Salvation of the Fallen - Chapter 6
In what state of mind she fled, Arsena couldn’t fathom. When she regained consciousness, the villagers were screaming, dousing water frantically. The acrid heat stung her nose. Arsena, frozen in place, couldn’t move as the dancing flames consumed everything until there was no trace left.
It was a night without a single star. After the fire had done its job and vanished, the people returned to their places. In the end, only Arsena and the silence remained. Her mother hadn’t survived.
Oh, my poor mother.
Confirming the fact that would remain unchanged forever, belated tears stung at her eyes. No, it might be raindrops flowing. That night, a fierce downpour had begun only after everything disappeared.
Somehow, Arsena survived.
* * *
Crack!
With a sharp, splitting sound, Arsena snapped back to reality. In her empty mind, emerging from the fragments of memories that rapidly flooded in, her sight was still locked in darkness. The iron chain binding her delicate wrists was no different.
“Why do you let your mind wander so recklessly?”
The man’s large, snake-like hand slithered up and pressed hard against her throbbing cheek. Instinctively holding her breath, Arsena’s damp eyelashes trembled. She was terrified, to the point where death became desperately desired once again.
“Not entertaining.”
Tears had been flowing for who knew how long. The man casually wiped the tear-streaked skin with an indifferent touch. The area he touched burned like it was on fire. The unbearable pain made her tears flow uncontrollably, finally dripping onto the man’s hand.
The man looked down at the tear that had fallen onto his hand, then stuck out his tongue and licked it. Gradually, his cruelly twisted smile and languid eyes turned towards her. As a warning of the impending fate, Arsena felt the goosebumps crawling over her entire body like needles.
“Cry more. It’s sweet.”
The man firmly grasped Arsena’s face with one hand, extended his snake-like tongue, and licked the trail of tears. The uncomfortably close contact sent shivers down her spine, and the man, with his cruel smile and languid eyes, focused even more intently on her.
It wasn’t enough to flick his tongue against her cheek, now he lifted his lips to the coarse fabric over her eyes and teased it as if to pierce them. Arsena squeezed her eyes shut. If she didn’t, the man’s tongue would dig into her pupils.
“Haa….”
Intermittently, the man’s low moans echoed like the roar of a beast revealing its prey. Standing in front of him, Arsena trembled all over her body like a newborn animal. All she could do was that.
“Haah…. Cry more.”
The man’s thick fingers pressed down on her lips and lifted them up, tracing her teeth. Helpless against the finger that filled her mouth, hot tears continued to flow uncontrollably, flooding like an overflow.
Without a pause, the man thoroughly sucked Arsena’s tears as if savoring a delicacy. Meanwhile, his large hand tirelessly explored her teeth, suppressing her tongue.
“Ugh.”
As soon as the intruding substance penetrated deep into her throat, a nauseating sensation overwhelmed her. Only then did the man withdraw and, seemingly amused, burst into a carefree laughter. The mad laughter echoed, making even breathing difficult under the influence of that insane glee.
“I’ve been thinking for a long time. What should I do once I have you.”
The man lifted Arsena’s face, which was now a mess, soaking wet. The veins in her throat surged violently, making it hard to breathe. Like her shattered heart, disrupted by fear.
“Just imagining it brought me joy. Should I tear your limbs and scatter them in the Tiota River? Or throw you into the flames of Laiti while still alive? And if that’s not it…”
“Ugh.”
As the man spoke, a sharp object swiftly brushed against the exposed throat. Though it touched lightly, the hot liquid flowed, collecting in the revealed collarbone. Simultaneously, the stench of sour blood assaulted her nose, oddly reminiscent of her mother’s cheap perfume.
“I might as well cut your throat and let you drown in that blood.”
The freezing touch filled the air around Arsena’s exposed neck as the man’s fingertips, pulsating with vigor, gently pressed against her throbbing throat. His touch, like caressing a delicate wound, seemed to exacerbate the injury.
“I haven’t made up my mind yet, but I think I might want to slow down a bit. I enjoy watching you suffer. More than I expected.”
“Ugh.”
The man’s hand, which began to move toward her, tightened around the nape of her neck as if to break it at a moment’s notice. She couldn’t breathe. Every time she convulsed in pain, the tightly laced corset made her inflated chest feel like it would burst. The scorching gaze, like a breath, sharply touched the delicate flesh, revealing the blue veins.
“You want to live long enough, don’t you? Arsena.”
A sharply pointed blade sliced across her shoulder, and her heavy dress fell to the floor in an instant. Arsena shuddered at the coolness of the blade against her bare skin. Now she was clad only in a tight corset and a pair of flimsy underwear.
“Then you should cry more, you’re supposed to be entertaining me.”
In an exposed state, comparable to livestock, to a man she had never seen before. A wave of fear, shame, and disgrace rushed over her. Arsena, trembling helplessly, pleaded with the man, summoning the last trace of courage.
“Don’t do this, hic, please.”
“I told you not to do this, Arsena.”
As the man toyed with the leather strap that bound the tightly laced corset, he laughed lightly. Arsena’s tear-mingled voice seemed like a futile joke.
“You know what to do.”
“Ugh.”
When the man tightened the leather strap, the corset made of bone fragments pressed against Arsena’s ribcage. It was a corset that had been tightened to the point of breaking her bones after days of starvation. The fact that she hadn’t fainted immediately was a strange situation. Paradoxically, the sharp pain, piercing through her bones, kept Arsena awake, preventing her from losing consciousness.
Who could do such a thing? Who would engage in such madness?
There was no memory of anyone. Except for the unfortunate stains on her life. Even the vaguely remembered memories of her mother were hazy. It was as if someone had taken away Arsena’s memories altogether.
In the foggy and faint memories, there was no one who could have committed such insane acts. This was torture akin to that of a devil.
“Guh… Huh… Hah…”
The sharp blade roamed over Arsena’s chest. The metal made a square sound as it moved, brushing against the delicate flesh like spreading butter on rough bread. Arsena swallowed her sobs with each touch of the blade. Any slight movement on her part would undoubtedly result in the blade cutting into her flesh.
“It looks delicious. You.”
Along with the chilling words of the man, the pointed tip of the knife scratched up Arsena’s waist. The corset’s bone fragments and the cold metal made a clattering sound as they met, making her throat feel dry. It felt like she would suffocate and die at any moment.
Thud. Thud.
As soon as the leather strap, tightly fastening the corset, touched the blade, it burst apart as if being cut. Arsena took a deep breath as if she had been submerged in water for a long time. Strangely, a faint joy of having survived lingered within her.
“Huh, heug.”
While Arsena savored her insufficient breath, the man, humming to himself, tore off the torn corset as if unwrapping it. Amidst the cool and damp air, her soft chest was revealed. Sensing the man’s gaze as if he were stepping back to appreciate the sight, Arsena twisted her body. However, there was no way to hide or escape.
“Hmph….”
Arsena, muttering in embarrassment, was subjected to a somewhat serious observation without reserve. The man turned her body here and there, occasionally making incomprehensible sounds. Each time, Arsena felt her throat dry up.
