Chapter 52
Betrayal
Humans possess an irrational fear of darkness. So much so they view creatures that lurk in darkness as evil, and those that dwell in light as good. Being a creature of darkness, I’ll shamefully admit that I do enjoy light from time to time. I even read in a book that sunlight is good for your skin. But there are times when even humans find light annoying, and I’m sure this is one of those times.
The fairies’ emerald light manages to get past the blinds and shine directly on my face. I wanted to get up and chase them away. But my body felt incredibly heavy. Getting up would require effort I’m too lazy to put in. The only thing I could do was look away from the window, but then I was faced with another problem, which was Aaron’s face. I sat there listening to him snore peacefully trying to figure out why he’s in my bed, and why I’m on the floor.
All I remember was watching the fairies dancing in the sky with the merchant, and in the next moment, I’m here watching Aaron sleep, my body devoid of energy and strength.
I heard quite a few horror stories about alcohol, and how people woke up to terrible situations. Like waking up to see you slept with your best friend’s wife, or waking up in the street with all your valuables stolen. Of course, the situation I’m in is nowhere near as terrifying as those cases, but it still is quite horrifying to not knowing how I ended up like this.
As I tried to piece together my missing memories, the door to the lodge was swung open. I expected the merchant to laugh or joke about how I was too drunk to sleep on a bed properly, but he just stood there silent. I couldn’t see what he was doing, but I could feel his eyes on me, studying me. I didn’t feel any killing intent coming from him, but I still felt like I was in danger for some reason.
The eerie silence that accompanied the merchant arrival was broken by his heavy footsteps. My body tensed up as he got closer and closer to me.
Why am I freaking out? He’s walking this way because the beds are over here, he wouldn’t do something as stupid as attacking me.
Even after reassuring myself everything was okay I continue to listen intently to my surroundings. My heartbeat got faster and louder with every step he took. Just when I thought my heart was going to leap out of my chest, he abruptly stops moving.
What happen? did he go to sleep? No, I would’ve heard him laid down, which means he’s standing right behind me.
The silence was far more terrifying than listening to giant footsteps approaching me. The only thing I could do was sit and listen, trying to figure out what he was doing. After a minute of painful silence, the merchant lets out a long sigh.
“I’m sorry miss, but to ensure I live a peaceful life, I’m afraid I’m going have to make your hellish life into even more of a nightmare.”
A betrayal huh? I guess that explains why I feel so tired, he must’ve drug me. I’m not sure how he did it, I made sure the drink wasn’t tainted by making him drink first. Did he fake it?
I move my hand slowly off the bed, trying to make it look like I was slipping. I’m quite sure I shouldn’t be able to move my body, or hell even be awake right now. Did he mess up and not give me enough to fully put me to sleep, or am I immune to whatever drug he used, well whatever the case, I’m going to use this to my advantage.
My right arm falls off the bed and dangles near my sword that’s still attach to my waist. My hand twitches uncontrollably as I waited for the merchant to get closer to me. Am I scared right now? No, I’m calm, at least I should be. I look down at my shaking hand trying my best to get it under control. Is this what they call women’s instinct? Is my body afraid that it’ll be used like a toy? No, it’s more than that, I felt this uneasy feeling before.
The first time I felt this is when I took on a blood wolf the first time in this body. My body froze on me when I notice how small I was compared to him. The second time I felt this is when I fought the orc chief, Cain. My body once again froze on me when his attacks brushes past me.
I have always been aware how frail this body is. But it was during those extreme times that I felt the same fear every human face, the fear of death, and how a single mistake can cost you your life. What would of happen if I didn’t block that wolf surprise attack? What would of happen if any of Cain’s attack hit me? And what would of happen to me if the fairies didn’t wake me up?
A shiver ran down my spine at the terrifying thought. My hand continues shaking fiercely, begging me to kill the merchant. I tightly clench it to stop myself from shaking. I can’t attack him yet. He’s only my ride out of here, so I want to be hundred percent sure he’s betraying me before I do anything.
“Hey, are you awake?” He leans over me and blew air into my ear. It took everything I had to stop myself from getting up and beating him to death.
“Looks like you are you asleep, of course, you are, the amount I gave you is enough to knock an orc out for a day.”
I guess I should be outraged that this bastard tried to drug me and I truly want to feel that. But the only thing I feel is disappointment. I’m going to have to walk to the next city because a certain idiot couldn’t keep me out of his dirty scheme, even when I tried my hardest to avoid it.
“I am really, truly sorry for this.” He brushed his hand across my head like I was pet. My hand involuntarily grabbed my sword. It took everything I had to stop myself from killing him on the spot.
