Author's POV:

(Meanwhile somewhere in Mumbai)

The young man made his way cautiously towards the building where she stayed. A few days after his first prey, he had gotten a trendy new haircut, grown a cool goatee and finished the look with a cool fashionable ensemble. He went to a university nearby, and met a tout: twenty-five thousand rupees of the two lakh rupees he stole from the housewife's cupboard bought him forged B.A. mark sheets and certificates in the name of Mohan Sharma. It also got him into a University for M.A. in the English program.

Using his fake identity card, the young man rented a small, independent-access paying-guest room in a colony near the University, then went to the Regional Transportation Authority office and contacted another tout. Using his rental agreement and university identity card, as well as a thousand rupee bribe, he quickly obtained a driver's licence in his new name, with an identification photo showcasing his new appearance. He roamed the city, safe in the security of his new identity. But not for long.

He first saw her when he was taking a stroll in Marine Drive. She was with her boyfriend, walking in front of him. All of a sudden they stopped their walk due to the conversation they were having, which was clearly too intense to keep walking. They got into a fight in the middle of the sidewalk, not caring about who could see or hear them. The boy accused her loudly of cheating on him with other boys from their campus.

She flatly denied the accusation and stormed away, incensed that her boyfriend could even think her capable of doing such things. The young man was intrigued by the possibility of punishing another unfaithful girl and decided to follow her while her boyfriend stood there, fuming.

The young man followed her every move for the next few days, after having followed her to her apartment that day. He saw her meeting and going out separately with two other young men, often inviting them inside after a night out, and he eventually made a decision: she was indeed cheating on that guy.

He studied her habits and routines, memorizing the days when she was home alone without any company and chose the perfect day. He impatiently waited, watching her whoring ways, and as time passed his determination was getting stronger. Finally, the much-awaited day arrived which was today.

He got to her floor and used a hairpin to open the locked door, the lack of security in the building only aided him in completing his task quickly. His eyes roamed around the apartment. It was an old apartment just like the worn-out building but he could tell she put a lot of effort into making it feel more like home. He noticed her sitting on the sofa, lost in the world of music, oblivious to her surroundings.

He reached into his backpack for a wire, and slowly walked behind the couch, then rapidly wrapped it around her neck. She began to struggle in the same way that his other victims had, which only added to his enjoyment. He got engrossed in the world of ecstasy, the more she struggled, the more pleasure he felt. He shivered with delight at how the soft skin of her neck felt between his hands as he slowly choked the last breath out of her body. He growled in satisfaction. Her movements slowed with every second, becoming weaker and weaker until finally, her struggles stopped. By the end, he was panting and sweating heavily with a psychotic smile.

After descending back to normalcy, he cut her head off, took the bleeding piece, and wrapped it in an empty plastic bag, which he then stuffed into his backpack, carefully. After putting on his gloves, he wiped away all traces of his presence, changed into a clean shirt and trousers, made sure all the blood strains were covered, and exited the building with a huge grin on his face along with his backpack which had his trophy.

He arrived at a cottage in the woods away from the city lights. It had minimal furniture, and the chipped green wall turned an ugly yellow under the harsh light of a dirty bulb covered with yellow paper. The only sound was the constant knocking of the chair legs on the cracked wooden floor. The young man bowed down to the occupant of the chair. He then fished the head of his latest victim from the bag and placed it where the housewife's head was kept, his first prey, and his first trophy. He smiled, content with his work, and walked over to the table where a bible was kept. He flipped it open and chanted,

"ISAIAH 13:11

And I will punish the world for [they're] evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogance of the proud to cease and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible."

After finishing, he began conversing with the other person present there.

"I did what you asked me to do, God. I punished her for her unfaithfulness. Are you pleased with me?" he asked with hope.

"Yes, my child, I am very pleased with you. I have my faith in you. That's why I've chosen you to punish people like her," a voice replied.

"Who's next, God?" he asked, intrigued.

"Not now, child, but I'll show them to you very soon."

"I'll wait, God."

"Praise the Lord."

The person in the cassock left the cottage with an evil grin plastered on his face. His most loyal disciple was great for this kind of work.

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