REVENGE OF THE MOURNER

You Really Think I'm That Merciful?

Alex let out a long, guttural scream.

Leon had just sliced off his right hand — clean. The severed hand, still clutching the gun, hit the blood-soaked floor with a wet thud.

Thump!

Leon kicked Alex hard in the chest, sending the hitman sprawling onto his back.

“Reckless and stupid? You should’ve said that while looking in a mirror,” Leon said coldly, standing tall with his chin slightly raised.

Alex winced in pain, raising his head to look at Leon. What he saw sent chills down his spine—Leon’s eyes were glowing, his entire presence radiating menace. This wasn’t the same man he faced earlier.

“I’ll ask one more time. Who sent you?” Leon’s voice was icy. Blood dripped steadily from the blade in his hand.

Leon took a step forward. Alex panicked. Clutching his bloody stump, he scooted backward, trying to get away.

“W-who the hell are you?! How are you still alive after I shot you at point-blank?!”

Leon didn’t answer. Once the distance between them closed, he crouched down—face-to-face—his gaze like that of a predator.

Thwack!

“AAARRGHHH!!”

Leon stabbed the blood-drenched blade into Alex’s left shoulder. The hitman’s eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets.

“I ask. You answer. Got it?” Leon hissed.

Alex was gasping for breath now. He’d taken two crippling hits. Escape was out of the question. Even if he had the strength, he no longer had the will.

“Last chance. Who sent you?”

Still panting, Alex stared into Leon’s eyes—and felt like he was staring into the eyes of an alpha lion ready to devour him.

Sweat drenched his face. His lips trembled.

Forget completing his mission or earning the fat bonus Victor Kerstel promised him. Right now, he wasn’t even sure he’d live to see daylight.

“Victor... The man who hired me to kill you... his name’s Victor...”

Leon narrowed his eyes. “Victor Kerstel?”

Alex gave a weak nod.

Leon’s jaw tightened. So that bastard—the Victor Kerstel—was behind this. The real estate mogul with a legendary empire.

This must’ve been retaliation for what happened at the failed engagement—when Leon snapped Jonathan Kerstel’s arm in public.

“I—I give up... I’m aborting the mission... Just... let me go...” Alex begged.

“Let you go?” Leon raised an eyebrow. “You want me to spare the man who tried to murder my sister right in front of me?”

“I told you—I’m done! I’m no longer a threat to you or your family. So please...”

STAB!

“ARRGGHH!!”

Leon stabbed Alex in the other shoulder.

“You really think I’m that merciful?” Leon growled, eyes blazing.

Alex stared back, tears rolling down his cheeks now.

“Let me tell you something,” Leon said, pressing the blade deeper and twisting it slowly, “the moment you fired that arrow at my sister’s head... that was the moment your fate was sealed.”

Alex trembled in agony. The pain was unbearable. He was suffocating under the weight of Leon’s wrath—and the spinning blade digging into his shoulder.

“S-stop... please... s-stop...” he sobbed.

Leon yanked the knife out, stepped back slightly, then, without hesitation, he slit Alex’s throat in a single clean motion.

Slash!

Alex died instantly, eyes wide, mouth gaping. Blood gushed from the deep gash across his neck.

Leon stood up calmly, his face emotionless.

He pulled a white handkerchief from his coat pocket and wiped the blade clean.

“The Harringtons and the Kerstels... Just wait. I’ll destroy everything you’ve built,” he muttered.

...

Thirty minutes later.

Leon arrived at his mother’s gate.

He got off the motorcycle just as Dimitri approached from the porch. Leon removed his helmet, hung it on the handlebar, and turned to him.

“How was everything while I was not here?” he asked.

“All quiet, sir,” Dimitri replied, walking toward the gate and vaulting over it.

“Good,” Leon said, noticing the black folder in Dimitri’s hand. “What’s that you’ve got?”

Dimitri offered it with both hands, respectfully. “The document you asked for—background on the top tycoons dominating Greystone Hollow these past few years.”

Leon took the folder, opened it, and skimmed through the contents.

