ã€ŠThe Mage returns to being an Archerã€‹


 Prologue

    Prologue

    (Third party POV)

    A party of 8 people (a mage and sorcerer, a shielder single sword, dual swordsman, a hero, an archer, a cleric, a logistical expert, and a scout) is sent as an elite team to defeat an existence known to the human world as Demon Lord. The battle is arduous, and many infantry support unit is dispatched, killed, replaced, and killed while fighting the Demon Lord army.

    ¡°I¡¯ve got to do something fast¡± (Magician)

    Seven of his comrades are fighting for their lives as they struggle to block the attacks from The Demon Lord army. The Hero especially, couldn¡¯t stand being forced to the ground and bitterly strike at two Demon Hellspawns with his secondary sword, Legbiter. The main sword is too heavy for the hero to handle now as his life is inching away from him. The demon lord subjugation party is afflicted with terrible curses that drain away their lives.

    ¡°Seeking Firefly¡± (Magician)

    The magician cast out many firefly-shaped fireballs that fly to their target without missing. This magic has low attack power in return for precise attack and also large number of quantity. It is usually used to overwhelm small group of enemies with their continuous combustion and explosion. However, this spell has been honed to high level by the magician. Countless hours of toiling and training till his mana is dangerously low and scorched hands paid off this time.

    Both Demon Hellspawns lost their senses when half their face got blown off by the explosion and fell of the floor, limp. The skeleton soldiers and skeleton warriors got blown to pieces with each explosion of Seeking Firefly, with few hundred emerging each second from a sphere formed in front of the magician.

    The magician is shielded a powerful mana shield, and one broken ring and pendant lying on the floor. They are special equipment forged with the highest protection seal enchanted within, made possible with the magician¡¯s high enchantment capability. The equipment broke to protect against the curses that come at him. With two small round shields on each wrist, he deflects light-based attacks from several human turncoats that wield light-based attacks, probably priest that can utilize holy magic. They can still wield that magic even when they betrayed the teachings of Freya, the Holy Mother. With Seeking Firefly and deflected light attacks hitting the Demon army, many demon grunts were defeated. A strong looking demon, probably the one that launched the surprise curse attack has now emerged from his hiding, lifting up a rotten skull of a human on his left hand and a staff of eerie effigy on his right hand. The Demon general tosses the skull down like a discarded item, it probably has been used to hex the hero party.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

    ¡°Appraisal¡± (Magician)

    The magician use the appraisal skill on the strong looking demon.

    Demon General (Demon?¡ª?Agamemnon)

    Level 78

    Attack?¡ª?81 (Tentative)

    Intelligence?¡ª?178 (Tentative)

    Defense?¡ª?98

    Speed?¡ª?88

    Overall power?¡ª?8761

    The overall power of the demon is astounding. For the magician, his overall power is only about 3899 and his level is only at 23.

    In this world, there is skill, statistics and level. However, they are just tentative values, and they are not the real determinant factor for the power of a person or demon, at least for the magician. That is the reason he train so hard to slowly gain an edge with his relatively poor skills.

    ¡°Do something, magician. At least heal me or lift the curse, you selfish idiot¡± (Hero)

    The hero doesn¡¯t even call the magician by name, nor any honorific, indicating his contempt for the magician. In the hero¡¯s mind, the magician is a selfish person that didn¡¯t care for his party. He totally forgot that he¡¯s the reason that the party got hexed without any countermeasure. He rejected the protective charm offered by the magician to the party, stating that it smells and looks ugly and dumb. The other party members, some agreeing to the opinion, and some just don¡¯t want to offend the hero, decide to similarly reject the protective charm offer.

    In this world, magical phenomena are possible. Actually, magic is another branch of science that is logical in this world. The magician is a person that is reborn from Earth. In this new world, he learned that strange phenomena can be induced and it is actually just normal everyday occurrence. What is termed as magic is just something naturally occurring in this world, and it can be controlled if proper skill and knowledge is applied. But the most importantly, magical phenomena occur because of mana, which is believed to be magical particles in the body, is circulated and expended when magical phenomena is induced.

    Now that the hero and other party members all lying with a pool of blood on the floor, only the magician is the only one able to stand and fight.

 To save because they need saving

    <u>To save because they need saving</u>

    (Third party POV)

    ¡°I¡¯m going to die, he-lp me¡± (Cleric)

    The other party members died before the cleric can even use her ¡°Greater Heal¡± magical phenomena properly. The spell can greatly reinvigorate a target and speed up the healing process greatly. However, the party members are all dying as they aren¡¯t able to reinvigorate as their organs themselves have sustain great damage and any superficial reinvigoration only prolonged their suffering as the body can¡¯t replace or repair damaged organ fast enough before they die to blood loss.

    The magician, after seeing the hero and his party begin to falter due to the hex, begin to activate a powerful spell he learned while in church. It was the forbidden spell, ¡°Resurrection¡±. Although the magician can use simple healing spell, albeit quite potent, wasn¡¯t enough to overcome the injuries and life drain suffered by the hero''s party.

    ¡°Urgggh¡± (Magician)

    While chantlessly activating multiple barrier spells to shield all 7 hero''s party members to protect them for further physical injuries, the magician activates the forbidden spell of ¡°Resurrection¡±. Just invoking 7 of the magical phenomena alone caused terrible magical backlash onto the magician body. In this world, magic is not so convenient like those fairytales or magical world. Each magic phenomena has its equivalent cost, as the theory of equivalent exchange is the rule here.

    In using the forbidden magic ¡°Resurrection¡±, the cost in exchange for the magical phenomena is one¡¯s own soul. This means in exchange for one¡¯s own life, one can resurrect another living being or several of them, depending on the size of the soul. This means the magician will lose his life in exchange of saving seven of his party members. Is it worth the sacrifice he pours in to save those people? One would never know, but the urgency of the matter forced him to act quickly. Adam (magician) knows full well by now that he is a reincarnated person. By using all his mana and his soul as sacrifice, he can bring back to life of his comrades that has just fallen.

    ¡°¡­..Resurrection¡± (Adam)

    Clashing sounds can be heard from the Demon Lord Army hitting against the mana shield formed to protect each members of the hero party.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

    ¡°Do not falter. The Hero needs us at these dark hours. We will avenge them by bringing down the Demon Lord Army that has been weakened.¡± (Forward army general)

    ¡°Hyahhh¡± (Army)

    The human kingdoms also send their support army, as hero and his party are not omnipotent, and the kings of several kingdoms decide to pool their resource and army to help the hero repel the demon alongside them.

    The army armed with long spears and small shields begin charging in with phalanx formation to repel the demons. Fast moving mounted cavalry got to the side of the demon army and begin a flanking formation against the incoming demon army. However, the tide turns the next moment. The phalanx formation break into disorder when a pit was dug below their feet and they fell into a ditch, leaving the front open to direct arrow and magical blast attack. The flanking mounted cavalry is dealt with by demon magic utilizing timed fuse explosion rather than the triggered explosion stone. The straggling cavalry is finished off by demon archers and demon mages. The human army is in a disarray and they are falling apart, about to get routed. Some of them have abandoned their post and run away from the battlefield, only to get impaled by the numerous demonic minions scattered across the battlefield.

    (Magician POV)

    Hey, those people didn¡¯t even make a dent into any of the fighting potential of the Demon Lord Army. They just got taken out in a special move of the Demon General without even meeting the Demon Lord. Arghhh, the backlash of using multiple mana shields on the party members is really bad. Now, I¡¯m about to use my life in exchange for my party who has fallen. I would get to save my party members in exchange for my miserable life; I think it is a worthy trade. Sorry Ester, I won¡¯t be able to see you again after this. I can only hope you can find happiness while I watch you from afar. I wonder how afterlife is like.

    (Magician flashback)

    Back in the days in the orphanage, I used to play with the Sister and I like to watch her practice with the harpsichord. The harpsichord is located in the main hall. After her harpsichord practice, she would go to the large library to read books. I followed her to the library every time. On that fateful day, she met with Father in the library. He¡¯s holding onto a large golden grimoire that is too heavy for him to hold for long, so he place it on the table. It seems to come with a magical lock and it was an item from the high-level security clearance section of the library. While Father is preoccupied chatting with the Sister, I took the key from his pocket secretly and open the grimoire. The book is extremely heavy, and with my current knowledge in magic phenomena as a small kid, I just glance through the book quickly. The book is somehow special, as it gives insight while reading the words of the book. You gain the technical know how when reading the text directly, and also you gain magical insight of the spell within, and I can see an elegant-looking goddess in my mind, holding out her hands to me, then crumbled into dust when I touched her hands. From then, I gain insight into the ability to cast the forbidden spell ¡°Resurrection¡±. Fearing to attract any more attention as the book is glowing now, I shut the book and locked the book back, then place the key quietly into Father¡¯s pocket. He¡¯s still not noticing, probably he¡¯s too engrossed with Sister. When I got to the side of Sister, she cut off the talk and we separate from Father. I keep this secret with me all the time, hoping that no other people know what has happened on that day.

 Resurrecting my â€œfriendsâ€

    <u>Resurrecting my ¡°friends¡±</u>

    (Third party¡¯s POV)

    ¡°This is terrible, General¡± (report soldier)

    ¡°What you idiot? Can¡¯t you see that I¡¯m busy¡± (Main General)

    The General is busy eating and drinking away while the army is fighting at the forefront.

    ¡°We lost our front defenders to a ditch when the army march forward. And our strongest cavalry has come across massive land mines trap when trying to engage the Demon army from a flanking position¡± (report soldier)

    ¡°What the forward general is doing? He¡¯s an incompetent SOB. I will personally kill him for that. That¡¯s not enough. His family would have to die for the betrayal he did. It is treason. I will definitely bring this up in the court martial!¡± (Main General)

    All the commanding of the army in the frontline is left for the forward army general, which allows for the main general to wash his hands clean whenever there is a military campaign failure, and claim majority of the credits if the campaign is successful. It is a wonder why humanity haven¡¯t fall apart yet, and it is also the reason that the campaign against the demon army is very slow and long, with huge casualties on the human side, plus huge consumption of resources that can be used to improve the already poor daily lives of peasants in the kingdom.

    All this matters little to the main general, as he is busy lining his purse with more gold coins. His greed for money, food, and young girls know no bounds. Unfortunately for the hero¡¯s party, they all don¡¯t know this underlying fact as they only viewed him as a respectable general with many years and achievements with all the medals and plates sticking on him. He also has proper court manners, and created an aura of a reliable army general in front of important figures like the King, the hero, and his party. He is also the main proposer for the idea of summoning the hero. They got a great boon in this summon as the hero was summoned along with seven of his classmates, giving them a huge military gain as the collateral otherworlders also possess significant amount of natural talent, more than an elite soldier so to speak.

    With the human army in disarray and the hero¡¯s party at death¡¯s door, the magician revealed his trump card spell, the Resurrection magic phenomena. Because the magician¡¯s affinity is not healing, he cannot use high-ranking counter-hex spells or potent healing spells to save the hero party. The most he can heal is just pierce or cut wound. A mage is suppose to save mana to cast offensive spells, but due to the hero¡¯s party strange arrangement, the party¡¯s mage have to do both damage dealing spells and also healing the party members that got injured. The soldiers¡¯ injuries are also tended by the mage as the cleric is told to save mana for in case of emergency. At first glance, it may seem like the right decision. But for the mage, the hero¡¯s party is getting their priorities upside down.

    The battleground shine brightly, with the mage¡¯s body as the centre. Countless hail of arrows strike the mana shield of the mage, but the mana shield manage to hold out that attack while cracking here and there under duress from Demon Lord¡¯s army attack.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    ¡°Protect the mage while he cast his spell, go into formation D¡± (Forward army general)

    At least one decent human being is in the army, as he commanded the belligerent soldiers to form a defensive wall around the mage while he call upon his magical phenomena to turn the tide of battle. The army made use of any wooden material, iron plates, or stones to for a ring around the mage and guard him with their body.

    The mage continues to shine brightly, then a blue astral body came out of his body and hovers in the air one metre away from him. The blue astral body wave its hand in a goodbye signal to the mage, then begins to decay quickly from head to toe, scattering blue lights that fly towards every direction. While the blue lights are travelling around the battlefield, the dead bodies of human began to quiver, and any demon soldier caught by the blue light have their soul drained out of them, leaving an empty husk as they drop down suddenly, soulless.

    The spectacle shocked the Demon General for a bit, but he held his ground by invoking defensive magic phenomena around the demon army together with some shamans. The blue light was halted and cannot spread past the defensive barrier. The demon general signaled with his hand for the larger sized Minotaurs with their axe and Lamias with large aegis shield to take the front and slowly charge the human army. Aegis shield are excellent magic shield that can repel and negate most of the vile spells thrown at them, and it also has high durability to withstand big physical attacks for a long period of time.

    The hero¡¯s party got up from their lull, as if waking up from a long slumber.

    ¡°What the hell man. I thought I was dead a moment ago¡± (Dual swordsman)

    ¡°This is not what I have expected. It felt as if we have died. Our resistance must have helped us back then. Oh ya, also thanks for the epic healing, Ester. (Shielder)

    ¡°¡­.¡± (Cleric Ester, was silenced by the Hero before she can voice her opinion)

    Ester is the name of the cleric.

    ¡°Urgh, the nightmare. It felt so surreal¡± (Archer)

    The logistical support and scout of the hero¡¯s party is elsewhere, also got revived after they got to the edge of death due to the terrible hex done by the Demon General specifically to take out the hero¡¯s party. That¡¯s because the hero¡¯s party has been too infamous for their achievements and exploits during the earlier skirmishes that the demon upper echelon has taken special precaution against them.

    ¡°All people in my party, assemble. Other soldier that can still fight, rally behind me¡± (Hero)

    They followed the hero¡¯s instruction without delay and prepare to face the demon army.

    Before the hero charge forward, the forward army general have a word with the hero.

    ¡°Stop this madness. We can¡¯t charge forward with you alone facing the entire demon army. We must fall back and regroup again.¡± (Forward army general)

    ¡°Ahh, shut the hell up you coward. I am the hero, did you knock your head somewhere? Do your amnesia act on you and you forgot all the achievements I did, and how great I am facing against an army myself? In fact, I don¡¯t agree with this operation being done with the aid of you people. I can slaughter the entire Demon Lord army myself just fine¡± (Hero)

    ¡°This and that are different. The scale is different. The demon are a dangerous being. They have more mana than a human, and have many talents that are above the elite human inborn naturally in them¡± (Forward army general)

    ¡°Listen here. Say anymore and your head goes flying. If I tell the king that you are a traitor for the demon army, whom do you think they would believe, huh? I believe and proven myself alone is worth thousands of those weak demons, and you are below those weak demon. Just stay like the sheep you are and watch me bring back victory. Don¡¯t forget to prepare a banquet for my victory celebration, that is most important.¡± (Hero)

    With that final straw, the forward army general relented, and allows the hero and his party to take command of the few remaining soldiers and charge into danger.

    Many of the soldiers that got revived got recruited by the hero, and they too, in their blind belief that the hero and his party can bring them back to life once again if they died, charge straight into the demon army, to their death.

    All this while, the mage has fallen into a deep slumber, guarded by few remaining soldiers that aided him when he cast the Resurrection spell. Many of them have been slain, revived, only to be slain again with the ferocious arrow and magic attacks of the demon army. No one can be sure if he is still alive, and his heart beat has been irregular and soft, almost in like a death-like state. But his earlier effort seems to be in vain.

 Reality

    <u>Reality</u>

    (Adam the mage¡¯s POV)

    ¡°I didn¡¯t move o~n, huh¡± (Adam)

    I thought I have ended up in afterlife, but it didn¡¯t turn out that way. My hands and feet are bounded. I tried moving them to undo the restraint, but they are really tight. My limbs felt numb and weaken due to the tightness of the restrain. Did they just use Hem weed rope? Those are mana absorber and muscle relaxant restraint that usually used to subdue large fierce creatures that can invoke magical phenomena. I touched the rope a little with my fingers, and the lethargic effect on me seems to reduce a little.

    I saw a pair of eyes watching here.

    ¡°What is the meaning of this? Release me!¡± (Adam, shouting to the guards)

    ¡°Hey, he¡¯s awake! Tell the King¡± (Prison guard)

    I realized that I¡¯m in a prison room, with no light and only a small sliding shutter that opens from the outside. A pair of eyes full of contempt peer inside the prison. It gives me the creeps. The palace people have never act in such manner towards me, a respectable mage that can qualify to enter the hero¡¯s party.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    Next moment, the prison door, which looks like five-inches thick iron slab swings open, and two big burly men with arms as thick as a thigh came in and grab my arms, and slam me to the wall. Another prison guard then come in and gives me a solid sucker punch aiming at my solar plexus. I tried shifting my chest to avoid a critical hit, but the two guards hold me up real tight, moving me back to position and I got hit real hard, making me almost faint. I can feel my stomach acid rise to my throat and it gives a horrible feeling.

    ¡°You are going to get it now, hehe. At last, I get a piece of you. Bring him out.¡± (Prison guard leader)

    I don¡¯t know who is this guy, but apparently he has a grudge on me. I was dragged out of the room with my feet dangling. The journey took quite some time, and I was brought to the throne chamber. The two prison guards went off, and four royal guards place their pike pole over on my shoulders and push my already weakened body to the ground in a crouching position. I can see the hero¡¯s party assembled there, with the generals that usually accompany us, but I can see very few forward generals left. Only those generals that usually sit back in safe location have their usual numbers, and they now outnumber the forward generals that go to the battlefields. I can see blood splatter at one corner of the room, and several bodies of people in their uniform are lying there in terrible state, some have holes all over, and some lose their head, etc. I recognize the forward general that worked with me among them. A dreadful premonition falls upon me. I frantically rake my brain to overcome this situation.

 Charges

    <u>Charges</u>

    (Adam the mage¡¯s POV)

    I don¡¯t even feel elated to see that the hero party survived the horrible curses placed on them during the battle with the Demon Lord army, even though I saved them from dying with a huge sacrifice. I admit that I felt regret later, but when I saw Ester the cleric, maybe that¡¯s the only thing got going for me. The hero has an especially smug look on his face, and I don¡¯t like that.

    ¡°Adam, the mage from hero¡¯s party. Guilty for dereliction of duty during the subjugation of the Demon Lord army¡¯s attack. Under the kingdom¡¯s law, he is subject to have his eyes gouged, all fingers and toes plucked, and finally quartered with horses. His immediate family will be sold off to slavery and his parents stoned to death. Distant relatives up to three generations will be ushered out of town and live in the wild¡° (Royal court announcer)

    Wait, wait, wait, I didn¡¯t agree to join the military for just 5 silvers a month to be subjected to such harsh punishment when I erred in my duty. I¡¯m unjustly accused without proper proof. I remembered that the most of severe punishment is just decapitation of the said soldier and it doesn¡¯t involve their family members.

    ¡°This is unfair, I did my job well and I res¡­buhh¡± (Adam got his face punched)

    ¡°Silence, convict. You have no right to speak. Even I suffered from your actions. Show at least a bit of consideration!¡± (Hero)

    Ester the cleric¡¯s face turns pale when she heard my verdict. But she just shows a face of powerlessness in my direction and remained silent. I won¡¯t accept this judgment silently like you do.

    ¡°What ¡­ about the hero¡± (Adam)

    ¡°The Hero and his party did excellently by killing the Demon army general. They managed to drive the enemy to a corner but due to the absence of a key member in the military operation strategy, the demon army managed to regroup and push back our troops.

    ¡°You sure this is ¡­what transpired?¡± (Adam)

    ¡°This story is correlate with what the hero and the generals reported¡± (Royal court announcer)

    ¡°Isn¡¯t ¡­ the credit (of defeating Demon Army) shared among all party ..members?¡± (Adam)

    ¡°By golly. You have the guts to say that after what you did?¡± (Main General)

    ¡°Because ¡­what transpired is different. I beg to ..ghhh.. differ¡­.aahh.. my Lord¡± (Adam, enduring having his index finger broken and shoulder dislocated)

    ¡°Pardon my Lord¡± (Hero)The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

    BAM, BAM, THUMP, THUMP, THUMP, Step, step, step.

    My face is all bloodied, and the hero wiped his clenched fist with a cloth given by the Scout and throw it on the floor near me. My jaw is hurting. No word can come out of me now, just some soft inaudible huffing.

    ¡°I think he should be VERY satisfied now with this answer¡± (Hero)

    ¡°Take this bloody mess to the torture chamber¡± (Main General)

    The King just sits there silently while his subjects passing judgments around. His face is a youngish 30-year-old look, and he just puts up a poker face. I remembered he gave very eloquent speech to inspire the people to join in his military crusade. What is he thinking now?

    ¡°Wait a moment. We must be fair, or else the people may talk behind our back that the kingdom and hero are cruel. Okay how about this? Crawl under me like a good dog, bow to me three times, and we will consider a pardon, heh¡± (Hero said while smirking)

    ¡°¡­..¡± (Adam, giving death stare at the Hero)

    ¡°Okay, he rejected the NICE pardon offer. Let¡¯s bring all our soldiers and go to his house. I heard he has a sister. I think we can have a nice party over there¡± (Hero)

    That is taboo. Really a taboo action. Unforgiveable. My parents and family are dearest to me.

    ¡°¡­¡­mhhm¡­.mhhhm¡± (Adam)

    My mouth is swollen. I can¡¯t even utter a proper word anymore. I slowly crawl my body to go underneath Aaron, the hero.

    ¡°Heeh? You think this is acceptable? You think you can take back what you have casted out before?¡± (Hero)

    I plead him with my eyes, and he shows a delighted smirk. Aaron then asks for permission to unsheathe his sword in the throne hall from the king. He points the tip of the blade at me, then in an instant, slash off an arm at the wrist on one of the corpse on the ground. My eyes flinched for a moment, and I thought I was the receiver of his attack.

    ¡°After cutting off the hand, you think you can reattach it back? Except for Ester, who else can attach it back? Once gone it¡¯s gone man¡±

    I know there is other clerics capable of attaching back a severed hand, but the narrow mind of the hero can only see Ester as the only capable healer. Anyway, I must

    ¡°Please give him another chance. Help him please, Aaron¡± (Ester pleads to Aaron)

    ¡°You know what to do tonight, right? Since you owe me a favour¡± (Aaron whispers to Ester)

    ¡°¡­Yes. Don¡¯t let our party member die in vain¡± (Ester)

    ¡°You are a truly lucky man. Someone in the party pleads for you to be spared. Okay, in order to mete out proper judgment and uphold the king¡¯s honour, you would need to lick my boots clean, crawl under me, and howl like a dog three times. After that, you would have to lick the shoes of the king clean. Do that and we will consider about pardoning you. Your performance is important.¡± (Aaron)

    The royal guards stopped pressuring their pike on my shoulders. Aaron smirked and walks over to a far corner. I have to grovel over the dirt and blood on the floor with my hands tied to the back. I slowly move to avoid knocking over the bodies on the floor. They are people that I can look up to when they are alive. I reached the location Aaron is, and did what was asked for. Aaron smirked across his face from one end to another. He twitches his leg around to make it difficult to reach, but this doesn¡¯t matter. Family is important. I cannot let them die for nothing. I can sacrifice my honour, my life for them.

    ¡°Whhhm, Whhhm, Whhhm¡± (Adam)

    With Aaron done, I move towards the king. Aaron got up and step on my back. I ignore it, and slowly and surely, drag my body towards the king. He still has this poker face on him. What honour this man has? I keep this to myself, and lick the shoes of the king.

    ¡°Whhhum, Whhhum, Whhhuum¡± (Adam)

    ¡°Heh, what a coward. I thought you have more honour than this. You are just a piece of shit that would do anything to survive. Don¡¯t come near me. Drag him out and cane him a hundred times before you release him. Do you agree with this punishment, my lord? Even though he is a useless bastard, he was once my party member. I hope you can show mercy for him and overlook my blunder of allowing him into my party. This way, my party members will also feel better at heart.¡± (Aaron the Hero)

    ¡°Don¡¯t speak ill of yourself. It is my error in delivering a rotten subject during the selection of warriors to aid the hero¡¯s party. He may have some talent, but his bad conduct is unforgivable. What do you think, Royal lawmaker?¡± (King)

    ¡°Yes, this is acceptable. The mage in hero¡¯s party is pardoned. But he is a disgrace to the party, and will no longer be part of the party or the kingdom¡¯s military. He must swear to secrecy of any palace or political knowledge. If found guilty again, will be punished with the most severe punishment.¡± (Royal lawmaker)

 Public Image

    <u>Public Image</u>

    (Adam the mage¡¯s POV)

    I was dragged out of the throne room by the two prison guards that brought me in. My memory after that is hazy, I just felt extremely pain on my back when they flog me with large planks. I fainted part way through, and I was rudely woken up when I felt something moist on my face. The prison leader peed on my face after dropping me at the back of the castle. The rope is still tied to my hands, and I quickly got up and glare at the prison guards.

    ¡°Ahaha, the great mage of the hero¡¯s party drinks piss. Oh you are now ex-mage of hero¡¯s party. What? You want to kill me with your stare?¡± (Prison guard leader)

    ¡°¡­¡­¡± (Adam)

    ¡°You are a nobody now. Nobody! Ahhh, it feels so good, this feeling. No more pride in you anymore. You are now viewed as the scum of the kingdom. This is so refreshing¡± (Prison guard leader)

    I don¡¯t understand what this person is talking about or why he acts this way. I slowly walk sideways to avoid him attacking my back and lean on an edge on the wall. A stinging pain hit my back even from a light touch. After slowly adjusting to the pain, I graze the rope against the edge of the wall. Slowly, the hem weed rope got nicked and become undone. I slowly relocate my shoulders back to its place. There is a ¡®pop¡¯ sound when that happens. I take a branch and place it in between my index and middle finger, and tie them together with some cloth taken from my torn pants. My back is swollen beyond belief, but I can¡¯t properly see it.

    I stagger to the fountain located at the edge of the castle garden, and wash my face over there. My face is swollen all over when I look at my reflection on the water. My head reflects back on the event that transpired so far. This condition is worse than death. My instinct of fear kicks in. I quickly think over what is the most important thing to do first. It is to go back home and get my family away. My family is the most important to me. We may not be blood related, but we are closer to each other that one. Both of my foster parents take really good care of me and give plenty of love. They are not rich, but they make sure I have enough to eat and teach me knowledge when I was in the dark.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

    A lady with dark expression suddenly approach me from behind

    ¡°You took away my husband. Return him back to me¡± (Unknown lady)

    I believe I have seen her before, giving food to one of the soldier and he shared some of it with us.

    ¡°I can¡¯t help you ma¡¯am. I don¡¯t know what is happening. I used a spell that is supposed to bring back the dead in the battlefield. Do you tried asking around the barracks?¡± (Adam)

    ¡°They told me that he¡¯s dead, and it¡¯s all because of your cowardice that left the battlefield while my husband is out defending the kingdom¡± (Soldier¡¯s wife)

    ¡°No ma¡¯am, I did the best I could and I save as many lives as I could¡± (Adam)

    ¡°Hey! The coward bastard is over here!¡± (Unknown uncle with moustache)

    ¡°DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! KILL! CRUCIFY! STONE HIM!¡± (crowds of people rushing in)

    ¡°RETURN MY HUSBAND TO ME!¡± (Mob 1)

    ¡°MY PRECIOUS CHILDREN! YOU KILLED THEM¡± (Mob 2)

    ¡°MY SON¡¯S LIFE IS NOT A TOY FOR YOU TO PLAY, COWARD¡± (Mob 3)

    ¡°EYE FOR AN EYE, BLOOD FOR BLOOD¡± (Mob 4)

    I can see a belligerent mob of people coming in my direction, armed with pitchforks, sticks, and rocks. I drag my feet as fast as I could away from them. The soldier¡¯s wife also takes swipes at me, but I manage to lose her. The physical training and morning jogs didn¡¯t just go to waste. I manage to squeeze myself into a narrow alley large enough for one man to pass through at a time only, exit from there, and hide under a wooden box inside the room of a house that didn¡¯t lock its door. The angry mob is really huge, they are rowdy and they bang and knock up everything while searching for me.

    Today is the day I thought I lost everything. I lose my magic, I lost my job, my ¡°friends¡± ignore and betrayed me, and now I became a person hated by the people in the kingdom I protected. I waited patiently for the crowd to move away. Once a while, there are people that came into this vacant house to check the surrounding, but they failed to notice the wooden box in a dark corner of the room. The dust at the area must have helped masked the blood drops due to my wounds.

    After about an hour of peace, I get out of the wooden box and make a move to my house. I have a very bad feeling about it, I want to reach home as quickly as possible. I must quickly arrange to move my parents and my sister with a cart to go outside the capital.

 Side Story 1 - Afterlife

    <u>Side Story 1 - Afterlife</u>

    (Adam¡¯s POV, after fainted in the battlefield)

    I remembered the weird dream I have right after I casted the Resurrection spell. I vaguely recalled reading it from an old golden-coloured grimoire of Father. The book cover looks so intriguing, so it caught my attention. The content is simple, and is written in English, a language I now understand belongs to a place I once reside in my past life.

    It¡¯s stated that the order of this world is under the Gods residing in this world, and they decide to change some of the rules in the most fundamental area. The rise of magical phenomena is one of the effects due to such changes, and the existence of status and skills are features implemented as a system to allow gods to have better control over the world. Magical phenomena itself still follow the law of causality, so the magnitude, speed, direction, and effect of a magical phenomena is directly proportional to the difficulty of incantation, the intention behind the spell, the medium used for inducing the phenomena, and very rarely but not unheard of, god¡¯s blessing.

    The resurrection spell is a magical phenomenon that is invoked by using one¡¯s own soul as a medium, an English incantation, and genuine intention to save the life of the others. I recalled that I can see my soul hover above me, said some words that I still can¡¯t understand to me, wave me a goodbye, and proceed to bring back to life of those fallen in the battle with demon army. It was a strange feeling, seeing my other self got out of my body, then dispersed in front of me. That time, my body got into a fit and I felt like a huge amount of energy left my body. I thought that would be the end of me, seeing as my soul has left the body.

    ¡°Hello there¡± (God A)

    ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± (Adam)

    ¡°Tch, tch, tch, no greetings, what a rude being¡± (God A)

    ¡°I don¡¯t know who are you, or where I am. How am I supposed to greet you?¡± (Adam)

    What a self-centred person. She looks so vain in flashy clothes.

    ¡°Such crass word from a lowlife. I also know you are thinking something rude of me. Please refrain from doing that. What I wear is the most beautiful set of dress you can find ever¡± (God A)Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    ¡°Good for you. Is this the afterlife?¡± (Adam)

    She talk is like an old man inside

    ¡°Hey, you are thinking I¡¯m an old man? Listen, I¡¯m a GOD. I am eternal, forever 15. Knock this in your head¡± (God A)

    ¡°Arrggh, stop it! I understand, I won¡¯t think bad stuff anymore!¡±

    Adam suffered from deep anguish even though his current body is in an ethereal form. With no gravity or a floor to stand, he just curls into a ball while hugging his knee. The pain is emitted throughout his entire being.

    ¡°I see that you are still stubborn as ever. Stay that way for now¡± (God A)

    ¡°You see, I have stayed in this world for eternity. I need some entertainment, and when I saw you sneakily try to learn magic from everywhere, even from your Father, it caught my interest¡± (God A)

    ¡°........¡± (Adam mumbling)

    ¡°I know that you don¡¯t origin from this world that has magic, so they are fascinating to you. We created magic as a form of entertainment and convenience, and now the creatures of this world have been using them for war and destruction. I don¡¯t really get the thinking of War-chan (God of War), but at least it keeps us entertained.¡± (God A)

    ¡°¡­¡± (Adam has given up)

    ¡°Don¡¯t get so gloomy. You are here is a good thing. Just keep me entertained and you will be okay. You came from world-221, correct? You language is simple and primitive, so I like to use them to make up some funny chuuni magical spell for my subjects to study¡± (God A)

    ¡°I will explain this to you. What you used (Resurrection) is a spell I created, so your soul is now bound to me. It usually cost the soul of the caster, and their soul will be destroyed when they used the spell. That¡¯s why the spell is limited to the church¡¯s clerics who have enormous amount of holy mana in their being. That way, I can channel my support to them when they want to perform any large miraculous magic like Resurrection without losing their soul. However, that¡¯s too tedious and boring, so I rarely do so.¡± (God A)

    ¡°Now for the good part. I managed to get rid of your guardian soul when you decide to cast that spell. By overclocking that skill, I managed to force that freaking large guardian soul of yours to dissipate completely. That soul of your previous life has now gone, and I gain your current soul bound to this world that still has your previous life knowledge. Now you belonged to me in body and soul. You will be my eyes, hands, and feet in the world. But don¡¯t worry, for I am generous. I will give you at least some degree of freedom. But all the knowledge you display will now belong to me¡± (God A)

    This crazy god keeps going on and on, gloating about how it has successfully ensnared me. But one thing that I know is that I have lost something very important. I roughly know that I¡¯m from somewhere else at birth. I quickly gain knowledge of this world, and I¡¯m very curious about magic at a young age. I thought that magic phenomena is exciting, and bring great convenience to life, never knowing the danger and harm it harbours behind them.

    ¡°Now, go to suffer. Struggle more and more for my entertainment¡± (God A)

    I then felt something snagged my astral body at the navel and why whole being is pulled so quickly that I can¡¯t even make out any outline of what¡¯s happening to me. Next moment, I¡¯m back to feeling a bodily sensation.

    ¡°Suffer, suffer more for me to see.¡± (God A¡¯s fleeting words)

 True Loss

    <u>True Loss</u>

    (Adam the mage¡¯s POV)

    I took a piece of cloth I can find and wrap it around my head. I also took several pieces of cloth from another place to replace my bloodied pants and shirt. Taking people¡¯s property, this is a first for me. But I can¡¯t enter a shop now. Businesses may have gotten news about me, and my public image is so bad, no business would let me walk into their premise. Without taking chances, I resorted to stealing. Without appraising my status, ¡°Thief¡± is currently engraved in it.

    I walk around the dark back alleys, outside the prying eyes of other people, quietly. I can sometimes see poor people, shady people, stray pets, with litters strewn across the alley. It is daytime now, but the sunlight rarely reaches this area, which is good for me. I drag my limping feet as fast as I could.

    I lost my sense of time, but based on the shadow casted on the floor, it¡¯s around early noon. I ran and ran, avoiding eye contact with any stranger I met, out of fear that they will turn rowdy and call in a crowd.

    After I successfully get out of the capital city, I managed to hitch a ride on a trading carriage (towed with two horses) heading to somewhere near my village. Thankfully, I managed to convince him to allow me a ride in return of providing manpower and protecting the carriage, all without revealing my face. My throat gets a bit better, so I can speak a little, but my voice is hoarse. I sit with my stomach on the floor, to let my sore back recuperate. I refuse to sleep the entire journey, for I fear I will get into trouble once I close my eyes.

    During the journey, I try to form all types of plan for my family to escape. My memory of my past life is slowly starting to emerge. I can remember the tall skyscrapers and buildings that will put this kingdom¡¯s castle to shame in terms of height and splendor. I can remember the vehicles that run on four wheels and horseless carts called car. Technology, architecture, science, etc, they are all more magnificent and superior to the society here. I try suppress revealing too much of them in my head, as I can still recall the God¡¯s revelation after I used the forbidden spell Resurrection.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    While thinking about all that, the carriage has reached the edge of my village. I told the carriage owner to stop the carriage, and I alighted from the carriage. I gave me thanks to him, and we bid each other farewell. I move as quickly as possible towards the house my parents and sister live. I have left home for two years and four months after being selected as a hero party¡¯s candidate, and I miss my family. Every day spent training with the army and hero¡¯s party seemed like a lie to me.

    When I reached the front of my house, it is already late evening, and the sun has almost set. I saw two large bonfires with smoke billowing from the back of my house. My heart race quickly, thinking the worst can happen. I run to the back of the house, which has a large garden. All the people were gathering there watched fixatedly while cursing out at the two stakes burning like a bonfire with many wood stacked at below. They are too concentrated at the bonfire, and didn¡¯t notice my presence.

    Two teardrops fell from my eyes. I couldn¡¯t control myself, as I keep getting between blaming myself or to kill this entire goddamned kingdom. I am hidden by the house wall currently. I wept silent tears, thinking of what to do now. If they discover me, I would probably join with my parents soon. Maybe I can try wiping them out with my magic, I don¡¯t care anymore even though they are once my neighbour, because they burned my parents to death. This may be acceptable, but I cannot leave without finding out my sister first.

    I slowly crept into my house through the front door. The house looks like it¡¯s broken in, with the slot plank used to lock the door broken inwards. The tables and chairs were scattered, leaves and hay strewn all over the floor. I remember picking those leaves and dried them to be sold to a trader that comes to our village during my youth to supplement the income. My old bookshelf filled with magic tomes, now with most missing and some of them with their pages torn and thrown on the floor, the shelf itself laid broken near the kitchen. The kitchen utensils were misplaced, and the food missing. I can see some traces of blood here and there, may be signs of a struggle. But the most important thing is that my sister is missing.

    While feeling distraught at the condition in the house, I heard the sound of a footstep outside of the door. I quickly hide behind the door, and patiently wait for the intruder to enter the house. I must quickly and quietly dispose of them if I want to stay alive. I saw a shadow casted on the floor. If I still am a mage, I could easily dispose of intruders like this with my elemental bullets from my fingertip (with bits of fingernails as the invocation cost), but now when I tried to cast a spell, nothing comes from it.

    The shadow steps into the house, and I quickly perform a chokehold on the neck, while dragging the intruder into a dark room. I squeeze my arm hard to wring the life out of this intruder, and my hand close the mouth to prevent it from shouting aloud. I can feel the long hair I remembered brushing against my face, so I slowly take a look the intruder¡¯s face from the side. Yeah, she¡¯s my sister¡¯s friend who lives in the neighbourhood.

 Despair and Hope

    <u>Despair and Hope</u>

    (Adam the mage¡¯s POV)

    (Previously ¨C I caught hold of my sister¡¯s friend in a dark room in my house)

    I loosen my chokehold a little, and speak softly into her ear.

    ¡°If you promise to stay quiet, I will release my chokehold on you a little¡± (Adam)

    She nodded a slowly, and I release my chokehold on her just enough for her to speak.

    ¡°Cough, cough¡± (sister¡¯s friend)

    ¡°Speak, what happened here!? Make a sound and I will break your neck, regardless of our past relationship!¡± (Adam)

    ¡°Wheeze, wheeze, the soldier, from castle, they arrive, announce your treachery, put uncle and aunt to stakes, and burn them¡± (sister¡¯s friend)

    ¡°I cannot trust your words. Do you have any proof?¡± (Adam)

    She signals to her pocket, because her hand can¡¯t reach it.

    ¡°Don¡¯t try anything funny or I will break your neck¡± (Adam)

    I reach my hands into her pocket and touched a round object. Usually I feel shy and reserved to girls, especially to touch such a secret place as her pocket. But for now, I don¡¯t have time to think about all that. I retrieve the object from her pocket and take a look at it. This one is a magical object I gave her during her 6<sup>th</sup> birthday. I learned how to put images into a glass object during my study of a book about magical tools. I polished a quartz rock I found at the river during a family trip, and enchant it to store images according to the book instructions. I got an idea from my dream later, and decide to upgrade the quarts from capturing images to recording moving images or video, and upgrade the storage and retrieval ability of the magical tool. I called it a recorder version 2.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.

    Not knowing which iteration she stored it, I let her handle the magical tool. I also have to take into consideration that my magic seems not working at all since I collapsed after using the forbidden Resurrection spell. The surface of the recorder seems blemished at locations where I touched.

    ¡°Show me what you have recorded and proof to me what you said is true¡± (Adam)

    I place the quartz tool on her palm. She also noticed the blemished surface, but continue to operate the tool with her fingers and invocation, probably out of fear of her life. The recorder starts to flicker and the video playback starts.

    First, the playback shows the focus of the video on her face, probably from invoking the start of video recording. The video then shows a face forward view, and large jerking of the video, probably from her running. The video quality is very bad, with black pockmarks here and there. Several riders can be seen alighted from the horses, carrying a sort of paper. I can¡¯t see their faces well, only the large horse is visibly clear. The villagers all knelt in front of a soldier announcing something to the group of people gathered in the village square. A person looking like village head goes forward to receive a scroll, and the group of soldiers goes around taking what looks like stick, wood, and wood poles from the villagers who are selling them at the square and the sawmill. The video ends there.

    She operated the quartz recorder again, and shows me another video. It shows the villagers are now gathered at what looked like the back of my house. The video quality is very bad. Four youths can be seen dragging two elderly couple and tie them to the stake that is lined up with wood. Two youth can be seen stopping them from dragging the two elderly couple, only to be beaten down by two soldiers armed with pike. One of them is this girl¡¯s brother. The other is my childhood friend. He got stabbed badly. The video quality turn worse, and I can only see dots here and there. I was stunned. My brain froze. What is all this? My father. My mother. Their last moments. I can¡¯t see them anymore in the video. Hot trickle fell to my cheeks again, and I quickly wipe it. Why is the army so quick and efficient only at this type of matter? This leaves a very dark and heavy feeling inside of me.

    ¡°Where is my sister?¡± (Adam, voice hoarse due to silent sobbing)

    ¡°¡­..Sob, ¡­.sob¡± (sister¡¯s friend)

    Tears start to well up in her eyes. I want to console her, but I press for an answer. She wouldn¡¯t stop crying, so I put her into a chokehold again and remind her not to make any noise, and I won¡¯t put up with her attitude. She forcefully chokes back her tears and continues to explain.

    She said the army issued a decree that all my family members are to be burned at a stake, so they wanted to kill my sister together with my parents. However, four youths conspired with the kingdom¡¯s officials to sell my sister away to a slave dealer since she is a beauty and still pure. They beat up my parents while the others were scared to offend the kingdom officials, and the four youths had their way with my sister. The kingdom soldiers entered the house after the four youths left, and my sister¡¯s condition was so horrid when the soldiers have finished their business. When she tried to enter the house to help my sister, the slave dealer stopped her and took my sister away. The slave dealer is currently residing in one of the building at the south of the village, near the road facing the capital. They occupied a warehouse building that usually stores the granary.

 Side Story 2 â€“ Magic Depleted

    <u>Side Story 2 ¨C Magic Depleted</u>

    (Right after Charges)

    (Prison Guard¡¯s POV)

    ¡°Hehehe, now comes the fun part¡± (Prison guard leader)

    ¡°HEHEHEHEHE!¡± (Prison guards)

    It¡¯s so fun watching some kingdom officers fall from grace. This job is the most exciting job because of that. Although for this bloke, I got orders from a higher-up general to snuff and incapacitate him before the interrogation.

    When I first saw him brought in by the soldiers, I thought they are going to put an extra burden. The food supply hasn¡¯t been replenished for three months, and we basically just provide the prisoner with water and dirt, with a little bit of insects like cockroaches, lizard, or rat. We sometimes even eat the rat ourselves; especially those that managed to get to our rations.

    They told me that this bloke abandoned his military duty while in battle, and was captured while escaping. Well, I don¡¯t care for all those minor details, but they left me with a sack of gold, so all¡¯s good. I requested for some additional ration, and they comply swiftly. This means that this guy over here is quite an important figure, seeing that the military rarely interact favourably with prison guards.

    For now, I ordered my men to fetch those sticks that beat out the mana in the body. By beating the sticks at important spots all over the body, you can seal the mana away from a mage, making them useless and incompetent. Now I know that this guy used to be a mage, and now he¡¯s going to lose his outstanding ability as one. Thinking about this give me the chills. It¡¯s like taking a heavy dose of pops, a plant-based drug used to induce high state for prolonged period.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    When the sticks are ready, we tied the bloody mess that we chained at the ankle to a frame that holds all four of his limbs and made him spread-eagle. He¡¯s strangely quiet while we put him through this ordeal. His face looks swollen, and his condition looks nasty. But this is the fun part. Nothing beats beating to death a dying person who once high post in the kingdom. We were told to beat him a hundred times, but to beat a mage at all his vital spots, would take 131 hits. I decided that since this is fun, we will beat him 100 times on top of 131 times at his vital spots.

    ¡°¡­¡­.¡± (Adam)

    ¡°Hehehe, don¡¯t be a spoil sport. Let me hear your screams¡± (Prison guard leader)

    ¡°Hiyah, TAKE THIS!¡± (Prison guard A)

    The prison guard hit him at his bum, and his body jerked forward. That¡¯s a nice hit. His skin tore, and blood ooze down from it. That¡¯s so sexy. The next guard hit him. Two burly guards take hitting that bloke at the bum. I like the smacking and screaming sound they usually emit. But this one is dead silent.

    On the next hit by the second guard, something unexpected happened. The stick turns brittle. The first guard hit him again. This time, that stick also turns darkish and brittle. Hey, those sticks are the lifelines of the guards here. They are not cheap. What the hell is happening here?

    Crack!, crack!.

    The special sticks that destroy a mage¡¯s mana source in the body broke the moment they hit him with it again. It¡¯s costly to replace them.