The man is willingly confessing his crime to me. The least I could do is listen and find out why he drugged me, before killing him.
“Perhaps this is the best for you. From what you told me about your life, you most likely would’ve died eventually. At least as a slave, you get to live longer.
That’s the most broken logic I ever heard. What he basically said is “Yea I drug you and plan on selling you to a rich perverted noble, but hey, at least it’s better than living freely and dealing with responsibility.”
Since I have my eyes close, this entire time I imagine slowly sneaking up on me with a knife, now I’m just imaging him awkwardly twiddling his thumbs trying to find an excuse for his betrayal.
“Well, this most likely will be the last time we talk, so I hope you live a good life, even though the chance of that is small.” His footsteps moved away from me. I wanted to open my eyes to see what he was doing, but I resisted the temptation and continue to listen to my surroundings. It wasn’t until I heard the door slammed shut that I opened my eyes.
“Damnit, I forgot to kill him.” I quickly ran to the nearest window and watch the merchant walk towards the dark forest alone.
Perhaps it’s a good thing I didn’t kill him since I doubt he’s working alone. He’s most likely going to go tell the other members that are in on this that we been incapacitated.
What a sick bastard. The reason why he didn’t bring any more men with him is because they’re hiding somewhere around here, waiting for us to let our guard down.
I look back at Aaron who was still snoring peacefully, unaware of the danger we’re in.
Slave trading requires quite a bit of manpower. If the merchant is serious about selling me, then there must be quite of few people in on this. Chasing him down by myself will definitely be the stupidest thing I ever done. But I have no choice. Aaron is the definition of innocent. He’ll freeze up on me if I wake him and tell him that our opponent this time is humans.
“I’m better off doing this on my own.” Taking one last look at Aaron, I headed outside.
The fairies continue to fly around the pond brightening the area with their brilliant emerald light. The first time I saw them I was amazed by the spectacle. But now they’re a nuisance. Their bright light made it hard to hide. Thankfully the merchant seems to be confident in his plan. He has yet to check to see if anyone is following him. Even when he entered the forest he continued forward not bothering to check his surroundings for ambushes.
Despite the merchant lack of situational awareness, I still had a hard time keeping myself from being notice. The forest floor was cover with expose roots and low hanging branches, making it hard to move without tripping or making noise. But thanks to my eyes, I was able to silently maneuver around the dark forest while keeping out of the merchant’s site.
With only a small lantern lighting his path, the merchant confidently walks through the dark forest until he came to a dim glowing light. I couldn’t see what was creating the light due to the trees obstructing my vision, but the voices I hear coming from that direction was enough evidence for me to figure out this is where the bandits are hiding.
Unable to follow the merchant anymore, I move to a tree that was closest to the light to get a better view. I wasn't surprised by what I saw.
Seven men including the merchant stood near a campfire. Every single one of them looked like scum that enjoys this kind of work. The only thing that caught me off guard was that among them was the guild master, the man who gave me this “job”.
Watching him talk with the bandits like they’re old friends, I begin to realize the depth of this operation. These bastards never intended to help me get to the Monster Den, they planned to capture me from the start.
“What took you so long?” A small man walks up to the merchant. His rips clothes hung off him as if it was made for a man twice his size. The little man kept his hand on his sword, waiting for someone to make fun of his size and poor appearance.
Unfazed by his glare the merchant ignores him and walk towards the others.
“There was some complication, those kids are stronger than we initially thought.”
“Are you saying that they escape? How did they discover our plan? Wasn’t it your job to make sure to escort them here, while keeping them in the dark?!” The little man shouted at the top of his lungs, trying is hardest to make himself look bigger than what he is.
“Relax, they didn’t discover our plan, I manage to drug them before they could find out.”
You know you’re in a bad area when you hear someone casually mention they drug someone, and that certain someone just so happens to be the Demon King. I’m starting to think this place is a gathering point for villains. Perhaps I’m closer to the Monster Den than I originally thought. Heh, that’s one way to stay optimistic.
“So what’s the problem? They’re unconscious, right? All we have to do is capture them and our job is done, right?”
“Right, normally that would be the case. But they’re eventually going to wake up and when they do they’re not going to sit there and let us sell them. We’re going to need someone keep an eye on them 24/7”
All the bandits silently nodded their heads at the merchant’s proposal except for the smallest one, who scratched his head in confusion.
“I don’t get it. Everyone we caught up to this point has put up a fight. What makes these kids so different?”
