The Black Market King

Chapter 11 [A glimpse from the past] Part 4 - Agony

The rain continued to pour as the deer walked silently alongside the dirt road. He left his brother after their discussion regarding the market. His fur, his suit was soaked once again. His shoes squeaked every step.

He always glanced behind him, making sure no one was following him or stalking in the woods. Hellfire offered him a lift, but Ray somehow decided to decline. He wanted to be alone while going to his destination.

Ever since Hellfire brought him to that cell, he began to favor silence and peace.

A few cars passed by, some ran over a puddle, splashing a little on Ray's already-dirty suit.

He turned to another road and continued to walk straight until he saw the place he was looking for, Augustine's mansion. It was slightly bigger than Hellfire's and more... old looking. As if the place was passed down to Augustine for generations. Still, unlike Ray, Augustine had a place to stay.

He stood in front of the tall iron gates before glancing around. Similar to Kananosuke's mansion, there was a button on one of the stone pillars. He pressed it and waited for someone to speak.

"State your visit.", asked the person from the other side.

"It's me. Ray.", he said. He didn't hear anything from it after, aside from the loud buzzer and the gates unlocking.

He wiped his face that was still stained with his own blood. His head looked rounder than it used to be. Despite the condition of his suit, Ray still straightened and fixed his overall appearance as he approached the front doors.

A cheetah butler greeted him and led him to what appeared to be Augustine's office.

"Augustine will be with you momentarily.", said the butler.

Once the door was closed, Ray moved from his post and looked around, admiring the decorations. Aside from the rain tapping on the windows, Ray could hear himself still dripping, making a path of water behind him.

With that, he walked carefully, while touching some objects. He stayed in the silent office for a long time, so long that his suit had become slightly dry.

"Tch!", Ray glanced at the grandfather clock before storming out.

After strolling half-around the mansion, he finally found the lion. Augustine was standing in front of a statue of two other lions, under the rain, with an umbrella. Ray stood before the wet atmosphere for a few more minutes, analyzing the sight.

Augustine's ears twitched upon the sounds of someone walking on the wet grass. He looked over his shoulder, seeing a part of the deer who he assumed to come here to apologize.

"What do you want?", he growled.

"You know it wasn't me who caused it.", said Ray, standing behind him at a distance, in case the carnivore jumped on him.

"Bullshit.", Augustine bared his sharp teeth.

"I can prove it to you."

"Shut up!", ordered the carnivore, shifting his gaze back to the statue.

Ray's eyes widened for a second before noticing the clearer picture of the stone. He prevented himself to shiver as the weather became harsher. He kept his teeth pressed on one another to prevent them from chattering.

"I assume those are your parents?"

"The parents I promised to make them proud someday. I was so close until you showed up.", Augustine grasped the umbrella tighter.

Ray looked down, "Like I've said... you should've killed me when you had the chance."

Right after, Ray began to hear the lion growling loudly. He took a step back when Augustine threw the umbrella at him. Ray dodged the pointy tip of the umbrella before getting tackled to the ground.