(The Woman’s POV)

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‘Stop!’ he... No! It said. As I was already holding my last straw at that point, the words almost erupt as the rage almost blinded me.

‘Stop? Oh, I will stop! I will stop as soon as I tear off your windpipe. Just you wait.’ I thought but stayed silent. I trashed to throw the creature off of my back. It was sitting on my waist and holding me down, my now tied hands in one of its hands while pushing my face to the floor with the other.

‘StopEasy’ the thing tried to calm me down again but I wasn't one to fall the same trick twice.

‘Easy? Hah, don't make me laugh. I should have left you for dead. No, better than that I should have killed you myself. I should have cut your throat while you were still unconscious you wretched bastard.’ I thought while continuing my resistance.

The more I trashed the more it pressed my face but I refused to yield. I didn’t yell, not even made a sound, but I resisted with everything I have. I tried to turn around, kick him with my heels, and bite his hand but nothing worked. It was too heavy and its grip was tight, as expected of its kind.

‘Stop! Easy! Listen!’

While I was resisting it continued to press my face and order me around. Still, I refused to stop or yield. I didn’t even try to answer and continued my silent resistance.

‘Listen? What are you, an idiot? You attacked me out of nowhere and now you want me to listen? Well, how about this? I will listen to you and then kick your balls while you are still talking because that was exactly what you did just a moment ago. And why the nine hells and seven abysses are you talking like some brain-dead damned demon? Are you retarded?’ I thought and then it dawned upon me at last. ‘Wait a moment. You… You are speaking. You are speaking what? Sacred? How?’ I thought incredulously.

It was speaking. Well… It was speaking in some other language before, probably demonic, which was what actually startled me in the first place and let it catch me off guard. But it was speaking Sacred this time! 'Asena protect my soul.'

‘Mouth… Close… Silence! Listen! Still! Put!’ the foul thing ordered again.

It was speaking Sacred with a thick accent and broken sentences. Some of the words it was using were completely alien. But still, it was understandable. It was ordering me to stop resisting obviously.

‘No, I will not listen to anything you say, you ungrateful bastard. Now get off! GET OFF!’ I thought in rage. Speaking Sacred or not, I refused to be fooled by this thing again.

‘Silent! Still! Listen! Listen!’ It continued ordering again and again, angrier each time. Then abruptly stopped ordering and started groping me above my clothes.

‘Wait! Why are you touching me? STOP! Stop touching me aberrant! Oh, you are dead! You are so dead! Just wait until I get my hands on you! I am going to cut those hands and feed them to the dogs. Just wait!’ I thought.

Now that it showed its true face I increased my resistance. I refused to be humiliated, raped, and tortured. Even death would be better than being toyed with like that. I believed that if I resist enough, I could make it mad enough to grand me a quick death in a moment of anger.

'Biting my own tongue?' Arent those things only happens in tales? I have never heard someone that actually manage to do that in real life and I would rather bite his tongue and be beaten to death while watching him choke in his own blood.

It continued groping me while I tried to tear the sleeves of the coat that binds my hands as it is not holding them that tight right now. It started to lower its hand from my shoulders and waist toward my thighs as I increased my resistance. Then it found one of the throwing daggers, a stiletto, on my thigh and stabbed it right in front of my eyes while yelling for the first time.

‘SILENCE! OR DIE! STAY STILL! OR DIE!’

For a moment my brain froze. It was not because of the threat of death. I had already steeled my mind, even hoping for it. All I was hoping for was a quick one indeed. But the change in its tone was so suffocating that I could not help but stop. If it was distant and frosty before, it was closer and raging with fire now and not like cleansing blue flames one hopes to be cremated after death but like cursed orange-red flames that taint even the soul. It felt like, I am going to regret it deeply if I refused to stop now.

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‘OK! DON’T KILL ME! I WILL STOP! PLEASE DON'T KILL ME! I thought involuntarily in utmost shame.

I stopped indeed but still refused to show my fear on the outside. I refused to beg for my life, even despised the thought of it.

‘SILENT! STILL! LISTEN! WATCH!’ It continued. Even though it said me to watch, I closed my eyes not to see the reflection of my eyes on the blade of the dagger. My dagger! Not that I can see it in the first place. I already knew the blade was too thin and not shiny enough to do so. Still, I felt like closing my eyes.

I waited for the killing blow in hope but knew that it would not arrive soon. Still refusing to beg, I steeled myself for the upcoming rape and torture.

‘Ok! I am silent and still. Just don't kill me, please. I don't want to die yet but I don't want to be raped or tortured either. I am scared. Oh, gods and goddesses above! Please help me! I don't want to die yet.’ My thoughts started to wander. Shameful as it was, I still didn't show any form of weakness on the outside. My pride didn't allow me to do so.

The more I waited the more anxious I become. But then again, it abruptly stopped groping me, just got off, and forced me to stand up. It put the tip of my own dagger on my neck.

