I returned to the barn where Lyall was waiting, standing with his arms crossed, his expression unreadable. The three kidnappers knelt before him, their bodies battered beyond recognition. One of them clutched his arm, which was twisted at a grotesque angle, while the other two coughed up blood, their faces swollen and bruised. The scent of iron and sweat filled the confined space.
I approached them slowly, crouching to their eye level. My presence alone sent a sharp chill through the air, the temperature plummeting as a suffocating stillness settled over the barn. The men flinched, their instincts screaming at them to move away, but Lyall's looming figure blocked their escape.
"L-Let us go, please!" one of them whimpered, voice trembling.
"W-We are only mere thieves," another pleaded.
"D-Don't kill us, please!"
