Strangers From Another World 16 The Slave Master From Another World

The reason why this particular warehouse was so heavily guarded, it is all too clear to Gene and Tina now. Captured children, children that are Strangers, have been locked into cages and placed here. What are they going to do to them? Where will they be taking them? And, the most horrifying question of them all, "how many have been here?"

"Gene, we can't leave them here," said Tina, her gaze fixed upon the children.

Of course we have to save them, Gene thought. But how? Their eyes, their eyes look dead. Do they even have the will to move after being let out of their cages? And how will they sneak past the guards in such large numbers? Gene had counted, there had to be at least twenty of them here.

"Gene!" Tina suddenly shouted, calling Gene out of his thoughts.

He saw her charging towards him, her face expressed a sense of desperation, desperate to reach him in time. His instincts wanted him to move, it was only natural to move away from whatever's charging at you, but Gene's mind says otherwise, and he receives Tina as she tackles him. At the same time of the impact, Gene leapt backwards and pulled Tina with him.

A flash of silver went by the s.p.a.ce where Gene had once stood, and had he not pulled her along with him, Tina may be the one standing there right as the flash pa.s.ses by.

Gene landed on his back and from the way he landed he knew he'll be feeling it in the morning, but now was not the time. As swiftly as he could, Gene pushed Tina aside, himself moving away as he pushes her, a fine judgment on his part as another silvery flash pa.s.sed by in-between them, creating a wedge on the ground where they once were.

By the second flash, Gene could see it clearly now, it was a woman with a sword, her hair the color of chestnuts, tied into a neat ponytail, and her eyes akin to emeralds, though they have a look as dead as those of the children's.

Seeing another slash coming, Gene scrambled away, barely avoiding yet another flash of her blade, yet that was not the end of it, for the swing had been lighter than the rest and as a result, the swordswoman was quickly ready for a second swing. Clearly, she had no intention of letting Gene get his bearings.

No choice then... Gene thought as he gathered mana from his own body, hating the sensation akin to grasping at mists.

In the path of the swordswoman's swing, a small [Shield] formed, receiving the blade at an angle, deflecting the blow to the side. With this chance, instead of retreating, he rushed at the swordswoman, slamming his shoulder into her, knocking her backwards. And now with a sufficient opening, Gene swiftly drew the steel rods on his back and deftly a.s.sembled them into his staff.

The swordswoman, though she was preparing to counter attack, stopped in her tracks. Recognizing the superior range of the staff, she found it difficult to move in against Gene.

"Impressive, I thought you'd go down struggling in vain like a dog, but to think you actually turned the table. Not bad." Those words were accompanied by a slowly paced clapping, sounding patronizing with every beat.

Looking towards the direction of the source of such an irritating sound, Gene spots a young man with a condescending grin hanging on his face entering through the front gates of the warehouse. Most likely, this was the Stranger Joseph had mentioned.

"So, was it you who let the horses out? They seemed startled so I thought something might be up. I'm quite glad that I ended up being right."

But Gene did not reply him. Instead, he was occupied with keeping his guard up against the swordswoman who is undoubtedly ready to strike at any time.

Seemingly being ignored, the young man's face twists in displeasure. "Can't you even reply properly?" he said with disgust, "What an impolite worm you are. We'll have to beat some manners into you, won't we, Mikaela?"

Upon those words, the swordswoman shifted her stance and with incredible speed, she lunged at Gene, who barely avoided it by shifting his weight to the side. The blade sc.r.a.ped by his clothes and the chainmail he wore underneath, but had Gene been any slower, that very blade may have pierced right into his heart.

Just as the swordswoman, Mikaela, pulls her sword back, Gene counterattacked. His strike did not land, but it forced her to retreat instead of pressing on with a second strike, one that Gene wasn't confident he could defend against at such a close range should she strike with the same speed as before.

"What the h.e.l.l are you doing Mikaela!? Stop fooling around!" the young man yelled angrily, and in his moment of indignation, he did not notice the figure brandishing her dagger from behind him.

