Episode 17 - Branch Pruning 3

“Hmph.”


Paying no heed to the arrows, he flung the wooden cup in his hand at an angle.


The two incoming arrows were perfectly intercepted, lodging into the cup. Simultaneously, Kaftin lowered his stance like a predator pouncing on its prey, charging at the two Gang members.


“Huh?!”
“What?!”

Such dynamic movement in this confined space.
The startled gang members hastily discarded their bows and drew daggers, but it was already too late.


“Aaah!”


He grabbed the hand of the gang member slashing down with a dagger held backwards, twisted the elbow backward, and plunged the dagger into his chest.


The next instant, he kicked the dagger's hilt with his foot and stepped back. Precisely where Kaftin had stood, the dagger of the nearby gang member stabbed in.


“You... you bastard?!”


The gang member, whose thrust had failed due to his movement, hastily changed direction and stabbed again.


“Die, you damn son of a bitch!”
“Hmph.”


He gripped the blade's edge with all his strength, as if shaking hands.


The Gang member, smiling at the thought of slicing his palm to pieces, moved the dagger to slash his hand, but...


“Ugh...?!
”...Hmph."


The dagger didn't budge an inch.
It was completely seized, locked tight, by his brutal grip and sheer strength.


“Wh-what...!?”


Only then did the gang member realize his dagger-wielding hand was sealed by Kaftin. Cold sweat beaded on his brow as he glared at him.


“Hold it tight. Or else...”
“......?!”


With a sharp crack, like striking a person's head with an iron rod, the gang member's head was violently flung diagonally backward.


Being held by the dagger meant he was completely within the range of Kaftin's punches.


“Ugh...?!


The gang member, whose consciousness was fading from the single blow, gritted his teeth and regained his stance.
If he didn't do something, he would truly be killed by this guy.


Thinking quickly, he dropped the dagger and punched the man in the face.


”How about this!"


The moment his powerful punch struck the man's jaw, something felt off.
It felt like punching a lump of metal wrapped in leather. Startled, he had to step back.


“Wh-what the hell…! What the hell are you…!”


While he hesitated, flustered by the sensation from the punch, Kaftin swiftly twisted the dagger he held, gripping the hilt, and flicked it upward toward his jaw.


“Ugh, uwaaaaah!?”
“Ho-oh?”


He narrowly dodged by jerking his head up just in time, the dagger grazing his jaw and drawing a small trickle of blood.


Retreating again, he drew his bow and arrow, pulled the string, and fired in an instant.
The power might be lacking, but at least it should force him back.


But...


Thud. The arrow that struck his abdomen fell limply to the ground. Kaftin chuckled softly and charged forward, thrusting his dagger toward his eyes.


“Uwaaaaaah!?”


Panicked, he even dropped his bow, grabbing the man's hand to block the dagger. Yet, pushed by his monstrous strength, the dagger slowly sank toward his tightly closed eyelids.


“Guhhh...! Kyaaah...!”
“Hehehe... That's right... Keep holding it like that. Don't relax your grip. Got it? If you relax, it won't be fun...!”


It was strange.
He was clearly desperately trying to stop him from stabbing him, yet a smile played on his lips as if he were enjoying himself.


“You bastard... What the hell is wrong with you...!”
“It's good to see you scream helplessly as you get stabbed, but watching you suffer like this... feeling your eyeball slowly, bit by bit, being sliced apart as I stab you little by little... it's quite... spectacular.”
“……!”
“And that, even as you desperately struggle to resist, you're powerless against it, your eyeball being pierced bit by bit... Isn't that very image of suffering, crushed by the inescapable weight of reality itself... Truly an artistic kind of pain, wouldn't you say?”
“You fucking lunatic…!”


No matter how hard he pushed, his arm inched forward, the dagger blade at its tip piercing through his eyelid and stabbing into his eyeball.


“Aaaahh...! S-stop...! Why are you doing this to us...!”
“Reason? Reason... There are several. The biggest is that you're the Four Gang Lords' minions. Second, you're the scum making drugs I detest beyond measure. And third...”


Taking a moment to draw in a breath, Kaftin flashed an even darker smile.


“......?”
“...People won't blame me no matter how many scum like you I kill. Yet you still scream and writhe in pain when stabbed or beaten, don't you? You're no different. Toys this good are rare.”


He's completely insane. Damn it....
The gang member managed to backstep, somehow avoiding the dagger stabbing his eye.


But he'd leaned back so desperately that he ended up rolling on the floor, and Kaftin wasn't about to miss that.


“Where do you think you're running?”
“Gah?!”


He charged forward, mercilessly kicking the gang member's abdomen as he tried to get up. The gang member was sent flying, colliding with the ceiling before crashing back to the floor.
The immediate, tearing pain made him vomit blood and writhe in agony.


”Guh-ugh…! S-stop! Please, stop! I-I get it! Surrender! I surrender!”
“Surrender…? Why now…?”


Tilting his head in confusion, the gang member began clinging to his pant leg, almost crying.


“Dammit…! I don’t want to die like this…! Please, I'll tell you everything I know! Okay? Can't you do something, just for me?"


If this continued, the bastard would keep beating him to death bit by bit, as if toying with him.
Unlike the other Gang members, he had no other work and had reluctantly gotten involved in this job. Dying like this was absolutely out of the question.


He'd resisted as much as he could; running away now would at least give him an excuse.


