As they settled down on the cold, dirty floor, Cain tried to strike up a conversation with Leah.
"So, how long have you been here?" asked Cain.
"Not long," replied Leah.
'Of course, not long. She must have been moved between different slave traders for a while. I had to save her now because after today, she would be sold to a demon and suffer a painful death.'
The conversation continued in short exchanges, with Cain asking questions and Leah giving brief answers. Cain noticed that she avoided making eye contact.
'Poor girl. Who knows how long she's been alone? I can tell she's scared of me, yet she's still answering my questions.'
While Cain was engaged with Leah, the guard who had previously beaten him approached.
"You, boy, follow me," the guard commanded. Cain quickly stood and followed the guard.
The guard led Cain back to the same room where he had suffered before.
"Now, it's time to start the fun," the guard said, a huge grin appearing on his face.
He took out a wooden bat from his storage ring and began mercilessly beating Cain.
Cain endured the painful beating without making a sound. His trait allowed him to remain calm, and even after continuous beating for two hours, he refused to let out a muffled scream.
'I won't give you the satisfaction of hearing me scream,' Cain thought as the guard continued to strike him.
Typically, anyone subjected to such pain would scream, but Cain's trait kept him composed. However, he couldn't fight back due to the [Soul Slave] spell that prohibited retaliation against the guards.
Cain waited anxiously for Jax and his subordinates to act. The plan was to escape after they followed the casters of [Soul Slave] and killed them. Cain's objective was to rescue 'that' person and then use the portal underneath Jax's business to flee. But time was running out.
Just as Cain began to worry that he might die there, he felt an unusual sensation. It was as if a huge burden had been lifted from his soul. The spell was deactivated, freeing all the slaves in the building.
Pandemonium erupted as slaves ran and attacked the guards. Loud screams echoed throughout the building as many of the guards fell. It was the perfect opportunity for Cain to act.
Cain immediately activated [Rulers Authority], causing the guard to freeze in fear. The guard wasn't particularly strong, only G+ rank, and if it weren't for the [Soul Slave] spell, Cain could have easily defeated him.
"Why won't you scream? If you're quiet, there's no fun in beating you! Fuck it, I'll just kill you right here and now!" the guard exclaimed, taking out a sword from his dimensional storage.
Cain knew that this was his only chance. The moment the spell was deactivated, Jax and his group had to be making their move. He couldn't let this guard kill him before they arrived.
'Come on, Jax. Don't let me die here.'
As if in response to his plea, a tremendous energy surged through the building. The guard, bewildered, felt the pressure on him increase drastically.
"W-What are you doing? You can't harm me. If you try, you will immediately die!" the guard stammered, trying to escape the suffocating situation.
"Heh, can't you hear those screams outside?" Cain asked with an evil grin.
"All your friends are already being killed. The spell was deactivated," he continued, walking toward the guard.
"N-No, please! I have a family!" the guard pleaded, tears streaming down his face.
"Hah, what family? Weren't you telling me earlier about how your wife left you? Honestly, I wish I had time to make you feel the pain I've felt, but you're lucky. I have to escape quickly before the enforcers arrive, so your death will be swift."
The enforcers were a group who worked for the black market and punished rule-breakers. After realizing the slaves were free, they would be deployed to recapture them.
Hearing Cain speak sent shivers down the guard's spine.
"You know, I have never killed someone before. I was thinking of killing you, but I realized you're not worth my time."
"Y-Yes, don't kill me. Once you kill someone, you will never be the same again," the guard replied, trembling with fear.
"But just because I won't kill you doesn't mean you won't die."
Cain grabbed the guard and led him out of the room. Outside, he witnessed a horrendous sight—all the other guards were dead, beaten to death by the freed slaves' fists.
Cain threw the guard to the slaves, and they immediately started beating him. As Cain watched, he could hear the guard's screams of pain dying down until his lifeless body lay motionless.
'Huh, I thought I would be disgusted by witnessing a man being killed in front of me, yet I felt nothing when they killed him.'
Amidst the chaos, Cain searched for Leah and found her sitting in a corner with blood on her fists, next to a dead guard.
'Wow, I guess she's not as innocent as I thought.'
Hurrying to her side, Cain quickly arrived next to her.
"We have to go. We don't have much time to escape; the enforcers will be here soon!"
Leah's reaction caused a domino effect as all the slaves heard Cain's words and started running out of the building.
Cain took Leah and ran toward the exit, heading in the direction of Jax's headquarters. As they fled, Cain could hear the screams behind them.
'Shit, those must be the enforcers. We have to hurry up.'
Realizing he had no choice, Cain stopped running from the enforcers and put Leah down.
"Continue going forward until you reach a building with a sign that says [The Sinners]. Once you get there, you'll find help," Cain whispered into Leah's ear.
Leah began running, her feet bleeding from the rough terrain, but she never stopped moving forward.
"You can come out now," Cain said, preparing to fight.
Two hooded figures emerged from the darkness.
"We're not here to harm you. We just came to talk," one of them said.
"Yeah, right. As if I'm dumb enough to believe that. I knew the enforcers would be after me soon enough," Cain replied, sword in hand.
"We are not the enforcers. Don't you dare try to associate us with those scum," one of the hooded figures said, removing her hood.
"Heh... Elves?" Cain asked, confused.