‘Huh! That was easy.’ I thought. ‘Now, are you going to slit my throat with my own dagger? It's sharp and clean but you know it is still my own dagger, right? I don't want to die a dog's death by your hand through of my own daggers you know.’ I thought in shame again.

The things one thought before her own death were interesting though. I thought, amongst everyone I know, I would be one of the few that wouldn't bat an eye in front of a certain end. But here I was, thinking these stupid things while waiting for my imminent death.

‘SILENCE! LISTEN!’ It retorted again shaking me and pressing the blade closer, almost drawing blood and that put me out of my miserable thoughts.

‘I am silent already. Why are you still saying the same thing over and over again idiot? Just slit my throat and finish this farce already.’ I thought in frustration.

‘MOUTH! SILENT! MIND! NOT!’ It retorted immediately as if it can read my thoughts.

‘WAIT! Can it read my mind? HELLS AND ABYSSES! Is it in my mind? Wait! Are you in my mind? DAMN! Can you read my thoughts? SHIT! SHIT! SHIT! Is that some kind of artifact? Is it the coat? Was it talking to my mind like this all this time? Did it hear all those humiliating things? I can't believe it. How could I miss something like that? There is no sound! Oh, goddesses please have merc-’

‘SILENCE! YOUR! MIND! OR! I! WILL! KILL! YOU! DAMN! WOMAN!’ it cut my thoughts berating me, again, there was no sound or the sound was in my mind i think.

‘Just… How can I silence my mind?’ I thought involuntarily in desperation. I don't want to die but I don't know how to silence my mind. Please! PLEA-’

‘EMPTY YOUR MIND! BREATHE! FOCUS! EMPTY! YOUR! MIND!’

‘OK! I will try. I WILL TRY. But please. PLEASE! Move the freaking dagger away. I don't want to die yet. I am too young to die in a damn cave in the middle of nothing.’

Now… The things one thinks about when she saw hope in the middle of utmost desperation was really humiliating. Hopefully, just with that, it slowly lowered the pressure on the dagger but the blade was still on to my neck.

‘DON’T MOVE! STAY WHERE YOU ARE!’ It said -thought- into my mind. I didn't know how I knew but I knew anyway. It was still raging with fury but just a little bit more controlled this time.

From the moment it unleashed that fury I was not thinking, just acting on my basic instincts. Again, just like those instincts screamed I did exactly what the thing said. I stood still and tried to breathe to lower my pulse. Meditating now, was not an easy task. My mind was in utter chaos but I still tried to do so. Still... My mind continued to wander.

‘Gods and Goddesses! Just what did I put myself into?' A mind-reading otherworldly demon in human skin that speaks Sacred? No! Think positive. Don't succumb to your fears. 'Hello! Can you hear me? Please don’t kill me.’ I thought while still trying to empty my mind. ‘Now, how can I not think anything while I know something was literally inside my mind.’

While I was sweating buckets and trying to school my mind, the damned thing was looking this side and that side frantically searching for something without removing his hand from my nape and MY dagger from my throat. All the while, I just stand still and try to empty my mind, which I couldn’t.

‘HOW MANY?’ it thought inside my mind. I understood what it was asking even though I shouldn't. I thought about my so-called brothers that ran away in the middle of the fight leaving me to fend myself off alone. Immediately I remembered that the bloody thing can read my mind and tried to think of something else, but the damage was already done. If I could have made it think that I still had teammates nearby and going to return soon. That would have increased my chances of survival but there was no way other than telling the truth now.

“Just me.” I said in a broken voice and couldn't help but add, “I SWEAR!” aloud. ‘Was it necessary though?’

‘HOW MANY AWAY?’ the demon asked immediately, a little bit less angry this time.

‘Can’t you read my mind already? What is the point of asking?’ I thought snapping in my mind but regretted it immediately. Then I schooled my thoughts. There was no way of this thing asking these questions if it couldn’t. Thus, I answered reluctantly. ‘Two!’

‘WHEN ARE THEY GOING TO RETURN?’ It asked. ‘Was it angrier?’

The cunning thing was asking the questions although it already knew the answers. ‘Maybe it can’t read my mind when I schooled my thoughts.’ I thought. Then again, how can I not think about the bastards that left me for dead while I was trying not to think about them?

‘Still, all of these may be a test.’ I thought again. Alas now that I thought about it, the demon should know that I have considered that probability too. There was simply no other way. All I could do was tell the truth.

‘Return? They won't return. They sold me, those damned bastards. Please it is only me- It is only you and me here because I saved your life. Please don't kill me.’ I told to it, or... Thought? Does it really matter in this situation? The damned thing has already heard all my beggings and prayers, didn’t it? ‘Oh God of mercy Aman, is this how you answer my prayers?’

‘EASY!' It said. 'Relax! I will not kill you.' 'NOT YET!' 'As long as you behave... Just answer some questions.’ But this time it was not raging with fire. It was almost frosty and distant again, but much more than before.

The feeling sent chills down to my spine and at last, I realized. This frosty and distant indifference of the damned thing was far more dangerous than its burning rage.