That night, after Pethra caused the building to be buried underground, Aron destroyed Vincent's amulet using his dark-red flames.
Despite the amulet being a magical item, it could not survive the Dragon's flames. As a result, Vincent's magical seals that he had placed inside his slaves disappeared. Vincent always made sure that each slave he sold had a seal inside them, allowing him to control them at any time. This allowed Vincent to create a network of spies to use at his will.
…
"Uguhhhh!... please stop, let me go!" A man screamed in pain. He was chained to a king-sized bed, naked, with a beautiful young woman on top of him.
"Ara! Master, didn't you enjoy my service?" The woman said with a seductive smile on her face.
"Hmm?... If I remember correctly, you enjoyed doing this to me, so I can't understand why you're not feeling good now." She spoke while holding a knife in her hand.
The man had multiple cuts all over his body, with blood everywhere.
"I'm sorry! Please spare me; I'll make it up to you!" The man cried.
"SILENCE!" The woman yelled, pushing a piece of cloth into his mouth.
"Y-You! Abused me, tortured me, used me as…As a Fucking Whore!..."
"...But no more. Today I'm free."
"...Free from what chained my will. Free to take my revenge from you."
She gazed at the man, and her eyes were dark as a black hole.
"...Hmmm!" The man tried to scream and ask for help, but to no avail. Then he froze when he felt a cold metal pressing against his throat.
"I wish you an eternal life in"
"...HELL"
She slit his throat.
Then the woman raised her head and glanced at the ceiling, while the man beneath her was shaking violently as his soul left his body. Tears started coming down her cheeks.
"At last, my 'Hell' is over."
…
In another place, a slave realized that he had regained control over his emotions and that what kept him in check was no more.
However, since his Master was a powerful noble, the slave quickly realized that attempting to kill his Master directly would be foolish. Instead, he chose a more cowardly approach: poison.
"Cough…Cough, Y-You!, how?" A middle-aged man collapsed on top of his desk.
Standing beside him was a tall man with silver hair and pointy ears. The elf didn't speak a word; he just stood there in silence, watching his Master as he drowned in his own blood.
…
In another place, in a luxurious room.
A Noble woman was having a good time with a man. The man, or slave, was huge with big muscles. He was twice the size of the woman.
"Yess!...ahh!... that's it!.."
The woman was in cloud nine; her nightlife changed when one of her noble friends introduced her to one of 'The Dealer's' deals. At first, she hesitated, but when she saw a huge beast-man with the characteristics of a wolf, her desire instantly burst out.
The slave's eyes were empty as his face showed no emotions, but then
His eyes began to glow with life again; he was confused for a moment. However, as soon as his eyes laid upon the woman who was currently 'riding' him,
"..Grrrr" his eyes glowed in blue light; his killing intent began to leak out of him.
"..Eh?" The woman stopped her action when she sensed the mood had changed. She glanced at the slave and saw the furious look on his face.
"!!!"The slave left her no chance to react as he instantly grabbed her by the throat.
He dragged her to the balcony, and with no hesitation, he threw her out. Head first to the solid ground, the woman instantly died under the moonlight.
"Awooooo"
…
Similar cases occurred all over the continent. Some slaves took their vengeance on their masters, while others died trying.
However, some chose to hide and lay low, acting as if nothing had changed, biding their time, and waiting for the right moment to strike.
All in all, every person that Vincent had changed using his skill regained their self-awareness, and they want Blood!
…
"So let me get this... You want to rent the entire inn?" Helga spoke with a serious tone while looking at the handsome man in front of her.
"Yes," he answered immediately.
"Why?"
"I need a place for 22 individuals, and your inn is the first place that came to mind."
After destroying Vincent's building, Aron headed straight to "The Drunken Chef" inn and asked Helga to rent the place. After all, he needed to take care of all those women.
'Sigh... I'm tired. I need to sleep for a whole day... maybe two... nah, too short. How about a year? Yes, a year is good.' Aron didn't know what to think of the trouble of taking care of 22 women, so he decided to just sleep.
"Why don't you rent a warehouse?" Helga made a suggestion.
"Warehouse?"
"Yes, I have a second warehouse. I don't usually use it. It's big and empty. You can have it."
"Hm? That's good. I'll take it," Aron quickly agreed.
"And one more thing, can you prepare some food? I'll pay you double if you send it to the warehouse," he added.
Helga nodded. "Leave it to me... Hey! Amy, show him our second warehouse."
Amy, who was cleaning tables, nodded when she heard Helga and quickly left with Aron to the warehouse.
As they arrived at the warehouse, Aron looked at the empty space with satisfaction. It was big enough to accommodate all the women. He told Amy to come for him when the food arrives. She took a mental note of that and left.
*Whistle*
Kaaaaah!.
Landing on his shoulders, Raum looked at the warehouse.
"Is this the place?" he asked.
"Yes, go guide them here and tell Pethra to send them in groups, quietly. Okay!"
A few minutes later, a group of three women entered the warehouse, avoiding people's eyes. It was easy under the cover of darkness.
The three women saw Aron waiting for them inside. They bowed to him slightly and walked next to him.
Minutes later, another group arrived, and after some time, another. After about 20 minutes, all the women were inside the warehouse.
