I didn’t see it coming at all. I'm talking about my death.

  Still lost in my thought, about lily and all, and about the definition of the word ‘rape,’ I was surprised by a dagger volley clearly aiming at my vital points. One for each: the throat, the head, and the heart.

  Nearly dying of a heart attack, I thought Lily had finally changed her mind and was coming after my body. She or her damned sister who would’ve learned about our discord and come to punish me. Anyway, I barely managed to avoid them… Or not. I only luckily prevented them from hitting full marks! That’s all; that’s everything I was able to achieve, and that's despite my superhuman reflexes.

  No, seriously, I tried my best there, even though I realized it was too late. But something prevented me from moving according to my will. It most likely wouldn't have changed anything, but at least I would have tried if I wasn’t almost fucking paralyzed!

  In fact, something tells me that my survival depended more on my enemies’ lack of skill than anything else. Only because the blades were already a little off-target did I manage to make them miss me even more.

  The three daggers missed me by a strand of hair and let deep cut as they passed by me before hitting the mattress instead of my body. My cheek and throat were not spared, but the most serious injury was located on my rib’s side. I was surrounded by the blade, so to speak.

  As the pain grew stronger and woke me somewhat from the paralysis, I saw a shadow enter through the window and rush towards me. Then, claws clearly shined for an instant before tearing the pillow where my head was resting a second ago.

  Quickly retrieving one of their daggers, I got out of the bed rolling sideways, and fell on the hard floor, which allowed me to regain my senses a little more.

  Come on! I thought Lucas and the others had already taken care of every threat in the city. Was this one unrelated to our case and solely after my life? Don’t tell me this is linked to one of my old conquests! I can't die for this, not like that, and not after my unresolved pending argument with Lily. I refuse!

  It may be too late to resolve the issue with my mysterious attacker, but I’d like to at least make up with Lily! Or ask for a truce if this proves impossible…

  Dogging the shadow’s upcoming assault with difficulty, being all numbed from an unknown poison, I prepared myself to yell. It was too bad for my honor and image, but I’d gladly let them go to hell if it could save my life. I had to call for help, or I might not be able to divorce Lily at all, and the choice of a posthumous one would be entirely up to her.

  Damn, this might even add a third person seeking to claim my corpse. What would they do if the number no longer allowed them to share it by even and odd day? Unless Anna, too…As usual, parasitic thoughts prevented me from acting smartly and promptly.

  I had barely put an end to them when a new shadow entered the room, mumbling in a low voice.

  SHIT! That was definitely a magic spell!

  “Shit! Helppppp m–”

  A bulge of water took shape around my head, cutting short my call for help. Never mind, I was on my own. If only I hadn't hesitated... I'm such an idiot. Well, at least the little honor and bravery I had left were kept safe for the time being. Most likely, it will be until I die, which should not take long at this rate.

  The fight was looking pretty bad. These two were clearly after my life, and although they made mistakes, they were professional assassins without a doubt. It seems I had pissed off someone important who had the means to put a price on my head… Perhaps some queen or wealthy lady?... Bah, there is no point dwelling on it, it could be pretty much anyone at this point. Those so-called killers could even be one of my old conquests themselves since something kept telling me I was fighting against women. Well, at least the voice from before was a woman’s, I’m sure of it.

  More importantly, I was now in the middle of a fierce fight and struggled to keep my life. Fortunately, I had a weapon. Unfortunately, I was forced to launch it at the mage to disturb his spell, or I would’ve drowned.

  In search of my breath and spitting out all the water I had swallowed, I kept evading their murderous assault, using a pillow to ward off the inevitable blow. That was the only thing I could do, and each of my attempts to strike a blow failed. They were both pretty agile and versed in close combat.

  The only thing that wasn't yet against me was their lack of experience, which changed every non-lethal hit into an adrenaline rush that compensated for the paralysis that was still active and getting stronger.

  But that's it. I was pretty much done if I stayed at a standstill, and escape was my only option. From the corner of the room, I rushed to the door. No need to open it. I would just have to break it down and pass through… Or they believed I would.

  The two understood my intention well and blocked my path, almost at the same time, aiming at my chest with their claws. But I had foreseen that much and switched direction at the last moment, throwing my pillow at them to cut off their vision. Setting my bet on the nearest window, the one they had entered from, I ran toward it.

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  “Lyria! He is running away!” One of the assassins suddenly called a name, warning her companion of my strategy that would soon be crowned with success. This was another girlish voice. In fact, it was almost identical to the previous girl’s. My assumption proved itself to be right; those were both girls.

