He sprinted towards the room, pulling his handgun from its holster. The first shot rang out before they even saw him coming, hitting the scar-faced man in the dead center of his heart. He collapsed on the ground, the gun slipping from his hand.
Chaos soon erupted. The remaining gang members scattered, some trying to flee while others fired wildly in Eric’s direction. But the smoke and fire disoriented them, giving Eric the cover he needed.
He took down another one who was running away as he shot his leg, then followed it up with a knife throw aimed directly at the man’s throat. Blood sprayed as the man gurgled to his death.
Eric quickly moved from his place where the remaining gangsters started firing, ‘Two down.’ he coldly thought to himself.
But as he moved to take the third one down, a bullet grazed his side, sending a sharp wave of pain through his body. He stumbled, clutching his wound, but still forced himself to keep moving. He couldn’t stop now, not after coming this far.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Darin struggling against his bonds due to suffocation as the smoke filled the room. Eric’s heart clenched, but there was no time to help him yet. Not until the rest of the gang was dealt with.
He rolled behind a crate as another shot rang out, narrowly missing his right arm. The gang member who fired the shot moved toward him, but Eric reacted before he could come closer. He leaped from behind the corner, slashing with his short swords as he brought them out from his sleeves.
Stabbing the man through his chest. The gang member gasped as blood poured from the wound, Eric withdrew his short sword as the man crumpled on the ground.
‘Haaa…haaa…three down.” He thought while panting as the high-intensity battle took its toll on him, and the bullet wound made things worse for him.
The last two gang members gave up on fighting him as they were running towards the exit, but the fire had spread too quickly, blocking their path. They turned back, their faces pale with panic as they despaired when faced with Eric’s wrath.
Eric didn’t hesitate. He took aim and fired two quick shots, both bullets hitting their marks. The gang members dropped to the ground, blood spilling from their foreheads.
It was over.
The flames crackled around him, the smoke thickening in the air. Eric’s body screamed in pain, his vision started to blur from the blood loss. But he ignored it and focused only on Darin.
Eric sprinted through the burning building, his heart pounding as he spotted Darin, tied to a chair, barely conscious. Blood dripped from his mangled body, and the old man’s breathing was faint, labored.
“Old man!” Eric rushed to Darin’s side, slashing through the ropes with trembling hands. Darin’s head lolled to the side, his swollen eyes fluttering open.
“Eric…” Darin's voice was barely a whisper.
“I’m here. I’m getting you out of here,” Eric said, his voice trembling as he tried to mask his fear.
Darin gave a weak, pained smile. “You… shouldn’t have come,” he rasped.
“I had to. I’m sorry, “I’m sorry…I shouldn’t have entered your life or started my own in your smithy. This all happened because of me—” Eric’s words broke as his throat tightened with guilt. Tears welled in his eyes as he blamed himself for all of this.
“Stop… blaming yourself, boy.” Darin’s voice was ragged. “I knew… what could happen… when I took you in.” He coughed violently, his body shaking with the effort. Eric grabbed his hand, squeezing it gently.
“You have to rest. Save your strength,” Eric pleaded, but Darin just shook his head weakly.
“I… don’t have much time,” Darin breathed. His gaze softened, looking up at Eric with pride. “You’ve always been strong. You don’t need me anymore.”
“No!” Eric’s voice was desperate. “I still have so much to learn from you.”
Darin’s grip weakened, but he smiled through his pain. “You’ll… be fine.” He took a shaky breath. “Promise me… you’ll take care of the smithy.”
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Eric’s heart clenched, tears brimming in his eyes. “I will, I promise. But you’re going to make it, you’ll—”
“Don’t… lie to an old man.” Darin’s voice was faint now, but his eyes still held a spark of life. “Just… promise me… you’ll live free. No regrets.”
Eric nodded, biting back his tears. “I promise,” he whispered.
Darin smiled softly, his voice barely audible. “Good… that’s good…” He paused, gathering the last of his strength. “Eric… can you… call me… father?”
Eric’s heart broke. His voice cracked as he responded, “Yes, Father. You’ve always been my family.”
Darin exhaled one final breath, a peaceful smile resting on his face as his eyes closed for the last time.
Darin exhaled one final breath, a peaceful smile resting on his face as his eyes closed for the last time.
