The Selection - Chapter 39 Post Academy Invasion

I jump off the bed and then run to the main door. Screams resound outside. I open the door and then walk a few steps outside. I widen my eyes and drop my jaws as my eyes wander around.

The building across from me is on fire and crumbling. People are running in every direction. My eyes linger on a man wearing a white mask. He chases an unarmed man and slashes his back with his sword. The unarmed man falls forward. A bolt of lightning appears above the masked man and shocks him. The masked man drops his weapon and falls. A group of four runs up to the injured man. One of them casts Healing magic on his injury while the other three protects them from more masked men.

The smiling faces of Luna, Sitos, Drugo, and Marin flash in my head one after the other. My body instantly breaks into a sprint. I run past the chaos unfolding in front of me, heading toward the Adventurer’s District. My heart pounds rapidly. The masked fighters are clashing with everyone near them.

“Mommy!” A young boy cries, standing still in the middle of several fights going on. A woman is being dragged toward an alley by a masked man leaving behind a trail of blood. I unsheathe my weapons while following him.

“Let her go!” I yell. He drops her and turns toward me. The cloak he’s wearing obscures my vision of anything he’s carrying. I slowly walk toward him with my weapons ready. He backs away with every step I take. Suddenly, he jumps toward the wall. I knit my eyebrows as he kicks off the wall and then jumps to the other. Repeating until he disappears onto one of the roofs nearby. I sheathe my weapons and kneel down to the woman. “Hey, are you alright?”

Her eyes are open, but there’s no response. A pool of blood is quickly forming around her stomach. I close my eyes for a moment, sigh, and shake my head. I close her eyes before standing back up. The least I can do is save the boy

I turn back to the streets. There are already two people talking to the boy. I sigh. They look reliable. I’m glad he’s safe now.

I resume running toward the Adventurer’s District. I avoid the corpses littered on the ground in the area. There aren’t any masked people here anymore. Suddenly, an explosion resounds behind me followed by more screams. I turn around and gape, my eyes losing focus. There’s a cloud of smoke and dust around the spot the boy and the two other were. Someone yells, “Kai, look out above you!”

I look above me. There’s someone falling about to attack me with an axe. A burst of water appears and pushes them away toward the other side of the street. They crash into the wall. I find Hina running toward me. “Hina”

She stops in front of me and asks, “Kai, what’re you doin’ just standin’ there absentmindedly? Where’s the rest of your group?”

I focus my eyes back on the situation. “That’s right I need to meet up with them! Thanks, you saved me!”

“And I need to meet up with mine,” she says and then starts running in the direction opposite of me. “Stay alive out there. It’s every man for himself!”

I resume running toward the Adventurer’s District. I grit my teeth and avert my eyes from the carnage in front of me. The masked attackers are everywhere. Smoke rises in the distance all around the city. I recall Hiro’s last moments again and squeeze my eyes shut for a second. I try to mute out the screams for help around me. It aches my heart to do so when I have to power to save them. Even so, I run past everything, somehow avoiding most of the skirmishes. I think about the good and peaceful times with the others. Everyone, please be safe!

Panting, I arrive at the Adventurer’s District. It’s quiet. The only thing I hear is the sound of crackling buildings on fire. I widen my eyes while continuing to run toward the Adventurer’s Hub. There isn’t a living thing in sight. There are only the dead bodies of civilians, masked people, guards, and adventurers; mostly the latter. I slow my pace a little, not wanting to find out what awaits me at the end. A cold chill goes down my spine. I gulp and then quicken my pace.

I stop running as the Adventurer’s Hub is in sight, widening my eyes. Hiro the Great and Company’s caravan is parked outside of it. Flames cover the entire transport. I grit my teeth, sprint toward it, and prepare my magic. I cover my hands in Fire magic using Rich Mana. I firmly grasp the door handle of the caravan with both hands and pull. It doesn’t open. Damn door!

I plant my feet on the wall next to the door and push while still pulling on the door. The door suddenly bursts open.

“Ahh!” I scream as a gust of hot smoke blows me away. I cough and stand back up. Hiro’s body is still inside. I run forward and yell, “Hiro!”

The caravan crackles and part of the ceiling falls. I stop running as a piece of it blocks me from entering the transport. It doesn’t look like anyone else is inside. Shit! I told Hiro I would bring him home! I can’t

The whole caravan collapses. Hot flames repel me away. Shit!