The figure's arm shot forward, aiming for the young man's guts, but before the dagger's steel could taste blood, the arm was immediately pulled back.

"Why...?" Tina muttered, shocked.

Standing before Tina is one of the children in the cages, his arms spread wide open to cover for the young man.

Finally taking notice of what's happening behind him, the young man turned towards Tina, a wicked smile cracked across his face.

"Oh, that's too bad," he said patronizingly, "you almost got me."

Tina glared at the man, hating him immensely. "What have you done to this kid?"

"Nothing much really, I merely made him my subordinate." said the young man as he reached down and tore the child's shirt off, revealing a seal upon his chest. "Would you like to join him? I'm lacking in manpower as of late you see, and these children are so clumsy and gets tried so easily, so much so that I had to stuff them into cages to transport them. Besides, a beauty like you is always welcomed."

In response to him, Tina spat viciously into the ground and glared the man right in his condescending eyes. "Go eat a pile of s.h.i.t!"

The young man's face distorts with anger, of which he then covered with his palm and turned it skyward. "Does no one here know any manners? Those words, I'll have you eat them, you wench!"

One by one, the children crawled out of their cages and gathered around the young man, and with a wave of his hand, the young man summoned knives out of thin air. The knives slowly descended down into the hands of the children, and upon grasping the knives in their small hands, the children set their lifeless eyes towards Tina.

"Go! Make her suffer!"

And the children all rushed forward, quickly swarming Tina, swiping at her from multiple directions.

Following her [Critical Line], Tina was able to avoid being struck, but with each swipe she avoided, the more she was forced back, and though for now she remains safe, she knew that this onslaught would not end till that man who's controlling the children is taken down.

Having been listening in on the conversation, Gene moves in on the young man, his staff ready to deliver the most vicious strike, however, try as he may, the swordswoman known as Mikaela easily caught up and intercepted him. Though Gene had the advantage of reach against her, she had the advantage in speed, and so Gene's strike against her would be avoided, while her swings against him would not reach, and the two were locked in a stalemate.

Knowing that he can't break through with force alone, Gene purposefully revealed an opening of which Mikaela swiftly took advantage of, lunging at him with a swift strike. However, Gene was prepared for it, knowing that she's aiming for the opening he had revealed, he moves to parry the strike and prepares to counter. Yet, as he moves to swipe away the blade, Mikaela immediately retracted the strike, resulting in Gene swinging at nothing but air. It was then he realized that Mikaela was not fully committed to the attacked, in other words, it was a faint. Before Gene could recover, a second swing came for his unprotected neck, and for a moment Gene foresaw his own death.

No, not yet! Not here! Not now!

His hand moved to intercept the blade, forming a weak [Shield] at his palm that Mikaela's sword easily shatters through. However, that was more than enough, as the [Shield] slowed down the blade enough for Gene that catch it between his bare fingers. Having stopped her sword, Gene swung his staff at her, but as he was using only one hand in that swing, it was not fast enough to connect and merely forced the swordswoman to pull back. And now, they're both back at square one and still stuck in a stalemate.

"Mikaela, what's taking so long!?" the young man yelled at the swordswoman, who, being under his control, could not even make any sort of response. "Useless! You're so useless!"

And then, with a wave of his hand, the young man called forth another one of his servants, and from a pillar of light, another woman appears, one looking similar to Mikaela, thought with the notable difference of her long hair had been tied into a braid and in her hands she held a spear.

"For making me waste my mana here, I hope you're prepared for your punishment later, Mikaela!"

Hearing those words, for the first time, Mikaela showed an expression, a slight frown that carries a great sadness, or at least, that's how Gene saw it. However, he has no time to feel pity for the swordswoman, as now he was in a major disadvantage. The spearwoman had the same reach as he, with a deadly pointed tip at the end, and while she's not as fast as Mikaela, each and every one of her strikes were precise and deadly, forcing Gene into a completely defensive position, and each time he found an opening for a counterattack, Mikaela moves in and forced him back into the defensive. It was taking everything he have to defend against the attacks from both sides, and with each parry and dodge, he was becoming just slightly slower, and to make things worse, a sharp pain had begun to develop in his left knee. It was clear that he can't hold them off forever.

