Red, the sky lingering was light red. So were the clouds, the infinite amount lingering in the sky, floating.

Far, that was all the ground could be described as. Everyone seemed so insignificant, as though he were staring at ants from the perspective of the gods.

Not once had he ever seen the world like this. In this perspective of his, he felt shock, fear, and joy.

Ozias was part of both worlds for this singular moment. Air slapped him across the face while the sun warmed his pale skin. From where he was, no building or tree could block him from receiving the careful love of the heat. For the three seconds he flew, he felt free.

His heart rang heavy, accelerating faster than ever before. Even while looking at Valery earlier, his heart only shook lightly. Here, it felt as though he were a guitar being played. His heart was strung at every moment, reverberating into the next.

Though, it was finite.

In the next second, the gentle pull of the world strengthened as he was dragged down to the lower earth.

Six seconds after the firm hand threw him into the air, he crumbled to the ground.

Pain shot from his back to the rest of his body as he came into contact with the cobbled walkway.

“Arrrrghhhh!!!!”

The pain was different from before. While back then, only a small part of his chest was destroyed, here, everything crackled and tore apart as the force of earth ran through his body.

“Not so tough now are ya’!”

From where he was thrown, a voice familiar to the boy rang. With all the strength he could muster, Ozias opened his eyes and looked toward the restaurant.

Five people walked towards him, one of them being the same man he had run into earlier.

“Ozias, are you Okay!?”

From the veranda, Valery shot up before pacing toward Ozias. Exiting the veranda, one man gripped her on the shoulder, completely stopping her.

“Don’t do it, young lady.”

Several men walked past Valery toward Ozias, ending up behind the big-bellied man.

“Well, Fight back ya’ dirty slave!”

The man’s leg smashed into Ozias’s face, the impact causing him to roll back even farther. Blood dripped from Ozias’s lips and nose as his vision blurred. The impact earlier had nearly knocked him out. The hit moments earlier only brought him closer.

“Hah! You’re really not so tough now huh!?”

The sweat that had formed on the man's hands earlier dried as his confidence rose in his beating heart, his sneer turning to a genuine smile.

Ozias stumbled over before planting his dirt-ridden hand down onto the cobbled floor. Under each nail of his was mud and gravel, while the rest of both his hands were bleeding. His eyes, fading into black caught the ground right next to him. Many had stepped on this floor with no regard, just as many had stepped over Ozias, treating him like nothing.

In between his fading eyes were flashes of anger, flashes of helplessness, and flashes of anticipation.

Sweat fell from Valery’s forehead as she glanced toward the hand on her shoulder. The grip was so tight her shoulder began to ache.

‘Is there really nothing I can do. If I were to try and slip out of here, could I even get past him?’

Valery looked up even further to see the man’s face. He had light brown hair with a beard that stuck to his face. His serious demeanor contrasted that of the rest of the men around, who were all chuckling and looked like hoodlums.

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‘Is he not with them?’

“Your friend over there already pissed them off. Let them blow off some steam and they’ll leave.”

‘So he isn’t!’

But even then, nothing had changed. She was still one against ten. No matter what she did, she would simply end up like Ozias.

‘But, what if!!’

Valery gripped the man’s hands before pulling it off.

“I’m alright, I’m not stupid.”

The man widened his eyes a tad before retracting his hands into his cloak pocket.

“I had never thought that.”

Valery looked back toward Ozias before seemingly speaking to herself.

“Please, can you help him?”

At that moment, the fairy-like being from before appeared. She looked at Valery for a moment before looking toward Ozias, at the next, she disappeared.

Surprise was the least they could describe it. Some were shocked, while some were amazed. Little by little, they witnessed Ozias creep up to a stand after being thrown several nons into the air. The cold sweat that had dried from the big-bellied man earlier began to pump from his pores again as he stared in shock.

“Hah… to think you can still stand…”

Each second standing took all of his willpower. Usually, he would have been out cold within the first second, but the spell was obviously helping him subconsciously. Of course, even with it, it was not enough to defeat all of these people. If he were to battle them, he would be nothing more than a punching bag.

But maybe it was because of how helpless he was, a slight chuckle escaped from his bloody lips as his straight face turned into a smile. This was the second time he had laughed since being enslaved.

“Hahaha…”

The gods above really loved to put him into positions like this. But somewhere within his soul, he knew, that no matter how many times he was placed here, he would stand and continue. Even with the odds against him each time, his will was stronger than their thoughts!

But he had nothing left. His body subconsciously fell backward as his hands hovered above his waist. His feet stayed planted on the floor as the tips gently lifted.

Exactly then, when his center of balance nearly leaned too far, a fairy-like being appeared in front of him.

His faded eyes witnessed the glitterings of light float around him, each dot of brightness reflecting onto the lenses of his soul. Then, the fairy-like being slowly approached Ozias’s heart before phasing through his skin and flesh.

His pumping heart suddenly stopped as a tiny arm reached out. Garant, or maybe pure energy morphed the surroundings as the world split into three. In accordance, Ozias also split into. A surging golden energy split from him as a lesser, more silent purple energy split at the same moment. The fairy like being phased through two parts of Ozias before reaching the surging third. Her tiny hand caressed the energy before it seemingly burst. In the first reality, time moved as a surging force came from within his body. His insignificant heart pumped so hard it nearly exploded as his head shot with thoughts. Power traveled from his chest to his head, then to his arms, before finally reaching his legs!

The fairy flew out from the other side of Ozias’s chest before fading away.

Like spikes, garant flew from Ozias’s body into the surrounding air, embodying himself.

Ozias, in light of this sudden surge in power, pulled his left leg back and slammed it into the floor while his right leg gently lifted into the air. A red glow burst from Ozias’s eyes as he caught his fall. His fiery eyes stared daggers at the men as he completed his pose in full.

The men standing in front of Ozias were genuinely starstricken seeing the garant pouring from Ozias’s body. Many thought of running sprinted through their heads, but no action was taken because of fear. The only man who was able to move was the one in front, the one who began the entire charade.

“Hahaha! This is how I like my battles!”

His mighty front couldn’t be kept, as at the next moment, Ozias appeared in front of the man. The big-bellied man’s giant body overcast Ozias, blocking him from the sun. But the sharp garant blasting from his beating soul overwhelmed the man, towering over his fat. His gold-colored garant dashed around as some gathered into his fists and arms.

Noticing him, the big-bodied man pulled his foot back but was too late.

Ozias’s fist shot towards his stomach. Upon contact, the fat lining his belly was pushed deep into his body before being ripped apart by garant. The punch itself, after destroying the man’s insides, pushed him back several tens of nons. All the others behind him attempted to catch him before being pushed aside.

Seeing his destroyed opponent, Ozias stared at his shaking hands.

‘This is garant…’

Ozias had hoped he could keep this power active forever, but he could instinctively feel it weakening constantly. Seconds later, the garant he felt pouring through his body ran dry. The strength he had earlier disappeared as he collapsed onto his knees.

Long gasps of air came from him as his right hand fell to his side. The muscles had torn throwing that punch. His body was still not ready for garant.

In Ozias’s final thoughts of consciousness, he dragged his head up toward the restaurant before locating Valery. Rather than surprise or amazement, she expressed sadness as tears fell from her leaf-green eyes onto her pale cheeks.

He had thought she would have fallen head over heels for him. But all he saw was worry. It was then that he realized, he never wanted anyone to worry for him either.

At the next moment, he collapsed onto the floor, falling into a slumber.