In the distance, a sound of an object hitting a wooden surface, banged loudly in the antiques store, followed by a shout.
"Old hag! It's already've been three months! This store is behind its cut!"
Frowning, Olive eyed the counter.
He saw a man wearing a black leather jacket, with a huge number of tattoos on his body, standing at the counter with hostile eyes directed at Miss Lilith. One of his hands was in his pocket, while the other was on the counter.
Why was he shouting at an elderly person? Does he have no shame?
Not only that, there was also a sense of hostility oozing out of the thug...
'A loan shark?'
Despite Olive's judgment, Miss Lilith's reaction to the loan shark's action was not what he had thought it would be.
"Cut? My oh my! I must have forgotten! Neil warned me about you, fellow. Forgive me, dear, these past few days have been busy for me! I barely remember what happened three days ago, let alone three months!"
She laughed, opening the cash registers. The loan shark, however, looked at her with contempt.
As the box slid open, revealing a handful of money inside, Miss Lilith took out a considerably amount of notes that the box held and handed them to the loan collector, her face shining an innocent smile.
The loan shark stared at Miss Lilith's face with great irk. Then, he shifted to the notes in her hand, took them, and counted them one by one.
Once he finished counting it, he scowled.
"Hey, this is not enough you know? Don't tell me this is all the money you got? Listen here granny..."
He said, while showing the money to Miss Lilith.
"Do you know how far we've gone to lend you that money you guys owe? We busted our ass off milking out most of the money from our vault just to lend it to you! Most of our staff were starving because of that! Do you have no sympathy? The least you can do is give us more than this!"
While the loan shark explained, Miss Lilith did not give him a response and just nodded, but when she heard the last part, though, she shook her head.
"I'm sorry dear, but this is all the money I can give you."
But he was not having it. Slamming the table, he asked:
"Don't give me that crap! Where's that old man?!"
"Old man?"
Somehow, Miss Lilith found the ceiling interesting to look at as she pondered the loan shark's question.
"If you are referring to Neil, then I'm sorry, he passed away months ago."
His eyes, the loan collector, widened a little.
"Passed away? Then... then who the hell are you?"
Chuckle escaped between her teeth and lips. Letting out a frail smile, she then introduced herself.
"I'm Lilith, why my dear boy? Judging by the way you take my news, I assume you are not aware of the changed ownership between me and that frail Neil. Worry not, worry not..."
She nodded.
"...if you must know, dear, Neil had left me this store in his will before passing, he's an old friend of mine. This store has been run by him, and his father before him, so it would be a shame if no one were to continue the legacy of his. I can't say that I am fully aware how I appear to be in his will, to be honest, but here I am!"
As the final words departed from her mouth, she gleamed a bright smile at the baffled money collector.
Meters away from there, Olive, also stood next to the shelf, frozen in place with an agape mouth.
'Miss! No thug gives a damn about that! You got a loanshark collecting your money for crying out loud!'
The thug, meanwhile, was still looking at Miss Lilith, his eyebrows raised.
"Err... okay... Weirdo"
Shaking his head, the loan collector insisted.
"That's not the point granny. I saw those stacks of money in your little box over here."
He pointed to the reception box on the counter.
"...don't tell me that this money is all you got to offer. Do you know how much this store owes us?"
Miss Lilith didn't answer, and so, the loan shark's collector continued.
"More than ten thousand dollars! Do you think we are made of money–"
"Ah! But I heard that you people often charged high interest to your clients illegally! So, wouldn't it be possible that Neil owed you less?"
'Miss Lilith..! That's not how you deal with them!'
Eyes twitching, the loan shark cracked his knuckles as he steadied himself.
"Fine... I tried to do it the nice way."
He pulled one of his hands out of his pockets and suddenly, pushed his torso toward the counter, leaning close against it... too close, in fact, to the point that he could see the other side if it were Olive.
Both people in the store, Miss Lilith and Olive, were dumbstruck before they could process what was happening before them.
For a heartbeat, time seemed to freeze.
And the only sound there was, were the sound of constant clanking coming up ahead from the counter.
And then, Miss Lilith screamed.
"Oooii! What do you think you're doing?! Put that back! You filthy rascal!"
Narrowing his eyes, Olive leaned his head forward and focused on where the loan shark collector's hands were.
And just like that, his eyes had gone from narrowed to wide in an instant. Pushing himself, Olive rushed at the loan shark as fast as he could possibly muster. The closer and closer he got to the front, the clearer it was to see what the loan shark was doing, and the more he saw, the faster he ran.
That bastard's hands, the loan collector, were trying to open the reception box, by forcing it.
Fortunately, doing so turned out to be an endeavor of a task for him. The box refused to open the money inside and only made a loud clanking sound, while Miss Lilith tried to push away the loan collector with her frail hands.
"How dare you, you rascal! Keep your dirty hands away from my money!"
"Why won't it open?!"
