chapter 16: From Vengeance to Survival

The commander turned red with anger. His friend's blood-soaked body lay before him, blood pooling around it. His other friend also raged, seeing his comrade's lifeless form. The commander and his friend began to advance toward me. "You bitch, you killed my friend! Today, you won't escape," he yelled, as his friend drew his sword and approached. I quickly stepped back, grabbed a utensil nearby, and threw it at them, then dashed toward the door to escape. But they chased me, one shouting, "Today, you won't survive; I'll make you suffer pain worse than hell!"

I sprinted straight toward the forest, blood covering my body. I was without a single piece of clothing. The forest was pitch dark, barely anything visible except for a faint glow of moonlight. Somehow, I kept running for my life. Despite my intense anger, I knew I couldn't defeat them alone, so I kept running. The two followed me into the forest. I hid behind a large tree as the commander and his friend paused on the other side. I quietly held my breath, covering my mouth with my hands. The commander muttered, "She must've gone that way," and they moved on. Relieved, I exhaled softly.

Suddenly, his friend grabbed my hair from behind and pulled me back. In fear, I immediately stabbed his eyes with my knife. Hearing his scream, the commander began to rush toward us, so I drove the knife repeatedly into his friend's stomach. This time, as I struck, I felt a strange satisfaction, almost as if I was enjoying it. I kept stabbing him, pulling his insides out. Just then, the commander struck me from behind with his sword, and I collapsed, unconscious.

When I regained consciousness, I saw that the commander was dragging me toward a waterfall. I struggled, trying to break free from his grasp, but he was too powerful, and I was too weak. My entire body scraped against the ground, my back bleeding. I felt a stone under my hand, grabbed it, and hit his arm with it, but it barely seemed to affect him. His face was twisted in rage, his eyes red, almost like a demon. But even then, I wasn't afraid—I just wanted to give him a death worse than his friend's.

As he continued dragging me, I managed to land a sharp blow with the stone between his legs. He released me in pain, and as soon as I had the chance, I tried to run. But he grabbed my hand again and slapped me hard across the face, sending me tumbling near the waterfall. I tried to stand, but he came at me again, kicking me hard in the stomach, making me even weaker and causing blood to spill from my mouth. He came closer, wrapped his hands around my throat, and lifted me off the ground. I struggled, thrashing like a fish out of water.

In desperation, I pushed my thumb into his eye, forcing it deeper and pulling his eye out. Kicking him hard, I jumped back, falling straight into the waterfall. He probably thought I was dead, but as I fell, I told him, "Your death will come only by my hands, and it'll be so terrible that even demons would tremble to witness it." With those words, I plunged into the water below.

Miraculously, I survived, and the river carried me far away into a distant forest. My whole body trembled from the cold, my wounds aching intensely. I tore off some large leaves, used them to cover myself, and made my way to a cave, where I tried to light a fire but failed. The chill overcame me, and eventually, I fell asleep right there in the cave.