Tears flow down my eyes as the caravan continues to burn. I clench my teeth and fists. Damn it I’m sorry, Hiro I’ll get you out later. That’s a promise.

I stop emitting flames from my hands and turn toward the entrance to the Adventurer’s Hub. I have to let everyone else know. You guys are inside the building, right?

I walk toward the building, my eyes unfocused. I smile. That’s righteveryone must have taken shelter inside. That’s a good idea. People did the same thing in other parts of the city. Good thinking guys.

I go into the dark building, finding Drugo face down on the ground near the entrance. I smile, walk toward him, and say, “Hey, Drugo. I knew you guys were okay. You can get up now. It looks like all those masked people left this area already. Where’re”

I step in a puddle. What’s water doing here?

I look down and lift up my foot. It’s blood. Huh?

Suddenly, the smell of blood enters of nostrils. I stop smiling, focus my eyes, and look around. There’s blood everywhere. More than a dozen bodies are littered across the room. Chills course through my entire body. I look down on Drugo again. I drop my jaws and widen my eyes. A massive pool of blood is around him. There’s a hole in the back of his armor.

“Hey, Drugo!” I yell as I shake his body. There’s no response. I check his pulse, and there’s nothing. My entire face twitches as tears well up in my eyes. I look down and cry. Damn it Did I make the same mistake? All because I decided to visit Emdos

Luna’s smiling face as I left the caravan appears in my mind. I sniff up the snot dripping down my nose. I look up. Luna

I widen my eyes. Luna’s on the ground on the other side of the room. She appears to be unharmed but unconscious. I stand up and yell, “Luna!”

I take no more than one step forward before another footstep resounds near me. I gulp as I turn toward the noise. A masked attacker stands there, his entire body shrouded by a cloak. He’s dual-wielding swords. I raise my eyebrows. Those look like the swords we discovered in those ruins

Something is dripping down one of his swords. It’s blood. I frown and grit my teeth into a snarl, tears still flowing down my eyes. “You Are you the one who killed Drugo?”

He doesn’t answer. I draw both my swords and charge at him. “I’ll kill you!”

He throws both of his swords at me and charges forward too. I hold my blades in front of the sword’s path, deflecting them. I prepare to swing my blades, when suddenly, his weapons find their way back into his hands. I parry his blows one after the other. I widen my eyes as a crack appears on one of my weapons. I parry his next attacks using a different part of the sword. I grit my teeth. An opening!

I kick him back and then throw my left sword at him with full strength. I point my left palm toward the center of his body as he stumbles backward and deflects my weapon. I charge at him and shout, “Fire bolt!”

Fire in the shape of a fat arrow appears out of my palm and flies toward him. He throws his right blade at me and then puts his cloak in front of my magic’s path. I dodge his sword and continue to charge forward. My magic instantly burns his cloak to ashes. It lands in the center of his armor, scattering the flames forward. He screams as the center of his armor steams and melts partially. I throw my arm back and yell, “Die!”

I swing my weapon down with all my strength. He takes a step back at the last moment. I take a step forward and prepare a follow-up attack, his back now against the wall. This is for Drugo!

His mask falls, cut into two pieces. I stop my sword at the last second and gape. My heart skips a beat. Nono way

Sitos is the one behind that mask. He’s frowning, his eyebrows are narrowed, and his eyes devoid of any light. A small amount of blood leaks from a vertical cut on his face. My arm shakes, and I loosen my muscles in my entire arm. Suddenly, he knocks the sword out of my hands with his. He screams, “Kai!”

When I realize, it’s too late. His weapon slices through my armor and cuts diagonally across my chest. I scream and stumble backward. His right arm is extended forward. I turn around toward my left. His other weapon is spinning in the air toward me. It cuts me through my left shoulder. It feels like something pushes me backward before his weapon cuts through the rest of my body. I scream again as I fall backward. Sitos catches his weapon. I try to move, but I’m unable to. I can’t even turn my head or move a finger.

“Sitos Why” I mutter. He doesn’t say anything as he walks toward me. I can’t see him since my head rests on the floor on my left. Clapping and footsteps resound from somewhere else in the room, steadily growing closer. Another masked attacker appears in front of me.

“Fantastic performance, Sitos. Just in time for the main show,” the masked man says. I raise my eyebrows.

“You! What did you do to Sitos?!”

