I arrived at the abandoned building they told me to go to. I walked through the door and wandered my eyes through the dark open area, the only source of light was the small window at the end of the room, where 5 people were standing while smiling at me. Each of them was holding a baseball bat in their hand.
“You people really won’t learn, don’t you?” I asked as I walked toward them.
“Casimir!” Edward shouted while sitting on a wooden chair, he was tied up. He was wearing his glasses, but the left glass was destroyed and there were bruises on his left eye and right side of his lips and dry blood was visible.
I clicked my tongue and clenched my fist.
“Easy there, Casimir. You know, I’m starting to run out of ideas of how to beat you. The fact that you are strong without even trying is what annoys me the most! So I just thought. Why try to fight you and lose, if I can just beat the s*** out of you without you doing anything?” Paul walked toward me while swinging his bat. “I’m warning you, this isn’t like the last time, try to be cocky this time, your wimpy friend will go home crawling while crying for his mom.” He slammed his bat to the cemented floor. “You know what I mean, right, Casimir?”
I stopped and stared at the 4 people slowly surrounding me. They were laughing as they walked closer to me.
“That’s right, don’t do anything funny, or else.”
“Casimir! Don’t mind me! I’m fine!”
“Shut up, wimp!”
What occurred next was Edward’s groaning as Paul punched him in his stomach.
I glared at him while smirking. “You will regret this.”
“Look at this asshole acting tough again!” One of them ran towards me but immediately stopped. “Wha- why are you laughing?”
“Why am I laughing? I don’t know, I just felt like it.” I ran to the nearest one and punched him in the face at the same time, snatching his bat and smashing his stomach so hard he instantly fell to the floor.
But it’s still not enough.
I smashed his hip with the wooden bat I got from him. Upon hearing his pained groan, I hit him twice more and finally kicked his face instantly knocking him unconscious.
Upon seeing what just happened, the remaining 4 stared at me with horror on their faces.
“What? Don’t tell me you brought these bats and not planning to use them? Because if I do, I will.” I raised the bat in my hand and smiled at them.
“Pau- Paul! This guy is crazy!”
Paul joined the 3 and walked toward me while raising their bats.
“Beat him!”
However, before they could even react, I ran towards them and swung my bat to smash all of them. In one strike, one of them fell while holding his left knee and the other one dropped next while covering his stomach with both of his hands, while the 3rd one easily got knocked unconscious with one strike at the side of his ribs. Until the only one standing was Paul who was looking at me with horror. But to make sure, I smashed the 2 lying on the ground again several times with the bat I was holding, rendering them incapacitated to move or even shout.
While walking back, Paul dropped his bat and raised his hands. “I… I surrender… I’ll set your friend free… I won’t mess with you again.”
I chuckled. “That’s a funny joke.”
I swung my bat and aimed for his chest, but unexpectedly, he squatted and hit his head instead. He fell to the floor while blood was coming out of his nose. He’s hyperventilating while groaning like the weakling that he was.
“Ah, sorry about that, I was aiming for your chest or arms but you shoved your own face in my bat’s track. Let me just correct it.”
I slammed his arms with my bat and heard his groan while pleading.
But it’s not enough.
One more time, I slammed him with my bat. And another. And another. And another. And twice more before stopping upon hearing him literally crying like a child.
“Don’t cry like that. You’re making me feel bad.”
“Please, stop! It hurts!”
I slammed him again. And again, until his cry became louder that it echoed throughout the entire hall.
“Casimir, stop!”
I was about to hit him again when I heard Edward’s voice, I veered my eyes on him.
He looked directly into my eyes and with great resolve on his face, he shook his head. “It’s over. Let’s go home.”
But… I am not satisfied yet.
I exhaled and stared at the big baby crying in front of me. “You are right, let’s go home.” I raised my bat. “But first, let me just finish what I started.” I heard my own laugh resonating throughout the area. “Let me just give this man child a memory he will never forget.”
“Please! I don’t want anymore!”
“Casimir?” With disbelief in his eyes, Edward looked at me with his shivering eyes.
“You deserve it!” I swung my bat aiming at his face.
“Casimir!”
I was about to obliterate his face when I heard a familiar voice. Upon shifting my gaze. What greeted me was Mom’s widened eyes while staring at me with great shock. She dropped the thing she was holding, it was my launch box.
Maybe I forgot about it and she decided to follow me to give it to me. Then saw me on my way here.
Tears started to come out of her eyes as she shook her head while walking back.
As if all of my strength instantly disappeared, I dropped the bat I was holding. “Mom.”
I’ve done it again.
Since the morning of that day, she never came out of her room. She didn’t talk to me or even try to say a thing. She just rushed home and locked herself up. The door of their room just opened when dad arrived.
I stood next to their opened door aiming to talk to mom. I instantly heard mom’s exhausted voice, dad was hugging her while sitting at the side of the bed.
“I don’t know what to do anymore, Axel. I did everything to raise him as a normal child. But no matter what I do, it always ends up like this.” Mom rubbed her palm on her head. Afterward, she pushed her face on dad’s neck.
Dad gently caressed mom’s hair. “I will talk to Casimir. Maybe he has a good reason why he did it.”
Mom raised her head revealing her exhausted and teary eyes. “Reason? What reason? If I wasn’t there, our son would be in jail by now! He tried to kill someone, Axel! The face that he made at that very moment… that’s a face of a-” She shook her head and an abundance of tears once again came out from her exhausted eyes. “All this time… am I raising a monster?”
I turned my back while trying to ignore the sobbing I was hearing behind me. I walked in the direction of my room and stopped upon seeing someone standing at the door of my room.
I looked up and found Irina looking at me. Her eyes were full of concern. “Big bro?”
I tried to unleash a fake laugh so I could tell her that I was fine. But no voice was coming out of my mouth. I looked up at her and smiled. But it couldn’t fool her, the concern on her face became more pronounced as she walked toward me.
I weakly shrugged. “Irina. Tell me… am I… a monster?”
The next thing I felt was her soft arms as she hugged me tightly. I instantly heard her weak sobbing as she pushed her face into my chest. “No, you are not.” Her hug became tighter and I felt liquid forming in my chest. “You are not a monster… you are my big brother.”
That time, that was the only assurance I needed.
I slowly nodded. “I see.”
Years had passed since that day, and here I am.
I stared at the surrounding forest around me, but my eyes dwelled on the straight line I created earlier.
[Boss, the warriors of the kingdom of Milana are starting to take their retreat! We won so easily!]
I raised my shivering hands and smiled. “Monster? Maybe I am.” I heard my own laughter resonating throughout the area. “I am indeed… a monster.”
