Wicked Reincarnation

A minute ago, Lia gambled on the chance of her decision. She also felt the brief joy that was utterly destroyed by the realisation that once again, she was in the wrong. Why was it so hard for her to retreat? Why was it so hard for her to take a step back?

What was she so afraid of? Letting the elders escape? Couldn't she just regroup with Noel and go after them again? But the momentarily panic of letting them slip out of her fingers spurred her on the walk down the wrong path.

The path what would break her over and over again.

As the hostages were released, Lia waited until the elders stood up and Nessa made her way to her. She had thought that Nessa was far enough from the lackeys and out of harm, but Lia never anticipated the moment she ordered the corpses to kill both elders, the lackeys would throw a knife at Elder C who grabbed it and-

Swoosh

With one clean cut, he slashed Nessa's throat before the corpse ripped his arm off and he collapsed. It happened so fast, Lia had no time to react.

Now, everyone in this room apart from her and Elder C was dead. She couldn't even spare a single thought, single triumphant feeling in this situation.

It cost her more than she's achieved. The impulsive and freeing gust of wind, she thought she'd feel never came.

From not being able to kill Elder Z, to killing Elder P and about to kill Elder C, not once has her revenge satisfied her. Instead, she had to sacrifice over and over again to keep walking down this thorny path which constantly asked for more and more of her soul, more and more of her sanity.

It was impossible for her to win. When would all of this stop? With Min? Would the death of Min really set her free like she hoped to? Carry her out of the faraway trapped place she was stuck in?

She had no answer but she couldn't turn around anymore, she had to continue walking. No matter what it would take, she told herself, she swore.

So, she was going to keep walking.

Lia closed Nessa's eyes, wishing she could give her a proper burial but now she needed to put all of her effort to quench this violent desire of hers to rip every limb of the elders apart.

Elder C, holding his bleeding shoulder missing an arm, laughed hysterically. He laughed and laughed like a maniac. Lia turned to him with a cold face and silently walked towards Elder C who looked at her with a crazy expression,

"Serves you right! Serves you right!"

Elder P laid in a bloody pool next to Elder C, dead.

"What can you do to me now? What can you do to me now??? Tell me hahaha," it seemed like Elder C lost his mind being toyed and abused by a corpse. He coughed blood but his crazy grin never left his haggard face.

Lia exhaled as she stood in front of Elder C and crouched down to match his height. This one sigh froze all nerves in Elder C's mind, completely set his aching body numb and destroyed all sense of safety he had.

Staring into those voidless, dark and glowering eyes Elder C's heart tore itself into little pieces hoping to escape his body.

As Lia raised her eyes, Elder C involuntarily flinched and wanted to cover his head but the realisation he only had one arm, pushed him one step over the abyss that could completely break him.

His exhilarated face just a minute ago contorted into pitiful pleading as Lia dragged him by the hair through the floor until they arrived at the laboratory.

"Elder C," Lia's voice was frighteningly calm, so calm that all the thunderous thoughts and electrifying sensations in Elder C's body were paralysed. He couldn't feel anything but the impending death, no, the impending neverending suffering that awaited him.

"Do you know? All actions have consequences and right now, you have made me very angry," yet there was no anger to be heard in Lia's voice.

In the room full of various torture weapons, Lia ordered her corpse to put the cowering Elder C onto a table where once the mortals laid enduring injustice.

"I think you ought to experience-" Lia stopped and let her hand slide through the table full of malicious weapons waiting to sink themselves in Elder C's skin.

"Wait! No, stop! Stop!" Elder C wriggled on the table but the corpse was holding him down.

His breathing got shorter and he panted as his bloodloss maximised with him moving around so much.

A thousand begging, a thousand pleadings and kowtows could not satisfy the intense hatred that burnt through Lia's body right now. For her family, for everyone who has attended to her, for Nessa and everything Lia had to go through-

"You have to shoulder it all, Elder C. Hold still," in the end Lia opted for a knife.

The sharp edge softly pressed against Elder C's skin on his arm.

"It's going to hurt but it'll be ok, no?" Lia's lips formed a little smile and sent waves of terror into Elder C.

He wanted to say something but as the knife cut into his flesh and sliced through a layer, nothing but excruciating pain violated his senses.

Again and again.

"Stop... St...I'm... so..rry," Elder C chocked out.

Whatever it took, even if it meant to bow before Lia and endure humiliation, even if it meant to apologise and ground himself underneath her shoe, he had to stay alive.

"You're sorry?" Lia feigned surprise, "So, Elder C is sorry? My, what a turn of events. If Elder C is really sorry, then I can't be so awful to you."

Lia ordered her corpse to let Elder C free. Once he felt the hard grip on him lift, he eagerly sat up but the sight of his skinned arm with the veins and fibres sticking out, almost made him faint and he fell to the ground.

He instantly, to the best of his abilities, crawled to Lia and grabbed her legs, "Yes, I'm sorry... I... am!! Please... spare! Please!!"

He clung onto her and was even about to kiss her shoes. Whatever it took, he wanted to live! He didn't want to die!

"I...don't! I don't... want to die!"

"Then do you regret it?" Lia continued to smile but inwards she felt disgusted having this cling onto her.

"Yes, yes!"

"I see," Lia crouched down and patted his head.

Streams of tears covered his dirty face that was filled with anticipation and relief only for it to be shattered the moment Lia's grip on his head turned harsh.

"Unfortunately, your example of how not to show mercy deeply moved me. I cannot forgive, I will not forgive. In this world, there's nothing that will ever be able to attain my forgiveness. You will have to personally march with the devil to bed every night for me to even consider looking at you ever again," with that Lia smashed his head to the ground.

Once. For her father.

Twice. For her mother.

The Third. For her attendants.

The Fourth was for Nessa.

The Fifth was for herself.

Relentlessly, cruel, unsparing.

With each hit, Elder C's face collided with the ground, broke his nose, broke his teeth and sent all the blood to mingle in his eyes.

"Elder C, you really have bad luck. Since I couldn't properly finish off Elder Z, you will have to bear it all," the liberating feeling, the cathartic sensation, the realisation that with this the dead souls will be cleansed and freed from their anguish, all washed over Lia and made her mind feel at peace.

Finally, her revenge made her feel good.

Finally, the moment she craved for. The moment she desperately longed for, all the rage she had to suppress since the day her life has changed, it all found their end right here and now, to rest and replenish only for them to come back tenfold.

Next, would be Min. No one in this world should suffer more than him.

Lia stopped bashing Elder C's head and made him look at her. His mushy face was a disgrace and was nauseating to look at but for Lia, it was really endearing.

With her chilly smile, she almost glassily watched him. Elder C couldn't make any noise, everything hurt, everything was terrifying to him.

He already apologised! What else could he do?

But staring into those eyes, seeing her smile, Elder C finally understood.

It didn't matter. Nothing that he did could ever change his fate. Nothing could save him. From the moment, he stepped into the world, he was destined to end up like this. He was finally conscious of it.

He was born to end up die at her hands.