Erin knelt by Darin’s lifeless body, his heart aching as he gently laid the old man’s hand on his chest. He wiped his tear-stricken face with the back of his hand, forcing himself to stand.
He had to move forward, that was his promise to Darin—but he wasn’t going to let things end like this. Not without taking each one of them down.
The flames around him roared louder as the fire spread around the whole building. Smoke filled the air, making it hard to take a single breath, but Eric didn’t let it bother him, he knew what had to be done.
Just as Eric turned towards the exit, he heard slow footsteps echoing from behind him. His heart clenched, and he froze in place.
“Well, well, well… look what we have here,” a cold, mocking voice called out from the shadows. “Eric, the deserter.”
The sound of clapping followed the words, as the gang leader–the boss– stepped into the flickering lights of flames. A tall, muscular man with a cold, calculating gaze. He stood a distance away, surrounded by a few more thugs, all wearing grim smiles.
Eric felt his anger rising at the sight of his old boss, but he didn’t think much of Eric’s glare and continued, “So, you came after all,” the boss's mocking voice echoed as he glanced at Darin’s lifeless body, “I had a feeling you wouldn’t just let your ‘father’ die like that.”
Eric’s hand twitched toward the pocket of his jacket, but he didn’t make a move yet as he still needed time. “You never let me live in peace, always chasing me like a wild dog,” Eric said, his voice filled with anger and sorrow. “But this time, you crossed a line.”
The boss chuckled, lighting a cigarette as if he wasn't standing in the middle of a burning building, “C'mon, Eric. This was bound to happen. You left the gang, thought you could live a nice little life with this old man in his smithy?”
He shook his head, exhaling a puff of smoke. “You really thought you could run from your past?”
Eric’s hands clenched into fists, his body trembling with fury. “He had nothing to do with this! You captured him just to torture me mentally!”
“Of course,” the boss replied casually. “We wanted you back in the gang—to become that same dog who bit whoever we told it to bite. But you just had to go ahead and leave the gang, making me chase you so far away.” He gave him a low laugh, his eyes gleaming menacingly.
“Look at you now. Can’t run anymore, eh? Disobedient dogs get put down. But I will give you one last chance to return where you belonged.”
Eric’s grabbed the grenade inside his pocket. He knew it was time. There was no getting out of this alive. ‘Even if I die, I will make sure to take these bastards with me to hell.’
The boss took a step forward, motioning his man to circle Eric. “Now, why don’t you just hand over that gun of yours and sur—”
“You are wrong.” Eric interrupted, his voice icy, “I don’t belong to anyone. Not anymore.”
The boss raised an eyebrow in surprise at Eric’s tone, “What are you talking about?”
Eric’s eyes turned cold as he slowly pulled the grenade from his pocket, his thumb resting on the pin.
He looked the boss dead in the eye, his face twisted into a crazy smile, “None of us are leaving alive.”
For the first time, the boss's expression faltered. He cautiously eyed the grenade in Eric’s hand, “Don’t be an idiot, Eric. You’re still far too young to die for merely that old man.”
Eric roared towards the gangsters in a tone filled with anger, “HE WAS MY ONLY FAMILY! DON’T YOU DARE SAY HIS NAME WITH YOUR FILTHY MOUTH!”
The boss hurriedly replied, “I raised you from the slums! I taught you to survive. I was your FAMILY!”
Eric gave a bitter smile, tears still stinging his eyes, “You made me a weapon; he taught me how to live.”
Before the boss could react, Eric pulled the pin from the grenade.
The boss’s eyes widened in shock. “You—”
Eric hurled the grenade toward the boss and his men, then dove behind the nearest piece of debris as the explosion ripped through the room. His face formed a relieved smile as he let go of all his burdens of this life.
The blast was deafening, the fire consuming everything in its path.
The heat and force of the explosion threw Eric back, slamming him into the ground. His vision blurred, the world around him turned into a chaotic whirl of flames.
As the building collapsed, Erin’s thoughts drifted back to Darin—the old man who had saved him, the only family he had ever known.
As his thoughts became chaotic, everything went into a puff of smoke as all the oil containers exploded, burying everyone beneath the debris.
Eric’s vision also faded into darkness as he closed his eyes forever.