Hah... hah... hah...
I kept pushing my way through the forest, even as my lungs felt like they were on fire and my legs were almost numb. I could hear their voices behind , telling to stop.
"Stop, you bitch!"
But I didn’t care. I just kept running for my life.
"Damn it! Damn it! Why do bad things always happen to ?!" I cursed, tears of frustration starting to blur my vision. For a second, I glanced back. The figure was still chasing . I pushed my legs harder.
"Getting bullied at school for one day should have been enough!" I scread in my head, my breath ragged. After a whole day of humiliation, I thought I could just go ho like usual with a miserable face and a dirty uniform. Who knew... while walking ho, I’d get grabbed and smothered by this group of damn scumbags and thrown into a van!
Luckily, I managed to escape right as they were about to rape .
I kept running. I saw a sliver of moonlight ahead... at the edge of the forest. With what little strength I had left, I sprinted toward it.
When I stepped out from the trees onto a grassy clearing...
THUMP!
My body froze instantly, my feet feeling like they were glued to the ground.
Before stood several strange figures, talking amongst themselves. These people were wearing what looked like... cosplay costus? But no matter how stupid I was, I knew they definitely weren’t cosplaying.
This was a forest near a mountain, and it was late at night. They didn’t look like they were lost, either.
And most importantly...
What the hell is this incredible pressure?! I can barely even breathe! The hair on my neck stood straight up... it’s like... a prey animal eting an apex predator beyond all reason!
"Finally stopped, damn it," that familiar voice I hated sounded from behind . "You goddamn woman. Finally caught you."
The man panted, then continued, "What’s the matter? Why aren’t you running anymore? Oh, I know. You must be thinking, ’why bother running if I’m just going to get caught anyway.’ That’s a good choice. But I’m not going to forgive you for this wound you gave !"
Idiot, I thought. Doesn’t this crazy man realize the dangerous beings in front of him?
The figure in black armor slowly turned its head. From behind its dark helt, a calm but ice-cold voice sounded.
"Eruvath morith?"
From the words he spoke, I could tell it wasn’t Japanese. But I had no idea what language it was.
"Huh? What’s going on? Wait... who are you guys?"
So the bastard finally realized his situation, huh?
"Boss! You run fast! Did you catch that bitch yet?"
I heard several voices I hated erge from behind . They jumped out of the bushes and walked toward . One of them even touched my body with his disgusting, dirty hands. I gritted my teeth, holding back my rage.
"Hehe, we finally got you, you bitch."
The lewd, disgusting face of the old man in front of made feel even more hopeless. I shifted my eyes toward the group of strange people who were still motionless.
I don’t understand what they’re waiting for. Why aren’t they saving ?
Do I deserve this? What sin did I ever commit to have to go through sothing like this?!
Thinking about everything that had happened in my sixteen years of life, I felt like my life was nothing more than a pile of garbage.
I squeezed my eyes shut as the bastard was about to take off my clothes.
Then...
"MY HANDS!!!!"
I opened my eyes. I saw the man who was about to rape screaming in pain. Both his hands were cleanly severed, spraying blood into the air. Not far from him stood a woman in black armor with strange horns and a tail. She held a black sword dripping with blood, which then evaporated and vanished.
"You bastards! What did you do?!" the man who had chased earlier yelled.
A glimr of hope appeared in my heart. I scread with all my might. "Please, help !"
"Shut your mouth, bitch! After I’m done with them, I’ll be sure to enjoy your body brutally—"
SWISH!
I was horrified. Before the man could finish his sentence, half of his head flew into the air. The other half spurted fresh blood onto the ground before his body collapsed, lifeless.
What’s happening?
I turned toward the armored woman, but she was already gone. Then, I felt a touch on my shoulder.
"Wer bist du?"
My body tensed. What is she saying? I don’t understand at all! Am I going to suffer the sa fate as that man? The thought made my body break out in a sweat, and I couldn’t move a single finger.
The grip on my shoulder tightened.
"It hurts! It hurts! Please stop!" I cried out. Tears started to fall, and a feeling of despair washed over again. Is my life going to end here? My vision started to go dark.
"Stop it, Emma."
Just when I thought I was going to die, I heard the voice of the young man in black armor. The grip on my shoulder was released. I fell to the ground, coughing, trying to take a deep breath. I clutched my left shoulder, which was still aching.
I looked over at the three kidnappers who were still alive. One of them brandished his knife and yelled, "Stop! Don’t co any closer!" The man looked terrified.
"How could... this happen...." the other fat old man muttered, staring at his boss’s corpse with its head split in two.
"Damn it! I’m not going to die here! There are still so many things I want to do! Hmph!"
The last man tried to run, but a black sword ca out of nowhere and embedded itself in his chest. Red blood poured from his mouth. Then, the sword continued to move upward vertically, splitting his body in two as easily as cutting cheese.
Seeing that, I imdiately clamped my hand over my mouth, ignoring the pain in my shoulder. A wave of nausea churned in my stomach.
"Ugh!" I threw up. Any normal person would do the sa after seeing such a horrifying sight, right?
After I was done, I wiped away my tears and looked at the figures in front of with a pleading expression.
"Who... are you?"
"Before you ask soone else to introduce themselves, wouldn’t it be better... if you introduced yourself first?"
I saw the man in black armor extend his hand to . He spoke in broken, strange-sounding Japanese. In a normal situation, I would have definitely laughed at the way he spoke, but this was clearly not a normal situation.
I took his hand and stood up. My eyes were fixed on the two n who were still alive, now prostrating on the ground, begging, "Forgive... forgive us! Please, spare our lives!"