    ¡°Hey, wrap the special sticks with oiled paper. Maybe his blood is corrupted or something.¡± (Prison guard leader)

    After wrapping it with oiled paper, the next set of sticks also broke in their third hit. This SOB, he¡¯s wasting away our precious items.

    ¡°Get out the normal ones and try him with it¡± (Prison guard leader)

    The ordinary flog hit him just fine after that. Damn him, I will punish him till my heart is content.

    ¡°Hit him till your hands feel like breaking. No limit¡± (Prison guard leader)

    I hit and hit him until I¡¯m tired. If not for his quietness, this will be so satisfying. After that, I ask the guards to remove the chains, but keep the hem weed on, and drag his body out and drop him in a secluded area. If he died, nobody will know. If he survives, then he is free to walk away. Before that, I had my fun and forgot the toilet. Let¡¯s do it on him one more time to release my stress for today.

 Calm before the Storm

    <u>Calm before the Storm</u>

    (Adam the mage¡¯s POV)

    Words can¡¯t describe how furious I am for what they did to my family. My only living hope now is my sister, and I will definitely rescue her. My mind begins working furiously hard, regardless how tired it is now. I must prepare to take back my sister at all cost. I go to the kitchen and grab a knife, and I tell her(sister¡¯s friend) to keep quiet and don¡¯t rouse any suspicious movement or I will kill her on the spot. I can¡¯t trust anybody now, so I tied one of our hands together with a long piece of rope, so that she can¡¯t run away and snitch on me.

    I can¡¯t rely on magic now, so I need to start looking at more practical approaches. Think, man, think, I said to myself. The springy amber in the shed first comes to mind, but I will leave it for later, when the people left the back compound. Some cloth, solid pieces of wood I take from the furniture, and I bring them all to the fireplace. It¡¯s already night, so must act quickly under the cover of darkness.

    ¡°Oh yeah, first, I need to settle the issue with Amanda (sister¡¯s friend)¡± (Adam)

    I got Amanda to inform one of her friend that she will be cleaning my house until late night, while I hide in a bush nearby with the string still attached. After that, I bring her back to my house, waited for the crowd gathered at the back of the house to disperse. I get her to kindle the fire while I sort out the materials that I had prepared.

    First, I heat up the springy amber under strong heat until they melt in an earthen bowl. I strain them across some coarse cloth to remove impurities, and then I soak some finer cloth with the molten springy amber. I let it cool down while keep stretching it. I carve the wooden pieces into the shape of a tuning fork, it has a hard and sturdy to the grip. I found my old bottles filled with rounded pebbles of depleted magic stones that I collect when I was young. I use the bottle cap as the base, and attached two of the springy soaked cloth to each side of the tuning forked-shaped wooden piece, and then I string them at the holes I made to the bottle cap. I tie the coarse cloth used to strain the molten springy amber to the handle of the wooden piece for a better grip. With this, my weapon is ready. I let it dry while I go get the ammunition ready.

    I pack as many depleted magic stone onto a belt I used to collect herbs. I also attach a pouch for added storage. On top of that, I also tied two bottles filled with depleted magic stone together that I can attach to my pants later. I did all this as fast as possible, and my brain gives me the idea to make this weapon, which is something used in my previous world.

    I noticed that Amanda is still staring at me curiously. If previously before my parents¡¯ murder, I might get flustered to be in the same room with a girl alone, but my heart has turn cold towards such feelings. I noticed I am still wearing my old tattered shirt and pants with me from the capital. I begin to look for some wearable clothes around the ground, as the soldiers have ransacked the house. They overturned everything, and took all the money in the lockers. I pick a change of clothes that still looks wearable, and undress myself. I removed all the roughly bandaged cloths around my back to check the wound. The pain is stinging again, but the pain in my heart dulls them away. I grab an ointment bottle that is still intact on the floor and apply some of it on my body at locations that is injured and bruised.

    ¡°Gasp! What horrible wounds¡± (Amanda)

    Amanda approaches me and lightly touches my wound. I glared at her, and stopped her hands.

    ¡°What are you doing? Are you trying to kill me like the others do?¡± (Adam)

    I give her a very menacing look. Left alone in a room with a naked man, she is surprisingly calm for a girl. This is why I don¡¯t understand women. They are like wolf in sheep¡¯s skin, acting like a prey only to predate on their hunter.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    ¡°I have knowledge in herbalism and medicinal magic. Let me help you¡± (Amanda)

    ¡°I don¡¯t trust anyone anymore. All double-faced, they will backstab me after I turn away. Possibly even you¡± (Adam)

    ¡°Tell me, how can I gain your trust?¡± (Amanda in distraught)

    ¡°Let me place a knife over your neck while you treat me. If you do anything funny, we will both die.¡± (Adam)

    ¡°If that is what it takes, please go ahead and place a knife on my shoulder¡± (Amanda)

    This girl may be trying to put up a brave front to gain my trust, and think I will not really follow it up. I will just follow it up and really place the blade beside her neck. She gasped for a moment, and then quietly grabs the bottle of ointment beside me. I would prefer her to think that I am not to be trifled with, so things can proceed smoothly.

    She rubbed the ointment on my wounds while invoking incantation. Her hand glows a little, and the ointment is properly applied to my wounds very quickly. She applied the ointment on my left side with her face facing my side, so that my knife is properly placed on her neck. I hope this is enough threat so that she doesn¡¯t have any funny ideas. The cuts, lacerations, gashes, and tears were slowly closing up, and no longer bleeding. The physical pain seems to be alleviated on my left side.

    Next, she moves on to my right side and repeats the ointment placement and magic invocation, and my body now at least is not bleeding anymore. The deep wounds are still there, but at least scabs and little skin formed over it, stopping the bleeding. I wear the change of clothes, and she notices my shoulder sprain and broken finger. Amanda offered to relief the shoulder and fix the finger, but I think there is no time. When I think again, I would need great concentration and precision for my makeshift weapon that I¡¯m going to use. With that in mind, I accept her offer, and she uses the ointment and rubs down my sprained shoulder muscle, then cast healing magic on it. The treatment is effective and the inflammation stops.

    She then works on my broken index finger. She untie the old cloth that I wrap around and remove the wood piece I used as support. She straightens the finger and properly places them. She rubs the ointment in strokes that made me feel tingling pain, and then takes out some herbs from her pouch and chews it. She grinds the herb in her mouth, then she spits out the roll of mush leaves onto the bruised area. She invokes magical incantation again, and I can feel a little sensation of my index finger¡¯s fingertip. The finger no longer dangles when I leave it alone, and it seems the nerve cord and sensation has been established again, with the ligament now connected to the bone. She properly wraps the index finger to the middle finger for support, and places my arm on a sling across my neck. It¡¯s amazing that she did all this while I point a knife on her neck.

    ¡°Why you treat me well? Don¡¯t you suspect me? The army has burned my parents dead¡± (Adam)

    ¡°¡­When the kingdom official passed a decree that you have abandoned your station while in military service, it don¡¯t strike me as something you would do. Also, I don¡¯t agree that uncle and auntie has to be burned to death for this¡± (Amanda)

    I curse myself inwardly. I was once so dedicated to polishing my skills and training myself, never miss morning training, all that to serve the kingdom and defeat the destructive Demon army would now be known as a person that abandons his duty. Yet she knows my character after we have been apart for two years and more. There is an urge to hold her, but I suppress that. This is not time for those feeling to appear. I quickly get dressed and steel my resolve to rescue my sister. I appraised myself to know what skills and ability I have.

    Level ¨C 24 (2492/65528)

    Job ¨C Magician (?)

    Title ¨C Magic Sniper (?)

    Skills (Passive) ¨C Magic mastery, Mana Control, Sharpshooter, Aim, Smiting Mastery, Weapons mastery, Improved Stamina, Quick Mind, Critical Hit (%), ¡­¡­¡­.

    Skills (Active) ¨C Elemental attacks (Branch selection inside), Resurrection, Magic Endowment (Medium), Enchanting, Item Creation, Mana Shield, Barrier (physical high, magic low), Erase Presence, ¡­¡­¡­.

    Stats:

    Health = 268/475

    Mana = -8975612312521312512341563534534754363457654343523923492349811238123812939129319239129312939141895194819812930590410239120391209¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.

    This is the reason my magic phenomena cannot manifest. It rarely happens, but some mage experience negative mana state after utilizing spells too large for their mana pool to handle. But I have never heard of negative mana exceed a hundred. This figure is ¡­ just too much. Does that mean I¡¯m such a negatively charged person that I absorb spells rather than make one when I invoke magical phenomena? I don¡¯t know how negative mana works, but now it basically means no spells for me anymore. I probably would need to take up a sub-job and turn it into my main job once it can provide better utility than my main job as a mage.

    After ascertaining my skills, only the passive skill of sharpshooter, aim, improved stamina, and probably critical hit can be of help in the rescue operation.

    I wear a pair of strong grip gloves (made by adding springy amber liquid) and I modify an old pair of magical lens to allow one look into the dark clearly.

    I take two three blankets with me and put them in a bag. I get Amanda ready, and give her a cloth over her shoulders. I still keep one string attached to each of our hands, and I keep the knife with me.

    ¡°We are not going to use any of the usual trails or road. We are going into the jungle. Remember the place under the waterfall we used to play house?¡± (Adam)

    ¡°That is long ago, but it was fun. Are we staying there for the night?¡±

    ¡°No, that would be our meeting place when I get Lillie back. Just ¡­stay safe and don¡¯t betray me¡± (Adam)

    I got my weapon and all the miscellaneous items ready, and we move out quietly but swiftly under the cover of the night of the multiple moons sky.

 Rescue Operation

    <u>Rescue Operation</u>

    (Adam the mage¡¯s POV)

    After a swift walk of about half an hour, Amanda and me reached our old playground during our youth, a vacant cave behind the waterfall. I always use magic to open the pathway to the entrance without getting wet. Now that I can¡¯t use magic, I cut a huge yam leaf (looks like an umbrella) growing nearby, and we both enter the cave behind the waterfall under the yam leaf.

    The cave is nostalgic. We prepared an air hole, a kitchen, a storage room, a toilet, a stout wooden table, and some utensils around when we were small. I put the bag with daily amenities, blankets, and cloths down. Amanda went to light and kindle the fire.

    I take out my newly made weapon; the slingshot and take a proper look at it. I take out a depleted magic stone from a large bottle and place it in the cup of the slingshot. I then retract the cup to check the elasticity. It seems to react just nice. I retract at about 30% of what I believe is the maximum elasticity and release it at the stone wall. Piack!. The sound reverberated loudly in the cave. The depleted magic stone did not get deflected. It lodged deep into the wall with a cavity in.

    ¡°Kyahh! What is that?¡± (Amanda)

    ¡°I tested out the new weapon. It seems to work as intended. But the springy cloth gets heated up with each use.¡± (Adam)

    I prepared some extra springy cloth and bottle caps for in case my slingshot got damaged halfway during battle. I was unable to test it at my home in fear that the noise would alert the neighbourhood about my presence.

    I take out a gnarled wood staff that has a hole in the centre. This is my favourite staff that I stored away together with other inconspicuous items before I moved to the military. The magic stone in the centre has turned black and brittle, and it falls off into bits and pieces. I tried casting magic with the staff¡¯s aid; the invocation cost usually won¡¯t deplete the large magic stone in one go. It must due to the effect of my negative mana state. I now string the springy cloth to both end of the circular section of the gnarled wood staff. I¡¯m going to turn this into my backup slingshot. I make holes at bottle cap with a sharp metal puncher in the cave, then attach it to the springy cloth of the staff. This one has a centre hole, so it has a good balance and aim.

    ¡°I will remove the rope from my hand and tie you near the waterfall entrance. If you need a bath, you can use the waterfall''s water. I leave a cup and also a bottle of water for your usage. If I failed to return after two days, you can escape on your own. I don¡¯t feel like taking you with me when I die. I just don¡¯t want you to blabber out my presence and alert the army before I¡¯m prepared.¡± (Adam)

    ¡°I will patiently wait your return. Please save Lillie¡± (Amanda)

    ¡°Yeah¡± (Adam)

    I don¡¯t want to waste anymore time, and go right into action. I exit the cave with the yam leaf again while thinking again my plan of action.

    (At the slave dealer venue)

    (Slave Dealer¡¯s POV)

    ¡°Hey, don¡¯t disturb our new merchandise! What you gonna do if she died before we can sell her off? Can you buy her up with your pay, huh?¡± (Slave Dealer)

    ¡°Boss, she¡¯s already half dead when they sold her to us. We paid dirt cheap to get her. Can¡¯t we at least have some entertainment in the woods here?¡± (Peon 1)

    ¡°Shut up! She can sell for a decent price in the capital. Now, prepare the meals for the slaves¡±

    ¡°Yeah, yeah¡± (Peon 1)

    While Peon 1 is fetching food from the cook of the day, Peon 2 (Peons take turns to cook, they don¡¯t trust slave to cook)

    ¡°Psst. Boss is always being so picky. It is us that work hard for his sake. Without lackeys like us, he will be easy pick¡± (Peon 2)

    ¡°He¡¯s greedy, but his body is puny. If not for the money, I might die of boredom in this woods.¡± (Peon 1)

    ¡°Hey, why not we keep a spare key to her cell when one of us is on duty later? We just need to wait till Boss or his assistant goes to sleep¡± (Peon 3)

    ¡°Good idea bro. You always come up with good ideas. You should be the boss bro¡± (Peon 1)

    ¡°Just bidding my time. When the time comes, you guys will help me out ok?¡± (Peon 3)

    ¡°Now, go bring these food for those mongrels and do as planned¡± (Peon 2)

    ¡°Yeah¡± (Peon 1 and 3)

    I know what you are planning, that¡¯s why you will be peon your entire life. (Slave Dealer)

    ¡°Hello!¡± (unknown person, from outside the building)

    I signaled my assistant to attend the matter. (Slave Dealer)Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    ¡°Yes, kid? Good boys should go and sleep early, or they are going to get caught by the bad guys¡± (Peon 3, walking out of building)

    ¡°Sir, I want to buy a slave sir¡± (unknown person -> village boy)

    ¡°What are you saying, kid? Do you have the money? How old are you?¡± (Peon 3)

    ¡°Who¡¯s there? What do you want brat!?¡± (Assistant Slave Dealer comes out)

    ¡°Erm, do you sell a girl slave that was from this village?¡± (village boy)

    ¡°Ahaha, how much money can a brat like you procure? What if I say that I do have her?¡± (Assistant Slave Dealer)

    ¡°How much sir, to buy her?¡± (village kid)

    ¡°One hundred gold crowns, kid. But I believe you can¡¯t even obtain that amount saving up all your money your entire life¡± (Assistant Slave Dealer smirks)

    ¡°I do sir. I go get them now sir¡± (village kid)

    ¡°Don¡¯t joke with me, you cheeky brat!¡± (Assistant Slave Dealer)

    Phuck!

    What is that sound? I saw my assistant standing still. (Slave Dealer)

    Piack! Piack!

    This time, I heard another two sounds of wood getting hit. This time, all my assistants standing outside stood still. Are we under attack?(Slave Dealer)

    ¡°Sound the alarm. We are under attack. The mercenaries should move their ass to protect us after all the money we paid them!¡± (Slave Dealer)

    I jumped behind the table desk. One peon secured my safety. He¡¯s a swordsman with the qualification of a knight. He uses his shield to protect me while I go deeper into the building. There is a safety vault in the building that I can hide while the mercenaries smoke out the attackers. (Slaver Dealer)

    I can hear someone collapse behind me. Has the Peon got taken out?

    ¡°What a useless slob, and he called himself a knight?¡±(Slaver Dealer)

    Next instant, I got a tunnel vision, and I can see some revolving images of my life. Why I can¡¯t move? After that, my vision turned blank. No way. I want to enjoy my gold, eat delicious food, and see beautiful places. All that robbed from me, it¡¯s unacceptable.

    The slave dealer struggled endlessly in his last moment.

    (Adam the mage¡¯s POV)

    I travel as quick as my legs can carry me. I always monitor my surroundings to make sure I never attract any attention. But no matter how careful I am, I still encounter somebody. A village boy is trapping some star fish (only comes out on a clear night sky with stars) to earn some extra income.

    Luckily, my hood covered my face and he is not someone I¡¯m acquainted with. I asked in my hoarse voice do he want to earn some more extra income, and he agreed.

    I give him one copper coin to go talk with the slave dealer at the edge of the village and inquire the price of buying a girl being sold to them in this village. He did his task well. He managed to get 5 adults come out and talk with him. But the slave dealer doesn¡¯t seem to be among them. I adjust my magical lens to view at tight angles. I managed to catch the glimpse of a person who looks most important behind the wall, instructing the guards.

    I prepared several depleted magic stones on my hand, put one in the cap, and pull back the sling. I aim it at the person talking to the boy currently, because he¡¯s blocking the line-of-sight to the important looking person. There are also several people with their head bobbing in and out of the firing zone. The boy started running away, because I told him to do so after he has inquired the price of the girl.

    I release the sling and the depleted magic stone instantly hit its mark. Piack! What a solid ring to it. It pierced through three people at the skull. It¡¯s a clean shot and it pierce through them like cheese (made from Yama goat). Before the others realize what¡¯s going on, I already loaded another depleted magic stone and shot. This time, it hit a lone peon standing outside. This is weird, as I tried to aim at the important looking person inside. It seems the passive skill sharpshooting affects the passive skill aim when I use physical objects. Sharpshooting allows the auto-correction of physical projectiles that has mass, so it always hit the target nearest to it. I test an aim at the important person again. He started running deeper into the building, and I release the next shot. It hit the next peon outside the building as I hypothesized, so I just give a rough aim at my other targets and let the skill affect them accordingly.

    Piack! The sound reverberates nicely. I shot the next depleted magic stone without much of an aim, as a mercenary with a shield and sword now covers the line-of-fire of the important person running away. I¡¯m quite sure he¡¯s the slave dealer. The projectile hit the shield squarely on the front, puncture it, and pierce the chest of the mercenary with little resistance. That is magical shield for you. Physical projectile is the bane of magical shields and armours.

    Shifting the lens that already can operate as night vision on top of heat sensing, I create an optical zoom of x120. Without x-ray sensing, the image is a bit blurry, but it is enough to pinpoint the location of the slave trader. I load and release the next shot quickly, and it pierce through the wall of the building, going straight through and pierce the target. The slave trader can be seen still running, so I load another shot. When I am taking aim again, the slave trader has stopped moving, and slouches down near the wall.

    I can hear commotion being raised inside the building, and several men of big build are rushing out from other entrances of the building and the adjacent ones. With my current slingshot¡¯s springy cloth getting hot, I change to my gnarled staff slingshot. I lock and load my slingshot with more depleted magic stone, and shoot at the emerging mercenaries. In order to save ammo, I sometimes waited for several of them to group together, then release my projectile. Sometimes I got three of them in on shot, sometimes five, and a minimum I got two together in one shot.

    The mercenaries are not taking this lying down, as they managed to pinpoint my location based on my projectile direction that hit their allies. They did a mad dash to my location while spreading out wide. This is a good strategy, but too bad, I can see them just as clearly as day. I move to the sideways from my original location, and wait for the mercenaries to align diagonally this time. I release my shot, and I believe I hit six people this time. PPpPAckpack! It resounded between the trees. The momentum of the bullet must have been greatly reduced after passing through so many targets, plus the trees around.

    The rest of the mercenaries had given up and ran towards the direction of the capital. Though I don¡¯t have much grudge against the mercenaries other than because they are working for a group that captured and probably tortured my sister, I can¡¯t let them go scot-free. I train my eyes and my arm, to see how far my current slingshot can shoot, and the difference in performance in both the slingshots. So I spend another 6 shots shooting at individual fleeing targets for test.

    The night got quiet again, so I use my lens to locate any more people left in the building. Hopefully, none of the stray shot hit the slaves. It¡¯s difficult to differentiate which are the slaves and which are leftover of slave dealer¡¯s people, so I try looking at which is locked and which are not. Due to stacking display of the cages, I can only roughly predict that three of them left, and they are crouching near the cages.

    I swiftly and quietly enter the main building that house the most slaves. Some of the slaves are savage, and they lunged at my direction. I quickly go to the direction that houses a lone cage. I reached the room, and train my eyes. The slave warehouse is poorly lit by wood torches. If I¡¯m still able to invoke magical phenomena, I can produce better lighting with magic. I readied my slingshot and manipulate my lens to look at right angles to catch a glimpse of any surprises.

    ¡°Drop all your weapons and come out with your hands up in the air!¡± (Adam)

    The place is quiet. They still think I didn¡¯t know that the last three slave-dealer¡¯s peons are hiding in this room, trying to pounce on me the moment I enter. Okay, since they want it the hard way, I decide to release one depleted magic stone to the nearest target. It pierces the wall and hit the buttocks of one of the peon. I made sure to reduce the power of the projectile to avoid stray hitting.

    ¡°OWhhhh! OWhhhhh!¡± (Peon X)

    ¡° I know you are there, stop hiding and come out peacefully. If you don¡¯t comply quickly, I will pierce you multiple times with this until you are satisfied.¡± (Adam)

    The peons slowly come out and surrender. I check to make sure they don¡¯t have any weapons on their body, even the injured one.

    I quickly go into the room with a torch in hand and check the content of the cage. I froze. It¡¯s my beloved sister. What have they done to her? She¡¯s shaking and hugging herself at the edge of the cage, crouching with her face down. I called out her name several times, but she never responds to me. I take out my slingshot, load them with plain stone, and shoot all three of the slave dealer¡¯s peon at their crotch. Then I demand them for the key of the cell and also the location of the slave-dealer¡¯s wardrobe.

 Reunion

    <u>Reunion</u>

    (Adam the mage¡¯s POV)

    I finally got reunited with my sister. Though we meet up under such terrible circumstances, I must make it up to her for all the terrible things that befall, as it is not her fault, but a bad link from me. I got the key from the slave dealer¡¯s peon that seems to move so slowly, like on purpose. I hurriedly open the gate of the cage, and go to my sister¡¯s side. I noticed that she is shackled to weights at her ankle and wrist. I check the set of keys in hand and look for a suitable one among them, but I can see these keys are all different to the lock both in size and shape.

    ¡°You goons, this set of keys are not for opening the cuffs on her hand and feet! Give me the right one!¡± (Adam)

    The peons each pass one set of keys to me, and I look at them. They don¡¯t look that much different, and I just test out some of the keys that I find as closely resemble those for the shackles on my sister¡¯s hand and feet.

    One of the peons tried to lock me in the gate while I was busy concentrating on unlocking the shackles, but I already anticipated such a move. The torch I used to light the room is attached beside the hinge and lock, and he got his hands seared when he pushed the gate quickly and try to operate the hinge and lock of the gate. I give him a shot at his hand with my slingshot with an ordinary pebble as the ammo.

    ¡°That is what you get when you go against me. Try doing it again and see what I will do next.¡± (Adam)

    The peons huddled among themselves.

    ¡°One of you, go get the right key for her cuffs. Don¡¯t do anything foolish¡± (Adam)

    They seem to push among themselves, saying ¡°I will go¡±, ¡°I will go¡±. I got furious and pick the fattest one among them to go fetch the key. I equip one lens on my eye, while keeping the other to room vision. I squat in a protective manner at my sister¡¯s location. She hasn¡¯t reacted to me so far. My heart is feeling heavy and guilty of not protecting her when she needs it the most. I removed my outer coat and wrap her with it. I remove my bottle and put her head tilted on my shoulder and feed her water. Her eyes were moist, but lifeless. I feel so remorseful to have put her in this condition. She didn¡¯t move her throat, so the water is just kept in her mouth. I use my left index finger to slowly stroke her soft palate, and induce her esophagus to swallow the water. I ignore the strong stench. This wouldn¡¯t happen if not because of my carelessness. She choked on herself, and vomited the water and some of her content. I softly patted her back, and wipe her lips with a handkerchief.

    I noticed that the peon still hasn¡¯t return. I check him up with my lens, and noticed that he has passed an area I believe stored the keys. I raise my slingshot, load it with a depleted magic bullet, and release a shot.

    ¡°Kuahhk!¡± (Peon Y)

    That fat peon collapsed in my lens view. I aimed at his knee, and I tried suppressing my sharpshooting passive skill, and use my aim passive skill to get only the intended targeting without hitting the nearby peons. I asked the peon that got his buttocks shot earlier to drag the fat peon back with him, and place a threat that running away will forfeit his life. I decide to move my sister out of the prison cage gate. I tried shooting her shackles at the weakest point using my slingshot equipped with largest depleted magic stones. The depleted magic stone shatters into multiple pieces, but the shackles remain intact (shielded my sister with a metal plate). The physical aspect of the shackles is indeed very great.

    I adjust my view to see the peon I sent out again, and the one who got his buttock shot at is now trying to go to a different direction. I shoot my slingshot armed with an ordinary pebble at his feet, and he decides to go to the intended path and grab the peon with the knee punctured. He slowly drags the peon back, so I shoot at the floor again to make him move faster.

    I got tired of dealing with the slow progress, so I wrap the shackles¡¯ weight around my shoulder, and carry my sister on my arm with a princess carry. I intend to put my sister outside of the cage, and then deal with the peons. However, the peon in this room, the one with his burnt hands, tried to dash at me when my back is turned and take my slingshot from me while my hands are occupied and my body tied down with the weights. The peon is larger than me and my head only reach his shoulders. I turned my body and raise my right foot into the air in an air chop style, and land a solid blow to his chin, and he ended up somersault in the air once before falling with his back on the wall behind. I retrieved my slingshot with my foot.

    Both the peons that are outside came rushing to inside the room trying to tackle me while I¡¯m still holding my sister, but I already placed my sister on the ground outside and armed my slingshot with pebbles. I shoot at their crotch, and they both fell and roll straight into the opened cage. I grab the peon that got kicked and burned by the collar, and drag him into the cage. I remove the wooden torch that I used to block the hinge and lock, and used the key in my hands to lock the cage¡¯s gate.

    ¡°Hey, let us out you bastard SOB!¡± (Peon X,Y,Z)

    Keeping the peons alive is more troublesome that what I thought. These people are keeping me from successfully rescuing my sister, but I don¡¯t know the system here. Maybe it would be better to learn everything from scratch since their cooperation level is so terrible. I cover my sister properly, and then go to the place I saw the peon passed earlier that has a set of keys. I remember the shape of the keyhole, and I take two sets of keys that has the similar keyhole shape, but of different groove shape.

    I returned to my sister¡¯s side, and tried the first key I believe is the right one for the lock on her wrist. I heard the tick sound, but the lock didn¡¯t become undone. I tried the same key on the lock on her ankle, but it doesn¡¯t rotate well and there is no tick sound coming from it. I try the other key with he same keyhole shape. It rotates well and a tick sound can be heard. But the lock also is still undone. My worry has come true, that I will have to carry my sister all the way back with the chains and weight in tow, and probably cut it with proper tools.

    ¡°You will not escape here alive. You better start by releasing us and treat us better¡± (Peon X,Y,Z)

    First, I plan to go get some proper clothes and food for my sister. I place and rotate the weights on my shoulder again so that the weights don¡¯t put any pressure on my sister¡¯s ankle and wrist by any means. I then proceed to carry her in my arms with a princess carry and rest her head on my chest. As I begin walking away, Lillie begins to whimper, and as I take another step, her voice gets louder and she begins trashing around on my chest while gripping my hands.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

    ¡°Nghhh!, Nghhhh!¡± (Lillie)

    ¡°What is happening, Lillie? Hey, goons. Tell me how to stop this and I will spare your life¡± (Adam)

    ¡°F**k you. You think we will tell you for free? You better release us and beg us on your knees and grovel in front of us, else your sister will lose her life¡± (Peon X,Y,Z)

    As I turn to ask for an explanation for Lillie¡¯s condition, I walk back a little to the cage¡¯s location. Lillie¡¯s condition got quieter, and she returns to a whimper. I think I know the gist of it. I have learned a little bit about slavery magic when I am learning magic in the capital during when I¡¯m still a hero party¡¯s candidate. There is a binding contract on the body of the contracted person that allows several settings possible. One of it is the binding of the soul between contractor and contracted. The contractor can place restrictions to the actions of the contracted, and can even pass some or all the authority to another person or object. What makes the slavery contract disgusting is that the contracted person cannot object any orders of the contractor.

    I eliminated the slave dealer first to ensure the chain of command falls and I can make his subordinates subservient to me if I have to, but this has backfired so far. The slave dealer¡¯s subordinates are still very uncooperative, even after their employer is dead. Now I believe the slave dealer is a shrewd person who keep another insurances in case the slave manage to break free by internal or external help. He must have given an item with some authority and set the command to never leave a certain distance away from the said item. It¡¯s quite fortunate he didn¡¯t set instant death as the cost of reprisal. Now, if I¡¯m not mistaken, the slave seal must be located somewhere on her body, normally the chest area.

    ¡°Lillie, I¡¯m sorry. I want to remove the seal that puts you in pain. Therefore, I will have to glance at your body. Please forgive me, ok?¡± (Adam)

    ¡°¡­¡­¡± (Lillie)

    Tears formed in her eyes. She shoves me away, and curls herself up in my arms.

    I decide that I will try the alternative method, which may come with great risk. I put my sister near the wall properly with her shackles. I then use my lens and move the torch around to get a proper view, and saw something resembling a magic core attached to the ceiling. I arm my slingshot with a small stone pebble, and shoot it with a little strength. It hits the magic core without damaging it, only creating a little spark.

    ¡°Nghhhh!, Nghhhh!¡± (Lillie)

    My beloved sister grasped her heart area right after I hit the magic core. This is quite a predicament. The slave dealer places such intricate instruction such that the slave can¡¯t damage the tool with the authority over their slave seal, or they will suffer pain equal to the damage they deal to it. I raked my brain on what I can do in this situation. An idea came into my mind, but it is unprecedented, so I am worried about the outcome.

    ¡°Lillie, please find it in your heart to forgive this foolish brother¡± (Adam)

    I removed my left glove and put it in my pocket. I then unbuckle two buttons of the outer coat at Lillie¡¯s chest area. Her exposed chest is ample and snugly tugged in the coat. I focus my eyes to the heart area where she clutches. I touch her hands covering it, and move it aside gently. The repulsive mark of a slave seal is, indeed engraved there. The mark is still fresh. Although there is not much bleeding, there is the new red veins entwine around to form an ancient pattern that enforces obedience on the target. I place my palm on that patterned veins. The vein throbbed violently while slowly corrode, making Lillie squirm around in agony. I try invoking magic to hasten the corrosion rate.

    ¡°Kyaaaahhh!¡± (Lillie)

    ¡°Light Heal¡± (Adam)

    ¡°She¡¯ll die if you forcefully try to remove her slave seal¡± (Peon X, Y, Z)

    The invoked magic quickly drains the life out of the slave seal. It turns grey and brittle, and falls apart. Lillie¡¯s complexion turns from pale to normal, and collapsed in my arms. I quickly close her buttons and checks her breathing. Yes, she is breathing all right. Luckily, my negative mana only affects the magically active slave seal.

    ¡°Hey, that¡¯s cheating! How dare you forcefully break the seal! Only Boss can release or enforce the slave seal!¡± (Peon X, Y, Z)

    ¡°Now, what should I do with you guys?¡± (Adam)

    ¡°Have mercy. You have punished us enough. Just let us go and we will do you no harm. Doing good deed will bring you future prosperity¡± (Peon X, Y, Z)

    ¡°You guys just want to go report this to the imperial army right? You guys still really looked down on me. You guys are so terrible that I don¡¯t know what else to do but to kill.¡± (Adam)

    ¡°Hiii!! You must not commit evil or you will become the Demon Lord!¡± (Peon X, Y, Z)

    ¡°Just stay there for tonight and reflect on your actions if you can¡± (Adam, sounded bored with their antics)

    I noticed the shackles of Lillie¡¯s ankle and wrist have become fully undone. So it is a physical and magical curse seal shackle. The slave dealer is a truly terrifyingly shrewd person. I carry my unconscious sister in a princess carry, this time much easier than before, and head towards outside. The other cages can be seen rattling loudly. I do feel pity for them, but I just ignore them for the moment, because I need to make it up to Lillie, who suffered greatly due to my powerlessness to stop the tragedy befalling my family.

    I grab all the room keys, and then with the lens¡¯ help, locate a room that seems to have most grandeur in it. I look at the set of keys, and pick a few that most probably can open the door. Each key only opens the lock partially, and in the end, all 5 keys are used to properly open the door to the room. The cupboard is very huge, and the bed is very grand and comfortable. I place Lillie down on the bed, and open the cupboard filled with clothes. All the clothes were male wear, so I have to sort through. I managed to find one trunk that has ladies clothes. Most of it was cosplay items, with bunny ears, very revealing low-cut dress, and micro mini skirt. Those things look similar to the one that exist in my past life¡¯s memory. It¡¯s a wonder where the slave dealer gets all these things.

    With prayer and hope that it was not worn before by anybody, especially the slave dealer, I pick the most decent one with proper covers to avoid cold and exposed skin. I then have to choose the inner garments for ladies, which I¡¯m not experienced. I try to recall the far off memory of my past life, and picked a pink pair for bottom and top, with proper straps and support. Please don¡¯t let it be a failure, I prayed. I laid the items beside my sister.

    Next, I look at the food served at the table. They are covered with small silver covers and looks elegant. I removed the covers and check the content. There are yellow strings like pasta, macaroni, and a plate of desert, like scone. There is also a slice of steak with sauce, and a bottle of wine. I take the water flask and fill the cup, and store the wine bottle in my pouch. I then shift my attention to his study table. There were parchments and parchments filled with inscriptions, probably slave contracts and documents dealing with slaves. I take them all and lock them away in a drawer. I noticed a book regarding slavery knowledge in that drawer, and decide to take it with me. While checking all that, I noticed Lillie has woken up, but stayed still on the bed. I quickly approached her and kneel by her bedside.

    ¡°You are all I got now, sis. Papa and mama, ¡­ it is my fault. Blame me! Scold me! Get angry at me!¡± (Adam)

    Lillie just stares emptily into the bed ceiling. I got her to sit up, get a comb and comb her beautiful hair straight, and keep talking to her to encourage her will to live.

    ¡°You still have me. Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t leave you ever again. I will protect you till the day I die.¡± (Adam)

    Slap!Slap!

    My cheeks feel hot at left and right. I then feel a sharp pain on my chest. She keeps hitting my chest over and over again with her fist.

    ¡°You are irresponsible! Why dad and mum have to suffer? What did you do out there? Why do I have to suffer like this? You were not there when we need you the most!¡± (Lillie)

    ¡°Hit me till you are satisfied. Nothing I do can bring dad and mum back, but I will make it up to you any way I can.¡± (Adam)

    ¡°You think it¡¯s so easy, huh? I hate you! Why do you come into my family and my life? I wish you can just perish, and never return to my life¡± (Lillie)

    ¡°I did a humongous mistake in making friends and misplaced trust in the kingdom. Yes, I have dedicated my life for you. If you need me to die now to satisfy your heart, I am most willing to do so. But I know doing so will not bring true happiness for you, so I have to hold on this matter. When the time is right, you can decide to take my life or use me as you desire.¡± (Adam)

    ¡°Get out! Out! Nowwww!!!!!¡± (Lillie)

    Lillie starts throwing things from the table at me. One of the glassware broke and shatters on my forehead, and blood begins to trickle.

    ¡°I will excuse myself for a while. Please wear the clothes on the bed when I¡¯m out. There is water and food on the table. Please eat something, Lillie¡± (Adam)

    ¡°OUUUTTT!!!!!¡± (Lillie)

    I quickly go out and close the door. I use a cloth to patch the bleeding on my forehead, apply some ointment, and tie it up into a head wrap. I take a sip of water, and rest on the couch I saw nearby. I was extremely tired, but I can¡¯t let myself to sleep yet. This is because I¡¯m still in an unfamiliar enemy territory. I use my lens to scan my surroundings for any hidden enemy or traps. I decide to mark all the traps I can see, and disable those I think won¡¯t be of any use. I then return to the couch and open up to read the book regarding slave dealings.

 Start Over

    <u>Start Over</u>

    (Adam the mage¡¯s POV)

    I waited for about an hour while I quickly glance through the slave-dealing book. The book is small, but is packed full of contents. They teach from the fundamental to advance on the method and nature of magical seals, curses, and spells that deals with slavery. To be honest, the nature of the book is almost demonic. I crammed as much of the knowledge as possible into my head in quick succession, flipping the page in the thick book and memorize all of the incantations needed to run the slave dealing operation. I don¡¯t intend to run the slave-dealing business, but I at least need to know as much to properly steer our next step of the plan, which is to escape this wretched kingdom.

    I can hear some noises outside, and I check it with my lenses. It doesn¡¯t seem to be people, as I only saw some wild animals in my vision. I continue to absorb the content of the book.

    I take out several parchments I got from the drawer earlier from my pouch. They seem to be the catalog of slaves available in the warehouse. Most of the slaves listed here are demi-humans. There are some beastmen too, as they made excellent hunter and warrior. There is a demon in the list too, and it seems to be a succubus. It is a rare subspecies at that too, called grand succubus. There are quite a number of human slaves too, mostly girls. Some other species are also mixed in between, like the insectoid scorpion and praying mantis. It seems their main attribute is they are excellent at fighting. The amount of assortment of slaves the slave dealer deals with really shows-off how influential and wealthy he is, with deep ties and connection to obtain rare slaves that no one can even imagine existed in this kingdom.

    I glance and memorized the entire list, then put everything back into my pouch. I noticed the wine bottle. This would be something that has to be taken little by little, as drinking too much of them will induce sleepiness and foolish actions. I keep this away to avoid Lillie from taking them by mistake. I don¡¯t want her to drown away her sadness with this intoxicant. It won¡¯t give her real escape from her predicament.

    While thinking of all the miscellaneous things, I come across the dead bodies. I will have to carry my sister later, so I will leave all the cadaver handling and item collecting for now, and return to them after I had properly secured my sister¡¯s safety. I went to the kitchen and take a look. The food is over-boiled and the content of the pot has spilt and extinguished the firewood. The food¡¯s condition doesn¡¯t look edible and looks terrible. The content of the pot of soup doesn¡¯t contain anything nutritious and mostly filled with barks, leaves, starchy roots, and gravel. I pour out the content into each bowls. The bowls are assigned a number, so I just use the ladle and scoop them out and place them into it. I believe the food just now is to be served to the slaves.

    I don¡¯t plan to starve the slaves, so I plan to add another dish, so I pour water from their prepared flask into the soup pot, and rekindle the fire to burn at medium temperature. The fire won¡¯t start no matter what when I use my bare hands, so I equip my gloves and the flint stones ignite the leaves properly. I open the cabinet to see what the slave dealer has stocked for the slave foods. There are some meat and meat stocks, some pickled roots, and salted and dried leaf vegetables. I may not be a professional cook, but I used to cook in the castle. The hero¡¯s party has a party candidate that works as their personal chef, but we always work at the kitchen table together when we are in the castle. I used some seasonings and learned the cooking style of this world, but with my previous life¡¯s knowledge, I realized that there are many more ingredients that can be used as seasonings in this world, they don¡¯t cost much and are abundant in this world.

    I put in a meat stock into the soup, then diced some of the salted vegetable and put it in the soup too. Next, I cut a several slice of the meat, diced and lightly fry them in a pan. I lift them up, and put them onto the earlier inedible food in the bowl. The salted vegetable soup is ready, and I scoop them out onto a separate smaller bowl, the number corresponding to the number of bowls labeled with numbers. There is a total of 113 slaves altogether. I won¡¯t have enough time to serve them all if I go one by one, so I send them all in three batches of 38, 38, and 37. They were quickly passed out into their cage, and I told them not to destroy the bowls and put them nicely at the gate entrance after they finish, or they will not get the next meal.

    After making sure all the slaves get their meals, I go to see my sister. I knock on the door softly, but there is no reply. I tried knocking harder several times after some pause, to make sure I don¡¯t look like rushing her. I begin to panic and imagining that she did something foolish like taking her own life. I was careless that I forgot to remove the knife and fork tableware. I tried pressing the lever, but the door is locked. I use the set of 5 keys to reopen the door. My heart is racing. After managing to open the door, dashed inside only to see Lillie lay unconscious on the bed with a glass at hand. I begin to suspect that she might attempt to take her life with a glass shard. I look around the bed and I saw red stains over it. My heart sank, and I couldn¡¯t forgive myself for letting this happen.

    I kneeled beside her bedside and bow my head deeply on the ground.

    (Lillie¡¯s POV)

    Tears start welling up in my eyes. My big brother brought big misfortune to the house. Dad and mum were taken away from me forcefully. I heard shouting about the decree to burn our whole family alive, but they somehow decide to spare my life. I wish I can company dad and mum to the last moment, but they told me to continue living, and don¡¯t hate my brother for what happened. Dad and mum keep telling the villagers and the soldiers that my brother is a responsible person and he didn¡¯t abandon the kingdom or the people in his duty to fight the Demon Lord¡¯s army. They believed in brother until the end. The imperial army just laughed it off as nonsense ramblings as the decree they produced has the royal insignia on it. The imperial lawmaker said that the sin on my dad and mum just doubled because they just committed l¨¨se-majest¨¦, by indirectly saying that the king has erred in his judgment. The lawmaker continued that originally the punishment of my parents are pardonable if they pay a fine of 500 gold crowns or work in the castle for 50 years without pay, but their initial punishment stands for now because my parents just committed another new offence, a royal one at that.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    I saw them being dragged outside the house, and I heard a huge scuffle outside the house. I was forcefully dragged into the house and I can¡¯t see what happened to dad and mum. In the house, I fought against the four idiots. It takes everything I got to stop them from outraging my modesty, but when the imperial army and soldiers participate, I was totally outnumbered. My mind hurts when I tried to recall any further, and I just don¡¯t want to think back about what happened back then. My heart and mind, and body hurts so much, and I just feel myself as very disgusting. The feeling of wanting to shed my body away, and these down and dark feelings like dark hands of the shadow grabbing and dragging me into the darkness of the shadow world keep haunting me ever since.

    My anger and hatred is so much, but I don¡¯t know how to deal with them or even what that I¡¯m upset about. I hate my fate and condition, but I can¡¯t do anything about them and felt so powerless. I hate the kingdom, but this is where we live and they protected us from the demons. My parents told me to forgive my brother, but it¡¯s impossible. They got unnecessarily punished because my brother that is not directly related to us, did a mistake in his duty. He should just get punished alone, as his family is not involved.

    When he said he would take responsibility for me, I couldn¡¯t take it anymore. What did he understand about my pain? My parents weren¡¯t his blood parent, so he wouldn¡¯t understand. I just can¡¯t find an outlet for all this anger. This feeling makes everything around me looks irritating to me. I noticed my body is cold down there, and I saw the coat that wrapped around my body. It looks similar to the one at home. I check the button design. Yes, I recognize it because I helped mom to make it. Next, I saw the clothes on the bed. The design is properly made, and the material quality is very good. This design is revolutionary, and I have never seen any clothes being made like this before. I saw the pink clothes beside it. Is this undergarment? They look so adorable, and the design is so intricate. Would they fit me?

    I take a look at the door and realized it¡¯s not locked. I lock it first, and then I go and try on the clothes in front of the mirror. I tried on the undergarments, and it is really comfortable and fit snugly on my body. The upper garment has some straps that support my body well, and I feel less pain in my shoulders. Next, I put on the dress. I¡¯m not used to it, and I have to struggle for some time to get it right. It looks really elegant, and I love the design. There is a tag with the word ¡°Maid¡± attached to it too. Do maids really wear such elegant clothes? I found a toilet attached to this room, and it has a bath and a sink. I wash my face in the sink, and go to look at the food on the dining table.

    The dishes look appetizing, but I am not in the mood to eat. I took the steak. It has a little bloody taste, so I place it back. The other yellow stringy thing is soft to the bite, but the taste is plain. I taste something like a round cracker, but it¡¯s soft. It tastes good, but there are only two of them. I take some water to drink, but I want to taste something sweet to drown my sorrow. I look for them in the drawers and cupboards, but they are mostly papers and dried stuff. I finally found one bottle of red colour liquid. It has a strong fragrance, and I heard it was called wine in the capital. I take a glass to hold some of the wine, and take a sip. The taste is mellow, and I can feel that my mind has calmed down a little. The aftertaste is exquisite, so I begin to drink more and more until I lose sense of time and myself. I want to drown in this mellowness and forget everything, including my sorrow.

    (Adam the mage¡¯s POV)

    I quickly got up from my kneeling pose and sad stupor. I got to Lillie¡¯s bedside while kneeling, and check her pulse. Yes, it is still pulsing. I check her body for any bleeding. I saw a dark red spot near her heart region. My heart sank. I can¡¯t utilize any magic now. Even if I¡¯m sufficiently proficient in healing magic, I have never attempted to heal a severe damage to the heart before. I begin raking my brain about what to do in this situation, and I can¡¯t think of one. Maybe Amanda can do something, that¡¯s what I can think of now. When I lift her up, I can smell some strong liquor from her whole body. The wine bottle (that I didn¡¯t confiscate) is tightly wrapped between her twin hills that swallow the whole bottle.

