"Oh, have I just marred your once-pretty face?" she taunted, feigning surprise with a cruel smile.
My voice choked as I managed to ask, "W-Why did you do that?"
She stared at me, deliberating whether to answer my question. After a few tense seconds, she decided to indulge me. "You see, I don't typically engage in such acts. I prefer to swiftly pursue my prey and end them in an instant. Humans, with their wretched screams, assault my sensitive ears, and I simply cannot bear it. However, you, my dear, are a special case. I would relish tearing you limb from limb, reveling in the symphony of your screams as you plead for mercy. Alas, mercy shall not be granted, for we desire you alive. Ah, your fate is undeniably unfortunate—so unfortunate that even death has forsaken you," she explained with a disturbing calmness, her voice laced with sadistic delight.
She continued, her laughter echoing like the ravings of a lunatic. "Every day at work, your presence tormented me. When I was assigned to observe you, I felt elation, eagerly anticipating the opportunity to ensnare and destroy you. Yet, your grandmother and her sisters proved to be a thorn in our side. Your entire family, in fact. They shielded you for countless years, nearly driving us to despair. But here we are, with you right before me, finally able to inflict harm without facing any consequences. Such sweet, sweet satisfaction."
She was sick, truly deranged. Tears streamed down my face, for even if I survived this nightmarish ordeal, my visage would forever bear the scars. The wound ran from my left eyebrow down to my right cheek, an eternal reminder of the horrors inflicted upon me.
What was her vendetta against my face?
"Do you desire to know why I harbor such an intense hatred for your countenance?" she abruptly inquired, shocking me. Not awaiting my response, she proceeded to answer her own question.
"It's because you resemble her so closely. I had always believed it to be a cruel coincidence, for coincidences should not exist in such a situation. However, it seems that Master was mistaken. You are not merely an unfortunate human who bears the face of my sworn enemy. No, I long to exact revenge for what that Amazon bitch did to me!" she exclaimed, her voice reverberating with fury.
Ripping off the upper part of her gown, she revealed a gaping wound on her chest that refused to heal, oozing with vile fluids. I was forced to witness her ghastly state, everything laid bare before me.
Recoiling at the sight, I found myself the target of her rage. She lunged for my hair, yanking it with such force that strands cascaded to the ground.
She released her grip, erupting into maniacal laughter. I crawled away, fearing she might attempt to render me bald.
As her laughter morphed into an inhuman cacophony, she began to transform into a more terrifying creature. The sound of bones snapping accompanied her frenzied metamorphosis. Aggressively clawing at her own skin, she peeled it away as if consumed by unbearable discomfort.
Witnessing the repulsive spectacle, my stomach churned, and I vomited the contents of my day.
"Look at me! Look at me!" She chanted like a lunatic but I just my eyes against this horror before my eyes. I could no longer bear the torment, the incessant chant of "Look at me!" pierced my ears, causing blood to trickle down their sides.
Unable to withstand the torment any longer, I succumbed and gazed upon her monstrous form. It was my second gravest mistake of the night—the first being the removal of my ring.
She was a creature spawned from the darkest depths of hell, a vile embodiment of nightmares that hunted the already hunted. Too hideous for reality, she exuded barbarity, cruelty, danger, ferocity, heinousness, monstrosity, nefariousness, savagery, vileness, violence, wickedness, brutality, filth, and evil. Her visage alone could drive a sane individual to the brink of insanity, and I, too, teetered on the precipice, her malicious gaze and twisted smile fixated upon me.
The human guise had vanished, the discarded skin lying in a puddle at her feet. Her skeletal frame was adorned with repugnant patches of sickly green.
Cursing my fate, unjustly blaming my mother for bringing me into this wretched world, and questioning the very existence of a benevolent God, I found myself ensnared in her bony grip. With a grotesque hand outstretched, she seized my hair, forcefully pulling me toward her. Desperately, I clutched at my ravaged locks, resisting her relentless pull. With a searing pain, a portion of my hair was wrenched free, sending waves of agony through me.
