Dianna saw them coming slowly, but was unable to react. Despite intuiting what was going to happen. Despite being as tall as any of them. Despite wishing she had met them again and killed them a hundred times. Despite all that, she felt as if her body was not the same. As if something essential was missing. As if she couldn't press the start button, which she couldn't find anywhere.
Frightened, she watched as two of the assailants pounced on her, like hungry predators. She watched as they grabbed her by the arms and shoved her against the wall with unbridled violence. She felt a terrible blow to her head as she hit the wall. Her eyes closed involuntarily, trying to endure the pain. In the midst of that momentary darkness, she felt and heard some of her clothing being ripped apart, as well as the edge of the automatic knife on her face. As if it were a whiplash, she felt with disgust how they groped her. Finally, she felt terribly stupid.
"If they were going to do this to me anyway even if I didn't resist... Why didn't I fight back? What was the point of being terrified? Enough regretting! Enough panicking! She felt as if each "enough" was an insult she was unwilling to endure. "Enough of waiting for the horror to pass. Enough, damn it! If I want to save myself, I'll have to do it myself. And I will do it."
Dianna opened her eyes, furious. Not as much as she wanted to, but it was enough to take the reins. "They are just as I remembered them. But that was two years ago. I've changed a lot since then. I've gotten a lot stronger and learned to defend myself better."
The third assailant was very sure of himself as he rested the edge of the automatic knife against Dianna's beautiful face. Very close to her. Without hesitation, Dianna leaned her back against the wall and her left foot against the floor to anchor herself as much as possible.
With all the force and speed she was capable of, she launched a kick aimed at the testicles of the wielder of the automatic knife. With the unexpected blow, the knife moved and slid terrifyingly sharp across Dianna's skin. She felt the cold steel edge cutting her as she prepared the next strike. Swift and fast. Without hesitation, she brutally struck the side of her second assailant's knee. The one who, until that moment, grabbed her right arm.
Dianna didn't hear the much desired crack in the knee of her attacker. She immediately understood that the angle had not been the right one. But the effect had been the desired one. The pain made that bastard suddenly writhe in agony. Dianna took advantage of his pain and, in one quick movement, released her right arm. Free al last, Dianna quickly punched her first assailant's ear. She knew it wouldn't cause him too much damage, but it was a good move to distract him from what would come next.
Dianna took advantage of the fact that he wasn't letting go of her left arm and prepared her right knee. She tensed her leg with all the strength she could muster and hit the bastard's ribs. The blow, this time, was satisfying. The ribs cracked with an unpleasant sound. A scream of pain followed.
At that instant, Dianna felt the cut on her face began to ache her with a searing pain. She quickly brought her hand to her face, finding the warm liquid. She pulled her hand away and saw a lot of blood on her palm. Too much for her taste. That was the fuse that detonated her elusive rage. She let out a scream that would have inspired Kentaro Miura himself for a good scene in his manga.
Dianna seemed possessed by the devil himself. Her eyes rolled back for just a second. It was as if she transformed into something diabolical. Something that only the scarred being could perceive. Next, Dianna jumped onto the chest of the third assailant who hadn't yet recovered from his sore testicles. The blow crushed his ribs and knocked the breath out of him. The blow hadn't killed him, but he wasn't going to need much more either.
Dianna lifted her left foot and cautiously calculated to step on his nose. She didn't need to hit him too hard. She just needed the pain to force him to expose the junction between the temporal and parietal bones. After a quick blow that made his nose to bleed, the bastard did as expected, he tried to protect his nose by turning his head. At that moment, Dianna had already prepared a series of blows in which she had used all her strength and fury.
From the first impact, that poor bastard was knocked unconscious. From the second impact, a horrendous crack that presaged the worst was heard. From the third impact, the skull deformed grotesquely. Dianna didn't waste another tenth of a second with him. She knew she had killed him and only regretted that it had been too quick. She wished she could have made him suffer for hours for everything he had made her feel for three long years. Endless nightmares in which they cut her face without being able to resist.