    I slowly remove the bottle, trying to avoid injuring her already bleeding wound. After managing to remove the entire bottle, I didn¡¯t notice any broken glass. Even her glass cup is not broken. Did she use the tableware? Regret struck me, as I never put it past her that she would injure herself with them.

    I put Lillie on my back, and I ran back to find Amanda as quickly as possible. I don¡¯t want this reunion to be so short. I haven¡¯t given her any happiness. I owed her so much. I can¡¯t repay the kindness of dad and mum back anymore. If I lose Lillie here, it would upset dad and mum greatly and I wouldn¡¯t be able to face them in the afterlife.

    I dash through thick jungle shrubs and jump from branch to branch in the dark. I adjust my lens to help me look for any attackers or traps set by the slaver dealer¡¯s renegade mercenaries. I saw two stray ones, but I can¡¯t waste time to stop and take aim at them, so I just avoid them and move quietly to avoid alerting them of our presence. I pick up my pace and we reached the waterfall soon. I picked up the yam leaf I prepared nearby before I went to the slave dealer¡¯s place. I dash into the cave, and saw Amanda is keeping the fire, but her rope is still tied to the cave entrance.

    ¡°Please help me Amanda! Lillie, she¡¯s bleeding a lot! Maybe she tries to take her own life. I saw a lot of blood near her heart. I couldn¡¯t do anything. Please, save Lillie!¡± (Adam)

    ¡°Gasp! Lay her down here. We have to find the wound and stop the bleeding¡± (Amanda)

    I laid Lillie on the futon, and start unbuttoning the maid uniform on Lillie.

    ¡°What is this dress? I have never seen something like this. Where do you get it?¡± (Amanda)

    ¡°I got this from the slave dealer¡¯s closet. I have unbuttoned her clothes. I couldn¡¯t see the wound. Please help me find it so that we can stop the bleeding¡± (Adam)

    I have completed unbuttoning the maid uniform. Amanda may not be able to handle such dress, so I need to help her to quickly remove the maid uniform and check for the wounds. When I tried to open her dress to reveal her pale white skin, Amanda stopped me with a soft slap on my cheek. She then kissed the spot where she slapped.

    ¡°You wouldn¡¯t want your sister to wake up hating you even more than she currently do, right? Go sit outside, and don¡¯t peek. You are still a brute that don¡¯t understand a maiden¡¯s heart like usual. I will do my best to save Lillie, so don¡¯t worry¡± (Amanda)

    ¡°Please do¡± (Adam)

    I trust that Amanda will not do anything that harms her friend. I take the yam leaf and exit the cave, and sit outside the cave¡¯s entrance, under the waterfall. I still feel worried about Lillie, so I can¡¯t sleep. While keeping guard at the cave¡¯s entrance hidden by a waterfall, I check for the surroundings to make sure that none of the stray mercenaries earlier made it nearby. I set up several traps in the surrounding and marked them. After completing all the tasks, my mind begins to get cloudy, and I accidentally yawn, and just fell asleep on a large rock near the cave¡¯s entrance. I guess that¡¯s my brain shutting down after forcing it to stay awake and keeping a sharp mind for more than a day without rest.

 Side Story 3 â€“ Love

    <u>Side Story 3 ¨C Love</u>

    (Adam¡¯s POV, after falling asleep right after rescuing his sister)

    ¡°Papa, I love it when you read me the story about the mage that saves the kingdom¡±

    Why am I here? Oh yeah, we are on a picnic with my family and sister by the river. I just can follow the flow of the event, like playing back video record, without deviating.

    My father got some good harvest this year. Growing crops is difficult in this land, as the soil is infertile. Looking back, it would be great if magical phenomena can be used to convert the soil. Nobody had the idea, and it would bring great change and fortune for our family and the other farming neighbours.

    My father is one of the many farmers of the kingdom of Velodria. Wars often happen, and kingdoms rise and fall with it, so we usually don¡¯t feel much attachment to any of them.

    The farmers have to toil a lot of soil and carry backbreaking amounts of water over long distances. Owning horses and bulls will help out a lot in the farming work of pulling carts and tilling the soil, but my father couldn¡¯t afford any of them. We bought a foal two years ago with dad¡¯s meager savings, but it turns out to be infected with plague. We have to spend some money to hire a cleric from the capital to clear the plague.

    That¡¯s when I start seriously practicing magic and use them to help dad and mum in their work. My magic is very weak in the beginning, as my mana is low in quantity. I begin training my body and my magic at the same time, as I believe a strong body would help a mage to achieve more mana and more potent invocation. I measured my magical strength by shooting one elemental bullet at a rock every day to track my progress. After one year, I can see a clear difference between the amounts of rock I can chip off last year compared to this year. It may be due to magic proficiency too, but I felt that a strong body helps me as much as the skill proficiency.

    I brought my mind back to current picnic with family

    ¡°We are here for a picnic. Stories can wait for bedtime¡± (Dad)

    ¡°Dad, I want to go to the river and swim.¡± (Adam)

    ¡°I want to go chuu¡± (Lillie)

    ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s all go together!¡± (Dad)

    ¡°I will prepare lunch. Go and enjoy yourselves¡± (Mum)

    ¡°Let¡¯s prepare them together after we enjoy ourselves by the river. Take what is edible with us so that the animals don¡¯t steal them while we are away, dear¡± (Dad)

    ¡°Alright, alright. Don¡¯t let me hold you all back. Go enjoy yourselves while I pack things up¡± (Mum)

    ¡°¡±OKAY!¡±¡± (Adam and Lillie)

    ¡°Adam, take good care of your sister okay?¡± (Dad, went back to help mum pack)

    ¡°Yes, sir¡± (Adam, doing a salute pose)

    ¡°Hehe, what is this pose?¡± (Lillie, copied and imitates the same pose in front of Adam)Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.

    ¡°It¡¯s a pose to give respect to someone, but I can¡¯t recall where I see it¡± (Adam)

    ¡°Brother is always full of surprises. I love chu, brother¡± (Lillie)

    ¡°Yeah, I love you too, Lillie¡± (Adam)

    I hold her hands and we both march into the river together, kicking up the water and sometimes fishes along the way. I carried a basket weaved with Anyaman leaves, and I catch the fishes with it. Lillie laughs each time I swing the basket to get the fish, and she likes it a lot. This made me happy and proud.

    After kicking and swinging the basket for some time, I saw something glittering in the water. I trace the light and saw it originated from under a large rock. I tried to take it, but it¡¯s stuck under the rock. I tilt the large rock up a little with all my strength, but I don¡¯t have enough limbs to take the out the glittering thing. Lillie helped me by diving under and quickly removes the glittering item from under the large rock.

    Lillie showed me the glittering thing she took from underneath the rock.

    ¡°Uwah! It¡¯s so pwetty! I want to keep it, brother¡± (Lillie)

    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s a beautiful aqua blue quartz, just like you. Let me make it into an accessory, then I will give it to you.¡± (Adam)

    ¡°Okay! Yippee. Brother will give me a beautiful present¡± (Lillie)

    ¡°Look forward to it, Lillie. Your brother will make this into an awesome item that has the greatest magical properties in the entire kingdom.¡± (Adam)

    ¡°I saw another stone like this at the bottom of that rock. Will you make one for my friend too?¡±

    ¡°Which friend do you want to give it to?¡± (Adam)

    ¡°Amanda¡± (Lillie)

    ¡°Okay. I will get Dad to help me later, as the rock is very heavy, and I don¡¯t want you to risk yourself again.¡± (Adam)

    ¡°What are you kids discussing huh? Oh! Isn¡¯t that a rare gemstone?¡± (Dad)

    ¡°Oh, dear. I have never seen a gem as large and clear as this one before. What do you want to do with it?¡± (Mum)

    ¡°This stones seems to have good mana circulation, and they also have their own mana reserve. I plan to enchant them into protection tools so that it can protect sis while also looks elegant¡± (Adam)

    ¡°Oh, my. Even the adult me also feels jealous when you only love your sister alone so much.¡± (Mum)

    ¡°Dear, I will make one for you too. One bigger and better than the one our son has¡± (Dad)

    Both me and my sister just can watch as dad and mum¡¯s lovey-dovey moment continues. I decide to break them up at the right time.

    ¡°Dad, can you help me move that rock so that I can grab another white one like this at the bottom?¡± (Adam)

    ¡°Can I have it, son?¡± (Dad)

    ¡°No, you can¡¯t. It¡¯s for Amanda¡± (Adam)

    ¡°What? My son¡¯s two-timing at such a young age!?¡± (Dad)

    ¡°What the hell, dad. It¡¯s a request from Lillie. Come on, don¡¯t shout it aloud¡± (Adam)

    ¡°At least give me half of it¡± (Dad)

    ¡°No way¡± (Adam)

    ¡°One-third?¡± (Dad)

    ¡°Impossible¡± (Adam)

    ¡°One-quarter? Come one, have mercy on dad. Your mommy needs some love too. Besides, if I don¡¯t help you, we both get none¡± (Dad)

    ¡°Okay, okay. You can have one-quarter of it, that¡¯s all. I¡¯m afraid that the shape will look unappealing once we split the gem¡± (Adam)

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we have some good lathe tools at home. I also saw that you have good eyes and skills in handling the delicate gemstones when making accessories¡± (Dad)

    ¡°You are praising me too much Dad, but I¡¯m not falling for it. Let¡¯s go get the white quartz under the rock¡± (Adam)

    ¡°Let¡¯s do it, son¡± (Dad)

    After having a nice time playing in the river, and catching the fresh fishes, cooking them over the fire, and have a family lunch together, we finished our picnic, and the sun is near the horizon.

    We packed our belongings, discard all the bones for the wild cats in the jungle, and we make a move back home. While walking back home, we encounter a group of soldiers walking down the road while patrolling the village to maintain order. The kingdom we are under is bordering both the Demon Lord territory and the uncharted demi-human forest, so the army is always dispatched to patrol and monitor the kingdom¡¯s territory.

    One of dad¡¯s friends is the leader of the soldier patrol group, so he greeted us. He asked my dad if he¡¯s interested to let me join the military. He said that the kingdom¡¯s military is undergoing a new reform, and they are going to perform a special ceremony by the church to ask God to aid us by giving us a great person by means of a summon. Before they are going to do that, they are requesting for talented young people to train and drill together with the army so that they may become aide and other important people what will accompany the summoned great person. They promised that the people selected as candidate will get to study in the capital and will be given a good remuneration, and plenty of job opportunities in the capital.

    My dad is not keen on military matters, and my mum is worried about my safety and well-being. My sister said she wants me to be with her in the village, and I also don¡¯t want to part away from my sister so soon. The patrol leader asks me what I aspire to be when I grow big, and I replied him I wanted to be a magician. He said that this is a must-not-miss opportunity, as they allow commoners to learn magic if they have the proper disposition and the right talent to master magic. This really puts me in a bind, and I really wanted to say that I wish to go to the capital and undergo the special selection programme that the patrol leader said.

    I begin hearing some whispering in my head, and I look back at my parents and sister

    ¡°Give us our lives back. Give us our lives back. Give us back our lives¡± (blurry mutter of dad, mum, and sister)

    Their faces are ghastly and their eyes are so scary, they look like popping out of their socket anytime,

    I got scared, and I realized I couldn¡¯t move from the spot as the ghastly figures cling onto me and they begin pulling me into the ground like a quicksand. I asked for forgiveness, but they keep repeating the same sentence like a chant. When I look forward and asking for help, I saw the patrol soldiers laughing menacingly, and thrust their spears at me.

    I then woke up from the dream, and realized I have dozed off after I tire myself out after rescuing my sister, Lillie.

 Side Story 4 â€“ Human and Politics

    <u>Side Story 4 ¨C Human and Politics</u>

    (Third party¡¯s POV)

    Right after the expulsion of Adam the mage from the hero¡¯s party.

    The banquet in the castle starts with a hero¡¯s welcome for the hero''s party that stopped the demon army invasion. The hero and his party paraded in the carriage in his shining golden armour around the castle¡¯s garden. Many types of fanfare and merry making are happening in the castle and also the castle grounds. People of importance, diplomats, generals, and many officers are joining in the celebration. The King gives a long and winding auspicious speech, praising the hero for his deeds and officiated the party. The hero and his party are invited to give a speech, and he explained all their grandeur in the battlefield, and the disgrace brought by the mage in his party and the announcement of his expulsion from the hero¡¯s party.

    Even though it is such a grand and regal event, the hero Aaron doesn¡¯t feel happy with the entire party, and he just sits and drinks wine without accepting any of the offers from the noble girls that come to ask for his hand for a dance. This is because Ester just stares into space in a daze, and never looks at Aaron even once. So Aaron only keeps staring at Ester while eating his food (offered by the noble girls) jealously. The noble girls keep pushing their spoon and handkerchief filled with food near Aaron¡¯s mouth while he chews them with gusto, until a fat middle-aged man approach the youth.

    The girls gave a mannered, but sharp look at the man, and move away gracefully, leaving only his right side with three girls attending to him. The man is the main general approach the hero while holding onto two cups of wine. He passed one of the cups to the hero, and drinks from his cup, while being accompanied by matured, beautiful looking ladies with sexy and revealing dress on both sides.

    ¡°General Gramont de la Tsvaich at your service, o Hero of Velodria¡± (Main General -> Gramont)

    ¡°Do you want to make me look like a devil myself?¡± (Hero Aaron, regarding mage¡¯s family)

    ¡°You don¡¯t want the possibility of someone alive holding a grudge against you, right?¡± (Main General/Gramont)

    ¡°What can those small fry do to me as the hero in a party? I¡¯m the one protecting them from harm all this while.¡± (Hero Aaron)

    ¡°I just did you a favour, sonny. How unthankful can you be? On the matter at hand, do you see where the mage went after the prison guard released him?¡± (Main General/Gramont)

    ¡°I don¡¯t. He¡¯s officially out from my party, there is no way he can worm his way back in¡± (Hero Aaron)

    ¡°Haha, that¡¯s true. Some party has taken measures so that the mage can never use magic ever again¡± (Main General/Gramont)

    ¡°If there is nothing else, I would like to take my leave¡± (Hero Aaron)

    Hero Aaron gets up and grabs the hands of one of the noble girls, and leads her to dance at the ball near where Ester sits. Ester is also surrounded by noblemen, but she paid them no heed. Her mind seems off, it¡¯s like only her body is in the hall. Hero Aaron goes around dancing with beautiful girls, and intimidates the young noblemen that tried to approach Ester, but Ester paid no attention to such matter. The song of the ball plays on and on until late into the night.

    (Hero¡¯s POV)

    To be honest, I don¡¯t want to follow the schemes of the main general of the kingdom, General Gramont. But his schemes just coincide well with my own scheme to expel the mage, Adam, from the party.

    From the beginning, right after I was summoned here as a hero, and formed my party, I don¡¯t have a good impression on him. His skills and talents are quite amazing, but I don¡¯t like him on a personal level. I feel like if things stay the way it is, he¡¯s going to steal the limelight away from me.

    When I was newly summoned to this kingdom, I was quite shocked at the sudden change, but I got used to the new environment quickly. The mage also helps us to accommodate to this new world. But he starts to make a move on Ester, my childhood friend and lover. He always smoothly helps her out just right before I managed to, and shows his good side just when I¡¯m almost going to show her mine too.

    I got unhappy instantly with that guy, and I want to make him look dumb and stupid in front of Ester so that she will give up on him. Ester always dotes on him, and adores him. I totally cannot accept this, and I put a stopgap in between them to stop things from progressing further. Ester is mine and only mine alone. I made sure that he¡¯s always busy by assigning him with healing duties for the party and the army, and give excuse that a cleric need to be prepared in case of severe injury that caught the party by surprise. That way, Ester will always be together with me. After I got into this new world, I realized that power is absolute. Without any power, you can¡¯t preach justice. As the strongest person in the kingdom, I have the strongest command of influence and justice. Even the king listens to me, and he rarely dismisses my proposal.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

    However, this abhorrent mage keeps the balance of power upside down, and always tries to steal a large portion of the credit of a mission. I can¡¯t stand the idea that some scrub from this world can even stand toe-to-toe with the amazing me, summoned from another world with modern knowledge and gifted with both amazing physical body and superior magical abilities. If it isn¡¯t for that general¡¯s meddling, the mage will definitely try to take the seat of hero from me. Luckily for me, General Gramont seems to favour the summoned hero and has avoided any other members or party from disturbing the status quo of the hero¡¯s party, which wield absolute power when dealing with the Demon Lord¡¯s army.

    An important thing to remember is that the main person that proposes for our summoning into this world is General Gramont himself, and he funded the ritual with a portion of his wealth. In this sense, I¡¯m tied to his grace rather than the king, and he¡¯s been constantly trying to be on my good side, so that he can win me over for whatever reason he fancies. I am wary of his plans, but I can¡¯t avoid getting more entangled into his web of control.

    At the end, all that I need now is that Ester listens to me and only looks at me. I have obtained them, by expelling the mage in such a disgraceful fashion that he can no longer come back to the kingdom, and Ester¡¯s promise to company me for the night. For that, I wouldn¡¯t mind selling a little bit of myself to the main general, Gramont. I can still choose to disobey him if he made me unhappy or give out commands that I can¡¯t accept or agree to. With this great power and abilities, I will make use of them and be someone that Ester can look up to, and that I would one day rule a utopian kingdom of my own.

    (Main General @ Gramont¡¯s POV)

    Heh, the hero is totally in my grasp. He¡¯s such a simpleton, and believes that strength is the absolute power. I may be just an elite rank only, but my power far extends out from my hands. I have eyes and ears everywhere, and the Church backs me up. The one who has the most money is not the king, but the Church. Money itself is power. Without money, we can¡¯t even organize our defense and pay the soldiers to fight against the Demon Lord¡¯s army. Asking for the loyalties of the peasants to fight for the kingdom they live in is like barking at the stone wall, asking for it to move.

    The king still believes in the power of royalties and the call of Noblesse Oblige, where the nobles are responsible to fight for and with the people under their serfdom. The king tries to fill up the vacant knight positions by calling on the nobles to join the military and giving them the title of knighthood, disparaging the order of knight¡¯s status. The number of nobles also increases in this number of years, with noble titles obtained with money and given to people of unknown origin and status, as long as they can afford the fee. I am part of the scheme too, as I was able to obtain huge kickbacks from the title purchasers that want my referral and quick transition.

    The king intends to use these slush funds to increase his military strength quickly. He also obtained some wealth from other human kingdoms through negotiation, as our kingdom bordered with the Demon Lord¡¯s kingdom, so they basically paid some form of protection fee to our kingdom. Of course, I also have my people extort some money from the surrounding nation without the king¡¯s knowledge. All forms of illicit business in the capital are run by my henchmen or at least those under my thumb, and cannot operate freely, unless they paid me with money, exquisite food, or beautiful people.

    In front of me, I have placed a map of the kingdoms surrounding us and place pieces and pawns on strategic places to indicate my power sphere. This is similar to a strategy meeting during war, but this is only personal to me, in this private room. The pieces available in this kingdom are the Pope, the king, the hero, and the army.

    Hehe, I rub my hands in glee as I hope my plan goes smoothly so that money, delicious food, power, land, and beautiful and influential people all flock to me and make me the supreme leader.

    (Velodria¡¯s King @ Silgemuth¡¯s POV)

    Although I¡¯m the king of a kingdom, in truth, I¡¯m just a puppet head. I¡¯m just like a bird trapped in a golden cage. It looks beautiful and invites envy from those on the outside, but they don¡¯t know that there is no freedom at all for those on the inside.

    I got this position after my two elder brothers fought to the bitter end, and almost divided the kingdom. In order to unite the kingdom again, we unite against a common enemy, the demon. They came in and run rampant fifteen years ago, when I¡¯m just a young adult. With both my brothers weakened and drained after lengthy internal squabble, the appearance of a young prince (me) raising his sword against the demon managed to appeal to the populace and the previous king to let him (me) be the crown prince. I am also a natural born speaker, and my words sound very convincing and touch the hearts of the populace. The people rallying behind me swell greatly each time I speak, and many people would come and listen to my oratory from far and wide.

    However, this entire fiasco is staged by the Gramonts. They secretly provide funds and political support to the two headstrong brothers that won¡¯t easily bend to Gramont¡¯s will. The opposing nobles and royalties of both brothers of different mother have long been having feuds with each other, and didn¡¯t suspect that their grass root supporters are actually just taking convenient money and manpower without actually doing a background check on the source and intention of the giver.

    The Church especially, who could have known that they are the single largest entity without a kingdom. They provide the necessary funds and weapons of war for both the princes to kill each other. After the dust had settled, the Church unveils the bond letters signed with the kingdom¡¯s seal by both princes, and the kingdom is left with a huge debt to cover, so the Church now has significant influence in the kingdom. Even for myself, I also signed a bonded letter so that the Church will provide near unlimited arms for the soldiers to fight against the demons that invade our land. In the end, we managed to repel the demons, but we have sold our land to the Church in actuality.

    Although this is a poisonous fruit to consume, after contemplating for a long time, it is a poison that I must consume in order to maintain my power and to keep my life and lifestyle, at the expense of the kingdom. Though it¡¯s regrettable, but I didn¡¯t regret my decision, as I have no love nor loyalty to the long tradition of this kingdom or its people, as we are all just killing each other at the first opportunity that appears.

    My father, the tenth king of this kingdom of Velodria, Hisputh the Second, died one year after I was made crown prince, also exactly one year after the war with the demons. After I was crowned as the eleventh king of Velodria, my benefactor, the Church and the Gramonts begin to make their move. My wife is determined to be a niece of General Gramont, now adopted as his stepdaughter. She is beautiful and well trained in court manners, but she¡¯s cold and calculating, and follows under the thumb of Gramont family.

    The terrible treatment of a mage recently is just but a small pebble in the political machination of the Gramonts and the Church. I can only watch as people lose their life or being mistreated, as I am actually just a powerless puppet king that sits in the golden cage.

 Side Story 5 â€“ Bullies

    <u>Side Story 5 ¨C Bullies</u>

    (Third party¡¯s POV)

    (This story is during Adam¡¯s childhood, related to chapter Despair and Hope)

    At the village¡¯s playground, three boys and one girl stand against four boys in a battle of wits.

    ¡°He puts a frog inside my shirt. It is so slimy. Please help me remove it!¡± (Lillie)

    ¡°Okay, stay still. I will cover you and remove the frog. Also, thank you ¡­erm, what the name again?¡± (Adam)

    ¡°Brandon¡± (Brandon)

    ¡°Larsen¡± (Larsen)

    ¡°Don¡¯t forget our names ever again¡± (Brandon and Larsen)

    Two boys help Adam to take the front cover against the four boys¡¯ harassment.

    Adam uses his relatively large body to cover the back of his sister as he tried to grab the panicked frog from jumping about. The frog tried to climb inside Lillie¡¯s pants, but Adam managed to catch the frog just right before it slips in, and release it into the forest.

    Adam, Amanda¡¯s brother, Brandon and his good friend Larsen are still very young. Adam has just joined with Lillie¡¯s family a week ago, and he¡¯s yet to know the way of things in the village.

    Brandon is a kind-hearted boy that usually seen helping his sister harvesting herbs and doing household chores. He is always by the village playground and can be seen helping those in need. He¡¯s basically like a big brother to all the young kids there.

    Larsen is a quiet kid that likes to make his own toys and play alone. He has an air of justice around him, and will try to mediate issues that seem biased or unfair. This, however, always got him into trouble with the adults. That has been the cause of Larsen¡¯s drawback from mixing around, because he has been staying cautious to avoid any potential trouble for his family. However, after an incident where Adam and Larsen both managed to argue with an adult until his admission of mistake, where the adult bumped into a girl and stepped on her bag of beans but just ignore her. Since then, Larsen has opened up to the other kids through Adam and Brandon.

    Adam, though, is a new kid in the village. His wits and knowledge is already like a young adult, and the adults like him, and take his words earnestly. But Adam now also earned the ire of meddlesome adults and spoiled kids. Now, the highest pecking order among the kids are having an opposition with these up and coming kids trio of Adam, Bandon, and Larsen.

    The highest pecking order is the bob-haired boy, which is the grandson of the current village head, the two cousins of that grandson that is adopted into his family, and a yes-kid follower who always follows the order of the bob-haired boy. They can sometimes get new followers into their group, but the core members are these four kids.

    ¡°Get your dirty feet off Brandon and Larsen!¡± (Adam)

    ¡°Hehe, such a sissy. Hey, it¡¯s them, and not you that I step on. Why are you making noise like a dog? They can endure it, don¡¯t you see their faces? I¡¯m just playing with them, what¡¯s it got to do with you?¡± (Bob-haired village head grandson, stepping on the feet of Brandon and Larsen)If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    ¡°Go piss off, abandoned kid¡± (Cousin 1, pinning down Brandon)

    ¡°Nobody wants you here, get loss¡± (Cousin 2, pinning down Larsen)

    ¡°Draka-sama¡¯s words and action are absolute.¡± (Follower, supporting Draka)

    The kids got into a heated argument

    ¡°I said get off.¡± (Adam push off both the cousins and Draka, together with his supporter, with a bit of help from strengthening magic)

    ¡°Yeah, get off from us¡± (Brandon)

    ¡°You guys just force yourself upon us, we don¡¯t consent to your games¡± (Larsen)

    ¡°Draka is a nasty kid¡± (Lillie)

    Someone threw a stone at Lillie, and Adam managed to intercept it because there is little strength behind the throw. Brandon and Larsen cannot take it anymore and lunged forward, kicking the two cousins down and go straight for Draka.

    ¡°Guahh!!¡± (Cousin 1)

    ¡°URghhk!!¡± (Cousin 2)

    ¡°Help me, idiot. HEY! TELL THE ADULTS¡± (Draka)

    ¡°HELP! NAUGHTY KIDS ARE HITTING THE VILLAGE HEAD¡¯S GRANDSON!¡± (hired followers by the sideline)

    The loyal follower of Draka tried to stop both Brandon and Larsen, but got pushed aside

    ¡°Open your eyes. Draka is not someone worthy of your support.¡± (Larsen)

    ¡°Hey, someone needs to set this straight! Draka keeps saying he¡¯s just playing, but he throws stones. What if someone got seriously injured? Who¡¯s going to be responsible?¡± (Brandon)

    Adam molded some of his mana in preparation. It¡¯s Lillie¡¯s first time seeing Adam seriously preparing his magic.

    ¡°Hide behind me, Lillie¡± (Adam)

    Lillie obediently hides behind Adam.

    As Draka¡¯s loyal follower defends Draka from Brandon and Larsen¡¯s furious attacks, he pushes Draka away, towards the two fallen cousins on the ground. The other kids shouted, cheered, and booed at the fight. Three of them wanted to join in and help Draka by sneakily try to punch and kick Brandon and Larsen, but they managed to evade them and shove them aside. Suddenly, from the back of the building, four sharp bamboos fly at great speed towards the direction of both Brandon and Larsen, intending to pierce them.

    Adam utilizes the only effective method to quickly and solidly stop the attack, which is by erecting a mud wall. The earthen and water magical phenomenon is invoked at the cost of mana in both his right hand and feet, together with the magic stone in his hand. Adam will need to rest 3 days to regain the mana to utilize spells again. The water from yesterday¡¯s rain is mixed with the soft soil to form the mud necessary to stop the sharp attack. The thickness of the mud is properly placed at the trajectory of the bamboo¡¯s attack, so it just narrowly managed to stop the attack. Altering the trajectory is dangerous, there are many kids around, and it will come right at Adam if he doesn¡¯t stop them from the front, and hit Lillie that is right behind him.

    ¡°Oh, my poor kid. Why the village kids need to bully my poor Draka? His parents are busy in the military, so please don¡¯t treat him badly. He needs friends¡± (Village head appearing from right behind the wooden building)

    ¡°Ah, what happened to you kids? What did you do, Adam?¡± (Adam¡¯s parents, came from the village square)

    ¡°You brat has caused havoc again, do you? Now you have done it! Draka¡¯s parents are out there serving the kingdom, and you dare to bully him when he¡¯s alone? Be prepared for some caning¡± (Brandon parents, with Amanda)

    ¡°No dinner tonight. I will whack until you remember who is the one that feeds us and keep us well and alive.¡± (Larsen¡¯s grandpa)

    ¡°Sob, sob, sob. Grandpa. They bullied me. The three of them hit me when I tried to make friends with Lillie. I am afraid of them, Grandpa. They also make fun of me because of papa and mama not here with me¡± (Draka)

    ¡°It¡¯s okay now, Grandpa is here. No one will bully you anymore. AHEM! To stay in this village under my jurisdiction, I expect everyone to be fair and generous.

    ¡°Say sorry to Draka. NOW!¡± (All parents and grandparents except Draka¡¯s)

    ¡°I don¡¯t like this one bit¡± (Brandon)

    ¡°Draka is lying¡± (Larsen)

    ¡°The magic just now is meant to kill or cause grave injuries. You guys all saw it right. Who else can conjure them?¡± (Adam)

    The three boys got good slapping and caning on the spot until they are forced to say sorry to Draka in front of the village head and Draka. Draka shows a sad and crying face, but his heart is laughing and quivering greatly out of joy and ecstasy. Even though the village head shows a calm smiling face all the time, but his eyes are as sharp and venomous as a snake. Lillie tried to explain what exactly happened to her parents, but they made a sad face. The other parents all showed distrust towards Lillie¡¯s words, and they don¡¯t believe her.

    The only person capable of such magic is the village head, as he is well versed in wind magic. Both his children are also talented in magic, and that¡¯s why they are selected to be important people in the military. The other villagers don¡¯t dare to offend or defy him.

    This issue runs deep, but there is not much the kids can do in their current condition, as the adults are the one running the show now. The kids survive another day of life-threatening incident yet again, and the gulf between them deepens.

 Change of Heart

    <u>Change of Heart</u>

    (Third party¡¯s POV)

    Adam woke up from his deep slumber.

    ¡°Herrrrrmmhh¡± (Adam)

    Bounce bounce

    ¡°Ah, you finally woke up¡± (Amanda)

    ¡°Eh, EH! Where am I? How long have I doze off?¡± (Adam)

    ¡°You don¡¯t call this doze off. You sleep like a log for two straight days.¡± (Amanda)

    ¡°What! What is the time now!?¡± (Adam)

    ¡°It¡¯s noon now¡± (Amanda)

    ¡°How¡¯s Lillie? Where is she?¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s there, in the stream near the waterfall, you overprotective brother¡± (Amanda)

    ¡°Ah, so how''re her injuries!?¡± (Adam)

    Adam found himself asleep on the lap pillow of the beautiful Amanda. Amanda has a pair of bountiful chest too, and the first thing that greets the waking Adam is those twin hills.

    ¡°She¡¯s doing alright. The red liquid you saw yesterday is the colour of blood wine. They look like blood and is thick red. Hahh, I can¡¯t blame you for mistaking it for real blood. And the spot the blood got soaked with is near the heart, so it made you anxious. Anyway, she got some bruises around her body, and I have applied ointment on them¡± (Amanda)

    ¡°Fuuuhhhhhoooh. I feel so relieved, it like I¡¯m flying right now¡± (Adam)

    ¡°Are you having a sister complex? I have been wondering this for a long time, but your case seems so severe lately.¡± (Amanda)

    ¡°No way. Please, don¡¯t call me that. I love my sister as a beloved family member. I owed her so much now, I cannot forgive myself if anything bad happen to her¡± (Adam)

    ¡°Anyway, I¡¯m truly grateful that you rescued Lillie. Thank you.¡± (Amanda)

    ¡°I did what a brother should do. Thank you for taking good care of Lillie and me. I will try to learn how to trust people again¡± (Adam)

    ¡°You should. I won¡¯t betray Lillie. You must have been hungry after all this time sleeping. Here, have a lizard¡¯s tail¡± (Amanda)

    Amanda takes a lizard¡¯s tail from the bonfire at the cave¡¯s kitchen stove and passes it to Adam.

    Adam checks for his equipment, and they are all missing. He looks for it around, but they are not near him.

    ¡°Amanda, do you see my equipment when you picked me up?¡± (Adam)

    ¡°Oh, y~yeah. I took them in and clean them up since they got dirty in your battle yesterday¡± (Amanda)

    ¡°Oh, thank you, Amanda.¡± (Adam)

    (Adam the mage¡¯s POV)

    The thought that two days ago, I did such a taboo thing as killing humans is now just like a dream to me. Although I was able to perform them flawlessly during that time, my hands are now shaking each time I think back what I did. So this is the weight one has to shoulder whenever they take a life. But this weight is just like a drop in an ocean if compared to the sufferings my sister and parents have to endure. I will continue to do what it takes to end their sufferings and lead my sister to happiness so that my parents can have a peaceful afterlife. I hope they can enter a place where they can be happy, and watch over us from there.

    ¡°Where is Lillie now?¡± (Adam)

    ¡°She¡¯s at the base of the waterfall, taking a swim. She wanted to cleanse her body from all defilements that have cling onto her. ¡° (Amanda)

    ¡°¡­..I¡¯m sorry¡± (Adam)

    ¡°Why are you apologizing?¡± (Amanda)

    ¡°I have caused harm to my parents and to my sister. I also place my doubts onto you and held you at knifepoint¡± (Adam)

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing, really. I would also doubt my surroundings and begin to suspect everybody if I got betrayed by my friends.¡± (Amanda)

    ¡°You are my best friend and also my childhood friend. But I couldn¡¯t do anything. Everyone in the capital blames me for causing the death of their son or their loved ones in the battle with the Demon Lord¡¯s army. You also have several cousins working as soldiers in the kingdom¡¯s military.¡± (Adam)

    ¡°Oh, that. I don¡¯t really think I will blame you solely if they lost their lives in battle. This is a risk they have prepared to take when they joined the army to fight against the Demon Lord¡¯s army.¡± (Amanda)

    ¡°No, this is different. Do you know, there are thousands of angry parents, spouses, and lovers, even the people I knew, joined in the manhunt to get hold of me and kill me in cold blood after the announcement that I abandoned my duty and caused a huge military and live loss on the battlefield?¡± (Adam)

    ¡°Yeah, The news did reach here when the imperial army arrives in the village three days ago. The imperial army has now also spread the news that the mage in the hero¡¯s party is a spy working for the Demon Lord, and requested that the people report to the army if they spotted him. They also requested the people to never trust a word that the mage says, and is allowed to kill him if he is discovered. They also put a bounty of 300 gold crown on your head if found alive and 500 gold crown if found dead. Any reliable news regarding you will be rewarded from 10 gold crown to 50 gold crown, depending on how useful the information is¡± (Amanda)

    ¡°Oh, so I¡¯m now a Demon Lord¡¯s spy now, huh. So, do you believe in the news? You can put something in my drink and poison me. Presenting me dead to the imperial seems to get you more gold crowns. With all that money, you can live a wealthy life even to your grandchildren.¡± (Adam)

    ¡°You are making me sick, you know that? What kind of joke is that? I already told you I don¡¯t trust their iffy news since the beginning. You know, they start putting into the minds of the people now that you are the one who killed your parents in cold blood, and also raped and sold your sister to slavery. The imperial army claimed that they only help to cremate the remains of your parents. The jumble of misinformation and web of deceit is like a bucket of poison in my guts, and I really hate it.¡± (Amanda)

    ¡°Great, now I am a parenticide and an incestuous sex maniac too. The list just got longer.¡± (Adam)

    ¡°Just stop it with these useless chatter now. What do you plan to do from now?¡± (Amanda)

    ¡°I just want to get out of this kingdom as soon as possible. Maybe I will do some odd jobs and take on an adventurer job while traveling as far away from this retarded kingdom as possible. Give my sister a new life and provide her happiness until it is time to say goodbye.¡± (Adam)

    ¡°Your plan is too simple. You got to plan more carefully. The journey after this is a treacherous one. How are you going to escape from the military checkpoints in the kingdom?¡± (Amanda)

    ¡°That huh. I have been in the military for eight and a half years not for nothing. I can avoid those heavily guarded ones, and storm those lightly guarded ones. If it¡¯s just me and my sister, this should work.¡± (Adam)

    ¡°I have no doubt in your strength, but now you seem to not be able to perform magic phenomena, and your strength alone and the use of conventional weapons will not be able to overcome the combined might of the imperial army. They have mages on their side, although not as talented as you were.¡± (Amanda)

    ¡°So, what do you suggest in my situation?¡± (Adam)

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I can only see a dead end in your situation. But I will definitely keep Lillie away from harm.¡± (Amanda)

    ¡°Please do that.¡± (Adam)

    ¡°Adam, please listen to me carefully and be patient until I complete my explanation¡± (Amanda)

    Amanda begins explaining about the time after I fell asleep two days ago. The night after I brought Lillie back from the slave dealer, Amanda helped check Lillie if she¡¯s wounded at her body. The blood red colour on her clothes is confirmed to come from the wine, so she doesn¡¯t have any life-threatening injuries. She treated her external wounds, but the wound to her heart is too hard to bear. Amanda applied the best ointment she can prepare with the herbs she can collect around the waterfall, but her delicate skin is scraped here and there. It appears that she must have fought with the army, and in return, they hurt her badly. Amanda prepared a bucket of warm healing water that is used externally to rub Lillie while she bath under the waterfall water to clean her body. The cooling and cleaning effect of the water hopefully can give relief to Lillie physically and mentally, but it has only achieved limited success mentally. Lillie still has suicidal tendencies, as she tried to drown herself in the waterfall. She would continuously clean herself in the water and refuse to leave, saying that her body still has dirt and she feels dirty.

    Lillie also suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, as she can suddenly cry, or turn violent, beats herself up, or cling to somebody, or call herself a whore, or cursing her brother to die a long, agonizing, and painful death and then she will try to end her own life. The condition truly distressed Amanda, so she intended to go back home in order to not worry her parents and to consult her mother. Amanda collected me back from the outside and place me inside the cave while I continue to sleep like a log, as Lillie refuses to help me and request Amanda to kill me with a rock. So Amanda dragged me in from the entrance and Lillie carried the yam leaf to shelter us while we go under the waterfall. Amanda then gave something for Lillie to smell and put her to sleep too.

    Amanda then proceeds to return home the next morning in order to quell her family¡¯s worries. To her horror, the imperial army has set up a temporary camp in the village and has set up a roadblock at the village entrance. They also set up roadblocks at the main road leading to the capital. Amanda was wondering why is the imperial army still here, as they had already done what was written in the royal decree. The imperial army gathered some villagers, bring them up for questioning, and beat up those they feel suspicious, regardless if they are young or old, man or woman, and sick or healthy. The village head keeps trying hard to appease the imperial army chief, and it looks appalling. He never once stood up for the villagers, and only cares for his family and close relatives.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

    (Amanda¡¯s POV)

    I tried to sneak in through the bamboo thickets at the back of the village, the place that seems to be unguarded after I observe the army movement for about three hours, and the sun is close to mid-sky. I tried to move quietly among the thickets, and I have almost reached village ground when the bamboo bells gave a rattling sound. I just realized that there are very thin threads placed around the last group of bamboo thickets, probably to serve as an early warning of sorts against wild animals. I quickly find a place to run and hide so that no one noticed that I have slipped into the village.

    ¡°So, a wild pussy finally knows how to get back huh¡± (Village head¡¯s grandson -> Draka)

    I hid well behind a well, and slowly move behind a tree so as to get further and further away from the spot where I sounded the alarm. I ignored the rude remark of Draka, the village head grandson. I retreat quietly to get behind a wooden wall, when suddenly two youths spring out from behind the wall and grabbed onto my shoulder each, and land a blow each to my belly. Draka approached me while smiling sinisterly, and his two cousins joint lock my shoulders. Draka was about to put his hands on me when my brother came and rescue me. With a wooden pole at hand, he hit the head of the two cousins of Draka, and they release their joint lock. He then points the pole threateningly at the chest of Draka, and he stepped back from me.

    ¡°Who¡¯s the idiot who mistaken a human for a game? Has he got anuses for eyes?¡± (Brandon)

    ¡°Shut up, you¡± (Draka)

    ¡°You, you, you, what? What do you want?¡± (Brandon)

    ¡°She broke into the village¡¯s perimeter. She avoided the main gate, and she is out of the village until now. She must be doing something suspicious. She must be questioned by the imperial inquirer¡± (Draka)

    ¡°She¡¯s out collecting herbs at night. Some herbs can only be obtained at night, and this is not her first time. Our family did inform the village head that my sister would go to collect herbs at night for certain medicines. Also, I don¡¯t agree to the imperial army taking over our guard stations and control our movements like this. It¡¯s stifling, we always move in and out of the village to do our chores and duties.¡± (Brandon)

    ¡°Cheh, don¡¯t make lame excuses. She went out and returns so late, and avoided coming in from the village entrance. She¡¯s definitely up to no good. I will have to arrest her and hand her to the imperial inquirer for questioning¡± (Draka)

    ¡°Since when have you become a lapdog of the imperial army? She belongs to this village, a village your grandpa protects. The imperial army just suddenly set up their checkpoint at our village entrance this early morning. Many of the villagers weren¡¯t even aware of it yet, especially those that went out for work late at night. If you still insist on arresting her, you would have to inform the village guard head, and also over my dead body.¡± (Brandon)

    ¡°I will definitely get back at you for this, just you wait. Soon you will beg for my mercy, and I will happily step on your head and spit on you.¡± (Draka)

    ¡°Oh, got a bone to pick with me. I still haven¡¯t forgotten how you drag Adam¡¯s parents around the village when the imperial army just arrived. You captured his mother first and force his father to submit to the army, and I heard you and your grandpa village head even do immoral stuff to her openly. I would be so ashamed to come out to the village if I were you. Oh ya, you don¡¯t even have face to begin with, just a thick piece of rock that can even repel arrows. I also want to pay you back for what you guys did to Larsen.¡± (Brandon)

    ¡°You will definitely pay for this humiliation. I will definitely convince the imperial army chief that you are the one that attacked him and us yesterday. Let¡¯s go guys. I will get to enjoy all your guys¡¯ pitiful expression later.¡± (Draka)

    ¡°You always think you are in the right, even after all the trouble and suffering you brought. You are a broken human¡± (Brandon)

    I followed my brother back to our home. On the way, I saw the notice board is filled with new notices and a picture of Adam is posted on the board. There are also imperial soldiers here and there telling the villagers ¡°news¡± of Adam the mage. From what I heard here around, they seem to tell the people that he has escaped from the capital after breaking out from the castle using artifacts stolen from the palace, and he hurt or killed many good citizens of the capital when he¡¯s escaping out of sheer enjoyment. They continued that the mage now has also returned to Thrisand village, and is currently terrorizing the citizens and killed the slave dealer.

    They claim that the mage works as a spy of the Demon Lord after they discovered several demonic artifacts in a hidden compartment in his room. The mage¡¯s involved in the current stalemate with the Demon Lord¡¯s army and the loss of tens of thousands of lives. The mage then returns to his home to murder both his parents to erase evidence, and he also raped his sister and then sold her to the slave dealer. The last action he did is he murders the slave dealer and steals all his money, after his negotiation broke down, as the mage¡¯s greed is insatiable. The imperial army covers up their action of burning his parents by stating that they want to cremate the dead corpse before they become zombies or something dangerous due to the mage¡¯s demonic spell. The gullible villagers accept them whole without questioning, or rather, they are made to do so because anyone who questions the story will be brought to the imperial inquirer for questioning if they are possibly related to the mage.

    The entire thing is so disgustingly twisted, and it seriously works due to the kingdom¡¯s legitimacy and use of force. As the news spread to more people, all the lies become more believable. Some even add their own version of the story, with gruesome details that made the mage looks and act like a demon lord himself. While listening to all the public gossips, we arrived at our home. I quickly went to apologize to my parents and go to do my chores in the house. My mom serves me the breakfast I missed, and I hurriedly eat it. I put out the leaves I have collected last evening into the drying tray. I usually collected about four times more than today, but last night I was taken by Adam and we stayed in the house, then we went to the waterfall hideout, and didn¡¯t perform the herbs collection. I also used some to treat Adam and Lillie last night.

    Mom showed a sad expression, and I felt guilty for abandoning my task of picking herbs, but I did what I can for my friends, so I just can¡¯t be helped. I asked mom about anything happening at home, and she said that her usual activity of gathering herbs from the forest today is affected, so there is a lack of supply of herbal leaves. The ones in the garden are not sufficient for our daily needs. Father also has to undergo the listening of the story propagated by the imperial army in order to get to his farm, so he¡¯s late and the sun now burns his skin, making him and the other affected farmers using more of the ointment mom produce.

    My mom asked me where did I go last night. I don¡¯t want to scare or confuse her, so I created a story that I helped clean Adam¡¯s home until late night, and then I go to the area around the waterfall to collect night herbs, but got chased by a wild boar and lose a large portion of it. She doubted me, but choose to accept my explanation and request me to go look for some herbal leaves I can find, and my brother will accompany me since he¡¯s relieved from his duty as a village guard today.

