Jorje smirked as the prisoner fell unconscious from the loss of blood.

Raki spat on the ground. “Oh man, I have to clean the floor again; filthy bastard.”

“You would’ve had to clean it up anyway, Raki. Look at all that blood he gave out, like a River Goddess blessing us with water. Hahaha!”

Raki yanked the prisoner’s hair. “Are you a Goddess, my friend? Come on, tell me. Are you one of those fucking Nymph Goddesses of the river? If so, I’ve got something big and long I’d like you to taste.”

Jorje grinned. “So, you’re going to do it?”

“What? You want first dips?” asked Raki.

Jorje laughed. “Hells no, you can have him. Just let me kill the bastard afterward.”

He strolled out and lit a smoke. It was a cool night. He thought back to when he first came here after being discharged from the Royal Army. Heavyset with no teeth and only one leg, his future looked bleak. The master had eagerly taken him to the buildings in the hilltop. He remembered the looks of the other senior guards.

I should have known something was off.

Jorje smiled. It hadn’t been so bad. Unlike the other weaklings, he was strong and sturdy so he didn’t break easily. Even now after all these years, he was still one of the master’s favorites. In exchange, his family lived comfortably near the Capital. But…

He put his left hand on the bulge in his pants. He wondered when was the last time he had a good romp.

A month? Two months? Oh ya, the bitch who took every guy in the keep. Man, did she perform. Again and again, granted she was young, but still...

He was grinning as he remembered all the things he and the boys made her do. His eyes travelled to the ruins on the hill and the grin widened. They had taken the girl there instead of keeping her in the Keep with her man. The ruins were larger and had a stadium. Everyone took turns while watching her; it was a real festival. Just thinking about it made Jorje grin.

He was walking around the entire keep now. He reached the stables and heard the horse breeder, Makon, snore.

Ah yes, Makon the little rat. He also got a bit of action. He begged us to let him use her. After the boys had their fill of her, they gave her to him, and who would have guessed. The little rat bastard bonked her bloody and tortured her until she died.

Jorje inhaled and let out a ring of smoke. We should have let her live a little more. Half the guys slept with each other. No real man left in this hole. He circled the entire Keep and reached the front door of the jail where they were keeping the prisoner, the husband of the girl. Stupid schmuck, I told him to leave the girl and walk away.

A strong scent came from the prison. He was a low-class demon but still had good senses. There were two types of blood.

Jorje pulled out his knife, went inside, and checked the officer’s lounge. Usually, there would be somebody there. However, this time he was greeted by an empty room as he opened the door. What’s more, he noticed that the entire Keep was deathly silent. Jorje tensed up until he heard Raki saying, “That’s it, that’s it, a good boy. Oh ya.”

Am I imagining it?

He sat down on one of the couches. Raki was still talking, “Oh, you like that eh? Haha, oh yaaa...arrrgh.”

Jorje jumped and ran down into the dungeon. He opened the door and saw blood. Raki was whimpering and cursing in the corner while clutching his exposed privates.

“He bit me. The bastard bit me. Arrrgh,” cried Raki.

Jorje noticed the figure twitching on the floor with his throat slit open. In his mouth, there was...

Jorje cackled. “Serves you right for thinking with your banana.”

Raki snarled. “Fucking shit. Are you going to help me or what? Sew it back on, quick.”

Jorje laughed some more. “Are you kidding me? I’m not going to touch that thing.” He turned toward the door.

“Jorje, Jorje,” Raki shouted.

Jorje walked out of the room without looking back. Raki cursed him but gasped when Jorje fell backward into the room. There was a knife in his mouth.

✽✽✽

Elizabeth walked in and looked around. She spotted a man whimpering in the corner and another man in the middle of the room lying in his own blood. She shouted to someone outside, “Come here Mizaki, we found him.”

Mizaki Yuuma entered the room and shambled to the prisoner in her hooded black robe. She knelt down and took out the horrible thing in his mouth with gloved hands. After a few seconds of examining him, Mizaki lifted her head. “I’m afraid he is too far gone. This blood loss and that throat cut are fatal. I can only ease his pain.”

“I see.” Elizabeth lumbered to the man’s side, while Mizaki took out a potion to lessen his suffering. Elizabeth knelt down and touched his hand gently. Tears welled up in her eyes as he struggled to look at her. “Katsuma, my dearest friend. I’m sorry for not coming to your aid sooner.” She gritted her teeth and sniffed. “Do you have any last words?”

He didn’t speak but stared at her with his flickering eyes, then beckoned her to come closer. Elizabeth leaned her head near his mouth. His broken words came out in a hoarse voice. “Pl-ease...make...them...pay mi-mi-mistress.” And then, he stopped talking.

