As soon as one had regained enough energy, she rushed back to the capital. Her injuries were severe, but she was the only one that survived, and needed to report the matter to the Princess. Thinking of the general's actions before she fled, a chill ran up her spine.
Back at the princess's mansion, one had just arrived. The princess looked at her calmly, waiting for her report.
One dutifully reported
"After the general left the stronghold, she continued further into the forest. She stopped and just stood there silently. We weren't sure of the reason, but at that moment, a group appeared. They were equal to us in numbers, but their skills were far superior".
The princess looked at one and spoke lightly.
"Martial artists?"
"It appears so, your highness. They quickly disposed of the other guards. The general attacked the leader, who was dealing with me, which led to her being besieged by the group.
They worked in tacit understanding, most likely a hunting team that dealt with higher level martial artists. The general suffered grievous injuries in the process of dealing with them".
When the Princess heard that Siraya was injured, her expression became stern.
"To be able to injure her, would require a very well trained team. They're probably part of a sect that has dealings with the court" she thought.
One continued speaking, "At the end of the fight, she seemed to have lost her senses. She seemed to have been suffering a difficult choice, before she started to.... consume the remains of that group".
The princess heard one's words, and her brows furrowed. She didn't know that Siraya had come to this point. Her heart ached with pain, remembering the vibrant and strong general in her memory, and picturing what she looked like now.
The princess said" Alright, go down and heal your injuries".
Seeing one leave, the princess's always straight back couldn't help but curve, and a faint sobbing could be heard coming from the study.
Siraya feasted upon the corpses of the people she killed. Her mind had already begun to deteriorate under the pressure of her choice. When she finally felt satiated, she continued along her way. A sweet humming escaped from her lips. That person taught her the tune. A special tune just for the two of them. She continued humming it obsessively. Her face remained expressionless, but tears continued to flow out with the sound of her humming.
She knew she couldn't go back now, she had done something inhumane. Not only would her ancestors be disappointed in her, but also that person,she is so beautiful, so intelligent, so graceful. How could she, a cannibalistic monster, be worthy to stand in the light with her?
So her humming became imbued with sadness and despair. She didn't stop, trying to trick herself into believing that they could still be close if she didn't forget the song.
She wandered through the forest for who knows how long. Waves of martial artists from the same place continued to attack her on the way. At first she suffered a bit against them, but as time went by, she could see their attacking patterns. It became easier to deal with them, and she wouldn't stop using them as replenishment.
Siraya was annoyed by the actions of these groups, so she chose to solve it directly from the source. She allowed one or two of them to escape, and followed them from a distance. Watching them run like headless chickens, until she reached the bottom of a mountain. Siraya knew that these martial sects liked to pretend to be mysterious, building their bases in places that were difficult to attack, but easy to defend.
She focused on the movements of those two she allowed to escape. Their actions seemed careless and random, but she knew these were the moves needed to avoid the traps that were placed all over the mountain.
She didn't care much if they saw her. She followed behind them, imitating their movements. So when the two finally managed to escape back to their sect, they finally let down their guard, thinking they were safe. They wanted to rush to report back to the head of the sect, but smelled a very familiar scent. A rotten, bloody smell.
Their eyes widened in horror, and just as they were about to turn around, Siraya appeared behind them, killing them instantly. The bodies of the two fell to the ground, which alerted the strongest members of the sect, with their extremely heightened senses.
It didn't take long for a bell to be heard, as many of the remaining members started to flood out of the buildings, and off the training grounds.
Siraya never intended to speak to this group of people, so with the knowledge of their methods that she had learned, she rushed right into the group. Her actions lithe like a fish in water. Her slaughter went unimpeded.
Siraya didn't have any sense of morality. That had died off the day her family were executed, so when she saw the children that had been hidden by their masters, she only thought that one day they would grow up and hunt her down for her actions.
Siraya hated troublesome things, so without hesitation she reached out to deal with these fledgling martial artists. Their screams didn't affect her, nor did the fear they showed. She was never a saint, and now, she was no better than a demon.
She used them to once again replenish her energy, and left without taking a single thing, and just like that. A decent sect fell overnight.
When some of the members that were travelling outside returned, what they found was the gory remains of their comrades, their masters and their juniors. Not a single living person was found on the entire mountain.
This news shocked the martial world. Many of the higher ranked sects sent people over to confirm the situation quickly. These people had seen horrible things before. In fact many of them had committed horrible deeds before, but never had they seen such barbarity, such disregard for morality. They admitted, they were truly frightened by the scene.