“What makes them different from the others is that they know how to fight. Before I arrive here, we were attacked by a group of monsters, and those two single handily manage to hold them off. If we let our guard down, they will kill us.”
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“This job is starting to sound dangerous, are they really worth the trouble?” Everyone turn their attention to a kid who looked around the same age as Aaron and me.
“Oh yeah they’re worth it, at least the girl is.” A chill crawls down my spine when the guild master looks back at the bandits with a wide grin.
“That girl is one of a kind. Her beauty even surpasses elves.”
“C’mon Morgan, you’re exaggerating. There’s no way she’s hotter than an elf.” The guild master looks down at the little man in front of him with a cold glare. I honestly thought he was going to kill him, but that cold expression on his face slowly melted into a warm smile.
“Imagine a girl who has hair darker than the night itself, with skin as white as snow, with a slender, fragile body.” His voice began to shake from the excitement of his own imagination.
“And yet, despite her frailty those red eyes she possessed, they’re sharp enough to cut into any man soul and force them onto their knees. Just thinking about it makes me want to….” The man fell silent and tightly hug his shivering body. I’m not sure what twisted thought he has of me and I seriously don’t want to know.
“If she’s that hot then I need to try her out before we sell her.”
“Don’t even think about it.” The merchant quickly grabs the little one by the shoulder before he could run off.
“Oh come, we went through all this trouble to capture her, we deserve to fuck her before anyone us.”
“We’ll be paid less if the buyers find out we played with the product.”
“Oh come on! How they’re going to find out? All we have to do is wash her after we’re…”
For the sake of my own sanity, I tune out their conservation and began coming up with a plan to defeat them.
Fighting humans are completely different from fighting beast since they don’t have super strength or super speed like monsters. Humans need to be smart and crafty if they want to be able to keep up with beasts. Basically, the strongest humans tend to be the ones that are capable of calmly analyzing the situation and quickly creating a plan to deal with it. of course, if you happen to be a hero then lucky for you, you don’t have to use your brain, you can simply overpower your enemies with powers that given to you by an annoying goddess.
Anyway, I should probably create a plan before I jump in. A simple task. I fought humans long enough to know they all share the same weakness, and that weakness is fear.
As I said before, the strongest humans are the ones that can calmly analyze the situation. But once a human fall into fear they lose the ability to think rationally and become a mindless beast who fall for the stupidest traps.
Such a huge and easily exploitable weakness, but how do I scare them? A little girl scaring six men arm to the teeth doesn’t sound possible, does it? Well, it is, and the only thing I must do is simply cut off the lights.
Humans are deathly afraid of the dark, so once I destroy all the lights in the area they’ll start panicking and that’s is when I’ll strike.
I look down at my left hand and focus on it, gathering corruption in it until I had enough to change its shape. My hand began to shake violently from the black energy I was gathering into my hands, forcing me to tightly close it so none of it would escape. After a brief struggle with my own power, I manage to conquer the dark energy I gather into my hand and change its form.
I felt a small smile crack on my face, as I watch a bolt of lightning escape from my firmly close hand and dance around my arm.
Thank goodness, I can still change the shape. For a second I thought this body can only use the gas form of corruption. I never tried to change the shape in this body because I was afraid of the damage it’ll do to me. I mean can you blame me? If the basic gas form can kill me, then who knows what the elemental form will do to me. Well, now I know. My left arm went numb the moment I created the black lightning bolt. If I continue to hold it in my hand I fear I might lose my left arm. But along with that fear is curiosity. If the electricity is doing this much damage to my body that has grown an immunity to corruption, I wonder how much damage it’ll do to unexpecting humans. I can’t wait to find out.
An arrow zips past me just as I was about to unleash the lightning bolt in my hand. I wanted to see who shot the Arrow at me but was afraid I get hit if I peek out. The only thing I could do was sit still and listen quietly to their argument.
“What the hell are doing shooting arrows off like that kid?
“There’s something over there.”
They discover me already? It must be the electricity I created. It’s giving off so much energy that even somebody who has no talent in magic can probably sense it.
“Is it a beast?”
“Impossible, we’re still in the safe house, there’s no way a monster can enter here.”
“If it isn’t monsters then that means someone didn’t do their job.”
“W-What why are you all looking at me like that?”
“Isn’t it obvious? If it isn’t a beast than that means, it’s a human and last time I check the only people out here is us and…”
“The kids. They follow me here.”
“So you finally notice huh? And here I thought you would remain oblivious forever.” Since they knew I was here, there was no point and hiding anymore so I spoke loud and clear, making sure they knew who I was and where exactly I was at.
