With that thought, my clouded mind became clearer than ever before. If I stayed like this, I would meet the same end that those vanished women had faced. 

I couldn’t know exactly what happened to them, but one thing was certain – they never returned to their families’ embrace. I had to prevent that from happening.

I clenched my jaw with all my strength to refuse the fingers that were about to enter my mouth. 

Since my body still wouldn’t obey my will, my jaw trembled violently while beast-like cries of “Ahhh!” echoed through the air.

My small act of rebellion seemed to shock the man considerably. His face, which had worn the flag of victory, twisted slightly. The well-maintained mask seemed to crack with a sharp sound. The small fracture quickly spread across his entire face.

Soon, rage filled the man’s expression.

“What makes you so desperate? Weren’t you humans supposed to be selfish creatures who only care about yourselves? I’m offering you a reward if you just do what I tell you. So why…!”

The golden eyes looking at me began to turn red like blood spreading through water. Dark crimson energy swirled around him, transforming into murderous intent that seemed ready to tear me apart at any moment.

The air around us seemed to disappear completely, making it hard to breathe. Instinctive fear of death consumed me. Just as death’s shadow began to fall over me, I remembered another man who had glared at me with similar eyes, ready to kill.

Fragments of a past I didn’t want to recall kept dragging me into terrible memories.

‘Ah… no!’

***

It had only been four years ago. Back then, my mother would bring different men home every other day, extracting what she needed from them.

One day, the man my mother brought home gave off an unsettling atmosphere. He would lick his lips while staring at my young siblings with sticky eyes, or try to drag them to his bed.

All I could do was keep my siblings as far away from that man as possible. Soon after, my mother and the stranger began making beast-like sounds. 

Even with my eyes closed, I could hear their horrible noises, but my siblings and I endured that nightmare time huddled under blankets pulled over our heads.

Just when that passionate episode seemed about to end, Maria’s sharp scream suddenly pierced the air.

“Kyaaahhh!”

I frantically threw off the blanket and bolted upright. The first sight that met my eyes was Maria crying with her hair grabbed, and the man grinning while fondling himself at the sight of her.

At that moment, the thread of reason in my mind snapped with a sharp sound. Lightning seemed to flash before my eyes. My body moved before I could think, and I let out a wild cry.

When I regained my senses, there was a man sprawled on the floor with blood flowing from his forehead, and Maria crying in my arms.

The man looked confused about why he was lying on the floor. Then he slowly felt his forehead. The moment he discovered the dark red blood on his fingers, his eyes turned murderous, ready to tear me apart immediately.

“Hah… blood…? This b*tch got cocky because I was being nice…! Fine, let’s all die together today.”

The man with a belly protruding like a mountain quickly raised his heavy body. Then he pulled out a kitchen knife from under the bed – who knows how long it had been there.

The knife gleamed sharp enough to cut through air, showing how well he had maintained it. As I stared blankly at the sight, the moment our eyes met – his blazing like a beast’s – he charged at me with the knife in his hand.

‘Ah… I can’t avoid this…’

It was already too late to get Maria to safety. Confirming that the knife tip he swung was aimed at me, I curled up even more to protect Maria in my arms.

Just as I anticipated the pain that would pierce through me, a chilling thud sound came from somewhere. Soon after, something hot splattered toward my body. The metallic smell of blood seemed to hover around my nose. Slowly opening my eyes in confusion, I saw a small back blocking my view.

It was Matia, Maria’s twin sibling. From that small back protruded a blood-soaked blade, glistening wetly.

“Ah… Ma, Matia…? Why… why are you… why did you do this…!”

“Sister… ah… it hurts so much…”

Matia turned to look at me, and bright red blood gushed from Matia’s mouth. Even seeing it with my own eyes, I couldn’t believe this reality.

No, I didn’t want to believe it.

“Ahh… ah… uwahhh…!”

Shapeless words scattered from my mouth in all directions. I couldn’t understand what I was saying either.

Even in this situation, the man’s rough curses pierced my ears, completely ignoring our state. 

Why did the kid have to interfere unnecessarily, why was everyone being such a pain when he just wanted to have some fun. His face showed no trace of guilt for what he had done, completely numb.

The man pulled out the blade that had been embedded in Matia’s body. Matia’s small body fluttered in the air like a piece of paper. That instant felt as long as several hours.

When the child’s small body hit the floor with a thud, I heard my family’s screams around me. I could see the man’s form preparing to swing the blade at me again, but that didn’t matter anymore.

I crawled toward the convulsing Matia with trembling arms, supporting myself on the floor. Then I carefully lifted my sibling into my arms.

“Why is there so much blood…! Ah… no… this is just a dream, right…? Please just… wake up… please…!”

I could feel Matia’s body, gaunt from not eating well, and the gradually cooling body temperature at my fingertips. The child’s eyes that had sparkled like stars were losing their original light. When the frail body that had been trembling stopped moving, Matia’s body went limp.

And Matia never opened those eyes again. No matter how much I cried and pleaded, I could never see that smile that had shone like sunlight again.

‘Matia… my… sweet sibling…’

That scene flashed through my mind like it was happening right before my eyes. The image of me holding Matia and screaming, and my family members rushing at the man to save me. It was truly a scene of chaos filled with the stench of blood and endless screams.

The man’s eyes glaring at me ready to kill kept dragging me back into that nightmare memory. That moment I never wanted to return to repeated over and over in my memory.

In those memories, Matia was stabbed by the knife and died several more times, and the world around me kept collapsing.

‘Ahh… no… I don’t want this anymore…!’

The thick smell of death clouded my nose, making it impossible to maintain my sanity. I seemed to hear Matia’s crying voice from somewhere, wailing in pain. My limbs trembled beyond control and my heart pounded like it would burst out.

The moment my eyes met the man’s again – as he tried to force his fingers into my mouth – something in my head exploded with a pop.

“Ahhhhh… ahhhhh…!”

I couldn’t see anything now. There was only one thought – I had to escape from here somehow. When I tensed my whole body, my jaw trembled violently.

Then from somewhere came a sharp crack sound. The room filled with brilliant light like thunder and lightning had struck, and strange symbols I’d never seen before floated around me protectively.

Heat hotter than a blazing sun rose within my body. This time, a strong burst of light erupted from my body, and the force that had bound me shattered into pieces. My body, which hadn’t budged despite my struggles, finally began to obey me.

When my body became light enough to fly after feeling heavy like lead, I unconsciously bit down hard on the fingers that had entered my mouth. Along with the man’s scream, the metallic taste of blood spread across my tongue.

“Urgh…!”

I felt the grip holding me loosen instantly. I couldn’t miss this opportunity. Without thinking about who was in front of me, I pushed him away with all my might.

I didn’t look back. I ran out of the room frantically with all the strength I had. Fortunately, no footsteps followed to catch me as I ran.

After running for a long time until I was gasping for breath, when I thought I might die from this, I stopped and caught my breath.

My mind went completely blank. My heart pounded violently like it would burst at any moment. 

My entire body was drenched in sweat like someone who had woken up from a terrible nightmare.