Humiliation

In the mighty castle,

the warlord rushed in, his footsteps echoing. He knelt with respect.

"Your majesty, there is a problem."

The king turned, his eyes sharp with authority, piercing straight into the warlord's soul.

The warlord continued, steady but tense.

"Sire, our hidden spies report... the enemy plans to invade the orphanage in the deep forest near the Gangwan River."

The king froze. His breath hitched.

"What... but why?"

The warlord lowered his head.

"Sire, the enemy has discovered the secret hidden in that orphanage."

The king turned away, his face shadowed in worry. His mind raced.

The warlord stayed still.

"Sire... awaiting your command."

Silence hung heavy.

Then, slowly, the king turned. His gaze was cold. Commanding. Merciless. He didn't speak.

He didn't need to.

His eyes gave the order.

——

In the middle of the night, deep within the forest...

Two warriors sat in silence.

The air was still.

Karthik sat on a wooden chair, eyes fixed on the ground, processing the conversation they'd just had.

In that sudden calm, Charlie spoke.

"After three days..."

Karthik looked up immediately. He knew there was more.

Charlie continued, his voice low.

"We went to fight against the southern force of Wana. The scar of Hyna's death still burned inside me. But... I balanced myself. I went too."

A pause.

The night felt heavier.

Charlie breathed in.

"When we reached the battlefield, I got down from my horse. Slowly... I walked forward into the chaos. I grabbed my sword by the hilt, unsheathed it, and moved.

An enemy charged at me.

I slashed him down.

The second came — I slashed.

The third — I slashed.

The fourth — I slashed."

Charlie stopped to take a deep breath.

"When the fifth came... I cut his head clean off. His body dropped. And... between the space of his falling head and body... I saw something.

I froze.

I don't know what I saw.

But I kept walking.

At that moment... I felt nothing. No guilt. No regret. No sorrow. No despair.

Just blank."

He paused again.

"When I got close to it...

When I reached...

Silence.

I saw... death."

The night stood still.

Karthik's face tensed. Confusion. Tension.

He didn't interrupt.

He just sat there, eyes locked on Charlie.

No words.

Just listening.

With eyes filled with horror and sorrow...

Charlie spoke, his voice breaking.

"There... there was a spear..."

He gasped for air, shivering.

"Stuck into the ground. And on it... a woman."

Charlie took short, shaky breaths. His words trembled.

"Th-the spear… it pierced her from below...

It entered between her thighs… tore through her insides… ripped apart her stomach...

Burst through her chest… shattered her throat...

And came out from her mouth… standing tall… like a flag of suffering."

His breath quickened.

"Her jaw… broken. Hanging wide open.

Her tongue… torn, stuck to the spear with congealed blood.

Her eyes… popped out of their sockets, dangling by red, pulsing nerves.

Her face… nothing but torn flesh, nerves, and blood, splattered and dried."

Charlie's voice cracked.

"Her arms… gone. Torn off. Not cut… torn. Ripped from the shoulders. The bone ends jagged.

Her legs… missing. Nothing but torn muscle stumps."

Karthik stared. Silent. Frozen.

Charlie stammered, his voice shivering.

"I-it's… like someone grabbed her limbs… and just ripped them off… with brute force."

He stopped. His heart skipped.

His voice became cold... hollow.

"Her face…

That expression...

It was like she knew...

She knew she was about to die in the most horrifying, humiliating way…

And she couldn't move.

Couldn't scream.

Just… waited."

Charlie's fists clenched.

He swallowed hard.

"That woman...

She was just someone…

Someone who wanted a normal life…

A quiet life with her sister… away from pain, away from her past."

His breath turned into growls. His voice rose.

"And what did that battlefield give her?"

He shouted — loud, shaking, pure rage.

"THE MOST PAINFUL! THE MOST SUFFERABLE!

THE MOST HUMILIATING DEATH EVER SEEN ON THAT BLOODY BATTLEFIELD!"

Charlie glared at the ground like a beast. His breath heavy. His veins pulsing.

Karthik didn't move. Didn't blink.

Not shock. Not fear.

Just blank.

Charlie's voice deepened into a monster's growl.

"Then…

I took my sword.

I walked to her body… and with all my strength…"

He gritted his teeth.

"I SLASHED HER HEAD DOWN!

I SLASHED!

SLASHED!

SLASHED!

I tore her body apart... again... and again... and again!"

His breathing turned savage.

"I didn't stop!

I didn't even see her anymore!

Her body became flesh pieces…

Tiny, pulpy pieces of meat!

The ground SOAKED with every last drop of her blood!"

Charlie's eyes were red. Veins bulged.

"I slashed her body into such tiny remains…

Even God couldn't recognize his own creation!

I ERASED her humiliation!

I ERASED that memory from history itself!"

He glared at the earth, his face twisted with rage beyond humanity.

Karthik stayed silent.

No words.

No thoughts.

Only blankness.

And then...

Charlie whispered, his voice a venomous growl.

"Now you know why...

Watching your comrades die... is the best part...

OF ALLLLLLLLLLLL!"

Utter silence.

No words. No sounds. Just the crackle of the night.

Then...

Charlie's eyes narrowed.

He noticed something.

Confused, he slowly stood up... looking toward the sky.

Charlie asked softly,

"What's wrong?"

Karthik, still staring up, raised his finger and whispered,

"What's that…?"

Charlie turned.

In the night sky…

A thick column of black smoke slowly twisted upward, heavy and endless.

With a calm, dismissive face, Charlie mumbled,

"Could be some idiots like us… campfiring in the forest at this hour."

Karthik cut him off sharply,

"No. No way… A campfire doesn't make smoke that big.

Something's wrong. Come on!"

Without wasting another second, Karthik dashed into the darkness.

Charlie sighed in disappointment but followed.

They ran.

Branches slapping against them, the forest growing hotter with every step.

The crackling sound of flames… louder… closer.

Suddenly — they broke out of the treeline.

Both froze.

Eyes wide.

In front of them — a massive blaze.

A house engulfed in flames.

Fire eating wood, stone cracking from the heat, smoke drowning the night sky.

Charlie's voice trembled,

"Th-that's…"

He pointed with a shaking hand.

"That's… an orphanage."

Karthik turned to Charlie.

His face…

Not confused.

Not panicked.

Just frozen.

Frozen in shock.

No words.

No thoughts.

Only one thing echoed inside him — a scream that never made it out.

The fire roared.

The night was alive with flames.