Tentatively touching the exposed area of my scalp, I could feel its nakedness. I would rather face baldness than succumb to death.
Seizing the momentary respite, I attempted to crawl away, but my efforts proved feeble. An unseen force seized hold of me and hurled me across the street like a lifeless puppet.
Landing painfully on my back, I thanked the heavens. However, it felt as though every bone in my body had been shattered, and my muscles throbbed with agony. Despite the torment, I strained to sit upright, only to be met with four blazing, menacing eyes locked fiercely with mine.
A viscous green substance oozed from her grotesque form, dripping onto me as she loomed over, the very embodiment of a nightmare. The demon I had mistaken for a human was poised to mercilessly rend me apart, and I prayed for a swift, painless demise.
Her mouth opened and closed, then opened once more as she uttered words too horrific to bear hearing.
"I WILL KILL YOU! "
She grabbed my left leg and twisted it the wrong way, dislocating it in the process and I screamed out in agony as the pain left me breathless, never have I experienced such pain before.
"Hell, Glade?" Someone or something interrupted, the voice resonating with an otherworldly timbre. Grateful for any semblance of respite, I welcomed the slight interruption.
Glade impatiently bellowed, "What?"
A nervous throat-clearing followed. "Master has ordered us to bring her back alive to find the other girl. If you continue like this, she won't survive. I don't think this frail human can endure much longer," the voice reasoned, prompting grumbled agreement from the others.
Yet, the demon Glade remained obstinate, refusing to heed their reasoning. Anger laced her words as she commanded them back to hell. "I will end this one and find the half-angel girl myself. She is of no use to us alive. Get out of my sight before I erase you from existence."
To my disappointment, there was no protest, no resistance. They silently vanished, unwilling to risk their lives for a seemingly worthless human like me.
"Now, where were we?" Glade turned her attention back to me, a wicked gleam in her eyes.
"Oh, yes, yes, yes. I longed to tear you apart," Glade mirthfully declared, her excitement palpable as she licked her lips in anticipation.
Raising her hand, adorned with long, razor-sharp nails, she took aim for my chest. Unable to bear witnessing the impending strike, I shut my eyes, bracing for the pain.
"Please, stop!" I cried out, halting Glade in her tracks. "Just kill me. I can't endure this any longer."
She silently stared at me for what felt like an eternity. "I haven't even begun yet. That was merely a warm-up. For three long years, I was forced to live like a human, unable to torment or revel in the freedom of killing them. Maintaining my cover was paramount, lest the demon hunters discover me. And you, you are to blame. I fear I have lost my touch, but I promise you, the next blow will render you unconscious."
True to her word, darkness enveloped me as a brutal blow landed on my head, the same head that had been stripped of its hair. My vision blurred, and I fought to remain conscious, sensing the warmth of blood and tasting its metallic tang. Life flashed before my eyes, and in that fleeting moment, I saw her claw descending upon my face, intent on gouging out my eyes.
I waited.
Waited for what, precisely?
I wasn't sure. Yet, in that uncertainty, I anticipated the sensation that accompanies death's theft of life.
And it came—a cold hand caressed my cheek with an eerie tenderness.
Arrgggggh, I melodramatically thought.
The cold hands of death, so merciless.
Reluctantly, I opened my eyes, expecting heaven or hell, whichever awaited me according to my deeds. What greeted my gaze surpassed all expectations—Heaven. It was a breathtaking sight, one I had never fathomed witnessing.
A delusional giggle escaped my lips. "Hello, Sei. Are you the angel sent to guide me to the gates of heaven?" In that fleeting moment, as quick as lightning, I noticed his beautiful eyebrows furrowed with exhaustion and concern. However, the expression swiftly dissipated. I had never truly taken the time to observe Sei closely; he had always been too intimidating to gaze upon for too long. Did I mention he was remarkably handsome? He was a sight to behold, captivating to the eyes. Leaning over me, his gaze penetrated the depths of my soul—typical Sei.