"Make yourselves comfortable."
The women began preparing the place for rest, cleaning it a little, and covering the floor with some spare clothes. At least they wouldn't sleep on solid ground.
"She's here." Raum's voice made everyone fall silent.
Aron came out of the warehouse to meet Amy, who brought with her a crate full of food.
"Thank you, Amy. You can tell Helga I'll pay you in the morning."
Amy nodded. She was curious as to why Aron requested this amount of food, but she decided not to pry into his business.
Aron brought the crate inside, but before splitting the food, he first called for Kasumi.
Kasumi answered and immediately stood in front of him, gazing into his black eyes.
'Hmm? Didn't they look red before?' she wondered.
However, her train of thought was interrupted when Aron suddenly wrapped his arms around her neck.
"!!!" Kasumi blushed at his approach but didn't say anything.
Crack. Crack.
A crackling sound was heard, catching everyone's attention. Gathering mana around his hands, Aron used it to break the slave collar around Kasumi's neck.
Kasumi was stunned when she saw the broken collar in Aron's hand, and a small tear escaped his eyes. Aron smiled gently at her and wiped the tear from her cheek.
"You're free now, little fox."
Kasumi kept staring at him, her emotions mixed. This man, in one night, was able to do something that she couldn't do in years. He gave her, her freedom back.
Aron glanced at the rest of the women, who, like Kasumi, found it hard to hold back their tears.
"Stand before me one at a time," he ordered.
Understanding why, the former slave women formed a line, and one by one, Aron removed the slave collars from their necks. All of them, without exception, cried the moment Aron broke the collars.
They didn't know how to thank him or repay their debt to him, but one thing was for sure: Aron had made a very strong impact on them. All of the 20 women, Kasumi, and even Pethra, who observed all of this, knew in their hearts that this man was different. Being close to him felt safer than being alone out there. And from the way he interacted with Pethra and Kasumi a little, they knew he would treat them well.
Finishing up, Aron spoke to them: "In the meantime, eat and rest. Tomorrow, we'll think about our next move."
Leaving them in peace, Aron walked to a corner of the warehouse. The warehouse was split by many small wooden walls, probably to prevent products from mixing when stored. He sat down and began removing his armor, or what was left of it, because the moment he released the leather strips, the armor came falling to the floor in pieces.
'Sigh…I need a new one'
His fight with Vincent's bodyguards may have looked like an easy fight, but for Aron, it was a hard fight. He was only able to win because he caught them off guard and didn't allow them to team up too much. Vincent's state impacted them a lot.
He was about to clean his wounds when he felt someone approaching. He turned and saw Pethra carrying some food and a bottle of water. She felt her heart pierced by a dagger when she saw his wounds.
"Hey there, my little witch," Aron said with a smile on his face.
Pethra smiled at him, feeling warmth in her chest, especially at the word 'my.' She walked closer to Aron, placing the food and water beside him. "I brought you some food and water."
Then, without hesitation, she took a piece of cloth and water and began cleaning Aron's wounds from the blood.
Aron was surprised by her action, but he didn't say anything and let her do what she wanted.
"Strange," she said.
"Hm?...what strange?"
"No matter what, you always keep smiling."
"Really?" Aron was confused. He placed his hand on his face, and a smile was indeed on his lips.
"...I didn't notice that."
Pethra chuckled softly. "Yes, you do. Even when you're injured or facing difficult situations, you always keep a smile on your face. It's admirable."
Aron smiled back at her. "Well, what's the point of dwelling on negative emotions? Life is short. We might as well enjoy it while we can, right?"
Pethra nodded. "You're right."
Minutes of silence passed until Pethra spoke again.
"But there is something even stranger." She gazed into his eyes. "Why do I feel so safe with you?"
Aron chuckled. "Really? I'm honored, I guess."
Pethra nodded. "Yes, I feel like I can trust you with my life, even though we only just met." She kept her gaze. "Did you place a spell on me or something?"
Aron laughed softly and patted her head. "Who knows? Maybe? No memory, remember?"
Pethra then rested her head on his chest. "Well, if you did, it's a good spell."
Aron wrapped his arm around her, feeling her warmth and softness. "I promise to protect you and the others, my little witch. You can always count on me," he whispered.
Pethra smiled and closed her eyes, feeling safe and protected in his embrace.
Kasumi was behind the wooden wall, listening to their conversation. She displayed a small smile and went back to the girls, who had just finished their meal, and went to sleep, exhausted from the events of the day.
Aron and Pethra stayed awake a little longer, enjoying each other's company, until Pethra fell asleep in his arms. He looked down at Pethra, who was sleeping soundly, and smiled.
His eyes glowed red for a moment.
'I'll protect you and the others. No one is going to take away 'My Treasures' from me. NO one'
With that thought, he leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes, letting himself drift off into a peaceful sleep while holding Pethra protectively in his arms.
~~~~
[A/N: Hello everyone, glad you made it this far. I just want to tell you all that we Finally managed to make the book and an Ebook on Amazon. some asked me about going premium but I say that the story will stay free for all to read....you can help me by leaving a review on Amazon that will help me greatly, you can find the link in the comments later. and good luck, have fun see you in the future]