Elizabeth stifled the cry that came to her lips and closed his eyes whispering, “I’m sorry.”

She lowered her head and prayed. Then her eyes shifted to Raki who was still whimpering. She stomped toward him clenching her fists.

He held up his hands. “Please I’m a prisoner, just like him...I...”

She punched the wall behind him and smashed a hole through it. He yelped as she towered over him.

Elizabeth shouted, “Messadorma.”

Footsteps echoed in the dungeons and a giant woman who was built like a fortress entered the room. Messadorma’s blonde hair and dark complexion always made her hard-lined face very intimidating to look at.

Raki’s jaw dropped. “An Amazon? No, it can’t be. Why is someone from the Western Dark Continent here?”

Messadorma scowled at Raki who averted his eyes to the ground.

“You called, Lizzie?” asked Messadorma. She saw Katsuma’s body and her face darkened.

Elizabeth pointed to Raki. “Pick up this piece of shit by the collars and drag him up the stairs to their lounge. I’ll question him. What about the remaining men?”

“The guards have all been killed. None of them knew anything. The remaining ones are the cooks and a horse breeder. What should I do with them?”

Elizabeth clenched her fists again and turned her attention to Raki whose eyes were planted to the ground. She put her right heel down on his exposed bloody part. He howled out in pain and begged her to stop.

“Why?” she thundered. “Why should I stop? It’s for this little peanut that you killed my friend over there and his wife, his newlywed young wife.”

Raki shook his head. “Please my lady, please forgive me. I didn’t...”

Elizabeth smashed the walls again. “Enough, don’t even think of trying to deny it. Where is her body? You wouldn’t have made him do that filthy routine if she was still alive.”

Elizabeth pressed her leg down on him as he cried.

“Tell me what you did to her and how many of you did it to her. Tell me where is her body? Tell me or I swear on my honor as the Leader of the Raven Clan and daughter of Adam Raven I will cut your hose into a thousand tiny pieces and make you eat them one-by-one until you vomit. Then, I will cut off all your dead friends’ hoses and give them to you.” She lifted her leg and he breathed a sigh of relief.

He began, “We caught them both sneaking around in the woods. They were kissing or something. The guy said they didn’t know it was our land. He said they would leave. That guy,” Raki pointed to Jorje’s dead body, “he is the one who wanted to bring them in. He said, ‘That’s a nice piece of ass you have there. Mind if we see how nice it is.’ We knocked out the boy easily. He was young and knew a bit about fighting but...”

Messadorma frowned. “But he was no match for all of you.”

Raki shook his head.

Messadorma narrowed her eyes. “How many of you were there?”

“There were fifty of us. He killed two guys and she managed to kill one of the younger foolish ones with a knife she had. It looked like...”

“A haladie dagger,” said Messadorma.

Raki blinked. “Yes, how did you know that?”

“Well, I gave her that knife. She was one of my friends,” Messadorma answered.

Raki gulped.

Elizabeth grabbed his hair and made him look her in the eyes. “Continue talking if you don’t want me to leave you alone with her.”

Raki’s lips quivered. “We beat the boy and took him prisoner. The girl also we took as a prisoner. We told her, we would let her husband and her live if she agreed to...ummm...”

Elizabeth bashed his head against the wall. “Say it.” She didn’t need to hear this. But her rage and self-hatred were uncontrollable. She wanted to know so she could never forget the horror her friend faced alone.

“If she—if she, slept with every guy in the Keep.” Raki glanced at the dead prisoner. “And at first she refused, so we cut off his finger and gave it to our animals. Then she agreed; she willingly came and we all took turns.”

Mizaki covered her mouth and ran out of the room with a cry. Messadorma just stood there silently, but Elizabeth saw how hard Messadorma was grasping the blade in her hand.

“Who killed her?” Elizabeth asked.

“The horse breeder. It was him that did it. The rest of us, we just slept with her. But him, he made her do all sorts of nasty things before he tortured her to death. He cut her up and gave her as food to the animals,” replied Raki.

Elizabeth wanted to strangle him with her bare hands, but she kept her cool. “Just one more question. Does your master, Cerberus, know anything?”

“The Lord? No, he would kill us if he ever found out. He hasn’t visited us in months.”

She nodded to Messadorma who unsheathed her blade.

It’s useless to take any of these rapists prisoners. None of them will give me the evidence I need, Elizabeth thought. Elizabeth moved toward the exit as Raki cried. “Please, I’m sorry. I didn’t want her or him to die. I didn’t. And also, I’ll tell you where the other prisoners are.”

Hearing these words, Elizabeth returned. “Other prisoners?”

