Chương 45: Can't Let Him Go

Aren crouched beside the fat boss and patted his shoulder.

"It seems the Nostrade Family and I are connected by fate." Then he looked at Chrollo with amusement.

"What do you think, captain? Do we let him go, or..." The boss forced his narrow eyes wide and stared at Chrollo with desperate hope. Chrollo found the expression unpleasant enough to look away. The man had cooperated.

"Fine. Let him..."

"No. You can't let him go." A weak female voice interrupted. Everyone turned toward the hidden door the boss had emerged from earlier. A young blonde woman stood there, barely able to support herself. Bruises and wounds covered her body. A bedsheet was wrapped around her. She leaned against the doorway and stared at the fat boss with hatred so deep that fear had no room to exist. She walked forward unsteadily.

"He's scum," she said.

"Garbage. A bastard. A pervert." Tears spilled from her eyes, but she never looked away from the man kneeling on the floor.

"I don't care whether you're demons, gods, or monsters. Please. I'm begging you. Don't let that disgusting bastard go." The boss cursed inwardly. He had been assaulting the woman inside his private room when Uvogin's shout dragged him out. In his hurry, he had forgotten to lock the door. He had not even taken the time to put on his clothes. Now she had escaped at the worst possible moment. Chrollo had almost finished saying the words. The boss's submissive act cracked.

"You damned woman! Who told you to come out? Go die!" Rage gave him the courage to rise. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. A cold flash crossed the room. His right leg flew through the air. Blood followed.

"Who said you could stand?" Nobunaga asked. His sword returned slowly to its sheath. Pain reached the boss a moment later.

"My leg! My leg!" He rolled across the floor, clutching the severed stump while blood poured between his fingers. The woman laughed. It was not a healthy sound.

"Good! Trash like you should be cut into a thousand pieces!" No one needed the full story. Her condition explained enough. Machi and Pakunoda understood more sharply than the others. Killing intent leaked from both of them. Aren hated two kinds of people most. Human traffickers. And rapists. Two throwing knives appeared in his hands. He flicked his wrists. The blades pierced the boss's palms and pinned both hands to the floor. The man screamed again.

It had been some time since Aren used the skills carried by his body's old instincts. He walked to the woman and created a small, sharp dagger.

"Looks like this is personal for you," Aren said.

"Our business with him is finished." He held the dagger out.

"The rest is your revenge." The woman stared at the weapon for a second as if she could not believe it was real.

"Captain, let's go," Aren said.

"We have more important things to handle." He turned toward the exit. Machi looked at his back and smiled faintly before following. The others moved after them. The woman finally recovered enough to bow toward the departing Troupe.

"Thank you. Thank you so much." Once they were gone, she raised her head. Hatred burned in her eyes. She rushed toward the immobilized boss with the dagger. His threats came first.

"What do you think you're doing? Don't forget who I am! I'm part of the Nostrade Family. If you touch me, your relatives and friends will suffer!" Then the threats became pleas.

"Don't come closer. I was wrong. I know I was wrong. Please..." His scream followed them out of the club. When someone discovered the room later, the fat man's body was unrecognizable. The woman had carved away roughly sixty percent of his flesh until there was almost nothing human left in him. She had taken her own life afterward. Her face was peaceful. The scene was gruesome, tragic, and strangely beautiful. Outside, the street had emptied. It was not merely late.

The two headless corpses at the entrance and the blood covering the pavement made the situation obvious. People who lived in Gambi Town understood a simple rule. If you wanted to live well, stay away from trouble. The street would return to normal after the authorities eventually came to clean it. The absence of witnesses was convenient. Uvogin and the others emerged from the club covered in blood. Back at the minibus, Aren returned to the driver's seat.

"All right. Villa 21, Chinkola Point. Let's..." He stopped. They knew the name of the place. No one knew how to get there.

"Damn it. Does anyone know where Chinkola Point is?" The Troupe froze. The same realization spread through the group. Going back to ask the woman for directions would destroy the impression they had worked so hard to create. Machi pressed a hand to her forehead. Idiots. Then she pulled out a folded tourist map.

"Here. This map explains how to reach Chinkola Point." Aren accepted it with relief.

"Machi, you saved us. Where did you find this?"

"At the bar. While you were fighting, I took it from the counter. I thought we might need it." Aren understood. Machi's uncanny intuition had saved them again. The engine roared. With the route in hand, Aren pressed the accelerator and sped away. They had been moving all day. It was time to find a place to rest.