Before things got worse, Olive was next to the loan collector already, then, he gripped the loan collector's leather jacket and pulled him as hard as he could, making him fall hard on the floor...
There was no hesitation in his action, only an immediate act.
Stumbling, the loan collector looked up, bewildered, and saw Olive, staring at him with a furrowed brow and clenched fist. Unfaltering, the loan collector kept his ground and stared at Olive with the same level of fury as he shot up, towering over Olive to a great degree.
And yet, no sign of fright could be seen in him.
After all, Olive had been in many fights before. He had fought many people twice his size. Why would this collector be any different?
Scowling, Olive snarled.
"Never thought I'd be the one to say this, but don't you know manners? Did no one teach you how to talk to an elderly person properly?"
"Kid, this is not your business. Don't interrupt grown-ups' affairs." The loan collector answered, observing Olive up and down, causing his eyes to twitch.
Then, he ignored Olive and walked over to the counter again, not without his side bumping into Olive's shoulder, of course.
When he turned his body to the loan collector, Olive saw Miss Lilith behind the counter. She, who has been spectating the tension between Olive and the loan collector since earlier, did not seem to know what to say. She tried to open her mouth, but pursed her lips the next second. Oddly enough, despite her scared body language and gesture, something about her said something different.
Amusement? Or was it interest?
What was so interesting anyway?
She's being robbed for goodness' sake!
The loan collector arrived at the counter and slammed his fist immediately.
"I don't have time for this! Just give me the money hag!"
Miss Lilith flinched. She hesitated looking up and down between the register box and the loan collector. With a sigh, she opened the box, revealing multiple notes inside, and gave it to him.
The collector's hand instantly snatched it from Miss Lilith and counted it.
With a smile, he looked up.
"Now that's more like it. I'll come again next week. Make sure you got all the money."
He demanded, as he walked toward the door and exited it.
...Olive who had not moved since, followed the loan collector's silhouette with his eyes, scowling at him deeply like never before.
An awkward silence penetrated the antique shop.
Miss Lilith, who was clearing her throat, broke the silence after a few minutes.
"Well, uh... I could have handled that better. Anyway, boy, thank you for standing up to me! I'm touched! As a gift, I shall– huh? Hey! Where are you going?!"
The antique shop door burst open, and without a moment to spare, Olive sprinted to where the loan collector was following earlier... The wind let out a loud hum as Olive's figure dashed along the sidewalk, hitting his eyes, thus prompting them to become drier and drier each second.
But he ignored it...
'He couldn't have got far considering the time and the pace he walked. But I don't see him anywhere.'
Olive doesn't think he could have gone far, but he was not going to risk slowing down. Even so, the longsword that was tightly clenched in his hand proved to be a nuisance; limiting his movement with its size and weight.
Searching, Olive abruptly turned his head left and right for any sign of the loan collector.
'Not here. Not there. Where the hell is he?!'
Just as he thought he had lost him, he spotted him right around the district's corner.
"Hey!"
Surprised, the loan collector turned around. And upon seeing Olive, he gritted his teeth, his brows knitted.
"You again? What do you want?"
Olive panted while walking up to him.
"The money. Give it."
The loan collector lifted a brow. Hand put in his pocket, he revealed a stack of cash to Olive while waving it.
"Money? You mean this?"
Then, he smirked, staring Olive dead in the eye.
"Don't want to."
Olive stared back, the same anger in the antique shop rising once again
"Fine, have it your way."
As he said that, a loud whistle suddenly echoed through the district.
The loan collector's pupil shrank, barely avoiding Olive's punch. Without a time to finish his shock, however, he was greeted with a next whistle with only a glimpse of what was coming and hurriedly jumped back as far away from Olive.
Sadly, for him, his chest was brushed by the longsword in Olive's hand.
He landed a step away, and distanced himself another few meters away...
Olive had entirely forgotten about the sword in his hand earlier. But he was glad that he did. If so, he would have felt very frustrated not leaving even a scratch on the loan collector.
Smiling, he continued to pursue the loan collector.
Olive was winning, while the loan collector was struggling, barely avoiding Olive's deadly punch.
He tried to punch back of course. But he threw his attempt aside after the first try.
"D–Damn it, why is this kid so–"
But he couldn't finish his sentence. Because Olive's fist was flying toward him with a great speed the next shortly after.
Thud!
Olive saw the loan collector winced. He tried to land another punch when the loan collector kicked him in the stomach, pushing him far away enough for the loan collector to make a run.
Groaning, Olive suppressed the pain and chased after the loan collector.
What happened to that smile, now that he became the prey?
Before, he smiled smugly like he owned the world, preying on the vulnerable for money and such. Who could have guessed that he would be such a coward?
The loan collector ran fast. But Olive was faster.
In a matter of seconds, he had already covered the gap between the loan collector, less than a meter away from him.
The collector looked back and paled when he saw Olive reaching out his hand to him. Then he swiftly turned his body around, much to his surprise.
