-You're the one who brought them!- exclaimed a little boy, radiating a remarkable joy and happiness, an excess of energy and very good vibes.

Running at full speed, the little boy was able to catch another one just like him, shouting again in victory: -YOU GOT THEM!-.

The children were playing near the stream owned by Nidya and none of them were bothering anyone.

They were just focused on having fun on such a wonderful, sunny day, truly perfect for playing.

From the stream, unseen by anyone, Nidya watched the children play while listening to their wonderful laughter, so full of life and happiness. In recent years, hearing the children laugh happily had become part of her happiness. In addition, she loved and was filled with tenderness by how polite and courteous they were when they asked permission to play in the stream.

He let out a giggle as he turned around and headed towards his home.

-Pfffff-.

She couldn't help but cover her mouth as a tremendous desire to burst out laughing assaulted her integrity -what a nice Pixie, oh Christopher, every time I see you I'll bother you with that- she smiled and due to the race magic of the same, all her integrity became translucent. Later she turned into what seemed to be pure water and fell into the stream mixing with the waters.

Near the big tree, the three boys continued playing while two other girls, older than the first three, were sitting and talking about a lot of things, obviously topics related to girls their age.

The atmosphere was joyful and very pleasant, laughter dominated over the sounds of nature, everything was going well, and everything should continue to go that way.

Unfortunately, there are people who, without thinking about it, were capable of ruining such good moments.

-Sir, I'm telling you the truth!- a man's voice seemed to be getting closer and closer, he seemed to be in a certain state of euphoria -I'm sure of what I saw, on the banks of that little stream we can find a lot of medicinal plants and flowers -.

Counting the man who had just spoken, four people approached and chatted amongst themselves, the group was composed of what seemed to be three subordinates and a leader. The leader looked quite pensive as his eyes scanned every corner of the surroundings.

-If that's true- said the second of the subordinates- we could take all the medicinal plants and flowers to sell them in other cities, I think independent cities would be a good option-

-There's no doubt that we'll get a good amount of gold for that- the third subordinate, a woman, contributed her ideas. She took away a few points for stealing the plants -If we sell them in Siira City, we might even get a bonus- the other two nodded, in the aforementioned city there is an extreme shortage of this kind of plants.

The woman continued, "It is known that merchants in Siira offer a good amount of gold for just one of these medicinal plants. We could even auction them off; how many rich families or merchants with more gold than us would pay a real fortune for a handful of these things."

-What do you think about that, boss?- she called to the leader of the group -like a good black market trader, his nose must already be smelling the gold coins that we are sure to earn, or am I wrong?-.

The leader, a merchant of about fifty years of age with hair turning white. Despite his characteristics, the subject looked very well cared for, denoted good health and although he was already older, he could still show an excellent physical condition.

-I have some contacts in Siira who could set up an auction in a very short time- said the boss thinking about that contact and some ideas on how to do business -if I can get in touch with them I could get some privileges over some of their other clients. But, those children could be a problem- in that way the man looked from one side to the other, in the place there were only a few children playing and other girls talking.

-What is it about them? - said the first of his subordinates -they are just playing, I highly doubt that some simple children represent a problem for us. We should just throw them out and take all the plants-.

-Don't be an idiot- said the woman raising her eyebrows- it is forbidden to touch the plants that grow inside this park unless you formally request it. Although boss, this park looks too much like a small forest, all the trees and plants will cover us, it is very difficult for anyone to discover us-.

- Still, there is a chance that those children will go and warn the guards that we are stealing the plants- the second of the subordinates spoke, he was rather quiet and not so talkative. But in the cases in which he deigned to open his mouth, the subordinate said something that was really useful or of utmost concern.

-You're joking, right?- the woman almost burst out laughing and angry, what her companion had said, in her opinion, sounded so stupid and so senseless. She knew that this possibility existed, the children could run and warn the guards. But for her that was nothing to worry about, not even in the slightest!

-Are you really worried about being betrayed by some children? - with that even the leader of the group sketched a small smile -for the love of the Gods, they are just children! We could kill them and throw them into the bushes, no one will ever know who killed them because a lot of people come and go in this square-.

She smiled proudly at her dire and macabre conclusion - besides, by the time they discover the bodies we will already be far away and with our pockets full of gold.

