On a rainy night in a quiet cottage in the suburbs, my target of revenge was located.

  The raindrops were falling on me, but I didn’t care.

  “There are no witnesses in the vicinity. You can take your time doing whatever you want. After you are done, blow the whistle and we’ll come,” a voice from the shadows said to me.

  I couldn’t see where they were, but the voice was male. It was a ‘Rose’. I was able to detect him.

  As for the whistle they were talking about, I got it half a week ago when Alson visited us.

  The ones hiding are an elite unit directly under the command of the Monarch – the best of the best! I had no idea how influential that Alason was.

  The current Monarch is a brother of the one who recently proposed to my Mistress. There are rumours that a sister also exists, but she is often abroad, undertaking important missions. Her name and appearance are unknown.

  Alason’s backing was stronger than I thought.

  As I was entering, I saw how dirty it was. There were glass bottles everywhere. The pig was still gulping on more whiskey.

  He was now fat and the little hair on his head turned grey over the years. His walking stick was near him.

  Unlike the somewhat dignified look that he showed that we, the ‘Lilies’, were ants a long time ago, he was really looking like a pig. The only thing left was for him to ‘oink’ and he might be taken for one.

  As I was entering, he gave me a half-dead look.

  “Who are you? The fuck are you doing here? Do you have an idea who…”

  He was saying something until he saw the gun in my arm pointed at him.

  He sobered up immediately.

  I started asking away without a delay.

  “The official Third Generation of ‘Lilies’. The ‘C’ generation. Does that sound familiar to you? You better answer honestly, or else…” I threatened him, barely holding my rage and withstanding the desire to end him on the spot.

  I remembered the pain I experienced during my training, the hell he had me go through… The experience of taking my best and only friend’s life with my hands…

  “Yes, I do remember those subjects. I can say proudly that I did my best with them! The results weren’t just as good as expected. There was no data and every generation was allowed to take whatever approach the one leading decided on. I drew the short sticks. The hate against them had mostly subsided with the last two Generations by then, leaving mine to be determined as the failure. Such a joke. The others were no better.”

  The word “subjects” annoyed me, but the valuable information he was giving me prevented me from taking his life then and there.

  “What happened for us to be hated?”

  “Hahaha! What happened? You stood waiting to be slaughtered! Like defenceless lambs! Didn’t even fight back when that monster breached in and killed the personnel in cold blood! The kind people who treated you as blessings… You were meant to risk your life for the country, not fear the sight of battle and run away!”

  “When?”

  “Generation Zero! The survivors could have been counted with both arms! Our treatment was soft back then. Hence, why the hate and hardships you experienced. Most of the people who wanted a part of the return of the project either had a grudge after their family died with Generation Zero or were the few survivors, dreaming of relighting the pure dream our leader lit in us.”

  “That monster… Is he the black rank with spider lily?”

  “Who else is such a thorn for our country? He hadn’t gotten his rank back then, but the damn spider lily is his trademark. Bastard was merciless… My sister was unrecognisable after he had mutilated her body… I despise you. She was so kind and caring. She was seeing you as people, as her children. And how did you repay her? By letting her die such a horrendous death?! Tell me, garbage, how can I forgive you? How can I not despise you? After that day, I was alone. I couldn’t look my niece in the eyes for failing to protect her mother… and her… damn it all!” he slammed the table with both fists, a few of the bottles falling on the ground and breaking.

  “Torture, making all of us fight, some to the death. Why? Just why did you do all that!?” I asked in rage, my finger close to the trigger.

  His story was good and all, but I wasn’t here to sympathise with him. What that man did and what he did are different stories.

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  I will kill him for hurting my Mistress, but for hurting me and my sisters…

  “Why? Because that was the only way to make you strong! It was the only way to redeem you for your crimes!”

  Bullshit!

  “The weak would have died from some small torture.”

  Bullshit!

  “Some nails snatched off your fingers, some needles between your nails and et cetera were all to ready you to fight the undead and other humans if needed!”

  He was still blabbering on his bullshit!

  “The alternative was to let you become meat shields. We did our best to make you strong. Without going too overboard.”

  “…”

  “Or do you think the undead would just come close to you, hit you once and be off?”

  … no, they wouldn’t.

  “There was a reason why I let you see what happened when an undead killed one of you. Do you think humans like seeing other humans getting eaten? It was disgusting. Many advised me against it. I felt disgusted seeing it, but didn’t avert my eyes! I watched as C67, C6, C78, C73 and C100 were eaten! Do you think I enjoyed it?!”

  “…”

  “You had to be able to be conscious while in constant pain. As for the sparrings, we were readying you to fight off humans and to kill them. Now and 50 years ago, before the infection, a human was the biggest threat to another human! And to make the ‘Black Lilies’. That was the ultimate goal. To create the best fighters in our country. To create the shield that will protect us in this dark time of human history. The ones who would help our great country lead the World again!”

