Why do I keep attracting Villainesses?

Chapter 44: JACOBS POV.

In a last-minute attempt to save myself, I desperately clawed at her hands, digging my sharp, claws into her skin with every bit of strength I had left.

I expected to feel her grip loosen, or at least see her flinch from the pain.

’ The hell is going on?!’

But to my terror, each wound I left rapidly healed right after.

’ You’ve gotta be kidding me! Isn’t this some kind of plot hole?! How’s her regenerative ability so strong?!’

It was like trying to cut water. I would tear a deep red gash across her wrist, and a second later, the skin would simply knit back together as if nothing had happened.

’ Darn Author, if she’s this strong, why not just make her an arc boss or something?!’ I found it hard to believe someone like her was actually killed off just because of plot.

If she was hard to damage, then just what monsters were supposed to be boss villains in the story?

Even as I dug my claws into her hands, she still refused to let go.

Her fingers felt like bands of cold iron tightening around my throat.

She continued to strangle me without fail.

Seconds turned to minutes, and those minutes rapidly passed by as I continued to struggle for a single gulp of oxygen that wouldn’t come.

The crazed look on her face never once faltered.

’ She’s gotten even crazier than before. There’s no way I can get out of this.’

Is this how I was going to die? Thoughts like this began flooding my mind, swirling around in the dark fog that was taking over my brain.

I had survived so much.

But with the little oxygen I had left, I didn’t have the strength to fight back again.

My arms felt like they were made of lead, dropping to my sides and hitting the floor of the cave with a soft thud.

All I could do was lay below her as my vision continued to dim.

The bright colors of the bioluminescent plants in the cave turned to gray, and the gray slowly turned to a deep, heavy black.

’Why does every argument with this woman have to end with me being killed...’ I felt completely helpless.

It was a recurring theme in my new life. Every time I tried to stand up for myself or speak the truth, it ended with her putting her hands on me.

It was a toxic cycle that I just couldn’t break.

Even now, with all my new strength and my fast swimming, I still couldn’t do anything to her. She was just too strong.

I wasn’t misogynistic, but at least, couldn’t I have won against her just one time?!

What man would love having their ass handed to them by a woman over and over again.

It was embarrassing as it was frustrating.

Well, at least I finally spoke my mind. I sighed inwardly. That thought gave me a tiny bit of peace as the darkness closed in.

Now I could go with no regrets. I wouldn’t have to spend another day wondering if she was going to kill me tomorrow. The mystery was over.

While I didn’t get my revenge on that wicked author who had written this crazy world and stuck me in it, I did get to live a comfortable life for a little while.

I thought of Artria’s village, the warm nest, and the way the sun looked through the clear blue water.

I had also made friends.

I had been a hero for a day too.

It wasn’t a long life, but it was more of an adventure than I ever had back at my desk in the old world.

Everything went silent. The pressure on my neck felt like it was fading, not because she let go, but because I couldn’t feel my body anymore. I was drifting away into a deep, dreamless sleep.

********

"HUAH!"

My body jolted upright as I gasped for oxygen.

The sudden rush of water through my gills felt like fire, stinging my throat as it brought me back to life.

I coughed and sputtered, my lungs burning as they desperately processed the water.

It took me a while to catch my breath, my chest heaving up and down as I leaned back on my elbows.

During that time, I continued to stare at Persephone.

She was still straddled atop me, but she wasn’t choking me anymore.

Instead, she was biting her right thumb nervously, a conflicted and pained look on her face.

She looked smaller somehow, like the rage had suddenly leaked out of her, leaving her empty and scared.

"I’m so sorry, I really didn’t mean to," she whispered. Her voice was so low I almost didn’t hear it over the sound of my own ragged breathing.

’Wait, did this woman just apologize?’

It was quite jarring, to be honest. I stared at her with wide eyes, my mind struggling to bridge the gap between the monster that had just strangled me and the girl who was now apologizing.

I quickly shook my thoughts off, rubbing my sore neck. This was a lot to take in.

She almost killed me, yet she’s now apologizing as if she didn’t mean to?

Recalling those crazy, bloodshot eyes from just moments ago, a shiver ran down my spine.

The memory of that look was enough to make me want to bolt out of the cave right now.

This woman was really confusing. One moment she looked like she wanted to tear out my intestines and feed them to sharks, yet the next she seemed more like a victim herself.

Which was which? Was she the predator or the prey? Or was she just someone who had been hurt so badly that she didn’t know how to do anything else but hurt people back?

’Well, to be honest, it was also my fault for mentioning such a sensitive subject.’

I took a deep breath, trying to be fair. With how volatile she usually was, I’d really been playing with fire when I brought up her parents.