"But I will be the one to kill him!"
Christian declared, having no intention of conceding on this matter.
But as if she had been waiting for this very moment, Annabelle smiled at her brother, meeting his rebellious gaze head-on, and with a soft, almost amused expression, she said, "Really now?"
Then, before Christian could react—
Annabelle didn't hesitate, and pulled the trigger.
The bullet found its mark cleanly, piercing Damian right between the eyebrows, ending his pathetic life in an instant.
Had her brother continued arguing about how he didn't want to kill Damian immediately, she would have naturally taken a different approach. But since it was already an established fact that he was going to die here and now, Annabelle saw no reason to waste any more time on the matter.
She could always argue with Christian about it later… on the way back.
Everything happened so quickly that Christian, his eyes widened in shock, parted his lips slightly but found it difficult to form any words.
He turned his head stiffly to the side, his gaze landing on Nina.
She didn't even bat an eye.
Even though Annabelle could have possibly aimed wrong. Even though the bullet could have hit her instead.
Yet, she remained utterly unfazed.
Christian watched as Nina, who had kept Damian pinned underfoot, finally lifting her leg and stepping away from his lifeless body. Without a hint of hesitation, she started walking toward him, her expression as unreadable as ever.
Then, shifting his gaze back to his sister, he saw that Annabelle had already started walking away.
"Okay, now that he's finally dead, let's go," she said casually.
Christian remained standing still.
'Did I talk too much?'
'Should I have just pulled the trigger without waiting for her answer?'
'Should I have not considered her opinion… or her feelings and just shot him myself?'
These thoughts swirled in his mind as he watched Annabelle, unfazed as ever, return with the car they had prepared earlier. It had been left some distance away, slightly hidden, ready for their escape.
Then, as he saw Annabelle wave her hand, gesturing for him to get into the car, Christian finally let out a weary, exhausted sigh.
But instead of heading toward the car, he turned and walked toward Damian's corpse.
He had read too many stories where some insignificant character, thought to be dead, somehow came back to life later. And he wasn't about to let something like that happen here.
He didn't want Damian to resurface in his life… months, years, or even decades later, only to become something along the line of his final opponent.
So, suppressing the disgust that crept up inside him at the sight of the corpse, he crouched down and carefully checked.
Damian's eyes were still open, frozen in a vacant gaze of fear and horror.
Christian ignored them.
He focused only on confirming the kill.
Once satisfied, he straightened up, ready to walk away… or so he intended.
But his feet didn't move.
Something inside him refused to let it end just yet.
He hesitated, then turned back, giving Damian's lifeless body another long stare.
A moment later, his hand moved instinctively.
He pulled out his pistol.
The deafening sound of gunshot echoed through the empty space, with the pullet piercing Damian's head once again, sending a brief, jerking tremor through his lifeless body.
But Christian wasn't done… One shot wasn't enough.
His second, third, and fourth bullets tore through Damian's body.
He didn't stop at just the head.
He aimed at the heart.
Every possible place.
And finally, silence reigned, along with the deformed body of Damian in front of him. The smell of burnt gunpowder, mixed with the faint, metallic scent of blood, filled the place.
Strangely, he felt compelled to be absolutely sure… perhaps because of the presence of essence and that special technique. Who knew? With the Infinitel company's growing influence, maybe nothing would shock him anymore… not even something as absurd as resurrection.
… Okay, maybe he was going too far. He doubted it, actually. Especially Vincent Quinn; what could he possibly do for a son he didn't care about? A son he deemed useless, as it seemed?
Either way, Christian felt more at ease now.
He had gained peace of mind with this.
… Even if it was short-lived, as he was still reminded of what his sister had done.
With mixed feelings, Christian finally climbed back into the car with his sister beside him. Annabelle looked at him strangely, clearly not understanding the meaning behind his actions. Christian returned her gaze, feeling as though her stare could burn a hole right through him. Unable to harden himself any further, he eventually broke the silence. His cheeks flushed slightly as he raised his voice a bit and said, "I just made sure he was dead."
"Didn't you check if he was dead first? And was it really necessary to use that many bullets?" Annabelle asked.
Christian offered a few more excuses until Annabelle finally decided to drop the subject and began treating his bruises.
As Nina continued driving, Christian drifted into a daze on the way back, still unable to accept how everything had taken such an unexpected turn… leaving him with the empty feeling of having achieved exactly what he set out to do.
… But, it still didn't feel right.
Christian glanced at his sister, who was now humming while tending to his wounds, and couldn't help but wonder what she was so happy about.
So, as time passed and they neared the airport, Christian, still bare-chested as she just finished treating his bruises, found himself unable to hold back any longer. Narrowing his eyes, he finally asked, "Why are you this happy now?"
Annabelle, noticing that his injuries were much lighter than she had initially thought, looked at him and bluntly replied, "Should I be sad instead?"
Christian's expression darkened further. He had been holding back, but now he could no longer suppress his frustration.
'I mean, I'm a lot more injured than before, and then you went ahead and shot Damian without even considering my thoughts. What about that?' he grumbled inwardly before voicing his complaint directly.
"Why didn't you listen to me properly before dealing with Damian on your own?"