Thump, thump, thump.
I can hear each beat pounding at my chestplate, trying to break out with each resounding thump.
Thump, thump, thump.
My ears are ringing, and my palms are sweaty. I try, in vain, to control my shallow breaths, vesting everything in my power to just stand.
Thump, thump, thump.
The bleat of my heart cannot take it. I falter.
Thump, thump, thump.
Seeing the two men facing away from me, I tiptoe closer and scamper behind another tree. Then, another. I’m scared because I know my bluff from before won’t work this time. The only chance I’ve got is to take them by surprise.
As I shift myself behind another tree, this time even closer to them, I step on a branch. Of course I do. I’m more clumsy than I ever wish to be.
I’m too afraid to peek out, but I can feel their gaze on the tree I’m behind. I’m within earshot of them, and if they decide to come over here, it’s all over. It might all be over, anyway.
Sako, I’m sorry. I don’t know if I can save you.
“Fuckin’ squirrels,” I hear one of the men grumble. “Now, where were we?”
I’m confident their attention is no longer on me, so I hesitantly peer out and see them overshadowing Sako’s small frame. Tears are gushing from her eyes, a trickle of blood down her forehead. Waves of terror run beneath my skin, horrifying me at what they’ve done to her. What they’re about to do.
“Where’s your lanky friend?” the taller man asks, placing his foot on Sako’s chest and pressing down.
“I-I told you! She abandoned me and ran away!” Sako says, bawling all over her stained shirt.
“Bull. Shit,” the man says, turning to his friend. “You buyin’ this?”
“Of course I don’t,” the shorter man says. “You’re lying. Just like you did back then.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Sako says.
“Shut the fuck up, you little bitch,” the tall man says, taking his foot off Sako’s chest and thrusting it hard into her ribs. I watch her wince in pain, grabbing at her side as she curls up into a ball.
“We know your friend used her power to alert everyone in the compound to what we were doing,” the shorter man says. “We were chased away, thanks to her. We’ve gotten strong, but we still don’t have enough power to beat everyone there.”
“It… wasn’t us,” Sako moans weakly. I can no longer see her face, but I hear her sniffling. I grit my teeth.
I fucking hate them. More than anything or anyone before.
“She’s still lying to us,” the tall man says. He spits some sticky saliva right onto Sako’s face, then uses his foot to nudge her legs open. She quickly closes up, then tries desperately to crawl away.
The man grabs her ankle, ripping her back. I watch as she clasps a tree with her arms, trying to pry herself from his grip, but the man’s strength overwhelms her in the end. He then flips her over and begins to wail on her, right in the face. I watch her try to cover herself with her hands, but the other man quickly wraps around her and pins her wrists to the ground with the weight of his boots.
Now completely vulnerable, the other man props himself over her chest and continues to strike her until her cheeks are bruised and her face is raw with blood. She’s whimpering and crying, but she’s making sure to keep quiet.
Don’t tell me… she’s protecting me.
Somehow, despite how scared I am, I manage to remain composed. I unveil my enemy reader and use it on them. Text appears above their heads.
Human lv. 5
[Threat level: Moderate]
[EP gain: 2000 EP]
[Desc]
A survivor of humanity.
Level 5? That’s well ahead of both me and Sako, who are only level 2. Not just that, but they’ve surely developed deadly abilities, whereas we have nothing combat-ready in our own arsenals.
I hear Sako gasp as one of the men rips her shirt off, exposing her undergarments. I watch her thrash around even harder than before, trying with all her might to break free.
“What’s wrong, girlie?” the tall man snickers. “Weren’t you gonna offer your body up to us earlier? Don’t tell me you’ve got cold feet now.”
“Let’s make a little deal,” the shorter man says. “We’ll forgive you snitching on us if you let us have our fun with you. Honestly, corpses aren’t really my style, and killing someone as weak as you is hardly worth any EP. Why don’t you make yourself useful and open up? I promise to let you go if you do.”
Sako doesn’t say anything, but stops struggling. I watch her body go limp as devious grins infest the two men’s faces. The taller one reaches down, and I watch Sako shut her eyes tight.
No… don’t do this, Sako. Don’t let them…
I can’t bear it. I won’t bear it. Aren’t I supposed to be the one to protect her? But what can I do against monsters like them? I haven’t had enough time yet. If I go out there, I’ll only end up getting raped and killed, too.
I can’t do anything, so I continue to hide like a coward.
It’s better this way, isn’t it? There’s no point in both of us dying, right? Hell, maybe they’ll let her live after all. Sure it’ll be hard for her at first, but… but…
As time seems to slow down, I can’t help but think of the words I said to her:
“I can’t guarantee I’ll be able to, but I promise to try.”
