"Stop!"
My eyes shot wide open at the shout.
Turning my head toward the noise, I saw a group of teens gathered near the table, circling around something.
"No!"
Another scream echoed through the cell before a different voice followed.
"Shut up."
Bam.
"Hel—"
The next shout was cut off before it could finish.
Bam.
"I said shut up."
Blinking, I couldn't quite grasp the situation at first. I wasn't sure if this was reality or just another nightmare.
Looking closer at the group of teens near the table, I saw something flash between them.
Blond hair.
All the boys in my cell had dark hair.
Seeing the streak of blond peek out between their bodies, I turned my head toward the bed opposite mine.
The one where the girl had been sleeping.
It was empty.
"Cover her mouth before someone hears her."
Hearing another voice, I turned my gaze back to the group.
The seven boys surrounded the girl and held her down. One of them pressed a hand over her mouth, stopping her screams before they could leave her mouth.
Their hands clamped onto her limbs, forcing her to stay on the ground while she twisted and struggled with all her strength, flailing her limbs around.
But her resistance was futile.
There were too many of them.
She could only lie there, helplessly pinned to the floor.
One of the boys raised his fist and punched down at her.
Bam.
"Stay silent!"
Her resistance faltered as a few more punches and kicks followed.
"Yes stay still."
"Good girl."
"We're just having some fun, don't worry."
"It won't hurt. We'll be gentle. Heheh."
"Yeah, just let us get a taste and we'll make you feel good too."
"You're also stressed because of the fights. Let's help each other."
Their voices echoed through the cell, followed by crude laughter.
I pushed myself up from the mattress to get a better view of what was happening. And what I saw made my blood run cold and my stomach twist.
The girl was helplessly pinned to the floor as the boys forced her shoulders and arms down. A piece of cloth had been shoved into her mouth, turning her screams into muffled sounds.
Another pair of boys grabbed her legs and pulled them apart while the others reached for her clothes.
She still struggled, resisting, her limbs thrashing weakly around, but their grip was too strong. Her eyes were wide, trembling as a stream of tears ran down her cheeks.
Like a pack of wild beasts, they were about to devour her.
The scene wasn't anything new to me.
I had seen it before.
Often.
No.
Daily.
On the ship.
Those memories had carved themselves into my soul.
I had left that place.
But the things I had seen there stayed.
Their screams haunted me when the room grew too silent.
Their faces appeared when I closed my eyes for too long.
And the things I saw replayed endlessly in the nightmares that plagued me.
I hated it.
I hated how humans could do that to another human.
I hated how I had been forced to watch.
I hated how I hadn't been able to do anything.
I hated them.
And I hated myself.
Before I realized it—
Step.
I was already standing next to them.
My body burned.
The rage that had taken root inside me resurfaced as the mana flowing through my veins grew hotter.
I was fast.
They hadn't even noticed me.
The only one who saw me standing behind them was the girl. Her trembling eyes stilled as they locked onto mine. The tears stopped.
The boy in front of me was still focused on her, hands pulling at her clothes, about to rip them apart.
I raised my right arm high—
SMASH!
My fist crashed into the back of his head, smashing it straight into the stone floor.
THUD!
His skull shattered under the impact. Blood and flesh sprayed around, splashing across the surrounding boys and me.
My fist remained buried in what had once been his head. The rest of his remaining head was embedded in the floor, stone and bones breaking all the same.
The boy was dead.
It was brutal.
And the only thing that people like them deserve.
They don't deserve to live.
It disgusts me to think that I am breathing the same air as them.
Everything had happened in a matter of seconds.
No one had time to react.
The boys only turned when they felt the warm blood splatter across them. Their eyes widened as they saw me standing right next to them and above their friend's body.
For a moment, there was silence.
No one spoke.
No one even breathed.
Then realization struck them, and they grasped what had happened.
Their hands released the girl as they stumbled to their feet.
One of them pointed at me with a trembling hand.
"H-he killed him!"
As if on signal, the others snapped out of their shock and rushed at me.
"Bastard!"
"Die!"
They charged like beasts, swinging wildly, both fear and rage mixing in their movements.
Two of them swung their fists at me.
Swoosh.
I ducked beneath their swings and stepped forward.
Step.
Raising my arms, I grabbed both of them by the throat. My fingers tightened as I lifted them slightly up.
Then, just as I was about to slam them down onto the floor—
"Stop!"
A guard's voice rang from the corridor.
I released them immediately, stopping mid-slam.
Thud.
The boys collapsed onto the floor, gasping and coughing.
My gaze shifted away from them and back to the girl.
Her clothes were still on, and she wasn't seriously injured. The trembling in her body had also faded. She simply stared up at me.
The guard's voice thundered again.
"What happened here?!"
I ignored the guard's words, gaze staying on the girl, confirming she was alright.
My eyes lingered on the number stitched onto her shirt.
[116]
A trembling voice broke the silence, making my head turn.
"H-He killed one of our friends!"