20 The Counterattack

I gripped my fists in agitation. My vision dimmed as my blood pressure rose.

"Say that again. One more time."

I glared at the messenger who was smiling smugly at me. He wore a black suit over a tank top but he was clearly covered in tattoos.

The messenger smirked at me and casually replied, "We have executed your driver." He flipped his hair and continued taunting me. "Joshua, right?"

The man threw a box at my feet. "Pick it up, Mistress."

I could smell the blood from the box. It was the size of a human head. I already knew what it was even without opening it.

The man looked at me and perked up, as if he was getting excited by my growing frustration. He leaned against the wall in my office and examined a bottle of prana wine.

"He was a funny kid, that Joshua." The man looked away, as if he was reminiscing about yesterday's lunch. "Even when I was cutting off his fingers, he still kept quiet. He refused to talk about you until the end."

The man's face twisted in ecstasy, as if he was relishing the experience. His dyed hair fluttered as his exaggerated motions of punctuating his sentences with his gestures.

"He did cry once, you know?" He threw a phone playing a video to me. It was a video of Joshua's ordeal.

I watched Joshua's final moments. It was brutal. They cut off his fingers, beat him with a steel pipe and crushed his genitals and vocal cords.

Joshua couldn't talk anymore but the light in his eyes refused to bow to their whims. At least until they showed him a video of the men in suits brutalizing his family.

He cried out in pain, he cried out in frustration, he cried out in desperation. He cried.

I closed my eyes as I crushed the phone in my hands.

"Oh that's expensive. I'll be sending you a bill after I leave, Mistress."

The man continued to taunt me, as if he was oblivious to the growing hatred inside of me.

I glared at him while holding myself back from simply erasing him from this world. "What do you want?"

Each word was uttered with hatred, but I was able to complete my question. A feat harder to accomplish than one would expect. My heart was currently black with anger and I could feel the furious whirring of the prana inside of me.

The man looked me in the eyes and answered simply, "Your prana production facility." He gestured with his hands as he looked around. "This place."

He picked up the items on my desk and examined them one by one, as if he was simply vising a friend. He continued his monologue.

"You are a knight-rated prana user at best. There is no point in resisting." He picked up a knife and started playing with it, as if he was showing off his skills. "You're a beautiful woman, too. My boss is interested in you."

He stared at me knowingly as he licked my body with his eyes. "You're a smart woman. You lost your family's protection but you can come under my boss. He'll take good care of you."

Emphasizing 'good care', the man continued his disrespect. "I killed your driver to let you know that I can touch everyone in your life."

The man gestured toward the passing people outside my office who were unaware of what was happening inside.

"Those people."

He pointed toward the folder Renard passed me as he escorted this man earlier.

"That kid, Renard was it?"

The man pointed toward Lim Cha-Kyung, who was calmly standing behind me.

"That old man too."

He dragged his thumb across his neck, "I can kill them all no problem and you can't stop me." He took a sip of wine and punctuated his monologue. "So be a smart woman and do the right thing."

I simply stared at him as he added, "We have Knight-Commander Rated members. There's no point resisting."

A twinkle appeared in my eye as Cha-Kyung shifted behind me. I know, Cha-Kyung, calm down.

"Ara, so your strongest members are Knight-Commanders then. That's truly impressive."

I looked at him with the face I use to charm people. To strangers, it was an attractive sight. To the people who know me, they knew it was more dangerous than an outright threat.

I licked my lips as I gazed into his eyes.

The man gulped as he was caught unaware but he maintained a calm composure. "Yup. I myself am Knight-rated. My boss is a Knight-commander."

He laughed as he pointed at me. "You'd do the right thing by becoming his woman. Perhaps you can let me have a taste too?"

I chuckled politely at his joke, hiding the venom threatening to spew out anytime. "That depends. Can a dying man truly enjoy his carnal desires?"

Confusion crept up at his stupid face. "Eh? Dying man? I'm perfectly fi-"

At a wave of my hand, a dozen swords started piercing his body from every conceivable angle.

His mouth remained open as his body rocked back and forth like a marionette at the impact of the countless blades that decimated his mortal flesh.

His blood splattered all over the room while I stood motionless as his blood draped me like a haunting crimson cape.

"Clean up his corpse for me." I gestured to Lim Cha-Kyung. "It seems I have a mess to clean up."

Cha-Kyung merely glanced at the box that contained Joshua's head. "What about him, Master?"

"Clean him up." I shook the blood from my hands as I looked at Cha-Kyung in the eyes. "They were kind enough to send us a gift. Shouldn't we send them one back?"

Cha-Kyung merely nodded at me as he muttered, "It seems a demoness has awakened thanks to these fools."

The Counterattack – End.