Fallen Hero: A Trapped Flight
Risa stood precariously in the center of the execution grounds, barely keeping her trembling body upright under the weight of countless piercing gazes. "Ngh..." Though already in the throes of agonizing pain, she fought desperately to maintain her footing. She tried to banish the throbbing ache in her lower depths and the tearing agony in her leg muscles from her mind, as if they didn't exist. Yet, the undeniable evidence of her torment was written clearly across her flesh. Sticky fluid and crimson blood slowly seeped from her vagina, raw and blistered from severe burns. Below her short miniskirt, which contrasted starkly with her white blouse, a slick mixture of fresh blood and discharge trickled down, staining her smooth thighs—a sight that evoked a strangely cruel, tragic beauty.
Risa's wretched state, combined with the crowd's lecherous eyes blatantly scanning her exposed flesh, completely shattered Abel's sanity. A boiling rage consumed his heart. He clenched his fists so hard his knuckles turned stark white, the veins across his entire body bulging as if they would burst. He could not delay any longer. A violent impulse, like the snapping of his last thread of reason, took absolute hold of him. Without a moment's hesitation, Abel violently threw off the thick, hooded cloak he had used to conceal himself. The cold air of the plaza brushed against his face, but he felt nothing. His eyes were locked solely on Risa. He screamed at the top of his lungs, a desperate cry that echoed across the entire square. "Risa!!!"
His shout instantly silenced the murmuring crowd. Every eye turned toward him, and a sudden, frozen silence descended upon the plaza. Without hesitation, Abel aimed the grappling gun in his hand. His target was the high tower on the side of the Imperial Palace, which he had already scouted. With a sharp *hiss* of friction, the cable roared into the sky, and the hook at its end embedded itself perfectly between the sturdy bricks of the tower. In the next instant, Abel's body soared into the air at unbelievable speed. His movement was solemn and resolute, like a great bird spreading its wings. Having cast off his cloak, his figure was as wild as a tempest, his eyes burning with a fierce determination to reach Risa.
At this completely unexpected turn of events, the crowd's gaze shifted in unison to Abel. They stared blankly at him as he soared into the sky, their expressions a mix of shock and confusion. At that moment, Cheon Su-ryeon, sitting in the VIP section, widened her eyes. A shocked gasp escaped her lips. Abel...?! Forgetting even the throbbing pain in her bruised calves, she stared at Abel flying through the air in utter disbelief.
Risa, held fast by the soldiers in the center of the execution grounds, also turned her head upon hearing Abel's cry. Seeing Abel soaring into the sky, a brief flash of relief crossed her face. But that emotion lasted only a split second. Immediately, extreme terror and worry replaced the faint joy on her face. She knew all too clearly that this was a cruel trap set by Baek Kang-ho.
"Abel! Don't come! No! This is Baek Kang-ho's trap!!!" Risa screamed with all her might, her voice cracked and raw. Her cry was wretched, filled with a desperate desire to save Abel's life. Forgetting the blood and fluid running down her thighs, and even the throbbing pain in her vagina, she prayed only for Abel's safety. However, her earnest cry scattered uselessly over the plaza like an echo that could not reach Abel, who was already soaring high into the sky. Beneath Baek Kang-ho's wicked smile, Abel was heading straight into the trap laid out for him.
As he soared through the air, Abel drew the sword at his waist. His eyes burned like a fierce flame, and the tip of his sword aimed precisely at the soldiers holding Risa. His mind was filled with a single, consuming thought: he had to save Risa. Flying through the sky, his figure looked as solemn and grand as a hero from myth.
Baek Kang-ho, however, had already foreseen everything. Watching Abel's movements from the platform, a wicked and satisfied smile played on his lips. His expression suggested that everything was unfolding exactly according to his plan, as if he had been waiting for this very moment. Right then, a sudden gunshot shook the plaza. *BANG!* With a roaring sound, a hidden soldier fired a massive net gun at Abel. The pitch-black net tore through the air with an eerie sound, instantly flying toward Abel and enveloping him. The mesh entangled his limbs and began to constrict his body.
Abel tried desperately to resist, but the massive net completely blocked his movements. Trapped in the net that only tightened the more he struggled, Abel fell helplessly back down into the execution grounds. *CRASH!!* "Ugh!" With a dull impact, his body, wrapped in the net, crashed onto the hard ground. His sword flew far away, and his heroic flight was instantly reduced to a wretched failure. A thick cloud of dust rose, obscuring the view, and within it, Abel groaned in pain, trapped inside the net.
"Abel!!!" A scream bordering on a death rattle burst from Risa, who was standing solemnly in the middle of the execution grounds. Her eyes were filled with terror and despair, and she tried desperately to move toward where Abel had fallen, but she couldn't due to the heavy shackles and the soldiers restraining her. Her earnest cry only highlighted Abel's wretched situation. All of this happened in an instant. The plaza stirred once more, and the crowd's attention focused on Abel, who had fallen with the gunshot.
