'Kill her?!'
Lexia gasped, distressed.
The words hounded her close to a jumbled mess of a mind due to the sudden pain. She clutched her left hand closed reflexively yet the burning sensation had her hand reacting otherwise.
Stumbling back, Lexia lifted her watery eyes to comfort a crowd of four lunging forwards with wild abandon. She didn't find in her the power to scream as something sealed her vocals; be it the fear or the adrenaline flickering within her dark brown eyes.
As for the other four, they were in a rush precisely because they noticed the sword by her waist and her apparent naivety. Her fear was their touch of bravery and her scream was a signal of their imminent doom.
They must not be held back here anymore; not after experiencing that cold hell in the bottom rugs of the cells.
While scared, Lexia was also confused. They wanted to kill her— everything from their eyes, wicked grins, and body language spoke volumes of their relentless violence. However, they were moving far too slow and steady in her eyes as though they were intent on killing yet not.
She scampered left and right, front and back, then spun around in place as the shards of glass crossed interweaving airlines around her small figure.
"What the fuck is this?!"
The four were appalled as crimson blood drew rosy circles and patches of red petals on the ground following Lexia's movements. These movements were unreal, to say the least— if it weren't for their first landing a solid hit, mixed with the lass' expression of revolted horror, they would have believed this girl was a seasoned combatant.
Just as Lexia thought things to be easy and dodged another cut from a man twice her size if not more, he spun to the side as a shard bolted through the air without notice, stabbing into Lexia's left thigh with a spurt of blood.
Speed and trajectory were unpredictable as they proved inconsistent with her preconceived notions of the four's capabilities; she underestimated them just as she drew calm to her mind. A numb pain scattered her once-jumbled thoughts into a state of blankness. Then, pain struck her nerves again.
She tattered back bouncing on one foot in fear, choked on her breath with an inability to scream while frantically looking around for Kevin.
He should have already arrived!
Where is he?!
She was scared without an inkling of what to do.
"Kill this bitch!"
A shout clapped her senses back to her mind with her back against the trunk of a tree. She gasped and yelled. "Stop!"
"Shut up," was the only response. In a low, hushed whisper as a shard of glass hosted in a bloody hand sliced through the air for her throat. Her heart skipped a beat.
Two words echoed in her mind; kill her. They want me dead, for reasons I don't understand.
With a scream, she pulled the bloody shard from her thigh and held it upfront with trembling hands. She yelled again. "Don't come any closer!"
The man paused, double-taking a step back with a hideous grin while observing this sorry excuse of a young lady. By now, the four had come to notice the lack of response from the baron castle.
They were clever and figured out something, no one was nearby. Even if someone was rushing here, they would take a few minutes. They can afford to be a bit more cautious when cornering a scared little animal.
The man signaled for two of his friends that were armed still to flank her two sides, laughing while they were at it. Words of taunt that she wholeheartedly ignored buzzed to her left and right.
She clenched her hands on the shard of glass as a moment of reprieve finally provided her mind the much-needed time to process the situation.
Her eyes flicked a hint of silver as her third eye pulsed a bit of mana from her mind and into her spine, and neuron system, and discharged throughout her body with a cooling sensation despite the fear wrestling control.
Her mind and body slowly calmed down yet her emotions were as stubborn.
Part of her suggested she simply sat down obediently and begged for mercy while each went their way, but another part replayed past conversations with her big brother; conversations that shed light on how cruel this world is and what kind of help he needed.
Let alone soldiers, she couldn't for the love of her hold on against four stray gangsters. Her body wanted to stay still, her mind wanted to act and kill, while her emotions wanted no more than to crumble and collapse, hoping to draw nonexistent sympathy.
Unbeknownst to her, a patch of darkness spread from between her thighs as a chilly air assaulted her lower body. The cautious guys noticed how she blundered; literally, wet herself while putting on a brave front.
They laughed even harder.
Her mind went blank as the noises thereafter stopped abruptly.
Blood splashed once again, dying most of her body red in the warm substance of a metallic taste. She knew it tasted so; her mouth overflowed with a bit that stained her lips.
She blinked her frozen eyes and watched as the three clutched at their own throats. From their fingers one could spot a protruding black edge; throwing knives as real as they could get.
"F-fuck…"
One with the strongest willpower and happened to have been laughing the loudest as he now cursed; also the loudest. It was also his blood that washed the front of Lexia's trembling body, waking her up from one nightmare to another as the shard of glass dropped from her hand.
She screamed, loud.
Tears streamed down her cheek.
Peng!
A throwing knife cut her cheek and nestled into the tree trunk, sealing her mouth shut with a gasp as a voice drifted over. "There is one more left."
"Cough!"
A dry cough drew Lexia's attention to a man who lay not very far on the ground. Arms and legs were amputated by their midsection as his blood pooled beneath him, a crazy expression of mad disbelief on his face as though he had no clue what happened to him.
Lexia stiffly averted her eyes from the mangled mess of a human being to the young man dressed in fine black while he silently stood on an extended branch high above. Her lips moved but no words came out.
Kevin pointed at the sword strapped to her waist and then pointed at the man as he said, "Kill him."
Lexia shuddered, not moving a muscle under the hard glare of her big brother.
"B-but…"
"Kill him."
"Brother…"
"Kill him."
…
No matter what she said or how she phrased it, only two words countered her plea. Shaking, tears drenched her face as she clutched the hilt of her reaper sword, feeling dizzy.
What now?
"Why?!"
She shrieked, nerves crumbling as she dropped to her knees.
"I'll leave you behind."
Was the only response after a bit of silence. This sentence shook Lexia awake once more as she looked up at Kevin who landed on the snow, turned his back, and started walking away.
"No! Wait… I'm sorry…" Lexia immediately crawled up to her feet with the help of the tree. Kevin clenched his fists tightly, heart squeezed.
He didn't look back but he could hear faint, staggering footsteps.
Mutters of sorry and whimpers reached his ears.
He knew she wasn't saying sorry for him but for that man.
Kevin didn't look back no matter what, even when the faint gurgling sound on the thick snow came to a slow yet gentle stop.
Moments later when the crying toned down followed by the thud of a light body dropping on the ground, Kevin turned around.