Then his eyes narrowed. His expression darkened.

“Sebastian Arkwell? Are you sure he’s one of the tycoons?”

“Yes, sir. About three years ago, he made a fortune off the crypto market. Ever since, every business he touches turns to gold. He’s now one of the richest men in Greystone Hollow.”

Leon processed the info carefully.

If Dimitri was right—and he usually was—this could be a huge opportunity.

“You have an issue with this man? Was he involved in your past case?” Dimitri asked.

“No, not at all,” Leon replied, closing the folder and locking eyes with him. “We’re actually good friends. He was my best friend back in high school.”

“Ah. I see.”

Leon smiled.

He’d just decided which Greystone Hollow tycoon he would recruit as an ally.

“You can go now. Wait for my call.”

“Understood, sir.”

Dimitri strapped on his helmet, hopped on his black motorcycle, and rode off.

...

The next morning. Around 7 a.m.

Victor climbed out of bed, leaving his wife still asleep. He grabbed his phone off the nightstand.

Frowning immediately, he squinted at the screen.

“What the heck?”

A message. From Alex. But it wasn’t a normal message—it simply stated that Alex was no longer among the living.

Victor re-read the message over and over. But it came from Alex’s number. And it said what it said.

His head throbbed.

Massaging his temples, Victor tried calling Alex.

No signal. The number was off or out of range.

He tried again. And again. Still nothing.

“Is he really dead?” he muttered, lowering the phone.

If Alex was dead, then the message must’ve been sent by the one who killed him.

Victor concluded that much.

But who could’ve killed Alex? The irony wasn’t lost on him—a hitman, killed while on a job.

“Could it be... that bastard?”

The thought crossed his mind—but he shook his head quickly.

“No way he’s that strong.”

If Alex really was dead, someone else must’ve taken him out. Someone stronger.

“Could it have been his military friend?”

The possibility made Victor nervous.

The last thing he ever wanted was to mess with the military. That would be fatal to his empire.

So, he made a decision.

He called the man who had connected him to Alex in the first place. The moment the guy answered, Victor said,

“That hitman’s dead. Now I want you to put me in touch with the most feared mafia boss in this city.”

...

A few hours later, at the Astral Nyx Group HQ.

Leon stepped out of his car and headed straight into the lobby.

He was here to meet an old friend—Sebastian Arkwell—now one of the top tycoons in Greystone Hollow, as listed in Dimitri’s report.

At the reception desk, two attendants—one male, one female—glanced at each other. Leon stood out like a sore thumb in just jeans and a plain T-shirt.

“Can we help you?” the female receptionist asked, rising from her seat.

“I’d like to meet with Sebastian Arkwell. I heard he spends a lot of time here during the workday,” Leon said.

The woman eyed him suspiciously. “Do you have an appointment, sir?”

“No,” Leon shook his head. “But just tell him Leonidas Vale is here to see him. I’m sure he’ll make time.”

The receptionist frowned deeply. She clearly didn’t believe that this casually dressed man standing before her had any real business with the CEO.

“I’m sorry, sir. You’ll need to schedule an appointment first.”

Leon clicked his tongue, annoyed. “Just tell him Leonidas Vale is here. Trust me—you’ll understand once you do.”

The woman looked uncertain and slightly irritated.

That’s when the male receptionist stood up and sneered at Leon.

“Leave now before I call security. People like you don’t belong here.”

Leon shot him a glare, sharp as a blade.

The female receptionist stared in shock. That was not how they were trained to speak to visitors, no matter how strange they seemed.

“Get out! Or do you want the guards to drag you out like a dog?!” the male receptionist snapped.

“Hey, what’s wrong with you? That was uncalled for!” the remale receptionist protested.

“Don’t you know who he is? He's the guy who got arrested five years ago for raping a maid!”

Her eyes widened. She looked at Leon again.

Leon glanced back, coldly, then he locked eyes on the male receptionist.

Click!

“Too late. Security’s coming. They’ll throw you out like trash,” the male receptionist sneered.

...