say? I feed you and dress you! I also give you two thousand dollars every month! Why aren't you listening to me?" Henry had never treated Slayer as a human being. Now, Slayer's ears had turned deaf to his orders, causing Henry to look bad in front of everyone.
Henry looked at Slayer's head and hit him seven or eight times until he finally kicked him down to the floor.
"Bastard! You're just a dog in my eyes… do you know that? I made you! If you don't listen to me, I'll throw you away like trash," Henry said fiercely as he stepped on the little masked man's head.
Slayer didn't resist and only moved slightly. Henry was his benefactor, so he felt Henry had the right to treat him this way.
Alex stood in front of Slayer and shouted, "Danny! Stand up and hit him! You're not his dog! You're a man! No one can treat you like this! Stand up!" Seeing Slayer being stepped on made Alex feel sadness in his heart. He knew that he needed Slayer to find himself to truly get rid of Henry's control.
Hearing Alex shout, Slayer opened his eyes. He looked at Alex, and, once again, he felt the care and concern of his friend.
"But… he is my master, he is… saved me. I can't hit him," Slayer mumbled in confusion.
"No, Danny! He did save you, but you've already paid your debt to him! No one is your master, especially if he's insulting you and beating you. You should get up and fight back. Danny, get up!" Alex shouted. He hoped that Slayer could understand what he was trying to say to him.
"No one is my master," Slayer repeated Alex's words. He felt a little confused.
"Whack!" Henry kicked Slayer in the back of the head like it was a soccer ball. "You dog! You know this guy! You betrayed me! Stinky little dog, I gave you food and drink every day. Now that I need you to fight my enemy, you're useless!" Henry kicked Slayer again, but, this time, it was in the lower abdomen. He let out a blood-curdling scream.
"Master, no! I didn't betray you!" Ever since he had started following Henry, he had never thought that he would betray him.
"Danny! Get up!" Alex shouted worriedly.
"You don't need to wear this mask, you ugly bastard!" As Henry spoke, he kicked Slayer in the face. He wanted to break the mask, but Slayer blocked his foot with his hands. Henry kept kicking him repeatedly.
Henry did not know that the reason Slayer had followed him so closely was because of the mask that he had given him. The mask hid Slayer's deformed face, so he was no longer made fun of by others. The mask helped him feel like an ordinary person.
If Henry broke the mask, there might be a result that he would never have imagined!
"You ugly bastard, do you still remember what I told you when I saved you that day? That you'd have to listen to me from then on! Now, I'll tell you one last time. Go kill him, and then give me back the mask!" Henry also saw that with this mask, he still had control over Slayer like a puppet.
"Stop lying on the ground like a dead dog. Get up!" Henry grabbed him by the hair, pulled him up off the floor, and handed the knife back to him. This time, he pushed Slayer forward step by step toward Alex. When they were only five feet away from him, he shoved Slayer right in front of him.
Slayer's hand trembled while he held the knife. He looked at Alex, and his eyes twitched. He was extremely conflicted. Should he choose the mask or his friend?
"Danny, are you still not able to see what kind of person Henry is? Don't let him control you anymore. If this continues, you won't feel happiness again." Alex tried to persuade Slayer, hoping that he would quickly figure it out.
Slayer could not hear anything. An intense battle raged in his mind.
"You ugly bastard… hurry up and kill this brat or take off the mask and let everyone see your ugly face. Everyone will laugh at you! No one will want to know you. No company will recruit you. You'll be abandoned by the entire society. No one will pity you!" Henry shouted from behind him.
Slayer closed his eyes and thought of the times when he was insulted, mocked, ridiculed, and criticized.
**
"We won't play with you. You're ugly!" The group of kids got on their scooters and left, leaving little Slayer staring dumbly after them.
"Stop looking! If you keep looking at him, you'll get nightmares." A mother covered her child's eyes and quickly left.
"Just go! We won't take you even if we do hire someone. You're affecting our business. Get lost! Don't come back here again." An old man pushed Slayer into a pool of water in front of the car wash shop.
"So ugly!"
"He shouldn't be living in this world!"
"Ha ha, ha ha, ha ha, ha ha!"
The laughter from countless cruel people rang in his ears. They were laughing so arrogantly.
Slayer closed his eyes. He felt very uncomfortable. It felt like his eardrums were about to burst, and his brain was about to explode. His head and his heart hurt from the unspeakable ordeals he'd had to endure throughout his life.
**
"Aaargh!" Slayer let out a crazed roar and opened his eyes. They were blood red. He lifted the knife in his hand and rushed toward Alex to stab him.
"Get him! It won't be a problem to kill him. Cory and I will save you." Seeing that Slayer was about to kill Alex, Henry became excited, and his attitude became gentler as he persuaded him.
Not only Henry, but Cory and his group were also excited. Their eyes were full of expectation. They shouted, "Kill him! Kill him!"
But Slayer stopped and looked at Alex's face. His red eyes were still filled with rage. However, something seemed to be rolling around in his messy mind.
Alex looked at the little man. If Slayer slashed at him, he only had about an eighty per cent chance of dodging him. If he couldn't dodge him, it would likely end in his death. But Alex was still willing to take the risk.
If he didn't trust him, how could they talk about being friends?
He believed that Slayer could make the right choice. This was also a test that Slayer had to pass to find the strength to remove Henry from his life.
"Aaargh!" At that moment, Ben rushed toward Slayer. Seeing Slayer pointing the knife at Alex, Ben was burning with anxiety. He took the opportunity to try to knock Slayer aside and give Alex a chance to escape, but he was already seriously injured and Slayer easily kicked him away.
"Ben don't move! Are you okay?" Tanya ran over to Ben and held his head as she sobbed.
Slayer looked at Ben, puzzled by his actions.
"Weirdo! I beat that son of a bitch Cory. Leave Alex alone!" Ben shouted excitedly at Slayer.
"Let him go! I'll fight you one on one!" Carl also roared. If it were not for Britney holding him, he would have also rushed over to save Alex.
"Friend," Slayer muttered. He recalled that day when he was together with Alex.
**
"Slayer, what's your real name?" Alex had asked.
"My name is Daniel Wiseman."
"That's a good name. You're my friend now. Come and hang out with me some day," Alex had told him.
"Friend?"
"Yes, friends," Alex had said gently.
Later, Alex had asked, "If Henry asks you to kill me in the future, will you kill me?"
"No, I won't kill my friends. I won't let my friends be bullied!" Danny had replied.
**
Slayer's heart was filled with regret as his own words appeared in his mind. What on earth was he doing now?
"Quickly kill him, you ugly bastard! Or I'll take back the mask, and everyone will make fun of you!" Henry shouted.
"Aaargh!" Slayer roared again. He raised the knife and swung it down fast, but he didn't aim for Alex. Instead, he aimed for Henry who was standing behind him.
"Ugly bastard, you—" Henry looked at Slayer in disbelief. Even in his dreams, he never would have thought that Slayer would stab him. In his eyes, Slayer was just an obedient little dog. How could he dare stab him?
"Aaah!" Henry groaned again. Slayer let go of the knife that had pierced Henry's stomach.
Henry used his hand to cover the wound, but bright red blood flowed out from between his fingers. He wanted to get away from Slayer, but he soon collapsed onto the floor. Everyone quickly dodged to the side in fright.
"Cory, hurry up and get… I'm going to need a doctor. The hospital—" Henry said to Cory while blood flowed out of his mouth, down his chin, and stained his collar. Henry didn't finish his sentence. His body became motionless.