As he turned around, Olive saw the loan collector's hand in one of his pockets, inside the jacket, and pulled something out of it.
Abruptly, both of them stopped.
The loan collector was exhausted, being chased by Olive, his entire face was covered with sweat, and his breathing was heavy. But there was a clear look of victory in his gleaming eyes.
Olive, meanwhile, was pale. His eyes shook out of horror. His body feeling colder than ever before, looking at the thing in the collector's hand.
The thing that the collector pulled out, was matte-black. Made out of metal, its durability was able to withstand a forceful impact that was meant to be produced by it. Olive couldn't see the grip... only the barrel that ended with a muzzle.
A gun.
There was no doubt about it. No matter how much Olive wished it otherwise, there was no denying it.
It was a gun.
And currently... it was being pointed at him.
Olive was dazed.
He could run away from the collector.
But a gun?
"What happened to that smile of yours..."
Stunned, he moved his shaky head and looked at the loan collector. Only now did he notice just how much the man in front of him towered over him.
Then, he heard the loan collector's next word, making him chuckle. Not out of amusement.
But terror.
"...now that you become a prey?"
Olive continued to chuckle inwardly.
Wasn't that what he had thought earlier?
'H–How ironic.'
"Don't even think about seizing it..! There is no one in the district here you know? It's abandoned, no one will find you. By the time people walk past here, your body will already be buried. By me of course. Do you think it's the first time that I kill somebody? God no! I've killed countless people who owed us a great sum of money and refused to pay me before! Big and small! What's with that look? Curious how I got away with it?"
Chuckling, he said.
"Well, you don't need to know. You'll be dead anyway."
Then, the loan collector... no, the monster moved his finger that was holding the trigger, indicating he was about to shoot him.
Bang!
Olive's view was pitched black the next moment. He was numbed. He was scared. He shut his eyes tight, with his hand over his head — not that it would be any help whatsoever — and was prepared to bear the indiscriminating pain.
One... two... three seconds passed.
Nothing.
Only a shaking voice.
"Wh–What on God's earth?"
Opening his eyes hesitantly, Olive lowered his hand a little and took a glance at his body.
His body was just like before. There was no hole in any part of his body at all. His body was wholly unscathed!
Then, he looked at the loan collector.
His face was drained out of blood, paler than a ghost itself. His eyes were wide, and his pupils were shrunken. That mouth of his was agape, trembling.
But Olive only glanced at the loan collector briefly before opening his eyes wide, looking at the same thing that the loan collector was looking at.
'A–A blade?'
Not just any blade. A hovering blade.
A blade of a longsword.
Blinking, Olive looked at the longsword in his hand.
It was still there, in his hand. A completely different one. It was not the same, and Olive knew it, of course. After all, even if the blade looked the same, almost in all aspects, there was a slight difference in its appearance.
The blade hovering in front of him was glowing white. Not metaphorically, but literally. It permeated an ethereal glow, looking majestic, but terrifying, in the current situation. The place where there was supposed to be a handle and a pummel, was naked. It was almost as if it was taken out straight after it was forged...
Olive then snapped out of his gaze and looked at the dazed loan collector. The gun was still in his hand, and with no time to waste, he leaned forward and punched the loan collector right in the head.
And just like that, the loan collector was knocked out.
Time froze for a long while. No, it was mostly the silence that the surroundings felt like it was frozen.
Letting out a shaky breath, Olive fell to his knees and took a deep breath.
Badump! Badump! Badump!
His heart beat rapidly. It almost felt like a dream.
Was he dreaming?
'Please be a dream.'
However, despite how much Olive wanted it to be a dream, the pain radiating in his stomach was as clear as day.
Lifting up his head, Olive looked above him where the hovering sword was, only to find out that it was gone.
'Am I hallucinating?'
As he thought about that, a light shone in his eyes, making him wince. He looked down at the source and saw a small object reflecting the light on the ground.
A bullet...
Its tip was flat. Really flat.
Which only meant one thing...
'N–Not hallucinating then?'
***
After Olive processed what had just happened, he immediately called the police and reported everything. How the loan collector had admitted to committing a murder, how he had pointed a gun at him. He told him everything. Except the part where he pulled the trigger at him of course.
How would he explain escaping from the bullet?
Afraid that the loan collector might escape, Olive tied his hands and feet with the cloth that he used to cover the sword. He tied it very tightly, in fact. In case it was not durable enough.
He didn't touch the gun, though, afraid that it would leave a fingerprint and be used to track him down.
Happy with the result, Olive stood up and prepared to head back to Miss Lilith with notes in his hand when the loan collector's collar slipped and revealed a particular tattoo on his neck.
He caught a glimpse of it and saw that the tattoo was a snake coiling around a pile of gold. Not like a three-dimensional kind of drawing, but more like an emblem, a coiled serpent as its frame, and golds filling the middle, with a skull in it, the serpent's head slithering through the eye. There was also a writing below it.
It wrote:
The Seven Deadly Sins.
The Sin of Greed.