CHAPTER 301: CHAPTER 301. FASCINATING TURN OF EVENTS.

Kailen heard footsteps approaching.

"You got to be kidding me!" Had he been noticed?

"Damnit! Damn it! Damn it! Move." He cursed inwardly in frustration. This body was refusing to move, no matter how hard he tried to.

He was currently in no good condition to escape from whoever was headed towards his direction. He, severely wounded, bleeding massively from the gaping wound on his right cheek, had drained himself of his spiritual power and universe energy. This made him completely weak at the moment.

Also, wouldn’t attempting to flee just expose him to not just one, but two enemies — whoever the current individual approaching was, and the one he had just escaped from? "Am I going to die here?" "Seriously? Is this really what you want, time dilation artifact?"

He gnashed his teeth in frustration. The time dilation artifact, veiled from his presence, had a cold, pragmatic expression which flickered with contrastingly subtle emotion in them. She did not reply to Kailen; however, she mused internally to herself: "Do not mistake me, Kailen — I care; the more reason why I will not coddle you with borrowed strength. What waits ahead demands a blade sharpened by pain, not dulled by comfort. You must be honed, and honing is never gentle."

Kailen, oblivious to the presence and voice of the time dilation artifact, remained steady, heart pulsing fearfully in undulating rhythms.

The presence loomed for a few moments before the footsteps ceased.

"Well, look what we have here." A rough and heavy voice echoed in the environs. "Should I play dead?"

Kailen closed his eyes, weakly leaning against the wall as if he were dead. However, the footsteps never made their way into the destroyed building with roofless walls where he lay. Just when he was wondering what had happened, a feminine voice muttered weakly in fear.

"Please — don’t kill me."

He was referring to another civilian? Whoever you are, civilian, thank you! Kailen mused inwardly to himself, not finding the predicament of someone else other than himself pitiful. He was even thanking the person for being a distraction to the enemy, implying that if not for the fellow, he’d have been discovered.

The male voice scoffed, "Heh! You elves and us dwarves are not necessarily on bad terms. But we don’t see eye to eye either. You pompous fools call us rough and non-elegant. Let me teach you a lesson about elegance! Spread them legs!"

"N-o. Please! ..(sobs) please don’t..."

Kailen did not see what was happening because he was enclosed in the wall of the destroyed building, whereas the dwarf soldier and the civilian were outside the remains of the destroyed building he was hiding in. Yet from the brief exchange and the tears of the female elf, he figured what was happening here. The weak, helpless elf was being sexually assaulted by the dwarf soldier.

Kailen’s knuckles clenched unintentionally. Someway, somehow, hearing the screams of the female elf reminded him of the bastards that took advantage of Arrie in the past. His emotions boiled; he was fueled by rage — not to help the female elf, but it was more personal for him, directed towards someone with the same behavior of the bastards that humiliated, used his woman in the past and cast her aside.

"What do you think you want to do, Kailen? This woman is not Arrie." He snapped back to his senses, propelled by common sense and an unrelenting desire to survive.

In the atmosphere pervaded by the hateful, sad and pitiful screams and moans of the woman being molested by the dwarf, he scolded himself inwardly like an angry parent scolding a child they had never been so disappointed in: "Neither is she your loved one. She’s a helpless woman you have no affiliation to, and is probably the only reason why you are still alive right now, so stay still, and let her save your life by being the distraction for the enemy she’s meant to be; else you’ll never return to your Arrie."

Kailen stayed still, back leaning against the wall, ears drowned in the tears, moans and screams of the elf and the maniacal growls of the dwarf. A while later, the screams died down.

"Tsk! What a waste." The dwarf clicked his tongue in annoyance, not in the least bit remorseful about what he had just done. The sound of a spittle followed. The molester added, his voice full of disdain, "She couldn’t even last a few rounds and died. So weak, huh! But I gotta say, an elf one tastes different."

"I’m no hero and I don’t see myself to be a good person, but this guy is a real piece of shit," Kailen couldn’t help but sincerely comment inwardly on what had just ensued and the fellow’s extremely borderline dystopic words.

"Well, leave now that you are done, err. At least I get to live by minding my own business," Kailen added.

As if the dwarf had heard his thoughts, he turned around and walked away, his footsteps receding into the now-quiet night. Kailen heaved a large sigh of relief when the fellow left.

"Seriously," he mused, with utter self-deprecation. "I’m bleeding to death, my strength is utterly spent, only to end up witnessing a bloody sexual assault and murder — which, if it technically did not happen, I’d be bribing the grim reaper to bring me back to life right now. What a fascinating turn of events."

The young man sighed. "Time to do something about this wound. Wish I could use some vines to obstruct the bleeding but, thanks to the pitiful universe energy reserves of this guy, I’d have to settle for my clothes."

He tore some portions of his rag-like clothes and managed to strap it circumferentially across the middle part of his face, just beneath his eyes — an attempt that put small pressure on the wound and did little, which at least was something to slow the bleeding. However, the pressure on the wound, strapped with dirty clothes and all sorts of impurities, worsened the pain further. He groaned inwardly, unable to scream in pain,due to fear of drawing the attention of the babarix dwarves. Yet he had no choice. This could buy him enough time to replenish his universe energy reserves — which would naturally help him to close the wound — that’s if the fellow had at least a normal level of regeneration.

He closed his eyes, adopting a meditative posture to increase the replenishing of his universe energy reserves.

The weight of the night pressed around him,as if waiting to see whether he would live or die .