Leaving all that sorrow behind, she focused on the second assailant who was screaming furiously at the sight of partner in torture, lying there. Inert. To which Dianna responded by yelling arrogantly. "Don't think I care about your yelling, trash. It won't be long before you join him."
Dianna lunged at him, kicking him in the face with such precision and speed, that he couldn't have been able to dodge it even if a seer had told him a week before how Dianna was going to hit him. The result of so much anger and speed caused several teeth to loose their natural anchorage forever. Their owner saw them on the ground, along with a lot of his blood. He barely had time to think about holding his jaw. Dianna had already kicked him the ribs when the though crossed his mind. This time, the bones didn't make as bloodcurdling a sound as one might expect. Perhaps it was because Dianna didn't put too much force into it, as she sensed the first assailant moving behind her back.
Dianna, submerged in a sea of rage, realized this too late. This one took advantage and grabbed her from behind, wrapping his arms around her body. "Damn bitch! You're going to pay dearly for this!". What the assailant did not foresee, was that Dianna had spare change to pay him. However, it wouldn't be entirely to his liking.
Dianna prepared a headbutt. But, knowing she was as tall as she was, she dropped a few inches as she landed the blow. That made the impact coincide right in the nose of the third bastard. The incredible pain forced him to let her go immediately. The poor bastard tried to hold his nose as blood began to spurt out. Dianna soon prepared a kick as he writhed in pain, but never got the chance to launch it.
Just behind the third assailant, at the end of the street, three other silhouettes walked calmly. Diana was puzzled to she them walking, calm and laughing. Her anger froze in an instant when she saw what one of the individuals was dragging. It was the corpse of the girl who, until recently, had fled in terror. He was carrying her by the hair as he dragged her tiny feet along the ground. As if she had never been a living being. As if she had never breathed. As if she had never been the joy of her home. An adorable little girl that everyone loved. A little girl less than seven years old who had her whole life ahead of her. She would never play with her dolls again, waiting for her mother's arrival. She would never get a goodnight kiss from her daddy again. She would never fall in love or have her first kiss. Never again, nothing.
Behind the three perpetrators, there was a fourth hooded figure, who slowly raised his hand in the air and waved it gently. The whole stage faded like black smoke. Everything vanished in an instant. Dianna couldn't stop shaking. Everything had vanished, but her face, was still cut and bleeding. The scarred being added. "I told you this wouldn't be just an illusion."
Dianna looked down at the ground in shame. She knew she should have acted differently. She knew she should have helped the little girl. But, she knew it now. Before, she hadn't even thought of anyone but herself. Dianna understood then. "You're right! I'm selfish. If that little girl had been real, she would have died because of me."
The scarred being interrupted her. "You own and are responsible for your actions. Not for the actions of others." Dianna stared him dumbfounded as the being continued. "The little girl died because they chose it to be so. Their decision, their responsibility. It is useless to carry that kind of guilt. Because they are unreal. What is your fault, is having a stronger and faster body than the one Mother Nature gave you. You didn't do anything to protect an innocent."
Dianna looked at the ground, averting her gaze. As if a disgusting spit had been thrown at her. She felt dirty knowing she could have done something and didn't.
The scarred being approached, slightly wiggling the fingers of his left hand. Dianna felt her cheek sting and took a step back. The being added. "May this new scar remind you of who I want you to be, because, you have something within you that I only bestow to those who make good use of it. So far, you haven't used it as I wish. Follow that path, and I'll take it from you in its entirety. I remind you that if I do, you will die on the spot."
Dianna looked furious. She felt so vulnerable. She didn't know whether to stay angry or calm down. "What should I do then? Thank you for your mercy and kiss your feet for all this generosity?"
The being smiled calmly, but surprised at her sarcasm. "Save that for later, child. You're going to need it, trust me!".
The scarred being raised his hand and moved it as if caressing the air again. Suddenly, everything went dark, but Dianna could still hear his voice for a few seconds. "I strongly recommend you to run away from Ian and learn from Emily. The Emily I chose and made a deal with, would have saved that little girl without a second thought. She may not be the same now, but she hasn't changed in that."
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