    I tried going around the village ground to look for herb shrubs that happened to grow here and there randomly to pick their leaves to supplement my family, and my brother picks firewood too while accompanying me. He asked me in a whisper, what I happen to know last night. My brother is quite the muscle-brain, but I know he can keep a secret well, especially since he¡¯s best friends with Adam. I told him partially what happened. He was especially furious with the imperial army, but I tell him to calm down and be patient because we might get our parents in trouble too.

    I happened to pass in front of the house of my friend who helped me pass the message that I¡¯m cleaning Adam¡¯s house until late night the day before. I can hear some soft sobbing from inside the house. I went inside and found her mother is in the house, crying. I consoled her and asked her what happened. She told me that her son went fishing until late at night, and encountered a stranger who gave him a copper to perform some task. When he came back to the village in the morning through the village entrance, he was caught and brought to the imperial inquirer. She only heard from her friend whose husband is the village guard chief. It seems the imperial inquirer questions him and ascertains that he has met with the devil mage, and was detained. From there, they tortured him until he tells them about him, his looks, what he wears, where he goes, and what he uses.

    I went to the station where the boy was held and saw his sister, who is my friend, there. The officers there held her right when she tried to get her brother. My brother wanted to go help her, but I stopped him, as they are imperial soldiers, not villagers. Hurting them openly is considered an act of treason, and they are already considered wanted people since the incident with Adam¡¯s family. Although I¡¯m confident in his battle prowess, the soldiers are armed with spears, and they move as a group. My brother can only take on a group at a time, and if they called for reinforcements, he¡¯s done for, as they have garrisoned the exit of the village.

    I take my brother with me and hide behind a tall tree, located behind where the army erects a temporary headquarters. By using a cup in my pouch, I place it near the wall and listens in. Adam taught us this when we were small. We used to listen to some conversation of the adult and our potential troublemakers, and we even managed to save ourselves from troubles and traps set up by Draka and his gang. This is a secret we would have to keep secure among ourselves and bring to our graves. I listen in on the army¡¯s conversation intently. They seem to demand her to give them a good lead on the devil mage, or they won¡¯t release her brother. They said that any reliable info will do, like suspicious movement or activity, marks or indications that will lead to the culprit will redeem her brother.

    She was under duress, as the imperial army keep reminding her that hiding any information related to the devil mage will lead to the entire family punished under the imperial law. She keeps pleading that she doesn¡¯t know anything, but the imperial inquirer seems to have a skill that allows one to judge if someone is lying or not. It seems the imperial inquirer isn¡¯t able to pinpoint if she¡¯s lying or not, and therefore, keep suggesting fearsome punishments and the terrible deeds the devil mage did to people. She cried and cried, pleading them to stop, and ask that they release her and her brother. The imperial inquirer refused to listen and starts to perform light tortures on her. They ask a church cleric to heal her after they stab her hands with a sharp object. She keeps pleading them to stop, as she knows nothing.

    Next, I heard her mother¡¯s voice. They said that if the daughter commits sin, the mother would have to answer for it. They then did something that makes her mother scream so loud, it can be heard from afar. I was also shocked, and Cassie (my friend) relented to them. She tells them everything, like my strange request to clean Adam¡¯s home, a rope dangling in the bush, I walk into the bush after I walk some distance away from her. She also tells them about the strange light she saw coming from Adam¡¯s home, and also some sound that makes it seems like Amanda wasn¡¯t alone. The imperial inquirer let her and her mother go with that information, but not her brother. When Cassie asked why they don¡¯t release her brother, the imperial army chief said that she would have to come alone tonight if she wants to them to release her brother. She tried to bargain with other things, but they started suing her for bribery, so she stops. The imperial army chief demands that she also brings what she intend to bribe them with as payment if she doesn¡¯t want the imperial lawmaker to punish her for bribery.

    After listening to all their conversations, I can guess that the kingdom¡¯s military has already rotten to the core, and will do all sorts of despicable things in order to get all they want. I tell my brother what I heard after we move some distance away, and he slams his fist on a tree. His physical strength is great, so I request that he try not to show too much of it here because I don¡¯t want us to be discovered. He is angry that now I also got involved in the stupid schemes of the imperial army. He is contemplating who we can report this abuse of power in the imperial army. This usually involves telling the kingdom generals, or the king himself, but it seems that this method is just not viable, as we are just ordinary peasants. He intends to tell the village guard chief, and also we must try to somehow avoid the imperial army catching, especially our parents.

    We pray that our father will somehow avoid the village entrance, as the imperial army now had plans against our family. With the situation at hand, we would need to escape from the village. I would really like to help Cassie, but we are not in control now. The imperial army can and will get all of us in one fell swoop if we tried to do anything to free her brother. I tell my brother that we will go gather our belongings, and my brother will go out first with half the belongings and stop father from entering the village entrance. I will lead mom to the forest at another end and escape there. We will avoid the area I came in from earlier because that place is near the village head¡¯s house and is laced with threads that will warn of intruders. I told my brother to watch out for the imperial army patrol timing while we continue to avoid any contact with the imperial army. I go back home to tell mom that we would need to move out of the village. I can¡¯t tell her the entire truth, so I just made up an excuse that father is working overnight at the farm so we will stay in the farm shed for a night.

    Brother told me to pack swiftly and only take some necessities because he noticed one of the four idiots, the loyal follower of Draka, has entered the imperial army temporary office and exited that building while running excitedly. He said that trouble is about to start really soon, and he begins to fear for the worst. I take some cloth and shirts, two towels, a leaf pack of preserved meat and a bamboo bottle of water. We can¡¯t bring too much because it may arouse the suspicions of the surrounding neighbours. I got mom out with me, and we walked to a designated place that has lesser people. At there, we meet brother. Brother said that the patrol around the village perimeter has increased after the imperial army learns of the oddity with Amanda¡¯s activity yesterday from Cassie. We walk casually, looking to pick herbs and firewood when we are actually looking for any gap in the patrol to slip out of the village.

    While the others usually mind their own business, the busybody group of Draka¡¯s followers spotted us and alerted a patrol officer. Brother struck him down with his wooden pole, and we tried to make a dash before the patrol group comes to where we are now. We were able to move into the village border and got further away from the village. Mom was very scared and keeps asking me why Brandon struck down a fellow villager, one that always accompanies Draka at that. She also asks why we need to run to the into the village border and not through the village entrance, which is nearer and more convenient. I gave her the excuse that the imperial army has closed the gate, and we can only get to father through entering the village border. I tell my brother to go get father before he arrives at the village entrance, which is anytime soon. He hurriedly dashes to the entrance of the village from outside through the village border, hoping to intercept father before the imperial army caught him.

    I bring my mother towards the farm that father worked at. It is nearby the farm Adam¡¯s father also works at. I wonder what will happen to it in the future. While thinking about all that, we almost exited the forest and will reach the pathway to the farm. Suddenly, an arrow hit a tree ahead of us, and it¡¯s on fire. The imperial army has discovered us, and Draka is leading the way. I quickly lead my panicked mother to dash for the pathway, while the imperial army demanded us to stop, or they will shoot to kill. We reached the pathway outside the forest and prepared to run, only for a patrol group outside the forest to discover us and drag us back to the village.

    When they dragged us back to the village entrance, I saw my brother also got arrested with father and were detained near the questioning station. Me and mom were also brought to the questioning station before I can even ask my brother what happened. I can only notice his eyebrows asking me to be careful of what I say. Me and my mom were placed separately, so they don¡¯t let us corroborate our story. A soldier begins grilling me with questions, and I answer them carefully, crafting the story that we are out to meet father to help him in the farm and visit him to give him ointment since his skin got burned by the sun. He didn¡¯t ask for too much detail, so I expect that they would accept it without much difficulty.

    I exited from the question box and noticed my brother and father is at one corner. Brother has some bruises over his face, so I tried to go rub some ointment on him but got stopped by the soldiers. My mom still hasn¡¯t exited the questioning box after some time, so I begin to get worried. She came out about half an hour later, and her complexion looks pale. It seems like they question mom a lot because she was left in the dark about what is happening, and I fed her some made up stories that made things very confusing. The imperial army must have tried to break us apart from so that they can attack our statement individually, and they pick the weakest link, our mom.

    The soldiers then lead Draka here and testify my statement. He confirmed that I stated while coming in from the village border that I claimed to have gone out to collect herbs (actually my brother said that). They check the villagers'' entrance checklist and confirmed that I never went out of the village entrance at night. They also confirmed that Cassie stated I would clean at Adam¡¯s house till late at night. The imperial army then arrests my entire family, including me, and sends us to the imperial inquirer.

 Confrontation

    <u>Confrontation</u>

    (Amanda¡¯s POV, continued from Change of Heart)

    My whole family was brought to the questioning room with the imperial inquirer in it, together with several armed soldiers, and many blood-stained gruesome torture tools lying around. Our hands and feet are bounded with ropes and are held by one soldier for each of us. The imperial inquirer invited us to sit, but the chairs are all bloody, which I noticed are actually laced with retractable nails, that can spring forth and pierce its victim. None of us move, as we all know the nature of those chairs. The imperial inquirer then said that since we rejected his kind offer, we would have to stand, and they lock us to a wooden stand.

    The imperial inquirer begins to inquire about every detail in the report and asks us when there is a discrepancy between our explanations and also between our reports. I can¡¯t really remember how many times I was pierced and healed, then pierced again, but I cannot give in to them. The imperial army chief and Draka also presided over our questioning, and they also participate in our torture. The details too gruesome to even recall, and in the end, my brother ends up without his right leg, his left arm, and his right eye. My mom lost all her nails and hair. My father lost all his fingers and toes. I ended up with a bruised face and swollen eyes. They managed to corner me and gouged the details about Adam from me by using some other information source. Someone who knew about Adam must have sold him out.

    The imperial inquirer managed to know that Adam has escaped to this village just yesterday, and have gone and wipe out the slave dealer to rescue his sister. The imperial inquirer released only me passed me a poisoned knife and tells me to kill the devil mage when he¡¯s not aware with just a little wound from the poisoned knife. He wants me to bring back his head and his belongings to prove that he¡¯s been killed. His sister is inconsequential, bringing her back or killing her and brings back a lock of her hair to prove the deed is what they need. If I managed to perform the deed, they would release my parents and brother. They threatened to kill one of them for each day I delay. He mentioned that the law of humanism in the kingdom doesn¡¯t allow the killing of a human unless it¡¯s the royal decree because of the threat of demons, but that law doesn¡¯t extend to humans who helped the demons. He also mentioned that without killing, he has other means to extract information from me, and implore me to tell him everything without hiding it. I don¡¯t feel compelled to tell him anything more than what he already knows, so I just take the blade and go out of the questioning room in order to do my supposed task.

    I return back home to take some provisions and to rub some ointments on my face and body. I was so scared and clueless about what to do. Before I left, they even insert something into my body so that I cannot run away because they would know my location. I cried in one corner of my home, thinking about what is going to be of my future. If I want to rescue my family, I would need to betray and kill my best friend. If I abandon my family, the army will come and get me, and my family will all die in vain. I wish to just disappear from here. I made up my mind, and decide to go to the waterfall to meet Adam one more time. I carried my provisions and pass through the village entrance, and the imperial army records my passage.

    I arrived at the waterfall and enter the cave with a yam leaf and found Adam still sleeping in the same spot in the cave. Lillie is also sleeping near Adam, but not beside him. I brought some meat pie for them to eat, and place them on a piece of banana leaf. I start kindling the fire and start picking some firewood to place at the fireplace. Adam is still sleeping like a log, probably exhausted from rescuing his sister and also his escape from the capital. Soon, his struggle will be in vain as I would be forced to put an end to all this. Lillie woke up from her sleep in her blanket, and toss around crying. I quickly go to her and console her. She cried in my bosom and hugged me tightly. I don¡¯t know what face to make in this situation.

    I ask Lillie for a lock of her hair and she shied away from me. She said I could take it if I give her a kiss. Wait? What? Give her a kiss? I am confused. She probably wants it on her cheek or forehead. I tried to give her a kiss on her cheek, but she refused. She said she wants a kiss to the lips. Now I¡¯m really confused. I don¡¯t mind giving her a kiss now, but I just don¡¯t want to make her sad as I would never be able to return her feelings. I close my eyes and approach her face with mine to give her a kiss. My mouth hurts when my lips touched with hers. She noticed it and quickly releases her lips from mine.

    Lillie asked me why do my eyes and mouth look swollen, and told her that I met with an adult wild boar and got hit hard by it. I assured her that I have applied the ointment and is healing, as I reapply it for her to see, and invoke the healing phenomena of the ointment. My wounds feel a bit better with that. I tried to assure her that it¡¯s nothing, but inside my heart, the feeling is so conflicted. She seems satisfied with that. I take one of the meat pie to sate my hunger and pass one to Lillie. Lillie eats the meat pie happily, just like our childhood days. How I wish we could go back to those innocent days. After that, Lillie begins to cry, and I consoled her and assure that she is safe here.

    Lillie wants me to company her for a swim, and I agreed. We both took off our clothes and undergarments, and get into the water. Lillie swims and swims in the water, washing her body in the fresh cold water. For me, it hurts to even go into the water. Lillie seems to be aware of my injuries, but I assured her that everything is alright. The healing herbal water that I prepared is used by both of us, and we both take a long bath to cleanse and heal our bodies. Adam is still sleeping even after all this. He¡¯s going to finish his last moments sleeping like this, with a calm expression. He looks so charming when he¡¯s asleep and has released all his tensed up expression.

    Lillie and I spend our time soaking in the calm part of the waterfall and talk about our childhood, and we also occasionally discuss Adam, and also the attacks by the kingdom and army. It seems that Lillie still couldn¡¯t forgive Adam, so I explain it from his perspective so that he can rest without being hated any further by his sister. I told her that the kingdom has been changing their ways recently, and Adam was a victim of circumstances. I also told her that Adam also suffered greatly at the hands of the kingdom, and has tried so hard to reach his family, only to witness the death of his parents and then rescue Lillie from the hands of the slave dealer. Lillie said she couldn¡¯t forgive Adam because he just left his parents for dead because he¡¯s not their biological son, and let the army violate her without defending her. I tried to correct her thinking, hoping for her to find solace before I end his miserable life.

    Lillie refuses to accept my explanation and continues to blame Adam for her misery. I believe Lillie may have already known the truth, but she has no outlet to release her anger at and choose to do so at her brother that she once loved. It may not bode well for her in the future, and I hope she can learn to let go, or else she may go mad if the outlet for her anger is no longer there for her. Lillie starts getting angry at Adam and asks me to hit him with a rock, which I said I will do so after she sleeps. Lillie obediently followed my instructions and she got out from the water. We wipe our bodies with cloth and wear our undergarments and clothes. I put Lillie to sleep, and she wishes to cuddle with me to sleep. She is quick to fall asleep and soon starts sleep talking. She called herself a whore and a prostitute, and has sold her body to many men, and cried. I whisper to her ears that she¡¯s not a whore or prostitute, but a pure maiden, one not defiled, and it is the demons that came and attack her, but it is all not real, and that she will wake from this dream all refreshed. Lillie then managed to fall asleep without having a nightmare.

    Due to the tiredness of the day, and the many things that happened taking its physical and mental toll on me, while being held snugly by Lillie, I fell to the comfort of her warmth and closed my eyes. I woke up in the middle of the night when the fire has burned down, and the place is dark. I slowly let my eyes adjust to the surrounding darkness, and let the moons¡¯ lights reflected on the waterfall to illuminate my surroundings. I can make out the silhouette of Adam, still sleeping soundly. I crept slowly out of the blanket and walk towards Adam. I can make out his face and neck out of the reflected light, and readied the knife. I¡¯m sorry Adam, I have to do this to save my parents and brother. I will make sure to protect Lillie so you can rest easy. I will definitely repay this debt in my afterlife.

    (Third Party¡¯s POV)

    Amanda can be seen walking back to Thrisand village late in the night, carrying with her a sack. She came to the village main entrance, and the imperial army soldiers manning the guard booth stopped her. They checked the content of her sack, write her name in the checklist, and try to feel a cop on her. Amanda takes out the poisoned dagger and places it near the place they are going to touch, and they backed off. She then requests to meet with the imperial inquirer. The soldiers tried to extort her by saying they are not motivated to ask him out, and just sit there. Amanda then walks herself to the place the imperial inquirer used for his questioning, but the soldiers then get up and stopped her from barging into the place. The imperial army chief then gets out of the building and sees Amanda. He touches Amanda¡¯s belly with his hand.

    ¡°How do you feel, having it inside you the whole day?¡± (Imperial army chief said with a big grin)

    Amanda shirks off his hand.

    ¡°Where is my family? I need to see the imperial inquirer¡± (Amanda)

    ¡°No need to hurry dear. There is a lot of time. Why not we have some fun first?¡± (Imperial army chief)

    ¡°Stop your harassment. I already did what you guys wanted, and I brought with me what you guys requested¡± (Amanda)

    ¡°Oh, sassy. You should show a bit of this spunkiness of your earlier. It will be more fun¡± (Imperial army chief)

    ¡°SHUT UP! I want my family! Now!¡± (Amanda)

    ¡°Hehe, what a wet blanket. Hey!, she¡¯s here.¡± (Imperial army chief)

    (Amanda¡¯s POV)

    Cassie just exited from the building, looking terrified and her dress tattered. The imperial inquirer came out next and asks me what is the matter. My heart burns at the thought of serving his whims. Even my friend was not spared from their brutality. They are truly barbarians, no worse than that. They are demons themselves, in human skin.

    I place the sack of items for the imperial inquirer to check. He checks through all of them and seems to be dissatisfied.

    ¡°Where is his head?¡± (Imperial inquirer)

    ¡°He¡¯s too powerful. I can¡¯t do anything about that¡± (Amanda)

    ¡°Then your family will have to die¡± (Imperial inquirer)

    ¡°I brought you his weapons and equipment, and his sister¡¯s lock of hair. He¡¯s now left a broken man. Why do you have to make sure he die!?¡± (Amanda)

    ¡°Because the mage is a devil. He works for the Demon Lord and had spied on our kingdom for years¡± (Imperial inquirer)Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.

    ¡°You guys are the real devils¡± (Amanda said in a self-whisper)

    ¡°Okay, I will give you one more chance to redeem yourself. Get the devil mage out into this location tomorrow. I don¡¯t care what you have to do, just get him there¡± (Imperial inquirer pointing to a location on the map on the wall)

    ¡°You must keep to your promise to release my family tomorrow¡± (Amanda)

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry. After we have made sure the devil mage is dead, your family will be released immediately¡± (Imperial inquirer)

    I feel skeptical about their promise, but I can only count on this to save my family. I was about to move when the imperial inquirer stopped me.

    ¡°Hey, where is his other weapon?¡± (Imperial inquirer)

    ¡°What? This is all of his weapons¡± (Amanda)

    ¡°He has two of these elastic items. That¡¯s what the slave dealer¡¯s goons told me. If you don¡¯t have it, I will just take an arm from your brother.¡± (Imperial inquirer)

    ¡°Is it this?¡± (Amanda)

    ¡°Ah, do you purposefully hide it? How impudent. I will need to punish you¡± (Imperial inquirer)

    ¡°You didn¡¯t see it among the items I brought. Don¡¯t accuse me.¡± (Amanda)

    ¡°I don¡¯t care. Give her a lashing.¡± (Imperial inquirer)

    I got a lashing from the imperial inquirer. It¡¯s painful, but it¡¯s better than my brother losing an arm. I didn¡¯t expect somebody knew about the mage¡¯s personal belongings so well. I return back home to get some provisions, and then I got out of the village through the main entrance and put my name at the checklist again. It¡¯s suffocating that our movement is tracked whenever we go out. For them, my movement is reported to them all the time, so they didn¡¯t bother to assign somebody to spy on me. I walk towards our childhood playground, the waterfall, again. This time, I have to make sure I do it successfully, but I¡¯m worried that the imperial army doesn¡¯t keep their promise. I¡¯m so scared.

    (Adam¡¯s POV, back to the timeline where Amanda explained everything to Adam)

    Ah, now I get all that happened. Still, it¡¯s very conflicting. I got many people in my mess again. The main cause of all troubles so far is the imperial army and the kingdom. The only solution is the elimination of these root causes. That¡¯s the only way to put an end to all this, but I¡¯m just one man.

    ¡°So you get it now don¡¯t you¡± (Amanda)

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m not there when you need me.¡± (Adam)

    ¡°No. We are responsible for ourselves. I am only a burden to you now. I can¡¯t bring myself to kill you just like this. But I need to rescue my family. The imperial army is not trustworthy. I don¡¯t know what to do.¡± (Amanda)

    ¡°You still got me. I will rescue your family. Brandon is my best friend¡± (Adam)

    ¡°Just kill me. The lizard¡¯s tail was cut using this poisoned blade.¡± (Amanda holds out the poisoned blade to Adam)

    ¡°I don¡¯t feel anything other than slight numbness on my tongue though.¡± (Adam)

    The effect of the poison must have been reduced when cutting into the meat. Amanda said that the poison on the blade is very strong, as she killed a wild boar with a cut on it instantly, and the entire carcass can be seen swollen afterward. My resistance towards poison is quite high, so I guess it¡¯s ok. I look at the blade. It seems to be emitting miasma, a substance that dissipate in the air but is black and murky, something like smoke, but is more sinister. They are usually something that comes from a long-dead body and can induce rotting of flesh, and in thick amounts, can sometimes make a corpse rise and perform its last wishes if it has any. This is why necromancer can manipulate a corpse or skeleton, they rewrite the last wishes to suit their whims and needs, and let the skeleton or corpse do the deed. It seems that this sharp blade has an aura of death in it. I used appraisal on it.

    Named item ¨C Skullduggery blade

    Effect ¨C Miasma poisoning (Extremely potent)

    Attack ¨C 256

    Defense ¨C 15

    Dexterity ¨C 212

    Invoked phenomena ¨C Shadow slash

    This dagger is a named item. They even lend out such a dangerous item to Amanda. I wonder where their confidence stems from.

    ¡°Amanda, where do you get this dagger?¡± (Adam)

    ¡°Just kill me with it. I am just a burden¡± (Amanda)

    ¡°No one¡¯s going to kill you. You are my, my bestie¡± (Adam)

    ¡°Huh!?¡± (Amanda)

    I think I can make use of this dagger. I will not try my negative mana on it yet first. I was handling the dagger with my gloves on.

    ¡°I need you to care for my sister. So please don¡¯t die on me before this¡± (Adam)

    ¡°Please. My body is transmitting our location to the imperial army as we speak, and I''m supposed to bring you to the pathway leading to the village by afternoon, or else they will start killing my family one by one.¡± (Amanda)

    ¡°Transmitting our location? Did they put a transmitter on you?¡± (Adam)

    ¡°What transmitter? I don¡¯t know, but they insert a black object inside my body, and it can¡¯t be removed¡± (Amanda)

    ¡°Where is it? Can you show me?¡± (Adam)

    I did research before with magic to create a communication stone, and I managed to create one that can tell its location by extrapolating it with the map. The communication part is still unsuccessful, but it can at least indicate the location it transmits in the signal. The design is enhanced when the hero¡¯s party was summoned, as they have knowledge of technology that we don¡¯t have here. The hero took the credit of creating the so-called transmitter stone and presents it to the king. It was an old story though.

    Amanda turns really beet red when I asked her to show me where the transmitter is located on her body. To my amazement, Amanda rolled up her skirt and pull down her underwear. I saw her feminine bit, and I was at a lost of words. Amanda is now covering her face with her palms, and she presents me her secret spot.

    ¡°It¡¯s inside. I couldn¡¯t take it out¡± (Amanda)

    ¡°Ermm, is it ok if I touch?¡± (Adam)

    ¡°Please help me take it out¡± (Amanda is still hiding her face)

    I insert my fingers into her and touch her insides. Amanda shakes incessantly, so I hold her with my other hand. With two fingers, I can feel something inside her, and it¡¯s quite large. I tried to pull it out directly, but Amanda screamed in pain the moment I tried to pull it. I tried to hold onto the object and let my negative mana corrode it. When I made the transmitter, the whole thing is made from a magic stone so it will be disabled if the magic stone loses its mana. I tried inserting my fingers deeper and grasping more surface area of that object. I cast magic to hasten the corrosion rate. The transmitter inside of Amanda got disabled and is easily removed without hurting her. The size and shape of the transmitter are different from the one I and Aaron created, and it looks quite crude in design. Blood is oozing out from Amanda, so I applied the ointment she has on her.

    Amanda fainted partway through, as the activity is very intense on her. I wake her up after the ordeal is over, and she was ashamed of it. She hid at one corner of the wall, and I gently hug her from behind. I tell her that this is not her fault, and I have long ago accepted her. I also want Amanda to be happy, and don¡¯t want her to feel left out. Amanda was crying, and she rarely cries. I know that she has a strong heart, but it doesn¡¯t mean she can shoulder the entire burden all by herself. Amanda told me that the army would release her family if I am at the designated spot during the afternoon, and it¡¯s going to be very soon. Amanda said that we had little hope, and she doesn¡¯t know what to do. Without my items, I would be hard pressed to deal with the imperial army. Those dastard imperial army, the ones I must defeat in order to free us from oppression. The one that has wronged us on so many occasions after all that I have done for the kingdom. They are really are a bunch of lowlifes, worse than demons, even though I haven¡¯t known one.

    ¡°Amanda, take Lillie and get away as far away as possible from here or the pathway leading to the village. Only come back once I have secured the battle, or abandon here and live in the forest if I have fallen and not returned¡± (Adam)

    ¡°How are you going to fight like this? I am also worried about my family, so I want to be there.¡± (Amanda)

    ¡°No, it¡¯s too dangerous. I need you and Lillie to stay safe. You know how the imperial army behaves, right. Being there will lead to a situation where they can blackmail you.¡± (Adam)

    ¡°But, they are my family.¡± (Amanda)

    ¡°They are also my important friends and friend¡¯s family. They are like family to me too. I will definitely do as much as I can to save your mom and father.¡± (Adam)

    ¡°Please save them, Adam. Please.¡± (Amanda)

    ¡°Yes, I will do my best¡± (Adam)

    I go ahead to the designated location, after making sure I convinced Amanda to leave the waterfall cave with Lillie and head towards the thick forest where people seldom go. At the pathway area, it seems the geography is a flat plain. This is why they want me to come here. On a flat plain, the battle is an open area, and by using arrows or projectiles, the battle is already decided. They have numerical advantage and weapons type advantage, so they don¡¯t need any geographical advantage. By facing me in the open, their two other advantages already far outstrip me, so this battle is theirs to win. I would need to quickly come out with a plan to avoid them from fully utilizing their advantages.

    I saw the plains leading to my side. It¡¯s easy for the cavalry to come and strike me from that side. From the front, I saw some small natural potholes that occur because of the rainwater. I place some bamboo spikes down there and covered the potholes with leaves. There were military spotters from far away, so I wear a less conspicuous shirt dyed with green colour to work on the field while camouflaging. I place suitable rocks here and there allow me to entrench my self in but also escapable if they decide to storm in. I need to find a way to avoid arrows and long-range attacks and then draw them in for a melee so that I can use the dagger. I place some booby traps I used to catch wild animals with at some locations.

    I¡¯m lucky that the imperial army hasn¡¯t arrived yet, but their spotters are still there. I am worried that they may get wind of Amanda and Lillie¡¯s location and decide to go after them. It¡¯s difficult now that I can¡¯t use my lens to help me look at right angles and look at faraway locations to can spot the army earlier. I was about to abandon this location and go after Amanda and Lillie, but I noticed a large congregation of people is moving out towards here. I know I have not prepared enough, and will never prepare enough for combat against an army, but I must do my best to distract them, and hopefully find a way to get Amanda''s family away from the battle. I owed Brandon and Amanda big time for this disaster.

    I quickly hide behind a rock and prepare some sharpened sticks to be placed as defensive tools. They may not be able to go against properly armoured knights, but at least it will slow them down and hurt those who forcefully try to attack me. The imperial army chief leads the imperial army and arrived at that location. I raised a blowpipe made from bamboo and prepared a few of the miasma poison-tipped darts. This art is something from my past life, called sumpitan. Using the blowpipe, I will try to snipe the leader of the imperial army and put them in disarray before they can engage me. Without wind magic, this art will compensate that handicap. With my blowpipe ready, I waited for the imperial army chief to come into firing range. Sweat trickles down my bow and face, as this first shot will determine the flow of the battle.

    The imperial army chief is wearing a full body armour suit, so my best bet is to aim for the gaps in his armour pieces. The imperial army chief entered into my firing range, and I blow the blowpipe as hard as I could. The dart exited at high speed, and with my passive skills aim and sharpshooting, the dart is guided to the weakest spot in his armour. Just when it was about to hit its intended target, it hit something hard in the air and fell down. The soldiers picked it up and alerted their members. I saw the blue mana shield around the imperial army chief, and he¡¯s wearing a large blue pendant that I know. That¡¯s because I crafted it with my own two hands, and now it¡¯s in the enemy¡¯s hands. This is infuriating, as that item is my proudest creation for my sister to protect her from harm. That means they assaulted her so meticulously that they deplete the mana in the item.

    Hundred of arrows come raining in my direction, and I hide behind the rock that I placed earlier for protection. Normal arrows cannot chip this rock, but enhanced and elemental arrows start to break the rock apart slowly. Then there is a huge explosion, and the rock breaks into smithereens, and I was flung several metres away from the site. It was a painful experience, and I quickly recover myself and run to the next defensive rock that I placed nearby before the next volley of arrows and magic phenomena hit me.

    Before I can manage to reach the next boulder, I felt an ominous aura in the air, and I ducked quickly. Several slashes formed in the thin air, mixed with miasma, and they cut me lightly at several places. The miasma is usually a potent poison to the body, but luckily I just end up with bleeding, but not poisoned.

    ¡°The devil mage is immune to miasma poisoning, so his body is that of a demon now. This proof that the mage is a spy of the Demon Lord.¡± (Imperial army chief)

    ¡°Send out the family of that wench who cooperates with the devil¡¯s spy.¡± (Imperial army chief)

    I saw Amanda¡¯s family is pushed to the frontline. Her father, mom, and her brother Brandon is line up at the front and urged forward with spears. Their condition is so terrible. They really tortured their citizens up to this point just to bring me down. I shed tears again, I thought I have already dried mine when I saw what they did to my family, but I wet my cheeks again today. The pitiful family of Amanda is pushed across the fields I set with booby traps and pitfalls with spears. They are being used as human shields to clear the traps set by me. I pray that they don¡¯t fall into any of them, but my prayer is not answered.

    ¡°Kyaaahhhhh!¡± (Amanda¡¯s mom)

    ¡°Uaaggghhhh!¡± (Amanda¡¯s father)

    ¡°Hergghh!¡± (Brandon)

    They all fell into the pit almost at the same time, and I closed my eyes, my tears couldn¡¯t stop.

    ¡°Hey, the devil mage just murdered three peasants in cold blood. He must be purged from the land, or their souls will not rest in peace!¡± (Imperial army chief)

    Enough of the bullshit craps nonsense spouting. It is you who did all that, but why it falls on my responsibility as the killer of the people. I don¡¯t set up those things to murder the innocents in the first place. My mind is so infuriated that I don¡¯t think right anymore. I just want everyone there dead, DEAD!.

    Five groups of armies are approaching my location with their spears pointing and shields raised. Arrows are pouring in my direction as a suppression fire, and heavy hits of magical elemental phenomena are breaking my covers of rocks one by one. I moved zigzag across the covers I prepared and tried to get close to a group of soldiers. Luckily, the archer lines seem to have some misfire, and the volley of arrows missed me, and hit near a group of soldiers, causing confusion in the enemy ranks. I got close to one of the army clusters, and enter into their ranks. I have never fought in the frontlines in actual battles, but I have practiced in close quarter combat while training with the knights in the kingdom during my time as a hero party¡¯s candidate. Mixed with some knowledge of jeet kune do, jiu jitsu, karate, taekwondo, and boxing, I begin to unleash a flurry of punches and slashes with my fist and dagger. A slight graze from this dagger puts them in grave agony and frothing from their mouth. I aimed at the gaps between their armours, or some unarmoured ones. This dagger is quite a dangerous item, and just now there are several invocations of the shadow slash, indicating that several individuals also own blades similar to this. I stab and cut as many of them as I can, hoping to thin out the imperial army so that they can¡¯t pursue Amanda and Lillie. I am sorry to Amanda, as her family died and I wasn¡¯t able to rescue them.

    I keep at what I¡¯m doing, trying to entangle the first army platoon into a melee brawl and wipe them out before jumping to another one. This does not bode well, as the imperial army chief managed to invoke the satellite mana shield that defends other assigned targets. I can intercept several before the mana shields can fully form, but fighting against a group of trained soldiers in melee takes all of my attention away, and several of them starts attacking me furiously without repercussion due to the activated satellite mana shield of the blue pendant. The fight has begun to go to a standstill, and they managed to make a distance between the melee army and me, allowing the archers and mages to target me with their projectiles without heavy collateral damage. I am basically exposed out in the field now, so in a few moments, this will be the last chapter of my life on this planet.

 Rage & Guilt

    <u>Rage & Guilt</u>

    (Adam the mage¡¯s POV)

    I am basically at my wits end. I was exhausted, injured, and surrounded by thousands of soldiers. My escape route has long been cut off, and all that¡¯s left for me is to fight this one-sided battle to the end. I have been checkmated, so let this pawn fight to his heart¡¯s content in his last moments. The imperial army is ruthless in pursuing me, the looks on their face are terrifying. So this is how the demons see the humans when they are at war with them. It seems like I am the only one who knew this side of the battle, and soon it will be forgotten in the annals of history. I ran and chase after the escaping soldiers, cutting them down one by one while the bowman, crossbowman, and mages fired their arrows and magic phenomena one volley after another at me.

    Everything seems so slow motion in my eyes. Is this what they said the tunnel vision one experience when they are going to face death? But it¡¯s just that the time seems to slow down, I don¡¯t see the revolving lantern that reflects all my pasts. The things around me seem slow enough for me to even grab the arrow in the air, and aim them with my bare hands, throw them back at the soldiers. After several throws back at them that managed to get some of the soldiers, the arrow volleys begin to slow down, and they start shooting heavier and quicker arrows armed with elements. The mages don¡¯t slow down at all at their invocation, and the blast deal area attacks that even I can¡¯t avoid fully. In a jest, because it¡¯s the last moment of my life, I shouted to the army.

    ¡°Hey! Do you guys believe in all the stories about me being a devil? The one who once worked with you to fight the Demon Lord¡¯s army?¡± (Adam)

    Most of them looked at me like they have seen a demon themselves. They all shouted and called me a devil that delighted in others sufferings. Only some showed pity eyes, and they are all at the back of the imperial army. There was an interruption in time, and my system screen, similar to when I use appraisal, popped up. It seems I was in a zone of my own, I saw the display in front of me, and everything stops, even myself.

    Illegal system entry

    Do you wish for more power?

    Yes/No

    I picked yes. I wish I had the power to destroy everything in front of me.

    Will you accept God of War as your master?

    Yes/No

    I picked yes. I already had a dream where a god has turned me into her familiar. Having one more will just be the same.

    Current ownership status: God Loki¡¯s familiar, God of War¡¯s subordinate

    You have been granted access to space magic, Inventory ¨C Space available 0, items stored 2/2.

    Do you wish to equip the items?

    Yes/No

    Yes, I wish to equip the items.

    Inventory ¨C Space available 2, items stored 0/2

    Swords of Rage and Guilt have been equipped. To utilize their full ability, sufficient hatred and sorrow are required.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

    Your current hatred: 81.97234 %

    Your current sorrow: 67.84571%.

    To enable both weapons in the current state, please accept both Gifts of Hatred and Sorrow.

    Gifts of Hatred and Sorrow - Temporarily increases your hatred and sorrow to the maximum and allows one to fully utilize the Swords of Rage and Guilt

    Do you accept the gifts?

    Yes/No

    What is the cost or side effects of those gifts?

    The gifts are given for accepting God of War as your master. You can store them for later use or use it now. Your current situation requires dire attention, therefore, activating the full power of Swords of Rage and Guilt is recommended. Side effects of activating the gift are a temporary altered state of mind according to the gift. Gift of hatred induce a state of rage and anger, and the gift of sorrow induce a state of guilt and melancholy.

    Sword skills

    Rage ¨C Rends anything physical the weapon¡¯s owner wish to

    Guilt ¨C drowns the target in sorrow, and drains the intangibles of the target of the weapon¡¯s owner

    The things I received here seem to not follow the law of causality, which means this is really interference from god. I don¡¯t trust the gods, but I have no choice, for I¡¯m powerless now.

    I¡¯m back to the normal time, and the time slowing effect seems to be wearing off. I wield both the swords and hold them up. How do I use these swords? The description earlier said they rend anything I wish or drown and drain the life and soul. I feel really irritated somehow that I don¡¯t know how these weapons works, and also a deep sense of sadness.

    A large volley of flame and wind arrows is flying towards me as I was thinking about how to operate my new weapon. The attack is also accompanied by large amounts of magical phenomena aiming to finish me off in one blow. I swing the Sword of Rage while thinking about destroying everything that tries to kill me.

    The entire attack that came flying at me turns to ash and crumble. The magical attacks are not much affected, so I swing the Sword of Guilt and think that the magic will be absorbed. The field is bathed with a liquid that refracts the light and glued all the magic in a gooey substance that doesn¡¯t seem to be physical and drags all the magic into it.

    The imperial army chief was shocked by the display of power and sends their armoured knight and cavalries to the fore. I swing my Sword of Rage again while thinking of cutting off the imperial army chief¡¯s hands and his dirty crotch. I also think of cutting away the middle of the army¡¯s formation together, where all the knights and cavalries are charging at me. What happened next made the imperial army stunned. The entire field together with the middle of the imperial army has all turn to ash, and crumble to the ground. Even the ground itself crumbled to ash to reveal a large ravine formed as far as my eyes can see. I have aimed it in the direction of the castle in the capital, but I guess it¡¯s too far. I avoid hitting the village though, but the anger in my head won¡¯t subside and wants more kills, even making me think that hitting the village is alright. The imperial army chief in his mana shield suddenly falls down from his horse while shouting and yelling in pain. It delights my heart, but the rage is not quelled, and I wanted more deaths.

    I can see the soul and mana floating around the area that I rend with the Sword of Rage, and the Sword of Guilt seems to flicker and is telling me to absorb them. I just mentally allow the Sword of Guilt to do that, and the gooey substance came splattering across the large landscape that has been rend earlier. The souls in bright blue in the shape of people begin to scatter, only to be ensnared in the substance and is pulled into the sword. With a voracious appetite, the sword absorbs all the things that Sword of Rage left behind. The other living soldiers just feel scared of the gooey substance, but since it doesn¡¯t hit them, they just fall into a panic state but not fear. Maybe it¡¯s only me that can see the mana and soul of the dead, like water without a vessel.

    Seeing the fallen imperial army chief, the rest of the army falls into disarray. Each of the imperial army section chiefs came to take command of the situation, but they are basically in a messy state. My rage is still not quelled yet, so I continue the slaughter of the soldiers without stopping or care for their pleadings. I hope that if there were any soldiers that are good people, they would escape before I found them. This is because at that time, the rage and sorrow in my heart take over, and I will avenge the death of my parents, and every other people that they claimed without mercy. I made those I knew are terrible to suffer as miserable as they can. I cut off their things just to let them live and suffer in humiliation. My sorrow is quenched by absorbing part of their sanity and soul, making them live a wasteful life of misery. I can make them manaless by absorbing their mana until their mana recovery system is damaged permanently, but it still can¡¯t make me a mage back, as my mana is still in the negative.

    I made one here go insane by absorbing away all his love of women (Imperial inquirer), and made another insane by absorbing away all his manliness (Imperial army chief), and left them together for some crazy action. I also set some commands to them so that he would do certain actions when meeting certain people. This would be some revenge against someone if karma ever exists in this world.

    The entire thousands of soldiers in the imperial army that¡¯s left have already lost their morale. I use my Sword of Guilt to absorb away all the soldier¡¯s loyalty towards the kingdom. Some tried to run away when the gooey thing came, but they got ensnared in it at the end. After losing their loyalty, they all lose their reason to fight me, but they fear me as the devil mage. I wanted to do more absorption, but the Sword of Guilt has used up its sorrow and couldn¡¯t perform any more large-scale absorptions. It turns into a blade when it has exhausted all its sorrow. I tried the normal absorptions on the soldiers and officers that are known to cause harm to others by appraising their status. I absorb their love for causing sufferings to others, and other things to test out. The blade form can only do three times individual absorptions before they need to rest a day.

    The rage in my head is still going strong, and I need to find a way to release my rage, even though the imperial army here is broken by the power of the Sword of Guilt. I get on a horse owned by the army officer and ride it to the capital, intending to strike at everybody there that has put me into this situation.

 Side Story 6 â€“ My Beloved Sister

    <u>Side Story 6 ¨C My Beloved Sister</u>

    (Third party¡¯s POV)

    It is Lillie¡¯s 7th birthday today. Amanda and her brother, Brandon, come to visit Lillie. Adam invited them in. Brandon brought a bouquet of blue roses. He grew them at the back of his home. Brandon unexpectedly has talent with growing herbs and flowers.

    ¡°Hi there Lillie. This is for you¡± (Brandon)

    ¡°Thank you, Brandon¡± (Lillie)

    ¡°There is nothing for me?¡± (Adam)

    ¡°Giving flowers to a guy is creepy¡± (Brandon)

    ¡°There, there, here¡¯s a bottle of ointment for treating injuries¡± (Amanda)

    Amanda passes a bottle of ointment to Adam, which he receives gratefully. Well, their relationship is a bit closer now. There is another knock at the door. Lillie went to open it, while Adam and Brandon bicker over small matters. It is Larsen, and Lillie invites him inside. There are bandages on his arm, and he wears a large shirt to cover it.

    ¡°Yo, Larson. Man, your grandpa is such a strict person. The laws in this village suck. They normally favour the village head or his relatives.¡± (Brandon)

    ¡°¡­Wait till I grow bigger. I will overthrow all the rotten people out and create a fair and prosperous village. Here¡¯s a present for you, Lillie¡± (Larsen)

    Larsen presents a beautiful harmonica made of hard blow wood for the vibration and soft dart wood for the mouthpieces. Larsen actually prefers making sharp small weapons to be used for hunting, but his grandfather trains him to inherit his trade skill, which is to make musical instruments, especially the harmonica, for the rich and wealthy.

    ¡°Wow, this is so beauchiful. It must have been done with great care and love. Thank kyu, Larsen¡± (Lillie)

    Larsen¡¯s face grew red and hot. He is not used to being praised, especially one from a girl. Larsen stares onto the floor to avoid revealing his face to Lillie.This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    ¡°So, also nothing for me, huh?¡± (Adam)

    Larsen suddenly got the chance to change the subject, so he quickly snags at it.

    ¡°Here, this is for you¡± (Larsen)

    ¡°Eh, thanks. Didn¡¯t expect I would get one¡± (Adam)

    Adam checks the small knife given to him. It is done in detail and has good workmanship. The blade is sharp and smooth.

    ¡°Don¡¯t fuss over it. It¡¯s Lillie¡¯s birthday today, so we come to celebrate it¡± (Larsen)

    Adam quickly serves some drinks for the guest. A little while later, the other playmates of Lillie come to the house to wish her birthday.

    Adam presented the blue quartz pendant as his present for her birthday. Amanda and the other girl playmates are looking forlornly at the blue quartz pendant, making Lillie shy, and Adam becomes proud of his creation.

    ¡°That¡¯s not fair¡± (Brandon)

    ¡°Yeah, you are hogging all the attention away with your gift¡± (Larsen)

    After making sure all the guests have arrived, Adam takes out the baked chicken stuffed with sweet-smelling herbs from the stone stove, and places it on the table. Both the dad and mum are also just back from the farm, and they immediately went to see the birthday celebration in the hall.

    ¡°Happy Birthday to Lillie!¡± (All people gathered)

    ¡°Thank kyu, everybody¡± (Lillie)

    Adam passed Lillie a white quartz recorder crystal while the others are celebrating her birthday and busy eating the baked chicken.

    ¡°Amanda, here is a present from me and my brother for you, because your birthday is also nearby. My brother will teach you how to use it when you are free¡± (Lillie)

    ¡°Thank you, Lillie¡± (Amanda)

    ¡°That¡¯s not fair, we didn¡¯t get anything¡± (Lillie¡¯s playmates)

    ¡°I have also prepared some coloured stones tied into a pendant that I made myself. Pick which one chu like¡± (Lillie)

    ¡°Yay, thank you, Lillie¡± (Lillie¡¯s playmates)

    Meanwhile, at the boys¡¯ section, they are discussing some serious matter.

