Pain
1386 Words
“Haaa… haaa…”
Kuvira’s breath was as ragged as one could imagine.
Her body was growing weak, and she felt incredibly heavy.
‘H-how much longer… can I hold out…?’
The men before her were laughing—cackling like the madmen that they were.
The ones behind her were quickly closing in.
There was no escape.
“Just give up, woman. You can’t escape…”
“Huff… huff…” As Kuvira kept struggling to breathe, she looked at the terrified faces of the villagers.
“Will you at least spare these innocent ones?”
“Spare them? Are you joking right now?”
“She must surely be joking!”
The soldiers laughed their hearts out, almost as if they were drunk.
“After all we’ve said? After all they’ve heard from our lips? How could we possibly let them live?!”
It felt like common sense to annihilate everyone in here, so they were surprised to even be asked such foolish questions.
“P-please spare us!”
“We promise not to cause you any trouble!”
“We won’t tell anyone!”
“We didn’t hear anything! We promise!”
“Please spare our lives!”
The villagers began to beg, their desperation bleeding through their bulging eyes.
As simple folk, they weren’t very conversant with politics. Even though a lot of what they had heard was downright surprising, it really wouldn’t do much to affect their everyday lives.
They would continue farming, and eating, and enjoying the quietness of the land they were allowed to live on.
“P-please just let us go…”
All they asked for was mercy.
“Pffft! Like we care!” A single s***h from one of the soldiers sliced through the chest of an innocent woman.
~SPLOOSH!~
Blood slushed out of her torn body, and she collapsed on the ground almost immediately.
A few more careless slashes from the grinning monsters in the flesh of men caused more innocent villagers to drown in their own pool of blood.
“p-please! Mercy! Arregghh!”
Anyone could be next.
“I beg of y… urghhh!”
No one was safe.
As Kuvira watched all of this horror unfold, she blamed herself.
If she hadn’t been so selfish… if her husband and her never came here… then none of this would have happened.
Her hands trembled, and the grip on her blade weakened as she watched the corpses of her new friends and family.
None of them deserved this.
“Hiya!”
The sudden movement of two men brought her back to the situation at hand, as they expertly closed the distance that existed between them.
One of them had his blade raised, ready to cut Kuvira down where she stood, and the other was making a straight thrust.
“Keuk!” Kuvira knew her hesitation had cost her time, but she couldn’t give in and accept death.
~WHOOSH!~
She made quick motions and leaped into action.
Kuvira took the decisive move by charging forward.
Her nimble body dodged the downward strike, considering the weight of the man that targeted her, and her currently weakened muscles.
Instead, she chose to target the one whose blade was sharply lunging at her.
~CLANG!~
Using the sword on her hand to parry the weapon, Kuvira charged even closer to the enemy.
‘My body feels too heavy, so my technique is off. But…!’
She couldn’t just give up now!
~WHOOOSH!~
As soon as she parried the blade, Kuvira slashed at her foe, instantly severing his throat.
Blood sprayed out of the hole that formed, but she no longer had any business with him, or the tiny embers of life that would soon be snuff out.
Instead, her gaze rested on the one she had avoided earlier.
“YOU BIIITCCH!” He yelled, rage within his eyes as he witnessed the death of his comrade.
It almost felt hypocritical, considering how this same man had just killed an innocent villager right before her eyes.
He also desired to kill her if he could.
Unfortunately for him, however, Kuvira would never allow that to happen.
Not like this.
~VWUUUM!~
His heavy blade lashed at the air, but she expertly dodged every strike, retreating a step backward with each movement.
~WHUUSH!~
Another s***h from behind almost caught her off-guard, but her senses were sharp enough to pick up on it.
She swiftly twisted her body and allowed the blade’s trajectory to flow in the direction she intended.
As a result…
~CLANG!~
The two enemy blades clashed, causing her foes to recoil.
It gave her the perfect window to strike.
~WHOOOOSH!~
In a single twist in midair, Kuvira slashed at her two foes, killing them both at the same time.
“Huff… huff…”
Taking a few leaps backwards to escape the clutches of the rest, Kuvira’s strained breath leaked out of her lips as she felt her consciousness slowly fading.
“You wretch…”
“You’re better than I thought…”
“As expected from someone trained in the Imperial Arts…”
“Even without being a recognized expert, you definitely qualify.”
The remaining six now had extremely cautious expressions, and their stances changed to purely defensive ones.
‘I… I don’t know if I can take on any more of them…’ Kuvira’s thoughts trailed
Her body could barely move at this point.
She too began to get on the defensive. It was now a stalemate, but it was clear who had the upper hand.
In only a few more minutes, the riders would be here.
If she didn’t hurry, they were all doomed.
‘Chiron… where are you? I need you now. Our son… needs you now…’
“Thinking about your husband? Hehehe! I can see it in your eyes!”
“Haha! Don’t bother!”
“He’s not going to come and save you.”
Kuvira’s brow twitched as soon as she heard this.
What did they mean by their words? How were they so sure that her husband wasn’t going to come?
“WHAT DID YOU BASTARDS DO?!” Her scream echoed across the space around, nearly frightening the grown men who faded her.
As soon as they recovered, though, they continued their taunts.
“Let’s just say… he’s a bit occupied at the moment.”
Kuvira could already guess what they were implying, but she didn’t want to believe it.
“The rest of our brethren went with him on the expedition. What do you think would happen?”
She shuddered at the thought of her husband surrounded by so many enemies disguised as allies.
‘They’d never stand a chance against Chiron in a fair fight…’
Not even if there were a thousand of them.
‘But these lowlifes could catch him off guard. Chiron trusts his men so much…’
He had always been the soft, trusting type—especially when it came to friends and family.
If they were to catch him unawares… then even Kuvira could not guarantee his safety.
‘M-maybe he is—!’
Before Kuvira made a thought she could not take back, she shook her head and strengthened her resolve.
‘I won’t fall here! I can’t!’ And if that was the case for her, then it applied tenfold for her husband.
He was a man far stronger than any other.
“You all… will pay for your treachery with your lives!” She growled, gathering the last of her energy to fight.
‘I just have to… defeat six more…’
Once she did so, she could escape the barricade placed around her and her village.
‘My injuries… are severe. In my current state, I probably won’t make it very far.’
If she could entrust her child to a villager who fled, then that would be most optimal.
There was still a very slim chance of escape, even if she defied all odds and won this confrontation.
What was the guarantee that these inexperienced villagers could outrun the approaching riders?
Kuvira knew all the odds were against her.
But… she didn’t want to lose hope.
“Haaaaa!” She raised her blade and gave a battle cry.
“I will never yie—!”
~WHOOSH!~
Several arrows suddenly landed on Kuvira’s back, many even piercing through her.
“… Ur…h?”
- Writer