I looked at them with a sneer.
"Ah!"
Suddenly, a piercing pain shot through my shoulder. I looked down and saw a purple bruise there. It hurt just to move it.
"You can drink this."
The man in black armor extended his hand again. This ti, he was holding a beautiful, gold-trimd glass bottle. My face imdiately grew uneasy.
Inside the bottle, a black liquid swirled with strange bubbles. I even saw the vapor inside occasionally form the image of a skull.
"What is it?"
The woman in black armor with silver patterns, standing beside the man, was now radiating a dangerous aura.
"I’ll drink it." I quickly grabbed the glass bottle and chugged its contents. I don’t care what this is, all I can think about right now is surviving! At least being alive is better than being dead!
I tasted sothing strange from the liquid. Unlike its disgusting appearance, it actually didn’t taste too bad. Sort of like Coca-Cola.
Then, I felt a change in the wound on my left shoulder. "No way?!"
The left shoulder of my uniform, which had been torn by the grip, and my bruised skin were now back to normal. I tried to move my left arm... there was no pain at all. I looked in awe at the empty bottle in my hand.
How could there be a miracle dicine that can heal a wound in an instant? It even got rid of the torn clothes and the dirt on my body?
I looked at the strange people in front of .
I raised my hand and introduced myself. "My na is Mahiru Yuna. I’m a student at Asahi High School," I said, my voice a little scared.
"So... what is a high school student... doing in the forest? At night, no less?"
Hearing the question, I hesitated to answer. But seeing the strangely calm expression of the Magician standing to the left, I decided to speak.
"I-I was just trying to go ho from school like usual, but those people...." I pointed to the two n still prostrating there.
"Smothered and were about to rape . Luckily, the rope they tied wasn’t too tight, and I managed to escape into the forest." I lowered my head as I said it, feeling extrely ashad.
"I see... I understand." The armored figure paused for a mont. "Oh, right. I haven’t introduced myself. I am Arthur Leonhart, and these four... are my friends."
Arthur gestured toward the four people behind him.
I don’t think they’re just your ’friends,’ I thought. I bowed my head slightly to them as a sign of respect.
I saw Arthur talking with the four of them. I had no idea what they were talking about, but then, the bodies of the four people glowed for a mont with a bright, yellowish-white light before disappearing.
What happened? Where did that light co from?
"Lord Arthur, shall I kill this disgusting insect?"
Suddenly, I heard those words from the woman in black armor. My body imdiately tensed. From her tone, I knew this person wasn’t joking. Unconsciously, I took a step back, waiting for the answer from the person nad Arthur.
"No, don’t do that."
"Understood." The armored woman imdiately lowered her sword, which had been pointed at .
"We shouldn’t talk here," Arthur said. "Let’s go sowhere a little brighter, shall we? Besides, I still have so questions for you."
I nodded in understanding. The longer I stayed here, the more uncomfortable I felt.
"Lord Arthur, I... I haven’t thanked you for saving ," I said, then imdiately bowed my head deeply.
"It’s nothing."
I raised my head and looked at the two n who were still prostrating and begging for rcy.
"Emma, do it."
Then, I heard a cold voice from Arthur, ordering the armored woman I now knew as Emma.
"Understood."
WHOOSH! Emma instantly vanished from my sight. Then, I heard horrifying screams from the two n. I saw Emma gripping both their necks and saying sothing that sent chills down my spine.
"You disgusting, lowly creatures. You should be proud to die at my hands!"
The two n tried to fight back. I even saw them pull out knives, but strangely, the knives seed to hit sothing invisible before they could touch Emma’s body. They kept struggling, but no matter how hard they tried, the two hands choking their necks seed to be made of stone.
"Emma, stop playing around."
I turned to Arthur, then back to the two n who were panicking like cats with their tails stepped on.
CRACK!
I was horrified. Both their necks were instantly crushed, severed from their bodies. My body imdiately broke out in goosebumps. I backed away from the terrifying woman.
What is wrong with these people? A normal person couldn’t possibly crush a human neck like that, right?! Besides, a mont ago they were speaking a different language, but now... ever since that strange yellow-white light appeared, they can suddenly speak Japanese!
Who are they, really? I looked at the group of people in front of . Due to the lack of light, I couldn’t see their appearances clearly, other than to confirm they were wearing strange armor.
"Lord Arthur, would you like to use the corpses?"
I turned to the handso young man who had been looking at with a smile. Of these five people, I thought he was the most normal.
"No. You can clean them up."
"Very well."
Hearing their conversation, I imdiately turned to the corpses lying not far from .
The young man dressed as a Magician snapped his fingers.
TING!
It sounded like a clock chi.
"What happened?!" I stared at the spot where the corpses had been. A few seconds ago they were still there, but now... they were gone, as if swallowed by the earth.
"Alright, Mahiru Yuna-san, let’s get out of this forest."
I heard a friendly tone from the man, but strangely, I didn’t feel any comfort at all. Instead, I felt scared. What they just did... was definitely not sothing a human could do. Who are these people, really? And... what are those wings and that tail? Although it was dark here, I could still see a faint shadow behind the woman and a pair of strange wings behind the man nad Arthur.
I followed the group of strange people from behind. I could still feel the killing intent from the woman in black armor. But thankfully, the feeling of pressure I had first felt was now gone.
"You’re lucky, human."
I heard a soft woman’s voice. Instantly, I turned toward the source of the voice. I saw a woman dressed like a maid near . Because it was dark here, I couldn’t see her appearance clearly.
But I still answered with my head bowed.
"Thank you."
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