    ¡°Hey, this meat is delicious. If I got married to Lillie, will I get to eat this every day?¡± (Brandon)

    ¡°Are you serious? I¡¯m the one who baked this chicken though. And my sister will stay with me until she can find a really suitable man¡± (Adam)

    ¡°¡­..¡± (Brandon)

    ¡°¡­¡­What is the criteria to get Lillie¡¯s hands in marriage?¡± (Larsen)

    ¡°First, he has to beat both me and my dad in a test of strength. Second, he has to be single and not married to anyone before. Third, he has to be rich and powerful. Third, he has to be fair and wise. Fourth, he has to be a respectable person that respects Lillie¡¯s parents and me. Fifth, he mustn¡¯t be a criminal or commit any crime. Sixth, he must be able to tolerate..¡± (Adam)

    ¡°Hey, continuing to add more rules and your sister will stay a spinster her entire life. Come on, you can¡¯t find such a perfect man in this world. Be practical¡± (Brandon)

    ¡°I said all this is to ensure that my sister can properly find her happiness, rather than marry a random man that she fancies and regret it later. ¡° (Adam)

    ¡°I can say that you are basically shackling your sister down to you. You must learn to let her free¡± (Larsen)

    ¡°Hey, stop accusing me as such. What¡¯s wrong with protecting a sister from the predatory wolves out there that strike at any opportunity available.¡± (Adam)

    ¡°I just hope that none of the Idiot Four come looking for your sister. By that time, you will regret. Learn to trust a ladies¡¯ mettle and intelligence¡± (Amanda)

    ¡°Oh yeah, don¡¯t look down on me. The blue quartz on my sister is not just for show. They have amazing defensive capabilities that will not be easily broken.¡± (Adam)

    ¡°You intend to keep your sister in your bubble forever, do you? Come and teach me how to operate this white crystal your sister called recording quartz¡± (Amanda, dragging Adam by the ear)

    ¡°Ow, ow, please be gentler, you brute. Who will want to marry such an amazon?¡± (Adam)

    ¡°S~shut your mouth, who would want to marry a guy with sister complex?¡± (Amanda)

    ¡°Who has sister complex?¡± (Adam)

    So the good friends Amanda, Brandon, Lillie, Larsen, and Adam continues to spend the evening talking and bickering away while celebrating Lillie¡¯s birthday.

 Severance

    <u>Severance</u>

    (Adam the mage¡¯s POV)

    I rode the horse until I reached the edge of the capital. I can see the walls surrounding the luxurious white city. I used to live and stay in this city, and it is a good place. What I am about to do now may seem taboo in the human world. But I have not much choice. I must stop the nonsense from its root cause. The kingdom focused too much about keeping up with their name and reputation that they choose to sacrifice the people just to keep up their appearance.

    I pray to god that things don¡¯t turn out worse. But it seems god themselves are interfering with my life now. The hatred in my Sword of Rage is about to get dissipated. I quickly think of those that can affect my life if I leave them alone, and several of them appear in my head. In order to rend the person in my mind, I need to perform the swing action, and also I need to be within a certain distance from the target. The Sword of Rage is about to dissipate after the long travel time, so I just quickly swing it while thinking of just hurting the hero and the king, and cutting down the main general. The king is pivotal for uniting the kingdom, and I don¡¯t want a civil war to happen because of me. The hero is a terrible person, but I don¡¯t want Ester to cry due to his death. The main general, General Gramont, seems to hold many hidden hands, and losing him will not affect the kingdom¡¯s affair too adversely. Storming in the castle to demand a stop to this farce is also an option, but I am not sure how much longer I can use the Sword of Rage.

    When the Sword of Rage is swung down, there was a huge resistance and a yellow material can be seen blocking the path of my slash and holds me there. I tried to push and pull the Sword of Rage to get it out of the entanglement, I managed to get it out, but the energy of the slash went to the castle wall as a physical assault of energy, hitting and breaking a part of the castle and its walls from the outside. The army garrisoning the capital got alerted of the attack and quickly went to investigate. I was standing quite a distance outside of the capital so it will take some time for them to reach me here. I suspect that the capital is not such a simple place, and it¡¯s probably protected by some sort of divine item or beings, and can even prevent an attack from this divine item gifted by God.

    The Sword of Rage has returned to its blade form. I suppose I can try how I can use it in this form. I tried swinging the blade of Rage, but each time, it hits the yellow material as I tried to target General Gramont in the capital. After three tries, the blade then loses its shine and it says I have to wait a day to use it again. I stored the blade inside my storage that utilizes space magic phenomena, something that is against the natural law of causality. The blade disappears from my hand and is reported that the blade is stored in the storage. It is very convenient, and it cost nothing to invoke the space storage. It¡¯s really strange even in terms of this magic world.

    I need to quickly get back to the village and stay away as far as possible from the capital. I would have to say my goodbye to the place I spent eight and a half years of my life. I quickly got on the horse and dash through my way back to the village. After some distance away from the capital, I came to the stream I know, and I get down to wash my body off all the blood and dirt. My shirt is all ragged and tattered, mostly from sliding away from the spears and swords aimed at me to dodge them. I cover the holes well by putting my shirt together with some tree saps that I can find and then return to the village

    While getting on my horse and about to turn away and return to the village, I saw a nun and a little girl walking by. I asked them if they are in a hurry or if they want a ride. The nun rejected my offer, but the little girl wants to ride the horse. I give both of them a ride and the three of us ride on the horse. The horse is quite tame and steady, and I have trained to ride on them when in the capital, as I don¡¯t have the chance to ride one when I was at the village. As the hatred in me subsided, my mind began to think clearly again. I galloped the horse steadily while I chat with the nun and the little girl. It seems that they are going to meet someone in a village neighbouring Thrisand village. The nun works as a healer for the church in the capital, and the little girl works as her apprentice. They live in the church orphanage, where the sister works and the little girl lives. The little girl has talent in simple healing magic, so the nun brought her along when she works so that the little girl can help out and learn how to heal.

    I galloped the horse all the way to the village, and it¡¯s about to turn dusk. I ask her if it¡¯s ok to drop her near the village of Thrisand, and she said ok. I asked her what will they do if they were to walk out instead of he send them there, and they replied that they are used to camping outside. I am skeptical that they can bring enough with them to do camping outside. They seem to want to keep the secret to themselves, so I don¡¯t pry further. As we reached the village, I decided to drop her near the village. Some of the soldiers that don''t participate in the battle are garrisoned there, and I totally forgot about them. They saw me from a distance and began calling me the devil mage and begin arming themselves.

    The nun got totally scared of me after hearing my nickname being called by the soldiers. She jumped down and ran away without even trying to help the little girl to get down. I tried to call her out and tell her to calm down, but she got so shaken, she just ran away while shrieking. The little girl got too shaken, she cannot move. Her body shivers and the colour of her skirt darken at the base. I am really sorry for it to end up like this. I invoke the inventory and retrieve both the Sword of Rage and Guilt in their blade form and engage the soldiers charging at me with spears. My natural running skill allows me to close in on the soldiers and I hit them with the blades. I check their status with appraisal, and will seriously injure those that have committed serious offenses and only disable those who committed light or no offense. I want to abstain from killings if possible, as I have taken so many in just today.

    I return to the horse and found the little girl has climbed down herself and is running away, but she fell. I quickly go to her, but she got so terrified, she can¡¯t move.

    ¡°Please, are you alright? I''m not going to hurt you or anybody. Can I carry you up?¡± (Adam)

    She shakes her head and crouches down, refusing to look at me. I tell her that I want to go visit my friend and ask if she can offer prayers to the dead. She didn¡¯t answer my question. I can¡¯t just leave her out here, so I carry her and put her on the horse, and I ride it to go to the place where the battle with the army took place earlier. She shivers all the way of the travel. It seems like I¡¯m using her for my own convenience, and I felt bad.

    I reached the location and got down from the horse, and I carry her down and put on my shoulders. The smell is there, but I just ignore it at the moment. Bodies that can be seen strewn around the battlefield earlier have been properly placed in marked graves. I told the soldiers that I have absorbed their loyalty to the kingdom earlier to collect the bodies of their dead comrade and bury them properly in marked graves, like how they would pay respect to a fallen soldier in the battlefield.

    I go to the pothole where Amanda¡¯s family has fallen into earlier. After putting the little girl down, I carefully go in and carry their bodies up from the pothole. I cried as I do so, as much as I fall for my parents. They are like my family too. Brandon is a brother to me. I raised up Brandon, his mom, then his father. They all have a pained look on their faces. I noticed that they are still breathing. The gouge of the stakes is not deep, as they fall into an angle that avoids critical it on them. The father has very little breath left, and so do his mom. Brandon is badly wounded from other injuries, but I can see that his father and mom break the fall for him and he has not been hurt badly by the stakes in the potholes.This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    I ask the little girl, does she have enough mana to do some healing. She moves her head up and down. I ask her if she can perform healing on the father and mom of Amanda and Brandon. She goes beside their bodies, presses both her hands lightly on the chest of Brandon¡¯s father and invokes the magic by prayers, and a little green light is emitted from her hands. Next, she repeats it on the mom. Lastly, she does the same to Brandon. The complexion on all three of them did turn for a bit better. Brandon is slightly conscious at that time, so he woke up after getting some healing. I was really glad that he wakes up, and that I brought this girl along.

    ¡°Hey, how do you feel? I¡¯m sorry about all this. Sorry for causing all this trouble.¡± (Adam)

    ¡°¡­Where¡­is¡­.paa..maa¡­?¡± (Brandon)

    ¡°They are here, beside you. They are still alive.¡± (Adam, holding back tears)

    ¡°¡­Amanda¡­¡± (Brandon)

    ¡°She¡¯s with Lillie, and she¡¯s alright¡± (Adam)

    ¡°¡­He..lp..heal..pa..ma¡­¡± (Brandon)

    ¡°I will. I definitely will. Don¡¯t worry. Just rest your mind and body to recover.¡± (Adam, tears fell)

    Brandon still doesn¡¯t know that I was no longer able to invoke magical phenomena. I went to find the imperial army chief, now insane and not himself anymore, with a group of soldiers. I approach him, and he is scared of me. I request for the blue pendant to be returned, and he timidly passes it to me. I wear my glove and take it from him, and appraise it.

    Named item: Aqua Regisais (Blue Pendant)

    Abilities:

    Passive: +200 Mana to wielder

    +Mana recovery (% depends on compatibility of item with wielder)

    +Improve invoked magic, especially water-based spells (% depends on compatibility of item with wielder)

    Active: Mana Shield (Personal)

    Mana Shield (Targeted)

    Password is required to invoke active abilities

    Item can still be tempered for improvement

    Yes, this is the item that I made for to my sister. The name for the item is made at the spur of the moment. I return with it beside Brandon and the little girl. The little girl is busy healing the father and mom with her healing phenomena. I asked her that if she can heal them to the point where their life won¡¯t be in danger, she just shakes her head. I place the blue pendant over her neck. I told her I¡¯m merely lending her the pendant, and she nodded. She¡¯s still fearful to speak to me. She tried healing again, and the result is better. The pendant compatibility with her is high, and her healing phenomena are more effective now. It also depends on her intent and how strong she desires to heal others, and for the healed person to accept the healing. It seems to stop all the bleeding and close up the wounds. She got tired and fell asleep while she keeps healing all three of them.

    It¡¯s lucky that the army that¡¯s left behind after the battle has turned quiet and passive. They fear me, and they seem to obey my words well. I tell them to go back to their homes if they have one. They must have missed their family. I told the ones who are still going to stay here to make themselves useful and go help the village in any way they could. I assigned several that I have appraised their status to be clean to keep guard and to help care the little girl and Amanda¡¯s family. Using appraisal several times a day is very taxing on the mind, as it causes the brain to work excessively on the person¡¯s details and some mana as the invocation cost. After making sure the assignment here is done, I intend to go and fetch Amanda and Lillie from the forest.

    I ride on another horse I can find, and let the previous one eat some hay and take a rest. I go to the direction of the forest under the foot of a mountain nearby. This is where I told Amanda to bring Lillie. If they don¡¯t get any news from me in three days, they would journey to a village adjacent to the mountain and hopefully find some shelter there. Now I must go to find them there. I hope Amanda and Lillie have prepared enough for the journey.

    I go down the path of the road until I reached the forest. I tied the horse to a tree and cut a stack of fresh grass for it to eat. I got no cup for water so this will have to do. I quickly dash into the forest. I tried to look for markings that only Amanda, Lillie, Brandon, Larsen, and I know. There are some booby traps set here and there to catch unwary trespasser, but with my trapping skills and disarm skills, I can know where they are usually set and can either avoid or disarm them. The journey has been three long hours, and I have to track the uneven path, and sometimes encounter wild boars, snakes, or wild leopards. The predators were agile, but they don¡¯t dare to approach me when I take out my blade of Rage and Guilt, and they ran away. Before this, I gave my small knife to Amanda that I got from Larsen so that she can at least fend off creatures like this, but I guess that¡¯s asking for too much, even from a woman as strong and brave as Amanda. I ran and ran as fast as my legs can carry me. The fatigue from the battle earlier seems like a lie, as I felt like I got refreshed partway through. It¡¯s dark already, so I hope they can stay safe before I reach her.

    I heard a scream when I was running around looking for the markings and footsteps left by Amanda and Lillie. It dashes to the location and found Larsen, with this body bandaged, is protecting the two behind him against a large-looking brown bear. Brown bears are ferocious if it has targeted a prey for their meal. Larsen is holding up the knife and a wooden handguard to fight and block the attacks of the large brown bear. Without wasting time, I invoke the blade of Rage and Guilt onto my hands, and plunge both of them into the body of the brown bear, using my entire body weight to supplement my low physical attack. The brown bear raises a terrible scream and tried to turn and swipe at me, but the sharpness of the blade and the force of its turn made the wound opened larger, and it was seriously wounded. I don¡¯t intend to slaughter a wild beast in nature, because I respect the law and life of nature also has meaning, like us. I remove the blades, and after making sure the bear no longer able to fight, I stored the blades back into the inventory and went to Larsen and the girls.

    I briefly tell the girls and Larsen about the events on my side, and I want to bring them out of the forest. I told Amanda that her family is still alive, and she was overjoyed and fell into tears. Lillie looks at me like a stranger, and always by Amanda¡¯s side. Larsen also apologized to me regarding my parents, and I just acknowledge him that we had all tried our best. I wanted to carry Lillie and go home, but she wouldn¡¯t let me. Larsen is still hurting, but he said a guys pride is broken if he has to be carried, and he hates piggyback carry. Carrying Amanda is possible, but Lillie wants to be with Amanda, so I can¡¯t carry them both, at least not with my current condition. I guide them out from the forest while protecting them, and we set out camp at a cave that some hunters from the village use when they stay out overnight to give them some rest. I take a seat and stand guard outside. Amanda approached me while I was guarding.

    ¡°Thank God Mother Freya that you are still alive¡° (Amanda)

    ¡°Yeah, but I have become a subordinate for the God of War now¡± (Adam)

    ¡°What? The God of War? How come you got acquainted with?¡± (Amanda)

    ¡°I was about to perish in battle when the God of War made me Its subordinate and gave me a gift. The gift turns the tide of the battle one-sidedly¡± (Adam)

    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry for my action the past days.¡± (Amanda)

    ¡°It¡¯s already over. I didn¡¯t keep it at heart, and you did it for your family. I will also do my best for my family too, so I understand you¡± (Adam, rubbing Amanda¡¯s hairs)

    ¡°It¡¯s just so terrible. It¡¯s so unbearable, that feeling. Adam, you can still hold everything together after all the bad things that happened. You are amazing.¡± (Amanda)

    ¡°I¡¯m not very sure what all this will lead me to, but I will lead this world to a better place from now on. I realized that one can¡¯t do everything on their own. It¡¯s just that I will have a hard time with people and their behavior. They are very dark. Do you believe in past lives and rebirth?¡± (Adam)

    ¡°What is that?¡± (Amanda)

    ¡°Rebirth or reborn is a concept where living beings grow old and die, then their soul transmigrates and enters a newborn again, repeating the cycle of life¡± (Adam)

    ¡°Our church only teaches us that we have one life given by God, Holy mother Freya, and we must love our life dearly and never do anything sinful. The demons are beings that are sinful in itself, the incarnation of sin in a body.¡± (Amanda)

    ¡°I was taught that too when I was a child, but I always knew I was different. Now that I know more, I want to know even more. I will investigate what are the truth in this world without any bias or hearsay without proof.¡± (Adam)

    ¡°Will you share it with me¡± (Amanda)

    ¡°Yes, and you can also check it with me too so that I won¡¯t get lost alone. Come and journey with me¡± (Adam)

    ¡°Ahem¡± (Larsen)

    We got out of our talking session and noticed that Lillie and Larsen have not sleep due to our talking. Lillie looks peeved, and I quickly got to her side to console her, only to get sharp punches on my chest, and she ran away to Amanda¡¯s side.

    The night is going to be day in a few more hours, so I gather them up and make a move towards the battlefield first before the village. While we travel, I also fill in on the details of what happened to them. The day is going to be long as we return back to the village.

 The Return

    <u>The Return</u>

    (Adam the mage¡¯s POV)

    We managed to finally reach the edge of the forest and found the horse lying down, resting but stayed alert for predators. I arrived and release the rope. I feed it a wild fruit I plucked on the way out from the jungle, as I couldn¡¯t find time to fetch water from a well. Larsen got on the horse, and I helped the other two get up on the horse that¡¯s without a saddle now. The horse neighed as if to complain about the weight so I won¡¯t try to test the horse¡¯s patience. I walk on the ground and lead the horse while partially running.

    I led Larsen, Lillie, and Amanda back to the battlefield where I fought with the imperial army yesterday. It is early morning and the sun hasn¡¯t risen from the horizon yet. The newly formed ravine or crack on the ground can be seen, and most of the ashes have rolled down into it due to wind and gravity. Soldiers that have a home and family have left, and the remainder stayed in the village to do any manual labour and to bury the dead just as I instructed them. They did it out of fear of the devil mage, and I am that person. They have placed Amanda¡¯s family on wooden stretchers, and the little girl is still seen trying to heal them. Her stamina and mana recovery rate must have been good. It¡¯s good that the subjugated imperial army knows how to help without me giving them instruction, and they don¡¯t do something retarded like taking advantage of the little girl.

    Amanda dashed down to her family and crouch down beside them. It was a touching family reunion. So much must have happened, words are difficult to describe them all. The little girl must have been tired, so I go to her side. She still hasn¡¯t changed her clothes or washes herself, so I go to her and held her. She shivers and tried to avoid me in reflex, but her fatigue got the better of her. I hold her in a princess carry and intend to bring her to a nearby stream for her to wash. Lillie looked peeved when I did that, and keeps hitting me with her fist when I tried to put her on the horse¡¯s back. Larsen has got down himself and has walked towards where Amanda and Brandon are.

    Amanda seemed to have harvested a lot of herbs in the forest, and she gets them all out and pounds them on a clean stone to make poultices to place them of the wounds of her family members. She was especially worried about her father, as he is old and also heavily wounded. She works quickly and Lester also helps her up. I brought Lillie and the little girl to the stream, and tell the little girl to clean herself. Lillie is there to watch if there is any danger, and I go to the main road to collect any remaining spoils of battle.

    One thing that caught my attention is the arrow. The streamlined shape of the arrow reminded me of something I always see in my old world. With my current weapon from the God of War, I am basically strong when dealing with melee, but I got no way to deal with long range. My slingshot was stolen, and depleted magic stones may be abundant, but people do not collect them. If I want to hide my identity and at the same time be effective, I would take the role of a pure physical archer, since I can¡¯t use magic phenomena now.

    It¡¯s usually very difficult to get new skills unless you keep at it for a long time and gain insight. I realized I have gained basic swordsmanship, a specific weapon skill, though I can use most of the weapons without trouble because I got weapons mastery skill. I can try my hands on archery, and gain basic archery later. Slingshot is cool, but a bow and arrows has its own fascination too. I pick a humble simple bow from the ground. It¡¯s a simple design and is lightweight, made of wood. The handle is quite easy to grip, and I nock the arrow I found at the string and target it at a tree. The feeling is similar to when I¡¯m using a slingshot, but this is a bit larger. I release the taut string and with a quiet ¡®tuk¡¯, it hit its target. This weapon can be useful and is one of the most common professions so I won¡¯t be suspected if I register myself as one.

    I got back to Lillie and the little girl¡¯s location, and take them back to the group. Amanda¡¯s parents¡¯ condition looks stable, and Brandon is better now. I go and instruct some of the docile soldiers to help in carrying and escorting the wooden stretchers back to the village. There was no untoward incident happening along the way, and we got back into the village with everyone in tow. The village guards recognize Brandon and quickly come and greet us. When they noticed me, they all feared me for my reputation. Amanda assured them that I am not as what the kingdom¡¯s army claimed to be. They felt relieved, and we are allowed to enter the village. The injured guard soldiers earlier are given treatment at the village head house.

    As we are walking through the village towards where Amanda¡¯s home, the Four Idiots came up to us, led by Draka. He starts to intimidate us with his usual demeanor. He tried to shame my sister and Amanda during that time, so I straight up give him a punch under his chin, made him bit his tongue and break his jaw. His two cousins start to rush at me, and I give one a hard kick and he fell back hard onto a tree, and one punch and beat till he falls to the ground. I go up to Draka, lift his head from the ground, and threatened him to never ever lay his hands on any of my friends and family because his death will come looking for him if he does. It¡¯s a waste that I used up all my abilities in the blade of Rage and Guilt, as I wish to just crush him there and then. Even though we know each other since childhood, there is nothing worth redeeming from him. I warn the other loyal follower, now in bandages, to just live his life properly from now onwards, because the heydays of his master and leader are now gone.

    The other villagers got really scared of me and started whispering and gossiping about me and my companions, so I decided to clear up this matter by making an announcement.

    ¡°People of the village. I¡¯m your fellow villager who has stayed here since I¡¯m young. My parents have been murdered and burned alive while you all watch it just right behind my house. The imperial army has accused me of killing them and also put my sister in shame, which is a cover-up for their crimes. If you don¡¯t believe me or wish to say something to me, you may come forward anytime, but I won¡¯t tolerate any harassment to my family or my friends.¡± (Adam)If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

    The villagers became silent. They look at each other and walk away from the place. The atmosphere is tense and awkward. We resume our walk over to Amanda¡¯s home, and we put Amanda¡¯s family there. I place some wild rabbits that I caught earlier in the woods on the ground and offer to make everybody some food. We silently do our chores and I put the little girl in the hall to rest. I skin the rabbit and drain their blood, then prepare some roast rabbit and rabbit stew. I used some herbs from Amanda¡¯s garden, and the early breakfast is prepared. I used to mold my mana in the food to make it tastier, but I can¡¯t do that now, so I wonder how does it taste now. I pass all of them their food, including the little girl. The men from the army are also given some (with some stern warnings), and they all said the food taste well, but still, it lacks something.

    I taste the food myself, and it just tastes so so. The food needs a little mana molding to taste good, and I am not able to use them for now. The negative mana effect is still unknown, and I will test it on myself first to see the effect. The knowledge of spices and additives from my previous life is useful to help compensate the taste for now. I made some soft food and the stew for Amanda¡¯s parents. I hope that they can regain their strength and be healthy again.

    After they have finished their early breakfast, I asked the men of the army to follow me to my home. I asked my sister if she wanted to follow me back home, and she wished to stay with Amanda. I get the little girl to follow me because it¡¯s my responsibility that I brought her here. She was scared and wished to stay at Amanda¡¯s place to heal the patients, but I remind her that a healer needs to get some proper rest or they will perform poorly or even hurt the patient. She relented and follows me back to my home.

    The condition of my home got worse than before, as there are scribbling on the walls and floor. I asked the men from the army to clean the walls and rearrange the tables and furniture, while I and the little girl pick up all the things strewn all over the floor. She was a little hesitant, and the other men just work like quite listlessly, out of vigor. After getting everything right, I use the storage room to place all the men there, after tying up their hands with some rope. I tell them that I can¡¯t trust them with our safety yet. They silently accept their fate, which I¡¯m thankful. I close the door and locked them from the outside.

    I led the little girl to my sister¡¯s room so she can sleep there temporarily. After preparing everything for her, I went down, take two earthen jars, and go out at the backyard. I couldn¡¯t hold back my tears now. When I reached the heap of burned wood and ashes at the backyard, I have lost my sense of control.

    ¡°Dad, Mom. I am sorry. So sorry¡± (Adam)

    I lay my head on the ground as I prostrate in front of their resting place. I just want to spend my time with them like this for as long as I can. I cried and cried and I prostrate and pay my respect to my parents who have died because of me. Although it has not been long, they are my family, my father, and mother. They are very dear to me. I crawl to the pile of ashes and pick up the ones that resemble a person¡¯s body and place them carefully into the earthen jar, one each for my mother and father. I place their bones accordingly. Even though probably the wind and some unknown disturbance have riled up and scatter some of the ashes, I tried to place them into the jar properly and avoid mixing them up with dirt or other impurities. I slowly take my time to do that all carefully. During my collection of the ashes, I found two crystal formations, one green, and one blue. I can guess that the green one is probably mom¡¯s and the blue one is probably dad¡¯s. I place them in the earthen jar and make a mark on each jar to indicate which one is dad and mom.

    When I was about to finish collecting all the ashes and ready to close the earthen jars, I heard a sound in the kitchen at the back of the house. I turn and found the little girl there, looking at me before she turns and hides. I ask her if she can help me say some prayers for the dead. I approach her and look for her inside the kitchen. She has changed to my sister¡¯s old clothes and is now looking scared. After wiping away my tears, I ask her again politely if she can help me to offer a prayer phenomenon for my parents, as I was not able to invoke magic anymore. She accompanies me to the site and put her hands together, and we both offer our prayers to my mom and dad so that they can rest in peace after this. They are good people, so please let them a place to rest. Some sparkles can be seen rising from the ashes in the jars.

    I carried the two earthen jars on my arms and carried them back to my home. I went to my room and place them with me. I want to hold them with me when I sleep. I sleep properly at that time. Halfway through, I can feel a warm feeling hugging me. I ask who is it, and a soft voice said ¡°Lucinda¡±. It¡¯s a beautiful name, but I felt sleepy so I got back to sleep.

    About one hour later I woke up to the noise of someone calling me out. I got up from my bed and see the two jars in my arms. Behind me, I saw the little girl sleeping and hugging me. Is she the one that came to me earlier? This is strange, as normally people avoid me lately. If she¡¯s having a change of mind, that¡¯s good. The noise from outside is getting louder. I got outside and check what is the commotion. I saw the village head together with his grandson Draka is outside the house. The village head directly calls me a devil mage and demands that I be punished for injuring his grandson so gravely. The escorts of the village head are people with skills, mercenaries and some soldiers left over from the group that attacked me. They look thirsty for blood, and when I didn¡¯t give them the reply they want, they all pounce at me. I invoke my blade of Rage and Guilt and engage my attackers head on. My evasion skills have improved since I fought with the army in melee, and now I can easily dodge the quick attacks of the assassin-like moves of my assailants. I used my blade and injure all of them. Those fiercer ones, I have to end them there because it¡¯s an either they die or I die situation.

    The village head looks frail, but I never underestimated him. He can still cast wind magic using the sharp bamboos hidden in his walking stick. I evaded them perfectly, and slash at him. The village head is injured but not dead. He began asking for mercy, and I don¡¯t have a strong reason to resent him, other than spoiling his grandson. Draka and his gang begin running away, and I hit them down and make them lie on the floor together with the village head. I tell them that they have sinned my family by allowing free reign of the army in the village, hurting of the villagers, unfair treatment of the villagers to benefit themselves, and overlooking the troubles caused by his grandson, particularly now that he hurts his family and sister especially. I said that their action warrants death, but giving death to them now won¡¯t solve the problem.

    I give the village head one week to abdicate his position and pass on to another person, and teach the next village head the ways to keep contact with the kingdom and the surrounding villages. He agreed to all the terms after I pressure him. I then absorb the village head¡¯s love for his grandson with the blade of Guilt. The others were terrified when they saw the gooey thing. Next, I absorb Draka¡¯s love to cause suffering to others. I couldn¡¯t forgive Draka for his actions, so I also cut off his thing with the blade of rage, and absorb his manliness away. I also cut away his middle fingers to make sure this guy will never do anything like before again.

    The day has just started today, and I wish to make progress. I ask the village head and Draka to go help with the rebuilding of the village after they have done their chores, which they comply.

 Side Story 7 â€“ Views

    <u>Side Story 7 ¨C Views</u>

    (This is recounting during the battle, right after the hero charged into the Demon Lord¡¯s army)

    (Forward general¡¯s POV)

    What recklessness the hero has? His overconfidence due to recent successes with the smaller contingent of Demon Lord¡¯s army has gone up to his head. I would definitely be in a difficult position. General Gramont is known for his ruthlessness. Our situation is dire, as we have been switched from an attacking position into a defending position. Many of our men died on the battlefield, and we are in need of a change in strategy.

    The sudden surge of magic phenomena that give rise to our once fallen comrades is a great help for us, but the hero¡¯s blind charge against the formation of the Demon Lord¡¯s army is going to lead to a heavy loss on our side. I saw the fallen mage, Adam. He¡¯s totally out cold, and for some time, I thought I have lost him for sure. Luckily, he started breathing again after he stopped doing so for several minutes. I got one of the field healer to help check on him. Earlier, I notice that he started casting a large-scale spell that I¡¯m not familiar with, and I ordered my troops to rally in and cover for him. They did their best, and many of them have fallen. After he managed to invoke the magical phenomena, the hero¡¯s party and all the army around that had fallen have risen again. It must have been the forbidden spell of Resurrection, a magic phenomenon that gives rise to those that have just recently fallen in battle.

    This is a good chance to reverse the situation, but I¡¯m afraid that chance will never turn to fruition because of the hero¡¯s actions. He just wants to gain bravery points by showing up and rallying the soldiers behind him. The army in this situation will just be an easy target to large-scale magical phenomena, since we will be lacking coordination and charge in like a mob, not having the right weapon to fight back and hurting ourselves when moving around. I try to coordinate the soldiers that didn¡¯t follow the hero into a group that focuses on supporting the hero¡¯s charge from the rear.

    The hero¡¯s strength is unquestionable, as he injures a minotaur that is coming at us. The Lamias and Nagas equipped with Aegis shields are extremely powerful as forward guards. Many soldiers tried to swarm in to kill the injured minotaur, but their attacks are too weak, and their piled up bodies make fighting in a melee cumbersome and disadvantageous. The hero knew this, and he jumped into the middle of the enemy¡¯s forward rank and unleashes a mighty barrage of sword skills and magic phenomena. Many enemy attacks hit him, but it seems he has a strong defense and can hold the attacks well enough on his own. His defense is probably second only to the shielder when he uses all his defensive skills and weapons.

    The hero managed to fell two more minotaurs after that, and the rest of the army followed him. At the cost of many men, the hero managed to charge in and reach the Demon general. Equipped with his heavy sword Caliburn, and taken an Aegis shield from a fallen Lamia, the hero charge and attacks the Demon general. The Demon general is a magic expert, so he can¡¯t use direct magic on the hero when he¡¯s equipped with the Aegis shield. It instead cast a rock punch on the ground and hit the hero behind the shield. The hero managed to resist that attack, and jump forward to avoid ground attacks. This time, the air blew and the hero fell in a different location from intended, and he got surrounded. The hero turns the tide of his battle by activating a skill.

    The hero then fought well with the Demon general. He must have used his unique skill to balance the power difference between them both. The Hero is slowly inching nearer and nearer to the Demon general, slaying more demonic shamans, as he got closer. When the Demon general is pushed out of the ritual circle, it fled and the demons withdraw back. The hero pursues the army, intending to kill the Demon general, but couldn¡¯t do so as the demons have returned to their entrenched position. Even the unique skill of the hero couldn¡¯t help the hero much, as barrages of projectile attacks that are very quick and powerful hit the hero until his armour is broken in many places. The demons focus their magic attacks at those that are near their position, and I got the archers and ballista operators to fire it at the demons¡¯ entrenched position if they can get a clear shot.

    The rallying of the army by hero Aaron has mixed effects and results. The soldiers generally gain great morale as the hero is leading a charge against the demons. They fought more ferocious under the leadership of the hero, but they also suffer more casualties as they are now tactically at a disadvantage. Our objective is to crush the demons with as little human casualties as possible, and we have a long term plan to actualize the objectives of the battle. We definitely can¡¯t get to storm the demon capital overnight.

    The presence of the hero¡¯s party and soldiers at the very front position makes the support group very precarious. This is because it may cause friendly fire. We waited for the forward group to retreat to get a clear line of sight. The archers fired several volleys of elemental arrows at the demons¡¯ entrenched lines because the arrow can be fired at an angle. When the hero, his party, and the soldiers retreat, we fired the large ballistae and pummel their entrenchment. Even with their stats and fortified position, we managed to put the demons in their rightful place, the underworld. It¡¯s ironically thanks to the hero, his party, and the army full-time engagement with the demons that we managed to properly place the heavy weapons in place without getting destroyed by the demons¡¯ attacks. The hero doesn¡¯t look impressed with what has happened though. We can¡¯t confirm the death of the demon general, as when we tried approaching the entrenched location, the demons begin pouring out and are pushing us back. The hero and the troops are too weary to continue the battle, so the battle ended with a draw, and we got back to the safety of our border station.

    The true problem arises when we return back to the kingdom. I put in the battle report to the king that we have managed to only draw with the demons. They managed to hold out our attack, and we attacked with almost three times their estimated numbers. We lost nearly half of our troops that we recruited in this campaign, and this will hamper our future campaign to push north and claim back the part of the fertile land that can solve our food problem and secure our land from potential demon threats.

    Initially, we did well in the battle and the scout of the hero¡¯s party managed to discover large buildup of demon forces near the border. The hero¡¯s party managed to scuttle their attempts to invade the villages located near the border, and the king rallied sufficient forces behind it and now send them forward to repel back the demon forces and to start a campaign of conquest to recoup back the lands lost during the demon invasion 15 years ago. But now all this comes to a standstill and may incur the wrath of important people from many positions. The king will definitely shoot back the report, as we have the hero to assist us in the battle, and we have also relayed the early victories that the hero achieved to the king and the populace. I don¡¯t dare to alter my report, as it may incur serious punishment if my altered report now is brought up in future meetings.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.

    ¡°General Sueza of the forward army, please come in¡± (royal announcer)

    I entered the room nervously. All the main generals were lined up inside. The king always meets the main generals first because they are the main planner of any military campaign, and we, the forward generals are the executor of those plans. The king calls out to me to explain my report, and I did just that.

    ¡°In the report, you said that the demons have managed to hold back our advancement, and our losses are close to 40% of all our committed troops, am I correct?¡± (King Silgemuth)

    ¡°Yes¡± (General Sueza)

    ¡°An the cause you mentioned is because of a tactical error, am I correct?¡± (King Silgemuth)

    ¡°Yes¡± (General Sueza)

    ¡°I find it hard to believe your report, General Sueza. Hero¡¯s party got cursed? Resurrection of the troops? Troops failed to regroup because they joined the Hero¡¯s offensive. This is the first report that ever comes out like that¡± (King Silgemuth)

    It seems that the news about the resurrection of our troops never reaches the ears of the king. The king doesn¡¯t know anything at all of what happened on the battlefield. How can he be in the dark of all this if he¡¯s to run the kingdom?

    ¡°If you want to write a report to cover your mistakes, try writing a better one, next life¡± (General Gramont)

    ¡°Wait, your majesty. I¡¯m truly sorry for not writing a proper report. But what I wrote there is the truth¡± (General Sueza)

    ¡°Prove it¡± ¡± (King Silgemuth)

    The royal announcer called out for witnesses to come forward and explain their story. The soldiers asked to come forward and tell what has happened had all conspired with the main generals, and even the hero and the hero¡¯s party have all said the same thing, things that favour the report by the main generals and General Gramont.

    ¡°Enough. You would have to take the trial¡± (General Gramont)

    ¡°Anyone found writing a false claim or report to the king and couldn¡¯t prove the truth, would have to take the trial¡± (royal lawmaker)

    ¡°Before that, may I know the report the others give to his majesty?¡± (General Sueza)

    The king allowed it, and General Sueza read their report in his heart.

    They reported that they were about to win the battle of pushing back the demon, and the missing of the mage¡¯s sniping attack on the Demon general in the party cause the Hero to take over his duty to kill the Demon general, and in turn causing the demons to gain grounds and fight back the successful invasion of the human army. They also claim that the forward general¡¯s poor command didn¡¯t bring out the support from the rear quick enough and also the forward general has relinquished command of all troops in front to the hero, making the hero busy. The number of soldiers reported dead is also much lower, probably made up, and some are also resurrected earlier and joined the army back.

    The trial is a test of luck, where there was two glass of wine, one laced with poison and one not. The poison is tasteless and colourless, and won¡¯t show up in appraisal status when placed in trace quantity.

    ¡°Have a cup to prove your word and loyalty¡± (royal cup pourer)

    Both cups and contents look the same to me. I tried using my low-level appraisal skill to at least give me a hint, but I get no difference. I felt nervous, as my life and honour are on the line here. I take the one on the right. I put it on my lips and drank a little of it. I feel nothing. They ask me to drink it all, and I was forced to do so. I felt bad about this. The soldiers shove the rest of the drink into my throat. I begin to feel nauseous, and throw out the content of the drink, together with some blood. It seems today I can¡¯t meet my wife again. I will miss her face. I haven¡¯t given anything yet to my baby boy who¡¯s just learning to walk.

    (Third Party¡¯s POV)

    During the hero¡¯s fight with the Demon general, the other hero¡¯s party members and the soldiers of the kingdom fought against the attacking demons. Many of the common soldiers lose their lives because the demons generally are better at combat skills and have higher stats. Ester the cleric couldn¡¯t take it anymore and starts healing the soldiers together with her injured party members, against the wishes of hero Aaron. She tried to look for Adam the mage, but he¡¯s now out of view.

    Some of the fallen cavalries have also revived and is currently engaging the demon lord¡¯s army at the flank. Battles are now engaged in a melee everywhere. The magical shield set up by the demon general and the blue light of mage¡¯s Resurrection magic phenomena has settled and they all resumed their battle as if the previous battle is rewind and resumed. The orders of the forward generals to pull back and regroup are ignored, and everyone just continues with their battle.

    (Hero Aarons¡¯s POV, right after jumping in to fight Demon general)

    I used my dash and quick movement skills to avoid getting hit from all sides and slay all my attackers. I use appraisal on the Demon general and noticed his stats and overall power is more than mine. It¡¯s vexing, but if I train hard and level up more, I can overcome his overall power in the future if I want to face against the Demon Lord. For now, I use my semi-active skill ¡°Against All Odds¡± to even the scales. The minatour, Lamias and Nagas are definitely strong foes, but this is another class on its own. Its magic is powerful, so I use the Aegis Shield against it. It¡¯s smart that it uses magic indirectly where the Aegis shield couldn¡¯t block and made me fall into his group of minions.

    In a rush to defend myself, I activate the time-limited unique skill of ¡°Against All Odds¡± and turn the table against the ambush. I killed all the demons that surround me, and I quickly dash forward to kill the demon general. Using this skill has some drawbacks and is limited in time, so I must make full use of it. I steadily gained my foothold on the Demon general, but it ran away last minute and uses his subordinates to hinder my chase. I bisect them all and continue to chase after the Demon general that ran out of some circles on the ground. That coward then ran back so fast to its stronghold and hide there like a worm. I intend to chase after him, but the attacks from the magic of the demons entrenched there is too strong that I can¡¯t even move forward. My armour begins to crack and split under the heavy barrage, even though my resistance to magic is very strong, and is enhanced by my unique skill. Soon, my unique skill¡¯s time is out, and I almost get to kill the Demon general. I was forced to retreat, and when I retreated away from the entrenchment, several large poles hit the entrenchment, killing or injuring the demons. The Demon general is probably dead, but somebody tried to steal my credit. I look at the support army, and a forward general I know commandeers it. There will be a repercussion.

    I cannot let people think that I have any weaknesses. As a hero that aspires hope, I need to always be strong. That¡¯s why this time, I would need someone to take the fall for me, and I would prefer the mage to be that person.

    (Main General @ Gramont¡¯s POV)

    Finally, the battle continues in our favour. I never expect that someone from the hero¡¯s party hold such a powerful card in their hands. Now that the tide has changed, we would be able to proceed with the battle without revealing any of our trump cards this time. Some of the support clerics are from the church so they may have some instruction from the Pope. HE did mention that the mage in the hero¡¯s party is too dangerous, but I just see him as a loyal officer so far. He¡¯s useful so far, and I can use him as a lynchpin to get the hero on my side.

    General Sueza is quite a strong head righteous officer, though efficient. Too bad that he would have to go. Lacing both the cups with poison is easy, as many servants here listen to the queen. Replacing him with one that follows our orders obediently is possible, and makes our job easier. Making him the fall officer so that we can quell the anger of the public by putting the responsibility on his shoulder is also a good thing

    Since getting on the good side of the hero and the Pope coincides, I will proceed to make the best use of the mage in the hero¡¯s party for this purpose. If he has anything to blame, it would be his luck.

 Planning

    (Third party¡¯s POV)

    The village of Thrisand has just been in turmoil lately, and a battle is fought near it, so there are a lot of things happening. Adam is still known as the devil mage, but the villagers dare not oppose him, nor talk to him. He just does his job as usual. He led a group of soldiers to do some work like they were his slaves, but he personally doesn¡¯t like this kind of relationship. However, he doesn¡¯t really have a choice, as this is the only way they would listen to him. He tasked them with repairing the damages they had done to the village, and to prepare some countermeasures in case the kingdom wants to pursue his matter any further.

    The soldiers were also tasked to hunt, help in farms, and also to look out for any new imperial army approaching. One of them is also tasked to find out where is his missing equipment the army took from Amanda when she was forced to cooperate with them to sneak them away.

    (Adam¡¯s the mage¡¯s POV)

    I went to Amanda¡¯s place with Lucinda, the little healer girl in tow. She has changed back to her yesterday¡¯s outdoor dress. After knocking and waited a moment, Amanda came out and hugged me. Her face looks tired, but she is happy. I brought for her some food that I prepared at home, and shared it with all of them. Lillie is also there, but she doesn¡¯t really want to see me. I told them about what happened this morning with the village head, and also about me having collected the remains of my dad and mom. I showed it to my sister, in a sling I carried around with me. I plan to keep it with me all the time. I grabbed Lillie¡¯s hands and touch the earthen jars with it, and together, we say our prayers. There were little sparkles I can feel from the jars.

    After that, we talked about almost everything that happened recently, and due to talking about a certain topic, Amanda asked me to enter her room. It¡¯s strange that nobody objected to this peculiar request. Once I entered her room, she told me to strip. Wait, I¡¯m not such a frivolous man that would just strip inside a girl¡¯s room. She takes off my clothes that I changed to the one in my house and starts checking my body all over the place. She looks worried, and she takes out a bottle of ointment from the drawer and starts to apply it over my body. It seems like the cuts and wounds over my body have increased, especially during the battle, where I go into melee action with the army. It is a miracle that my body never gives out during that time, as spears and arrows grazed me almost all the time. The wounds will leave scars after they are healed because they are quite deep. Amanda rubs the ointment all over my body and invokes simple magic to let the wounds absorb the ointment and heals faster natural. It didn¡¯t escape my notice though, that Lucinda probably used heal on me this morning, as I can see that the pain and some deep cuts are now less obvious.

    I thanked Amanda with a gentle kiss on her forehead and got out of her room. I will leave Lucinda at Amanda¡¯s place to help heal Amanda¡¯s family. I feel sorry for making Lucinda doing work here for free when she is supposed to go with the nun and heal people around. After leaving the earthen jars with my parents¡¯ ashes with Lillie, I excuse myself from Amanda¡¯s home and go out to the plains to find some horses plundered from the battle to be tied there. I took a horse with me and I intend to go look at what happened to the slaves from the slave dealer group.

    Since I defeated the entire group of slave dealer and his mercenaries, I got ahold of 113 slaves from the slave dealer based on his list of slaves. His property is a lot, and he has many links and connections that were written in his notebook and contracts. I wonder how they all fare for the past three days since I failed to feed them any food during that time. The journey takes a short while only since it¡¯s nearby at the village edge facing the capital. I got down from the horse and tied it to a nearby tree. I got to the main entrance of the slave dealer¡¯s place for the first time. The place is quite like a temporary encampment, and the wooden structures are quite old. Guess they are used as a storehouse to keep the slaves that are to be brought to the capital.

    There are several carriages and carts at a warehouse that are used to transport the slave now placed in the around the compound with cages on them. The place seems to have been ransacked, probably some thief or robber came after I defeated this place. This made me worried, other than food problem, they also face attacks from outside. I don¡¯t want to put the slaves in a miserable state, but I can¡¯t help it since I was so busy with the battle that it can cost me my life at any time. I went into the general compound of the buildings and saw that some crates have been moved here and there. I heard crying moans and some laughter from inside several buildings.

    I hide behind the wall to avoid being seen. I want to know what¡¯s happening to the place while I was gone. What I saw later shocked me. There were kingdom soldiers acting like bandits moving the cages around without a care. The slaves inside were suffering due to the effect of being away from the magic core that still has command over them. I begin to notice there were some cages that were opened, and the captives inside have turned pale and most likely dead. I somehow felt sorry for their fate. I turn to look at the other noises. There are more soldiers inside the other buildings. They are basically acting like bandits and looters.

