34 A Few Swings is All That It Takes (1/2)
”Why, Timothy?” George mumbled a little louder this time for me to hear. I looked at him after hearing his weakened voice as my masked audience shout and jump in unison with what I am about to do. ”Why are you doing this? You're my brother, man, and will always have your back if you just say the word. You know this. We're always together. How come you've changed into something like... like what you are right now...” I could finally see a bit of a struggle in the way George squirms around like a dying tapeworm; I could even scarcely hear the sound of his bones cracking as the Ringmaster bends him even further with the unseen force that he maneuvers to keep George in place.
”Changed?” I laughed as hard as I can, but it sounded silent compared to the enthused cheering of the crowd I see on the balcony above. Although the noise of everything all around had drowned the sound of my laugh, I am fairly sure George had felt the mockery that accompanies my every breath. ”Well, I didn't change, you know? What are you talking about, huh, pal? What are you trying to say, hmm? This is who I am. This is who I've always been.”
”Why?” I may not be able to see George's face well, but I can still hear the sadness in his wails as he waggles around like a disturbed termite on a wet wooden plank. ”Why are you doing this?”
The way he wiggled his body might have disturbed the men around us, so the cheering of the crowd started to settle down. They instead now look at us with eyes filled with anticipation, and though I cannot see them clearly, I could feel their breathing grew heavier as the sound of their pants envelopes the hall, causing the temperature of the surroundings to be warmer.
”You need help there, Timothy?” The Ringmaster beckoned at me from below the platform with his usual gentle tone and smile, but it doesn't have the same playfulness in it. If I haven't known the Ringmaster for a long time, I would have thought he has a twinge of anxiety with the way he spoke which is impossible for a man like him. However, I can surely tell that he is not confident that I will be able to dispose of the man in front of me successfully.
Why? Because he wiggled a little?
”I'm fine, Ringmaster,” I replied softly without looking at his direction.
”Are you sure?” He said while taking a few steps towards the platform. ”We could release the chains if you—”
”I said I'll be fine, Lucas!” I growled as quietly as I could in order not to alert everyone around us, interrupting the Ringmaster's words as I diverted my gaze at him. I glared at him with reddened eyes, threatening him that if he ever stepped foot on this platform, then I will never forgive him for interrupting this wonderful moment of mine. Though I said none of those words, the way the Ringmaster took a few steps back after seeing the look on my face was enough for me to say that my message had been properly conveyed. ”I'll be fine,” I said as calm as I can without a sliver of my earlier wrathful countenance.
”I see,” The Ringmaster chuckled. ”I'm sorry for doubting you, little Tim.”
I didn't utter a reply to what the Ringmaster had said and just returned my gaze to George who's still trying his hardest to jerk his body away from this situation. I sighed. ”You know, George, at first I do not know why I'm like this or why I'm doing this.” I raised both my hands while tightly gripping the handle of the three-feet long, dull ax. ”But now I know that by doing this, I am simply accepting who I really am.”Find authorized novels in Webnovel，faster updates, better experience，Please click for visiting.
Perhaps George had seen my shadow on the ground, he wriggled his body even more ferociously before I could swing the ax down onto his neck. When I finally downed the blade down onto his body, he had managed to move a few inches away from where he once was, causing the ax to hit three inches below his nape on his back.
I clicked my tongue and showed an unsatisfied grimace at what he did before pulling the ax off his spinal cord with all the strength I have. When I did so, blood spurted out of George's back like a broken faucet, and it instantly dripped down the platform. This caused a wave of applause from the audiences and I could even see Veronica clapping in my peripheral vision, and I know that woman is not a person who would clap at my achievements.
Looking at his wound, I saw that the ax had done exactly what I wanted a dull blade to do. It did not cut through his skin with a clean and even hit. It absolutely wreaked his skin as if it was a piece of paper torn forcefully by huge claws. The blow ripped it apart so much that it felt like a leopard had bitten on his skin and tear it away which left a revolting portion on his back that looked like a ripped portion of designer jeans. George's harrowing shrieks proved just how excruciatingly painful that blow was; one could even see how painful it might have been for him by looking at the way the skin around the ripped part looked like a flaky and withered leaf.
However, what I am seeing did not please me because I was aiming at his neck. The Ringmaster might have noticed this, so he used whatever unseen sorcery he was using to pin George down and configure it somehow to make his hold on him even tighter. When he did so, I could hear the sound of a few of George's bones cracking. This time, the prey could do nothing anymore other than to pray. Drop the idea of moving for a few centimeters, he doesn't even have enough strength to wiggle his body like he used to anymore.
I raised both my hands once again, still with the ax on my tight grip. ”You once asked me before a long, long time ago if there's someone out there who was born as an evil piece of shit.” I panted as I felt the sweat coursing through my costume. ”Yeah, that's exactly the words you said, an evil piece of shit. Interesting, eh? I always thought so too.”
”Sto... p...”
After hearing George's weak pleading, I finally swung the ax with all my might, but the ax was too heavy that it pulled the whole upper part of my body down with it which almost made me stumble off my balance. However, when the ax hit its target, I managed to find my footing. This time, my swing was on point! Directly at his nape where it should be. Now, if I used a sharp ax without an oil coating, this entire execution would have been done. Using a sharp ax would strike like a guillotine and severe George's head off with one full strike, ending his life right there with just one final taste of pain, but since I specifically asked to use a dull ax with an oil coating, it would take a few more swings before I could decapitate his head from off his neck. This is because a sharp blade will cut; it would slide down easily and that would be the end of it. A dull knife would tear the skin off like a blunt weapon, causing it to stop halfway before sliding off completely. Paired with the oil, it would take a lot of effort before this ax would penetrate through a human neck.
The funny thing about this is that this should have been a relatively painless execution, but since George is still letting out a painful-sounding scream, that means he still has enough life in him to feel his soul leaving his mortal flesh.
Then it started.
The people above us all started to mumble, quietly speaking the words, in a playful and somewhat unheard way so only a handful of the people within them could hear while some yelled it at the top of their lungs, as loud as they could get, to garner the attention of the people around them. Though they were not speaking the words in perfect harmony and they were not uttering it in the same amount of volume and loudness, those few words still escaped the small crevices between their lips.
”The Caravan moves on.”