When the Villains Unite - Chapter 15; Part 3

His wounds, presumably inflicted by the Orca brothers, were apparent: a missing left arm and an almost amputated right leg.

I had no desire to search for his body parts. However, I saw something in the corner of the room, dried and reeking of dead flesh.

I was horrified to imagine the Orca brothers tying him up and pinning him to the center of the room. The Count, who had lost an arm and almost one of his legs, was unable to center himself. The reason they had left all these symbols of murder was their cruel punishment: to make Count Wright watch his own slow, gruesome death.

His light blue hair was stained with blood. His face and body had visible signs of blood pooling everywhere except where the missing limbs were. The most prominent of all symbols was the sword stuck inside his body.

Lying beside the pool of blood surrounding his body were the objects they used on him. The blood stains on some of them suggested that they used them to torture him.

“….Ha….”

How long have I been holding my breath?

I took a deep breath, but that gruesome air that entered my legs made me gag. Moving my stiff legs, I rushed out of the room and slammed the door behind me. I began to take step after step. My body felt heavy like I was wrapped in chains, but I needed to leave, even if it meant taking my wobbling body with me.

Why didn’t I already realize that, secretly, the Orca brothers would not have killed the Count so easily? Why was I so shocked by that scene?

How ‘Rose’ was supposed to die in the original, by a twist of fate, Count Wright took my place. His severed nose and Damian’s mangled, wooden sword stuck in his side. The burned skin was due to an unknown drug and a cut tongue.

I knew what all these things meant.

Had I been foolish to think that I had transformed a place that should have been filled with despair into a place of hope? No, the hope that had filled the place was mine to begin with, not Bellamy’s or Damian’s.

I don’t know what they were thinking when they put such a scar on Count Wright, but it was clearly a physical representation of their trauma.

On the day that the Count robbed them eight years ago, they were probably driven by a desire to avenge the harm inflicted upon me. They were stripped of their position and imprisoned by him, so I’m sure I wasn’t the sole reason for their actions.

How much it had affected them was now evident in the way they gave their hearts to no one except for me.

Since returning to the manor, they vented that unhappy past in places I couldn’t see. I couldn’t believe how selfish I had been.

In a place filled with my happiness, I ignored that it was a place for their dark feelings. There was definitely a part of my own trauma that I needed to confront.

It didn’t last long before I had to stop and take a breath from my running.

I didn’t deserve to run away.

I had lit the fuse for this ambiguous situation three years earlier. What I needed to do had already been decided. I had to end this with my own hands.

Resisting the urge to set this place on fire, I turned and walked back to the room. I didn’t have the courage to look the Count in the eyes, so I kept my eyes closed as I walked with heavy steps.

Many of the things I had managed to carry with my eight-year-old body were strewn about the room as a result of the brothers’ influence. I began to sift through them, searching for the things I originally wanted.

It wasn’t easy to see through the piles because I conserved so much of the supplies. My white, indoor dress was stained with blood and dirt. It became easy to ignore in no time.

I just wanted to get out of this shitty situation.

I didn’t stop moving, even when my hands scraped against sharp objects and bled.

When I finally spotted a shiny, black, circular object in a hollow, I grabbed it and slammed it to the ground with great force.

Damian would have used his aura to slice it into two, but the stone easily shattered into pieces and bounced in all directions. A few landed on me, leaving scratches on my arms and ripping my dress.

Picking up two of the larger pieces, I strode over to the cowering Count.

My reason for killing him was not out of pity; both the brothers and I knew he would rather be dead. However, that is the reason why the brothers kept him alive. But, I’ll be damned if they thought I would let them rot along with the Count.

I rubbed the black shards together, and a blue light erupted. It was only a flash, and it didn’t ignore the broken, wooden sword that was connected to the Count. My attempts to burn him had failed, so I rubbed the splinters against a nearby piece of wood to ignite it.

After a few attempts with trembling hands, the barely lit wood produced a bright red flame. I picked it up and plunged it straight into the Count’s chest.

I wonder what the Count must be thinking now, seeing me like this.

The child he believed to be his doll, and future bride, was now lunging at him with the intent to murder him.

However, the piece of wood did not penetrate the Count’s body. Instead, the force sent him tumbling to the ground, while an unidentified force pushed me away.

“….Ugh….!”

My body was slammed against the wall by an intangible force. The ropes supporting the Count’s body snapped. The furniture that was tied to him had collapsed with a loud crash.

Gripping the floor with my hands, I shakily picked myself up from the impact. I made my way back over to the Count’s body that was pinned down by the furniture. I slammed my left arm hard against the wall as I fell, wincing in pain.

The same, intangible force that had thrown me across the room, Bellamy’s magic, had surrounded the Count, preventing anyone but Bellamy from having any effect on him.

“Ha….”

The objects on top of him were spaced at regular intervals, indicating that if I applied force, they would bounce back with similar force.

If I had sprayed him with poison, it would have killed me.

I stomped on a piece of wood to extinguish the fire. I squatted in one corner of the room.

If I am to deal with him, then I must face the Orca brothers.

I was once able to pretend to be unaffected by the past as I thought I had overcome it. But how could I be so nonchalant after seeing the horrific display of violence inflicted on the Count?

I buried my head between my knees and asked an infinite amount of questions. Was I qualified to end the Count? Was it best to just stay out of this? Why had I assumed their suffering would end, even when we were first trapped in the annex?

Just as the waterfall of tears began to stream down my face, a familiar breeze blew through the room…

Resenting their unaccounted visit to the room, I tightened my arms around my legs and buried my head deeper into my tattered dress.

I wasn’t ready to face them. Did Bellamy feel the ripples of his magic when I tried to kill the Count earlier? I knew he was a great mage, but I didn’t know he could feel it from such a distance. Even if that is the case, why is Damian here? Did he come with Bellamy?

“….”

They didn’t move.

They must be embarrassed because they weren’t expecting me to come here.

No, they were actually asking me to look for him. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have left this place so vulnerable.

I closed my eyes and let out some breaths, acting as if I was the only one in the room. I tried to calm my conflicting emotions. After a few moments, I slowly lifted my head and stared at them.

I couldn’t say I was in my right mind. My face was covered in tears, my body in dust, and I was slumped against the wall.

They didn’t move, seeing me in such a state, coupled with the unexpected discovery of their secret. The emotion in their eyes was unmistakable: bewilderment, shock, dismay, and a sense of dread.

When I looked at them, my eyes weren’t much different.

Something similar happened after my last meeting with the Count three years ago. They have been mindful this time though since I had fled in response to their reaction last time.

I chuckled to myself at the sight of them.

What the hell am I afraid of now? That I would be disappointed by them? That they would hide their cruelty and deceive me?

Well, if that’s the problem, I’ll just have to be like them.

Kofi