“Ask me anything! I may look like a low-level guy, but in this operation, I was a middle manager! I know almost everything about this place...!”
“......”


His heart raced as the man, seemingly uninterested, flipped the dagger and prepared to strike down again.


“D-do you know?! That executive in charge here... he's been siphoning off money little by little...! I don't know exactly where it's going, but I know roughly how much! Like how much is left in the safe right now...!”
“......”


Even though I was talking about money, something that would normally be tempting, his expression didn't change.
No, he started picking his ear and waving the dagger around as if he couldn't care less.
Was there nothing I could say to pique his interest?


“D-do you know? This place isn't just for making drugs! Besides drugs, they also make all kinds of illegal ‘Aphrodisiacs’ and dangerous substances, right?”
“…….”
“The recipes are all locked in the vault! And I know the vault's password. How about it? What do you say to this?”


He had truly exhausted every possible argument.
If even this failed, he was certain he would be brutally murdered.
Gripping the hem of his pants and looking up at him, gasping for breath,


“...You said it was an Aphrodisiac.”
“Uh, huh?!”
“So, how effective is it?”


he asked.
If he played his cards right, this might be his ticket to escape alive.


“It's reliable. It boasts such outstanding effects it's been designated illegal! It's addictive too, so if you take too much, you'll get side effects...”
“So the recipe is in the safe...”
“Yes! I know the safe's password too!”


Repeatedly emphasizing he knew the password, Kaftin immediately grabbed the man by the collar and lifted him up.


“Spill it.”
“I-I'll just go unlock it myself! Would that be okay? There are trap devices, so I can't risk making a mistake. Right?”
“...What about the officer? Is he there now?”
“Of course he is...!”
“So you're saying what I do to him is none of your business?”


Without a moment's hesitation, the gang member nodded in response to Kaftin's subtle probing question.


“Of course. I'm quitting this job today. For real! I'm going back to my parents' place to take over the family business or something...! Even though I've already lost the use of one eye...”
“What's that injury? Just go see a priest.”
“I'm just a low-level middle manager. I don't have that kind of money...”
“......”


As he appealed his pitiful situation, tears streaming down his face, Kaftin fell into thought for a moment before abruptly setting him down as if discarding him.


“Fine. We'll talk again after we open the vault.”
“T-thank you! I really appreciate it!”
“Don't relax yet. If you don't like what's inside, or if you try any funny business... either way, if things go off the rails, I'll shove your head up some officer's ass.”
“......!”


He wasn't joking.
His eyes were telling him he'd do it without hesitation.
And he was wearing a delighted smile while saying it.


“Ah, got it...! This way.”


He staggered over and guided me to the innermost door. When he knocked in a steady rhythm, a bellowing voice came from inside.


“Hey, you damn fuckers! Stop beating the workers! Quotas are one thing, but if they die, it's a pain in the ass to find replacements—!” ”
“Th-that… I came because I have something urgent to discuss…”


As the operative cautiously opened his mouth, a menacing voice immediately came from inside.


“What kind of damn talk? Get back to work right now! If even one worker dies, I’ll put you idiots on the job, so you better get it together!”
“…….”


Kaftin's expression crumpled.
He'd hoped opening the door nicely might make for a slightly less rough conversation, but this bastard was hopeless.


He immediately shoved the Gang member aside and thrust his hand toward the door.


With a crack, he broke through the door, unlocked it, and quietly swung it open.


Inside sat a portly, stereotypical merchant-style executive and, crouched at his feet, a female slave with a collar fastened around her neck.


“Damn it! Who the hell are you!?”
“Where's the safe?”
“What?! I asked who the hell you are, you insolent...!”


Kaftin charged straight in, kicking the table in front of the man without warning. The table crashed down, crushing the executive's thick, flabby flesh. Choked, the man gasped for air, his voice a guttural choke.


“Gah?! Wh-what the hell?! Hey! You assholes! What the hell are you all doing?! An intruder! An intruder got in here! You fucking morons!”


He desperately pounded the table, calling for his men, but no one came.
The Gang members who should have protected him had already been turned into chopped meat by Kaftin.


As if unwilling to speak further, Kaftin pulled a torture device from his coat—a sharp, serrated awl—and stabbed it into the armrest of the chair, silencing the man who had been banging on the table.


“Ugh, AAAAAHHH?!”
“Good. The tone is a bit low-pitched, but the volume passes muster.”
“Wh-wh-what the hell is that supposed to mean?!”
“Your screams, of course. The voice isn't to my taste, but the sheer force behind them is good. Keep it up.”


Seeing him smile with such enjoyment, the officer instinctively felt a chill run down his spine.


“S-stop it!? You piece of shit, do you even know who I am…!”
“I don’t care. If you don’t shut that mouth, this time I’ll rip out your tongue and shove it where your eyeballs are.”
“W-what?!”


The moment he asked back absentmindedly, as if waiting for it, the dagger was thrust into his mouth. He hastily raised his hands in a gesture of surrender.


The dagger was barely pulled from his mouth, but even his raised hands were pierced by another awl, driven into the armrest.


“Aaaaaaargh-!?”
“Right... Come to think of it, you still haven't answered my question from earlier.”
“......?!”


Kaftin demonstrated his monstrous strength by roughly lifting the table in front of the officer and hurling it whole into the corner.


With a crash, the table shattered into pieces and scattered. Seeing this, the officer broke out in a cold sweat, his mouth twitching.


“Now, let's go over it step by step again... Got it?”


-To be continued-