Meanwhile, Tina was fending off the children while desperately trying to find a path to the despicable man before her that hides himself behind these poor kids. However, try as she may, her [Critical Line] could not show her the way and every single path she could take will be inevitably intercepted by one of the children. The only way though, as far as she could see it, was for her to take down one or two of them, and though she had been tempted by the continuous onslaught, she was unable to make herself go through with it. After all, these kids had done nothing wrong, their only sin was being weak and lost in this strange new world and was taken advantage of by someone who thinks he's better than the rest due to a power he never earned.

As Tina continues to avoid the children, all of a sudden, a pair of burly arms from behind caught her and restricted her movements. It was one of the guards that had remained behind while the rest chased after the horses. Tina struggled, but she could not break free, the man's strength was far superior to hers. With her being immobilized, the children began approaching her with knives brandished in their hands. There was nothing Tina could do but watch her eventual demise with dread.

"Stop!" the young man suddenly said, and the children all stopped moving and settled down. And as he wore the most wicked and twisted of smiles, he approaches Tina. "Ah, good guys like you are so predictable. All I have to do is put a few worthless brats in front of me and I might as well be invincible. But enough about that, won't you reconsider becoming my subordinate? I promise to treat you nicely if you're good. Otherwise, I could make it very painful for both you and your friend," he said, jutting his chin towards Gene who's struggling in his own fight. "Well, what do you say?"

To that, Tina spat right into his face.

For a moment, the smile on the young man vanished, and after wiping away the spit on his face, he began laughing manically. Then, with the back of his hand, he struck Tina in her face.

"Fine, the painful way it is," he said, licking his lips, "I'll make sure to enjoy every moment of your suffering."

The young man reached out, gathering mana into his hand, and soon, magical lights form a seal akin to the ones on the children's chests. With the seal at his palm, he stretched towards Tina, grinning disgustingly, with the shadows cast by the light of magic making his face look more repulsive than ever before.

Then, a smile more wicked than the young man's surface, cracking across Tina's face. Form her eyes came a glow of sinister green, and at that very same moment, the seal on the young man's palm vanished.

"What just-"

But before he could even finish the thought, the young man felt a burning sensation on his chest. In a panic, he tore his own clothes open to see what was happening and there it was, the young man's own enslavement seal upon his own chest.

"Release them! Every single person you enslaved, release them this instant!" said Tina.

Upon those words, the young man's hand moved against his own will, and though he tried to stop it, he was powerless, ironically, against his own power. And with a snap of his fingers, every single enslavement seal he had ever place shattered into fragments of light, and every single person affected by it immediately fell unconscious and collapse, include the swordswoman and spearwoman fighting against Gene.

"You... You'll pay for this!" the young man shouted, but Tina was unfazed.

Instead of being bothered to reply him, she took a look around, and her gaze fell upon a pile of horse feces that had been neglected on the ground.

The young man followed her gaze, and immediately he paled. "No, you can't!"

"Oh, but you're so very wrong," Tina points at the fecal matter. "Eat it, lick it off the ground like the dog you are."

And then the young man started walking towards it, his own body heedless of his own will.

"Stop! Stop this instant! I'll do anything! I'll do-" And he began feasting on the pile of s.h.i.t, licking it off the ground as he was told.

Ignoring the young man's miserable form, Tina went to check on the children, all collapsed on the ground. Fortunately, none of them had fallen onto their own knives, and Tina breathes easy knowing that she had killed none of these powerless lives.

When the young man was done licking the ground clean and on the verge of vomiting, Tina approaches him, and with her eyes glowing in that same sinister shade of green, she said to him: "This is my final command. Never again will you use that power of yours or any other means to manipulate the minds of others, and for as long as you live, you will never, directly or indirectly, attempt to remove that seal of yours."

