CH. 15 (R18+)

"W-what d-do you m-mean?"

"I meant exactly wot I said."

With a wicked grin, he removed the quiver slung across his back.

I feel sick, really sick. This unease building up in me, is because I know exactly where this is headed and it's nowhere good.

I had seen way too many movies and the like to know what this was the prelude to. Not only that, but real life covering of news stories in my old world frequently reported on these types of incidents.

Wanting to run away, to get away as fast as possible, was something I had to do now while I had my chance. With the villain's attention fixated squarely on the girl, I wasn't going to get a better chance.

"Be a gud lil' gal an' behave, wontcha? We don't hav' much time, so let's be quick aboot it."

"S-st-stop… P-p-please…"

"I'm not gonna be gentle ya know."

Bile rose in the back of my throat as I watched the unfolding despicable scene unfold. Ever seen a train wreck about to take place and just be dumbfoundedly drawn to it?

As much as I wanted to, I wasn't able to tear my eyes away now.

I guess that it didn't matter where you went. No matter the place, there were always real sick, twisted monsters around. Good and bad were different levels belonging to either side of a coin. But evil? Pure and unadulterated malevolence? Where exactly did that belong?

"Squirm as much as ya wan', it jus' excites me mor'!"

"WA-HA-HA-HA"

Physically choking between her sobs and hysteric state, not even a coherent wail could make its way through her throat.

Obviously, the whole point of the assault on this noble's traveling group was orchestrated for the purpose of abducting this one girl. So whoever she was, she certainly was an important part of a puzzle I wasn't privy to.

But this thing right here was very much going so far off the script for any abductor who was trying to kidnap someone.

This was not my fight. It was none of my business frankly.

I was not a hero. Sure, everyone dreamed of being in the situation I had found myself in, being summoned to another world, full of so much potential, rescuing the damsel in distress.

But reality is far from fantasy.

I'm a six-years-old kid.

Not only that, but I was very well attuned into the kind of person I was. I'd hidden myself away from the world for the best part of my teens and twenties, avoiding the goings on of the world around me for god's sake.

"Hehe, com' on gal, help me out her', take ya dress off."

"No no nononono!"

"If ya play along I won't hav' ta hurt ya so much ya know."

"P-please, take me wherever it is you want. B-but d-d-don't hurt m-me…"

"Not gonna happen gal. Ben' waitin' for months. Ben' so long since I've tasted a lil' one. Not gon' let this chance go by."

Heroes were meant to be the epitome of the perfect person who stove to protect and rescue others, selflessly and without fear or favor. I couldn't think of one person who was truly, entirely any of those things.

People are good and they can be bad. Just because someone does good for one group of people, doesn't necessarily mean they are doing bad things to another group at the same time.

For example, a domestic violence perpetrator who is abusive to their immediate partner, can still appear to be the perfect parent to a child who is oblivious to the goings they aren't privy too, occurring behind closed doors in the same house.

Without getting too philosophical about it, to be human is to err.

I considered myself neither villain nor hero. I was simply me. I was fallible.

But there's an unfathomable, abyssal difference between making a mistake and being outright evil.

Are we the product of the environment we're raised in? What we learn as we grow defines who we are, creating our sense of right and wrong? Which in turn teaches us what is acceptable and not acceptable behavior.

Or are we much more primal than that? A mixture of DNA, chemical reactions taking place in our bodies and psychological tendencies that make that determination. Take for instance a psychopath. What exactly creates those psychopathic tendencies in the first instance?

Certainly, I held no qualification whatsoever to be able to answer that clinically. But I knew enough to know, that what I was watching was pretty damn malicious.

But there was nothing I could do, short of getting myself killed, again. Albeit this time in an infinite more times painful way than the last.

Two options were what existed for me.

One option was to stay put. Hoping that nothing would change to reveal my position and announce my presence, which would in turn ultimately result in my own demise.

The second option was a far riskier route to undertake. While they were both occupied, I turn tail and run as fast as I could, returning to the town and directing the soon to be coming guards of the location and numbers of the enemy. Certainly, they were far better equipped to deal with the situation than me.

"Fine. Ya won't take ya dress off for me, then I'll do it meself."

Pulling out a dagger, he slipped it through the hem of her dress and sliced it open, all the way from bottom to top, exposing her milk white skin, bare chest and panties to the world.

