Code Zulu Alpha: Nerd in the Apocalypse!

The whole place had never been so quiet and everyone had to double-take just to make sure that they heard things correctly. Everyone knew that killing someone inside Mr. Cuervo's residence—especially a head—would grant the perpetrator the same fate and no one was stupid enough to break that rule.

It's just that someone actually did and everything just ground to a halt.

And to make things clear or a little meta, I didn't order such an assassination or anything of the sort because our plan didn't involve something like this at all. With this happening, I didn't even know if we could still go through with the plan because it changed a lot of things significantly.

With that said, Mr. Cuervo had already given the order to make everyone on the viewing platforms stay put—especially the Castillo Family—while his security suddenly tripled in presence. Most people were surprised to see a lot of the same people carrying high-powered rifles though some were more concerned to get to the bottom of things.

If I remember things right—which I always would—Mr. Castillo left his seat when one of his family members, Castro, was escorted back to their cells when Mr. Cuervo concluded one of his games. Granted I wasn't particularly tracking his movements, but I was certain that he was away for a while and he probably visited his grandson.

'He wouldn't… right?'

At this point, the huge screen had now several sections that displayed footage from all the security cameras placed all over though one of them got picked and displayed in full view.

'No way…'

At this moment, this grandson of his was now bound by ropes, filled with bruises, and being dragged onto the stage by Zack—one of the participants from the same game earlier though he looked like he was just waiting for Mr. Cuervo's signal to snap his neck.

I didn't notice that he had also sustained some wounds but to everyone's surprise, Benjie had already bridged the distance and he was aiming for Castro.

Benjie's eyes were bloodshot and the killing intent he was emitting was reaching even the people on the viewing platforms. The air must've been heavier in Benjie's general vicinity but another surge just suddenly stopped him in his tracks.

'There it is…'

All of a sudden, Mr. Cuervo's presence just suddenly doubled and Benjie's killing intent almost instantly wavered. Mr. Cuervo wasn't necessarily releasing copious amounts of killing intent—though it was still greatly present—but it was something intangible only a person of his standing could possess.

[Hold on now, Benjie… we don't know the full story—]

[THE FULL STORY?! ISN'T IT ALREADY CLEAR?! HE KILLED HIM! HE DEFINITELY KILLED HIM!]

[I know that he did but—]

[THEN WHY IS HE STILL BREATHING?! YOU—]

[Let me finish… It's more complicated than we thought…]

Benjie had never looked so confused because the one simple rule to not kill was broken and capital punishment should've been given the moment the sin had happened. Rather than seeing Casto dead with a hole in his head dripping blood and brain matter, he was just beaten up, bound, and brought to everyone present.

However, it didn't take long before the footage from when Mr. Castillo visited Castro was shown on screen.

It showed Mr. Castillo with a set of keys and he unlocked the cell Castro was put in along with his handcuffs and legcuffs. Furthermore, he even gave him some food and water but Castro didn't touch or even look at them.

Casto just sat there in dead silence, wondering about the actions of his grandfather that suddenly paid him a visit.

The whole place was quiet when Mr. Castillo's voice was heard from the speakers.

[Castro, my grandchild… I… I don't know the words to say to you right now but I'm sorry for putting you through this… Sending you to this place… You… I can't… You should know how difficult this is for me…]

[...]

[I thought of it for how many times… Many times that I asked myself as to what I should've done better to avoid that… that incident… I know I can't turn back time but there were many sleepless nights that I've—]

[Hah! What YOU should've done?! You've done nothing from the first place! I— that's so rich coming from you… If this is your sorry attempt to feel good about yourself, don't. It's all your fault I lost everything and there's nothing you can say to change my mind.]

[I didn't think—]

[THINK WHAT?! THAT YOUR DAUGHTER— MY MOM IS FUCKED IN THE HEAD?! THAT IT RUNS IN THE WHOLE FUCKING FAMILY?! I ALREADY GAVE YOU THE FAVOR OF KILLING HER IN HER SLEEP AND—]

[YOU HAD NO FUCKING RIGHT TO DO THAT! NO FUCKING RIGHT!]