“Tell me, Anna, what gave me away, how did you figure out I was leading you into a trap?”
“I knew all along. You’re going to need to improve your acting and looks if you want to get girls to drink with you.”
Of course, I’m lying. I completely fell for their trap, but I won’t tell them that, I refuse to give him the satisfaction of knowing his plan work and knowing that I may be immune to poison.
“Anna…” A gentle voice calls out to me. It no doubt belongs to the guild master. He’s the only bastard that can make my skin crawl with his voice alone.
“Why don’t you come out and talk to us. Don’t worry we won’t hurt you.”
“You seriously expect me to believe that. I was here the whole time, I heard everything you guys said about me.”
“You did, well this is embarrassing.” The gentle voice lets out an awkward laugh, trying his best to make the tense situation look like nothing more than a joke.
“We were just complementing you. We mean you no harm.”
“Yea, right.”
“Anna…”
“Give it a rest! She’s not falling for your sweet talk.” A more aggressive voice join the conservation. Most likely belong to the smallest member of their team. Guys like him who don’t have height on their side make themselves look tough by constantly shouting and getting into people faces.”
“Listen, girl, if you don’t come out now…”
“You’ll do what? Give me a lecture?” The voice fell silent just like I predicted. That little guy is a coward who probably only fought kids and freighted girls.
“You should listen to the little man.” Another voice jump into the conservation. This one was cold and distant. My guess is that it belongs to the kid.
“I’m sure you’re smart enough to know that we are not nice people, one way or another we’re going to capture you. So why don’t you make this easier on all of us and come out now.”
“I don’t want to.” The voice lets out a dry laugh.
“So we’re doing this the hard way then? That’s fine by me, but before we do this I should warn you, you have no chance of winning. Even if by some miracle you manage to escape from us, you’ll never make it back to Athens alive. The monsters will tear you into pieces before you can escape. So, let me tell you this again, give up, don’t make this harder than it needs to be.”
“Funny, I was going to say the exact same thing to you. There’s no point in giving each other a hard time, so why don’t we go our separate ways, and pretend this meeting never happen.”
“I’m afraid we can’t do that. We were ordered to capture you.”
Order? Who told them to capture me and why?
“Hey, you’re giving her too much information. Our job is to capture her, not tell her who our client is.”
“Your one to talk. All I gave her was a hint, you flat out told her someone hired us.” The midget fell silent, no doubt reflecting on his own stupidity.
“Anyway, you don’t seem to have any intention of complying with us. So, I guess we’re doing this the hard way. Good luck with your struggle.”
“Hey wait! Who hire you guys?!” The aloof voice that’s been speaking with me the entire time went silent. I guess that means we’re done talking. I look down at my hand to see the lightning bolt I created was still dancing around my arm.
“Right, almost forgot about you.” Since things can’t be solved peacefully, I guess there’s no reason for me to hold this anymore now, is it?
(Element: Blackout)
The lightning bolt flies out of my hand the moment I open it and strikes down all lights in the area and anybody else who got in its way.
I jump out from my hiding spot, the moment darkness fell onto the forest.
(Enhance…)
As I drew my sword, my eyes darted around the pitch-black area gathering as much information as it could before I attack.
There are seven men in front of me six of whom are carrying weapons and two who been struck by my lighting attack. The man right in front of me was one of the unfortunate victims. Black smoke rose from his charred skin. Surprisingly the man was still alive. Realizing how close I was to him the man reach for sword and a desperate attempt to save himself.
(…Rend)
I cleanly decapitate the man before he could grab his sword. With one down, I quickly move on with the intent of killing as many as I could before their eyes got used to the darkness. My next victim was the second man who got struck by lightning, the guild master. Unlike the other guy, it seems my lighting only starch his arm. Well despite the minor injury the lightning bolt weaken him, which makes him an easy target.
I skillfully dodge the bandits in front of me and thrust my sword straight at the guild master’s chest. He quickly grabs my blade before it pierces his chest.
“W-Wait Anna, let’s talk about this.” I ignore his plead and push my blade closer to his chest, his eyes widen in fear as I easily overpower him and force him to the ground.
“Anna… wait!”
I couldn’t help but smile at the man pathetic cries. It’s been such a long time since I had this much power over someone, that I wanted to prolong his suffering and taunt him, but I resisted the temptation and push my sword towards his chest.
“Ugh.” The man lets out a grunt and tries to push me away, but the lighting that struck him strip him of all his strength. All he could do was helplessly watch my sword slowly get closer to him.