Apparently this group was very good at hiding the fact that they were good people and that they only dedicated themselves to selling merchandise. But the reality was different, their facade was that of being good merchants when what they were really looking for was to find some of the rumored spirits that live in this city. So far they have not seen any of them, almost giving up, so in order not to leave empty-handed they would go to steal all those medicinal plants and flowers that belonged to Nidya.

Smiling and preparing a knife, the woman looked at the boss -just give me the order boss, and I will kill all those nuisances-.

How insane could this woman be? How could she possibly dare to commit such a cruel act as killing an innocent child?

-Don't be silly- replied the boss- I would rather just take the plants and leave the city, there is still a chance of being discovered, so let's just follow the plan. I don't want to get my hands dirty with the blood of children- with that, the woman sighed in disappointment putting the knife away again, the unfortunate woman really wanted to hurt the little ones.

They came even closer and could see the children playing and laughing: humans, demi-humans and even an Elf girl talking to her friend, a human girl. Both sat very close to the stream. They smiled sweetly and happily when they saw how a huge crayfish at least a meter long emerged from Nidya's cave/home, it was the kind of crab that looked a lot like lobsters.

The crab was completely minding its own business and, without disturbing anyone, quickly made its way to the shore, even though this part was still a bit deep for it. With its claws it took everything that looked like food into its mouth.

The children were amazed, the crab was considered to be Nidya's pet. It was so famous that people even visited the place just to see it. The children stopped what they were doing and approached the girls just to look at the crab.

Suddenly, they heard a few people laughing just a few meters away from them. -THIS IS WHAT I MEANT!- said the first of the subordinates -you see boss, there are a lot of these plants. DAMN IT!- it was incredible how only four people could make so much noise.

The woman smiled thinking of all the gold they would earn, even more so when the second of them, who was apparently an expert in the subject, observed and analyzed the plants and flowers -definitely, those flowers are very difficult to find. It wouldn't be wrong to say that this is a real gold mine-.

"I told you so," the first one said again, making the boss smile with pleasure.

Just thinking about counting the gold coins had put him in a very good mood. The amount of things, the gadgets he would buy. How many prostitutes he would sleep with.

They had him crazy so without wasting any more time he gave the order - gather all the medicinal plants and flowers that we can - he looked at one of his subordinates, more precisely the silent one -where have you parked our vehicle? -.

-Since the guards didn't let me take it in, I had to leave it nearby, but it's still relatively close to the entrance- he replied.

-Perfect- the boss congratulated -then while you gather all the plants, I will go move the vehicle to the north area which is relatively close to the exit of the city. That way no one will be able to stop us-.

His subordinates nodded in glee and went about their business.

One by one the flowers and plants were torn out from the roots. This caused all the children who were watching them to go towards them, doing everything they could to stop them.

-STOP!- shouted one of the children, pulling at the boss's back clothes, who was just about to leave -don't destroy the garden-.

-Garden?- thought the quietest of the group.

The Elf girl confronted them very fearfully, but still had enough courage to claim - t-those plants and flowers belong to Nidya, s-she will get upset if you touch her plants -.

"What annoying brats," the boss complained, looking at them very unwillingly while one of the boys tugged at his pants trying to get his attention, but the boss just ignored them.

-Please sir, stop-.

-BOSS, LOOK AT THIS- called subordinate number one as he pulled the antennae of the enormous crayfish -IT'S A CRAB, IT'S HUGE!- he said with some drool falling from his mouth.

The poor crab was doing everything possible to free himself from the bastard's hands, the water was splashing due to the crab's intense movements - we'll make this our dinner, we'll even have enough for a few more days. Damn, it's gigantic! -.

The man made fun of the crab as it tried its best to poke him with its large claws. The poor animal seemed to be getting desperate as it felt a sharp pain in the area of its antennae.

-You will be our dinner- in this way the subject managed to get the crab out of the water, lifting it up the slope towards where the boss was standing with his arms crossed -I know how to cook crayfish-.

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-NOOOOOOOO- all the children shouted again, especially the one who was holding the boss. He even started to cry -THAT CRAB IS NIDYA'S- he said, moving the guy's clothes back and forth -She took care of him since he was little, please free him-.

-Kid, get out of the way, I don't want to hurt you- the boss, using just a little of his strength, was able to get rid of the boy who was stretching him.

He didn't do it reluctantly or anything, he just pushed him away.

He is someone who sells merchandise on the black market, but he does not sell children or torment them. But he also does not defend them if he sees that they are in trouble or are being persecuted to become slaves, he simply prefers to avoid them.