  “See ya, cuties. Let's get in touch another day.” I shout out at them before pretending to jump out the window…before crouching down in front of it.

  Swish

  I did well because, at this very moment, a third girl went through it. Stretching a sharp steel wire with her teeth and a hand at arm's length, she held onto the upper window frame with one hand so that she could embrace the whole opening. She secured the exit while aiming at where my throat should’ve been.

  This time, she was positively a girl since her underwear was in plain sight. Hum… interesting, striped panties. It’s been a while since I saw one… Wait! Why the heck was she almost naked under their cloak?

  But for once, I didn't let myself get distracted any longer. I put all my strength in my legs and jumped straight out the window as soon as the girl, who did not encounter the expected resistance, crashed far behind me in the room.

  HAHA! I knew it! She was not warning her teammate but calling for reinforcement! But you won't have me like that hehe.

  “Thanks for the treat, little ones. Striped panties are definitely a must!” As my foot left the ground, I couldn't help but tease them for their failure.

  Whine—ZAP!! “GAH!!!” thud

  Crap…. I’ve missed an important detail. We were currently in the same inn I had used as a base of operation with Lily, and I occupied the same room as before…

  The very same room where Lily first rape–I mean, treated me, and that had traps set up everywhere to prevent my escape.

  This time, that was too much, I was definitely done for. Oh, Lily… I'll miss you.

  …

  “Is this some sort of trap-nya?”

  “But why would it prevent him from escaping, but not us from entering… That doesn’t make sense. Don’t you think he's faking it?”

  “Nya-think this could be faked? Nya don't. He's literally cooked, Nya’d even say grilled.”

  “Is this supposed to be our target, by the way, nya? Are you sure we didn’t make a mistake, nya? He was supposed to be dangerous, right? He doesn't look very threatening to me, does he-nya?”

  “I’m sure he is, but what a disappointment. He is just a loser, weak and slow. He didn’t even avoid our first strike properly. That person has definitely lied to us.”

  “Nya, but he did well afterward, didn’t he? Nya-and he moved strangely as if he had difficulty moving.”

  “Didn’t you use incapacitating poison-nya?”

  “Nya-didn’t, but perhaps sister used a spell?”

  “I didn’t… ”

  “Nya-why then? ”

  “Dunno, one thing is certain: he can't move anymore. Let's take advantage of it to finish what we are here for.”

  “Are you still going to do it, nya? It seems to me he is not worth the potential trouble, nya. Why bother risking his female partner’s wrath-nya?”

  “Nya-don’t agree. This person might not be a liar. He was heavily injured, wasn’t he? Nya-If he was still under some medical numbing drug, he indeed accomplished a feat by nearly escaping us.”

  “Do you really think so? In this case, we may be underestimating him-nya. What do you think, big sister-nya?”

  “...”

  “Nya-big sis, why are you frowning?” “Big sis-nya? Why are you silent?”

  “Don’t you smell this?” sniff sniff. “His stench alone is enough. He deserves it.”

  “Nya-now that you say it, it’s awful… Nyannoying, I’m feeling weird.” “Same, but I’m kinda liking it, my bloodlust is going crazy-nya.” “Is that all? I want to rip his limb off, and my instincts are urging me to cut him all over!”

  “...”*3

  “Nya-poor thing, he is totally helpless and defenseless…” “And then? It’s either him or us, after all.” “Say, he won’t suffer, won’t he-nya?”

  Unable to move, I lay there, face down on the floor, stunned by the electrical shock, on top of paralysis that spread to my whole body.

  All I could do was listen to the three girls argue about my upcoming death. It gave me goosebumps, and I was dreading the future.

  I hoped for a peaceful death, not too painful and fast, for this would be my last moment on this land, and hell eagerly awaited my arrival. Unfortunately, their objective was a little different. And they had something special in store for me. It seems I was doomed to meet my first wife in shreds, the flesh torn to pieces, and to top it all, smelly enough to deserve this massacre.

  I know it's been several weeks, but still!

  I wish Lily wouldn’t mourn me… In the end, that was definitely the thing that mattered the most to me. It was ridiculous that I had to be on death's door to admit it. No matter the rest, only her tear-filled face was important.

  I was the hero, and a hero couldn’t let a girl cry. I couldn’t ignore it or refuse to take action. As long as I hold that title, this statement would be and would remain true. But tonight, I had failed at it and let her go away while those eyes were filled with distress.

  Oh god, what have I done… This is, without a doubt, a well-deserved punishment, but please, make her hate me and loathe me. That way, she won't be affected by my stupidity any longer.