His voice shook. “Y-Yes. When we were rou-rounding up the girl and the boy, th-th-three people who seemed like travelers came there saying they heard a woman’s scream. They witnessed the couple bound up and tried to run for it. We caught them as well.”

“Where are they?” Elizabeth demanded.

“One is here in one of the dungeons. The other one is in the lower level; he killed a few of the guards before we caught him. The third one was a bit older. He died from interrogation a few weeks ago.”

Messadorma’s eyes flashed. “Interrogation? What were you trying to interrogate out of him? How hot the weather is?”

He dropped his eyes to the ground.

“Take him upstairs and sit him on a chair,” Elizabeth commanded.

Raki gave a trembling smile.

She continued, “Then make him watch as you slice all the hoses of the dead soldiers and stuff it into the horse breeder’s mouth. Keep stuffing it down his throat until he starts to choke. Then, cut off his hands and legs. Do the same for the other remaining scum. After they’re all dead,” she glared at Raki, “kill this one the same way. This time use the horse breeder’s thing, and stuff it down his throat. Let him die choking on it.”

She left the room as Raki screamed like a child. He shit his pants again as Messadorma dragged him past Mizaki, outside to the slaughter site.

Mizaki stared at Elizabeth. “Lizzie…”

Elizabeth’s face was grim. “We may not be the full-blooded demons who clawed their way out of hell, but we are demons. And this is how we do things. Those who sin die by the way they sinned!” She marched off knowing Mizaki was staring at her back.

She wandered the dungeons and caught sight of Jenny with the troops. She informed Jenny about the two prisoners. Jenny ordered her underlings to search for them.

Jenny leaned forward. “You find out if she...?”

Elizabeth sat on the ground and hugged herself. “We were too late.” A small cry escaped her lips as she cursed herself.

Jenny put a hand on Elizabeth’s shoulder. They looked at each other. They didn’t speak; they didn’t need to. After a few minutes, Elizabeth got up and wiped away the tears on her face.

“How is Messadorma doing?” Jenny inquired.

Elizabeth began, “She is ...”

Her words were cut short when they heard one of the men shouting, “We found one. We found one.”

He came hurrying out of the lower dungeons gasping for breath. “We found a prisoner.”

Jenny and Elizabeth glanced at each other. They followed him down to the dungeon. Some men had gathered inside a jail cell. As she entered, goosebumps broke out on Elizabeth’s skin from the cold wave that hit her. She inspected the cell. Several skeletons were chained to the walls.

She frowned. “Well? Where is this person? This survivor?”

They took her to the far end of the room, and she beheld him huddled in a corner: he too was chained to the walls. His clothes were very humble, the type worn only by peasants—a black shirt, black pants, and shoes. They were torn and practically unusable now, the results of questioning by the guards she assumed. There were some bruises on his person also but none too serious. Elizabeth judged him to be somewhere near her own age from his face.

He steadied himself against the walls and rose to his feet.

Even though they seemed to be the same size, he appeared very small to Elizabeth. He trembled as his eyes darted from face to face.

“So skinny. Must be starvation,” Jenny commented.

Elizabeth agreed.

Jenny slid up to him and placed a tentative hand on his shoulder. “It’s okay. We are here to help. You don’t need to be afraid anymore.”

He nodded without meeting her eyes. “O-o-okay.” He hugged himself.

Elizabeth noticed his nails digging into his flesh and her heart squeezed. What did they do to him?

Jenny gently took his hands. “You’re safe. I promise.”

His head bobbed up and down yet his eyes never left the ground.

Poor thing. Elizabeth came forward and caressed him in her arms. He jerked back but she held him firmly.

“I took care of them. They can’t hurt you anymore,” she uttered into his ear.

He froze. “You…you took care…? I… I’m fre-free?”

She stroked his back. “Yes, I took care of them. You’re free now.”

He leaned against her, eyes still cast downwards. “I’m so-so-sorry. Can I…?”

Elizabeth pulled him closer. “Yes, it’s alright, lean on me. Can you tell me your name?”

“Leo…Leo Aqu—Aquarius,” he replied in a low voice.

“How old are you?”

“Twenty-five.”

Oh, he’s a year older than me. “Okay, Leo, my name is Elizabeth. Where’s your friend?”

Leo took in a deep breath. “They separated us; it’s been a month since I last saw him. How are the others? There was a couple and another older guy who got caught.”

Elizabeth didn’t know what to say to him. She was going to ask Leo his friend’s name when Gonazamius came into the room.

“Lady Elizabeth, we found another one.”

Elizabeth kept patting Leo. “Can you do me a favor, Leo? I want you to go with these nice people upstairs.” She pointed at Jenny and the guards. “They will treat your wounds and give you something warm to wear. Can you do that for me?”

“Y-yes,” he mumbled.

