"Oh, man, things really got ugly, didn't they?" The two figures, one small and the other big, rose from the rubble. They had a green glow covering each of them. Even the raindrops evaporated when they fell on these two.
"But that was a nice one. Who would have thought there would be such a high-level mage who could use deviant magic in the middle of nowhere? But she is still not as powerful as me, though."
They slowly walked towards us.
"But I have to agree, this kingdom is full of surprises, ain't it?" Eli was unconscious. Hilda hurriedly made sure we were okay.
Except for these two, all the other men were stuck under the debris or dead. I had no way to confirm this.
"Crack!" The occasional sounds of thunder still sent chills down my spine. The stormy weather became even worse as time passed.
"You think you can escape with those kids to protect?" He said it in a mocking tone.
"Look around and decide that for yourself." Hilda looked around with me in her hands. The shock that painted her face told me everything.
"Now, do you think there is a route for escape? All that struggle just to leave some scratches on my beautiful face? Was that worth it?" The question was left hanging in the air so we could look for an answer ourselves.
The entire village was in a sea of flames. The anguish of the villagers was drowned out by the sound of heavy rain and crackling thunder. The flames never went out, even with the rain pouring down.
"Do you think this is the first village that we are throttling from the ground? Or do you think Icemere is the first kingdom we have chosen? It is just another pit stop before we fulfil our objective. There are going to be more in the future. More destruction and... more peace." He blabbered and blabbered.
During this, some were pierced in the heart, and some were pierced in the skull. Some died when a spear was thrown at them, and some died when they were beaten to death. Limbs were severed. Eyeballs were pulled out of their sockets. The water flowing down the streets turned crimson. It seeped into the soil, and even the mud turned a hue of red.
The glow covering the spearheads shone in white and blue.
"I was going to give you a painless death, unlike them. But now come... Come here and die quickly at my hands. That is the best thing you can wish to be granted at the moment."
"N-No…" Hilda muttered. She was looking at the side where Circe and Edek used to be.
"What?" That face, which was lenient till now, was becoming contorted.
"No, no, no!" The voice echoed.
"Her sacrifice… I can't let her sacrifice be in vain! I can't!"
"Ah… Then what would you do? What can you even do?"
"Stop…" Her ragged breath let a little sound come out.
"I will stop you, bastards!" As she said those words, she handed me to Eli, who had just become conscious.
Eli took me in her little hands with fear spewing from her body.
"Ma-Madam…" She tried to say something, but the words didn't come out.
"Look at me, Eli! Look!" Hilda's gaze was fixed. That was pure determination. Determination to protect.
"Whatever happens, get out of here without turning back."
"B-But…"
"Listen to me for one goddamn second, girl!" She was trying to be brave, not for herself but for the little girl in front of her.
"Just listen to me for one last time." But she couldn't. She couldn't hide the face of pure agony she was experiencing, even if she wanted to. She couldn't save Circe and Edek, so she didn't want to lose us either.
"You need to live, okay?" She held Eli's face in her palms.
"You need to survive with this child. You both need to make it out of here alive. Go… Go to the archbishop in Snowspell city. Tell him everything happening here. But more importantly, live and survive." She smiled, tears streaming down her face.
"Ma-Ma-Madam…" Even Eli cried.
"Just do this one thing for me, little girl. I am asking this not as your madam but... as your mother."
"Mo-MooooooM!" With a tearful scream, they both hugged.
"Clap! Clap! Clap! You know you are really making it hard for me to kill you with being emotional and all."
"Now go!" Eli got up on her trembling feet with me in her hands. She gritted her teeth, suppressing her cries.
"It's nice that you want to be a sacrifice, and I am very touched by that, too. But do you think I will let anyone escape from here?" Seth moved forward with the spear in his hands.
"Seth, don't." The guy beside him, who had been staying silent till now, stopped him.
"What now?" They looked at each other for a second before Seth put away his spear.
"Argh! Okay, all right! I won't! Happy? Just kill her yourself." He backed down, frustrated.
Eli, without turning back, made a run towards the lush green forest that was opposite the village. Everyone watched as she ran, but no one stopped her. She didn't have any footwear to protect her feet, and the mud and water covered the hard rocks on the streets. She stumbled on a rock and fell down. It grazed her knees and the skin on her elbow, but she let nothing happen to me. She gripped me.
She picked herself up, even through the pain, and ran again. I could see Hilda's face light up with relief as our distance increased.
Darius, the big man, came before her.
"I will grant you a painless death. But the children you just sent away won't have that luxury." As he said those words, a spear covered in a green aura sliced her neck clean, separating it from her body in an instant. She had a confused look on her face in her last moments.
That was the last time I saw her and the bed, which was painted red beside her, before vanishing into the forest.
They were my parents in this life. They were the people who gave birth to me. They were happy because I had just been born into this world. But they also died because of the only reason to protect me.
Would they have lived if I hadn't ever come into this world? I would never know. Even in their last moments, they worried about my life, disregarding theirs. But I couldn't do anything for them because of this useless body.
Would I choose to be a sacrifice if I were in their place? No! I was a coward then, not able to show respect to my mother because of my useless grudges. I am a coward now, unable to even scream at the deaths of the people who loved me.
Instead, I feel relieved. Relief that I could escape from this danger and that I get to live. Even though this little girl is putting her life on the line to save me, in one corner of my mind, I am still thinking it would be okay if I just survived.
There is no concern for others in my mind. Only a selfish desire. I thought I would start my new life in a better way, but what's this? I am the same, then and now. What is the use then? What is the point even if I survive?
Will the dead come back, or will I feel unfounded sympathy and love towards them? All of this is nothing but guilt that is crushing my heart. A life like this... will I choose it over death? Isn't death better than suffering while living?
Even now, I am trying to choose something convenient. This way, how could I ever show my face to the people in the afterlife who sacrificed their lives for me? I couldn't show them the gratitude they deserved now, anyway. How would they feel when they see this pathetic son who is tired of living?
Will they feel disgusted? How can they? In the end, they are still the people who gave birth to me. To them, I was everything. I didn't even get to call her mother in this life. I regret that.
"Rush! Crash!" The sound of water hitting a cliff was heard.
Eli's pace didn't slow down. She even increased her pace because of fear. She didn't turn back to look. In this empty, thick forest, she was the only living person who could be seen.
"Gush!" The sound of flowing water became even more vivid.
"Crackle!" Thunder crackled once again.
The heavy rain made it hard to look ahead of us. It was blurry all over. Sometimes, even the heavy gusts of wind made her trip on the muddy floor. She still held me tight. Insects the size of her palm crawled over her as she fell.
They looked poisonous. Some attached themselves to the clothing, making their way slowly towards her tender skin. But she persisted and ran, her breathing becoming irregular by the second.
The moment the floor below her vanished, she opened her eyes to look. But it was too late.
"Growl!" The hungry thunder was ready.
"Boom!" The lightning generated from its growl struck the living below. The pain of that and the water hitting the soft skin came at a time.
From the sky above, all the way down into the stream. It didn't take a second to realise that we fell.