Ch 9: You are wrong this time too, everyone has a choice

"Oh, my dear friend," Lucifer spoke to Leo, his voice filled with mockery, "Umm…I don't think I particularly like your left leg. Let's move on to the other one, shall we?"

Before Leo could even process the thing that was happening to him and respond, Lucifer yanked the dagger that was stuck to Leo's left leg…. the pain was sharp and too sudden. In one swift motion, he jabbed it mercilessly into Leo's right thigh. Still, he wanted to block the sudden assault, but he couldn't as his sense was disturbed by the headbutt he had gotten from Lucifer.

"A.AHHHHHHHH!" Leo screamed, the agony was unlike anything he had ever felt in his entire life. Tears of rage and pain streamed down his cheeks as it was mixed with the blood that pooled on the dirt floor of the cottage.

The scene was too devastating with unspeakable brutality, which showed the depths of Lucifer's hatred for the man before him.

"Leo?... Where is all this noise coming from?" a voice came with shaky and bewildered, slicing through the chaos.

"Mina?!" Leo gasped, his eyes wide open as he turned to see her standing in the doorway. The woman named Mina, could be evaluated as average beauty with a balanced figure, looking to be around twenty to twenty-five years old, dressed in a simple wrap dress, with horror etched across her face.

"Huh? Kyaa... L...Le..Leo!... What is happening here? Who are you? What are you doing to Leo?" Her words were laced with panic as the sight before her eyes was filled with devastating scenes.

[Ding! Gain 1 Hatred Point (Anger)]

[Ding! Gain 1 Hatred Point (Hate)]

Lucifer also moved his head, looking towards the unexpected guest in this event, but Lucifer's expression remained cold and indifferent, "Tsk, this annoying girl is here too?" he thought, recognizing Mina's face from a previous encounter with Leo, but they were still complete strangers.

"Just having a lovely chat with my lovely friend," Lucifer just casually replied, while a sinister grin spread across his face. "Care to join us?"

"Arggg... Get out of here, Mina! Run!" Leo shouted, clenching his leg where the dagger had struck him hard. In his desperation, he had forgotten her presence.

Mina witnessed the chaos before her eyes, she felt a chill run down her spine.

In Lucifer's mind, Mina's reputation was not that nice, as he had already heard about this girl in and out from someone, where negativity was more than positivity.

'What a scene! For her, he's acting crazy. What a love story,' Lucifer mused, amusement flickering in his crimson eyes.

"No! Who the hell are you? Why are you doing this?" Mina yelled, charging at Lucifer as her voice was trembling with a mix of fury and confusion. She thought he was just a common thug.

Lucifer remained unaffected by their dramatic display. His crimson eyes showed no emotion as he watched her approach. A sinister smile crept across his face.

Mina was not without any skill; she retaliated with a flurry of punches and kicks towards Lucifer. However, showcasing her power she proved no more than low-tier Dawnbringer. Thus, her effort was useless against Lucifer.

Slap!

Lucifer slapped hard across the cheek, sending blood spilling from her mouth as she stumbled back, stunned.

"What…?" she gasped, bewildered by the display of his power.

[Ding! Gain 1 Hatred Point (Hate)]

[Ding! Gain 1 Hatred Point (Fear)]

"MIN—"

Bam!

Before Leo could finish his word, Lucifer unleashed a brutal kick to Leo's stomach, knocking the dust out of him and sending him crashing against the wall.

"Your turn is coming too. Why are you shouting?" he taunted, his posture relaxed as he looked down at the two with smug satisfaction.

"Cough, cough…" Leo gasped, clutching his abdomen where the kick had landed, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth and staining the wooden floor. His eyes widened in pain and dread, realizing he was utterly at Lucifer's mercy.

"Why? Why are you doing this… you monster?" Mina cursed, glaring at Lucifer as if he were a demon.

"Why? Did you say why?" Lucifer questioned with a sneer. His voice dripped with venom as he looked at Leo coldly. "Because your beloved Leo betrayed me. He stabbed me in the back when we were facing an opponent, then ran away like a coward-bitch, now did you say why?"

Lucifer's mind flashed back to the moment of Leo's betrayal and the look in Leo's eyes as he was fleeing was so vivid that Lucifer couldn't remove it from his mind. The pain of that wound had cut deeper than mere flesh; it had shattered his trust. Now he recalled the events, his was angrier than before "Leo, you thought you could betray me and walk away unscathed? No, Leo, no… you will suffer like hell… just watch how your end gonna be happening"

The more Mina listened to the boy next to her, the wider her eyes grew in horror. She looked at Leo, her face turning pale with fear, thinking, 'Who has this damn idiot offended this time?'

She had always been wary of Leo's dealings, but never in her wildest dreams did she imagine it would come to this. She had seen him with Lucifer once, their camaraderie evident, but now, witnessing the brutal scene unfolding before her, she questioned her involvement. 'How did I get dragged into this? What did Leo do to deserve such hatred?' Her mind raced, trying to comprehend the depths of the situation.

 "I… I had no choice…And, and"

He desperately wanted to defend himself by explaining, but Lucifer cut him off, shaking his head.

"Leo, you were wrong this time too. Everyone has a choice to follow their own, but…sadly you chose to betray me and you might have reason to do that but do you think I would give a damn about it? Huh bitch?"

"And you, Whore… trying to stand in my way? How laughable"

Lucifer turned his eyes next to the girl and before she could even react, Lucifer dashed, grabbing her by the collar and lifting her off the ground. She struggled, screaming, kicking at the same time with all her might, but it was futile … futile against his iron grip, his strength far surpassing hers. "Just because you're a girl, do you think I'll do nothing to you? Heh?

"Lucifer, you bastard!" Leo shouted, his voice mixed with both hatred and desperation. But when he met Lucifer's cold gaze, a chill started to run down his spine. With great effort, he dragged himself toward them, each movement slow and agonizing. "Stop! Please, stop!" he begged, his voice cracking with desperation.

'Yeah, feel the pain that I felt.' Lucifer thought, his expression unchanging as he ignored Leo's pleas. He focused on Mina, a cruel smile creeping across his face, thinking about something nasty wanting to make Leo vomit to the death.

"You'll watch her suffer first"

With a swift motion, he threw Mina to the ground, her body hitting the floor with a thud. She cried out in pain, curling into herself as tears streamed down her face.

[Ding! Gain 1 Hatred Point (Anger)]

[Ding! Gain 1 Hatred Point (Fear)]

[Ding! Gain 1 Hatred Point (Despair)]

...,

Leo's confidence shattered into despair as he witnessed Mina's broken state. "Please… don't hurt her… please…" he sobbed, his voice filled with anguish.

'Ahh, that's it…But it's not enough. It's not even 40% of the pain that I felt.'

Lucifer's smile widened creepily, a chilling expression that promised more pain. "It's too late for mercy, Leo. You should have thought about the consequences before you betrayed me."

Lucifer dragged Leo and Mina by their hair, leaving a trail of blood on the ground. The scene was too cruel, too devastating.