    I take my bow and arrows that I collected from the battlefield of the previous battle, and I plan to take them out one by one. I totally forgot that my fellow hero¡¯s party candidate and me used to practice with bow and arrow as the basic training, and those who aspire to be mages are basically drilled in the arts of using bow and arrows for weeks until we are expert in it, one of the training that gained me the ''weapons master'' skill. It has been some while, and it totally slipped my mind. The use of bow and arrows here is similar to my memories of my past life, but we grow too dependent on skills that we never test our limits to do the impossible.

    The bow this time is a sturdier one made from hardwood. The bow can recoil back a lot if you pull it hard. I put some metal sheet on them to provide sturdiness and to prevent breaking if it somehow was pulled too hard. It was done in a hurry, and I never expect it to be of use so soon, so the look is not good and the work is shoddy. Without my lenses, I would need to predict their movements, and shooting through the walls may affect the trajectory. I tried to maximize my use of the passive skill ¡°Aim¡± and ¡°Sharpshooting¡± in this case. I nock and shoot my first arrow through the gap in the wall. It hit a soldier, and he died. The passive skill is too helpful in this case, and I would end up killing all of them. I continue to nock and shoot my arrows. I made sure to hide my face before I attack, and the soldiers are all shocked that a hooded person starts shooting at them. They arm themselves and hides at precarious spots that would also hurt the slaves, so I always have to reposition myself.

    This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    Some of the soldiers have offense magic and support magic, and they begin to gain momentum in the fight with so many collaterals. I¡¯ve been thinking if I should just fight without minding my surroundings. I begin to change my mindset, as I got some sort of revelation after analyzing my battle. I recall that I can sense something like the wind or air of those around me, and with the bow and arrow, I will shoot my arrows according to this feeling that I once knew well. I try to lower my sharpshooting¡¯s effectiveness so that they don¡¯t hit the slaves due to close proximity. I collected my thoughts and focus my mind, and then I nock and release my arrows just like an automatic rifle. The attack seems like random shooting at first, but the arrows curved at angles that are not predictable and all of them find their target at the soldiers. Some managed to deflect or block them, but some got hit and are either injured or dead

    I hope not to cause death to any more people after the mass slaughter yesterday, but it seems like I would still need to fight this way. The remaining soldiers have all taken at least one slave as a human shield. I don¡¯t want to continue fighting a pointless battle, and come out of hiding.

    ¡°Who are you? Are you here to claim the slaves?¡± (Soldier A)

    ¡°I¡¯m just a passerby. I can¡¯t stand idly while you guys commit such crime as attacking the slaves. Aren¡¯t you all soldiers of the kingdom?¡± (Adam while in undercover)

    ¡°We have been taking charge of this place since the imperial army chief put us in charge. Answer our questions or we will attack you to death.¡± (Soldier B)

    ¡°I¡¯m a traveler from the neighbouring village of Saida. My name is Nomu.¡± (Adam)

    ¡°A traveler with such skills is never heard of. Why do you come to this village? Killing a soldier of this kingdom is punishable by death. We are in the middle of subjugating the devil mage from this village. His name is Adam.¡± (Soldier A)

    ¡°Oh, subjugating a devil. But why hiding here instead of going out to deal with it directly?¡± (Adam)

    ¡°Are you deaf!? We are in charge here. You have murdered our colleagues who are soldiers of the kingdom so you will be punished by the law of the kingdom. Surrender yourself, or if you have other accomplices, ask them to surrender too.¡± (Soldier B)

    ¡°Haven¡¯t you heard news regarding your imperial army chief?¡± (Adam)

    ¡°Don¡¯t try to change the topic. He will contact us immediately after he caught or defeat the devil mage that betrayed the kingdom¡± (Soldier A)

    ¡°Not trying to put your morale down, but the imperial army chief is having fun in the village by showing his body to the soldiers and let them have their wiles with him.¡± (Adam)

    ¡°How dare you!? Take his head.¡± (several soldiers)

    The battle resumed, and the soldiers engage me in melee quickly, knowing that an archer will have difficulty engaging in melee battle. After knowing that the soldiers have not even been notified with the main army¡¯s destruction and disbandment, it would be easier to wipe them out, since it¡¯s not a special unit sent by the kingdom to seek me out and destroy me.

    Using the bow or arrow in melee combat is not advisable. Although there have been many combat style shown in my previous life that shows archer and bowman can use their bows for combat, but in real life combat here the bow¡¯s wood part is large and can¡¯t take continuous impact on its body, which will alter its dynamic in the long term if not outright damaged. Attaching blades or reinforce the bow may enable an archer or bowman to engage in melee when forced too, but it will alter the bow¡¯s dynamic and it will also be too heavy to be used continuously.

    For today, I will use the blade of Rage and Guilt to handle melee battle, and I don¡¯t need to fear my identity exposed because the army here still doesn¡¯t know of the infamous battle I had. I invoke the blades and stored my bow and quiver of arrows into the inventory, and with the blades I clash and slash the approaching attackers, catching them by surprise and I stab into their vital organ, ending them quickly. I would prefer non-violence, but leaving them alive is detrimental to the village. My blade of Guilt¡¯s ability has been used up completely today, so I can¡¯t use it to drown them in sorrow and subvert them. I may disable them now and subvert them tomorrow, but having too many of the attackers of the slave alive may traumatize their victims and made the condition worse. I have to work up my appraisal skills and see the status of those I¡¯m about to kill. Those that have no offense or just minor offense will be spared and disabled for some ''talking'' and subversion with the blade of Guilt if they are not open to talking.

    I felt grateful that the appraisal skill is still working even though my current mana is very negative. This skill usually consumes mana to cast, but I have been known to use appraisal without needing to use mana, but it comes with a headache if I use it too often. This skill probably comes from my ability to look at the minute details of things, and my brain probably just convert the information into a proper grouping. At the end of my fight at the slave dealer warehouse, I managed to detain five men, and the rest is killed. Those soldiers killed have all committed crimes of serious offenses. I don¡¯t like this atmosphere at all, but someone needs to get the job done and clean bad people.

    There was an indication that I suddenly get in my head.

    God of War approves of your action.

    +2 to God of War¡¯s grace

    Ahh, this means currently I¡¯m being watched at by two gods as their familiar and subordinate, and I just got God of War¡¯s grace. This is the drawback from accepting God of War as my master in return for power. I wonder what action got the grace of the God of War.

    I tied up the rest of those soldiers I disabled and put them in a cage in an enclosed room, and I tried to check on those slaves that have been injured or used as collateral during the scuffle. One of them is a girl that has small black horns on her head, very sharp canine tooth, black wings and tail made out of gelatin-like substance. Her wings have been clipped and are tattered. The soldiers earlier mentioned that she is one of the cargos that they must dispose of at all costs. They slit her throat before I can stop them, and she is now at death¡¯s door, blood oozing out from the wound on her neck. If I¡¯m not mistaken, she must be the demon that is mentioned in the list of slaves owned by the slave dealer.

    The demon looks like a human female and is very sexy and alluring, similar to the fantasy people draw about succubus in my previous life. If this succubus has the same age growth and height as a human, she would be like 12 years old, but her body is already like a fully developed woman. I don¡¯t really know where to look if I look at her in detail, so I just look at her face and try to understand what she is muttering. I don¡¯t understand her words, and she seems only able to speak the demon language. Humans are forbidden to learn demon language, and knowing it is associated with traitor who works for the demon. I¡¯m not a traitor of humans, and I¡¯m not interested to learn the language of a race that has been terrorizing the humans for so long.

    ¡°Dehhh?, dahh¨¨, ?had, g?h¡± (grand succubus)

    ¡°Such poor thing, dying here all alone. But you know, I have been betrayed even by those I believe are my friends, and the kingdom I serve. I can¡¯t trust you, as your kind has been doing all kinds of atrocities against humans. Sorry¡± (Adam)

    She seems to be in the last throes of her life, so in pity, I try to release her from her bindings, but alas the chain this time is as intricate as my sister¡¯s. I don¡¯t intend to release the slave seal immediately, but left her lying on a cloth I lay out so that she doesn¡¯t feel too cold. I put her lying with her head up so that the blood flow can be slowed down, and put something to press on so that the blood doesn¡¯t gush out, but it can¡¯t prevent that. There is nothing I can do in this situation, and helping her outright is not what I want to do. I have been betrayed by humans, so the more I don¡¯t want to help a demonkin who has long been known to cause humans sufferings. Though I have only seen them in battle, where they perpetrate atrocities, I have never seen them in their daily lives. Seeing her weakening and dying, I press my hands on the slave seal on her heart and let it slowly corrode away until the seal fell off, letting her die a free demon.

    ¡°uuuuhhhh.¡± (grand succubus)

    After seeing her drop down on the cloth, I tend to other slaves who are also injured and give them basic treatment. I find food and water for them, but I can¡¯t find any left in the kitchen or pantry. I go to the other buildings and check and they are all empty. It seems that they have finished off all the provisions that they can find. While going around the buildings, I noticed the presence of somebody I just knew three days ago. The three slave dealer¡¯s subordinates that I have locked inside the cage. They seem to properly converse among themselves. I have put Pita worms in their food so that their voice cord will be clogged with them and they won¡¯t be able to say anything. It seems that the imperial army had released them from their captivity and healed them. They are now acting like bosses and are now sitting on the slave dealer¡¯s desk. I retrieve my bow and the quiver of arrows from inventory and store the blades. I nocked three arrows, and walk inside with it.

 Control

    <u>Control</u>

    (Adam the mage¡¯s POV)

    (Continued from Planning, where he confronts the escaped peons)

    I enter the room and point the bow and arrows at the goons that have at one time serve the slave dealer. Now they are acting all high and mighty in this room, enjoying the food and drinks.

    ¡°Hey, remember me?¡± (Adam)

    ¡°You bastard! Kill him!¡± (Peon X, Y, Z get their weapons ready to strike)

    I let loose the arrows and it pierces them. It seems that they are the most likely people to have blabber out about my slingshot to these guys. I thought of letting them manage the slaves when I¡¯m not present, but these people are more of a liability than an asset. They abandoned the slaves for their own benefit, and enjoy themselves while the slaves suffer from hunger and malnutrition.

    ¡°Urkh, Guahhh, Eaakhh¡± (Peon X, Y, Z injured)

    The arrow pierced their vital parts, and they are all now lying on the floor. It seems that they never learn their lesson while in lockup, and continue to perpetrate more sufferings. Humans really don¡¯t change their nature, do they? I will properly dispose of them this time. Having them as subordinates are a constant threat to my safety, and I don¡¯t have time to always monitor them and turn them away from being retarded. Learning everything from scratch and doing everything myself is very tedious, but at least I won¡¯t get betrayed.

    ¡°Have mercy on us.¡± (Peon X, Y, Z said in their weakened condition)

    ¡°I have given you guys plenty of chances to repent. What do you guys do? You sold my info to the imperial army, enjoy away all the food, and left the slaves to die of hunger and thirst. Do you have mercy on them?¡± (Adam)

    ¡°We are forced to cooperate¡± (Peon X, Y, Z begging on the floor)

    ¡°No more excuses. Bye.¡± (Adam)

    I shot through their skulls with the arrows and end their miserable lives. Never would I imagine I could do this just a week ago, but now I¡¯m killing humans in cold blood just because I dislike their behaviour. The arrow is stuck in the skull real hard and can¡¯t be retrieved. I retrieve the other arrows that are not stuck and found that my lens is on the table and is being disassembled. I took out my gloves and wear them, and manipulate the tools that are not bloodied and reassemble my lens into one piece again. This is an important tool that helped me out a lot with my ranged combat, and I can¡¯t enchant or obtain the necessary lens material now, so it¡¯s critically important I don¡¯t lose this lens.

    I return back to the slaves with some food and water from the slave dealer¡¯s room. I distribute them to the surviving slaves while doing a headcount of the slaves on a new list. After doing a slave count check, it seems that only 63 slaves survive the ordeal. Insectoid slaves were all killed, as their bodies are crushed. The human slaves suffered serious trauma due to malnourishment, abuse, and pain due to moving out of their designated zone. I corrode their slave seals, and I transfer them all to another cage and locked them up. I would need to deal with them properly after I got the other slaves ready.

    I go to the beastman slaves and recount their numbers. It seems that most of them are strong warriors, so they resist to the bitter end. Most of them are now dead, and the few survivors are in a very sorry state. Human of this kingdom have discriminated against the beastmen race for a very long time, and even during my time here, for as long as I can remember, everyone said they hate the beastmen for they are traitor of humanity, they are savages that eat human whenever they can, they worked with the demons to destroy humans, and many more evil deeds. They claim that the beastmen race is born from the union of demon and wild animals or the union of traitorous human and beast or both. This kingdom practices the policy of killing any of them on sight, but it seems that there are demands for them since the nobles are willing to buy them.

    All the beastmen slave survivors seem to be females, and they are in such worn-out state that they will probably die in a day or two if left like this without care. I release their slave seals by slow corrosion from contact with my hand and put them all on the makeshift bed. I haven¡¯t released their chains for in case they suddenly retaliate against me, but I give them enough to recuperate on the makeshift bed. I give those who can still move or conscious some food and water, while I carefully cut the food to small pieces for those unconscious and unable to eat on their own. I feed them with water mixed with sweet stuff from the collection of the slave dealer to give them energy.

    While settling the matter with the beastmen, I also take a look at the other slaves. The demi-humans are just as mistreated as the beastmen. Demi-humans are more lookalike to humans than their beast counterparts. While beastmen have limbs and tails that resemble wild animals, demi-human are mostly human except for their stature, eyes, ears, and nose. Some still have tails, but they are less pronounced. The elves and dwarves slaves were not as badly treated, but they would need care too for being dragged away from their designated spot and are suffering from the pain. I tell them to promise not to do anything rash or I will kill them on the spot, and they seem to understand. I corrode their slave seal slowly by touching them with my hands to free them from their suffering due to being away from their designated spot due to the magic cores with authority.

    The other demi-humans are all in bad shape, but I can¡¯t just release all of them one goes without proper crowd control. I am afraid they will think of rebellion the moment they are free from their slave seal. I drag whichever cage is nearby back to their spot to stop the pain induced by the magic core authority, and only release those demi-humans (mostly with animal features) that are very badly injured. The slaves this time didn¡¯t give that much trouble except that they need more care to keep them alive. I use my first-aid knowledge from my previous life to stop the bleeding, to apply bandage and slings at broken limbs, and to give nutrition to those malnourished. Without magic, things may seem more inconvenient, but I still feel that doing this is better than just rely on magic.

    I go all over the place to help and treat the slaves, hoping to save all of those that can be saved, while at the same time making sure they don¡¯t suddenly attack me. The demi-human slaves are helpful, as they help the other slave survivors without me giving instructions to them, and I feel grateful to them. There is a big-sized demi-human girl who has small curled horns on her head, like an ewe, helping me out despite having injuries all over her body. Her tattered fur may have helped cushion many of the abuse they hurled at her. I put my hands on her slave seal near her heart, and slowly crumble the thing that causes her continuous pain as she moves around to carry nourishment to other slaves. She was grateful and bowed to me as she moves off. This is the first time I ever interact with other races earnestly, and getting such a gesture puts me in a bind as to what to do for a demi-human that bows to me.

    One of the human slaves succumbed to her injuries, as she is so young, and the soldiers seem to toy with her too much. When I arrived and battled with the soldiers, she is already convulsing and lost her consciousness. I tend to her and give her some sweet drink, but she won¡¯t swallow it. I opened her mouth to check for any obstruction, and I tried to use mouth-to-mouth to put some of it inside her, as I have only vague recollection if this method will ever work from my memory. The girl regains consciousness a while later, and I pour some for her to drink. It seems like her stomach is weak, so she can¡¯t take any food. I continue to hold her in my arms to give her warmth and sing the song my mother used to sing for me when I was little. I continue to sing until she breathes her last breath on my arms, and I close her eyes properly. I truly regret not having the convenience of magic this time.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

    It was supposed to be heart-wrenching pain to see another death, but probably due to my parents¡¯ death, and multiple deaths and horrors around me, I¡¯m now void of any emotion after the death of the girl. I lay her to rest on the floor to be handled later. I got up and mechanically go to visit the other slaves that are terribly affected. First in the list is the grand succubus I left for dead earlier. I felt a little bad for discriminating against another living being, but I couldn¡¯t help it since it is a demon. But since I got discriminated and persecuted by humans, I can roughly relate to her. The beastmen are not a troublesome race that attacks their rescuer, even though I¡¯m a human. The demi-humans are polite and thoughtful, unlike the savage and brute nature people claim them to be. This demon is alone, probably a child abandoned by the demons.

    When I saw the grand succubus, expecting her to be dead, I was surprised. She is still alive, although in quite an unsightly manner. She licks the blood on the floor, tracing every drop of them. Her tongue is flexible and long, almost like a snake although not branched into two. She takes the blood of a dying soldier to recover her loss of blood, and she takes down the pants of a dying soldier. Her tongue coiled around the masculine part, trying to stroke it. A little white fluid is seen secreted out from the masculine part, which she took a little of them while her eyes look like she wanted to devour it greedily. I find it strange that a dying man can still take pleasure and responds to them. After a moment of taking in the fluid, the grand succubus noticed my presence and when she realized I was looking at her, she hid her head in shame. I pretend not to notice and approach her to check on the wound on her neck. It seems that the slit on her throat has been closed, with not much blood trickling down, although the wound is still there. I check her eyes and face to see if she¡¯s okay. I never really know about demon physiology, but I didn¡¯t really feel afraid of her. Her action is a bit disgusting, but I have heard of it from folklore and legend of my past life about the race of demons called succubus. Her being a grand succubus must means that she is a stronger mutation of the succubus race. Succubus rarely appears in the Demon Lord¡¯s army, so the people never really spoke of them.

    The grand succubus eyes look to be in focus and still lively. She looks weak, but with her slave seal removed, it may pose risk if she decides to attack me or the other slaves. I tried to talk with her in the kingdom¡¯s language, telling her that she mustn¡¯t harm anyone here. She makes a face that she seems like she did not understand what I said. I then use hand gestures, pointing to myself and the other slaves, then point to a blade left by the soldiers, and I make an X sign with my hands to indicate that she mustn¡¯t hurt us. She seems to understand and spoke in demon tongue again.

    ¡°A¨ºfu buldar aremasu, g?ta keteba k¨¨n¡± (grand succubus)

    ¡°Good, so you understand¡± (Adam)

    I also seem to get what she said, so I patted her head. I take out my bottle of ointment and apply it to the wounded area to let it heal faster. After wondering what food do the demons eat, I pass some meat and water to her. She looked at me and took a bite at it. She seems able to eat human food. I pray hard that she won''t betray us suddenly, for the demons¡¯ reputation is bad, but so is mine, so I put my biased judgment aside for now and treat them all equally. One note for certain, the natural healing rate of the succubus is incredible almost to the point of scary, but I mustn¡¯t simply persecute one for having powers that haven¡¯t been comprehended.

    There are several other beastmen in critical condition, and I seriously need healing magic if I were to hope to save them. No, I must stave away that thought. I am no longer a mage, and I will use all my knowledge of my previous incarnation to help me get through this ordeal. I ask the ewe demi-human to help prepare some boiled water. I get all the small knives available and get some needles and thread from the toolbox of the slave dealer office, and go over to the fireplace to disinfect the tools with fire and clean away the sooth on the equipment with a cloth. I begin to perform some crude operation on some of the beastmen who have their wounds festered or sustained open wounds. I would cut out the rotten part, apply some ointment, and stitch back the wound with needle and thread. Those who have large open wounds would be cauterized with a hot blade. The ewe demi-human and another long-eared demi-human has come to help me, and I¡¯m very grateful. They help to calm the patients that got into panic and keep them still while I perform the surgeries. I also go to the demi-human side to check and perform surgeries on those I believe are in the worst off condition to save their lives. I¡¯m truly sorry that I can¡¯t use magic to cure some of them, so I have to cut off some limbs that can¡¯t be saved, and stitch them back, all without using any anesthetics.

    After everything was done, I realized that the day is turning to dusk. I was so tired with all the surgeries and disinfection that I basically wanted to collapse and sleep. However, I don¡¯t dare to do so because there is still the kingdom soldiers matter, and I may be ambushed by some stray kingdom soldiers or by some belligerent slaves that have freed themselves. I prepare some dinner by cooking what has remained of the combined food supply of the left out army and the slave dealer. I picked some edible vegetation from the nearby forest, and capture some grubs from under some rotten wood, and carry some water from a nearby river with the horse¡¯s help. I feed the horse with all the hay I can find on the way to the river and back.

    The dinner for the slaves is some simple food that I used to eat during desperate times. The harvest for farming is not always good, and at lean times, my mom used to cook like this. The nutrition must have been sufficient for the body, as we seldom get sick during our childhood days even when we go on this diet for sometimes a month. The grubs I know have plenty of protein, although they may look unappealing. I made some soup with the wild vegetables, and prepare some soft meat with the supplies I found, plus one rabbit I caught while going to the river to fetch some water. This trip to rescue the remaining slaves has turn out to be such an arduous task, and I hope none of them betray or be troublesome to me because I can only tolerate so much. The remainder of the surviving soldiers will be subverted once the blade of Guilt is finished recharging, and that also will take at least two days, because the blade can subvert only three people per day.

    After the food has been prepared, I had some of the recovered and unrestrained slaves to carry the food to the other slaves and feed those who aren¡¯t able to feed themselves. Those that have finished will collect the bowls back and wash them in the kitchen. I permit them to move into the slave dealer¡¯s area. I provide some cloth and a container of hot water and ask the ewe demi-human to wipe her body and the rest of the slaves together with those that can move and are unrestricted. The death toll will rise if we don¡¯t treat them properly. So far, three more have ended up dead after I last counted the remaining survivors of 63.

    I carried the food for the five surviving soldiers in captivity, because I don¡¯t want them to inflict mental trauma on the slaves that suffered in their hands. Before I hand them the food, I made sure to engrave the slave seal on them with the strange creature in suitcase I found in the slave dealer¡¯s office. The creature convulse and squirmed when it receives a drop of my blood, and I¡¯m unsure if my negative mana state would even work on this mana-sensitive creature in the first place, but it seems to work alright. I will not repeat the same mistake I did with the slave dealer goons I left back then. After the slave seal has been established, I can see their status directly without appraisal, and I can manage them all in my head. It is a strange feeling, as I don¡¯t feel repulsed at all with this kind of thing such as slavery. I adjust all their body status to passive and restrict them from running away from the perimeter of the slave dealer building. I also put a restriction on what they can tell to others, and they will not tell anybody about me or they would feel real pain when they try to do so. Without a magic core, it seems that there will have many loopholes to be exploited by the slaves, but I would take the chance because I couldn¡¯t operate a magic core and it would just break it if I try to invoke magic to establish a contract.

    Before I make my move back, I went to look at the grand succubus. Because she¡¯s a demon, no slaves dared to approach her. I see that she has not touched her food. I take the bowl on the ground and begin feeding her before it got cold. She was very reluctant to me feeding her, hiding her face away. After I forcefully grab her from behind and spoon-feed her nicely, then she begins to eat the food. I guess the food must have been unappealing to her, or her diet must have been other things. I wonder how she eats the food that was served to her by the slave dealer before this. After that, I instruct some of the slaves on how to take good care of the sickly and to have proper hygiene until the time I come back. I made some extra food in the kitchen and I tell them that they just need to open the seal and reheat them for breakfast. Before I left for Amanda¡¯s house, I gave stern warning to the slaves that unless there is urgent or serious matter, they must not leave the compound, and if I return to find the slaves missing or turn rebellious for no good reason, I would end their lives myself, and I really mean it.

    After that, I got to the horse, and return back to the village and went to Amanda¡¯s house. I brought three fishes I caught in the river earlier and I want to add it as extra dishes for Amanda and family since I will intrude in their dinner. Amanda prepared some extra food for my dinner, luckily. It seems that she has accepted my presence in her family, and we had dinner together, and I explain all that has happened at the slave dealer¡¯s place to her and her family. Lillie was there too, and she seems quite upset for some reason. When I tried asking her about it, she just hit me on my chest. It does physically hurt me, but I gladly accept her hits as her brother. It seems that normalcy is to return to the village for a while, but I can¡¯t dismiss the looming threat of the kingdom that will soon or later learn the demise of one of their army divisions. I must do something to protect the people I truly care for and don¡¯t lose them again.

 Map of Thrisand Village

    This is a map of Thrisand Village. I haven''t draw the one for the battlefield where they fought the Demon Lord''s army. The north is Demon Lord''s Territory. This map''s north is still not very developed, so it might not be as aesthetic as what people imagined.

    The rest of the words below is just to fulfill chapter publishing quota.

    Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy. Have fun and enjoy.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!

 Side Story 8 â€“ The day it happens

    Side Story 8 ¨C The day it happens

    (Third party¡¯s POV)

    ¡°??Humm, hum, The weather is lovely, humm, hum??¡° (Lillie)

    Lillie is a pure and hardworking girl tending the farm in the late morning till afternoon.

    In the early morning, Lillie is busy hanging the laundry up. Four stakes are placed on the ground and strung together. Lillie specializes in livelihood magic and can use her mana to invoke phenomena to wash and dry the clothes very quickly or clean the house. One of the stakes is empty, which is reserved for Adam. Adam is still serving in the military. It has been six years since he joined the military as a hero¡¯s party candidate, and two years and six months since he has been accepted as a hero¡¯s party member. Adam still comes home often when he joined the military as a hero party¡¯s candidate, but once he becomes a hero party¡¯s member, he has to work and train full time and has no time to even return home.

    Every two days, she would carry several buckets of water from the well at the back of their home to the washroom, and clean the laundry with invocation magic that she learned from her brother¡¯s magic books. The cost of invoking such magic is very small, and it only makes her unable to be unable to invoke other magic for about an hour. The cleaning using this method is very useful, as Lillie just needs to imagine the dirt and grime to separate from the laundry. If there are any other types of dirt that soiled the clothes, Lillie would need to picture it in mind and imagine removing that dirt from the laundry. There is no need for the hard labour of beating and scrubbing the laundry. The water is there to soften the fabric so that the removal of the dirt by magic doesn¡¯t accidentally destroy the fabric.

    (Lillie¡¯s POV)

    Dad just came back from the village square after selling his produce. Mom is probably still negotiating with the tailor on the selling of her sewing and to take some of the commissions.

    ¡°No, my son is an honest and upstanding person. Please, you have to tell them to check again.¡± (Dad)

    ¡°This is a decree issued by the king. I¡¯m your old friend, so I¡¯m telling you to please keep this to yourself only. Don¡¯t let any of the imperial troops hear this, especially the imperial lawmaker.¡± (Patrol leader promoted to Imperial knight)

    ¡°But we can¡¯t accept this judgment. You know, me and my wife will be stoned to death by the villagers in that decree. How can we quietly accept this kind of judgment?¡± (Dad)

    ¡°That¡¯s why I plan to ask a friend to take you and your family far away from here and start a new life there.¡± (Imperial knight)

    ¡°That¡¯s just a slow death. We have no other means of income other than this land. What can we possibly feed ourselves with at there? We will also be this kingdom¡¯s fugitives if we run away from the kingdom¡¯s law.¡± (Dad)

    ¡°At least you guys may live to see other options available. Staying here will just mean sure death. I don¡¯t want to witness a friend die meaninglessly.¡± (Imperial knight)

    ¡°I and my family wish to at least meet our son and escape together.¡± (Dad)

    ¡°I heard that his action of abandoning the battle during the critical time has caused the death of many frontline generals that are difficult to replace. The king and the royal lawmakers will not let him off. He¡¯s most probably punished to death by now. I know I¡¯m the one who introduced your son to the military, so I¡¯m really sorry for this, but just give up on that idea.¡± (Imperial knight)

    ¡°My son will never do that. There must have been a terrible mistake.¡± (Dad)

    ¡°The battlefield report came as people such as General Gramont and the hero¡¯s party. I don¡¯t think you can argue against the report of such influential people. Though I heard from a very close colleague of mine, and he told me to keep this a secret, because leaking it would mean court martial and death to their immediate family. They said your son did well and saved a lot of lives on the battlefield, but that is only rumoured.¡± (Imperial knight, whispering to dad)

    ¡°Hey, Claude. Clarice is captured and held by the grandson of the village head. They are bringing her here. I heard they rough her up real bad. Bunch of delinquents. ¡± (Villager 1)

    ¡°Damn, my wife!! Are they the demons themselves!? I will go there myself. Come and help me teach those brats a lesson.¡± (Dad)

    ¡°No, you mustn¡¯t! Your wife is lost cause! Think for your daughter¡¯s sake! Run away with me now!¡± (Imperial knight)

    ¡°But ¡­. NO WAY!! This ain¡¯t right! I can¡¯t abandon Clarice! Help me to bring my daughter to safety. I will follow right after you. We will meet at the usual place if luck is on our side¡± (Dad)

    ¡°Dad, please save mum. I¡¯m afraid of those four idiots.¡± (Lillie)

    ¡°Yeah, dad will rescue mum now. You follow Gustov¡¯s guide to bring you away from here. We will meet up again after this when I got mum with us.¡± (Dad)

    ¡°Please stay safe, dad¡± (Lillie)

    ¡°You too, please run away from here and stay safe. My friend, I entrust my most important child in your hands. Please, take her away to safety.¡± (Dad)

    I know Dad is trying his best, so in order not to hold Dad back, I will not ask him not to go and rescue mum. I will find my own way to be useful and run away together. Oh, brother, where are you now? Why is the army going against us when you are also part of them? Did you betrayed the army and caused them to retaliate back at us?

    While thinking about that, the army has surrounded our house when I am still busy packing our clothes and necessities into a rattan bag.

    ¡°Shit, this is worse than I thought. Our transporter cannot pick us up in this barricade.¡± (Imperial knight)

    ¡°What should we do, sir?¡± (Lillie)

    ¡°You get everything ready and wait for my signal. If you hear a whistling sound, just run to the east as fast as possible and never look back, you hear me? Never look back no matter what happens.¡± (Imperial knight)

    I saw Gustav-san went out of the house and talked with someone important in the imperial army, so I quickly get everything into backpacks and pouches to that we can run away easily.

    (Third party¡¯s POV)

    This village has four stooges that constantly has been a thorn of the people in the village, and only Adam, Brandon, Larsen, and Amanda dare to stand up against them. One of the stooges is the village chief¡¯s grandson; another two is the grandson¡¯s cousin from another village who lost parents. Another is a childhood friend and follower that live in the village.

    Clarice¡¯s dress is torn and tattered and is being humiliated by the army shackling both her hands and feet together with two pieces of wooden shackles and being forced to walk while being spread eagle from the village square.

    Claude has two soldiers at each side pressing him down, and they forced him to crawl on his knees.

    ¡°Claude! Hang on there¡± (Clarice @ mum)

    ¡°Urgghh! I worry ¡­ you too, Clarice¡± (Claude @ dad)

    ¡°Please! Treat my husband¡¯s wounds quickly. I don¡¯t care what you do to me, just treat him quickly!¡± (Clarice crying and restrained by army and village head¡¯s men)

    ¡°No! Don¡¯t ever touch my wife again. I will kill ..Arghh¡± (Claude)

    Three thin bamboo poles were pierced into Claude¡¯s rib cage, puncturing one of his lungs and injuring another seriously. The village head smiles in the background, and thinks in his head ¡°Good riddance¡±. He hit one of the stakes with his walking stick and caused severe pain to Claude.

    ¡°NO! Stop it, please! Why? Why do you restrain us like this?¡± (Clarice)

    ¡°Don¡¯t make me repeat it again and again like a broken record. Listen, YOUR son Adam, the mage in hero¡¯s party, has committed the crime of dereliction of duty, leading to the death of many thousand lives. To answer for his crime, he is to be tortured and put to death. Due to the King¡¯s compassion and the hero¡¯s plead for leniency, he has been spared the death sentence and is currently being punished with caning. However, the punishment for his family still stands, and the family is to be put to death by means of stoning by the angry public that lost their sons due to his conduct in battle. Due to the mercy of your village chief, pleading that he doesn¡¯t want the villagers to stain their hands with blood by stoning you all to death, he suggests we burn you all alive. Isn¡¯t he such a considerate person? Of course, the wood for the fire is provided by the village.¡± (Imperial lawmaker)

    ¡°With this, do you all agree that we take something back of equal value with the wood you parted from their home¡± (Village head)

    ¡°Yeah!¡± (Village head¡¯s men, and the sawmill owners who provided the wood)

    Back then, when the imperial army arrives and give out the decree, the village head pleads to the imperial army chief that they don¡¯t can¡¯t stand the thought of hitting fellow villager with stone till they die, so they suggest to use fire to the imperial army chief. The imperial army chief accepted the suggestion.

    Clarice fell limp to the answer given by the imperial lawmaker. She doesn¡¯t know what to say or do, so she just can repeat that their son, Adam, is wrongly accused, and request the king to reconsider. Claude is also not in good condition, and he can only softly protest against the treatment of his wife and repeat that his son is innocent. The continuous ramblings of both Claude and Clarice caught the attention of the imperial lawmaker, and he made a snide remark out loud.

    ¡°My son is innocent. Please tell the king to reconsider again¡± (Clarice)

    ¡°Adam, he wouldn¡¯t leave after a  task is assigned to him. He won¡¯t abandon his duty, Urggh!¡± (Claude)

    ¡°Listen here, the family of the convict. What you said is an insult to the sanctity of a king¡¯s decree. Originally, the law of the kingdom can allow leniency to your punishment, by either paying up 500 gold crowns for each one of you, or serve in the kingdom¡¯s palace as palace slave workers for 50 years without any payment and food, and just eat the scraps of the palace staff and sleep on the hard floor of the slave room. However, you all have committed l¨¨se majest¨¦ of the first order when you question the veracity of the king¡¯s decree. Therefore, all your rights are forfeited and no leniency is allowed in your family¡¯s punishment.¡± (Imperial lawmaker)

    Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

    Lillie waited and waited in the house, but there is no whistling sound to be heard. She hides herself to the wall and listens to the commotion outside. She overheard the argument of her parents with the people with authority (imperial lawmaker) and decides to go towards her parents quietly without attracting any attention to herself.

    ¡°Dad, mum. Oh no, dad. We need to get you treated. I will bring you to Amanda¡¯s mom.¡± (Lillie whispering)

    ¡°No, we are ..done for. Please, escape alone, and go to your brother. Don¡¯t believe the kingdom¡¯s claim¡± (Claude @ Dad, murmur silently)

    ¡°Lillie, don¡¯t worry about us. Please save yourself. Listen to your dad¡¯s words, follow your brother if he finds you. Live your life happily, and don¡¯t look back.¡± (Clarice @ Mum, whispers quietly)

    ¡°Hey, who¡¯s there?¡± (Imperial army)

    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s the convict¡¯s daughter. Hey, restrain her before she runs away. She will be sold to pay for the punishment¡¯s expenses.¡± (Village head)

    ¡°Hurry, run. Please spare our only daughter.¡± (Claude and Clarice)

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we are not savages. She will only be sold away to the slave dealer.¡± (Imperial army chief)

    ¡°After we had our fun, HAHAHAHA!!¡± (Draka and his three stooges)

    ¡°Curse you all. You all are demons in human skin.¡± (Claude)

    ¡°I will haunt you all every night if you dare to lay a hand on Lillie.¡± (Clarice)

    ¡°Ohh, how scary. Two dying dogs barking up the wrong door. We are not afraid of your threat. You can¡¯t return as a zombie once you are burned to ashes. We are also protected by the talisman given by the Church, as we are devout followers God. Your spirit will be torn to pieces by God before you can touch us.¡± (Draka and his three stooges)

    ¡°No sane person will approve of such god, ptuii¡± (Claude, spits on the feet of Draka)

    ¡°Chief, please take the adults away and burn them. We are going to ¡°educate¡± the youngster over there. Come and join us after we are done¡± (Village head)

    Lillie¡¯s parents are dragged away, while Lillie still contemplating what to do, to run alone or rescue her parents. She activates her blue pendant by invoking the defensive magic chant. A large blue barrier encapsulates Lillie. She then assigns her parents as the target of her protection. However, the four idiots place their limbs in the way, and the formation of the protective barrier becomes incomplete. The army hit the incomplete barrier with their weapons, and it falls apart easily under their assault. Only Lillie¡¯s barrier managed to stay in one piece when they attack.

    <hr>

    (A little flashback)

    When young, after Adam was admitted into the military to be trained as a hero party¡¯s candidate, Lillie has to fend off the delinquents alone when she goes out to the farm or play with her friends. Although Amanda, Brandon, and Larsen will come to help Lillie and vice versa, there is no guarantee that they can be on time. Due to that issue, Adam learns the difficult spell of mana barrier to enchant it into the blue pendant that Lillie is wearing.

    The art of magic for mana barrier is one of the pinnacles of magic phenomena, owing to the difficulty of maintaining calmness in the face of attacks and negate them like a mirror facing its reflection. Adam learns the mana barrier spell in under two years, and it takes another one year to learn how to enchant the mana barrier into a magical item. During that time, as compensation of the lack of defense, Adam creates a small ring with a ruby red magic core using alchemy, with his own blood as the medium together with a lot of powerful magic cores. The end product is a ruby ring that can produce any shapes around the user when invoked. The shape may be small, but the holding power is strong enough to block a medium-sized rolling boulder immediately when a flat surface is applied. If used offensively, it can punch a hole into a tree or a boulder almost immediately. Adam only taught Lillie to use the ring defensively though.

    <hr>

    (Back to the current situation)

    Lillie couldn¡¯t deploy the barrier on time, and her ring¡¯s defense is too small to protect her parents. While protecting her father with the red ruby ring¡¯s invoked phenomena, the imperial army chief grabbed a sword and proceeds to place it onto Clarice¡¯s neck.

    ¡°Stop your resistance or I will cut her throat¡± (Imperial army chief)

    Lillie stopped putting up a fight and stop moving.

    Claude and Clarice tried to persuade her daughter to run away alone and ignore them but got silenced by the four stooges by tying a cloth over their mouth.

    ¡°Your items look interesting. Surrender them or I will kill your parents on the spot¡± (Imperial army chief)

    ¡°You will kill my parents if I give up now. I will fight till the end¡± (Lillie)

    Draka and his followers then bashed Clarice and Claude. The imperial army followed and hit them with the back of their weapon, causing agony to Lillie¡¯s parents. Fresh blood flow from their body and bruises appeared on their faces. Lillie keeps attempting to push them out with her red ruby¡¯s defensive wall and invoke the assignment of mana barrier around her parents one by one, but the army and villagers that sided with them are too much to deal with, and she couldn¡¯t get any mana barrier to seal her parents with.

    Unfortunately for Lillie, her own mana barrier is getting besieged, and after expending so much mana trying to help her parents, her own barrier couldn¡¯t hold up against the continuous assault of magic-breaking attack. The army pinned down all her limbs and presses her on the ground spread eagle. The four stooges licked their lips and smirked after seeing Lillie got caught in such an embarrassing pose. They leave Claude and Clarice and tried to approach Lillie. One of the soldiers removed Lillie¡¯s blue pendant, and the village head quietly and sneakily takes the red ruby ring and slip it into his pocket. The imperial lawmaker announces her sins and the punishment that awaits her. She was at a loss at the moment, her mind was blank.

    ¡°Stop there, what are you doing to Lillie? Release her¡± (Brandon and Larsen)

    Brandon and Larsen then proceed to run towards Lillie¡¯s direction but encountered Claude and Clarice on the way. They tried to carry them away while the army is surprised by their sudden arrival. The four stooges and imperial army chief are the nearest to Claude and Clarice¡¯s location, so they attacked the duo. They outnumbered the duo, but they managed to even out the situation with their combination of skills and team coordination. Usually, the military would have more combat-related skills and they usually have higher skill rank than farmers or commoners, making them the elite force. The imperial army leader is someone of formidable skills in the military that specialize in horseback riding attacks and has great pride in his skills, but today he¡¯s humiliated by two farmer commoners.

    The imperial army chief, feeling outdone and growing impatient, goes to grab a spear from a nearby horse and attacked the duo with a spear on horseback. At first, they still can manage it, but the continuous use of advanced spear skills by the imperial army chief managed to break the coordination of the duo and Larsen became his victim and got stabbed in the abdomen.

    Amanda is running behind and just arrived at the location where Lillie and her parents are. She¡¯s recording the incident so that she can report it to her father the wrongdoings in the kingdom.

    Brandon quickly grabbed Larsen and escape from the furious attack of the imperial army chief and the four stooges. They managed to reach the edge of the forest, and the imperial army chief stops giving chase. Amanda quickly gives first aid to Larsen in the forest and managed to save him from bleeding to death. Amanda applied a poultice to stop the bleeding and wrapped up Larsen¡¯s wound with a cloth bandage. She kindles fire, and boiled a little green juice (made from various leaves blend together) over a rock and feed it to Larsen to prevent him from having a fever. It actually prevents infection, but the science of medicine in this world is still very ancient.

    Meanwhile, the imperial army dragged Clarice and Claude to the back of their house, where the villagers gather. The imperial lawmaker read the charges on both of them in front of the villagers, and then the army tied them to a crucifix each and lit the firewood gathered together by the villagers at the bottom of the crucifix. Claude and Clarice are too wounded to give out any protest and died burning on the crosses while cursing those who bring harm to their family.

    Lillie was dragged by the hair and brought inside her house. There, the villagers that are on the village head and Draka¡¯s side ransacked the house and take all the valuables they can find. Lillie was at the verge of breaking down, as they stripped her and pokes fun at her body. Draka demanded that she teach them how to invoke the magic on both her blue pendant and the red ruby ring. In order to defend herself, Lillie tells them a false invocation, and the village head passed the red ruby to a village stooge and tells him to wear the ring and invoke the magic. The village stooge tried invoking the magic after wearing the ring, and he immediately fainted. The entire gang under Draka and village head got mad, but Lillie managed to make use of the opportunity to get out of their pinning, and kicked several of the men in their nuts and ran to the back of the kitchen, taking a knife.

    With a knife at hand, she threatened to stab at any of them that dare to approach her. Draka just laughed it off, while the village head smirked at the back. The backdoor of the house broke open, and soldiers wearing armour and shield came in from it. Lillie tried stabbing them at the gap between the armours, but it was useless. They grabbed the knife away and slammed Lillie on the ground, and she fainted from the impact. The next thing she knows is that her body is defiled while her consciousness is extremely hazy, and woke up in a cage later.

 Side Story 9 â€“ Man with a Mission

    <u>Side Story 9 - Man with a Mission</u>

    (Soldier that feels grateful to Adam the mage¡¯s POV)

    I am a soldier that serves the kingdom of Velodria. I join the kingdom¡¯s military to fight against the Demon Lord¡¯s army, because my village was devastated when they attacked us. The kingdom doesn¡¯t allow commoners with no background to join the army, but it all changed when Silgemuth became the 11th king of Velodria. He reformed the army into a formidable power able to oppose the Demon Lord¡¯s army. Because humans still cannot overcome the racial advantage of the demon, so they decide to summon the hero and train a special group of elites to join his party, called the hero¡¯s party. At first, I doubt the success of such a plan and consider it to be a waste of money and time. However, I was amazed at the achievement of the hero and his party.

    One day, while fighting a small group of demons, I got caught by surprise, and we ended up with quite severe injuries. My arm got hacked, and it¡¯s now in a terrible mess. I also caught a fever, and am shaking terribly in the military camp. I thought the army has abandoned me to die here, but then a mage entered the military ward. He looks just like any ordinary soldier, but he treats our injuries quite effectively. I thought he is a cleric, but I heard the cleric is reserved only for emergency and severe cases mostly. I later learned that he¡¯s a mage from the hero¡¯s party. There are other soldiers, which also got our injuries healed by the mage in the hero¡¯s party. We learned that his name is Adam. We are truly grateful to Adam. He said he has a sister, and we have vowed to repay his kindness whenever possible.

    The chance came quite soon, but not in the best circumstances. Adam was dismissed from the hero¡¯s party due to bad conduct on the battlefield, and a royal decree was issued to punish his immediate family. At first, I thought that it was a mistake. However, when we were placed under the imperial army chief¡¯s command group, I realized that the order was real, and we are basically tasked with punishing the family of our benefactor. It is of great regret that I couldn¡¯t join him in the battlefield that time because I¡¯m still recovering and deemed not fit for battle, or else I¡¯m going to help encourage him and prevent him from doing that mistake in the battlefield.

    I discussed it over with a group of fellow soldiers who also felt gratitude for the mage. We plan to secretly transport the family out of the kingdom or at least go far away from the capital, to avoid the punishment. I heard that the punishment is very severe this time, just to express the sovereign of the kingdom to its subject during times of looming danger. They may put fear into their subjects, but the soldiers need a moral support pillar. The hero and his party of strong warriors and a cleric are especially good, but they are not the people of this world, so we don¡¯t feel a sense of camaraderie.