Just as my sword was about to pierce him, an object comes flying towards me knocking my sword right out of my hand.
“What?!” Confused, I look in the direction the object came from to see a bunch arrows heading straight for me.
I quickly drop to the ground and rolled towards my sword. As soon as I grab it I dive towards the nearest tree for cover.
Whoever was shooting at me got some good eyes. I didn’t think humans could be this accurate in this darkness.
“W-where did she go.” The guild master tries to stand up but falls back down onto the ground. Seeing him in such a pitiful state, I wanted to jump out and finish him, but the three men that surrounding him prevented me from doing so.
Oh, well no need to be greedy, I took out one of their men and rob all them of their sight. Before I completed destroy them I’ll let them make a move. So come on, show me what guys can do.
(Merchant P.O.V)
“D-Did you get her?” I already knew the answer the moment the kid lower his bow with a frown, but I still had to ask just to be sure.
“No, she got away.”
“I- I see.” I tried to sound calm, but I’m sure the kid knew I was afraid. If Anna is here, then she knows what I tried to do to her, she definitely will be coming for me next.
“S- So what do we do?”
“Simple we go after her.” The kid wrapped his bow around his shoulder and headed in the direction Anna went.
“Wait you’re going alone? Didn’t you see what she is capable of?”
“Yea, I saw. That’s why I’m going alone. You guys would just get in my way.”
“What did you say?!” The kid turns to the little man who loudly stomps towards him. Without warning, the man throws a punch at the kid, which he easily catches.
“You think your hot stuff just because you know how to shoot a bow huh?”
“No, I just think you’re not cut out for this.”
“You…”
“Break it up you two.” An older man wielding a lance quickly jump between them before things could escalate. “Listen we don’t have time for this. We need to hurry up and catch the girl before a monster eats her.”
“That’s exactly what I was going to do before you idiots stop me.” Clicking his tongue the kid continue to heading towards the forest alone.
Will they be able to capture her? That was only thing through my head as I watch the three men, quickly chase the boy.
“They’re doom,” Morgan said in a weak voice. “That girl can’t be defeated by an ordinary man. I’m sure you’re aware of this. That’s why you’re scared right? You know that once she’s done with them she’s coming after you next.” Morgan tries to laugh but ends up violently coughing up blood.
“Save your breath.” I quickly rush to his side to check on him. I honestly didn’t care for the man. Perhaps me checking on him is my way of shutting him up and forgetting about Anna.
“It’s kind of hard to see, so tell me where exactly you’ve been injured.”
“My left eye been bothering me for quite some time. Can check you it for me doctor?” Morgan said jokily. I guess he knew I was using him to distract myself. I strain my eyes to get a better look at it, but the darkness the was too thick for me to see any injuries.
Morgan laugh at my pitiful attempt to examine him. Without saying anything he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a white crystal, which gave off a bright glow. Once my eyes adjusted to the light, I was immediately shocked when I look at him.
He had no injuries on his eyes at all. At first I thought he was completely fine and he was just messing with me until I looked at his arm. A strange black smoke rose from his left arm. His skin was peeling away revealing burnt flesh. I nearly vomited at the disgusting sight.
“Some healing tonic should fix that.”
“Don’t bother.” Morgan quickly grabs my hand before I could move. “I tried, didn’t work, it actually made it worse.”
“What? Are you saying your wounds won’t heal?”
“It appears that way.” Morgan shrugs his right shoulder as if this wasn’t a problem at all. “This burn feels like a curse, my body won’t heal, I feel like I’m losing strength and I can’t use magic at all.” Morgan let’s out a weak laugh which turns into another coughing fit. I didn’t bother pretending I care this time. I was too busy trying to understand what exactly Anna did to him. I never heard of an ability that prevented people from healing and using their powers.
“W-We need to warn everyone.” I tried to get up, but Morgan pulls me back down.
“Let’s keep this a secret from everyone.”
“But if we don’t tell them what she’s capable of they might die.”
“Let them suffer. They were in my way anyway.” Morgan squeeze my arm until it hurt. I tried to break free from his grip, but his arm wasn’t budging. He said he has gotten weaker, yet this strength he’s displaying is comparable to a monster.
“When idiots like you see a rare treasure, you’re first thought is to sell it off to a rich noble so he can ruin its beauty. Speaking of which you spent a good amount of time with Anna, surely you know some her weakness, or at least something she cares about.”
“What are you planning?”
“Isn’t it obvious.” With a wide grin, he moves his face closer to mine, his eyes gave off a yellowish glow. “I’m going to take her for myself.”