"N-no. No third option. I'll select!" Adam let out, taken aback. The explanation sounded scarier.
'If I select one of the two bottles, I have at least a fifty percent chance of survival if I'm lucky. But if I don't choose, he'll throw me off the building. That's a hundred percent death from this height. I can't take that risk. But which one to choose?'
He looked at each of the bottles, wondering which one to select. Both bottles looked the same. And they weren't see-through bottles. He couldn't see the color of the liquid inside them.
He couldn't make an educated guess. He could only go in blindly.
"You only have thirty seconds left. Select fast." Lucifer reminded the man, looking at the wall clock.
"Ten seconds."
"Six seconds."
Adam started sweating as Lucifer began the countdown. He still didn't know which one to select.
"Two seconds."
"I select the right one." At the last moment, he told his choice.
"This one?" Lucifer picked up the bottle on the right of Adam.
Adam nodded his head, still having second thoughts.
"Open your mouth and make sure to drink it all." Lucifer opened the cap of the bottle.
Adam opened his mouth, praying to gods that this was the bottle with the medicine and not the poison.
Lucifer poured the liquid inside the mouth of Adam, who drank it, having no choice.
As the small bottle became empty, Lucifer placed it on the side.
Time kept trickling away as Adam waited for the effects. He couldn't see any even as five minutes passed.
"Hmm? It seems like you were lucky. You chose the medicine," Lucifer let out, sighing. "I was really hoping that you'll pick the poison."
Hearing the words of Lucifer, Adam took a sigh of relief. He actually managed to survive.
"You're free to leave. Get out of this place and go back to your home. I'll send a person there to help you heal your hands," Lucifer told Adam, getting up.
He walked to the door and opened it for Adam. "Next time, don't poison anyone."
"I won't! I swear!" Adam exclaimed as he hastily stood up and started leaving. He left the room, walking freely. No one stopped him.
Standing back, Salazar also watched Adam leave happily. He couldn't understand why Lucifer did that.
"Are you really letting him go free just like that? He poisoned Zale! I don't understand your decision. Why didn't you just kill him?"
"Do you really think I'd have let that bastard go free?" Lucifer asked, shaking his head.
With his hands in his pocket, he started walking away.
"Are you going to stop him?" Salazar asked, following Lucifer.
"Why would I? He died the moment he drank from that bottle," Lucifer replied, shaking his head.
"You mean that bottle contained poison?" Salazar asked, stunned.
"Not just that bottle. Both of them contained the poison. It takes effect a bit late," Lucifer explained.
"This... You never actually gave him a choice? You just made him think he had a chance of survival?"
"I can never let the killer of my parents live. I just wanted him to suffer the same way my parents did."
"Why did you tell him that he drank the medicine then?"
"It's actually very simple. He poisoned the water of the entire team of my parents. They probably didn't know they were poisoned until it kicked in. I want him to go through the same," Lucifer explained.
"I want him to think that he escaped death. I want him to believe he survived. I want him to make plans for the future, think about what he's going to do next after getting out of here. I want him to have life until the moment it's painfully snatched from him."
...
Adam used the stairs to go down. He was extremely happy that he was able to survive. Even though he lost his hand in the process, he gained life. At least that's what he thought.
Only three minutes had passed when he started feeling something strange. His heart had started beating rapidly. A strange tingling sensation spread all over his body. Even his face was suffering this strange tingling.
He started feeling extremely tired. Even his legs were shaking. He couldn't walk anymore. With the support of the wall, he sat on the stairs, feeling his chest thumping.
His whole body started sweating as his breathing became rapid. He also felt like he was having difficulty breathing.
His legs also started swelling as they turned blue.
Within seconds, he lost control of his toes. Soon, his legs stopped listening to him. He couldn't move his feet at all. Even his neck became rigid, not moving at all. His face started twisting weirdly.
Breathing was getting more and more difficult for him. Tears came out of his eyes, unable to do anything. He felt like he was dying, but it was so painful yet so slow.
Soon, blood started coming out of his eyes, nose, and mouth. His skin started rotting, all while he was still alive. At this point, he wanted to die fast, but even death wasn't coming fast. It was torture.
He had already realized that he hadn't picked the medicine. Instead, he had chosen the poison, filling him with extreme regret.
He couldn't help but think if it was karma coming back at him for poisoning the people who trusted him?
His stomach started bloating, making him feel like he was going to blow up. His eyes also started swelling, turning pitch black. He had already lost his vision. Everything was already black for him.
The torture lasted for thirty minutes before finally, the sweet death came to him, putting him out of his misery.
An unmoving body fell on the stairs, dead.
...
"Kellian, I think a body should be lying on the stairs. Can you tell someone to clean it up?" Lucifer asked Kellian over the phone before entering the lift, which took him to the floor where his office was.
He entered his office, accompanied by Salazar.
Lucifer sat on his chair while Salazar sat on the other side of the table in front of him.
"Alright, Salazar. I have some work for you. Since you'll be getting my revenge, I think you'll be perfect for it."
"What work?" Salazar asked.
"I want you to accompany me to a place," Lucifer said, opening his drawer.
"Which place?" Salazar asked.
Lucifer brought a file out of his drawer and placed that before Salazar. "This place."
Salazar opened the file and read the name on the first page, which was written in bold letters.