He laughs and then answers, “I didn’t do anything. He did all of that on his own will.”

“Liar!”

“It is not a lie, Kai,” Sitos responds. I relax my facial expressions.

“Wh-what’re you talking about, Sitos?” I ask, my eyes and lips quivering.

“Is it not obvious by now?”

“Th-this is-isn’t a good jo-joke, Sitos. Stop me-messing around.”

“How can you be so ignorant of everything around you? That part about you annoyed me.”

“Huh?” I ask and knit my eyebrows.

“I hate you!” he yells and then spits on my face. “I have always hated you!”

“Th-that can’t be true Sitos This guy must’ve done something to you”

Sitos laughs and then responds, “I do not understand how you can still be so trusting of me. Drugo did not doubt me even at the very end. Look at the good that did him.”

I widen my eyes. “That’s a lie, Sitos! Stop lying! Drugo’s your friend. I’m your friend. Why”

“Friend? I can hardly believe you still think I am your friend in this situationbut you are not my fucking friend.”

“I’m”

“Shut up, shut up, shut up!” he yells. “What kind of friend were you Kai? You took everything I have ever wanted from me. You ended up with the girl of my dreams. If that was not enough, you surpassed me in swordplay without even trying. If that was not enough, you got my father’s acknowledgment! You did not even notice any of that like the ignorant piece of shit that you are, Kai!”

I hear his panting. There’s anger in his voice, but there’s also sadness. My eyes tear up. I don’t know how to respond to that. “Sitos I”

“You cannot possibly be that stupid, right Kai? You pretended not to notice. You actually did everything on purpose to hurt me, did you not Kai?”

“What? No, I”

“Now I am going to show you how it feels when I take something from you,” Sitos says and then walks away. I knit my eyebrows.

What’s he talking about? I raise my eyebrows as his footsteps resound toward Luna’s location. “Sitos, no! You can’t kill her! If you hate me, then kill me! Didn’t you like Luna? You can’t kill her! She’s your friend!”

Sitos laughs and then says, “Do not worry, Kai. I am not going to kill her. You really are ignorant.”

I grit my teeth and stare at the masked man in front of me. There’s a black snake on the left side of his mask that curves around the top toward the center of it. Everything’s his fault If I kill this guy, Sitos will go back to normal.

I prepare instructions for my magic. The masked man laughs and then says, “Kai I’ll say this just in case you’re planning something. If you try anything, I’ll end that girl’s life.”

I knit my eyebrows as he takes out some kind of contraption. He continues, “You saw that the girl’s wearing a collar, right? Well, just watch”

Seconds later, Luna screams. With tears welling up in my eyes, I shout, “Luna! What happened?!”

The masked man laughs and then says, “See? You’ll just have to enjoy the show.”

I cancel my instructions and yell, “You fucker! Emdos won’t forgive you for this!”

He doesn’t answer for several seconds. He laughs loudly. “Emdos won’t forgive me? Emdos won’t forgive me?”

He continues laughing. “What’s so funny?!”

He chuckles a few times before replying, “Nothing So, where is this Emdos character?”

“Th-that is”

“Kai! Help me! I can’t move! Sitos’ gonna kill me! He killed Drugo!” Luna shouts with a tearful voice.

I grit my teeth and try to clench my fists. My fingers don’t move, but my hands tense up. I yell, “Sitos, stop!”

I hear something being cut. Luna screams, “No!”

Sitos laughs. “Luna! What’s going on?!”

The masked man laughs and then says, “Oh, that’s right. You can’t see anything from that angle. Let me help you with that.”

He turns my head the other way. I widen my eyes and gape. No He wouldn’t

Sitos is mounted on top of Luna, her upper half completely bare. Luna’s eyes meet with mine. “Kai, don’t watch! Close your eyes, please!”

Tears flow out of her eyes. With of a smile on his face, Sitos grabs her breasts and buries his face in the center of them. Luna screams, “No, stop!”

“Sitos, you bastard! You fucking bastard!” I yell. Sitos lifts up his head and turns toward me. He grins.

“You already cannot take any more? I am just getting started” he says and then turns back. He cuts her shorts in half and then removes the last piece of clothing on her body. I can’t stop the tears from coming out of my eyes.

I squeeze my eyes shut and yell, “Sitos! You’ve made your point! I’m sorry! Please, stop! I’ll do anything!”

