The Unwanted Truth

Chapter 16

One of the elders of Black Circle is trembling, her face becoming pale because of one single person in front of her.

"Yes, I’m already dead, Raisen, but I'm coming back to get my revenge."

"NONSENSE!! It must be a hallucination because I inhaled this smoke out of the pain I was feeling."

"I’ll gladly inflict another wound to wake you from your hallucination."

Gary Hayes, as he is known, approaches her in quick steps. As for Raisen, who was at the mercy of her own fear, she tried to fight back with the poisonous dagger she had.

"ARGH!!! MY ARM!" Raisen shouts in a loud voice due to the unimaginable pain she feels.

He grabs her hand and breaks it using his knee to the point where Raisen’s arm had bent and could no longer be straight.

"Is this enough to wake you from the hallucination? I hope it wasn’t enough, because I’m not satisfied with just breaking one of your arms, Raisen."

"Ha-haha-hahaha."

While she is just barely able to stand and stop her body from wobbling, Raisen starts laughing in an unpleasant way,

"Have you lost it, Raisen?"

"I found my situation hilarious, to be honest. The remnant of the past has come to hunt me down, for the deed I never did."

Bang! Bang!

Two bullets pierced Raisen’s knee, putting her in a kneeling position in front of her enemy.

"Your time is running out, Raisen."

Like a looney, Raisen laughs so hard to make her mouth widen when the man is pointing his gun against her forehead.

"Look at me now! I am on my knees, looking like I am begging for forgiveness. Even though we both know the murderer. The one who was cold enough to kill his own family!"

Have you lost your mind? Has the door to the afterlife turned visible in your eyes?"

"I didn’t kill Gary Hayes! JASO HAYES DID IT! His one and only little brother killed him. You were supposed to die with your father, Selina, but a miracle occurred, forcing Jason to devise a new plan, which was to adopt you as his stepdaughter.

Instead of letting out bullets, the gun is shaking as the holder walks backward, leaving Raisen, who is powerless.

"It can’t be! YOU LIED!!! JASON WOULD NEVER DIRTY HIS OWN HAND WITH FAMILY’S BLOOD!!!"

The harsh truth that was told by Raisen has managed to shatter Selina’s belief in the most respected person in her life.

‘I guessed it right. What I see is none other than Selina Hayes. It's a little shocking to think she has this custom-made smoke in her possession. Moreover, the side effect that is inflicted as the opponent's breath into it.’

"Why wouldn't he be doing that? After all, he was thirsty for power and wealth." Raisen whispers.

In a condition that makes her walk like a cripple, Raisen approaches Selina at a slow pace with the poison dagger that has returned to her hand.

Bang!

A surprised shot came out of nowhere, forcing Raisen to once again get on her knees.

"WHO??!! Who dares to shoot me?" Raisen yells.

No longer after Raisen’s roar, Axel comes to assist Selina, "Wake the fuck up Selina!!! I didn’t come here to witness your pathetic face."

"Argh... What an ungrateful kid! How dare you shoot me when I gave you my mercy to stay alive!" Raisen enrages Axel.

‘Tch!! I didn’t want to get involved in this feud, but looking at Selina’s current situation, I had no choice but to get involved.’

"Right from the start, I knew you had no intention of fulfilling my request. At the same time, Selina came up with a better offer and gave me your nasty personality info as the down payment. That’s why I switched sides."

Axel kept shaking Selina’s body as hard as he could to bring her into her senses. He had no idea the reason for her current situation. All he knows is that she looks like someone who has seen a ghost.

‘You didn’t give me any other choices, Selina.’

"SNAP OUT OF IT, YOU BITCH!!!!"

With the strength he has gathered in his right arm, Axel presents Selina with a strong slap on her left cheek.

"A-Axel... What are you doing here?"

Selina starts to regain her mind and slowly turns her red face to talk with Axel at eye level.

Finally, you've come to your fucking senses! No need to thank me for saving your life, from Raisen’s attack."

"You did an unnecessary thing by revealing yourself, Axel. I told you that I could deal with her by myself, and asked you to beware of the reinforcement."

While Axel and Selina were quarreling against each other, Raisen was able to stand with her injured leg.

She claps loudly to get their attention back on her, "Well, well, well. I had expected Axel Brainer to be a part of this ridiculous trap of yours, but I never expected him to be your accomplice, Selina."

"It's thanks to your personality, Raisen. The people you are looking down at will never be considered a threat in your eyes. Therefore, Axel is the perfect person to lure you out of the Black Circle."

Raisen’s vicious stare made the back of Axel's neck full of cold sweats, even though he had no idea what kind of scheming a dying person like her could pull off.

The word 'shoots Raisen' cannot stop occurring inside his mind, no matter how hard Axel tries to erase it. Without thinking, he raises the hand that was holding a gun.

BANG!

Unlike the first shot that forced Raisen to her knees, she is still standing, as if nothing had happened and no bullets had penetrated her old body.

"Haha-hahaha-hahahahaha! It’s truly ironic no matter how I see the two of you working together just to kill me, who has anything to do with your family’s death. One is a killing doll that was controlled by the killer of her father, and the other one is someone who lends his hand to his sister’s killer. Ironic, don’t you think?"