"Ahhh so perfect, so perfect. It's ben' far too long gal, far too long."

He practically drooled over the exposure, like a hyena about to devour its prey.

"HELP! HELP! HELP!"

"Ya hurtin' my ears. Quiet down will ya!"

He back-handed her across the face, quelling her fearful cries and replacing it with her pitiful whimpering.

"Gods, ya skin is so smooth."

He ran a finger along the nape her neck, along her collarbone and down to her navel. Almost as if it were a moment of sudden impulse, he licked her chest, still flat due to her age.

"Oh fuck…"

Reflexively I gagged, fighting through the impulse to splurge vomit.

Damn, my heart was racing. Rocketing pumps of my heart were not only circulating my blood with an increase in pressure, but also shook my whole body.

"Hm, this gota' go as wel'. No gud wher' they ar'"

With a deft flick of his knife, he cut her panties free from her body. Now she was completely naked.

This was terrifying.

The Gremtcha had been one thing. The elves another. But this topped off the list of most terrifying things I'd witnessed so far.

I hated myself for being so weak and unwilling to do anything. That same loathing and self-deprecation I felt for myself back on earth, came rising back to the surface.

I had never wanted to feel like that again. Yet here I was.

Where the hell was Keiran? He should have been here by now with Stoldt and the others. Time seemed to be passing by in an exceptionally hurrying pace.

She'd just have to wait until they came.

I couldn't see the ongoing battle near the carriage from my hiding spot, but I could still hear the altercation taking place. Those last standing soldiers making their final stand against the enemy assailants.

"Her' I come gal. I hope it's as good for ya as it is for me."

"…"

Gone beyond the point of crying and wailing, her eyes were now glazed and lifeless, unwilling or unable to register what was about to take place.

"Be good to me gal, be good… Hurhurhur."

Cackling to himself he leaned over her and prepared to undo his pants.

Now was my chance.

Distracted whilst the beast was captured in the moment of seizing its prey, there was not going to be a more opportune moment to make my move.

"Just gotta stay quiet and not be seen…"

Wretched though I was, there was only so much I could do. Realistically speaking, I knew the odds of being able to save the girl were grossly stacked against me.

Why hadn't I learnt any fighting skills since reincarnating here?

That would have been the most logical and reasonable undertaking to try and achieve. Having the abilities to wield some sort of weapon, even as I was now, was better than nothing. Even a kid can kill if they need to with a dagger.

The danger a weapon presents isn't solely by the wielder, but also by the fact that it's a tool designed to kill.

Even after the Gremtcha incident and appearance of the elves. Hell, I'd even discovered with absolute certainty that magic did indeed exist and at no point had I tried to learn anything more about it.

Without so much of grasping a firm grip on a stick and swinging it around, pretending, practicing, training as if it were a real sword.

Absolutely humiliating and degrading it was, to realize that I hadn't grown. Though physically different, no other part of me had undergone any other positive development. I was still the same pathetic loser, locking myself away from the world.

Which was okay back home. Where the question of scrounging for a safe, protected existence didn't apply. I had everything I needed or wanted. A safe home, a safe world, a warm bed to rest my head. Even being a shut-in and hiding from the world, I knew walking down the street was still relatively safe and I wouldn't randomly be killed by some monster or person.

Here, I had been shown on countless occasions that danger literally lurked everywhere. The people living in this world fought for their survival. Whether it was plague, famine, disease, monsters, war or other forces that sought you bring ruin to their meager lives.

I was just lucky I had been reincarnated into the household of a Baronet.

I had taken for granted the position the Baronet held. Without so much of a second thought at the standard of living the rest of the populace lived, I'd carried on without a care in the world.

I wanted to help this young girl, captured by a monster and desperate for a savior.

But if I tried, no doubt I'd be killed or captured just like her or the other soldiers. That was the harsh reality of this world.

The strong survived while the weak perished. Survival of the fittest. It applied itself indiscriminately, regardless of whether someone was inherently good or bad.

"I'm sorry."

Not that my words would reach her. Not that any of my pathetic sympathy or apology would heal any of the harm caused to her, physically, emotionally or psychologically.

So, I began leaving the concealment offered by my shrub and tried to sneak away to save myself.

"Atard you piece of shit what do you think you're doing?"