    Anyway, the escape plan is to prepare a cart in the logging route, secure Adam the mage¡¯s family, and bring them across the forest and meet the team in charge of transport. We don¡¯t want to blow our cover, so we need to just keep calm and follow the imperial army¡¯s movement. Those selected to go to the mage¡¯s village will follow the army, while those that are not will take their off-duty time (due to the hero¡¯s celebration) to prepare for the escape at the designated zone. I¡¯m one of those selected to move with the army. I just follow along like usual, as it is my official duty.

    When we arrive at the village square, the village head comes out to greet us. The imperial army chief produces the decree, and the imperial lawmaker announces the content to the decree. The village head seems to kind of giving an accommodating feeling to the army. Usually, a village head wouldn¡¯t want their fellow villager to die, and they would show fear in their eyes when such punitive group of soldiers arrives at the village. He pleaded that they use fire to burn instead of stoning the mage¡¯s parents to death because he doesn¡¯t want the villagers to stain their hand with blood and live with the heavy feeling at heart. His request seems quite humane, and the imperial army chief agrees to it.

    The village head suggests that the army use the wood sold at the village square for making the fire, but the imperial army chief said that he wouldn¡¯t bear the cost. The village head then offers to cover the cost of the firewood by pilfering from the mage¡¯s home and selling off their daughter, as long as the imperial army chief close an eye and don¡¯t write an incriminating report on him, but instead praise him for his good work in the village. The imperial army chief agreed to it, and this puts our heart at a great moral burden.

    Knowing now that the imperial army chief is a corrupt man and the way the village head and the kingdom mistreat our benefactor, we decide to make our move quick and get to them before the army does. Some of us pretend to have a stomachache and request to go to the toilet or the forest. They quickly made their way through once they enter the toilet or forest, and start searching for Adam¡¯s family before the army does.

    We were shocked when we saw four youths dragged a woman out of a tailor shop and beat her up when she resisted them. We tried to go in to stop them, but one of the youth announced that the woman is the mother of the convicted mage. The youths rough her up and tried to molest her, but she puts up a good fight and managed to keep her dignity. This doesn¡¯t last long, as not to our surprise, the imperial army chief and other soldiers begin to surround her with their spears and demand her to stop moving.

    The imperial lawmaker read out the decree in front of that woman and claimed that she, as the mother of the mage, must take responsibility for his crime. The army then put shackles on her hands and feet, and some of us noticed that the village head took the opportunity when they move to place where there is no villager around to molest and kiss the woman. She resisted and bit his tongue, and the village head retaliates by slashing up her with a knife and tore her clothes. If it¡¯s not for the official army duty, I will strike down this perverted grandpa now on the spot. The imperial army chief is also one thing, abusing his power. The imperial lawmaker seems to put rules at whatever that is convenient for him.

    I waited for our leader, Gustov, to come and give our chief a good sounding. If we do it ourselves, we will be deemed as going against our superior, as lately, the royal lawmaker placed many new laws in the military to ensure that the lower rank soldiers never go against their superior. We saw a man coming this way with a furious face. It is not Gustov, but a man of this village. The village head smirked and said something to the chief. The chief then instructs us to stop that man from approaching, and we are allowed to hurt him if he retaliates. The perverted village head then does outrageous things on that woman, making that man furious. That grandpa is extremely lewd, and I felt a sense of anger in my heart, but I have to follow the kingdom¡¯s law and act according to my superior¡¯s instruction.

    I purposely obstruct the other soldiers from properly pointing their spears to the man by feigning carelessness. Some also feign weakness and did some dramatic fall on the ground, dragging the others with them. The man managed to give a good punch on the face of the village head, but the chief wouldn¡¯t take any of it and scolded us while lashing at us. He and a few soldiers loyal to him begin to assault the man with spears and drive him to a corner. I then saw the man got pierced by thin sharp bamboos that I believe flew out of the walking stick the village head is using. I believed the village head must have invoked the magical phenomena of the wind to propel the bamboo at such fast speed, as I can only see the man get pierced after the village head raised and drop his walking stick. This old sly fox is actually just pretending to be frail, I said in my heart.

    The injured man grabbed and tried to remove the bamboo from his chest, but he cried in agony as he tried to remove one of them. The village head tried to beat up the injured man, but we quickly quell it and take that man into custody, and the imperial lawmaker performs an identity check and after identifying him as the mage¡¯s father, read out the content of the decree and arrests him. Chief doesn¡¯t look happy that we are doing our job efficiently this time, and he gives us a nagging again. The army then proceeds to walk towards the house of the mage in the village, intending to catch the sister too. I pray in my heart that Gustov takes action quickly and that she runs away.

    There is a big discussion among the people in the army and the villagers that joined them. It seems that they are discussing between selling the sister or burn her with her parents. I and the others quickly agree that she should be sold, even though it breaks away from the kingdom¡¯s soldier conduct and may invite court-martial, so all of us need to swear to secrecy. This way, at least she can avoid getting killed, and we can redeem her later. The group collectively agreed to the idea that she should be sold, but someone from the villagers suggests that they should have fun with her first before selling her off. I quickly suggest that we shouldn¡¯t, with the excuse that her price will drop drastically if we sell an injured and discarded girl. The villagers argued back that the price is the same small value regardless if she is still pure or not. They also tempt the others by saying that her body is gorgeous and her bosom is so huge that one of them won¡¯t fit one hand alone, the shape is very alluring, and it is very soft to the touch. I bet they never actually touch them before, just pure lies.

    I tried to derail the discussion by saying that the money is more important, and the slave dealer is definitely paying more for a pure and beautiful girl. However, the discussion concluded with the majority want to have fun with her, and the chief even said that they could just toss her into the fire if she died during the ordeal. The imperial army is just a bunch of thugs that promote self-righteousness.

    While the army is marching towards the house of the so-called convict in order to execute the punishment, Gustov can be seen exiting the house. He is wearing his knight armour, so he¡¯s officially on duty. He talked with the chief, and it seems that the chief is satisfied with the answer Gustov gave. Gustov is seen taking a few men with him and moved away from the house the imperial army is marching to. He tried to do some odd mouth movement, but many times he was interrupted by the soldiers by his side. He seems to be troubled, and when he walked far away, I can hear some kind of whistling sound, but it is very soft and subtle. I noticed the air is very still around us, giving off an eerie quietness that even stifled the sound of moaning and anguish from the two captured people.

    It seems that one of us managed to get into contact with the slave dealer, and with chief¡¯s permission, made a promise that the slave dealer that happened to pass the village so that he will come and evaluate the goods, and collect it at the house in the village if they found her.

    <hr>

    (Gustov¡¯s POV)

    Damn it, the imperial army has arrived so early. I got to get back and distract them. After telling Lillie to run to the east, towards the jungle where we arranged the transport, I got out of the house and used the shortcut to reach the imperial army. I convinced the imperial army chief that I know where Lillie is hiding, and intend to capture her alive. The imperial army chief is skeptical of my claim, so I tell him some white lie that I extort the knowledge out of a villager that he saw her father put her inside a dried well to hide. He seems to accept my claim, and allow four men with two horses to escort me to the location and extract the girl. Although this is little compared to my estimate of at least sixteen men off from the team, this will have to do.

    I picked the men that are loyal to the imperial army chief. I made eye contact with some accomplice, and they give me the worried eyes. I signaled with my eyes that the plan has changed, and now we can only rescue the daughter. They will have to adapt to the new plan and change according to the situation. I made sure that my group of men I lead is far enough from the imperial army, and attempt to blow a whistle, but the men beside me interrupted me. They told me excitedly that they are so happy to be the first to enjoy the beautiful body of a young girl. Apparently, they have discussed and agreed to have ¡°fun¡± with the poor girl before selling her off to a slave dealer that happened to pass by here. These people are the real destroyer of the kingdom, not the mage.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

    They managed to interrupt me for several good minutes before I can attempt to blow a whistle with my fingers. I am good with this form of whistling with two fingers in my lips, but today it seems I¡¯m not in my best condition. The sound seems odd and subtle, and the wind is blowing in the opposite direction. I noticed that the air is very still near the direction of the imperial army. Things could not have been worse, but I can¡¯t blow my cover here. I pray that Lillie heard it and quickly run to the east now that the number of personnel is at the lowest, and she can reach the forest before the army can reach her with their horse.

    <hr>

    (Third party¡¯s POV)

    It seems that the village head is aware of the relationship between Claude and Gustov. He noticed Gustov¡¯s attempt to whistle, as he has much life experience and has seen before that form of whistling. He tried to still the air around Gustov and the army, thinking that it will avoid the vibration and therefore can¡¯t transmit the sound. However, it is the wrong method, as the still air around them allows the sound to be heard more clearly as it removed other noises and give emphasis on the external vibration. But this mistake is negated by the Silence skill of the village head. So the village head always thought his theory is right, and never know his mistake, probably his whole life.

    <hr>

    (Back to the army that feels grateful to Adam the mage¡¯s POV)

    When we are about to reach the intended place, we saw the villagers piled up all the wood at the back of the house. The army intends to carry the two captured mage¡¯s parents and place them on a crucifix while looking out for the mage¡¯s sister. But to my amazement, a young beautiful girl can be seen talking with the mage''s parents. A soldier took notice and notified the others. The village head identified her as the mage¡¯s sister.

    The imperial army tried to arrest her, and I pretend to put out my spear, but without the intent to cause harm. She managed to avoid capture by putting up a blue mana shield around herself. This is an amazing feat, as mana shield is a very difficult spell to learn, and takes a long time to master. Only several people in the kingdom have the proper mastery and magic disposition to make a full body mana shield. Next, she made something even more mind-boggling. She cast mana shield onto her parents, but they are smaller and takes time to form a complete shield. The villagers seem to know how it works, and they used their sticks and limbs to place it at the location where the sphere will form. When the sphere is completed, it is brittle and weak and falls apart with a hard knock with the stick and spears.

    I implore the girl in my heart to just run alone and save herself. But she never gives up, and she formed the spheres again around her parents, this time faster but thinner. The others have grasped the weakness of the cloned mana shield, and they interrupted the mana shield from fully forming by just getting into the path of the sphere. The girl still refuses to give up, and this time, she invoked a red surface that floats around and hit and push the soldiers and villagers out of the way while she cast her mana shield again onto her parents. I secretly aided in pushing away the villagers and soldiers by moving my spear obstructively just right at the border where the mana shield forms near her parents.

    It¡¯s a pity that there are too many of the soldiers that are loyal to the imperial army chief or just follow the orders to the letter. The girl tried again and again, and each time she can¡¯t make the mana shield materialize properly around her parents. The chief tried to threaten her with her parents¡¯ life and even shamelessly demand her magical item, but she chooses to continue trying, which is a smart move. There is no point listening to the people that are going to kill her parents anyway. In the end, she tires herself out, and her own mana shield begins to destabilize due to her fatigue and concentration loss, and the mana shield dispersed after ferocious attack by so many soldiers. She got pitifully caught and put into a humiliating posture. My heart sank, as I don¡¯t know how to act in this situation. This is the worst possible outcome for our plan to help save Adam the mage¡¯s family.

    We signal among ourselves for our next move. One of our members quickly got up and request for permission to get the slave dealer. The permission was denied, but after giving an excuse that he will get the slave dealer on standby so that she can be sold before her life expires, thus ensuring maximum profit. The greedy and calculative imperial army chief agreed to let him inform the slave dealer early. Meanwhile, the soldiers that are not in cahoots with us are now bullying the poor girl on the ground.

    While we contemplate on how to save the girl in this situation, two youth appears and demanded the army to let the girl go. They appear to be just your average youth, but they are clearly confident. They appear to try to reach the young girl but changed to rescue the parents. It¡¯s probably due to not many soldiers that are guarding the parents now because they went over to the girl and bullied her. I pretended to fall and hit the other soldiers down, preventing them from reinforcing the soldiers at the parents¡¯ side. Only the chief and the four villagers are actively repelling the two from successfully taking away the mage¡¯s parents.

    The chief is on the verge of getting pushed back, and the other villagers are just like statues under the combination of assaults by the two youths. One uses a wooden pole of medium length and one holds a piece of wood on each of his arms. I and my cohorts continued to do careless falls and stall the army from going over to help. Chief finally snapped and he goes back to his horse while the two youths are beating back the villagers that sided with the chief. When they managed to grab and carry the mage¡¯s parents for some distance, the chief managed to catch up to them and strike them with his spear. Their wooden weapon managed to withstand the chief¡¯s attacks while on horseback, which is great.

    Though the chief is always not around when we do military drills, his spear skill on horseback is the real deal. He is known as the jousting champion of Velodria¡¯s annual jousting competition that only nobles participate. His flurry of attacks puts the mage¡¯s parents in the line of fire, and the youth with holds wood piece on his arms blocked them, while the one with the wooden pole managed to hit chief on his chest and on the head. There is also another girl out there holding something like quartz, and she ran and helps the youths. The soldiers have managed to overcome the unnatural obstacles that I and my cohorts made on an impromptu and gave chase to the three youths. One of the youths apparently got pierced by the chief¡¯s spear, the wood probably gave way when he tried to block the chief¡¯s jousting attacks. His condition looks serious, and they ran to the edge of the forest and managed to lose chief that chases them on horseback.

    The chief then decides to recall all soldiers back and proceeds with the plans. One group dragged the mage¡¯s parents to the woodpile, and one group dragged the mage¡¯s sister by her hair to the house. The group at the woodpile begins to tie up the mage¡¯s parents to a large wooden pole hammered together in a cross shape each. They found that tying them up is arduous and it slips after they tie them up, so they just hammed a nail directly into their arms and legs. It really hurts my heart that I couldn¡¯t do anything in the wake of such cruelty. The parents of my benefactor have to suffer so much before their humiliating death, just because the incompetent soldiers don¡¯t know how to properly tie them up, and took the easy but lazy way that puts them in so much agony. I just only pray in my heart that our cohort can get the slave dealer to arrive early so that we can get to sell off their daughter to safety before they can brutally humiliate her.

    The flames are slow to start, and our benefactor¡¯s parent¡¯s lives are hanging by a thread as they bleed profusely on the stakes. They can¡¯t even move or protest anymore but look at each other as the flames licked their soles and begin consuming them slowly. The villagers looked on with many expressions. Some are happy, believing that they had avenged their fallen sons in the battle with the demons and shout out insults, some are sad, some hide their faces, some wails, some are excited, some just show a normal expression. I wasn¡¯t able to shed any tears, because I had dried all mine when I lose my family to the demons. But this incident has lit a fire in me, one that will not be extinguished as long as this heart continues to beat and this head still on the shoulders.

    I heard a girl¡¯s shouting and screaming coming from the house where we burn our benefactor¡¯s parents, where the army drags the mage''s sister in earlier. While the rest are mesmerized by the burning spectacle, I made my way to the back of the house. Several of our cohorts gathered at the back, and we saw through the gap in the window a very bad spectacle. They strip the girl naked and touched her inappropriately. The village head takes out a red ring and passes it to his underling villager, it is similar in colour as the red shield the girl wields earlier. They begin to ask her questions, and the underling villager tried invoking magic with the ring on his finger. He fell to the ground immediately with his eyes upturned. The girl quickly gets out of their pinning and kicked around, causing several men to fell down in pain. She managed to grab a knife in the kitchen and pointed it at her pursuers. They backed off a little, but the soldiers stationed outside the house took notice of the commotion. They break in through the back door and brutally beat her down with their weapons, armours, and shields.

    Those brutal soldiers laughed and got excited from seeing the sight of a naked beautiful girl. The girl has upturned eyes and has fainted, so the soldiers wanted to start having their fun with her. I whispered to my cohorts outside the house and said that it¡¯s time to get into action. Earlier, we had discussed among ourselves about the possibility of using direct force to save our benefactor¡¯s family. We know that it would incur a court martial with the new laws laid out by the kingdom¡¯s lawmakers. The current court-martial law usually involves one¡¯s family in the punishment list when a soldier is found guilty, and there is no proper trial given, the decision is usually decided by those in highest authority appropriate to their rank in the military, so even the imperial army chief can be a judge in our case. With that in mind, only people who no longer have any family members or close friends can undertake this mission to use force. We have three men here, including me, participating in this mission.

    All three of us wear our full body armour and shields, and equipped with swords, and enter the house through the back. The other soldiers thought that we are just too eager to join the fun, and told us to wait outside for them to have their first because they worked for it and first who comes gets her first. We just ignored their words, and before the soldier on top of the girl can begin to put his genitals inside her and claim her maidenhood, I slashed at his neck. Due to our generally low attack, his head didn¡¯t detach from his shoulders, but plenty of blood splutters out and he shouted for help while clutching his neck. His words are broken, so the army outside is not alerted. The other soldiers are stunned, and the villagers just stared at us three.

    We acted as if we got impatient from the wait and began venting out our anger at the soldiers and villagers in the house. We cut and slash at them indiscriminately, and try as long as possible to prevent them from alerting the outside army. After I cut down four men from behind, as they are too busy satisfying their lust with the sight of the girl¡¯s naked body, the others begin to retaliate earnestly. Several of them get their weapons ready and fight back, while the villagers carried their fainted one and they all rushed out and alert the army of what¡¯s happening. They are just like a bunch of hyenas, taking any opportunities to oppress the weak, and cower for protection under those stronger than them. The other two also killed their share, and we put up furniture barricade at the front door and the back door.

    We cover the girl¡¯s body with a tablecloth we can find, and put her in a corner, out of the line of fire. The army begins showering arrows through the gaps in the windows and door. They also siege the furniture barricade with wooden rams and managed to knock down our defenses. We don¡¯t have any means to deal with ranged attacks, so we waited until the army make a move to break in before we hack and slash at them. We keep shouting random things to distract them, like how the army is so unfair that they don¡¯t share their spoils, or the girl is us to enjoy first, or that we want to secure the girl for the chief to enjoy first. The three of us fight back to back until we got ourselves covered in our blood, the blood of those we slain, arrows, broken weapons, splinters, and dirt. We fight with our life on the line to repay the kindness of our benefactor, and the injustice his family faces. We have no regrets and fatefully accept our fate. We fought until the end, and the army managed to fully restrain us in under fifteen minutes that seem like an eternity to us.

    The villagers, just like hyena taking the easy prey, begin to go after the fainted girl again to assault her. One rubs his genitals on her large mammaries, and another rubs his at her feminine bits. I have failed in my mission.

    Knock!Knock!Knock!

    One of my cohorts in the army has managed to contact the slave dealer, and he has arrived at the location. He managed to convince the army that deals with mage¡¯s daughter to help him get the most money out of the slave dealer in this transaction.

    ¡°My my, the goods have been manhandled and broken. The price will drop from one gold crown to five silvers¡± (Slave dealer)

    ¡°No way, stop that you lugs! Get the villagers off her! Sir, she¡¯s still a pure maiden. You can check it yourself.¡± (soldier A)

    The army moves the villagers aside before they can do anything and allows the slave trader to check himself.

    ¡°Hmmmmmmm. She¡¯s intact but seems to suffer injuries here and there. The most I can offer is one small gold coin¡± (Slave dealer)

    ¡°Can¡¯t you increase it more? She¡¯s a beauty at that too. There are so many mouths to feed here.¡± (soldier A)

    ¡°Two small gold. Take it or leave it¡± (Slave dealer)

    ¡°Okay, please give us in copper coins change¡± (soldier A)

    The slave dealer puts his suitcase on the floor and invokes a magic incantation. A creature that looks like red slug emerges from the suitcase, and the slave dealer caught it with his hands, pierce his thumb with a small puncher and feed it some of his blood. The slave dealer then cuts the girl¡¯s finger with a blade and feed some of her blood to the creature. The creature begins to shiver incessantly, and the slave dealer releases the creature on the girl¡¯s abdomen. The creature coils around the girl¡¯s body, and opens its mouth wide and sinks its teeth into the area her heart is located.

    The girl¡¯s body shudders, and a slave seal is formed on the girl¡¯s heart, with fresh red veins forming on that spot. It looks repulsive, but at least some of our guys can later help redeem her from the slave dealer after the dust has settled. I was harshly beaten, but I smile contentedly as my mission is accomplished, and I have repaid my debt to my benefactor.

 Demonic Magic Part 1

    <u>Demonic Magic Part 1</u>

    (Adam the mage¡¯s POV)

    After having my dinner, giving my respect to the earthen jars of my parents, take some hits from my sister, and taking a short nap in Amanda¡¯s home, the ex-soldiers that have been tasked around the village has returned return. I tasked one of them to always be on the lookout since most of our village¡¯s capable youth has sustained injuries that need long rest and require a cleric from the capital to heal their wounds. If Ester is here, she could probably even restore lost limbs or return disabled limbs to their working form, and can even mend broken bones, but all that is in the past, as I¡¯m now a fugitive of this retarded kingdom now. It¡¯s probably better if I don¡¯t meet the hero or any of his party members at the moment. I gathered them all together. I got up from Amanda¡¯s call, and I thanked her with a kiss to the cheek. It¡¯s going to be a busy night.

    I take 10 men with me to my house, and together we operate the workshop. This workshop has been my production centre when I was experimenting with enchantments and accessory making when I enrolled in the military as hero party¡¯s candidate. But tonight, I would be making a different thing. I take several iron ingots from the military supply of the army (that was defeated) and put it into the furnace. The heat of this furnace is not hot enough to smelt iron, so I operate the blower to compensate this, as blower was able to pump more oxygen into the burning charcoal to increase the heat in the confined space of furnace. This knowledge is not known in the kingdom, but I know from my past life knowledge. I can feel that some mischievous god is probably watching and stealing this knowledge from me, but I can¡¯t do anything about it.

    I tasked one of the men to operate the makeshift air pump, and I go on to break a small piece of pure coal into powder and pour this on top of the heated iron. It soon melts, and they mix together. This process creates wrought steel. I stir the content with an iron tong and pour it into the cavity with shapes that I have made on clay. The actual process involves shaping most of the parts from thin metal strips, but I don¡¯t have the machinery for it. I soak the hardened clay mold into the water to quench the steel and with a piece of stick, I push out the steel part from the clay mold. I repeat the process of pouring, quenching and pushing out to get all the parts needed and to ensure there is no flaw in the molding process, and I get another two men to replace me in this process. We will be assembling the parts needed to make a chain for gears to operate on. I operate the filing tool by spinning a grinding stone wheel and file away the excess parts from molding. I get two men and ask them to assemble the chain parts with a sample I have given them. The entire process takes some time, and in the end, we got the chains ready. I took the remaining mixture of wrought steel and pour it into a specially shaped clay mold to make a simple gear, and attach it to the axle of the cart that I took back with me when I return from the slave dealer¡¯s place with some molten wrought steel. I attach the chain to another set of gear and put pedals on them, and create a crude cycle that can operate the cart with human power.

    After quenching the flames of the furnace and keeping everything in place, I tried out the crude cart cycle. A horse pulling a cart filled with ten people or more may tire down the horse quickly, and having a cycle cart means that it can operate both ways. I cycle back to Amanda¡¯s place in the cart cycle together with all ten of the men in it, and it is quite convenient.

    ¡°What is this thing you made? It looks strange, and it can move on its own¡± (Amanda)

    ¡°A cart cycle. It can be operated by people without a horse or a puller. One person needs to cycle the wheel to provide the power to move this cart forward. You can also go backward with it, but the chain and gears aren¡¯t that flexible and you can sometimes get jammed if pebbles went into them. Do you have any oil not made from plant or animal, as in mineral oil?¡± (Adam)

    ¡°My dad keeps some oil that he extracted from some shale rocks near the swamp. Can that be used?¡± (Amanda)

    ¡°I guess that would be good lubricate the chains of this cart cycle¡± (Adam)

    Amanda got the oil, and I use a piece of wool to smear the oil onto the chain to lubricate them so that they don¡¯t rust easily and to keep them from wearing out too soon. For the test drive today, I¡¯m going to attach the horse together with the cart cycle to form a hybrid horse cart cycle. I get Amanda and Lucinda to follow me this time to the slave dealer¡¯s place. I feared that Lillie will have a phobia to return to the place she was once locked up before, so I didn¡¯t invite her. However, Lillie wants to go together with Amanda, and with Amanda¡¯s pleading, I relented and let her follow us. I made the ten men cramp into a corner of the cart with their backs turned, and let Amanda, Lillie, and Lucinda sit in another corner. I told Amanda that we are going to treat some people I rescued from the slave dealer, so she brought a lot of medicine and ointment with her. I paid her with the gold and silver the slave dealer¡¯s peons plundered from the slave dealer¡¯s safe that I never take notice. Amanda intends to reject, but she would need the money to buy some of her supplies and to pay tax. I¡¯m worried that the wheat and grain supply to this village will be cut off by the kingdom due to the recent battle.

    Larsen comes over from his house and he offered to watch over Amanda¡¯s family while we were gone, which I had arranged earlier. Amanda and I thanked him as we prepare to move. I got the horse to move, with Amanda as the coach, and I focused on cycling the pedal. The cart is having difficulties moving with the horse alone when loaded with so much weight. I start my cycling, and the cart starts moving reasonably faster. Though it can¡¯t be as fast as a full drawn carriage with all six horses, this cart is moving as quickly as a bike based on the memory of my former world. We got to our destination quickly and we got down at the slave dealer¡¯s compound at the edge of the village.

    I quickly direct the men to divide themselves to collect and do a proper burial of the dead slaves. The three slaves that just died earlier were missing, and I got inside the building. The demi-human freed slaves came out to greet me. I go to check and inquire about the condition of the others. Luckily some of the demi-humans can speak human language. They said that two more slaves that have heavy injuries and undergone operation have died after I went home. I felt bad, because they tried their best to stay alive, while I was taking my sweet time regarding their life and death matter. I perk myself up to avoid being down and go visit the slaves to check their condition. I instruct Amanda and Lucinda to treat as many slaves as possible, starting with the most seriously wounded. I coordinate the freed slaves and continue to remove the slave seals of the slaves that I deem trustable. I have released most of the demi-human slaves off their slave seals, so they can roam freely. The beastmen are a close second, as most of them are still so wounded that they can hardly move, so I can trust that they won¡¯t have the time or attention to attack me or the girls. Only a handful of beastmen showed fear when we handle them, so I let the other beastmen or demi-human freed slaves to handle them. Most of the human slaves still show signs of fear and anger at me even after I save them, probably due to my reputation. I will leave their slave seal on, and only release two human women¡¯s slave seal by corrosion due to needing to move them out of the room.

    I was wondering where the demon race girl, the grand succubus who can only speak demon tongue went to. I go around the buildings and noticed that she is behind the last building, seemingly speaking to someone else in a language I never know, most probably demon tongue. I saw two figures are standing near her in the cover of the dark, their silhouette seems to be that of a small figure and a medium one. I quietly approach the grand succubus from behind and grab her with a chokehold. As an ex-mage, I can sense traces of heavy magic used here. The two silhouettes approach us, and a figure that has been lying on the floor is now getting up. The two slaves are the beastmen with severe injuries that died earlier, and the small silhouette is the little girl that died in my arms in the afternoon. There were two more bodies on the ground, and traces on blood can be seen on the floor with some runic pattern. This type of magic is similar to the magic of fantasy from my past life memory, using runes to invoke magic, although the principle of causality still applies and one needs to pay a price equal to the magic invoked.

    The face of the grand succubus is very pale, and she who has just suffered severe injuries and just recovered from it now looks like she is about to die. I hold her in my arm as she faints. She looks defenseless and pitiful, her clothes all torn and tattered. I look towards the walking corpse that she just summoned. They walk slowly towards me, but they seem to be in quite a hurry and tried to tell me not to harm the demon. It seems like the subordination spell is quite powerful, I¡¯m surprised.

    ¡°Uuhh, uhha uugaggaaha agrahara, uaghhaagraaa (Please, don¡¯t harm our benefactor, kind sir)¡± (little girl)

    Hmm, I can subtly understand what she says through all that mumblings.

    ¡°Are you the one from this afternoon? So you managed to survive? That¡¯s good.¡± (Adam)

    ¡°Gu, grugya. Gruguagugahagugaaagararahaeyagoaeo. Dogogagyaodadogaaeda, garayaaeaedaega. (No, kind sir. Please don¡¯t view us as monsters. We plead our benefactor here that our soul couldn¡¯t rest in peace because we still have unfinished business here, so she put us back into our body so that we can complete our task and be happy.)¡± (little girl)

    ¡°Wait, I can¡¯t understand what you are saying. Are you telling me that this succubus resurrect you as undead or ghoul (a term the mage community call them), and you are happy with it?¡± (Adam)

    The little girl nods her head. Due to rigor mortis, her body¡¯s blood has been hardening because the heart no longer heats up and pump the blood. There have been some people who are into the research of necromancy or undead during my time as a hero¡¯s party candidate, but none made it far in their research, and there has been great opposition to that branch of knowledge as it is closely linked to demons. The church called the knowledge an abomination and has persecuted all the people involved in the research. Some of us tried to oppose their persecution, but the kingdom did nothing when the paladins from the Holy Land came and wipe out all members who study about necromancy, undead, and demonology. The two people that mastered in necromancy and demonology, a man and a woman, have fled the kingdom and it is claimed that they were slain in the forest bordering the Demon Lord¡¯s domain. They were good people, and they happen to love studying knowledge that was forbidden by the church and lose their lives. The action taken by the church has shaken my belief at that time, but not to the point that I denounce the religion. The religious body has been getting more and more involved with politics lately, and it¡¯s getting to the point of nauseating.

    ¡°Uuhh, uaghhaagraaa. (Please, kind sir)¡± (Little girl)The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

    ¡°For now, I will do what is necessary for our safety first. I will look into this matter another time, but I forbid her from making any more undead or ghouls for the time being. Come, let me take a look at you guys.¡± (Adam)

    The other two undead beastmen joined the undead little girl and they follow me inside a room with proper light from a torch and I take a good look at them. Their condition looks the same as before they died, so we can still mask this from the people for the time being. I wonder how I want to settle things for them, like how long does it take for them to fulfill their undone business in this world. I place the fainted grand succubus on the stack of grass on the floor. I wonder what she uses in exchange for the soul bind or create undead spell she uses to create this three undead here. So far, in my battle against the demon and observation of their shamans and mages, they also have to follow the law of equivalent exchange when invoking magic. However, most of their spells are more potent, and the invocation cost is usually easy to overlook and don¡¯t harm the caster. Therefore, many of their magic invocations involve using organs or bodies of other creatures or humans, as they are considered high-class magic invocation material and they don¡¯t adhere to morality in their actions.

    That¡¯s why I have been wary of this higher ranked demon. Her condition looks like she has a run-in with many troubles, as she got scratched and cut in many places, with only her high-recovery to help her get out of those tough situations. I go to where Amanda and Lucinda are treating the slaves. They did a better job than me at treating the slaves. Amanda would apply ointment over the wounds of the slaves, and invoke healing phenomena to let the ointment absorb into them and the wounds get healed faster, closing them, and prevent infection. Lucinda goes over to a very seriously ill patient and places her hands on the wounded area, and invokes her ¡®Regeneration¡¯ together with her ¡®Minor Heal¡¯ magic phenomena to close larger wounds. The loss of limbs was regrettable because we don¡¯t have anyone able to invoke ¡®Greater Heal¡¯ magical phenomena here.

    I continue to let Lucinda equip the blue pendant because of her magic invocation nature utilizes more mana than Amanda¡¯s healing magic that is closer to alchemy. Lillie also never misses out in action, as she comforts the slaves, and feed them food that she prepares herself in the kitchen. Seeing her like this makes me feel a little better. I tell one of the soldiers that performed the burial of dead people in the slave dealer¡¯s compound and cleaning up the mess there, to come and take the other two remaining dead slaves at the back of the building, and to ignore the strange blood marks drawn on the ground where their bodies lie on.

    The efforts of the healer girls have paid off, as there are no more slaves suffering to the verge of death. Their condition improves and they are healthier now. I went around the buildings to look and counted all of them, and I feel elated that their condition has one by one getting better and are recovering, rather than trying to hold on to dear life. I go to the cart cycle and procure some food material to prepare a meal. Having a warm soft meal after healing is necessary to give them the will to survive. I take the food material to the kitchen and prepare them in a pot of water over the fire. I cut and dice the vegetable small, and let Amanda prepare the herbs and just put it into the pot and close the lid. While waiting for the food to cook, I brought Amanda, Lillie, and Lucinda over to the building where the grand succubus is laid asleep. They were surprised that a high-ranking demon is here in this building, and their hate for demons and demonkin is apparent in their expression.

    ¡°Gasp! What is that thing? Isn¡¯t that a demon here? What is it doing here?¡± (Lucinda)

    ¡°She¡¯s a grand succubus brought in by the slave dealer. The soldiers apparently want her dead after I killed the slave dealer. I decide to rescue her since her fate is similar to us. I don¡¯t want to just believe the old sayings that all demons are evil. I want to see it for myself.¡± (Adam)

    ¡°I feel that what you say has its merit. But no demon has ever submitted to humans, who are deemed much inferior to them in status. This demon here must have an inferior status to have submitted to the slave dealer.¡± (Amanda)

    ¡°¡­..¡± (Lillie)

    Lillie hid behind me when she saw the grand succubus. Her body is trembling and she behaves similar to when she was young when there are loud thunders. It seems she has a hard time dealing with the presence of a demon. I give her a soft hug.

    ¡°She even invokes magic phenomena that brought back three of the dead slaves as undead. But in doing so with her already weak body, she has now fainted here. So I just want you to check on her condition.¡± (Adam)

    ¡°I don¡¯t know how the demon body works.¡± (Lucinda protested)

    ¡°I will give it a try. I hope to check her vitals and see if they are the same as a human.¡± (Amanda)

    I try to guide them with what little knowledge about demon physiology that I gleaned from the kingdom¡¯s library during my studies there.

    ¡°It seems that this demon here sacrifice its blood and organ at where the kidney and liver are. Its condition is terrible, and it''s developing fever¡± (Amanda)

    ¡°Can you help heal her at those affected areas, Lucinda?¡± (Adam ask)

    ¡°No. No way. I¡¯m never going to touch a demon.¡± (Lucinda)

    At that moment, the three undead lead by the little girl approach us from the entrance. The undead little girl comes forward and said something to try to get us to help her benefactor.

    ¡°Puaagaga, uaaarggahahhrra (Please, help her. She save our souls from wandering aimlessly)¡± (undead little girl of human origin)

    ¡°¡±¡°KYAAHHHHH!!¡±¡±¡± (Amanda, Lillie, and Lucinda, all hide behind me)

    ¡°I guess she¡¯s trying to ask us to save her benefactor, which is the grand succubus over there.¡± (Adam)

    ¡°You guess? How do you even understand something so inaudible as some random mumbling? Are you sure they won¡¯t attack us?¡± (Amanda sounded worried)

    ¡°I understand your worries, but they won¡¯t attack us like what our elders always told us. I somehow felt some connection and understanding with this little girl here because I tried to help her earlier, but her injuries are too severe for me to handle, and it would take too much time and preparation to get you all here, so I did the best I could to console her, give her sweetened water, apply some ointment on her wounds and dress them up to avoid infection, and cuddle her to give her warmth. In the end, I still failed to save her.¡± (Adam, feeling a little remorse)

    ¡°If that¡¯s what happened, then I will take your word for it. Will you please help me with the healing of the grand succubus over there, Lucinda?¡± (Amanda said with a smile)

    ¡°Uuh, if it¡¯s Amanda¡¯s request, it can¡¯t be helped then. I will try, but I cannot guarantee my magic invocation will work on a demon¡± (Lucinda said dejectedly)

    ¡°It¡¯s kind of vexing, but it seems that this little Lucinda now only listens to Amanda and not me.¡± (Adam)

    Lucinda fearfully separates from the girls and bend over to the grand succubus in order to place her hands over the belly. She invoked her magical phenomena of healing and try to heal the grand succubus. After some time, Lucinda lifts up her hands and I supported her from falling on the floor. The process seems to have drained Lucinda''s mana a little too much. I praise her for her good work and carry her in my arms. She seems reluctant, but she has no energy left to protest. Lillie goes over and starts hitting me. I hope she can stop that as I may accidentally drop Lucinda.

    The grand succubus slowly opens her eyes, and her eyes then meet with mine. She tried to get up hastily and run, but tumble on her feet because she is still weak even though she has recovered with Lucinda¡¯s help. The three undead went over to her side, dragging their feet along the way. The three undead then consoled the grand succubus and calm her down. The grand succubus then looks at me and Lucinda and lowly bowed her head to both of us, which I guess is her way to express her gratitude to us. I felt grateful that the undead is able to bridge the communication gap between the demon and me. I tell the undead little girl that I will allow them to stay at this room to avoid attracting too much attention.

    Next, I get all the girls with me to grab the food I prepared in the kitchen and serve them to the slaves. It seems that the ewe demi-human slave girl has come with some helpers and waited in the kitchen too. What an obedient bunch. I would like to give her an award in the future, I said to myself.

    The food is distributed and served to all the slaves, and I introduced the grand succubus with the three undead slaves to the ewe demi-human and the helpers. They were greatly shocked at the beginning to learn that their dead slave comrades have now returned to the living as undead, but they managed to get over their fear and spoke to them as if they were still living. After making sure all of the slaves had their fill, and checking all the buildings to make sure that no bodies are left without care, and the floors are scrubbed and clean, I decide to make an announcement. Earlier at my home, I roll a piece of flat iron into a cone shape and form the base into a cylinder shape. It is a crude loudspeaker, as I couldn¡¯t invoke wind phenomena to carry my voice over the distance anymore. I speak into the crude loudspeaker for the first time while standing on a wooden stool.

    ¡°Hello, testing. Hello, can everybody hear me!¡± (Adam)

    There is no response. Or rather, they don¡¯t know how to respond.

    ¡°If you can hear me, please raise up your hands!¡± (Adam)

    All of the slaves and even the army, Amanda, Lillie, and Lucinda raise up their hands.

    ¡°Thank you. So all of you can understand this kingdom¡¯s language, so I will speak in this language in the future. All of you here, as those of you that have been treated as slaves and owned by the slave dealer, have now hereby changed their ownership to me. This is because now I own the slave contract that binds all of you to slavery under me now. Some of you have already got freed from slavery when I removed the slave seal on your chest. That means you are free now. The ones that are still bound by the slavery contract, you are still bound by this contract, and so I will not destroy them, because these represent your life. If anything were to happen to this contract, there will be repercussions, set by the deceased slave dealer.¡± (Adam, catching his breath and looking around to grasp their attention)

    ¡°That said, I¡¯m also just a man, and I¡¯m imperfect. I have been betrayed by people whom I have known for two and a half years. So I can¡¯t easily trust you guys, and you have to earn my trust for me to release you from the slave seal. Don¡¯t worry, I don¡¯t intend to abuse my authority or lord over you without a reason. What I need is just:

    1) Never betray me or lie to me with the malicious intent to cause harm to me or the other freed slaves.

    2) Obey my orders with a proper conscience. You can ignore harmful commands or you can tell me the reason why you think it¡¯s wrong. I will listen to your reason. Other than that, follow my command properly.

    3) Do not bring harm to others around you. I know that there are many other slaves beside you now. They may come from all types of races, so please accept them as your fellow friends for now. Unless they do harm to others, you would need to treat them with care and proper respect.

    4) All of the slaves are equal. No one is above the rest. The merit of action speaks louder than racial superiority.

    5) All slaves would be freed, but some will be freed later because I need to monitor their behavior. By proving to me in a proper way and in the long term that they can be trusted, your freedom is guaranteed. Betrayal is not tolerable.

    So just follow these five precepts and I guarantee that all of you will be free and happy with your lives.¡± (Adam, catching his breath for the long speech)

    ¡°Do you have any questions?¡± (Adam)

    One of the beastmen raised his hands

    ¡°Are we free to move around here? We won¡¯t move out of the area you specified.¡± (Beastman 1)

    ¡°Yes, you are free to move around or interact around. For now, I allow you to move around this slave dealer''s compound and outside of it. You can pick some wild plants or food nearby but never stray too far away. Make sure all of you gather here again before sunset. Any that didn¡¯t return will be deemed as turning fugitive and will be treated as such. Is that clear?¡± (Adam, explaining in full detail)

    ¡°Understood.¡± (All slaves)

    ¡°Also, I got an announcement to make. Sooner or later, you will encounter a girl with two ebony horns on her head, and a pair of wings covered in skin. I guess most of you understood her race and nature. Her language is also different, so I can understand that you all are avoiding her. I am a human, so I also have some prejudice against her. However, I also believe that we all have our own circumstances. Her being held as a slave is a condition you all have gone through, and she is also the same. So I want all of you to give her a chance to prove her worth, as I have also given her an equal chance just like all of you. She has invoked a certain magic phenomenon that may disgust some of you, but I assure you that she didn¡¯t use any of you or your friends as the sacrifice, but instead, she used her own body as the invocation cost. So, I hope you can be tolerable to her if you meet her. Also, on another note, there are three of your fallen slave comrades that have been revived with the said magic invocation, so please treat them with care and don¡¯t look down on them, even though they may be a little different from us. If things permit, I will properly explain their nature to all of you again.¡± (Adam, panting because out of breath)

    ¡°Until then, please work hard, and do your daily chores to maintain your life here. Once you all have recovered sufficiently, I will explain the next step of our plan again. Good night and thank you.¡± (Adam)

    I put down the loudspeaker and got down from the stool. I assign some able-bodied slaves to take care of guarding themselves against wild animals and assign them to take care of the keys and locks. I made sure to give them a stern warning that rebelling is not tolerated, with the kingdom soldiers as an example. I pass some of the food I prepared from home to the ewe demi-human and assigned her and her colleagues that help out earlier to take care of the food, kitchen, and laundry in the slave dealer¡¯s place.

    I brought the obedient soldiers, Amanda, Lillie, and Lucinda to the hybrid cart cycle, and we return home. Amanda wanted to try cycling on the pedal, so I let her. She proves that she really has the strength to operate it, what an amazon. I ride on the horse and guide us back home safely. I drop Amanda and Lillie at Amanda¡¯s home and leave the horse there. I pedaled the cart with Lucinda and the obedient soldiers back to my house, and after tying and putting the soldiers in the storeroom, I bring Lucinda to her room, then I go to bed. Another day will start soon, so I fall asleep on my bed to get some necessary rest.

 Demonic Magic Part 2

    <u>Demonic Magic Part 2</u>

    (Meridiana @ Grand Succubus¡®s POV, right after being rescued by Adam from being killed by human soldiers)

    My throat was slashed and cut opened, blood is escaping from the open wound. They shouted in a language that I don¡¯t understand. It seems that they wanted to finish me off this time for sure when there is an intruder that came in and start killing the human men in armour. After staying with humans for some time, I started to understand their speech a little, and I learned how to read their expressions and the nuances in their speech. The words they used sounds very rigid and my tongue would never be able to pronounce their vocabulary properly.

    When the intruder finally reached near my cage, the soldiers got scared and they cut my throat so I will be dead before I can be rescued. I have never expected for anyone to rescue me anymore, not since I got chased out of my kingdom. Dad and mom are no more. Grandpa fought to protect me, but he alone cannot withstand the might of the Demon Lord and his army. He must have perished during that time. Oh, grandpa, how much I miss you. I think I might soon join you soon.

    <hr>

    (Recalling past experience)

    There was someone who attacked into this place two days ago and has killed almost all my captors, but he didn¡¯t free us. I remember his face has many artificial eyes that are moving around. I wonder where he went, as he disappeared after feeding us some of the usual disgusting food paired with delicious meat and a bowl of soup. It''s not up to my palate, but I need to fill my hungry stomach to stay alive. I sometimes have been wondering why do I keep trying so hard to stay alive, but having lost my parents and grandpa while they protect me, I cannot waste their effort. I must stay alive and bring back peace and order to the kingdom.

    After eating the food, I fell asleep, only to be rudely awakened by the noisy sound of metal rattling against each other. There were many human males that come and start taking the cages apart. The other slaves start to make noise and are inflicted with pain the moment they are being brought out of the area. The human males in armour started having their way with the female captives, and they attack and kill any male captives who look intimidating or that fought back against the human males. Those humans behaved just like the foot soldiers of my kingdom back then. They break, loot, rape, kill and terrorize our people until they submit to their rule.

    The human males started ogling me with eyes so greedy that all the treasures in the world cannot quench it. They were plenty afraid to approach my cage, and then they started to do a game of hands, where they do the symbol of a pecker, a fist or an open palm. After some time, one of them that seems to lose the game, come approaching my cage. He tried to open the cage door with a bunch of keys in his hands, but he can¡¯t find the right one. Their mouth drools, their eyes filled with lust and fear at the same time.

    I cannot allow my body to be defiled by these humans. Dad said that human male lust over the female body of our kind, and I have been taught on how to channel this lust and gain energy from them without defiling my body. I usually dislike doing this as I can feel like their energy is polluting my body, but being away from my food source for such a long period, my appetite must be satiated and I begin to feel less picky with my choice and means.

    The human male begins to get impatient as the keys he tried one by one failed to open the cage. I gestured with my long thin curvy index finger to urge him to come forward. He couldn¡¯t resist and starts opening his metal-covered pants. Dad told me that he had some vampire blood in him, so that made me a vampire too. I can suck and drain his blood, but draining his life essence from his genitals is more fulfilling and efficient. Just a little of the white fluid from the genitals can give me more satisfaction than sucking an entire adult dry. He pushes his genitals out from his partially opened pants and dangles his appendage into the cage like a madman. His eyes are filled with lust, his drools start pouring like a waterfall from his mouth, begging to be pleased.