“N-no! St-stop it!” Luna screams. I open my eyes, finding Sitos’ head buried between her legs. He jerks his head back and gags. He spits on her. A pale yellow liquid gathers between her legs.

“You stupid bitch” Sitos mutters. “I will put you in your place!”

Sitos loosens his belt and then pulls his pants down. He spreads her legs apart. Luna tearfully says, “Please, don’t That’s reserved for Kai I made a promise”

“Sitos, stop! Please! What do you want?! I’ll do anything!” I scream, but Sitos ignores me. He penetrates her.

“No!” Luna screams and cries. I bite my lip so hard it bleeds.

“Sitos, I’ll fucking kill you!” I yell. A dull pain radiates from inside my chest and the back of my throat. Sitos laughs and takes his erect penis out of her. Blood leaks out.

“What is this, Kai? You two did not do it yet? This is perfect!” Sitos exclaims then penetrates her again. He repeatedly thrusts with her breasts in his hands.

“Stop! No! Kai, help me!” Luna screams with tears constantly coming out of her eyes. It feels like my fingers might break from the pressure I’m putting on them. My teeth puncture my bottom lip completely. I squeeze my eyes shut and try to block out Luna’s screams for help.

Shit I’m so fucking weak So fucking useless I can’t do anything to help her Sitosthat fucking bastard I open my eyes, only to find the same scene in front of me, Sitos thrusting himself into Luna. Sitos grins broadly. “Fuck Shit”

I recall my first meeting with Sitos. I’ll kill him.

I recall another memory with him. I’ll kill him.

I recall so many good memories with him. I’ll kill him.

I pant as hot puffs of air escapes me. I can’t stop the tears and snot from coming down. I’ll kill him.

Before I know it, Luna has stopped screaming. She smiles and says, “Daddy, you came back!”

What the hell’s she saying?

She frowns and then says, “I’m sorry, I was a bad girl! Don’t give me that look!”

A few seconds later, she continues, “Okay, I’ll do everything you say this time.”

“Luna, what’s wrong?!” I exclaim. A few seconds pass with no answer.

“I got it I understand. I was a bad girl. I know” Luna mumbles.

Sitos laughs and then asks, “Is she broken? What do you think, Kai?”

“Sitos, I’ll kill you! I swear! Shit!”

He laughs. “How can you kill me while on the floor when you cannot even move a finger? Well, if you could move, then Luna’s life might be in trouble.”

I grind my teeth back and forth. He’s still thrusting. I squeeze my eyes shut. The masked man laughs. His head is right behind mine. He whispers, “Weaktoo weak, Kai. But I know you want to be stronger so I’ll teach you a trick The secret is rage Let it consume you and you will become much stronger”

Rage? I open my eyes and stare at Sitos. He’s still grinning and thrusting. My chest and throat feel sore from the yelling, but it intensifies gradually. I’ll wipe that smile off his face I’ll kill him I’ll murder him

I think nothing for the next few minutes except ways I can possibly kill Sitos. I go through every possibility to give him a painful and slow death. I clench my fingers into a fist. I’ll kill him. I’ll kill him. I’ll kill him.

“I’ll be a good girl this time I’m sorry I’ll do it right this time. I’ll complete the contract, so forgive me,” Luna mumbles and then smiles.

I’ll kill I relax my facial expressions as Luna’s arms and legs wrap around Sitos. I widen my eyes. What…?

She moves her body in rhythm with his thrusts and moans with a look of ecstasy on her face. Sitos’ thrusts quicken. In a seductive voice, she says, “Just a little bit more, Sitos. You’re almost there.”

“Ahh,” Sitos interjects and stops thrusting. Luna lets go of him. I raise my eyebrows.

Waitshe can move? I lift up my arm like normal. I flip my body around. The masked man isn’t there, and the contraption he was holding is now on the floor next to me. I quickly stand up and then charge toward Sitos, his euphoric expression on his face now gone. I clench my fists and teeth, snarling. “Sitos!”

He turns toward me with a blank expression. “Kaiwait”

I tackle him and push him to the ground several feet away from Luna. I mount him. Tears drop out of my eyes onto his face. I think about the moment he was first on top of her and punch him. I think about the time he removed all of her clothes and punch him. I think about the countless times he was inside of her and punch him. He doesn’t defend or fight back. Tears flow out of his eyes.