The young man, feeling the commands settling into his very mind through his own seal, bellowed in rage, his appearance unsightly with feces smeared across his face and pieces of it still stuck to his teeth. In his fit of anger, he reaches out his two hands, aiming for Tina's slender neck, but a hard slap across his face by Tina sent him whimpering into the ground.

"On, and by the way, you're wrong about me being a 'good guy'." And Tina began to kick and stomp on the man while he's down, and only when he was reduced to a bruised, snot-covered mess was Tina satisfied.

After she was done, from behind, Gene approaches her, and being aware of that, Tina moves away, careful to not enter the range of Gene's staff.

"The Oracle was under the impression that the Mystic Sight of Subversion is one that worked against other mystic sights. However, I see now that is not the case," said Gene as he continues to approach Tina.

"You're quite right," replied Tina, even as she continues to draw distance from Gene. "It works on all magic based abilities."

It was only once they are out in the open and far enough away from the collapsed children did Tina stopped her footsteps, finally turning towards Gene. And Gene, being cautious, stopped as well and raised his guard.

"So I a.s.sume that the ones killed were not just the ten mystic sight holders then."

"Correct again, Sword Saint, far more have been killed. Those with mystic sight I pluck out their eyes, and those with physical prowess I sever their limbs and leave them in the wild to be feasted upon by beasts. Their faces when they realize how easily the strength that they're so proud of can be taken from them are beyond precious. One of these days I would like to do the same to those haughty elves and perhaps even the dragons if I ever obtain the power to do so."

"You're sick!"

"I know," Fittoa smiled. "But I cannot help the fact that I despise them, those born with power and took them for granted, strutting about as if they're better than the rest. I just love to watch them squirm in the feeling of helplessness and in the end, take everything they have just as their lives flicker away."

Gene was beginning to losing his patience with this woman. He had enough of what she had to say. He readies his staff, preparing to strike.

"Why such animosity, Gene? I'm sure you can understand how I feel. To be weak and powerless, to be trampled upon by those greater than you with strength they did not earn, there's no worst feeling than that, to feel and know that unfairness. I know you've thought about it at least once, how unfair it is that others can gain in an instant what you trained for years for. I've seen the way you look at Alex, it was the look of envy, at how easily he picked up everything. And I know you're despairing over your body, your sight worsen from the long hours of study, deep into the night, you knees weakening from all that running and jumping just so you could barely keep up with the others, all those years of hard work had finally gotten back to you, but not in the way you had expected it to."

Gene did not reply her.

"Your silence betrays you, Gene. Not that it matters, I know what you want. So what do you say? Shall we work together and take the eyes of the Oracle? If we join hands, I promise you this, I'll take her eyes and only her eyes and no further harm would come to her. And once I have her powers, I'll give you everything you desire."

"Two nights ago," Gene started speaking, "a corpse was found with her eyes plucked out and limbs severed. She had been identified as one of the members of the Atra Thieves Guild known only as 'Tina'."

"I a.s.sume Joseph is the one who brought you this information?"

"I doubted him at first, I really did. After all, you acted so much like her. But then I remembered what happened back at the sewers, when you told Alex to leave the guards behind. Tina, the Tina I knew wouldn't say that."

"Yes, not the Tina you knew at least... I suppose I lapsed at that moment, even after taking in her memories, I guess it's still difficult to completely become her."

"So then, did you do to her like you did to the rest? Did you torture her?"

For a moment, "Tina" was silent, but she knew she had to answer eventually. "I did, if only on principle."

"Then I'm afraid I can't work with you, I doubt I'll be able to resist the urge to smash your head in."

"I thought you of all people would understand, Gene, but if that's how you feel, if you're going to spoil this once-in-lifetime chance over a single petty thief, so be it then."

"Tina's" eyes flashed a bluish light, and as soon as that happens, the form that is "Tina" becomes undone, leaving only a small, dainty girl with silver hair in her place, a girl named Fittoa Valencia.

***

End of Chapter 16