‘It’s impossible. How could Selina be... But she used to be associated with the Black circle.’

The trust Axel has for Selina is decreasing. He starts questioning himself about the probability of Raisen’s word being the truth.

At the same time, Selina faces similar doubts. Words such as betrayal, manipulation, lies, and using her with fake ties are lingering in her mind.

Seeing that the words she had said gave her enemy deep shock, Raisen uses this chance to raise her hand.

Bang!

The loud sound that is coming from a gunshot wakes Selina and Axel up from their slumber. Selina reacted according to her muscle memory and snatched Axel’s gun.

"Die, you rotten bitch!" Selina shouts.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Raisen's life was taken from her, and she fell to the ground slowly.

Meanwhile, Selina and Axel hide inside the shade, waiting for the shooter to make an appearance.

Step – step

Silent footwork approaches the elder’s corpse, "Your act is top-notch, elder Raisen. Spitting blood even though you had a bullet vest on to block those bullets from Hayes." he whispers to Raisen.

"Shut your dirty mouth and take my body Light! This was your mistake, that I am in this state. If only your shot didn’t miss and pass through her head instead."

The fear that Raisen expected to show up didn’t appear on Light’s face. He remains composed and is not intimidated by her words.

"Unfortunately elder, I came along with a hidden task from them. It’s a simple job, and that is to eliminate you. Don’t resent me for this elder Raisen AND ACCEPT YOUR JUDGMENT!"

"What do you me-"

Bang!

Selina, who is curious about the identity of the shooter, tilts her head slightly to steal a sneak peek.

"What is he doing here? Had Raisen already called for reinforcements? Selina mumbles.

"What is this annoying feeling I have?" Light questions himself.

He averted his gaze from Raisen’s dead body and spotted Selina, who was hiding under the shade. Restlessly, Light raises his hand to greet her with a rain of bullets.

Bang – bang! Bang!

"How come you are still alive, Hayes? I feel disgusted as soon as I see your bitch face." Light provokes her while he keeps shooting at her.

"The King of Hell gave me a golden ticket to drag you and Raisen to his place!"

Bang – Bang!

‘Why did he stop shooting? Don’t tell me he’s already near me?’

Selina nervously jumps to the side to dodge possible attacks from Light. "Where is he?" Selina mumbles.

Light has gone, without leaving any traces to be seen by Selina. This makes her uncomfortable because she cannot be sure whether the enemy is fleeting or hiding to initiate a surprise attack.

"Tch! I can’t no longer hide, now that a higher-ranked assassin like Light has found out about me."

"Is it true?"

"Is what she said true?"

‘GASP!’

An ominous aura has touched Selina’s senses. This was the first time she was terrified to experience such a negative aura and it made her turn around swiftly.

"Axel? What’s wrong with you? There is a disturbing aura surrounding yourself."

"SHUT UP AND ANSWER MY QUESTION! DID YOU KILL MY SISTER?"

"I…"

BANG – bang – bang!

Selina has chosen to aim her gun at Axel instead of giving him the answer. ‘Did Jason really the one who is responsible for father’s death?’

"So, it was true."

‘I must be an idiot to lend my sister’s murderer a hand in eliminating her arch-enemy.’

While reflecting on his naïve and stupidity, Axel comes to a conclusion that he always hesitates to make.

‘I’ll kill her to atone for my foolishness.’

Axel takes out some mini bombs from his pocket and gets ready to throw them towards where Selina stands.

Swish

He hides behind some boxes as soon as he throws those mini bombs, waiting to hear some explosive sounds.

‘Why is there nothing happening? Not even a loud sound or thick smoke is coming from those bombs.’

Curiosity takes control of Axel's mind and he moves his head to take a look, finding a satisfying answer to the curiosity he has.

Whizzes by

Axel’s face feels a bit warm from something that is dripping on his cheek. He mumbles, "I am lucky the bullet only grazed my cheek instead of making me blind."

"Axel, if you are curious about the reason why the bombs you threw didn’t explode, the answer is simply because they were fakes. I never give you real bombs, to begin with; it’s just a boost to encourage you as a living bait."

Axel didn’t get provoked by Selina’s words, instead, he was figuring out how to earn a weapon to fight her back in this dire situation.

After long and hard thinking about the possible areas within the warehouse to get his hands on a weapon, Axel remembers Raisen’s dagger that was coated with poison.

‘It was right behind her back; how could I reach Raisen’s dead body without being killed?’

Beep, beep

"What was that?!"

BOOM!!!

Axel bounced really hard from a sudden explosion, "Cough... cough... How could there be an outburst right behind my back? I didn’t see a c4 or similar explosive planted anywhere back there."

A faint noise from footsteps is slowly becoming louder as a silhouette of Selina becomes more visible in Axel’s blurry eyes. He could not muster any strength, because of the heavy impact from the explosion.

"I owe you gratitude for assisting me with my revenge, Axel. Now you have got the information about the person who assassinated your sister, but I have no plan to die here by your hand. I’ll send you to the same fate as Jasmine Brainer. Farewell, my accomplice."

Selina is ready to end Axel’s misery with a clean shot that is aimed at his forehead.

Bang!