“Kai I do not expect you to believe me, but let me explain” he says. I punch him again.

“There’s nothing to explain! You hated me and wanted to hurt me. Well, you got it! Now I’m gonna kill you!” I yell while continuing to pummel his face. This isn’t enough

I pant and look around. I grab one of the swords Sitos dropped on the ground. I raise it above me, preparing to thrust it into his neck. “Kai, wait! I did not really hate you. I was just”

I thrust the sword down. “jealous!”

I stop. The blade is only an inch from his neck. “Ju-just let me explain. You can do whatever you want to me after that.”

My lips twitch. I only stare at him. “I hated you out of jealousy. It was not from malice. Sure, I did hate you for a brief moment in time because you had everything I ever fucking wanted, but then I accepted it and forgot about it. Do you remember that day I disappeared for nearly two weeks? Our duel? I conceded everything to you that day. I accepted that you were better than me and moved on. I knew you did not know about any of my struggles. I did not blame you. The only thing I could do to appease my father was to marry Sofiel, so we got engaged.

“At first, I was still disappointed that it was not Lunabut in time I really grew to really like Sofiel. Soon, I forgot all about my jealousy and desire to compete against you. But it all came back to me three weeks ago. All my jealousy and hatred for you suddenly came back. It was not just that, but a load of negative emotions about everything around me. Even my feelings for Lunabut it was not pure. It was only lust. It was just a few days after a suspicious masked man appeared in front of me with an offer. He said he would grant me a wish in exchange for a few favors. I ignored him because he looked shady. I thought he might have done something to me, so I tried to ignore these feelings I had. But I could not stop. The feelings grew stronger by each passing day. I thought about the lie you told me on the day I left, and I only spiraled downward after that.”

“Lie? What’re you talking about?”

“I asked if you were hiding anything from me You acted as if you were not, but you were hiding something. I saw it. That day we were in the prison cell. You did not know I was only pretending to still be passed out. You used some kind of mysterious magic and got out of the prison cell. ”

I raise my eyebrows. “You saw that? Why didn’t you say anything?”

“I figured you had a reason you could not tell any of us. I thought you would reveal it to us eventually, but you never did. I forgot all about it until three weeks ago. A week later, that masked man approached me again. With my rekindled hatred for you, I did not even think twice about it. I took it the offer. Time flew by really fast after that like I was inside a dream It feels like I just woke up a moment ago.”

More tears flow out of his eyes. He shuts his eyes for a second before opening them again. In a tearful voice, he says, “I would never try to hurt you, Kaibecause you are my best friend. I did some unforgivable acts against youbutI did not mean it, I swear! Kai, please forgive me!”

My arm holding the sword shakes. I squeeze my eyes shut while thinking about the time I spent with Luna this morning and then everything Sitos did to Luna moments ago. I grit my teeth into a snarl. I clench my grip on the sword and my fist on my open hand. I clench it so hard my nails break the skin in my palm, leaking blood out of my hand. Unforgivable, unforgivable, unforgivable!

He has to take responsibility for his actions Kill him, Kai. No, wait Based on his story, the masked man should take responsibility But what if Sitos’ story’s complete bogus? No, it doesn’t sound like he was lying No, wait he might be trying to catch me off guard that waybut…Drugo Drugo, hehe trusted Sitos I can’t let that go to waste.

I want to believe his story. But at the same time, I want to kill him for what he did. I think about what the masked man said a moment ago. Shit! I won’t do what he says.

“Ahhhhh!” I scream and then throw the sword across the floor to my left. I pant, tears still coming out of my eyes.

“Kai Does this meanyou forgive me?”

“Yeah You’re my best friend too. From your story, it hardly sounds like it’s your fault. It has to be that masked man’s fault.”

“Kai” Sitos answers with a shaky smile. “What about Luna?”

“I’ll talk to her,” I say and then turn toward her. She’s not there anymore.

“Do you think you can get off me now?” Sitos asks.

“Oh, sorry. Sure,” I answer as I turn back toward him. Luna’s bare feet are behind Sitos’ head. I look up and say, “Lu”

Luna swings down something. I hold my breath as a disturbing noise resounds. I look down, widening my eyes. Luna struck Sitos with her spiked mace on the center of his face. She lifts it up and then strikes him again. She continues to strike him while exclaiming, “Die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die!”

No Some blood splatters on me with every blow. I simply gape.

