Seeing Raphael take the hammer and noticing the slightly mad glint in his eyes, the grain merchant, Holmes, had a sudden, terrible premonition, "Let me go! How much did Duke pay you? I'll pay double–"
Raphael, however, shook his head, saying, "We're not here for money."
Indeed, for him, such an operation was purely entertainment...
As he spoke, Raphael crouched down, aiming the hammer at Holmes' shin, "Relax. I'm quite familiar with bone density. I'll slowly shatter your leg bone, maximizing your experience of the pain."
Holmes struggled harder, "Triple! I'll pay triple! Help! Somebody HELP!"
Audrey noticed the madness in Raphael's gaze intensifying. She couldn't help but frown, considering whether she should help calm his frenzied thoughts.
But she quickly changed her mind. In this kidnapping incident, she was merely a Spectator. Her most important task was to carefully observe Raphael and then report her findings to Mr. Fool.
Meanwhile, Raphael's torment of the grain merchant continued. One of the henchmen pulled up Holmes' trouser leg.
Raphael held the hammer in one hand and, with the other, bent a finger to gently tap the shin bone, "This spot breaks most easily. One light swing should do it..." Then he changed his tone, "No, no, that'd be too easy on him. I think I should smash the kneecap instead. Heh, after breaking the kneecap, you'd have to extract the bone fragments piece by piece, and it'd be hard to fully recover..."
Not only did his gaze grow madder, but a deranged expression unique to lunatics gradually appeared on his face, "I still recommend the shinbone. Let it 'pop' through the muscle and skin, even exposing the marrow to the air..."
Like two doctors discussing a patient's condition, Raphael seemed to be debating with himself.
As for the unfortunate grain merchant, he had already been mentally tormented to the point of tears, "W-wait... Wait! Ten times! I'll pay ten times what Duke paid!"
Raphael looked somewhat displeased, "Don't be impatient... Ah, forget it. Since you're in such a hurry, let's go with the easiest-to-break shinbone then."
He found the spot and swung, not too lightly, not too heavily.
"Ahhh!" Holmes' eyes bulged as he screamed.
Raphael bent his finger again and tapped Holmes' shin, "Sorry, missed the critical spot. One more try."
As a 'Criminal', Raphael was proficient in various criminal methods, including killing techniques. Everyday tools could become weapons. So of course he hadn't missed, he was deliberately tormenting Holmes.
Carter and the others were already accustomed to their boss's torture methods.
Audrey also realized Raphael hadn't truly missed. Though she knew Holmes wasn't a good person, she now felt great sympathy for this grain merchant.
Immediately after, another scream from Holmes followed, "Ahhh! By the Lord of Storms above! Make this madman stop–"
Raphael, however, smiled with deranged glee, "Huh? Still not broken? One more try."
"Ahhh! Madman... you're a complete madman!" Holmes shouted in pain, drenched in sweat, his face full of terror.
But another hammer blow met him. His eyes were bloodshot, his voice already hoarse, "Ahhh!"
Raphael chuckled and said, "Thank you for the compliment."
Saying this, he handed the hammer to a subordinate. This time, Holmes' leg was truly broken.
Raphael took a deep breath, feeling the 'Lunatic' potion within him had been completely digested...
He then stood up, "Goodbye, Mr. Holmes. I hope you are satisfied with this... blessing. Hahaha~"
Amid loud laughter, Raphael removed Holmes' armband and turned to leave, Carter and his men following closely behind.
Audrey was also among the group. At this moment, she felt somewhat surprised because the madness in Raphael's eyes had vanished almost instantly, and the derangement on his face was replaced by an arrogant smile within a second.
This made her wonder: 'Is he genuinely mad or just pretending?'
...
In the carriage on the return journey, Raphael distributed the money from Holmes' wallet. Each participating subordinate received 10 pounds, and Carter 20 pounds.
Smiles spread across everyone's faces. For ordinary people, 10 pounds was already a considerable sum... {T/N: Roughly 1000 USD...}
Raphael also gave Audrey a 5-pound note, "As a newcomer who didn't help in your first operation, this is all you get."
Audrey imitated the others and smiled, "Thanks, Boss."
At this point, another Mafia grunt asked the question on Audrey's mind, "Boss, why didn't we just rob the money from his safe while we were at it?"
"We're not robbers," Raphael said, leaning against the seat and smoking, "And you shouldn't think of yourselves as robbers or hired thugs. That will only lead to your degradation!" He took a drag of his cigarette, wearing an arrogant smile, "Be a gang member with ideals. Make people respect us, not just fear us."
Apart from Carter and Audrey, the others didn't quite grasp Raphael's meaning, merely nodding in agreement.
Carter had long understood his boss's intentions.
Audrey appeared calm on the surface, but inwardly she thought: 'Gang members with ideals? Goodness, by the Goddess. Now even Backlund's gangs are talking about ideals?'
Raphael then handed Holmes' armband to the man who had asked the question, instructing him to deliver it to Logan (Holmes' friend who had set the trap for Duke) as a warning.
...
The carriage returned to the Mafia headquarters. Raphael brought Audrey back to the 'study' from before.
Taking advantage of the lack of visitors, he said to her, "Miss Hall, I think we should discuss the ransom."
Audrey was taken aback, "Ransom?"
"Of course," Raphael sat behind the desk, lighting another cigarette, "I hope you respect mine and Carter's efforts. We worked hard to kidnapped you. To regain your freedom, of course you must pay a ransom."
His potion was fully digested. The purpose of kidnapping her was achieved. Keeping this beautiful young lady around any longer would only cause major problems.
Audrey smiled and sat opposite him, "How much is the ransom?"
"A 'Werewolf' characteristic," Raphael said, taking a puff of his cigarette, "If you have no objections to such a ransom, then please write a letter to Earl Hall explaining the situation. I believe even if Earl Hall isn't a Beyonder, he should be able to obtain a Sequence 7 Beyonder characteristic relatively easily."
The price for such a characteristic would be around 1,200 pounds. For a noble of Earl Hall's status, such a ransom wasn't high.
Audrey pondered for a moment, feeling she had observed him sufficiently. She snapped her fingers before Raphael.
*Snap*
The hypnosis she had placed on him regarding several matters ended.
Raphael suddenly 'remembered' the kidnapping process... It was completely different from his original memory! She had actually gotten into the carriage herself!
Also, the lady who had spoken with him before the kidnapping was Miss Hall! He hadn't connected the two at all!
In that instant, Raphael's cigarette fell from his mouth in shock, "You're a Beyonder too?"
And a high-level one at that...
~~~
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