The Show

"Oof... Ow... Mmmm... Oh..."

Malcom was commenting loudly as the sinners fought to grab ahold of one of the tools laying at the center of the grounds, treating their struggle as if it was a show.

The left and right arms by his side had the usual expressionless face, but if one were to look closer one could see the slight teasing look in their eyes.

Ethan's mother and May's mother were betting on who will be the last one standing, while the last mistress was looking at the scene with a boring look.

...

Bright had finally finished his lunch and was now paying more attention to the scene in front of him.

He saw a large, pudgy man holding a fork, pinning a woman on the floor, trying to stab her in the neck, only to be slashed on the back by a skinny man holding a knife.

The woman who had been saved by the skinny man drove a screwdriver she hid under her dress into the eye of the skinny man as he got closer to help her up.

On another side, two women were pulling and strangling each other, wrestling on the floor as their dress and makeup were starting to become a mess. As more skin was being shown during the catfight, Malcom began whistling, cheering them on. Obviously, to the displeasure of his few mistresses.

...

In the middle of the grounds, two men were confronting each other, both with a weapon in hand. A large muscular man was holding a bat, while a shorter, less muscular man was holding a hammer.

They stared at each other's eyes, reflecting a multitude of complex emotions.

They were brothers, who had each other's back during many close encounters. Each had saved the other life. But fate was cruel to them, greed led them astray.

The muscular man was more successful and thus was one of those aides that were originally on the stage, the other was not so successful, resulting in him turning to sell drugs, trying to catch up to his brother.

His brother, who had realized this fact, had turned a blind eye to this, despite knowing that it was against Vladimir's Words.

Now, they find themselves face to face as a result of their sin, a result of their brotherly love towards each other.

This begs the question, is love a sin? If you are willing to do anything immoral for love, are you a sinner? Perhaps we will never know the true answer but in the eyes of the Vladimirs, if you go against their Words, you have undoubtedly sinned.

Sinners, be damned.

...

As the fighting around the center died down, and everyone else is either dead or bleeding out, two brothers were panting heavily as blood dripped from their wounds, cause not by each other but by protecting each other once again just like how they always had.

But this time, they knew. Only one of them will survive.

Their grip on their weapon trembled slightly, but their will to survive had triumphed even brotherly love. For at the end of the day, only you yourself matter.

It is time for the show to come to a close.

...

"Oh... What a pity..." Malcom sighed under his breath as he stared at the two figures in the middle.

Hearing this, Bright eyebrows twitched, clearly knowing what his father truly meant by that.

'Asshole.' Bright thought to himself.

...

The older brother was the first to strike, taking a large breath of air he lunges at his little brother, aiming his bat at the temple of his brother's head.

The sudden force of the bat displaced so much air that a loud sound could be heard, warning the little brother of the incoming danger.

With little time to dodge, the little brother skillfully leaped backward and followed up with a swing of his own.

With a foot forward, he steps into the range of his big brother and swung his hammer as hard as he could toward the face of his only living relative.

The big brother, with many years of combat experience under his belt, quickly intercepts it with his left hand, forcefully grabbing the forearm of his little brother and pulling him down towards the bat he had swung yet again from the resulting position of his previous strike.

The downward pull and upward swing of the bat resulted in heavy damage to the little brother as he staggered back with a dazed look, clearly the aftermath of such a devastating strike.

At the final moment, the older brother hesitated. All the memories of when they were young flashed into his mind, the times when they shared a piece of hard bread, the times when he carried his weak little brother through the rain and mud just to get him to the doctor.

His lips quivered, as his internal struggle was clearly shown on his face.

He could not do it, he did not have it in him to kill his brother he loved so dearly. The same brother he had raised, ever since their parents had passed away when they were only 6 and 10 respectively.

Tears began welling up in his eyes, blurring his vision. He had decided. He would give up his life for this younger brother of his.

He raises his head and looks straight into the eyes of the man he was once and still is loyal to.

"I give u-"

Bam!

His brain matters scattered towards the direction of the Lord as the hammer of his younger brother lodged itself into his now cracked skull.

...

As he was contemplating whether to end his brother's life, the little brother unknowingly staggered in front of his big brother, and in a fit of desperation swung the hammer as hard as he could toward him.

Looking at his now dead brother, the little brother crumbled to the ground, tears start flowing from his eyes as he too remembered every moment they had spent with each other.

Then he suddenly realized something, and all these memories were swept away by a feeling of relief.

He started laughing loudly, screaming at the top of his lungs, "I won! Hahaha! I lived! I lived! I lived..."

It was only after he had run out of saliva and started choking did he stop his display.

...

The little brother was still in reverie at being alive when he heard footsteps closing in on him from the stage.

He dazedly looked toward the man who was the cause of all this, not in hate but in hope. Hoping that he would keep his word in front of so many people.

Malcom stopped in front of the young man, took out a pure white silk handkerchief, and threw it in from of him.

The handkerchief landed beside the dead older brother's corpse, which due to the force of the hammer, had landed in front of the stage.

"Pick it up and clean your face, young man," Malcom said in a deep voice.

His eyes were cold as he stared at the young man, crawling frantically to the only unblemished thing on the execution grounds besides Malcom himself of course.

After a while, the once-white handkerchief was now stained with dirt, sweat, blood, and other stuff. As if reflecting the soul of the young man who had used them just moments before.

"Young man. You have survived, and therefore you are pardoned of all sins you have committed before the execution."

"Thank you Sir! I -"

Before the young man could offer his thanks, Malcom once again spoke, in a louder voice this time.

"However! You have committed a sin far worst than the one you have been convicted of. The Sin of Betrayal! You, foul creature, had slaughtered your own kin! In front of MY FUCKING FACE! HOW DARE YOU!"

Bang!

Without giving the little brother time to respond, Malcom took out his antic revolver and shot the young man in the forehead.

...

...

Malcom stood in front of the young man's corpse, who was now in a kneeling position, his head faced up, a drop of tear slowly rolling down his face.

"Repent in hell."

Malcom turned back to look at the shocked crowd.

He scanned every single one of their faces, stopping once again on his youngest son. With a sigh of helplessness and a bit of pride, he walked off the grounds.

For He, Bright Vladimir, the youngest son, had been the only one who returned his father's piercing gaze, albeit with a tired one.

For He, had engraved the Word, into his soul, and Bear its weight.

For He, shall be the Rightful Heir, Next Lord, and Bearer of the Word.