C2 The Ruthless Herdsman

Mr. Dunni wanted nothing more than to escape from this demon's clutches, regrettably, he was bound by chains and could only make small movements.

“Demon, you evil witch! D…d…devil! Let me go, you bitch! G…get that thing away from me! Abeg wetin you wan make I do( please, what do you want me to do)? Ehn? I have money….uhh….money and…and I can work for you. Yes! You don't have any subordinates, right?! I can be your subordinate. I fit work for you(I can work for you). Furthermore, I have tons of experience. Just release me. Please boss, éjo(please)…."

Dunni was so terror-stricken that he switched from one language to the other. From English to pidgin and then Yoruba. The young lady even felt that if she allowed him to continue talking, he would speak in a few more languages. Alas, she had grown fed up with his endless chatter.

“That's enough. Save your breath, I work alone. Even if that weren't the case, there's no way I'd hire a cripple. Tsk, just look at you, unable to walk, and you even lost an arm. You couldn't even take care of yourself. Sigh…such a pity."

Dunni: 'and whose fault is that? You did this to me!'

Although he felt indignant, he didn't dare say this out. Instead, he hid his cowardice by resorting to glaring at the lady with hate filled eyes.

“Looking at me so intently, could you have fallen for me? I'm flattered, but I can't return your feelings. After all, you are a sinner and I don't mix work with pleasure. A relationship between us is impossible. Not to mention…”

Scrunching her face in disgust, she said;

“How ugly you are.”

Dunni: You went around in circles only to call me ugly!

He felt attacked but couldn't do anything in this state. Apart from anger at her words, he also felt despair. Even though he knew she would disagree, he still hoped she would take him in as an underling. At least that way, he would stay alive. Now, however, her words had thoroughly, extinguished the faint hope in his heart.

As he was hit by endless waves of despair, Mr. Dunni thought back to how he had gotten into this situation.

Dunni had fought countless battles. He had braved storms of bullets and always managed to come out alive. In his youth, he joined a terrorist group due to peer pressure and to make quick money. The sick delight he received from killing was also a major reason for his decision. He spent many years in the organization, and as the time he spent in the group increased, so did his number of victims. To him, human lives were worthless and were only useful for the money he received plus the satisfaction murder gave him. This was his own sinful pleasure.

Rising from the lower ridges, he made his way up to the upper echelon and became the third in command in the organization, leaving a massive pile of corpses in his wake. He only had two people above him, and he was dubbed the Ruthless Herdsman. A name that was infamous and highly feared by the multitude.

But regardless of his infamous reputation, the Ruthless Herdsman, who killed for the mere fun of it, was currently being tortured, toyed and hung in the air like a piece of meat. He had faced bullets and bombs head on but not once, had he ever felt as close to death as this moment.

The scrawny looking lady in front of him was a nightmare he wouldn't even wish his enemy would have.

This misfortune began just a few hours ago. He had led his men to carry out a small-scale operation in a supermarket. It was meant to be a walk in a park, and it was. It was a Saturday morning when seven of them, armed to the teeth, opened fire on the shoppers in the supermarket. At the time, he enjoyed the people's screams of terror and panic. Watching them run helter skelter looking for shelter, only to end up killed by the rain of bullets, brought him a twisted kind of joy.

After the operation, he left with his men to celebrate. It was during his boisterous merrymaking that the girl arrived in the room he and his men were in. At first, he thought she was a little young and green, but quickly cast that thought aside. After all, he had had younger. He concluded that his boss was happy with his work and thus decided to reward him with a beauty. It wasn't strange as, there were a few girls present with whom he engaged in ribald enjoyment. Not once did he think his hideout had been infiltrated.

Before he could react, however, the room became covered in white smoke and the last thing he saw was the beauty standing in the middle of the room with a smile on her face.

Awakened to the screams of his men, he watched each one of them die gruesomely. Each of their deaths was more creative and cruel than the last. Now it was his turn, and every fiber of his being dreaded what this mad woman had planned to do to him.

The sinner had finally gone quiet, much to her respite. She then said, in a somewhat playful manner;

“If you have nothing else to say, I'll continue kay?~ Don't move, alright. I still need to rest. This job is pretty tiring you know.”

