Chapter 113: Interlude 8: from past to present (1/2)
[A FEW YEARS LATER]
Number 26, or rather Milia bathed under the moonlight with an incredibly sad expression.
Currently, in a clearing, she was surrounded by five people. Four men and one woman. All of them were wearing black tight-fitting clothes.
The atmosphere was incredibly quiet and heavily filled with repressed killing intent.
”Please, I beg you guys. Please give up. Just stop. We can still go back.”
Sorrow filled her voice as she pleaded once again. She knew that once they began, there would be no holding back.
Even though she was stronger than them, it was impossible to win against all of them if she held back even in the slightest.
”Milia, you must understand. Those experiments are the next step to evolution. You should know yourself. The cow race is one of the weakest of the were beasts without any particular magic. But right now, you completely surpassed the limitations of your race. Do you understand just how incredible it is?”
She looked with disbelief at the man with raccoon ears who tried to explain their crazy ideas.
How could they forget all of the friends they lost and utter the same words those who once kidnapped them always uttered?
”Big Sis, it is you who don't understand. You cannot understand our feelings. We all went through the same sufferings. We all survived the same ordeals. So why? Why are you the only one?!”
The one who spoke this time was a tall tiger woman. She was also a girl she really liked and took under her wing back then.
Most of the children kidnapped for the experiments had been Werebeasts and Humans with a few Elves and Dwarves.
Demons and Angels hadn't been used because they were partially energy beings and as such unsuitable. Meanwhile, it was basically impossible to find a Chimera.
Milia felt her heart sink at those words from someone she always saw as her little sister, ”Is that really what you think?”
She trailed her gaze on all of them before settling on one muscular man with two horns on his head.
”What about you guys? Do you all think the same?”
Seeing her husband as well as the others unable to look at her straight, a bitter feeling spread through her while she did her best to stop the tears that were threatening to spill.
How could they not understand that the experiments they suffered from weren't even one-tenth of what she went through?
To protect them, she didn't hesitate to take the biggest punishment.
To help them, she didn't hesitate to propose herself for the most dangerous experiments.
To save the maximum number of her friends, she took many more times the doses any of them should have taken.
Even after the experiment ended, she took on the most dangerous task just to lower the risk of them dying.
In the end, she upstaged the rebellion against the Crown's Hound by killing all the old leaders and, with the help of Mars, established the Crown's Shadow and the Three Divisions.
Even though her story was worthy of a legend, neither she ever unfolded her pains nor her sufferings.
She had nobody to confide in - not even her own husband could ease her suffering.
Despite this, her desire for them to live surpassed her desire to die; as such, she held on.
No matter how much she hurt, she held on.
No matter how great the danger was, she held on.
No matter how much she just wanted to lie down and close her eyes forever, she held on.
She never asked for a word of thanks, never asked for any rewards. Because in her mind, them being alive and well was a reward in itself.
'And all that for what? To hear this kind of bullshit?'
But now she couldn't help but mock herself,
'Perhaps I should have really died long ago.'
She really entertained the thought of dying right now, but she thought about the last four of their crews.
They didn't betray her. They still needed her.
Since they needed her, then she needed to live… As such, she had to kill the five in front of them.
All sorrow immediately vanished from her face. One singular thought repeated.
'I need to live, therefore I need to kill.'
Behind her, her shadow began to change shape. Her aura continued to rise until it blanketed the entire zone.
”Stop her!”
The others immediately understood that whatever she was doing wasn't good for them and rushed towards her.
Sadly, it was too late,
<<Zone:Melancholia >>
What followed, could only be called a complete massacre.
-----
'I wish it would rain.'
Standing under the moonlight, Milia raised her head and stared blankly at the silver-white moon. Her beautiful face, marred with blood.
A ray of moonlight shone on the clearing, showing a grisly sight.
Blood, limbs, and guts were covering the ground all around her. Some of the bodies were so maimed that they were basically unrecognizable.
It was as if they had been devoured by a large number of famished beasts. Leaving them not even the slightest chance to survive.
Behind her, in her shadow, large glaring eyes were slowly closing down.
”*Cough* To think you hide such a terrifying power. *Cough* Cough*, I guess that until the end, I never really managed to understand you.”
Milia gazed expressionlessly at her husband. It seemed that even in her murderous haze, she had somewhat gone easy on him. Still, with the wounds he received, he was without a doubt a goner.
”If only you didn't try to do that. We could have lived happily together for the rest of our life.”
His expression crumbled a little at her words, before he gave a bitter blood-filled smile, ”Happy? You? *Cough* Please don't continue this sad joke.”
As his blood continued to flow out, while laying down on the cold hard ground with the destroyed bodies of his comrade, his last words were neither curses nor insults toward the one who killed him. But rather,
”I really hope that you find true happiness one day…”
His last words were just one last wish of happiness for her. But in Milia's ears, those words sounded like the greatest curse ever.
Feeling the life vanished from his eyes, Milia finally crumbled down.
'I killed them.'
This thought repeated again and again in her mind.
She had thousands of reasons.
She had thousands of excuses.