  I was looking at him silently. I was maybe in that state for around 30 seconds.

  Despite this eerie silence, the contempt in his eyes stood strong.

  “Then why… Why did you have us raped by the supervisors when they felt like it?! Why did you rape me!?” I screamed my last questions.

  “Why? ‘Why’, you ask, you failure of a ‘Lily’? It’s simple – because babysitting some unwanted children was unrewarding. We had to keep watch over you day and night! Every-fucking-day! Was it that bad for us to satisfy some of our needs? Our instincts? Not all of the workers could make families because they were too busy with you! As for me raping you, who were you exactly?”

  “C23, you bastard!” I somehow managed to say that through gritted teeth.

  I could feel my own bloodlust at this point.

  “C23… The brat from the exhibition? It’s simple – because I couldn’t when I wanted! Were I to have had my way with you the first time we met, I’d have done and forgotten about it. If you weren’t already “picked”, I’d have done you way earlier!”

  That was all I needed to know.

  ‘Bang’.

  “Urgh.”

  I hit his healthy right leg. He gave off a roar.

  “Your arms behind your back.”

  He did so.

  “Sit on the ground.”

  He did so.

  “Spread your legs.”

  “What… What are you going to do?”

  ‘Bang’.

  I hit his crippled left leg.

  “Argh! Huff…”

  “Spread! Your! Legs!”

  He did while breathing heavily.

  I was closing the distance.

  “I see why you did most things. I don’t like it one bit, but it was the society that forced you to do so. For that I’ll not take your life, even if I wanted to…”

  “Thank you…” he replied while looking pathetic.

  The figure that looked at us as if we were objects eight years ago was now begging for his life.

  Too bad I didn’t finish my sentence.

  “But as for your own desires, a punishment should be given, shouldn’t it? I could forgive you for your actions in the name of the society, but to do all those vile acts for your pleasure? I’ll have to punish you,” I said with an evil grin on my face, “Move and I’ll shoot your head. After all, didn’t you teach us to endure pain? You yourself must be good at enduring it, aren’t you?”

  He became pale, but gritted his teeth.

  I had my leg on his groin; my leg was on that dirty male thing that makes them so vile.

  Wouldn’t a proper punishment be done to the part that made him rape me and my sisters?

  I stepped on it with all my might while making sure my feet spun to crush the “sticky fluid maker”.

  He screamed through his gritted teeth during all that.

  When he made too sudden movements, I reminded him of his place with a shot to his arms.

  When I was done, he had a lifeless look in his eyes and blood around his groin area.

  Payback has been delivered and so I was on my way.

  “My sister… had to die… because of you… Her dream… was a failure… her hard work… was wasted… My niece… had no mother when growing up… My brother-in-law blamed me for it… All because of you… I was wrong… to have… any resemblance of mercy for you!”

  I looked at him again. He had fire in his eyes. He stared back at me, with his usual contempt on full display. He felt like a different person.

  I considered ending him, but remembered my Mistress’ words.

  He had already been punished. Even without my punishment, the penalties from his actions brought him to the state he was in.

  I exited and blew the whistle. The people in the shadows came.

  “Report,” was asked.

  “I didn’t kill him, but he needs first aid. Just, if you were to give him any, make sure he stays castrated after your help. I put some work to make him unable to …” I stopped mid-sentence when I realised that the male figure in front of me stepped back.

  “I see…” he was distressed.

  “You sure are merciless. Well, it’s not like he had no offspring nor was there any worth in him left,” another one came from behind me.

  I didn’t notice her and was startled. I immediately turned in her direction.

  She was behind me, her presence unnoticed by me until she spoke.

  “I hope we’ll meet again. I believe we’ll become friends,” the same figure continued.

  No parts of her face could be seen. Only her voice and figure revealed her gender.

  “Are you also a ‘Lily’?” I asked.

  “I shouldn’t be saying much, cutie.”

  “I see.”

  “You have broken the uncle’s reproductive system… Such a sad family story.”

  With that, our talk ended and I was on my way.

  “Sorry, old man. We couldn’t save her… She told us to hide…” I heard her silent whisper, but decided to discard it.

  I had had enough for one day.

  The next day, I was with my Mistress.

  I told her what I had done and what I wanted to do after we came victorious from the mission.

  “I want to find the other supervisors. I want to hear their side of the story and if they did what that pig did, I’ll want to make sure they can never hurt any other girl like that again. It’s the least I could do for my sisters.”

  “I’m so glad you didn’t go too far for revenge. I knew you weren’t so petty!” she said as she hugged me.

  I also hugged her.

  After a while of hugging, she said, “By the way, I decided on our team’s name. What’s it? Can you guess it?”

  “If it was you who picked the name… then “Victory” or “Victoria”. Did I get it?”

  “Bingo! As a reward, we’d take a bath together today! You stink!”

  “Only if you managed to hit two out of three shots.”

  “I’m almost there!”

  “I sure hope you are.”