The children continued with their business, shouting as loud as they could. They asked for both Nidya's plants and the crab to be left alone. The children gathered their courage and faced the adults, but not in a battle to the death with swords or anything like that.

They just talked and tried to get them to stop stealing what didn't belong to them.

Among all the children present, it could be said that the Elf girl was the strongest due to her high ability to use magic, as well as her age: Six years old, her friend was five, and the other children were between four and three years old.

Her parents raised her well and taught her a lot of things, and she knows that when these kinds of individuals appear, trying to reason with them was out of the question because it would be totally in vain. These people only think about their pocketbook and nothing else, because of that, she has the permission of her parents to defend herself using her magic both on herself and her friends.

The subordinate number two and the woman raised an eyebrow in surprise. Not being inhabitants of the city, they are not aware of the teaching and education policies that Gignit has, of how children are asked to be taught in terms of teachings such as learning to read, write and numbers. Magic, teachings and combat (only if they wish) from an early age.

This fact shocked more than one person, since in other cities they simply wait until children are old enough to attend a teaching academy.

Thanks to some teachers who migrated to the city, an academy was founded in Gignit where children can learn to read, write, add, and even magic and combat. This greatly raised the quality of life of the population and also changed the future of many children. In addition, the cost is quite affordable.

Back to the Elf girl. The others were surprised to see the little girl performing magic, they believed that these children would be simple useless. Except for the girl, because she is an Elf, a race which carries magic in their blood.

-Don't do it- one of her friends called her, but it was too late, the Elf girl would fight for her friends and even fight for the goods belonging to Nidya.

-Dad and Mom gave me permission to fight if necessary- said the Elf girl raising her right hand with her palm pointing towards the sky. In her palm she formed what seemed to be a sphere of wind as it could be seen. A few leaves fell victim to the whirlwind and spun incessantly inside it -if you keep destroying our...- her body involuntarily moved backwards.

But it was only the torso, that happened precisely because something had impacted on its small integrity.

She didn't feel the slightest pain, but the attack she was preparing had disappeared instantly. She didn't know what was happening. She looked ahead, the leader of the group had sighed in weariness while the woman near him had her right arm extended forward with her fist clenched.

Attached to his forearm is what was once a hand crossbow. The iron weapon used to shoot arrows. Although this one's arrows were somewhat smaller, as it was not the typical two-handed crossbow, it was positioned above the forearm and held tightly with straps. It was activated in two simple steps.

Two rings, one on the middle finger and one on the thumb, attached to very fine wires. The middle one was used to draw the crossbow. This was achieved by forming a fist (without the thumb) and thus activating the mechanism that drew the bows and proceeding with the preparations before launching it.

The second ring was the firing ring, which was activated when you finally closed your thumb, thus forming a complete fist. This act activated the mechanism which launched the arrow that traveled at high speeds. The reloading time depends on the person, the weapon can only launch one arrow at a time, although there are modified ones that can launch several arrows in a row.

At first the woman was serious, but then she began to smile mischievously. Her companions sighed heavily.

From one moment to the next the Elf girl began to feel a lot of pain, too much, coming from the shoulder area.

Shyly and in pain, she turned her head, looking at the painful area, her left shoulder. In great detail, she could see an arrow completely piercing her shoulder.

The tip stuck out from behind, greeting her, and the arrow was able to pierce through the girl's body from one side to the other, and that was due to her tender age. Compared to adults, the girl's body was still developing and the hardness of her skin, muscles and bones was not comparable to that of an adult.

Even though she was trained and knew about magic and how to defend herself, she couldn't help but break down in the face of the situation. What would she do? She's still a little girl who is in no way prepared to endure pain of this magnitude.

-GYAAAAAAAA- she let out a heart-rending scream that came from the depths of her being. She fell to the ground writhing in pain. She cried inconsolably and was immersed in suffering. In her short life, she had never felt pain of this magnitude.

Because of her innocence, she even thought she would die. To make matters worse, she couldn't even remove it because trying to do so would only make the wound worse and even bigger. She had to endure having the arrow stuck in her until someone came and rescued her.

The younger children watched the scene in terror, thinking that perhaps they would be next, even more so when the evil woman took one step and then another, approaching the Elf. Despite her cruel way of acting, attacking a little girl, her classmates did not reproach her, in fact, they saw it as something extremely logical to do.