    I took the liberty to let him suffer the embarrassment and listens to his begging, to see if he will give up or not. He¡¯s quite persistent, knocking and yelling for me to release him from this torment. I use my left leg to playfully press down his genitals on the base of the cage. He couldn¡¯t endure the punishment and releases his load there. I lift my left leg to my lips and playfully nibble the fluid that sticks there, showing an erotic smile. The man''s genitals stood up again, but he fainted soon afterward due to fatigue.

    Before I can finish nibbling the fluid that sticks on my left feet, the other human males started to do what the male before this did, they flash their genitals in front of me, saying words I don¡¯t understand, but their eyes showed a great sense of lust and carnal pleasure waiting to be satisfied. I slowly take my time to properly absorb the energy that comes from the fluid, but the human males started to get annoying by waving their blades inside my cage, demanding my undivided attention. It sometimes hit on my clipped wings and tail, causing pain.

    I have no choice but to just entertain them by stroking their appendages that is now in the cage with my hands, feet, wings, and tail. They showed quite an unsightly facial expression and my heart feels excitement at watching the wretched males writhing in pleasure from my action. Once they release their load of white fluid, they all fall down and sleep. Some still managed to keep their composure and continued to go on. This goes on for some time until all the human male outside my cage has fallen asleep. There are so many of them that I lost count. The other cages are not so fortunate, as I can see many of the occupants are either crying for help or have stopped moving altogether under the torture and negligence of the humans.

    The abundance of the sweet white fluid made my head spins as I lost to the temptation and slurp on them. I usually take them as little as possible, as they are quite limited in quantity and I dislike indulging in this fluid. However, I cannot control this terrible urge in my body to consume them all, and I take it all into my mouth by using my tongue. My mind got so clouded with the taste that I lose myself and falls asleep.

    On the next day, a group of important-looking men came. I can hear the sound and I can smell from afar that three people that worked here before are coming here. My sense of smell of those that have given me lick their white fluid before is unnecessarily good, and I hate it. They can be seen walking at the corridor and being brought to the chamber leading to the room of the person that held me before. I believe the attack by the mysterious person before this must have eliminated most of them, including that person that enslaves me. I wish to be freed from this torment, but I can¡¯t escape from this cage, and my wings have been clipped and inflicted with a curse so it can¡¯t heal, unlike my other limbs.

    The other human males are continuing to do what they always do, flashing their genitals at me, wanting me to satisfy them. After many trials by the human males that didn¡¯t get affected by my natural charm, they finally managed to get the right key for my cage¡¯s door and opened it. I can focus my charm and cast a stronger version of my charm to make all the men fall head over heels for me, but I don¡¯t want that. In fact, I have been suppressing my natural charm from leaking out, but human males still go crazy when they saw my body that it¡¯s so vexing. Why do I have these two large blubbers on my chest? They keep bouncing around every time I move and the males will ogle them and have their pants at the crotch area bulge up. Their smell and fluid are turning me into someone else that is not me, and I dislike it.

    The human males with somewhat resistance against my body finally opened the cage and grab me by the neck. Although I was shackled on both my hands and feet, I still can move them around a little and I can even use my teeth, nails, small but sharp horns or my tail to retaliate my attackers because they are going to kill me if I don¡¯t do anything. To my surprise, the other charmed human males begin to fight and attack the unaffected human males before I can do anything. This saves me, as I realized that I couldn¡¯t utilize any of my magic invocations while being shackled by these magic cursed seal shackles. The battle got worse until someone who looks like a leader came from outside and stepped in to stop the infighting.

    After the dust of the scuffle has settled and the leader managed to rouse them from their stupor, they started pointing their spears at me. They pierce my body, and it hurts a lot. I started to bleed all over my body, and I fell to the ground of the cage, unable to move. I thought I was going to die, and I wonder for how long did I fall asleep in this condition. I have a vague recollection that I got up and behaved like a lascivious woman and licked the blood and white fluid on the floor greedily with my tongue. I felt shame in myself when I behave like this, even though it is a part of me and my heritage. I got up from my slumber and check my body. Most of the light wounds have already healed, and what¡¯s left of the deeper ones are just small gash and scratches that have already covered up. This body of mine is really amazing to have recovered so quickly from such grave wounds that can claim the lives of other demon kins if no one treats them.

    I carefully observe my surroundings. There are not many guards left, and whoever remains are busy enjoying themselves with the other captured races. The captured races are in terrible condition from the careless treatment and abuse the human males that have taken over this place. No new food bowl or water is given when I observe my cage and the others. I check my body below, and some white transparent fluid is coming out of it. It seems that human males must have their way with my body when I¡¯m out cold and taken away what¡¯s dear from me. My heart feels so dirty and disgusted with those humans for their ambitions and actions. The demons used to be civilized, unlike now, and I have nothing to say regarding them now that everything everywhere goes down to the drain. For a succubus, the first time is very important as we submit ourselves to the person who we pledge as the person rightful to take this important treasure and share it together. I tried invoking some curse magic on a human male as the target, but the magic got canceled before it can be invoked. The magic curse seal shackles are strong enough to nullify my magic and I felt helpless, as I¡¯m now in their mercy.

    In attempting the curse, the human males noticed that I¡¯m awake, and are now aware of me. Their eyes again filled with lust and ambition, and they pay careful attention to not succumb to their lust at me but intending to humiliate me and put me into submission under them. They charge into the cage while pointing their spears at me again, and they rub their disgusting appendages in front of me, which I don¡¯t find amusing now. While all that is happening, I noticed a freed captive is now standing silently behind the human males. I tried to ask her in my language the demon tongue, on how did she release the curse seal shackles. The human males showed a questioning face and they turn to look at the back, but take no notice of the freed captive, and turn back to me while showing an irritated face.

    ¡°What are you looking at, you slut? Don¡¯t scare me, there is nothing at my back. Now, look at me!¡± (soldier X)

    The next moment horrified me, as I can see the freed captive walk into the bodies of the human males. She phases right through their bodies and got right in front of me while the human males hurled their white fluid from their appendages towards me. The freed captive face me and look into my eyes, turning her head at the right angle. She then looks straight at me and tried to speak with me, but no voice comes out of her mouth. After several tries and still, no voice can be emitted, she then got hysterical and screams in a voice unbecoming of a girl. It was a low-pitched voice that sounded like a minotaur''s battlecry but in a more eerie tone. She then floats in the air and disappears as quickly as she appears into the darkness of the night. The human males seem to have heard the sound too, and they got very scared. They seem to attribute the incident with me, and so they lock my cage and leave me alone after they had stabbed me several times so that I would bleed to death. I begin to fall asleep again after losing a lot of blood. It seems I need to take a rest and sleep if I want to regenerate my body.

    <hr>

    (Return to current timeline)

    After falling into slumber, the next time I woke up, this place is already in chaos. I can see the bodies of human males all over the place. I can smell the thick stench of blood in the air, but I won¡¯t forget the smell of the person that freed us from the captors before this and feed us with meat. It is a fragrant smell like fried meat that sucks me in. The human captors that took over this place have many casualties, and they are losing the battle against my saviour. He single-handedly shoots arrows that can bend at quite sharp angles, and some even penetrate the walls and hit them. I lay my body down low to avoid being hit by the stray arrows.

    The human males started to get panic, and several of them discuss and look over at my direction. In a desperate struggle, they open my cage and one of them used a very sharp knife and places it at my carotid artery. He severs it with the knife and cut into my throat to make my death certain. I can taste the thick iron taste on my tongue, throat, and nose, and my consciousness is fading quickly. My savior kills the remaining human males by a sudden switch to a pair of blades, and he tied and put some of the human males he let alive into a room. I can hardly maintain my consciousness, but I want to at least meet him once before I die.

    My saviour goes around and look for severely injured captives and treat their injuries. He then noticed that I was lying in a pool of blood and dying. Finally, I got his attention. I not sure what to say to him, but with my throat in tatters, I speak what I have in mind while splattering blood.

    ¡°Dehhh?, dahh¨¨, ?had, g?h. (Please, rescue me, my saviour, for I have been waiting.)¡± (Grand succubus -> Meridiana)

    I saw his face, and to my dismay, he¡¯s also a human male. He doesn¡¯t look handsome, but luckily he didn¡¯t look at me with lust. Instead, he keeps looking at my eyes and my face directly without deviation but instead full of devotion and dedication.

    ¡°Such poor thing, dying here all alone. But you know, I have been betrayed even by those I believe are my friends, and the kingdom I serve. I can¡¯t trust you, as your kind has been doing all kinds of atrocity against humans. Sorry¡± (Saviour -> Adam)

    I don¡¯t understand what he says. But I can roughly guess the underlying message from his eyes and body language. I cannot focus any longer after losing so much blood. He tried to unfasten my shackles, probably it got on his way, but he gave up halfway. It is not easy to release this magically cursed seal shackle, as you need to unbind the magic and also release the solid physical chains and lock, and cutting off a limb is only doable if you are willing to lose entire arm or leg, as the curse seal shackles prevent any cut to be done to the limbs near them. I now suffer under a cursed item that the demons are specialized in making, which is ironic.

    My saviour laid out a cloth on the floor and put me on it. There, he presses a cloth with something cold inside, probably ice, on the wound on my neck. The blood flow has slowed down and begins to clot around the wounded area. I thought I would probably bleed to death before my body can begin to regenerate, as the blood loss is too much for my body to regenerate in time. He looked panic as he tried to prevent the blood gushing from my wound at the carotid artery. He roughly closes my wound with some stick resin on his shirt. He then moves his hand towards where my heart is. I thought that he¡¯s trying to cop a feel at my blubber while I¡¯m dying, which is a cheap and immoral move. The next moment, the cursed obedience seal placed on my heart is slowly corroding away. I was at a loss, as I have never seen a spell that can destroy the cursed seal. The decay spell only decays the part of the body, but the cursed seal will still be in effect. I can feel the burden of the curse obedience seal on my body lessen and fading away. The curse seal finally disappeared and the corroded form fell onto the floor. All the while, I look attentively at my saviour¡¯s face and burn it into my mind so that I would not forget it.

    He laid me down with my head up and presses on my wound to prevent any more blood loss, and places my hands on the cloth to hold it in his place. He then releases his hands and he moved away from me. I suddenly felt the loss of body heat, and the cold air pierces my skin immediately. Is he going to abandon me here to die? I immediately put that thought away, as my saviour has tried to save my life two times. It¡¯s now up to me to save myself from this predicament. I continue to press on my wounds while recuperating, and I fell asleep while in this position.

    When my consciousness is getting weaker, my subconscious self took over the function of my body. From my vision, I have a vague and dream-like view of what I see. My body begins to look at the blood on the floor. The white fluid has all but dried up, so the blood is the next most palatable thing. My body begins to crouch down and lick at the pool of blood that comes from me and also the human male that died near me. The blood is still warm to the tongue, and I slurped them down greedily. My tongue is able to stretch longer than usual, and it can reach all the places for traces of blood left behind. My greedy tongue then starts tugging at the pants of a human male that has just been killed by my saviour, and it starts searching and stroking the male part. My subconscious self is so salacious that I don¡¯t know what to do with it. My tongue continues stroking the male part and a moment later, white fluid can be seen coming out from it. I never know human male has such a strong desire that they can still enjoy themselves while they are dying. My tongue takes in the liquid into my body, and strength begins to return to my body.

    This is one of the secrets that I must hold dearly, and never let anyone see, especially my saviour. I dislike my body that likes to do lewd stuff such as taking this liquid that gives me life energy and can greatly help my regeneration. I don¡¯t consciously do them, as my subconscious self will usually take over and do them for me. It helps me out many times, but my conscious heart is greatly burdened with the knowledge later. The intake of the white fluid also let me know how many partners the person has done it before, and how often they do it. It is unnecessary info for me, but I can¡¯t prevent them from coming in. I don¡¯t need to know about those males¡¯ private life. My head now has registered that this guy that I¡¯m currently servicing has three regular female partners and two male partners, once each. This is quite disgusting, but my subconscious self is enjoying this more after knowing such information.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

    My subconscious self is stroking the male bit and taking in more of the white fluid that comes out, happily enjoying the meal. However, the worst possible outcome has occurred, as in the corner of my eyes, my saviour saw me while I''m doing this kind of action with the eyes of a predator savouring at its prey. I forcefully wake myself up and take over my body from my subconscious self, retract my tongue and hide my face under the blanket that is made into a temporary bed that I¡¯m sleeping on. I hid there for some time, and I assumed that my saviour has moved away after that. To my surprise, my saviour is walking towards me like he never saw what happened before this, and it is embarrassing. He checked my wound on my neck and look into my eyes, and he looked satisfied. I haven¡¯t checked my wound myself, but it seems to have felt better after taking in the white fluid and regain my energy.

    ¡°You are from the demon race, so I want to warn you that hurting me or any of the slaves are not allowed. If I found you doing so, I will eliminate you on the spot. You also mustn¡¯t do what you did just now to any of us because it is borderline dangerous and I might kill you if you do it with the intention to cause harm.¡± (Adam)

    I don¡¯t understand what he¡¯s saying exactly, but it sounds like he¡¯s giving me a warning. Did he warn me about my behaviour earlier?

    My saviour then points at himself, then the slaves, and the blade on the ground, and he does an X symbol with his hands. I guess he and the slaves mean me no harm and won¡¯t use weapons against me.

    ¡°A¨ºfu buldar aremasu, g?ta keteba k¨¨n. (I trust you and the slaves mean me no harm, so don¡¯t worry as I won¡¯t harm you who is my saviour and the other non-demonic race.)¡± (Grand succubus Meridiana)

    ¡°Good, so you understand¡± (Adam)

    I show an understanding face, and he suddenly pats my head, which made me embarrassed even more. While I was still dazed in embarrassment, he suddenly takes out a bottle of ointment and applies it to my neck wound. It hurt when it is touched, but I let him apply it nonetheless. The feeling of something greasy is placed on my neck wound, and I felt a little relieved after that. He took out some baked meat and gives it to me. My throat is not in a condition to swallow any food yet, but I pretend to have some so that I don¡¯t upset him. It tastes good unexpectedly, and I like it. I chew it properly and swallow in a small portion to avoid upsetting my throat. The cup of water he gave me really helps me to swallow the meat. My saviour is such an understanding person although he¡¯s a human male.

    When I was about to finish my food, he went over and treats the other captives. He looks like someone proficient in magic invocation but strangely he never used any ordinary magic. The only magic I noticed is his strange touch that destroys the cursed obedience seals placed on me and the other captive. Instead of magic, he seems to possess much technical knowledge and treats the other captives with care.

    I felt a little lonely, but I would regret saying that later. My saviour went to the kitchen to prepare something, and later I can see him and the demi-human captives brought out some food for us. The captive that brought food for me just put it on the floor and quickly run away from me, seemingly out of fear. The food looks unappetizing, and my throat still hurts, so I leave the food without touching it. After my saviour has dealt with some of our second captors in another room, he returns and checks on us. Because I¡¯m a demon, the rest of the captives don¡¯t dare to approach me. Probably due to my ruler-class demonic aura which is quite strong, as demons are known to have a strong aura and weaker creatures will tend to avoid them.

    My saviour picked up the bowl from the ground, hug me from behind, and starts putting the food into my mouth even though I try to reject his nice offer. I am not ready to eat them now because of my throat condition. The taste of the food is not bad, and he puts soup onto my food to break it down so that it didn¡¯t irritate my throat that is recovering. After several scoops, I know his intention is to show me how to eat the food properly since I¡¯m a demon that may not eat the same food as humans. I tried scooping it up myself and eat it. The taste is quite enjoyable, but I can sense that the mana in the food is almost non-existent, which I have never seen before. Did my saviour just drain the mana from the food? I have never heard of such a spell or know the purpose of such action. I obediently eat my food as he instructs the other captives to watch over the place, and I watch him go away on a horse. My heart feels a little lonely when he left.

    The day is turning to dusk soon, and I begin to feel worried. The little girl and two captive beastmen that have died earlier during treatment are laid to rest in one corner of the room. When the sun almost fully disappears into the horizon, the shadow of the trees and building cast itself onto the corpse of the deceased, and the darkness begins to warp and distort a little more each time the light getting dimmer and shallower. I can see other shadows moving and waving in the tall vegetation behind the forest. Although I¡¯m a demon, I¡¯m still not used to this phenomena.

    When the sun fully sets, a shadow is standing on top of each of the dead bodies. The one that belongs to the human males that are now dead became violent malevolent apparitions and starts moving around to trash the place apart, but they have just died and their spirit power has only just begun, so their action doesn¡¯t affect the physical world. Some swirl around me and look at me. I pretended not to notice their gaze. They started harassing my body like they do when they are alive, but I just keep silent and pretend like nothing ever happened. The harassment never stops and they continue to swarm around me and enter through my body. Many of them put their head through and come out from my chest, in between my blubbers. It is really troublesome, as my heart is not prepared for this amount of harassment. They continuously chant the same thing over and over again, and I can understand them now since they are now spirits.

    ¡°Give me money. I want to pay God to bring me to heaven¡± (Sprit 1)

    ¡°Make me happy. Give me happiness. I feel so very sad now¡± (Spirit 2)

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to be reborn. Let me stay as I am. I am still young. I know you can put me back to my body. Please put me back to my body.¡± (Spirit 3)

    ¡°Where am I? I¡¯m still alive. Hey, I¡¯m still alive.¡± (Spirit 4)

    ¡°Why is everybody ignoring me!? Hey, I¡¯m talking to you! Answer me!¡± (Spirit 5)

    I know that I was different since young, as I can see something that others can¡¯t see, and the demon shamans called me a ¡®spirit seer¡¯ or ¡®soul seer¡¯. I was then tutored on how to manage our emotion, manipulate the spirit or soul or other intangible entities, and use them for powerful magic phenomena or enchantment if placed inside an object. One of the enchantment methods is the creation of a servant using a dead body, which is the creation of undead. There are several criteria to be met before one can successfully create an undead that is loyal to us. One of them is the contract with the soul or spirit to do their biddings.

    Undead has many uses, usually more than just placing them in inanimate objects. However, undead usually won¡¯t last long and will decay quickly. I was quite proficient with undead creation before I lost my home and escape out of the demon domain.

    The spirit and souls that can¡¯t find peace begin to demand that I put them at peace, which is the creation of an undead with their spirit or soul bound to their dead body. When the spirit or soul left the body, they leave a trace amount of energy behind in their body, especially those in the prime of their lives. This energy can be utilized by the demons to invoke many powerful magical phenomena, usually destructive, curse or hex phenomena. For creating undead with the body that once belongs to the soul or spirit, I can invoke the soul binding phenomena with much less invocation cost. The cost of binding one¡¯s soul to a foreign body usually involve invocation cost close to one life itself, but binding a soul or spirit back to its original body that has just deceased will only cost some blood, huge amount of mana, and probably an organ from the caster itself if the body and the spirit has been disconnected over a certain period of time or has deteriorated. Substituting for the organ is possible, but I haven¡¯t properly learned how to substitute it with other non-living material, and using life sacrifice of the other captives here will break my promise with my saviour.

    The noise and disturbance from the angry spirits are getting out of hand. I can¡¯t avoid them, even when I went to a corner. I can then see the spirits argue and bicker back and forth. The other captives who died in this place begin to gather and start fighting with the spirits that belong to the dead human male captors. They punch and hit each other, or use spiritual energy to push and pull and to pummel others. The spirits of the dead captives are clearly stronger than those human captors that had just died. They have more spiritual energy and bigger amounts of hatred, and they easily disperse the selfish anger or anger from no fulfillment of the human spirits. The spirit of the dead captives managed to drive the malevolent human spirits away, and the place becomes relatively calm again, at least from my perspective.

    After some time of relative calmness, I regain my courage and sneak a peek at what¡¯s behind me. What appears right behind me is a human girl and two beast-like people. Their eyes are fully black, and tears fall from them uncontrollably onto their cheeks. The tears that drop onto the ground disappear into nothingness. I remembered these people. They are the captives that died this evening when my saviour is treating them. They died so recently that their soul or spirit looks the same as when they are alive. I can understand what they said somehow since they are in spirit form.

    ¡°Please big sis, I know you can see and hear me. Please put me back into my body. There is something I must do.¡± (Little girl spirit, imploring me and holding onto my hands, though it doesn¡¯t physically connect)

    ¡°You are the only one who can see and respond to us. Though we are of different racial backgrounds, I hope that you can help us out on this matter. Please let us return to our bodies so that we can carry out our last wish and leave no regret behind us¡± (Beastman 1 spirit, a female beastman and is kneeling in front of me)

    ¡°We will properly repay you before we leave. You have my word. Our gratitude for you will remain even in the afterlife. Even if we are not the same as we were once before when we return to our bodies, we will gratefully accept your effort¡± (Beastman 2, a male beastman of large stature and is kneeling in front of me beside the female beastman)

    The spirits implore me to return them to their bodies, but I would need to prepare myself for the invocation. The price of binding their soul back to their body is not free and is quite taxing on my body, and moreover, there are three of them. I was considering how I should response to the request from these souls, and an idea came to me. I wish to correspond more properly with my saviour, who can¡¯t speak the demon tongue. These souls are able to converse with me properly and they would owe a debt of gratitude. If I can get them to communicate with him, then they can help me to translate what I said to my saviour. This is one of the benefits I can gain from invoking the magic of soul binding. With that in mind, I begin to negotiate with the souls.

    ¡°I wish for you to help translate and relay my message to the person that rescued us from the captors both times. Do that, and on top of it, you owe me your new life and gratitude for this life. Just a warning though, this method that I¡¯m going to use will not turn you into exactly like when you are still alive. Your body will still be the same, but you no longer breathe nor have the need to eat, drink, or ¡­.defecate. Your body will be cold and the heart will not pump any blood. Your body will be just like an object, and your sense of pain will be dulled, and you will not feel fatigued or tired or the need to sleep. Due to all that, your body will decay over time. You can still use the skills that you have when you are alive, but some of them may have altered compared to when you are alive. If you have an anti-decay skill, you may preserve your body for many years and continue to live eternally, avoiding death as long as your body is intact.¡± (Meridiana)

    ¡°¡±¡±Yes, we understood the consequence and will be forever indebted to you. Please bind our souls to our bodies again so that we can carry out our last wish.¡±¡±¡± (Little girl and the two beastmen)

    I hope that they understood the consequences of being an undead, and live their life properly as one. Even among the demons, keeping an undead for a long period of time may get you yelled upon by the upper demons for causing dirt and disease. For humans, I heard they persecute those involved in making them and purge any undead immediately.

    There was once a group of humans that entered our domain due to being persecuted in their home country due to researching on the undead. They are a pitiful lot of people who pursue the research of undead purely for knowledge sake and got chased out of their kingdom. The demon kingdom is not one better, as they allow the humans to continue their research in the demon lord domain, only for the current Demon Lord to steal their valuable knowledge away. The members are probably either turned into undead itself or placed under the cursed obedience seal. Mom, I am sorry to speak badly about you and your origin, and I know you meet Dad due to that fateful encounter, but the demons are using that as the reason to overthrow our family. Don¡¯t worry, for I will redeem our family''s name again once I escape this predicament. Please watch over me, mom and dad.

    After keeping my emotion in check, I focus on what I decide to do. By helping the restless souls here, I might be able to gain some useful allies. But doing so in my weakened state, it may be dangerous or even suicidal. Anyhow, I decided to give it a try, and I proceed to explain my plans to the spirit of the little girl and the two beastmen gathered here. They will help me to look out for any dangerous beings and spirits that may harm or disturb me. The beastmen souls are quite capable, as they continuously keep away malicious spirits that come at me. The soul of the little girl went out to scout the surroundings. She came back a moment later and report to me.

    ¡°The path is clear. The kind man from earlier has left this place, and I don¡¯t see any bad men in the path to our bodies.¡± (spirit of the little girl)

    ¡°Can you bring your bodies here? I don¡¯t want to be seen dragging bodies around. If our saviour returns and saw me dragging bodies around, I''m afraid I will get killed¡± (Meridiana)

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid we can¡¯t. We are now unable to move anything from the physical plane. We tried sitting in our bodies for some time, but it doesn¡¯t accept us back.¡± (Beastwoman 1)

    ¡°This is going to be so troublesome. Help me watch out for anything strange and warn me early.¡± (Meridiana)

    ¡°This gratitude will not go unrewarded. We are in your debt forever. We will monitor the surroundings and tell you early if anything malicious is coming your way.¡± (Beastman 2)

    I proceed to follow the instructions of the souls to retrieve their bodies. Their bodies are huge except for the little girl, and I have a difficult time moving them. I invoke and apply strengthening magic on my body, and dragged the bodies to the back of an unoccupied building nearby one by one. After moving one body, I need to catch my breath before I can move again. This is because the minor strengthening magic phenomena cost my stamina and mana as the invocation cost, and maintaining it costs more mana and stamina proportionate to the amount of time it remains active. I have to rest for some time in between each time I move a body. This is an amazing feat for me I would say, as I have never exhausted myself to this extent even when I¡¯m in full health. It takes three hours to move the bodies to the back of the building and by that time, it¡¯s already very late at night.

    The surroundings look scary, as I can see many shadows moving around in the background. The souls and spirits of those restless ones are moving around in clusters, trying to get my attention. They are polarized in two groups, the captives, and the human captors. They are the group of spirit or soul that have dispersed earlier, and now they congregated near me again. I ignore them and continue to draw three magic circles on the floor.

    After I completed the drawing of the magic circles, I lift and place the body of the little girl first onto the first magic circle. I cannot just drag her there as the circle¡¯s runic words mustn¡¯t be disturbed, or the meaning might change and the wrong magic will be invoked, creating untold amounts of dangers from mana backlash to death by corpse explosion. I put my left hand on my stomach, near the kidney, and my right hand near the head of the little girl. I ask the soul of the little girl to go near the head of her corpse, and from there I invoke the spell of soul binding. With green light emitting on the palm of my right hand, I grab the soul of the little girl, which has turned into a condensed ball of white light and slowly push it into the forehead of her corpse. It took about a minute of precise control and placement of proper runic words on her corpse with my left hand, together with my intention to place her soul back into her body that the magic invocation is successful.

    I fell to the ground after the magic invocation. I can feel pain in my stomach, as my kidney is probably damaged after using them as the cost of invocation. I also felt a little weak in the head, probably due to the loss of blood as invocation cost. I take a rest on the ground, and let my body recover. My body runs into emergency mode, and I fell asleep. I¡¯ll be relying on my body¡¯s regeneration to heal the damage that incurred when I do the soul binding with my body as the invocation cost.

    I was woken up by a soft crying sound. I wonder how long have I fallen asleep here out in the open. The malevolent human spirits that are buzzing around earlier have left. I checked my surroundings and noticed the figure of a little human girl guarding my body. She is the little girl that I helped bind her soul to her body earlier. She appears to be crying, although those that returned as undead usually can¡¯t express much emotion. I got up and check my body. I did feel better after the rest, and I tried to talk with the little girl.

    ¡°D¨¦ar¨¹. ?r?g? r¨¢l¨±? ga (Hello. How do you feel about your body?)¡± (Meridiana)

    ¡°Guada, araguaaraara. Takaraguadawasafu. Imadragtuaaduaswatfuka. Pudatashis. (Great, my benefactor. Thank you for fulfilling my wish. I am forever grateful to you. Please take this.)¡± (Little girl)

    She seems to understand what I said, and I can roughly understand what she said. It seems that a telepathic link has been successfully established when I made her an undead. She passed me a small bowl with a little white fluid and blood in it. It seems that she saw what I did when my subconscious self took over. I felt so embarrassed that I want to run and hide for showing such a shameful side of me to another person, and a human at that. The earnest face of that little human girl put me into both guilt and more shame. If not for my weakened condition, I wouldn¡¯t accept the offer of that little human girl.

    While I slowly licking the content of the bowl, my subconscious self starts to emerge and start licking at it greedily. My subconscious self then moves towards the undead little girl and starts smelling her like a feral beast. I tried to exert control, but my subconscious self is stronger than me currently. I detect a faint smell of my saviour on her lips. I start smelling there intently, and out of nowhere, start licking her lips for traces of his taste. She got taken aback, but she put up a brave front and let my subconscious self do as she pleases.

    A while later, I regain a little of my strength and I exert my existence and push my subconscious self to the back of my mind. I apologize to the little girl, but she said that it doesn¡¯t matter. Now that I regain my strength, I go to my second soul bind target, the beastwoman. Both the souls of the beastman and beastwoman are around, repelling any malevolent spirits near me. I tell them that I¡¯m prepared for the next soul bind, and go towards the beastwoman¡¯s body. I invoke the soul binding magic after preparing the necessary steps and grab the soul of the beastwoman which has turned into a condensed ball of yellow light and pushes it slowly into the forehead of her corpse. The glow fades away as her soul enters the body, and she begins to quiver a little and got up from her slumber.

    What little strength I have earlier has left me, and both my kidneys are aching badly. I fell onto the lap of the little human girl, and fall asleep there. This time, my body has learned to cope with the pain, and my strength was not as badly drained as before. After waking up from my short rest, I noticed that two more new beastmen spirits now join in to defend me from the surrounding spirits. My subconscious self is the one that took over now since I forcefully awaken myself after using two heavy magic invocations and exhaust myself. It seems that the undead has dragged two more dead bodies of the beastmen and place it here, on top of bad imitations of the runic blood inscription that manifests my invoked magic as soul bind. It seems my subconscious self is ignoring the pleas of the beastmen souls who suddenly added new burdens onto my shoulders.

    I will tell them off later for thinking that invoking such magic is so easy to be done and can be cast from the get-go, with poorly conjured magic circles and runic inscriptions. My body will not be able to bear any more invocation of soul bind today. They may have already known that using the soul bind on a recently dead person is when it''s most effective, but they can¡¯t just brute force me to continuously cast soul bind with me as the invocation cost. I can¡¯t use the dead as the invocation cost, and using the living as the invocation cost will make me an enemy of the other captives and also with my saviour.

    While I try passing all my thought telepathically to the undead, since my body is moving under the control of my subconscious, the undead beastwoman dropped a bloodied wild animal on the floor. The smell of blood overwhelms me, and I pick it up and begin sucking out the blood. My body reinvigorates from the intake of new blood, and I licked every drop of it clean with my tongue. After taking so much blood, my subconscious self seems satisfied and went back to slumber.

    I regain control of my body again, and I tell off the beastwoman and beastmen souls that they can¡¯t just decide to add their numbers without consulting me. They apologized profusely, but I won¡¯t accept their request. They said that the other two beastmen had just recently died, so they wanted them to also join as undead. I disagree with such a request, as my body couldn¡¯t keep up with it. It¡¯s already taxing enough for those three, adding another two would kill me for sure. They got solemn, and I said I can do the soul bind only once more before my body loss to fatigue and injuries. After they discuss among themselves, they agree that the male beastman should have his turn, and he followed me.

    I invoke the magic on the body in the circle, and the male beastman spirit compresses itself into a ball of blue light, and I slowly bind him into his body by pushing it in through the forehead. Halfway through the invocation and incantation of magic, I heard little footsteps at my back. I can¡¯t move or turn around now, or else the magic invocation will be canceled, and the soul might be damaged or misplaced. The resulting mana from the cost of my invocation will be unable to find a place to go and might backlash at me. I continuously focus on my incantation, and the person now puts a chokehold on my neck. It was at a very critical stage of my incantation, so I only focus on the incantation and ignores the person. I can sense the smell on the hands that hold me. It¡¯s similar to my saviour. I believe this person is someone related to my saviour. I don¡¯t dare to think that it is he himself that appears on my back.

    I managed to complete the incantation of the soul bind magic for the third time today and I lose all my strength. My body hurts like hell, and this time the liver became the compensation for the invocation. The little human girl and the beastwoman, both are now undead, approach the person behind my back and tried to talk to it. The male beastmen have also successfully got his soul bound to his body and has now awakened. I can¡¯t maintain my consciousness and my body collapsed only to be supported by the person who put me into a chokehold earlier. Before I totally fall asleep, I saw a dreamy face of my saviour. What a nice dream to have, to see my saviour in front of me at the last moment before I fall asleep.

 Side Story 10 â€“ The day of Summoning

    <u>Side Story 10 ¨C The day of Summoning</u>

    (Third party¡¯s POV)

    (Timeline ¨C on the day the students are going to be summoned to another world)

    The students of a high school are doing a play for their cultural festival programme. The first class of the high school student the story of Snow White versus Demon Queen, in which the princess of a kingdom is doomed to her death after the Demon Queen of another kingdom poisoned her with a red apple claimed to contain the elixir of life and the knowledge of life and death. The prince of a faraway kingdom one day visits her kingdom and arouses her up from her state of death after they crystalize her body in a chamber of ice in order to preserve her.

    The stage is set in the school hall and has been divided into three parts. One is the battlefield where the demons and human army fight each other, one is the palace where the princess lives and her frozen chamber, and another is the dark manor of the Demon Queen. The show gets a lot of attention from both the students and teachers. Even beyond the school, many people come just to see the stage show. That¡¯s because the people who took up the stage are all popular and beautiful people.

    The one to take the role of the prince is a young man with a handsome complexion, making every girl fall for him on their first sight. He also got very good grades in his studies and is guaranteed a place in the national university. He¡¯s also good at sports, especially fencing. Both his parents appear to be a happy and loving family, and he has a younger sister and a dog. He has many friends too and every one of them is also very successful and comes from well-bred families of conglomerates and director of movies, arts, religious bodies, and even the children of politicians and the prime minister''s son. He¡¯s the epitome of a good and successful young man.

    But everything comes at a price, even success. His drive for perfection is very high, and he sometimes resorts to underhanded means to get what he wanted. There was a time he introduces dirty magazines to a top-scorer and his grades dipped down afterward. There was once has a fencing expert who was his buddy, peer and mentor, and a national champion. He invited him to eat out at a food chain the day before the championship to wish each other the best of luck. The next day during the tournament, he lost to his buddy in the finals and they greeted each other in a sportsmanship manner. The following day, the anti-doping committee reported that his buddy has taken a substance to improve his performance and was caught for doping and stripped of all his medals and titles, the championship title goes to the runner up, and he was unable to overcome the stigma since then. Continuing to sue for his innocence has proven futile, as he has never imagined that the cause of the doping substance in his body is due to his mentee and peer.

    The girl that is going to take the role of the princess is one with a beautiful face and a gentle demeanor. She is kind to everyone and is friends with everyone. This, however, is very hard on her personal life, as everyone always depends on her. She is a very dependable girl, but other people always use her kindness to ask for favours from her, and she never rejects their earnest request. This makes her life very difficult, as they always use the catchphrase ¡°Ester can do everything. She is a very dependable girl¡±. The boys all fall for her charm completely but earned the ire of the girls. There have been many cases where the girls in their ugly game of jealousy, would ask her to do some improbable or downright dirty tasks such as getting them the answer sheet for the exam or push her to clean the toilet for them when they mess up, or even snapping pictures of boys relieving themselves in the toilet, etc. She doesn¡¯t have anyone that stands up for her nor anyone to rely on in school, so the gangs of boys would ogle and touch her and request her help and the girls would come and trouble her with name calling and setting her up for fun. The only person who would stand up for her is the young man who would take on the role of a prince, both in the play and in real life. He would stand up for her and defend her when the others are demanding too much from her or bullying her, and stop them from pushing her around or tell them off. That¡¯s because they are childhood friends from a very early age.

    During their younger days, the boy would walk around the neighbourhood with his pet dog, and the girl will be helping with her mom''s gardening. The pet dog went to do its business on her plants, and the place stinks and the plants died. The boy caught-up with his pet dog that runs away sneakily to do his business at other people''s property without care, and apologized profusely for the dog''s behaviour. The dog does a remorseful face and posture, and from there both girl and boy know each other and would often play together at the playground. She would then share with him her problems, as she has no one to speak what is in her heart to. He would then advice her and protect her from bullies and troublemakers. He even once got her parents to change the way they treat her by requesting his own parents to advise them.

    The one who would play the role of the Demon Queen, the hunter, the guard, the mirror, the demon army, and the witch are all people that are good friends with the young man. They are all capable young people, good in sports, arts, education, and also well-liked by everyone. The entire play was like having an entire cast of artists in them, all good-looking, beautiful, handsome, popular, and attractive. They are a very coherent group of people who think alike and always looks trendy, going for the latest craze and also trend-setting for their neighbourhood.

    The group has rehearsed several times for their performance and is now having their last rehearsal before the real event tomorrow. They are going to perform it like the real event tomorrow to give the performers the feeling of a real live performance. All eight of the people are preparing and they practice life on stage with their costumes, makeup, props, and set items on. This event will be the opening event of the cultural festival, so a lot of effort is placed in making the stage show a success. When the last rehearsal plays start, everything goes smoothly. The equipment works well, and the performance is very realistic.

    The Demon Queen sends her army to attack the princess, and the battle rages on. As the princess was commanding the brave warriors to fight the demon army back all the way back to the Demon Queen''s domain, a witch appears and gave an apple for the princess, claiming it to bring luck and victory as it contains the elixir of life to combat the poison grounds and the knowledge of life and death to bring an end to the Demon Queen''s reign. The witch cut a piece of the apple and took a bite, then give the rest of it to the princess to prove that it''s not poisoned. The princess took up the witch''s offer, and after eating the apple, the princess felt a great revelation and push for the finishing blow on the Demon Queen. Just as they were approaching the final battle with the Demon Queen, the princess cast a spell of life and death on the Demon Queen only to fell ill and became suspended between life and death herself. The warriors brought the princess back to the palace and recuperate. Unsure of what to do to bring her back, they encase her in a chamber of ice to preserve her. The Demon Queen meanwhile got news of the princess death from the mirror, pushes out with her army and attacked the princess domain. When the Demon Queen is almost victorious and has reached the palace of the princess, a prince arrived and gave a kiss to the princess and saved her from her suspended animation, bringing her back to life.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

    When the prince is about to deliver his kiss to the princess, however, the props on the stage starts to vibrate, and the crews at the station start to report that a possible earthquake has hit them. As the early bird supporters and stage crews scramble for safety, a huge part of the stage disappeared, and all eight members on it were missing. The case is covered widely in media and police reports, as the search for the mystery of the people who disappear in thin air continues. Many people mourn for their loss, and every day there are people who went to the site where they went missing to offer flowers and burn incense to pay their respect.

    Meanwhile, in the new place where the eight members were brought to, a new event unfolds in their life, one that would change their lives greatly.

    The summoning is successful and all of them have been transported to the summoning chamber.

    ¡°Welcome to the kingdom of Velodria, O young hero....es, yes. You are summoned here in the hopes of helping one of the last bastions of humanity to fight against the evil entity known as Demon Lord, who brought an untold amount of misery to the people and humanity.¡± (King Silgemuth, unsure how to respond to the unexpected extra summonses)

    ¡°But there were eight of them. Who is the hero then? What do we do with the rest?¡± (Main general, General Gramont)

    ¡°Let the appraiser appraise them, then we will decide from their status. Royal guards, bring the royal appraisal stone out from the vault and place it here. We will confirm the result of the appraisals.¡± (King Silgemuth)

    One of them raises their hands and asks a question, and then the rest joined in.

    ¡°Who are you? Where are we now? Why do you kidnap us?" (Aaron appeared calm)

    "Do you know who you just messed with?" (conglomerate son that used to have bodyguards threatening the guards)

    "If it''s money, we have a lot. But if you harm us even a hair, consider your lives forfeited" (deputy prime minister''s son cautioned the king)

    "Help, somebody!" (daughter of a shipping tycoon panicked)

    "Please, let us return to where we came from" (Ester, requesting the king)

    "Don''t touch us you criminal" (son of the biggest religious group in his old world)

    "I may look weak, but I can still crack your skull if it''s for self-defense" (daughter of an action movie star)

    ¡°Answer them for me, royal announcer¡± (King Silgemuth)

    ¡°The person you spoke to is King Silgemuth, the 11th king of the kingdom of Velodria. You are now in the castle in the capital of Velodria kingdom, the summoning chamber to be exact. You are having an audience of the king, so behave well and follow his orders obediently. In order to return home, you have to defeat the Demon Lord, obtain his jewel, and use it to guide you home.¡± (royal announcer)

    ¡°Can¡¯t you just send us back like how you bring us here? We are also in a rush of time¡± (Aaron)

    ¡°¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡°Yeah, we need to go back like now exactly¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± (Other transported people)

    ¡°We can¡¯t send you back because the summoning spell is only able to bring people here, but it can¡¯t send people back to where they come from. There is a price to pay for such a heavy spell, and we have exhausted something very valuable for us in order to do so, so we expect all of you to work your worth in return. The accommodation here will be sufficient for now, because as of now, we are using a special translation tool to communicate. We will provide tutors to teach you the language of this kingdom, and also coach you how to fight and use magic¡± (royal announcer)

    ¡°You are basically taking us as forced labour to do your biddings of fighting the Demon Lord¡± (deputy prime minister''s son)

    ¡°There is no benefit for us to serve you after pulling us out of nowhere to this unknown place. Are you sure this is not some sort of candid camera?¡± (Aaron)

    ¡°Kandidu kamera? No. We assure you that all your needs will be taken care of. As the king of this kingdom, I implore all of you to save us from the peril that has plagued our people and humanity for so long¡± (King Silgemuth)

    "You have got to be kidding me. We need...." (deputy prime minister''s son)

    Aaron stopped his friend for continuing because he sensed the guards gripping the hilt of their swords.

    The appraiser has completed his checking of the summoned people''s status and came with the result and showed it to the king, and the people in the room were surprised by the result.

    "This man here, Aaron, has the aptitude of a hero. The rest of the summoned people each have unique skills and aptitude to be elite in their own rights. There is one with an aptitude for physical defense and reinforcement, one with an aptitude for physical offense, one with an aptitude for healing and support, one with an aptitude for transport and movement of logistical units, one with an aptitude for physical projectile and ranged attacks, one with aptitude for scouting and far distance observation and quick movement, and one with an aptitude for magic, specifically dark magic, and also physical melee combat and weapons"(Appraisal chief)

    ¡°This is great news for the kingdom as we managed to summon a hero along with seven elite members, each with their own unique abilities. Members of the hero party candidates, your duty has been relegated to escorting the hero and his party members to their living quarters and to ensure their happiness and wellbeing and also to answer anything they asked that is allowed within the rule.¡± (King Silgemuth)

    The newly summoned otherworlders begin to ask tons of questions regarding the world and its properties and were told that magic is part and parcel of life here just like an extension of science. The otherworlders would miss their home, urging the people to bring them home for some events, asking about how to charge or plug to electricity source for their walkman, discman, camcorder, VCR, and many other things that the kingdom doesn¡¯t have. There are tons of frictions against the people in the castle due to the move of the kingdom to forcefully keep them here, so the people in the hero¡¯s party and the hero were not loyal to the kingdom and sometimes do what they want to, and the hero party candidates would have to tolerate. Most of those in the hero''s party is not averted to using violence, as the world seems like a game or VR to them and has little or no consequence to them once they get to leave this place.

    Aaron and the hero''s party are initially instructed with general instructors to gain general skills and knowledge. They leveled up in the forest nearby the castle by killing wild beast and monsters that sometimes appear due to condensation and concentration of miasma that affect creatures nearby. There was once a case where miasma gathered and convert an entire cave population into monsters, and the hero and his party subjugate the cave, gathering mana stones from the fallen monsters for use in equipment, enchantments, or used for invoking strong magic. Only Aaron can gain a minuscule boost in stats by absorbing the essence of mana stones, making his growth very powerful and he starts exerting his true potential as a hero. Once Aaron and the hero''s party have outgrown their instructors, they begin to undergo a specialized training that is catered differently for each individual based on their aptitude. The king and his royal court are always giving selfish instructions for the hero and his party to quell demons in affected villages in order to make a living here, making Aaron and the rest of his party feeling enmity inside.

    The main general, General Gramont, would then make his move by slowly approaching the hero and have a slow talk with him when he''s back from missions. He informs the hero that he''s the one that suggests the summoning of the hero, and he also has the means to send them back, albeit it would require their obedience to him for the time being. Slowly but surely, Aaron is aligning with the general''s agenda even though he is skeptical of everyone in this world, and his attitude and ego begin to get from bad to worse.

    The members of the hero¡¯s party do not solely consist of the otherworlders, as they sometimes assign other hero¡¯s party candidate into the team to improve the performance of the team and also to make the hero¡¯s party closer to the people of this world. There is one mage in the kingdom that is quite familiar with the way the hero and his otherworlder party member thinks, and he seems to get along reasonably well with the party. At first, everything seems well and alright, but some enmity seems to exist at the hero¡¯s side towards the mage and is slowly growing larger as he managed to get along better with the cleric in the party. This information is noticed and reported by a spy to the main general, and he smiles like a Cheshire cat alone in his room with a plan to utilize this to his advantage.