"You're a bit slow," Anfey said slowly .
"We finished off some irrelevant guys," Blavi said . His eyes were glittering with excitement, but his expression betrayed nothing .
These students of Saul's were all good kids, and only looked for magic beasts for their trials . Most of them never experienced intrigues and fights between people . After their escape from the Sacred City, they had experienced numerous bloody encounters . Now, some were uneasy and still in denial, while others had calmed their emotions and sorted out their priorities . Clearly, Blavi was one of the latter .
"Let's go," Anfey said, grinning . "Sanchez, lead the way . "
"Alright!" Sanchez said enthusiastically, and led the group down one of the paths ahead .
Soon the group arrived at a small village . The buildings were simple and clearly belonged to ordinary people . Sanchez walked over to one of the buildings and looked around . He looked back and nodded . "This is it," he said . "I left a mark here . "
Anfey sniffed the air and caught a whiff of blood in the wind . He sighed and said, "Sanchez, go in and take a look . "
"Me?" Sanchez looked surprised .
"Yes," Anfey said .
Sanchez walked over hesitantly and knocked on the door . "Hello? Anyone inside?"
"No need, just go in . "
Sanchez nodded and kicked the door . With a creak the door opened . He walked inside carefully, and tripped over something . He looked down and found an abandoned torch . He picked up the torch, and with a fireball he lit it . He held it high and walked inside carefully .
After a few moments, Sanchez let out a scream and the group heard the sound of things dropping on the ground . Christian gasped and, along with a few others, dashed up to the group .
Zubin was the fastest . He was the first one in and the first one out . He stared at Anfey under the cold moonlight, and after a while he said slowly, "You did it on purpose . "
"This is the price for growth," Anfey said lightly . "Everyone needs to pay a price in order to grow . Better it be other's blood than your own . "
Zubin stared at him but was silent .
"What is the purpose?" Anfey asked coldly . "I simply predicted it . I didn't know exactly what they would find . "
"How did you know?"
"The man Niya beat . He seemed the kind to seek revenge for every small injustice . You remember the way he tried to fight back? People like that can't accept any embarrassment . He had to let it out somehow . He couldn't get his revenge on Niya, but it wouldn't be hard to find where those two sisters lived . "
Just then they heard the sound of sobbing . They recognized Niya's voice and Christian's voice comforting her . There was another sound, of someone vomiting and coughing .
Just then they heard the sound of sobbing . They recognized Niya's voice and Christian's voice comforting her . There was another sound, of someone vomiting and coughing .
"Come, I want to see it for myself," Anfey said, then headed inside .
The room inside was not big . Outside was a simple kitchen, the inside was separated into two rooms . There were some plates on the table, and Anfey, with his sharp eyes, spotted some chips on the edges of the plates . Clearly the family was struggling financially .
The group was standing in the eastern room . Anfey made his way there slowly . Everyone in the room looked as if they had just seen a ghost, and one of the students could only stand holding onto the wall .
The two sisters were inside, dead . There was an old woman on the bed, dead as well, though Anfey was unsure who she was in relation to the sisters .
The older girl was completely naked, and was spread out on the table . Her hair was down and covered her once lively face . The table was covered with scratch marks, and her fingers were bloody . Clearly the marks were made by her fingers, and the pain she had been in was clear to see . There were two long swords that nailed her to the table, but there wasn't much blood . Anfey could tell she was pierced by the swords after she had died . Her backside and legs were a dark red and covered with small wounds . It was as if the wounds were made by small, sharp needles .
The younger girl wore only a shirt, and was naked from the waist down . Her legs were pushed open, exposing the place between her legs . Her hands were nailed to the bed with daggers, and bones were visible from the wounds . Clearly she had struggled and caused those deep wounds . Her eyes stared blankly, her mouth was wide open and her tongue was missing . It was apparent that someone had performed sexual acts on her even after she had died .
Niya's lips were pressed into a thin line . She suddenly pushed Christian aside, and dashed outside . Anfey dashed over and grabbed her . "Where are you going?" he asked .
"I'm going to find that bastard!" Niya screamed . Even the dumbest of them knew who killed the girls . Niya might be naive, but she was not stupid .
Anfey, without warning, struck Niya in the face . Niya was caught off guard and, combined with Anfey's sheer strength, was thrown back and stumbled to the ground .
His movement was too sudden for anyone else to do anything . They were on the run, and in the process Anfey had established a high level of respect among them . Even when he was smiling, the students still feared and respected him . Seeing him angry was even more terrifying for them .
His movement was too sudden for anyone else to do anything . They were on the run, and in the process Anfey had established a high level of respect among them . Even when he was smiling, the students still feared and respected him . Seeing him angry was even more terrifying for them .
