Criminal X : Epitome Of Evil

Nike had shared some things with Sera.

Pablo could tolerate everything but not betrayal.

But Nike was his slave and that changes the story.

For slaves, betrayal to their master was death.

And as a proof, Nike showed the red seal on his chest which was completely fine.

If Nike had even thought of betraying Pablo, then his whole left side of the body would have been rotten. But that wasn't the case. Nike was completely fine.

So it means that Nike didn't betray Pablo and Cupid said the same thing to Pablo as well.

Now, the Angel and the kneeling slave both awaited Pablo's decision.

After being silent for two minutes, Pablo sighed.

"Raise your head."

Nike obliged and did that.

But he didn't meet Pablo's eyes, he stared at Pablo's neck in order to give the illusion that he was looking at Pablo without any fear. Which, of course, didn't fool Pablo but the master of the slave didn't pay that much mind to it.

"Show me that seal again. Come closer." Pablo said.

Nike gulped but obliged instantly.

He leaned closer to Pablo and Pablo extended his hand to touch the round seal on the slave's chest.

Pablo placed his palm on the seal and he touched the edges of the seal.

He held it and he tried to peel it off?

Nike winced a little but he remained still. He didn't stop Pablo.

Pablo took out a knife from his bracelet from his left hand and used that hand to poke the tip of the knife of the seal.

He also ran the knife on the edges of the red seal and he tried to dig something.

He tried harder and he used more strength that made the knife push deeper inside Nike's chest and as a result, blood was summoned.

The slave bit his lip. No words of pain came out of his mouth though. He let Pablo do whatever he wanted without stepping back.

Pablo also saw that and after a little bit of more poking, he finally leaned back and kept the knife with the blood on the table beside his bed.

"You can move back now." He said.

Nike nodded and leaned back.

Even after it was over, Nike didn't heave a sigh of relief and didn't even try to do anything about the seeping blood coming out from his chest. He just stared at Pablo's throat waiting for his verdict.

Cupid, however, made all sorts of expressions and when she couldn't hold it back, she barked:

"What was all that? Why did you play with the knife? You injured him for nothing. What were you even trying to do?"

Pablo decided to entertain her as he answered, 'I was checking whether he had some kind of sticker above his red seal to hide the damage the seal did to him. That's why I was trying to peel it.'

Cupid's mouth went agape. "You thought that far? Just how much do you overthink?"

'Overthinking is not a bad thing, Angel. You can avoid many things just by thinking of all sorts of outcomes beforehand.'

Cupid shook her head. "Well, are you satisfied now? You found no sticker."

Pablo didn't reply.

He looked at Nike and simply, just nodded.

"Fine. I forgive you. You didn't betray me."

Those words fell like cold water in a parched throat in Nike's ears as now finally, he heaved a sigh of relief.

The huge boulder of dying lifted from his chest and shoulders as the young man finally found a smile on his face.

"Thank you very much for believing in me, sir."

"Now, now. Don't get so happy right away, kid." Pablo cracked his knuckles.

The boulder of death returned to Nike's chest.

He didn't say anything and just stayed quiet to hear what his master had to say.

"You might not have thought about betraying me but if we go to the crux of it, you did share my talks with Sera just over a girl."

Nike flinched as his eyes didn't even find the courage to look at Pablo's neck anymore.

"This time, I forgave you. Because I believe in giving the benefit of doubt sometimes. But after this instance, if you even tried to repeat my words even to yourself…"

Pablo picked up the knife from the table, lifted Nike's chin with his hand and pointed the knife just a hair's breadth away from the eye of the slave.

"I will destroy you before the seal will even register that you betrayed me."

Nike forgot breathing. His heart would leap out of his mouth if he parted his lips.

Pablo's red eyes reflected murder and so many murders that Nike would lose count of. And the most terrifying part? He saw himself getting added among those murders as well.

Pablo heard the rapid beating of the heart of the slave and to not give the poor soul a heartattack, Pablo leaned back again and put the knife on the table.

Nike stayed rooted on the spot, staring at the empty space.

His hands and legs or his whole body was numb and not in his wildest dreams would he have thought that Pablo values loyalty and hates betrayal this much.

He was still seeing the bloodied tip of the knife in front of his eyes and he shuddered at the thought of it piercing his eyes.

He would have stayed in the same position if not for Pablo's voice falling in his ears.

"Come back to the present now. That was just a warning. I won't harm you unless you give me a reason to."

The slave snapped out of his daze of fear and with great effort, managed to just nod at Pablo.

But he was afraid that just a nod might anger Pablo so he tried his best to form some words to speak.

"I- I under-stand, sir. Thank you for your kindness. I will make sure that I choose death over doing something as little as even saying your name to anyone."

Pablo nodded but from inside, he was smirking.

The reason?

He can't just get enough of terrifying people, especially when it comes to those who are close to him.

'No wonder people called me the epitome of evil.'