Torin Komolas has another dark skin from the nation of dark ELF. Usually, his current state is very terrible. His body was full of wounds, his right hand was broken, he was starving, and he was severely dehydrated. His older brother, Warren Komolas, continued to hug him by his side. They are a nation of outcast dark elves; both parents died of an incurable disease because buying potions was expensive.
Other elves don't want to get close to the dark elves because they are said to carry a curse; this happened because of the history of the rebellious dark elves eating the roots of the world tree and making all of their descendants black-skinned under the curse.
But in fact, the world tree only curses the color of their skin so that everyone remembers the sins of the dark ELF ancestors; it doesn't mean that being close to dark elves is disastrous. Hungry, the two Komolas brothers tried to work in the notoriously crime-ridden part of Left Bay or the most significant black market of the Osiris continent.
Unfortunately, because the few dark elves are worthless in the eyes of everyone, the two Komolas brothers are kidnapped by a slave syndicate. They were taken away; Torin initially went berserk, trying to escape several times until finally he was beaten, and his hand was broken by being hit by an iron bar brought by a slave syndicate.
And tonight, the two Komolas siblings must endure the cold night air in the forest. They and nearly ten other children will be taken to the vampire territory.
"It's cold." Tobias' body started shivering from the cold, but his skin was so hot as boiling water Warren freaked out.
Warren tightened his embrace with a frightened face full of worry, "I'm here, we'll be up soon, and I'll find you medicine for your fever."
"It hurts... my hand hurts, Warren... let's go home, I want to go home... Mom... where are you and dad, Warren?" his brother started crying and muttering about their dead parents.
Warren's brother is only nine years old and already 16 years old. He had heard that they would be brought to the territory of the vampire nation to be sacrificed; once a year, the slave syndicate was constantly flooded with orders from the isolated territory of the vampire nation. It is said that every year there performs a massive ritual of shedding blood to worship the dark one.
There are also rumors that the enslaved people sold there were fed and tested, but no one knows. Because the vampire nation has never been out interacting other than for their needs for thousands of years. So the vampire nation's information is scanty and untouched.
"Calm down, Torin... we're going home, I'll make sure we're going home..." he said to his younger brother, who was crying even louder.
Torin's loud cry disturbed the journey of the slave syndicate, they stopped the train with a curse, and Warren hugged his brother tighter when he realized that annoyed footsteps were approaching their train.
"Damn, it!! Which child is crying, we are in a forest full of beasts, and it looks like we need to bait them into not following us!!" said one of the slave syndicates who now opened the door of the train that the two Komolas brothers were riding.
The man had many wrinkles on his face, his teeth were sharp, his eyes were light brown, and he had horns. The minotaur nation was famous for being impatient and easily provoked; the big man covered the carriage door.
"You again!! You son of a bitch, I taught you a lesson, and it looks like killing you as bait for beasts won't be a problem!!" the man put his body a little bit and pulled Torin's legs, who were hugged tightly by his brother.
"Don't!! Please, I will make my brother not cry!" Warren pleaded while holding Torin's body from the Minotaur's pull in vain.
'Someone, please help my brother!!' Warren screamed in his heart, not realizing that his green eyes, trembling helplessly, emitted light in his despair.
The Minotaur laughed so loudly that it made the wooden carriage he was riding in with several children from other nations vibrate; even the sound of his laughter was so solid and loud.
"Then, after he was silent, what?" the Minotaur asked, pounding the chariot until it jiggled and cracked. "He will surely cry again, and the herd of sleeping beasts will wake up and chase our chariot, and you guys, I will give them to hinder the giant's pursuit!!!" the Minotaur's threat to Warren made all the children on the train start sobbing in fear with their bodies shaking.
One of the teenage boys in front of Warren spoke boldly, looking him in the face angrily.
"Give me your brother, or we will die here for nothing!!" the teenage boy told Warren.
"No!! We're all still going to die in the territory of the vampires, so why should I obey!!" replied Warren pulling his sister's body closer and hugging her tightly.
"Okay, we'll leave your carriage here. Besides, now you all won't be able to run because I put in a paralyzing potion, so you can't leave this carriage even one step!" said the Minotaur confidently.
He closed the carriage door; rough movement rocked Warren's carriage before the noise outside faded away slowly. Without waiting a long time, all the children in the same carriage screamed one by one when they realized that their legs couldn't move.
"Aaahh!!! My legs, I can't move. Mom, I don't wanna die!!! Help me; please save me!!"
"Anyone, please!!! I don't want to die!!"
"Daddy, I'm sorry I didn't listen to you; sorry for stepping into the forbidden forest!! Forgive me."
"Damn it!! We are now dead because you didn't give your sister a hostage!!! Damn you!!" The child advanced to hit his body, but Warren still did not let go of his sister's body in his arms.
Warren received blow after blow from the teenage boy while covering his little brother with his body; it was so hot. Torin had a high fever, crying in pain and worrying about his sister's condition; he had resigned himself to where he would die with his sister. At least Torin won't feel pain anymore; they are free from poverty and the persecution that pure ELFs have inflicted on them.
"Die, you damn it!!!" That curse sounded so loud, along with other screams, the moment the roof of the train burst open, a large hand pulled the teenage boy's body above him, and he screamed. "Ahhh!! Please, help me. Save me, anyone!!!"
The train's ceiling showed the night sky above Warren; he didn't care about the screams and the rough movements of the children on the train who tried to get out one by one in vain because their legs were paralyzed. All he did was look down to see his little brother was so pale and his breathing so slow he had passed out.
Warren panicked and started to pat his sister on the cheek, "Torin! Torin, wake up, hey!! Wake up, damn it!!!" he tried to wake his brother; his heart was beating wildly.
While the teenage boy had no sound other than a bloodied face, outside were three flesh-eating giants. They have no sense other than eating meat until they are complete, and the teenage boy earlier the first meal, where half of his body had been bitten, and he was lifeless.
"Argh!!!!"
"Help!! anyone, argh!!!"
"Mother!!!"
Shout after the scream; the children started to be eaten by the giant one by one. While Warren had resigned himself to realizing that his death with his younger sibling was in sight, he lay beside Torin, embracing that hot body before closing his eyes. And before he closed his eyes, above him, the children screamed in fear to see their other friends being bitten to nothing; Blood was splashing everywhere.
It dripped onto the ground and the train, but Warren didn't care anymore and waited for his turn to be eaten.
Ah, the Giants are here, meaning they are already at the border of the forest towards the vampire territory. Famous giants are here and left to roam by the vampire race to protect their borders from strangers; everyone can pass if allowed.
But if the guards left them on purpose, this train was meant to be the giant's dinner in the forest.