Chapter 162: I... Want To Die

Damian’s eyes moved methodically across the scene, his strong willpower forcing him to catalogue details even as emotion threatened to overwhelm rational thought.

Then he saw it.

A black envelope resting on the small table near the entrance, positioned deliberately where it would be found immediately.

He stepped past Brian’s kneeling form, his movements careful to avoid disturbing the blood pooling on the floor.

Picked up the envelope with steady hands.

And opened it.

Inside was a single piece of paper. The message written in blood-red letters that might have actually been blood given the context.

"We heard Officer Brian Oleaf was looking everywhere for us. So we thought to pay you a visit. Shadow Council sends their regards."

A cold look flashed across Damian’s crimson eyes, his expression going completely empty.

’Shadow Council. It’s them again! The group that’s been escalating operations across the Northern Region for months.’

His gaze shifted to Brian, who remained on his hands and knees, crawling toward the bodies while making sounds that barely qualified as human.

"Brian."

No response. Just continued crawling, reaching out with shaking hands.

"Brian, look at me."

Nothing. The man was completely lost, drowning in grief and horror.

’Can’t let him stay like this. Can’t let him break.’

Damian moved quickly, grabbed Brian by the collar, and hauled him upright with enhanced strength.

BANG

Slammed him against the nearest wall hard enough to rattle the pictures hanging there.

His Slaughter Intent exploded outward, the oppressive pressure filling the entire house, making the air feel thick and suffocating.

"LOOK AT ME!"

The shout combined with the killing intent finally penetrated Brian’s shock-induced fugue state.

His dead eyes focused on Damian’s face, seeing but not really comprehending.

Damian held the blood-red letter in front of Brian’s face, his voice dropping to something quieter but infinitely more dangerous.

"Just look at you. Your entire family was just butchered. Tortured and murdered in their own home. And you look at me with those dead eyes?"

His free hand grabbed Brian’s face, forcing him to maintain eye contact.

"Is this what they would have wanted? Your parents who raised you? Your little brother who looked up to you? Is this the response that honors their memory?"

"I...want to die..."

Brian’s voice came out broken, barely audible.

"Is this what Eric would have wanted?"

Damian pressed harder.

"Your ten-year-old brother who was excited to meet me? Who admired heroes and believed in justice? You think he’d want to see you like this?"

He released Brian’s collar and moved to where the small body lay.

Carefully, with unexpected gentleness given the situation, Damian lifted Eric’s severed head.

Cradled it like something precious despite the horror of what he was holding.

Then brought it to where Brian could see clearly.

"He wanted to meet me. Your brother... He was excited about it. But he can’t anymore."

Damian’s voice carried no emotion, just cold factual statements.

"Just look at the despair in his expression. Look at the terror frozen on his face. He watched his parents die. Watched them get tortured for hours. Had to listen to their screams. Had to see things no child should ever witness."

Brian made a choking sound, trying to look away.

Damian grabbed his face again, forcing him to look at his brother’s severed head.

"And then he followed the same fate! Experienced the same torture! Died knowing nobody was coming to save him! Died in agony and fear!"

His voice grew harder.

"And now you don’t even have the courage to look at them!? Instead of feeling madness and insanity and hunger for vengeance, you have that bloody dead look in your eyes!?"

Damian’s Slaughter Intent intensified, pressing against Brian like physical weight.

"Where is the damn Brian who wanted justice for everyone!? The officer who fought against corruption and bureaucracy because he believed in protecting people!? Fucking hell, you can’t even provide justice for your own family, you fucking coward!"

Brian flinched at each word like physical blows.

"Shadow Council comes into your house. Tortures your family for hours. Leaves behind a mocking message. And all you do is cry like a bitch and talk about wanting to die!"

Damian’s voice became a snarl.

"Your crying can fucking wait until the motherfuckers who caused this are dead! Until every single member of Shadow Council is drowning in their own blood! Until you’ve carved your vengeance into their flesh so deep they regret ever learning your name!"

"Just... just kill me..."

Brian’s voice was barely a whisper.

"I don’t want to live anymore. I can’t... I can’t..."

Damian’s hand shot out, grabbed Brian’s hair, yanked his head back.

Then his voice shifted, becoming suddenly calm and conversational, which somehow made it more terrifying.

"SFD officers’ families are always under threat, right? That’s why your department has protocols. Hidden identities and protected information. Security measures to prevent exactly this kind of targeting."

Brian’s eyes showed the first spark of something other than grief.

"You’re someone high-ranking enough to be sent after Shadow Council directly. Someone important enough that your personal information would be classified at the highest levels. Especially family details."

Damian’s crimson eyes bored into Brian’s.

"So think, Brian. Think carefully. Shadow Council found your family’s location. Found out where they lived. Got past all the security protocols that should have protected them."

The spark in Brian’s eyes grew brighter, horror mixing with dawning realization.

"But you, despite having access to SFD resources and intelligence networks, haven’t found Shadow Council’s hideouts or leadership. Strange, isn’t it?"

Damian’s voice dropped to barely above a whisper.

"You gave years to justice. Years to serving the Federation. Years to believing the system worked. So tell me, Brian... do you really think Shadow Council could have found your family if one of your higher-ups didn’t give them the information?"

The change was immediate and dramatic.

Brian’s dead eyes suddenly blazed with fury, with hatred so intense it made him shake.

"Yes... yes, how could they have found them? The security was perfect! The protocols were followed! Someone had to have..."

His voice rose to a scream.

"THEY WERE FUCKING RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS! MY OWN ORGANIZATION! PEOPLE I TRUSTED! I’LL KILL THEM! I’LL KILL THOSE FUCKING BASTARDS!"

He lunged forward, his movements wild and uncontrolled, rage overwhelming everything.

SLAP.

Damian’s hand caught Brian across the face with enough force to send the man flying out through the open door into the rain.

Brian hit the wet ground hard, sliding several feet before stopping.

Damian was on him immediately, grabbing him, slapping him again and again, each strike calculated to shock rather than seriously injure.

"CONTROL YOURSELF!"

Another slap.

"BLIND RAGE GETS YOU KILLED!"

Another.

"YOU WANT VENGEANCE? THEN BE SMART ABOUT IT!"

He kept hitting Brian, forcing the man’s frenzied anger to break against the physical reality of the impacts, until gradually the manic energy faded and something approaching rationality returned to Brian’s eyes.

Only then did Damian stop, his hand raised for another strike but holding position.

Rain poured down on both of them, washing blood from their clothes, turning the ground beneath them into mud.

Damian’s expression was completely cold, showing none of the friendship they’d shared just minutes ago.

"If you’ve gained some clarity now, understand how stupid your idea was. Going after your superiors in that state would have gotten you killed or imprisoned, and your family’s deaths would have been for nothing."

He released Brian, letting the man slump to the ground.