"S-Save…me!" A lady raised her hand, expressing her despair as she struggled to move. She was seated on a chair, her body perfectly fine, not injured in the least. But, she seemed to be suffering from trauma, locked in her past, unable to return to reality.
She struggled as if a beast was gnawing up on her legs, tearing up as she shouted from time to time. This was a woman that was seated at the entrance of the village, taken care of by a couple of Demons.
She was the wife of an Alchemist that had been enslaved by Daka Felera. As Alchemists were rare, especially a Master Alchemist like him, Daka Felera pardoned the survival of his wife, allowing her to live in safety in this village.
There weren't just humans here though. Minotaur, Elf, Dwarf, Lizardmen, and even Mermen were here, among races that had familial bonds that they cared about.
The immediate family of the slaves had been brought over to this village to be cared about. Not only did it ease up the minds of the slaves, but also served to double down on their loyalty. After all, their loved ones were protected here in these dangerous war-ridden times.
Of course, even if they were protected, the atmosphere of the village was damn gloomy. After all, in their perspective, their loved ones had been enslaved and made to commit horrible deeds by Daka Felera. And they were too helpless to do anything about it.
There was plenty here that had yet to overcome their scars, both physical and mental, despite their physical scars having been healed using potions ages ago.
Roar!
Gilthru covered his ears in a hurry, watching a baby Titan cry, missing her father who had been enslaved. Currently, her father was sent on a mission to destroy a Titan village.
Daka Felera was damn cunning in that she sent her enslaved beasts to their respective Kingdoms or Empires first to wreak havoc. This way, they were labelled as wanted criminals that would be executed upon discovery.
This ensured that even in the likelihood of her death, they would no longer have any homes to fall back to. With all bridges burned, their only choice was to accompany her until their death.
The Titan baby continued to cry as none seemed intent to console her. The Demons in charge of taking care of everyone here couldn't care less as they yawned from time to time.
They only put in the bare minimum of effort to take care of the village. Though, upon seeing his arrival, they hurriedly got up from their spots and rushed to console the Titan baby.
The reason was simple: They were afraid of him.
After all, he had killed dozens of Demons already, having exclusive permission from Daka Felera to do so as her right hand tamed beast. Any Demon that didn't follow her orders to the 'T' could be killed by him solely on his discretion alone.
Though, this was only limited to Experts and Novices among the Demons. But, as those posted in the village were mostly Novice Demons, they were well within his jurisdiction to punish.
Gilthru stared at the Demons blatantly acting as if they cared about everyone in the village, sighing as a result. He couldn't simply kill everyone as he pleased. That would mean that more Demons had to be taken out from other places to fill in the gaps here.
If he went overboard, Daka Felera might revoke the authority given to him. This was especially risky after he failed his recent mission. So, he had to be on his best behaviour.
Soon, he made his way to the centre of the village, staring at a large house where a group of women lived, all human.
Their eyes lacked spirit, dull as they simply sat in their respective corners.
But the moment they noticed his approach, one of the women closest to him picked up a jug of water from nearby and splashed it on his face in anger, shouting shrilly, "Why did you come here? Traitor!"
"Aunty…I…" Gilthru wished to speak when a shoe slammed into his face, drawing out a thin line of blood from his nose as the shoe was made of metal.
"Don't you dare speak, you traitor!" The woman hollered hysterically as immediately, a bunch of items flew his way. It wasn't just her that was attacking him, but pretty much everyone.
Plop!
Suddenly, Gilthru grunted, staring at the knife that stabbed into his stomach, craning his neck to see the middle-aged woman that had stabbed him. Messy hair that had mostly greyed out despite her young age, a dishevelled appearance atop eyes full of hatred, and most of all, one bearing a resemblance to him.
It was his mother.
Currently, she stared at him with intense hatred, gritting her teeth as she said, "I heard you destroyed our country?"
"I…had no other choice…" Gilthru said when he was slapped by her using a stick that she picked up from the ground.
"Bastard! Didn't have a choice my ass! You didn't just kill the soldiers, but also the innocent women and children. You didn't even leave behind any newborn." His mother seethed in anger, staring at her son's face, "Even if you didn't have a choice, you could have held back. But, I know for a fact that among all her tamed beasts, you've performed the best."
"You disgust me!" She stared at him with killing intent before her eyes turned blank, "I see, it was my mistake. I shouldn't have given birth to you. You disgust me! You disgust me! You disgust me!"
"Mother…" Gilthru said when his mother's eyes widened all of a sudden, expressing concentrated revulsion.
She then yanked out the knife forcefully, staring at it as she uttered, "If you wanted to become a demon, go all out. The care you give me, delete that."
She closed her eyes, "I'm done. I can't put up with this hell any longer."
She stabbed the knife into her neck. But Gilthru moved at speeds beyond what she could sense, grabbing hold of the knife before it pierced her neck, preventing her from killing herself, "Mother!"
Seeing the care he displayed, his mother's eyes turned resolute, "Not anymore."
Crunch!
She bit her tongue, watching blood fill her mouth immediately as she prevented Gilthru from pouring a potion in her mouth, keeping it shut tightly as she rolled on the ground, using all her strength to cover herself.
A few seconds later, she coughed out all the blood filling her mouth, breathing her last as Gilthru was stunned, his face convulsing as he collapsed to the ground, tearing up, "Ahhhhh!"
