"Kill them. Kill them all."
Vin's voice was drenched in rage as blood dripped from his nose, painting his face with crimson streaks.
Evan's heart skipped a beat.
He recognized this situation all too well — the tension, the thin line between chaos and death. It was a mirror of that harrowing moment when he had stood powerless, watching Henry and Susan meet their gruesome end.
'I can't let that happen again. I won't let them take innocent lives.'
His jaw clenched as the thought echoed in his mind.
No matter what the elf man had done, it wasn't deserving of death. Mistakes had been made, but slaughtering this family wasn't the answer.
"It was just a misunderstanding."
Evan muttered to Victor, his voice steady but low.
"Nothing serious."
Victor's eyes, however, remained fixed on Vin, caught somewhere between intrigue and disbelief.
"A misunderstanding?" Vin bellowed, with a tone of disdain.
"My nose is a damn river right now!"
Evan bit his tongue as Vin cast a venomous glare between him and Victor.
"We all had an agreement." Vin snarled.
"And that agreement states—"
"I know what it states," Victor interjected sharply, cutting off the tirade.
His gaze shifted to the elf man, who was now doubled over on his knees, coughing violently. The three young elf children clung to him, their soft wails mingling with the thick tension hanging in the room.
Victor's eyes flicked to the elf woman, who stood frozen with concern etched deep on her face. He gestured with a curt nod.
"Go to him."
Without hesitation, she rushed to her husband's side and knelt beside him.
"Are you hurt?" she asked softly, with a trembling tone.
Their conversation faded into indistinct murmurs, leaving the room thick with the weight of decisions yet to be made.
Victor's expression hardened as he turned to Evan and Vin.
"Come on." he ordered.
The three prisonersshifted toward the edge of the living room, and then, Vin began.
"What are we waiting for?" he hissed.
"We should be slitting their throats by now."
"Nobody's slitting anything." Evan countered sharply.
"There's no need to kill them. We can hold the fort without this."
Vin's lips twisted into a cruel sneer.
"You're only saying that because you're not the one with a bloody nose."
Evan, who was getting Vex by Vin's continous murderous demands revolted.
"If you didn't want to get attacked, maybe you shouldn't have taunted—"
Evan's words died on his tongue as a sudden realization struck him. His gaze narrowed as he studied Vin more closely.
The bloodied nose, the righteous anger — it was all a façade. Vin wasn't in pain, not really.
'He's faking it...this is...' Evan thought grimly.
He had seen enough of Vin to know the type of man he was — selfish, manipulative, devoid of empathy. Back on Earth, someone like Vin would have been labeled a psychopath without hesitation.
Even now, Evan couldn't shake the nagging suspicion, which he had failed to notice back then, that Vin had only returned to the riverbank earlier for one reason: to manipulate the numbers, to force them into situations like this, and to get a kill. It was inhumane for Evan but for Vin, it was just a need.
'That bastard... He came back just to ensure we'd even out the odds. And now he wants us to kill for him.'
Vin's voice sliced through Evan's thoughts.
"You see! Even the kid doesn't know what to say. There's no defending them. They're a threat to our wellbeing."
Tsk!
Evan's fists clenched, his knuckles whitening.
'He actually thinks he can get away with this again?'
Vin stepped forward, still showcasing an Oscar worthy performance.
"If there's such indifference here, then why don't we take a vote for it? All in favor of killing the threat, raise your hand."
Without waiting, he lifted his own hand high, his expression daring anyone to oppose him.
Victor sighed heavily, shaking his head.
"There's no need to kill them. We can tie them up like we did before with—"
Vin,however, wasn't having it.
He might have attacked Victor at this point, if it wasn't obvious that Victor would turn him to mash potatoes when he was done.
So instead He moved closer to Victor, and whispered.
"We had a deal, Victor. They retaliated. Everything I'm doing is in accordance with that deal. They retaliated. So, we kill them."
Victor, pausing for a moment,took a long breath, his gaze dropping to the floor before he met Vin's eyes again.
"Just the man." he finally said, his voice cold and firm.
"No one else."
A twisted smile spread across Vin's face. He clapped Victor on the shoulder, almost mistakenly showcasing his joy.
"'Just the man'? That's fine by me. See? That wasn't so hard."
Evan's stomach churned.
He knew exactly what was going to happen next. Vin would kill the elf man, then, somehow, he'dcome back for the others. And after that, when there was no one else left for him to kill and he had no use for Victor or Evan, he'd slit their throats too.
"...What about you, kid?" Vin asked mockingly.
"You on board or what?-"
Vin's words were cut short in a flash
Bam!
His head snapped to the side as Evan's fist connected with his jaw. The force sent Vin staggering backward, shock flashing across his face.
Before Vin could recover, Evan's second punch landed squarely, sending him crashing to the ground.
"Evan!" Victor thundered, but Evan was already past reason.
He lunged at Vin, attempting to pin him to the floor with his legs but Vin tossed him over him and reciprocated Evan's movements, crossing both knees over Evan.
"You little shit!" Vin roared, throwing wild punches at Evan.
Victor rushed forward, grabbing Vin from behind in an attempt to pull him away.
But Vin wasn't having any of that. He retaliated with a vicious headbutt, catching Victor square in the eye.
Victor stumbled back, cursing as he clutched his face.
"Damnit!"
However, Evan seized the opening.
His fist slammed into Vin's jaw with brutal force, sending Vin sprawling once more.
But he didn't stop there. He knelt over Vin, his hands tightening around Vin's throat.
Vin's eyes widened in shock, his hands flailing as he fought for air.
He'd thought that all this was just a retaliation from Evan from knowing he couldn't save the elf family, yet, what he saw as he gazed into Evan's eyes wasn't the look of an angry man. No, it was the eyes of a man, who wanted to kill him.
Vin wheezed, his face turning red as he clawed at Evan's arms.
Desperation flickered in his eyes, but Evan's grip only tightened, until finally he released Vin.
Wasting no time, he immediately rained down thunderous blows on Vin's face, each punch harder than the last.
Blood splattered across the floor, staining Evan's knuckles, but he didn't care, even after Vin's face became a bloody mess, he didn't falter. He just kept going, groaning loudly with each strike.
Soon, Vin's body went limp, and each punch from Evan caused a responsive jerk from Vin's legs, but still, Evan didn't stop. His fists kept pounding, driven by a fury that refused to be quenched.
Until...
[Ding!]
The chime sound pierced through the haze of violence and momentary caught Evan's attention, causing him to pause his attacks.
[Congratulations, player.]
[You have slain a human.]
[Reward: +1 point.]
Evan froze, taking heavy pants as he took a quick glance at his now bloodied fist and then to what was left of Vin's face. With a single look, he could tell.
Vin was dead.