[Wow! I didn't know you had it in you, gramps! No fucking right? NO FUCKING RIGHT?! WHO ASKED HER AND MY SISTERS TO DRUG MY— you fucking pieces of shit… WHO ASKED THEM TO DRUG MY GIRLFRIEND AND TURN HER INTO A PIECE OF 'ART'?! She's… C-Casey… SHE'S FUCKING PREGNANT, YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE! YOU LET THEM DISSECT HER PIECE BY PIECE FOR WHAT?! THEY'RE TOO INTIMIDATED BY HER?! IS THAT IT?! OR DO THEY NOT HAVE ANYTHING ELSE TO DO?! WHAT IS IT?!]

[Castro…]

[FUCKING ANSWER ME!]

[Castro… your mother… your mother—]

[SHE'S NOT MY FUCKING MOM!]

[Your mother… and your sisters… had nothing to do with it…]

[WHAT ARE YOU FUCKING TALKING ABOUT—]

[Castro… that was all you… you… you did all of that…]

[YOU— What? I… I did what?]

[You… You were the one who drugged your lover, made her overdose because you gave her too much, and to remove all sorts of evidence… you chopped her up into pieces with your unborn child… We could've easily made her disappear with our influence but you thought everyone was gonna rat on you… You got to paranoid to the point that when your mom and your sisters knew about it… you… you tried to silence them…]

[No… you're fucking lying… t-that's not how it goes! THAT'S NOT HOW IT GOES!]

[Would I dare lie to you right now? Castro… I love you just as much as your parents would and I need you to snap out of it so you we can all go home…]

[Home?]

[Yes… home…]

[N-N-No… You're fucking lying… YOU'RE FUCKING LYING! THIS IS WHAT YOU DO! YOU TELL EVERYONE LIES AND THEY JUST BELIEVE YOU! YOU'RE FUCKING LYING TO ME!]

[I'm telling the truth Castro… Please, listen to me…]

[N-N-NO! I'M NOT GONNA BELIEVE A SINGLE WORD YOU SAY! YOU'RE FUCKING LYING TO ME! YOU ALWAYS LIE TO ME! YOU'LL SEE! EVERYONE WILL SEE HOW MUCH OF A FUCKING LIAR YOU ARE ONCE I LEAVE THIS PLACE! ALL I NEED TO DO IS FIND SOMEWAY TO GET OUT AND I'LL EXPOSE YOU! That's right… I'LL FUCKING EXPOSE YOU! YOU LYING SACK OF SHIT! I'LL FUCKING EXPOSE YOU TO EVERYONE—]

I was having a hard time listening to their exchange but once I was almost convinced that Castro was in fact losing his mind, that happened.

Mr. Castillo's face just turned dark—the complete opposite of the serene, caring, and gentle expression he was wearing the whole time. And after that, he just let out this blood-curdling smile before he crouched down and looked Castro in the eye.

[Heh… Hahaha… HAHAHA! You? Expose me? Who would believe you though? Your sisters? You tried to kill them, remember? Benjie? That boy? He'd listen to everything I say. Who else? Your dad? Your girlfriend? Who? Anyone that got your back is already dead! YOU'RE FUCKING ALONE, YOU'RE DONE! I DOUBT YOU'D EVEN SURVIVE THIS NIGHT! LEMME TELL YOU AGAIN, YOU'RE FUCKING DONE! DONE! NO ONE'S GONNA BELIEVE YOU! NO ONE'S GONNA—]

Mr. Castillo was still in mid-sentence when Castro just lunged at him and bit off a huge chunk from his neck. He was still in the middle of looking shocked when he started gurgling his blood but Castro started to smash his head on the floor over and over.

Castro's face had only one emotion and it was wrath.

His face had contorted to the point he was shaking all over but tears were falling from his face as he was wailing. He looked like he was in so much pain and the sudden realization just released all of his pent-up anger in one stroke.

With that said, the commotion attracted the guards who were in charge of watching them, and they were caught in the crossfire.

Three guards had already died while two were critical when Zack happened to pass by—a new chick in tow—and pin him down after receiving a few blows that weren't even intended for him. Castro just let loose and Mr. Castillo was just too dead to receive any more of it. His size played a huge role but Castro being at his breaking point was the deciding factor.

Zack didn't know what to do after that so he tried to call Mr. Cuervo who was at the time still unaware of what had just transpired.

At this point in time, the whole place was just too fucking quiet and the footage we just watched was barely sinking in. However, the one most affected by it was Benjie because he suddenly turned pale before he vomited on the spot.

The copious amount of killing intent he released earlier disappeared quickly and he looked like he was losing his mind.

Then Mr. Cuervo spoke up once more with a solemn expression.

[I told you it was a little complicated, no?]