"Want to be my bodyguard and escort?" A replay of what the man said echoed in Tales head.
"You're nuts." He said as he tried to break free from his grasps. But the former didn't even loosen his grip and just smirk.
"Choose." He said. "Be my bodyguard and my escort or be a prostitute in my club."
The struggle intensified as Tales, despite his efforts, found himself unable to break free from the man's formidable hold, escalating the tension in the bizarre encounter. He then remembered he have a metal tube on his hand, Tales tried hitting the man with the metal tube, but the man, despite his injured hand, caught it.
"You never learned." He stated and signal his men by nodding. "Hold him, restrain him." Restraining the person and bringing him to the ground.
And in a blink of an eye being overpowered and outnumbered, Tales succumbed to the combined efforts of the man and his accomplices. He found himself restrained and forced to the ground, trapped in a dire situation with uncertain consequences. His eyes scream defiance, struggle, and frustration.
"Seems like you really wanted to be a prostitute. Not that it matters to me." A man stated and duck beside Tales body. Tales glared at him but the man didn't bother to give any reaction. "First, let me examine your body if you have the potential to earn money through this." The man lifted the turtle neck hemline.
Tales, driven by a desperate desire to protect his darkest traumas and memories, resisted forcefully, refusing to surrender to the invasive im investigation. His struggle became not only physical but also a battle to protect his vulnerable side and dark past.
"Don't." He strongly stated but the man didn't bother to listen. He lifted his shirt upwards, just before he can fully see his back, Tales closed his eyes and made a decision.
"Fine." His voice tremble as his sweat on his forehead became visible. The man raise his eyebrow to ask what's he's saying.
"Fine. I'll become your bodyguard." He stated, his pupils were shaking for unknown reasons. "So... Please stop." He once again said. With his decision, he knows what he might encounter in the future but he needs to buy time.
The man, seemingly satisfied, ordered his accomplices to release Tales. As Tales agreed to become the bodyguard, a complex mix of emotions played across his face.
"Good... Good dog." He stated and ruffled his hair.
" What? "
He stand up as restrictions no longer have him. He look at the man and weighted the situation. The man is undoubtedly skillful. Even if he will try to assassinate him right now, the result will be the same. He will lose or maybe killed. He need time to plan everything, to find out it's intentions and to find out his weaknesses. He needs to play his cards very well.
"Well then, since you have chosen to be my property." His words brought Tales back from his deep thoughts. "I need you to prove your loyalty to me." His smile is sly. " As you can see, I really despise traitors, " Tales just look at him plainly, waiting for his next words. The man pick up the knife that was on the floor and give it to Tales. He accepted it. " Kill."
" W-what? " He stuttered as he tried to process what he said. "You wanted me to kill? Are you crazy? "
" How can you protect me if you don't have the courage to kill a mere underling." Referring to his men. A mere underling? Tales became really piss, no matter how much he tried to hide it, the emotions on his face were like an open book. That made the man more amuse. The feeling of being satisfied by something delectable.
"Kill..." The man put his hands on his pocket and grin. "or consider the deal off."
Tales sigh with so much frustration and resentment. He can't figure out what the man was thinking. He felt like he's being manipulated like a pawn in a larger game. His heart felt stuffy as he tried to control his emotions. He'd rather live a life with stained hands than...
"Why are you doing this?" He asked, looking puzzled by the man's intentions. Why does he's compromising his principle just because of this man.
"Hm?" The man look at him and raise his eyebrows. He put his forefinger on his chin and look above. "Why am I doing this?" He asked and look at him with an emotion Tales can't decipher. The man's eyes glinted with a malevolent spark, fixated on Tales as if savoring a delectable game. His grin widened, becoming a canvas for the sadistic pleasure he derived from manipulating emotions. "Because it's fun."
Every part of Tales' emotions and confusion seemed to feed the man's appetite for control. It was as if each puppeteer's tug on the strings brought the man a sinister satisfaction.
"I love your eyes." He stated with a malevolent excitement. "Those eyes screaming for determination to live. It's as if you'll do anything as long as you survived." He stated.
The man's voice oozed with cruelty as he spun a dark fantasy, saying, "Picture this: I'll gradually break your will to live, witnessing the shift in your determined eyes to sheer despair. Isn't it wonderful?" His words were laced with a twisted joy, as if the very idea of causing despair in those determined eyes brought him a perverse sense of pleasure.
"Ugh, thinking about makes me horny." He stated with anticipation that made Tales flinch. He's gone nuts. His men put an unpleasant face, with a vivid emotions 'he's at it again?'
"You're more twisted than I thought." Tales after sometime stated with a monotone voice. After a while, he sighed. " Still, you're right. I'll do anything, even killing someone just to live." He face the 15 men. " Which one should I kill?"
"It doesn't matter as long as you can finish one of them."
'I can't be trap here. I need to survive to kill this moron. A little sacrifice is nothing. They're the reason why I met this bastard anyway.' he murmured in his mind, convincing himself that it's fine. He scan the surroundings, the 15 men were now armed with something, guns, metal tube, knife and other weapon preparing in case he'll attack them. He look at his target, the one who struck a syringe on him.
'Sorry. '
In a dim room, Tales, holding a knife, dashed towards an underling with a gun. Bullets whizzed, but Tales dodged them, getting close. The clash of knife meeting gun filled the space, a fierce dance in the low light. Tales aimed for precise strikes, while the underling struggled to keep distance, firing wildly. The room echoed with the clash of metal and gunfire, a tense battle for control.
Closing the distance, Tales executed a swift kick, sending the underling's gun skidding across the floor. Seizing the moment, he closed in with his knife, disarming the now vulnerable underling. The room echoed with the clatter of the kicked gun and the subdued tension of Tales' decisive move. Tales point his knife on the side of it's neck, blood drip. The two had an eye contact, one was surprised and the other one showed ferocity.
"Farewell," Tales uttered, devoid of emotion, his gaze is unwavering and cut the underlings' neck. Blood spurted, creating a chilling and gruesome spectacle. The blood splashed onto Tales' face, a visceral reminder of the cold, brutal act he made.
"It's do--"
"My, my." The man cut him off. "That was no fun, Tales. It ended right away." He stated as he approach him and retrieve the knife.
" What? "
He smiled. " It should be like this. " In a swift move, the man was infront of some underling who's face immediately became pale after realizing what it meant when the cruel boss approach him.
" B-bos---"
The knife was struck on its forehead. The mans eyes remained open as he loses life and fall into the ground. Still not satisfied, the man perch on the fallen man, retrieve the knife from it's forehead and stab the lifeless multiple times on its heart. He's smiling as he's doing the ruthless action. Blood staining the ground as an evidence of the murder and the knife was mercilessly pierced through the flesh. The blood splattered across the boss's T-shirt, forming a dark, macabre pattern that starkly contrasted with the fabric's original color. His face was also covered with blood.
Tales knees wobble and sat into the ground. That's no human. It's a beast, a monster in humans clothing.
"That's how you should do it next time." The boss turn his head to Tales with now a serious face. His lips slowly formed into a smile as he saw Tales reaction. "I'm Raja by the way. Welcome to the organization. "