Niya looked up, holding her face . A thin line of blood trickled down her chin . "How dare you?" she asked, shaking .
"Consider this a light punishment," Anfey said coldly . "Think about it . What have you done? Frankly, none of them would have died if it wasn't for your recklessness . You want to bring death to us as well now, don't you?
"Everyone saw what happened today . That little lord did nothing more than flirt . He would have never done this had it not been for you . You thought you were helping them? No, you killed them! There are ways to help, but you obviously do not know how . Someone like you will bring danger to others .
"And you want revenge? You? This is not the Sacred City anymore, and you are not the old Niya . In the past people tried to do what you say, but out here no one cares who your father is . If you don't want to end up like them, I recommend you stay here . "
Anfey knew he had overreacted by saying these words, and worried that Niya wouldn't take it well . Niya stared at him for a few seconds before breaking into tears .
"Be quiet," Anfey said coldly . "We don't have time for tears . I took a risk coming here . If I'm not wrong, all of this will be blamed on us come morning . "
"What do you mean?" Riska asked .
"They'll say we raped and killed these girls . Easier to blame it on the strangers than the local nobility . "
"There is no way they are that despicable," Christian said in disbelief .
"People by nature are evil," Anfey said . "You haven't seen the worst of it . "
"Anfey," Christian said, "why did you ask Sanchez to take us here? Is it because…"
"People by nature are evil," Anfey said . "You haven't seen the worst of it . "
"Anfey," Christian said, "why did you ask Sanchez to take us here? Is it because…"
Christian's words woke everyone up . Niya stopped her cries and stared at Anfey through her teary eyes .
"I had guessed someone would do something, so I had Sanchez stand guard here . We can take two more people," Anfey said lightly . There was reason to be the bad guy . It would drive everyone away . Anfey knew when to be the good man and when to be the bad .
"But we are late," Christian sighed .
"If we had left the tavern a bit earlier," Sanchez said, shaking his head . He finally understood Anfey's intentions . He had wanted to help them . Compared to Niya, it was clear who was more thoughtful . One was reckless, not considering the consequences . The other had predicted what was going to happen . It was not his fault they were late .
Niya stared at the ground . She felt guilty, but she could not turn back time . What was done was done, but no guilt could bring back the dead .
Now Anfey's expression was much softer, but no one tried to help Niya, and they left her sobbing on the ground . Some emotions were contagious, and with the dead bodies in front of them, it was hard for them to evoke any sympathy for the one who caused it .
"We don't have much time now," Anfey ordered . "We have to go . "
"What about them?" Riska asked .
"Someone will take care of them . We have to worry about ourselves more," Anfey told him, sighing .
A surge of magic reached the group . A dozen shadows appeared in the air and approached them . When the shadows reached the crossroad, Blavi landed with his team . You're a bit slow, Anfey said slowly . We finished off some irrelevant guys, Blavi said . His eyes were glittering with excitement, but his expression betrayed nothing . These students of Saul's were all good kids, and only looked for magic beasts for their trials . Most of them never experienced intrigues and fights between people . After their escape from the Sacred City, they had experienced numerous bloody encounters . Now, some were uneasy and still in denial, while others had calmed their emotions and sorted out their priorities . Clearly, Blavi was one of the latter . Let's go, Anfey said, grinning . Sanchez, lead the way . Alright! Sanchez said enthusiastically, and led the group down one of the paths ahead . Soon the group arrived at a small village . The buildings were simple and clearly belonged to ordinary people . Sanchez walked over to one of the buildings and looked around . He looked back and nodded . This is it, he said . I left a mark here . Anfey sniffed the air and caught a whiff of blood in the wind . He sighed and said, Sanchez, go in and take a look . Me? Sanchez looked surprised . Yes, Anfey said . Sanchez walked over hesitantly and knocked on the door . Hello? Anyone inside? No need, just go in . Sanchez nodded and kicked the door . With a creak the door opened . He walked inside carefully, and tripped over something . He looked down and found an abandoned torch . He picked up the torch, and with a fireball he lit it . He held it high and walked inside carefully . After a few moments, Sanchez let out a scream and the group heard the sound of things dropping on the ground . Christian gasped and, along with a few others, dashed up to the group . Zubin was the fastest . He was the first one in and the first one out . He stared at Anfey under the cold moonlight, and after a while he said slowly, You did it on purpose . This is the price for growth, Anfey said lightly . Everyone needs to pay a price in order to grow . Better it be other's blood than your own . Zubin stared at him but was silent . What is the purpose? Anfey asked coldly . I simply predicted it . I didn't know exactly what they would find . How did you know? The man Niya beat . He seemed the kind to seek revenge for every small injustice . You remember the way he tried to fight back? People like that can't accept any embarrassment . He had to let it out somehow . He couldn't get his revenge