CHAPTER 273: I CURSE THE HEAVENS...

{Please be warned, there is dark and sensitive content in this Chapter.}

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The bandit was stunned for a moment by her heavenly voice, but he soon snapped out of it, gulping for breath for a moment, looking closely at the woman’s body. He could not help but think, ’Is it a woman I enjoyed a long time ago? No, that can’t be, I would have remembered having fun with such a beauty.’

Squirt.....

But out of nowhere, one finger on the right hand of the bandit was cut off; the cut was so clean that only a slight flesh-cutting sound was heard. The bandit looked on in horror as his finger lay on the floor, and blood was rushing out of the wound. The frightening part was that he did not feel a single thing: no pain, no sensation, nothing.

"Ahhhhhhhhh.....arghhhhhhhh..."

The bandit shouted at the top of his lungs, from overwhelming fear, his back dropped to the ground, Sophia reveled in that feeling, the coldness within her enjoying the moment. She spoke again, the sweetness of her voice completely contrasting with her sadistic nature and deeds,

"Don’t you remember how you raped my mother right in front of my eyes, how you killed my father?"

But the bandit was too concerned with his cut-off finger, desperately trying to stop the blood from coming out. Sophia chuckled, "Uh, I suppose you did that in all the locations you looted. So, let me rephrase that."

"Do you remember the little girl, that one little girl who killed more than 50 bandits all alone, as you ran away? Using a carriage, in which you took a certain woman with you?"

The bandit’s eyes finally moved to her, his mouth opening in soul-shuddering fear. Tears started to fall from the bandit’s eyes as he crawled backwards, not caring about his injury anymore,

"You’re her? you.....you....you...no...no no...no, you’re that little monster. No, please spare me, please please, I know where she is, where your mother is, if you spare me."

Sophia moved like a ghost, appearing close to the crawling bandit, then another finger was cut off, then another, and another. Her light and amusing voice took on a darker tone as she demanded,

"Where is she? Where is my mother?"

But the bandit did not answer and continued to howl in pain, all his fingers were cut off now. Sophia ordered the two other women, who were standing right behind her, to patch the hands of the old bandit, so the blood coming out of the wounds would stop; otherwise, he would die from blood loss. Then what followed was a torture of such magnitude that it was something better left undisclosed. But know this, he was killed by having his head slowly and forcefully ripped off from his body. It was a gruesome sight that even made the girls behind her shudder.

Sophia now knew the location of her mother, in another corner of the town, where women of a certain age were kept. She was unable to obtain any further information about that place, and the Baron also did not mention anything related to it. She frowned thoughtfully, having a bad feeling; it was as if they were scared to talk about that place in front of her. Just what was happening there?

She rushed to that place. There were many skilled guards outside the facility, and she commanded her two assassins not to follow her, to kill them all, and remain outside the facility. Just as she entered, breaking through the door, countless obscene and desperate screams of many women resounded everywhere. What she saw made her blood run cold. There were hundreds of cages. In every single one of them, women were being violated nonstop. Some of the women gave in to their fate, while others still resisted. Some had hollow eyes, as if they were lifeless dolls. Sophia’s eyes darted around, searching for her mother.

As she reached deeper inside, she saw some cages where women were pregnant. She paused in her tracks. After 10 whole years, she finally saw the face of the woman who had given birth to her. She was also pregnant, yes. But her eyes were more dead than anyone else in that hellhole. Her clothes were ragged and dirty. Her hair mixed with dirt, her face old and worn, with marks on her once beautiful face, the loving mother was nowhere to be seen; only a dead woman remained, who had been through a tall tale of torture that mere words could not speak.

Sophia instinctively understood the purpose of that place; it was a breeding ground. Women would be forced to conceive. Then give birth, and the children born would likely be raised in some other hellhole.

Humans were being raised like livestock, just like how cattle are raised. Humans were being raised here just like that, the males born in this process would be trained to become hidden spies, underground workers, or anything, they would all be loyal dogs. And for the females born in this method. When they grow up, they would be sold to nobles, high officials, or princes, or they would be made loyal maids. And there was only one person who could have the authority to do so much. It was the king himself.

She neared the cage of her mother, but the women did not notice her, or maybe did not care about anything anymore. Sophia’s throat went dry, and a longing emotion started to overflow from her. She wanted to call her out, as she had in the past, to call her mother again; however, for some reason, she was unable to. So, she called the woman by her name, "Minerva."

Her voice was gentle, but the women did not hear her, so she called her out again, her voice rising louder,

"Minerva..."

The woman’s dead and hollow eyes seemed to flicker slightly, indicating that she was indeed alive. She looked around and saw Sophia; her red eyes seemed to catch her attention briefly, but that was it; her gaze returned to the floor, just as lifelike as before. A boundless sadness began to overwhelm Sophia. Mustering enough courage, she spoke,

"I’m here to free you, Minerva."

Minerva looked up, clearly hearing the words this time, "Save.....me????????"

Her voice was broken, as if her vocal cords themselves were damaged. The woman showed a subtle, sad smile, a gesture so profound that it alone conveyed the actual brutality that hid underneath this beautiful world, "Is there anything,.....lefft...tooo....saavee..?"

Sophia gritted her teeth, tears gathering in her eyes, but nothing of it showed outside, nor did her voice carry any emotion. She asked, "Why? You’re still alive, aren’t you? Do you have a family? Don’t you want to see them?"

Hearing that Minerva laughed, she laughed in a broken voice, a woman who had lost it all, "Nooo, I....do....not. I don’t remember anything about them....and I do not care anymore either."

"Do you know what they did to me????"

Sophia’s heart tightened. "What did they do?"

Minerva continued in a flat voice, "For the past 10 years, unknown men have violated me non-stop, made me conceive, again and again and again and again. Non-stop. Without mercy. So, no, I no longer care about my children. They made me give birth to more than 12 children in the past 10 years, without stopping; I hate them. I hate giving birth to the children of the same men who violated me."

"AND I CURSE THE HEAVENS FOR DECLARING SUCH A WRETCHED FATE UPON ME, I CURSE THEM ALL."

"SO NO, MISS, YOU CANNOT FREE ME, YOU CANNOT SAVE ME, BECAUSE NOW I ONLY LONG FOR DEATH. CAN YOU DO IT?"

"CAN YOU SHOVE A SWORD RIGHT THROUGH THE STOMACH OF THIS OLD WOMAN?"

"CAN YOU PLEASE LET ME, FINALLY REST?" she stated in a desperately pleading voice, as tears started to fall from the woman’s eyes. Two trickles of tears also fell to the ground outside the cage, and Sophia’s mask fell to the ground. Her mother looked at her momentarily as her face was revealed, but was unable to recognize her at all.

It was at that moment that the slight trace of humanity that was left within her finally died. Her hand moved in a practiced motion, a dagger flew through the gaps of the cage, directly stabbing through the stomach of her mother, and killing the new and small life within her as well. She screamed out in agony, then another dagger flew out, piercing Minerva’s throat. She let out another broken scream, and blood started coming out of her mouth, but there was no pain in her face anymore, only gratitude. A bloody tear fell out of her eyes. And.. that was how Sophia killed her mother, because that was the only way to relieve her from her suffering.

[Conditions have been met.]

[Unlocking memories and pre-accumulated power.]