Derrick and Ying had now obtained the legendary heirloom. They did not dare to touch or interfere with it directly, as the madness radiating from the item could very well cause them to lose their sanity.
They brought the heirloom smuggles back to area five without much issue. By using secret tunnels and passageways between the surface, Mathers City, and The Hole to safely navigate from Naraka territory to Testament territory.
"We've brought your traitors, as well as your heirloom." Ying placed the heirloom on the table.
Callus got up from his seat and congratulated the duo. "Great job! You really are good friends~ You've even brought them alive."
"Our 50,000 Dan."
"Sheesh! I do dislike greedy people like you. Before we can hand you the money, we'll need to exact our punishment first."
"..." Derrick chose to keep his mouth shut in fear of his life. Callus was clearly not a normal gangster, he was something far more sinister.
Callus walked towards the first perpetrator, the traitor of Testament, Rokka. He lowered his tone and dropped the jovial act. "Rokka...I'm incredibly disappointed in you, but I can't say I'm shocked at your betrayal. Still, our creed declares that we're family, right? Family shouldn't lie to each other."
Rokka's face was covered in tears and his body shivered uncontrollably. "P-Please Executive Callus! I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry!! I'll do anything to please you, so please don't kill me!"
Callus stared at the pathetic Rokka with eyes as black as night. Despite his blank expression, Ying could sense a feeling akin to sadness. Perhaps deep within his heart, he felt a sense of loss from Rokka's betrayal. He may have been a traitor, but he was still his family.
"Don't kill you? Now Rokka...why would you say such a cruel thing? You know the rules here just as well as I do. Family who turns their back on one another is even worse than trash." Callus walked over to a nearby table and picked up a pair of brass knuckles.
Rokka's face sank. He couldn't even bring himself to raise his voice and call for help. He knew that his life had ended the moment he turned his back on [Testament]. "Please...not like this anything but th-"
THWAK!
Callus sunk his fist deep into Rokka's face. The impact of the brass knuckles tore through Rokka's flesh. His nose was broken and bending at nearly a ninety-degree angle. Numerous teeth were smashed in along with his orbital bones.
"Don't blame me for this. You turned your back on us. You turned your back on me."
Callus slowly clenched his fist and readied himself for the next blow.
THWAK!
His fist sunk even deeper into Rokka's face. Rokka's right eyeball hung out of its socket. His face was covered with blood and tears. Nearly all of his teeth were gone, and his jaw was fractured.
THWAK!
THWAK!
THWAK!
THWAK!
THWAK!
Rokka's face was completely unrecognizable. His bones, brains, teeth, bone, and cartilage had been beaten into a thick red pulp that stained the floor below them red.
The brutal execution created a tense atmosphere throughout the abandoned building, causing the Beastman Raul to tremble in fear.
"So what about you, Raul? You shouldn't be too disappointed. "
"...I-I have nothing left to say. My allegiance is to Naraka and Naraka alone."
Callus laughed at Raul's declaration. "Allegiance? Is that all you have to say for yourself?" Callus took off the brass knuckles and opened his palm, revealing his sharp claws. "Very well then, die."
With a swift twist of his hand, Raul's head snapped off like a thin wooden stick. It was completely uneventful, devoid of the theatrics of Rokka's pitiful death.
Callus stretched his arms as though he were bored of the quick execution. "Now then, clean up the mess," he said to the close bodyguards. "Oh, but send Raul's body to the autopsy room. He'll be more useful now than he was alive."
Callus wiped off the blood from his hands with a handkerchief before turning to Derrck and Ying. "As for you two...here is your 50,000 Dan."
He threw the briefcase containing 50,000 Dan at Ying's feet and went back to his desk. "Thank you for helping me with that favor. I hope we'll be good friends from now on."
Derrick and Ying walked away from the abandoned factory without a formal goodbye. It would be far too much for them to handle.
______
In Ying's apartment, Derrick sat over the toilet and vomited numerous times.
"Gah...gah...gah..."
Ying knocked on the door. "I'll get you some nausea medication along with some ale. I'll be right back."
"Thanks...Gi..."
Fuck...fuck! I knew Callus would kill them. I knew this would happen. But I can't do something like that! No matter how many times I see someone die, I can never get used to it.
Derrick's sense of guilt and disgust with himself had given him physical nausea. Callus's very existence was the complete antithesis of Derrick's. Derrick would take another person's life, but he'd never do it for the sake of fun or entertainment. It was simply his means of surviving. However, Callus was a being that didn't hesitate to kill, even when it came to people he considered "family". Was there truly any difference between those two positions? At the end of the day, life is lost all the same. What difference does intent make?
Amid his wave of despair, Derrick remembers the promise he made upon initially entering this world.
[I'm sorry. Mom and Dad. I know doing something like this is insane, but I'll try my hardest to make the right choice. The right choice...]
The memory gave him temporary relief from the nausea. He got off his knees and looked at himself in the mirror.
That's right. This was the path that I chose. I have no one else to blame for this but myself. Even if it's insane, even if it's cruel, even if it's irrational, I know that saving Gi that day was the right choice. I'll come home, everyone. Just wait for me.