Was I always the type of person to break a promise? I really don’t know. Frankly, I don’t care, because another emotion begins to populate my body, overwhelming all else. A feeling that’s all too familiar…
Hate them. I hate them. I hate them so much. I hate them. I hate them. I hate them. I hate them. I hate them. I want to murder them.
The man has his hand on her pants’ waistband. He begins pulling them down.
No. You can’t.
I have to act, or else they’ll do something that can never be taken back.
I purse my thoughts, my neurons firing trillions of times a second, trying to think of a way to save her. All I’ve got is a fireball spell and about 1600 EP. I could convert all my EP into the fireball spell, but there’s no guarantee that it’ll do anything except frizzle their hair. Additionally, the fireball is fast, but not fast enough. They might be able to dodge it at their current level.
Think Lily. Don’t let your anger and fear blind you. If you don’t act now, Sako is going to get hurt. More hurt than she already is, and it will be entirely on you.
I wonder if there’s really nothing I can do. No, there’s got to be something. There’s no one here who can except for me.
You said you’d protect her, didn’t you?
It’s only me and this moment. I know I cannot falter.
I’ve got to kill them.
That’s right. The only way we walk out of this is if they die.
An idea pops into my mind. It isn’t creative and will surely fail me in the future, but I can’t think about that now.
I don’t care if the skill I have in mind won’t help me fight against the HET and lacks any sort of creativity. I’ve got to stake everything on this one shot here and now.
In my mind, I command Angel to put together the skill I’m thinking of and put every single point of EP I have into it. If this doesn’t work, I’ll have nothing, but at least I will have tried to be her knight in shining armor.
That’s all she asked of me, isn’t it?
I step out from the trees and shape my fingers into a gun. Both men stop what they're doing and look my way. All the fear and doubt in my heart dissipate as a new skill enters my body and is mine to command.
[Finger Bang lv. 5]
[Power: 51]
[Cost: 27 EL]
[EP to next level: 1250]
It’s much stronger than my fireball ability and costs far more EL. Given my current EL of 102, I can only use it 3 times. If I miss or it doesn’t work, I’m screwed.
Pointing my index finger straight ahead, I aim it at the dead center of the shorter man’s forehead.
“What are you trying to pull-” he starts, but I don’t give him the chance to finish.
Bang.
In one swift motion, a pellet of energy fires from my index finger and hits him square between the brows before he can react.
The man’s lifeless corpse instantly drops to the ground like a sack of bricks, blood gushing out of the wound I beckoned.
The other man quickly backs away, waving his hands in front of his face.
“W-wait a sec-” he pleads. I don’t give him the chance to make a case or use whatever ability he has.
Bang.
Another shot fires from my finger, hitting the man in his chest. He falls to the ground, squirming around, clutching his wound as blood gushes out. I missed his head because he was flailing around, which means I only have one more shot to finish him off.
I walk up to the man, who’s struggling to stay conscious through labored breaths. If I leave him as he is, he’ll probably pass out and bleed to death on his own, but I know I cannot take that risk.
I catch Sako in the corner of my eye, who is still lying on the ground, her face bloody and beaten. Seeing her like that only incites my wrath further.
I begin to kick the helpless man in his ribs, just as he had done to Sako. I hit the same spot over and over again until they crack, then stomp on his diaphragm. He heaves and sputters out blood from his drowning lungs.
I get no satisfaction from drawing out his death, but I do it out of obligation. Scum like him deserves to suffer before he dies. I look around for something sharp, but I see nothing. Instead, I decide to crouch down on the weakening man’s body and move my hands to his face.
I place my thumbs over his eyeballs and begin to press in. Hard. I’m not an expert at torture, but I use everything in my meager power to gouge them out. They’re soft like jelly.
He lets out a bloodcurdling screech as his flailing intensifies; though, having lost so much blood, he is still unable to break free even from someone as weak as me. He scratches and claws at my face and neck, but I don’t let up. I plan to draw this out as long as he draws breath.
I’m in a daze as I continue to dig my fingernails into his eyes, trying to scoop out every last bit of bloody pulp from his ducts. His screaming doesn’t stop, and neither do I. I keep going, feeling the warmth of his blood caress my fingertips.
Just as I’m about to press my thumbs even deeper into his skull, I feel a gentle nudge on my shoulder. I stop for a moment and look up at Sako, who has a horrified expression on her ravaged face.
“Please… stop,” she murmurs.
She’s scared. Not just of what happened to her, but of me. I’m doing something terrible, and although he deserves it, Sako still stops me. She should want this far more than I do, yet her kindness cannot bear to watch it any longer.
I say nothing as I get up, ashamed that she had to see me like that. I know he’s not a threat anymore, as I took his vision, but I still can’t take the risk. If there’s some ability that can give him back his sight, he might come after us.
I point my fingers at the dead center of his head and press them in. The man is crying tears and blood from his sockets, begging me to let him live.
Bang.