Cheon Su-ryeon's heart pounded violently in the VIP section. With Abel now caught in Baek Kang-ho's trap right after Risa, her face turned pale with sorrow and worry. Abel... no... Hot tears poured from Su-ryeon's eyes once again. Seeing Abel bound in the net, writhing in pain, she felt a devastating agony as if her own soul were being ripped to shreds by blades. The plaza was filled with Baek Kang-ho's mockery, Risa's despair, and an unpredictable tension regarding the cruel fate to come.
Trapped in the net and pinned to the ground, Abel struggled desperately. His muscles tensed to their limit, and his limbs twisted through the tight mesh of the net. "Argh!!" But the net only bound him tighter, rendering his resistance futile. Just then, Baek Kang-ho's shadow, descending from the platform, fell over his vision. Baek Kang-ho approached Abel slowly, with the leisure of a predator playing with its prey. A cruel, victorious smile hung on his face.
Sensing Baek Kang-ho's presence, Abel struggled to raise his upper body inside the net. His face, stained with blood, was distorted with rage and despair. Like the final struggle of someone who had lost everything, a venomous shout burst from his throat. "You bastard!! Baek Kang-ho!!!" His cry was as sharp as a dagger, but to Baek Kang-ho, it was nothing more than laughable noise.
Without a word, Baek Kang-ho drew the pistol at his waist. As the cold metal rested in his hand, his wicked smile deepened. He stared straight into Abel's face, and without a single shred of hesitation, aimed the barrel at Abel's knees. *BANG! BANG!* The gunshots shook the plaza. Two bullets accurately pierced through both of Abel's knees.
"Aaaargh!" A wretched scream burst from Abel's mouth. Blood erupted like a fountain from both of his knees, and the horrific sound of shattering bone mingled with his screams. With his kneecaps blown to pieces, his lower body collapsed limply. Abel writhed in agony inside the net, collapsing onto the ground. His heroic flight had ended with him brought to his knees in a miserable scream.
Cheon Su-ryeon, sitting in the VIP section, screamed and shut her eyes tight at the horrific sight of blood bursting from Abel's knees. "Ah... no..." Su-ryeon's heart ached as if it were tearing apart, and even the pain in her bruised calves was nothing compared to the mental shock that had just hit her. Risa, standing in the middle of the execution grounds, also trembled upon hearing Abel's scream and the gunshots. Her face turned pale with terror and rage. "Abel! No!!!! Baek Kang-ho, you son of a bitch!!!" Her throat-tearing scream filled the plaza. She despaired over the fact that Abel's sacrifice was entirely a plaything in Baek Kang-ho's cruel plan. The plaza was filled with the victor's cruel smile, the losers' wretched screams, and the cold gazes of the massive crowd. It was a wretched, dark moment where all hope seemed to crumble away.
Despite the extreme pain of his shattered knees, Abel grit his teeth and barely managed to stay conscious. Both of his knees, with blood and bone fragments protruding, had already lost all function, but his gaze was fixed solely on Risa. Pinned to the ground inside the net, he sent a sorrowful look toward Risa despite his pain-distorted face. His hand reached out weakly toward her. "Risa..." His voice was so choked with pain it was barely audible, but it carried his earnest heart for her completely.
Risa also sent a gaze mixed with worry and sorrow back to Abel. Her face was pale, and hot tears streamed from her eyes. "Abel...!! No...!!" Her voice was close to a shriek. She shuddered at the fact that Abel would have to watch her horrific fate unfold right before his eyes.
Watching the exchange of looks between the two, Baek Kang-ho's wicked smile deepened further. He sensed that the look they shared was unusual. Realizing that they were bound by deep feelings beyond mere comradeship, an intrigued light flashed across his face. In his despicable mind, an even more cruel and lewd plan quickly took shape.
"Looking at those eyes of yours, you two aren't just simple comrades." Baek Kang-ho's voice carried a strange satisfaction mixed with mockery. He licked his lips, letting out a wicked laugh as if he had discovered a delicious prey. "Splendid. If you two are lovers, then this is even better." His words were like a dagger piercing through Risa and Abel's hearts.
Baek Kang-ho looked down at Abel, whose knees were shattered, and said cruelly, "I will grant you the special privilege of watching your woman get raped to death by Orc Ganaris from the absolute closest seat." At those words, Abel's eyes rolled back. Extreme pain and rage mingled, shaking his very soul. He struggled desperately inside the net, but it was useless. A throat-tearing scream erupted from him. "Baek Kang-ho, you bastard who deserves to be torn apart limb from limb!! I will never forgive you!" His voice was filled with unspeakable hatred and vengeance. The plaza was covered by Abel's wretched screams and Baek Kang-ho's wicked laughter. On the faces of the crowd watching this tragedy, a cruel excitement and a dark, damp pleasure spread. Risa felt her heart tearing apart at Abel's screams, despairing at this hellish situation where everything was unfolding exactly according to Baek Kang-ho's plan. It felt as if darkness was swallowing the entire plaza.