[39.4] Della POV: The Strength of a Mother's Love

I drifted off into sleep and suddenly found myself in a cage.

A loud bell echoed throughout the area around me and a very loud commotion could be heard from outside.

My little brother grabbed my hand, "Sister… What's happening?"

I looked over at him and then down at my stomach. It was so large from the child who lay inside.

I rubbed it with an ominous feeling.

The man next to me stood up and went to the door. He muttered in a low voice, "It seems like an enemy slaver."

Patrick grabbed me tighter in a panic, "W-What's going to happen?"

The cell shook as rubble fell from the ceiling.

I heard a noise at the end of the hall and pressed myself against the bars to see.

I could see a woman in a cloak stepping towards us with a pure white blade followed by two men behind her. Only her pale, flawless hands could be seen as the cloak completely hid her other features.

She pointed her sword at me, "Get me the woman. The other two can die."

My eyes shrunk back in a panic.

Why me!?

They kicked down the cell door and broke in.

Ice shot up, completely knocking the two men back into the hall.

The man who had attacked them jumped in front of me protectively. Although we were forced into this position, he still had the instinct to protect the child that I carried. He looked at my brother and me in a panic, "RUN!"

Patrick pulled me out from the open doorway and away from the woman in the cloak.

I looked back as my heart raced.

Although that man was strong, no one could withstand the collar and use pure mana for long.

I watched as he fought the two men, slowly knocking them to the side.

Then, a bright light flashed.

I let out a scream as he fell back leaving a trail of blood.

The woman in a cloak stepped over his body as if it was nothing, "Worthless scum."

A sudden pang erupted from my stomach.

My brother started to pull on me, "Don't look back! RUN!"

The woman pointed her sword at me, "You can't run from me."

Patrick and I sprinted down the hall until we came to a dead end. We both turned around in a panic to see the woman calmly walking towards us.

Red appeared in my dream laughing, "Don't you want to get revenge!? You were forced to have his child and forced to watch her father die! Shouldn't you be angry!? Don't you want revenge?!"

I held up a hand, "You're getting ahead of yourself. This isn't where the story ended."

I forced the dream to keep playing.

We were cornered like rats.

As the men strode to us, the roof above caved in and a woman fell through.

She landed on her feet without effort.

Her long brown hair was pulled back into a braid and swayed in the air. It was so long, it nearly hit the floor. She wore a tight fabric that had been ripped and tied back together, making it clear she didn't put much effort into what she wore.

She took a fighting stance against the enemy.

The woman in the cloak clicked her tongue in annoyance before pointing the blade at the other.

I watched in awe as the sudden intruder charged ahead with only her bare fists. The metal of the cloaked woman's sword struck the metal plates on her arms and ricocheted off.

I felt another pain in my stomach and leaned forward with a shriek.

My brother held me, "What's wrong!?"

Sweat dripped down my forehead, "The baby's coming."

The woman intruder glanced back at me as if my shriek had alerted her of my presence.

I held my breath once I saw her beautiful features.

Although a silk mask covered the lower half of her face, her eyes were so breathtaking and gentle which contrasted with her ferocious fighting style. She looked like a person you could rely on to comfort you during harsh times, not a seasoned fighter.

However, upon seeing her unnatural vibrant green eyes and the small nub of a horn on her forehead, I quickly realized why such a beautiful woman was so strong.

She was a demon.

The cloaked woman saw an opening and leaped forward with her sword.

The demon heard her attack and turned back to her, but it was clear that she was taken off-guard.

At that moment, another figure came through the hole in the ceiling and parried the attack.

Another woman had appeared, but unlike her companion, she didn't seem to be a demon. She had a strange air about her, but there was nothing to suggest she was inhuman. This woman had long straight raven black hair pulled into a tight high ponytail. She wore a black swordsman outfit and donned a long Rapier sword.

The swordswoman grinned as she faced the cloaked woman, "How shameful! A swordswoman attacking one without a sword is utmost disrespectful!"

I watched as she hopped around seemingly on air, launching attacks without breaking a sweat. The woman in the cloak could only grit her teeth as she defended herself from the countless blows.

The swordswoman laughed loudly, "Hah! You're open! No, no! You're doing it all wrong! You must protect your core! No! Now your flank is open!!"

My heart raced in excitement as I watched the two women fight. It was igniting something I didn't know I contained inside of myself.

However, another wave of ripping pain coursed through my body, causing me to let out a sudden scream.

The woman with brown hair in a long braid turned to me. She pulled out a necklace and held it up to the devices around our necks which broke apart upon touching. She suddenly supported my body with one arm and grabbed my brother by the collar of his clothes.

She used unimaginable strength to jump up and through the hole that she had caused earlier. I clutched her in a panic as we flew through the air. My heart finally settled from the excitement after she landed perfectly in the street.

That… That was kind of fun!

It felt like I was flying!

The wind blew through the alley sending dust and debris through the air. She ran through the narrow road, past the damaged clay buildings and the bodies littering the ground.

I heard an explosion back where we came from and saw the swordswoman jumping off of buildings while fighting the woman in the cloak. She landed on another building with such a strong force, it actually caused the building to fall to ruins.

Suddenly, the demon carrying us came to a skidding stop. In front of us was another gang of foreign attackers, armed with swords.

The demon put us down and pointed in a different direction. We both understood what she meant and wasted no time running in the direction she pointed.

As I ran, I felt pain shooting up nearly immobilizing me. I cried out and had to support myself on a nearby wall.

My frail brother tried to support me, "H-Hang in there!"

The sound of my wail alerted the nearby attackers which descended upon our location in a blink of an eye. One shouted, "That's her! Kill the man, but make sure she stays alive!"

I weakly raised my head, suddenly angered by the pain coursing through my body and the noise around me.

My hand clutched at the dried mud that covered the desert territory. Under all of the coarse sand, my fingers brushed past a piece of old wood buried in the ground.

I shouted in a fury, "You jerks!! I'm having a BABY! HAVE SOME RESPECT!"

I grit my teeth and used all of my strength to pull out a piece of the root. I pointed the fragile piece of wood at the man. As energy coursed through my veins and toward the stick, icicles poured out from the tip.

They shot through the air, colliding with the attacking men.

The men were completely incapacitated by my sudden attack and fell to the ground limply. I leaned forward with a scream as another wave of pain hit me.

My brother ran forward to hold me, "A-Are you okay!?"

"No, I'm not okay!! I'm having a BABY!" I fell to my knees, "It hurts SOOO much! UGH! I didn't think it would be this bad!"

He looked around in a panic, "W-What should I do!? Should I find someone!?"

"Anyone you try to find will KILL us!"

He looked at the bodies tossed to the ground, "Um… I'm not so sure about that."

Another pair of footsteps ran towards us. The demon woman with the braided hair ran to us and hesitated upon seeing the ice already starting to melt. She looked back at me, but I was in far too much pain to say anything to her.

Without missing a beat, she picked me up princess-style. I held my stomach as I moaned in agony. She looked at my brother who nodded in understanding. Together, the two of them ran out of the hectic streets and out into the desert. I couldn't prevent the inevitable anymore and grabbed her arm in a panic, "T-The baby! The baby is coming!"

The demon looked around quickly to find somewhere we could hide. There was a small rock cave in the dunes where she calmly placed me down and helped me deliver my child. When the baby was born, the child didn't cry.

However, just seeing that she was healthy and breathing was enough to bring tears to my eyes.

That child was a piece of me.

…It was a piece I never knew I needed.

I was happy.

I finally understood what it meant to be happy.