Chapter 253 - Vengeful Lara

Just before the break of dawn, Lara rolled out of Zeel's embrace carefully. She removed the dagger from her leg brace, it was the same dagger Zeel had gifted her previously.

Lara held the dagger, both of her hands shook with rage as she assumed a stabbing position. Lara raised the dagger above her head, fully intent on bringing the dagger down and into Zeel's heart.

However, it seemed her will was not enough. The moment she saw his peaceful sleeping face, all the anger inside her disappeared, all that was left was a deep feeling of sadness.

Lara's sadness was so deep that the ocean lacked depth in comparison. It was the type of loneliness that only those who have slept with a god could comprehend, but Lara didn't know that at this time.

All she knew was that her heart was too weak to kill the man who had violated her just a couple of hours ago.

When the hate should have been most intense, it dwindled instead. Along with that dwindling hate, Lara's courage to kill Zeel also diminished greatly.

Knowing she lacked the courage to do what needed to be done, Lara packed her belongings, woke her confused father and they both climbed out of the cave together.

The moment they touched the sandy beach, Lara pulled her father in an insane sprint through the jungle, attempting to get as far away from Zeel's location as possible.

Zeel always demanded obedience so Lara was afraid to confront him after rebelling this final time. Lara's fear was not that of a victim to her rapist, but more like a child afraid of being punished for doing something wrong.

Richard was confused since the previous day. He came home to his cave like always, but yesterday was different. When he heard voices outside his cave, he hid in the shadows, afraid that Mathias had found him.

However, it was not Mathias but someone much worse. Richard was unclear about what happened next, but intense pain rocked through his body and made him unconscious.

Richard was sure that he would die a slow and agonizing death. Whenever his consciousness regained some clarity, all he could see was the pitch-black darkness of night accompanied by gargling sounds and silent weeping.

The next morning, Richard was shaken awake and proceeded to run alongside the strange girl that woke him up. Though he was confused, Richard could somehow feel that staying where he was would have been a death warrant.

As they ran through the thick jungle foliage, Richard felt the danger lessen. With the feeling of dread gone, Richard was able to think logically for the first time in a very long time.

Richard stopped running, and as if sensing his action, Lara also stopped running and stared at her father. While she looked at him with disappointment, Richard looked at her with confusion.

"We have to run some more; he has technology, unlike anything I have ever seen. If we stop now, he will find us!" Lara said, walking over to her father and pulling him along for another round of sprinting.

"You are not real…. Who are you... What happened last night?" Richard asked.

Lara was too anxious to answer any questions, so she removed a photo from her pocket and gave it to her father.

"We need to move. That photo should remind you of the daughter you abandoned dad," Lara replied as she slowly jogged away.

Richard fell silent, tears falling from his eyes, but he no longer delayed and chased after Lara.

The duo of father and daughter ran for another thirty minutes before resting temporarily. Lara could still run but Richard felt exhausted.

Leaning against a couple of rocks, Richard thought it was a suitable moment to have the father and daughter talk he had missed all those years ago.

"You … You were supposed to go to college, have a wonderful life," he said hesitatingly.

Lara remained silent, closing her eyes to listen to the noise in her surroundings.

"We are not safe here but everything should be fine for a while," she replied removing a couple of leaves from her pocket and offering some to her dad.

"Want some? They're the only edible leaves on the island," She asked.

Richard stared at the leaf for a while and eventually took it.

"These leaves are not for the weak. Being able to eat them shows you are a strong woman," Richard complimented.

Lara nodded, then continued to gaze intensely at their surroundings.

"I don't expect you to understand Lara, but this island has mysteries that should never be allowed to see the light of day…"

Richard could not continue since Lara interrupted him.

"I understand dad. Before, I would not believe anything you are going to say, but now, I understand. I thought he came with me, but it was probably the other way around. This was always his objective, and I was just along for the ride," Lara said laughing mockingly at herself.

"What do you mean? What happened last night?"

At the mention of last night, Lara's eyes started tearing up but no sobs were heard.

"Zeel Crawford… my boyfriend. I don't know what he is... or who he is. But I know he is extremely dangerous. Whatever he is looking for is on this island, and we can't let him have it!" Lara said affirming her determination.

But it was more a selfish wish than anything else. Lara couldn't care less about whatever Zeel wanted on the island, she didn't believe in the metaphysical at all.

To Lara, Zeel was just a top-secret special agent with fancy technology of sorts. What she truly wanted was for Zeel to crawl between her legs and beg, as she did for him a couple of hours ago.

If Zeel couldn't love her, then she just had to destroy the things he loved most, and marvel in the grimace that would plague his expression at that time.

Richard's brows furrowed in thought "Is he special or something? Is he also after Himiko's power?"

Lara shook her head "I don't know. As for special, he is deadly with technology this world has never seen. He will find what he came for, and then he will kill everyone on the island,"

"Then we just have to find it first!" Richard said.

Lara nodded "My thoughts as well. We have to find Himiko's tomb and burn it to the ground. Then we have to run and hope he doesn't come after us,"

Richard also agreed with Lara's idea. He didn't think of Zeel as much of a threat but after careful thought, Richard could more or less guess what happened last night. The weeping and the painful grunts were obviously the pleads of his daughter to stop.

Which man could think logically after realizing his daughter had been raped? Even if the world was at risk, Richard would rather hand Himiko's power to his archenemy than the man who raped his daughter.

"Lara, what did he do…"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Lara yelled back, her voice turning slightly beastly as her pupils elongated into unmistakable slits for the first time.

Richard staggered back in fright but soon calmed down. Lara also took slow breaths to quell the sudden rage that just clouded her mind. It was an intense rage, so intense that she even considered killing her father for a moment.

"It's the curse of Himiko!" Richard said appalled by Lara's elongated pupils.

"No! It is the curse of unrequited love," Lara replied mockingly and sadly.

Witnessing Lara's elongated pupils, Richard decided to make whatever sacrifice necessary to save his daughter.

"There is a man named Mathias Vogel on the other side of the island. He is a rival archaeologist and cold-blooded murderer. He can offer us protection for helping uncover Himiko's tomb, but concessions will have to be made.

He works for a shadow organization called Trinity. We can use him to find and access the tomb. Then we destroy everything, but not everything goes as planned, so I have to ask.

Who do you think is the lesser evil… your boyfriend wielding the power of Himiko or Mathias?" Richard asked.

Lara sunk into deep silence, weighing the pros and cons of the decision. She could not accurately judge Zeel because he wore too many faces.

One moment he would be an awkward guy that makes romantic love to you on a plane, but the next moment, he would be a bastard that forces you to your knees for his own self-gratification.

Lara had no doubt that Zeel was the greater evil, but something still felt odd about the entire situation.

"Under no circumstances can Zeel get what he came for. I am not sure what it is, but we must prevent it," Lara replied with hate saturating her every word.

Seeing his daughter had made a choice, Richard and Lara began their journey to form a reluctant alliance with Mathias Vogel – the only person who could counteract the threat that was Zeel.