Sitos weakly raises his right arm up and mutters, “Kai I”

No My eyes burn up, and more tears flow out of them. His arm goes limp. Luna finally stops bashing his head and drops the mace on the floor. A clang resounds as the mace hits the floor. Luna laughs manically. Sitos’ extremely disfigured face lies in front of me. His brains are practically visible. I scream, “Ahhhh”

I gag and then vomit on his chest. This can’t be real

“Daddy, I did good, right? I did it the way you taught me!” Luna exclaims. Speechless, I look up. Her head is turned toward the right. I look in the same direction. There’s no one there. “Why’re you still giving me that look?! I did exactly as you said!”

I turn back to Luna. She’s still naked. Hundreds of small dots of blood cover her body. Some kind of collar is around her neck. “That was only one time! Go away! Leave me alone!”

She turns toward me and smiles. “Kai, are you okay?”

My entire body quivers. I rear back and fall on my bottom. She walks toward me. I want to tell her to get away, but no words come out of my mouth. “It’s okay now, Kai. We made a promise, didn’t we? I’m ready.”

She stops in front of me and crouches down. A white substance drips out of her hole onto the ground. She reaches for my belt and then loosens it. She starts pulling my pants down, but I find the strength to grab a hold of them. I pull my pants back up. Luna cocks an eyebrow and tugs on my pants harder. I say, “Stop it! Ho-how can you act this way in this situation? Do you know what you just did?”

“What’re you talking about?” she asks in a sincere tone. I point at Sitos’ lifeless body behind her.

“Si-Si-Sitos! Yo-you killed him! Why?! Even though it was the masked guy’s fault!”

“What’re you so panicked about? We fulfilled our contract. He got what he wanted, and then I got what I wanted. That’s how it works.”

“What do you mean that’s how it works?! I don’t understand!”

“Hmm” Luna interjects. “I don’t know. It just does. Why do we have to exchange money in return for goods?”

I open my mouth, but no words come out. My entire body shivers. Tears have stopped running down my eyes, but snot continues to drip down my nose. “Kai, are you okay?”

She reaches an arm toward me. I slap it away and exclaim, “Monster! Who are you?”

Luna drops her arm and looks downs with a frown. “Are you gonna abandon me too? Just like how mom did”

She looks up a few seconds later and mutters, “This happened because we didn’t complete our contract That’s why daddy’s still giving me that look”

She jerks her head toward the right and exclaims, “Isn’t that right, daddy?!”

What the hell’s she talking about? She doesn’t have a dad She’s gone crazy This isn’t Luna I have to do something That masked guy must have done something to her. She needs to wake up.

She turns back toward me and says, “Come here, Kai Let’s complete our contract.”

She crawls toward me. I scoot backward in a panic. “Stay away from me!”

She stops and then sits up. She looks at me with tears welling up in her eyes. “Is this because of what Sitos did to me?”

I knit my eyebrows as she stands up. She picks up Sitos’ other sword and walks to his corpse. “This is all your fault!”

My heart skips a beat as Luna thrusts the sword into Sitos’ already deformed head. What the fuckl?!

A splattering noise resounds every time the blade pierces his head. I bury my head in fetal position and cover my ears. Make it stop This is a dream, right?

I chuckle and close my eyes. This is all a dream I’ll wake up once I open my eyes.

Still chuckling, I open my eyes and look up. Luna screams, “Why’d you have to ruin everything?!”

I grin, cry, and laugh simultaneously for several seconds. But soon, I stop laughing and grinning. I recall the time I spent with Luna this morning and then look at her now. I shake my head and frown. My entire face twitches uncontrollably as the hot tears flow out. I have to make her stop How do I make her stop?

I gulp and stand up. “Luna I’ll do it with you.”

Luna stops stabbing Sitos’ head and looks at me. With a broad grin on her face, she asks, “Really?!”

I look away and answer, “Yeahbut first, I need you to do something for me.”

She walks up to me and asks, “Sure! What is it?”

“Give me that sword you’re holding, turn around, and sit on the floor,” I say.

“Okay!” she responds immediately. I take hold of the bloody sword she’s holding onto. She turns around and then sits down. I stand behind her and look down. “How long do you want me to stay like this?”

With a twitching frown on my face, I kneel down and raise the sword up with the blade side up. I slam it down, striking her in the back of the head with the hilt of the sword. She falls on her side without making a sound.