on Niya, but it wouldn't be hard to find where those two sisters lived . Just then they heard the sound of sobbing . They recognized Niya's voice and Christian's voice comforting her . There was another sound, of someone vomiting and coughing . Come, I want to see it for myself, Anfey said, then headed inside . The room inside was not big . Outside was a simple kitchen, the inside was separated into two rooms . There were some plates on the table, and Anfey, with his sharp eyes, spotted some chips on the edges of the plates . Clearly the family was struggling financially . The group was standing in the eastern room . Anfey made his way there slowly . Everyone in the room looked as if they had just seen a ghost, and one of the students could only stand holding onto the wall . The two sisters were inside, dead . There was an old woman on the bed, dead as well, though Anfey was unsure who she was in relation to the sisters . The older girl was completely naked, and was spread out on the table . Her hair was down and covered her once lively face . The table was covered with scratch marks, and her fingers were bloody . Clearly the marks were made by her fingers, and the pain she had been in was clear to see . There were two long swords that nailed her to the table, but there wasn't much blood . Anfey could tell she was pierced by the swords after she had died . Her backside and legs were a dark red and covered with small wounds . It was as if the wounds were made by small, sharp needles . The younger girl wore only a shirt, and was naked from the waist down . Her legs were pushed open, exposing the place between her legs . Her hands were nailed to the bed with daggers, and bones were visible from the wounds . Clearly she had struggled and caused those deep wounds . Her eyes stared blankly, her mouth was wide open and her tongue was missing . It was apparent that someone had performed sexual acts on her even after she had died . Niya's lips were pressed into a thin line . She suddenly pushed Christian aside, and dashed outside . Anfey dashed over and grabbed her . Where are you going? he asked . I'm going to find that bastard! Niya screamed . Even the dumbest of them knew who killed the girls . Niya might be naive, but she was not stupid . Anfey, without warning, struck Niya in the face . Niya was caught off guard and, combined with Anfey's sheer strength, was thrown back and stumbled to the ground . His movement was too sudden for anyone else to do anything . They were on the run, and in the process Anfey had established a high level of respect among them . Even when he was smiling, the students still feared and respected him . Seeing him angry was even more terrifying for them . Niya looked up, holding her face . A thin line of blood trickled down her chin . How dare you? she asked, shaking . Consider this a light punishment, Anfey said coldly . Think about it . What have you done? Frankly, none of them would have died if it wasn't for your recklessness . You want to bring death to us as well now, don't you? Everyone saw what happened today . That little lord did nothing more than flirt . He would have never done this had it not been for you . You thought you were helping them? No, you killed them! There are ways to help, but you obviously do not know how . Someone like you will bring danger to others . And you want revenge? You? This is not the Sacred City anymore, and you are not the old Niya . In the past people tried to do what you say, but out here no one cares who your father is . If you don't want to end up like them, I recommend you stay here . Anfey knew he had overreacted by saying these words, and worried that Niya wouldn't take it well . Niya stared at him for a few seconds before breaking into tears . Be quiet, Anfey said coldly . We don't have time for tears . I took a risk coming here . If I'm not wrong, all of this will be blamed on us come morning . What do you mean? Riska asked . They'll say we raped and killed these girls . Easier to blame it on the strangers than the local nobility . There is no way they are that despicable, Christian said in disbelief . People by nature are evil, Anfey said . You haven't seen the worst of it . Anfey, Christian said, why did you ask Sanchez to take us here? Is it because… Christian's words woke everyone up . Niya stopped her cries and stared at Anfey through her teary eyes . I had guessed someone would do something, so I had Sanchez stand guard here . We can take two more people, Anfey said lightly . There was reason to be the bad guy . It would drive everyone away . Anfey knew when to be the good man and when to be the bad . But we are late, Christian sighed . If we had left the tavern a bit earlier, Sanchez said, shaking his head . He finally understood Anfey's intentions . He had wanted to help them . Compared to Niya, it was clear who was more thoughtful . One was reckless, not considering the consequences . The other had predicted what was going to happen . It was not his fault they were late . Niya stared at the ground . She felt guilty, but she could not turn back time . What was done was done, but no guilt could bring back the dead . Now Anfey's expression was much softer, but no one tried to help Niya, and they left her sobbing on the ground . Some emotions were contagious, and with the dead bodies in front of them, it was hard for them to evoke any sympathy for the one who caused it . We don't have much time now, Anfey ordered . We have to go . What about them? Riska asked . Someone will take care of them . We have to worry about ourselves more, Anfey told him, sighing
Chapter end
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