She felt completely drained. For the past few minutes, Rebecca had been healing Dugu with [Mending]. It was becoming difficult just to keep her hands positioned above his body. But she persevered. It was the least she could do for the man who’d just saved her.

After being forced to live in the brothel for so many years, she had given up all hope of being rescued. Every year, she watched as would-be saviors were mercilessly cut to pieces by the brothel owner's men. That all changed when Dugu showed up. He was the knight in shining armor that she, and all the other girls at the brothel, had been waiting for.

"Eesha..." Dugu’s eyes gradually open.

Is that his wife?

He grabbed Rebecca's hand.

Rebecca saw a ring on his finger, but she wasn’t sure if it was a wedding ring.

She lowered her hands. "How are you feeling?"

He released his grip. "Sorry, I mistook you for someone else."

"That's alright. You pushed your mind and body far beyond their limits. It's perfectly normal to feel a bit confused afterwards."

He rubbed his head. "Where's Coco?"

"She's waiting outside with the other girls."

"Where's the wacko? Did I get him?"

"You sure did." She pointed to the wall at the far end of the brothel, where a man was impaled. “He’s over there.”

"I can't believe I was able to hit that speedster." Dugu walked toward his sword and pulled it out of the wall. The body that it impaled fell lifelessly to the floor.

"Big Bertha may be falling apart, but she's still a good sword." He sheathed the sword on his back. "Let's get going. I've kept you girls waiting long enough."

Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

Rebecca held onto his empty sleeve and followed him outside. Holding on to him gave her a sense of security.

She was glad the sun had set. Otherwise, she would have a hard time seeing anything. Her captors had never allowed her outside, so her eyes were not acclimatized to sunlight.

Even in the dark, she could see the smiles on the other girls' faces. They appeared to be as excited as she was about the prospect of a new life. Not long ago, all they could see was a bleak future. Now a bright one had opened up for them. Their prayers had been answered.

Rebecca was sure that Hupo, the man Dugu was taking them to, was a good man. After all, why would Dugu leave them with a bad man, after risking his life to rescue them from one? And Coco's opinion of Hupo appeared to be very high. He must have treated her well to deserve such praise from her.

"Am I walking too fast?" Dugu turned to look at Rebecca.

"No, not at all." She held his sleeve closer to her body.

Tears welled up in her eyes. She couldn’t remember the last time she had been treated with such respect. When she was living in the brothel, she had no control over anything, including who she slept with, what she ate, how she dressed, or even when she was able to use the toilet. Any disobedience was met with harsh punishment.

Everything Dugu had done for her, thus far, was proof of one undeniable fact: He was a man who respected women.

***

He slowly pushed himself off the floor. His hands almost slipped, because the floor was wet with blood. Touching his chest, he noticed that the gaping wound that had once been there was almost completely healed. He turned around and saw large cracks in the wall behind him.

That was fun. Good things come to those who live long enough.

Prometheus felt nothing but gratitude toward Otto. The only thing that could get his blood pumping was a good fight, and Otto had given it to him. Although Otto had been paying him a lot of money, that wasn’t the real reason that he stuck around the brothel. He’d hoped that, one day, a strong fighter would show up, seeking revenge. After years of waiting, that day had finally come. A strong opponent had appeared.

A groaning noise caught his attention. He turned toward the sound and saw a bloodied man crawling toward the brothel's exit. The man was leaving a trail of fresh blood in his wake.

Prometheus walked to the man’s side and squatted down. "Well, well, well. What do we have here?"

"Prometheus?"

"Yes, that would be me."

The man smiled. "Thank heavens you're back! You've come to save us, at last!"

"Save you?" Prometheus laughed. "I'm afraid you've got the wrong idea, buddy. I didn't come to save you."

"What do you mean?"

"I've come to..." He lowered his scarf, revealing a wide mouth lined with long, pointed teeth, "...eat you!"

The man squealed and his body thrashed about as Prometheus dug in.