I did not understand how she sensed it before I did, but she was already on her feet. Without hesitation, she said, 'We should go. Quickly. They need help.'
I did not know what she meant, but I trusted her instinct. We ran together.
With each step we took toward the infirmary, the shouting grew louder. It was no longer faint. It was frantic. Terrified. Something horrible was happening inside.
We reached the entrance and tried to go in, but the guards blocked our way. Before they could finish their excuses, I struck the nearest one. He fell to the ground instantly, unconscious. The moment the others saw that, they stepped aside, fear replacing whatever orders they had been given.
We sprinted in.
Inside, the sight that greeted me was not the two hundred thirty-nine women I had rescued, resting safely. Instead, nearly half of the entire military was inside the infirmary.
And what I saw there was the second wildest, most horrifying scene of my life.
Women's dresses were torn. Some women were completely naked. Older women moaned in pain as soldiers forced themselves on them. Younger ones screamed and cried, bleeding between their legs. Some were being groped. Some were held down by several men at once. Others were slapped, whipped, pinned, dragged. Horror took a thousand forms, and every one of them unfolded in front of me.
I lunged at the nearest man, ready to crush his skull. But the woman beside me grabbed my arm and whispered sharply, 'Not here.'
Her voice trembled, not with fear but urgency. She pulled me deeper inside as I forced myself to resist the burning rage that threatened to tear my body apart. Every step felt heavier. Every breath felt poisonous.
Finally, she stopped at a bed in the center of the hall.
On that bed were three women. All of them naked. All crying silently, their voices hoarse, their bodies trembling. On top of them was a man without pants. He forced himself into one woman while licking the shoulder of another and groping the third. His face was twisted in a horrible pleasure.
For a brief moment, because the women did not resist, my mind faltered. Some foolish part of me thought they were participating willingly. But then I saw their eyes.
Their eyes were wide with terror. Their faces had gone blank, drained of all hope, as if they had already accepted death. Their bodies did not resist because their spirits had already been crushed.
It was then that I truly understood the depths of what was happening.
And something inside me broke.
Immediately, all the blood rushed to my heart. Rage exploded inside me, a fury so deep it made me crave the death of the beast hurting those women. But when I looked at the woman who had guided me there and saw her remain silent, composed in that nightmare, I forced myself to hold back.
I stood behind the man and could not see his face yet. But his ki pulsed like something monstrous, far stronger than any I had ever seen until then. Part of me wanted to see who this beast was. I leaned slightly to the side, trying to glimpse his face.
The woman beside me whispered, 'Take him down.'
The moment I heard her words, I stopped resisting. Every part of me lunged forward.
I grabbed him from behind and yanked him backward, pulling him off the women. It was the only thing I could do, because his body was still violating one of them. He crashed to the ground with a heavy thud.
I was about to help the women stand when a fist slammed into my face. The blow was so strong it nearly sent me crashing into the bed beside us. My vision blurred for a moment. And before I recovered, I saw something that froze me.
Henry lifted a wooden chair above his head.
For a moment I did not understand. For a heartbeat, my mind refused to accept the image. But then he brought the chair down on me with all his strength. Wood shattered across my shoulders, splintering across the floor.
The man I trusted all these years.The man I believed was my best comrade.The man I thought was the wisest officer in the base.The man I genuinely liked.
He stood in front of me with eyes that did not belong to him. They were bloodshot, feral, hungry. They stared at me as if they wanted to rip me apart. In that instant, it felt like something inside me cracked. A betrayal sharper than any blade.
The shattering chair echoed through the hall, drawing every soldier's attention.
And in that moment, everything broke.
The cries of the women. The blood spilled on the floor. The horrifying scene happening all around me. And Henry attacking me with such hatred.
All of it poured gasoline on the fire inside me. I completely lost myself.
I fought Henry as if he and I were two beasts locked in a war. A part of me enjoyed the fight, enjoyed releasing the anger I had swallowed for years without realizing it. Blow after blow. Snarl after snarl. We tore through the infirmary like a storm in human form.
After a long, brutal struggle, I managed to knock him out.
When I finally stood still and looked around, even I was startled. Iron beds on both sides were bent like toys. Chairs and medical equipment were crushed and scattered. Blood smeared the floor in long streaks. Tiles had shattered beneath our feet. A single light bulb hanging from the ceiling swayed from our impact, swinging like a slow pendulum.
It looked like the aftermath of a battle between two enormous creatures.
In the meantime, the woman beside me gathered all the surviving women and positioned them behind me. With her help, we managed to guide them out of the infirmary. But we both knew they were still not safe. The soldiers were drunk, violent, unpredictable. They could regroup at any moment.
To protect them, I led them to the hidden Wargate."
Hercules paused when he saw Obero's questioning expression.
He continued, "The Wargate is a hidden passage inside the base. Only the general knows about it. Through it, the army can enter the war field, the barren land between the two kingdom walls. According to the world laws, all wars must be fought only in those war fields."
He breathed out slowly before continuing.
"At that moment, I believed it was the safest option. I took the women into the war field. But if anyone other than the general crosses the middle line, the opposing kingdom, Noida here, will assume a war is beginning. So I made the women stand behind the line while I crossed alone to negotiate.
I banged on their Wargate until their soldiers opened it. When they saw me, I explained everything and asked them to save the women. They agreed immediately.
I ran back toward the women and saw soldiers on our roof. I understood instantly. Something was happening behind us. Something dangerous. I shouted at the women to run toward Noida's wall. They obeyed and fled.
Arrows flew from above, but because the soldiers were still drunk, none of the arrows hit any of the women. We reached the gate quickly.
Just as we approached it, the woman beside me shouted that one woman was still left behind. When I turned, I saw her. A young woman standing far from the group, blood dripping between her legs, too weak to move.
For a moment, my heart imagined Hannah in her place, even though they looked nothing alike. Without thinking, I ran to her, lifted her in my arms, and sprinted back toward the gate.
I believed we would reach it safely.
Then an arrow pierced my leg.
I turned to see who shot me.
Henry stood on the wall, bow in hand, staring at me with the same hungry, murderous eyes. His fingers were empty, no arrow ready. Yet a second later, while I was still running, another arrow flew toward me.
It struck my back with such force that it jolted my entire body and sent the girl in my arms flying into the air. Somehow, through sheer instinct, I caught her again.
Even with the arrow still in my back, I forced myself to run and reached the gate.
I collapsed inside and watched as the women I had rescued cried with relief. Their eyes glowed with hope as Noida's soldiers rushed to bring them uniforms and their doctors began treating their wounds.
I looked toward the woman who had guided me, and she said something to me, but I could not hear a word. All I saw were her lips moving. She rushed toward me and shouted something again.
From the shape of her mouth, I could guess she was yelling, 'Help him. Help him.'
And then everything went dark.