The Deceitful One

Jack's gaze landed on the face of the man who was sitting atop a pile of corpses. At some point, this person had already removed his black balaclava mask. He had black hair and his pitch-black eyes were coldly looking at Jack.

As the person's face was covered in blood, it took Jack a while to figure out his identity. Then Jack's eyes widened again as he stumbled backward and fell on his ass.

He raised his right hand and pointed his trembling finger at the person who seemed to have bathed in blood and stuttered in sheer terror, "I-I-Its you!? N-no no no, it can't be. Yes, I must be hallucinating. T-this is not real!"

Looking at Jake who was on the verge of going insane, Bryan curled his lips into a vicious smile.

Sitting on a pile of corpses while having the blood of others cover his clothes and face, Bryan looked extremely menacing as he greeted, "Long time no see, Jack. How've you been?"

Jack crawled backward with horror evident in his eyes. He understood everything now. The reason why all of this was happening was that Bryan was taking revenge for back then!

He continued to crawl backward until he was impeded by a pile of wooden crates right behind him.

Jack clasped both his hands, his eyes began to water as he begged, "B-Bryan, please. N-no, I mean Mr. Bryan, it's all a misunderstanding. Please don't kill me."

Bryan looked at Jack's miserable state and recalled the time when Johnny had tried to kill him in his apartment almost two months back.

Johnny had broken his left forearm, both his kneecaps, and fractured the back of his skull. Bryan had never felt so afraid and helpless ever in his life.

He remembered the painful recovery he had undergone, the trauma of having killed a person for the first time as well as having almost arrived at death's door.

Ultimately, Bryan shook his head and heaved a sigh, "Misunderstanding, is it? Explain yourself."

Jack's expression improved as he heaved a sigh of relief, "Yes, yes it was a complete misunderstanding. I had only instructed Johnny to beat you up a little and scare you. But instead, that fucker tried to kill you. It's good that he's dead now."

Bryan got up from his makeshift throne made of corpses and slowly walked toward Jack as he asked him, "Even if I did believe you, what about what transpired tonight? Are you willing to let this go?"

Jack got up to his feet as well and nodded his head, "Of course, I won't tell about what happened tonight to anyone. J-just please let me go. I promise I'll keep quiet."

Bryan stood just a couple of feet away from Jack and was in deep thought as he rubbed his chin with his right hand and supported his right elbow with his left hand.

After a few moments, he sighed, "Fine. We'll do as you say. However, from now on you will work for me. Is that understood?"

A hint of contempt rapidly flashed past Jack's eyes as he lowered his head pretending to think.

'Fucking peasant! Who the fuck do you think you are!? I'll kill you the moment I get a chance. How fucking dare you?' He silently thought in his heart.

After a while, he raised his head to look at Bryan, seemingly having made his decision. Jack, with great determination in his eyes, nodded his head and replied, "All right, I agr-"

BANG!

However, at some point, a gun had magically appeared in Bryan's right hand as he raised it to shoot Jack in the head, point blank! He looked at Jack's head explode like a watermelon as blood and brain matter spilled in all directions, including his.

Bryan's lips curled up into a mischievous grin, "Just kidding!"

He used his spiritual force to get rid of all the blood and brain matter that had fallen on him as he mocked contemptuously, "Hmph, idiot! Who the hell is gonna believe your bullshit?"

Bryan looked around at the massacre that he had caused. By now, the floor had already been coated with a thick layer of red.

Over a hundred bodies lay in different areas of the warehouse. Some were decorated with bullet holes in their torsos while some in their temples.

All of them had arrived here dressed in lavish suits but now their bodies were cold and dead. Some had shocked expressions on their faces while others had endless regret etched in their eyes.

Bryan looked at the faces of all the people he had killed tonight and suddenly had an epiphany as he raised his head and mumbled,

"Even the most luxurious clothes and precious gems are worthless if one dies in the end anyway.

All these riches that I drool over, what for?

What's the point of having this wealth if I end up dead like any one of these people that came here tonight?

What is the meaning of my life?

What do I live for? What is my goal?"

Bryan's eyes glazed over as he stood there victoriously like a demon drenched in others' blood, surrounded by over a hundred dead bodies as blood continued to flow under his feet, reflecting his menacing figure.

All of a sudden, two simple yet unrealistic words appeared in his mind, causing Bryan's black eyes to shine with a brilliant luster like never before.

He smiled brightly as he softly muttered, "Eternal life!"

'That's right… everything would make sense if I can attain eternal life. Without it everything is worthless. But is there such a thing called eternal life? I wonder if I can ever attain it?' Bryan thought in his heart.

Before this, Bryan had never had a clear goal or dream to pursue in his life, ever. Before he met Detective Watson, all he ever wanted was to have three meals a day and survive to see the next day.

After meeting Detective Watson and stepping on the Path of Transcendent, he wished to utilize his powers to simply rob others and amass wealth.

However, for the first time in his life, amidst blood, death, and carnage, Bryan had found a goal to work toward. A dream to pursue, however childish the dream might seem.

A dream of eternal life!