Instantaneously, she made a straight cut on Dunni's neck when she stopped speaking. With a more expressive smile on her face, she didn't look as cold as before.

She, however, paused her actions because Mr. Dunni was screeching and squealing like a pig getting slaughtered. The sound was quite deafening. And even though she had restricted his movements, his violent fidgeting still made her job burdensome.

“Mr. Dunni, why are you shaking so much? You're making this harder than it should be. Sigh…tell you what, since you seem so sincere, I'll let you stay with me.”

Hearing this, Dunni's eyes widened, and his heart started to beat erratically.

'Did I hear correctly? Will she really spare me?'

The cut on his neck didn't seem to hurt anymore. He had been drowning in despair yet, at this moment, he seemed to have seen a piece of wood, no! A boat that would save him!

“Thank y…” He began in a hoarse voice, but she cut him off abruptly before he could finish. Her words made him freeze in place and caused a chill to spread round his body.

With a relatively clean finger, she tapped her chin and said;

“Previously, I only wanted your pharynx. You know, to take as a memento. But, seeing you so desperate, ah look at those teary eyes, I guess I could make an exception and… take your hmm, outer shell. Ah, don't look at me like that…. I don't usually do this but this way you can be with me right? What do you think? I'm very understanding. This way, “you” can remain with me while I also complete my mission~”

At this point, Dunni could no longer control himself.

“What?! That's not w…what I meant! Go away….ahhhh!”

After tearing off his clothes, there was no more hindrance. She made a line with her scalpel from the top of his head, along the middle of his forehead and down, drawing blood with every cut. She ignored his resistance this time, and tightened his shackles. Eventually, she found his screams unpleasant, so she stuffed his mouth with a piece of his dirty cloth.

“Hush now, don't tire yourself out. Why can't you behave ehn? You're making my work more difficult.”

“Mmph!...ugh!" Dunni was now gagged and his screams were muffled still, it was distressing to listen to. He was being skinned alive, the pain was unimaginable, and he could feel every cut she made on his body. This process was exceedingly tortuous and painful, but he remained awake. It was a miracle that he hadn't passed out from the shock and pain. Remaining conscious in this situation, he didn't know if he was so strong mentally or if the lady had anything to do with it. Either way, it felt like a curse.

Aanu's hands were now covered in blood. They moved with precise ease. The kind that showed years of practice and experience. This kind of spine-chilling scene that would have had many quaking in their boots didn't seem to bother her in the least.

In this time, while she handled her product, she stated his crimes.

“Ojo Oluwadunni. Age, forty-three. Male. At the age of seventeen, you joined the terrorist group commonly known as Erujeje. In these twenty six-some years, you rose through the ranks and now hold the third-highest authority in the group. In over two decades, you have committed a considerable number of crimes. Arson, kidnapping, rape, terrorism, use of illegal weapons, organized crime and murder, among others. The number of victims, killed, injured and missing has come to a total of four hundred and six. That's an average of thirty-three people per year. You have brought great pain and grief to hundreds of people, so tell me…”

Separating the superficial fascia from the deep fascia, she asked him.

“Tell me, do you deserve to be punished? Answer me honestly.” She stabbed the tip of the scalpel into the exposed flesh, which caused him to jerk in reflex, then raised her head to look at him. With a phony smile, she stared him in the eye.

“Y…yes. I…I deserve to be punished. Forgive me!”

“Good boy… Don't ask me for forgiveness though. There's no bad blood between us. This grudge is between you and your victims. I'm only doing my job.”

Her hands moved at a moderate pace. Not too fast or slow. However, to Dunni, it felt like eons had passed.

“Who asked you to be a sinner? This is your karma. Tsk, a person who kills others should naturally expect to be killed. It's kinda like basic knowledge. Sinners need to be punished. As a punisher, penalizing you is my duty. If there's a next life be a good person okay~”

“Mmph!!!"

The muffled screams and lighthearted singing, accompanied by the sound of heavy rainfall and thunderclaps, when combined, it gave a ghastly feeling of apprehension.

While the ignorant people stayed in their peaceful homes to rest, a horrifying spectacle was taking place in the forest.