[This chapter contains a little violence and morally disgusting scenes.]
Year 4918, Transcendence era. Five years since Jayce's birth.
A dark night, other than the rustling sounds of leaves and the howling sound of some animals, nothing else could be perceived.
And that could not be more false. Maybe if anyone in the realm of grand master and above, they could 'see' the guy adorned in silver white clothing completely opposite to to surrounding darkness, which stuck close to his skin.
His face was stoic. His purple eyes had a glint of coldness, his purple hair seemed to be hidden beneath a mask that he wore to hide his face.
He's currently looking at a factory around 100m diameter which seems to manufacture firecrackers.
Obviously, looking at him, it's clear he is not here to buy firecrackers, but he is here for a blast, that's for sure.
His body blurred as he appeared inside that building within a second. He kept moving until he stopped in a place that was seemingly ordinary. There you can see two people chatting with each other.
"Did you see? they caught quite the piece today?" A middle-aged man said as he gestured towards a wall.
"Yeah, she's quite young but looked t-"
Before he could even finish the sentence, both their bodies disintegrated into nothingness. No sound, blood or any noticeable changes in their surroundings except for the absence of those two men.
....
In a dark room, the moaning of a man and slurping sounds could be heard. With time, those sounds only increased in intensity.
"Mmmm...Haaaak...haa..haa" the person who belonged to that voice, panted after letting out some rough breathing, having reached the climax.
A skinny man with long red hair, cleanly shaved, wearing dark red lipstick and a red dress that was similar to one piece which reached down to his knees along with leggings that he had just pulled upwards. And with him in the room was a boy who was just listlessly staring at the void.
The man, after fixing his dress, went to a hall that was over 60 meters in length and 40 meters in width.
Surrounding him were children of ages from 6 being the least to 15 being the highest.
They were all pretty beaten up with blood staining their bodies and clothes but nothing on their faces and, seemingly, had lost any will to resist. Their eyes lacked the life that children their age were supposed to have, instead being filled with fear, dread and... resignation.
"Bred, where did you find her? She looks like a doll." that red-haired guy asked the burly man at his side as he looked at the 6-year-old girl in front of him who was shivering.
She had sky blue eyes, fair skin which is dim, mostly due to the place she was staying.
"We found her in the alley a few days back. She seemed to have been staying there for a while. After noticing no contact with other for over a week, we made the move." He replied with a hint of satisfaction.
Normally, they would kidnap children and sell them for different purposes. Ranging from satisfying some rich people's fetishes to selling slaves. But, there will be occasions where they will find some 'goods' that have the potential to make more funds, if raised properly.
But, contrary to his expectations, the guy who dressed seemingly wanted to look feminine frowned as he heard this for some reason.
...
That white-clothed figure entered the secret space beyond that wall stealthily. The underground hideout was built like a maze. But as if he had a GPS tracker, that figure rushed with precision towards the right path.
'Hope I'm not late...not again' he thought as he moved.
After passing the final deception. He reached the hall where he could see over a dozen kids of various ages. His gaze fixed on the adults in that place, especially the one sitting in a chair, whom he could identify as an expert-ranked individual.
Without as much as a second thought, he pulled out his sword.
...
The guy who dressed up feminine frowned as he sensed that things seemed amiss for some reason. Normally, what he said and did would've been perfectly alright.
But, he felt restless. It's an instinctual feeling without any logic behind it that only an expert ranked or above can feel when encountering an immediate danger.
But alas, he felt it too late, before he could make any preparations. His sight tilted as his head was sent flying. The men surrounding him are yet to react, but could they?
Thud Thud Thud!!!
They all fell down with their arms and legs severed, they opened their mouths to scream. But, before they could even do so. Their tongues were cut off.
"Mmf?!!"
Only muffled screams rang throughout the hall. The children were frightened, some shivering, some still remained listless, but none of them made a sound, as if they were mute.
The man in white swept his gaze through the entire hall. But as he finished his check, his cold eyes became melancholic. He took a deep breath, completely ignoring the pungent and bloody odor surrounding the halll.
He moved, picked up a boy who was around 12 years old and that 6-year-old girl who was standing there. She was actually frozen in place, after witnessing that gore happening in front of her very eyes.
She wanted to scream, but something seemed to have been struck in her throat. No voice came out.
He went out of the building and released those two kids. He looked at them for a while, then removed his mask and let them see his face.
He had purple-colored eyes and hair, a handsome face which now-showcased a kind smile at those two who were shivering.
"Wait here until I come back, alright?"
Those two slowly nodded.
He then went back to that hall and got some information from the remaining ones that were alive.
' It would've been nice to capture that main guy for information. But seeing an unaffected kid standing right before him, it would've been a risky move.'
Then he looked at the remaining kids, his mood became more heavy. All these children were branded by a forbidden soul slavery technique.
It's a technique that can only be used against children between the age of 7 to 15. Out of that age group, it wouldn't work. In fact, even for children under this age, they would have to torture them until their will was at the verge of breaking. Only then can they brand them.
And once branded, it can't be broken even if the person branded wants to, unless both sides can pay for it dearly. But, in contrast, all one needs to do to enslave them is to mark their souls with will, and that's it.
A cruel and diabolical technique. These children now can't be rescued, they're like robots which obey orders without questions. Normally in this situation, these children are handed to the empire for rehabilitation and further processes.
'And, I know damn well, what those bastards use these children for, after their so-called rehabilitation.'
'Isn't why they fail to prevent these incidents from happening beforehand and have to ask us to 'rescue' them every fuckin' time.'
'It'll be nothing more than a slave life, except for a different master.'
Leonard is not a righteous person like the heroes from the books. His world views are twisted to a certain degree, in fact. He asked for the position of 'illegal slavery prevention head' of Luna kingdom himself, yet he never went on a single mission that involved adult slavery.
Because of his childhood experiences, he felt a sense of comradeship towards these children. So, he only cared about preventing the slavery of children.
Leonard was well aware of the life they'd be leading after this. He steeled his heart as he took a deep breath, he uttered,
"I'm sorry... I'm sorry that I'm late... Even though it's not my fault... I'm still sorry..."
"I'm sorry that you have to go through all this because of these messed-up adults and the society we created."
"I'm sorry that the dreams, desires and wishes you may all have developed had been utterly destroyed by pushing you to this accursed reality."
"I'm sorry that the adults you might've thought highly of are just like you, nothing more than chained slaves, except us towards our own desires, problems and circumstances."
"Though there's no afterlife to reward you for your sufferings. Rest assured. There is no reincarnation for you to be born again, in this hellhole either."
He gritted his teeth as tears formed in his eyes, making his vision blurry as his past flashed through his mind along with the image of his daughter. His voice broke as he continued,
"I'm sorry, my little comrades."
He then unsheathed his sword.
----
AN :
Hello,
This chapter is supposed to be quite heavy when I thought in my mind, hope I had some justice.
If you like, add this to your collection. Any flaws? Do leave it in the comment box.
Thank you!