“Great, I’ll be with you in a few minutes.” Elizabeth pulled Jenny closer and whispered, “Make sure he sees nothing.”

Jenny bowed. Two men freed Leo and supported him up the stairs with Jenny in tow.

Elizabeth clenched her fists as she watched Leo being carried away. She followed Gonazamius to the lower dungeons. They came to a standstill in front of a large door with a lock on it.

“Is he behind this door, Gona?”

Gonazamius lifted the lock. “Yes, my Lady. All the other jails were open, and there was no one in any of them. I distinctly heard sounds coming from within this one, however, we can’t seem to get it open.”

Elizabeth examined the lock. It had a seal with inscriptions written on it. She told a female soldier who was standing close by, “Ask Mizaki to come down here, would you?”

The woman left and came back a few minutes later with Mizaki.

“Do you recognize that seal?” Elizabeth asked.

Mizaki scrutinized the lock. “That’s used to contain rogue Hellbrids, a very powerful one; Level Four or Five.”

“I see. But not higher?”

“No, not higher. The seals would be different. Do you want me to open it?”

“Yes, are you scared?”

Mizaki answered with a laugh, “No, why should I? I’ve got a woman standing next to me who is a Level Seven Hellbrid. I’m just glad he isn’t a Level Ten!”

Elizabeth smiled. “If he was, then this place would have been burned down by now. Unlock the door and get out of the way.”

“Very well.” Mizaki edged toward the seal.

Elizabeth indicated the stairs. “Everyone else, stand over there. If he tries to escape, block his path. We don’t know what they did to him. As far as he is concerned, we might as well be enemies since he doesn’t know us. And Gona, give me your blade. I left mine in one of the carts.”

“Eh? Why do you always do this, Lady Elizabeth?” Gonazamius grumbled as he gave her his blade.

“Stop complaining, you brought your gun, didn’t you?”

Mizaki started chanting some words. “Azmarilldaa Yumagnishu Sayoma Uryamaztoda.” The room started shaking. She raised her hands to the ceiling and shouted, “Liberto.”

The lock snapped open. She opened the door nodding to Elizabeth.

Elizabeth took out a Fairy Moon from her pocket and went inside. As soon as she entered the pitch-black room, the Fairy Moon drenched everything in its luminous blue light.

“So, you finally get the guts to look at me again you pieces of shit,” said a voice from within the darkest corner of the room.

Elizabeth flashed the light toward the source of the sound. A man was chained just like Leo, but these chains were made of Mytal.

She froze for a second as her eyes took in his gigantic size. His muscles bulged out of their torn clothes. It was the first time she met someone as similarly heavyset as Messadorma. Does he have Amazon blood also? The man had a scar on his face and was bare-chested with a wound on his belly. That looks bad. “I’m not one of those who put you here. I’m here to help you,” she said.

“Help me?” he scoffed and lurched forward

Elizabeth stepped back, barely escaping his arms.

“Why should I believe you?” he growled.

Elizabeth set down her blade in front of him. “Just take a deep breath and calm down. I understand that you’re angry. But believe me, we’re the good guys. We just rescued your friend, Leo Aquarius. He’s being treated upstairs.”

Ray stopped moving. “Leo? He’s safe?”

“Yes.”

His eyes moved to her sword, then back to her face again. “Who are you?”

“A friend, I guess?”

He scorned. “You guess?”

She raised her hands in the air. “Yes, depending on how you play this out.”

He lifted his hands and yanked the chains. “Fine, get me out of these chains, ‘friend.’”

“Very well.” Elizabeth lifted her sword over his chains and smashed them apart.

He rubbed his hands together. “Thanks, I can feel my hands again.”

“No problem. What’s your name?”

The man flexed his arms. “Ray, Ray Shimomori.”

“Did you meet any of the other prisoners?”

“Why are you asking me all these questions? Who are you as a matter of fact?” he questioned her warily.

Elizabeth pointed at her left breast plate which had the Golden insignia of the Raven Clan Leader. “I am Elizabeth Raven, Leader of the Raven Clan. I’m asking because two of those prisoners were from my home and I want to know if they said anything to you.”

Ray stopped flexing. “Were?”

She nodded. “You and Leo are lucky.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t--I mean, I-it happened so fast. No, I didn’t talk with them.”

“I see.” Elizabeth beckoned Mizaki forward. “Go with my friend and get your wounds looked at, that is if you trust us, Mr. Shimomori.”

Ray stood there in silence for a few seconds. Then he sighed. “Not like I have a choice.”

Mizaki assisted him toward the door.

Elizabeth scanned the room with her eyes. “Why did they seal the room after you were in those chains. Are you that dangerous?”

Ray mumbled, “Who knows,” as he exited the prison.