The reason? It's far-fetched, but it makes some sense:

-Even though you are a child, you are still an Elf- the woman stretched the crossbow string again, placing another arrow on it and preparing it to launch it at any moment -we are not stupid. We know of the incredible magical capabilities of your race, even a child is dangerous- she went up to where the Elf girl was writhing in pain and fear, and aimed right in the middle of her forehead -...if I kill you now you will save us a lot of problems-.

The little girl's already white face paled even more, for a few moments it seemed as if nothing hurt her. But it was due to the shock caused by the woman's statement that she was ready to take her life.

So she lost control -get away!- she screamed with a distraught face -don't touch me!- her tears fell resembling raindrops descending from the heavens to the ground -MOM! DAD! HELP ME!- the little girl called and asked for help from the people she trusted the most in the whole world, her parents who unfortunately would be impossible to hear her and help her given their current location.

-LEAVE HER ALREADY!- one of the boys ran towards her with tears in his eyes, he found courage from who knows where to help his friend. Everyone here was his friend and this boy was willing to defend them -why are you making us...-.

He wasn't even able to complete the entire sentence, as in less than a blink of an eye, the woman delivered a powerful kick to his small face. All he could see was a black blur crashing into him, then his world went black. Luckily for him, he was unable to feel the slightest hint of pain.

It was like a switch, the moment it was turned on the little boy had gone to the world of unconsciousness. But that did not mean that he was exempt from danger, the little boy flew a couple of meters, fell near the stream, his face looked to one side and it was right towards the side where the other children were. Blood was coming out from both his mouth and nose. His eyes were closed, most likely once he wakes up he will feel horrible pain.

The other children began to cry as they watched the cruel scene. How heartless must a person be to be able to do that to a simple child who only wanted to help a dear friend? How dark must this woman's soul be? The children trembled in fear as they hugged each other.

The woman looked to the side where the other girl, a friend of the little Elf, was watching the scene. On one side, her friend was suffering from pain. On the other, the little boy was knocked out and bleeding. She looked up, meeting the gaze of a few of the woman's friends watching her reluctantly.

The woman seemed serious, but soon her attitude changed completely, now pretending to be someone more pleasant. Her companions sighed in weariness because they knew what was coming next. She would do her thing so they decided to ignore her and continue with the work.

Meanwhile, the boss decided to leave his subordinate to her own devices; he would talk to her later. Now, according to his judgment, the most important thing was to evaluate the merchandise.

The woman squatted down right next to the suffering Elf girl and called out to the other girl - hey little one, come here for a moment - with her hand she made the characteristic gesture of calling someone. But the other girl had no intention of going, she was scared to death. All she thought about was that this person would hurt her. So the woman, not getting any response from the girl, used the Elf as a hostage.

-If you don't do what I tell you...- the right hand would be the instrument of torture used to cause pain to the already aching Elf -your friend will suffer much more-.

With that said he immobilized the suffering Elf, grabbed the arrow still sticking out of her shoulder and began to move it up and down, left and right, slowly but unpleasantly, the woman was destroying his shoulder. The Elf girl was probably feeling the worst physical pain she's probably felt at this stage of her life.

He screamed in pain like never before in his young life.

Out of pure instinct, he closed his eyes in an attempt to bear the pain as best as possible, his scream caused despair in all his little friends. He cried like never before, calling his parents begging for their help. He writhed in more pain as he tried to move his arms and get the woman's hand off of him.

She couldn't do it, because as an adult, the woman had much more strength than the girl. All she could do was hold on, scream and cry until she decided that it was enough torture.

-What a disgusting fetish you have- mentioned subordinate number two as he dropped the plants and flowers very close to the boss -hurting little girls, how is it possible that someone feels pleasure when torturing them?-.

-Leave her- mentioned the number one subordinate -at least that way she will be calm during the trip to Siira or do you want her to bother us for hours?-.

She pulled the arrow back, the other girl understood that there was no point. If she continued to ignore her call, her best friend could die, those screams even hurt her. There was nothing to do now, all that was left was to obey her.

He approached her, shaking as if his body was made of jelly.

-Good girl- the crazy girl smiled.

With one hand he lifted the little girl's chin while with the other he showed her a small but sharp knife. The little girl just breathed quickly because she didn't know what would happen to her -if you make any sound I'll kill your friend- the little girl's eyes opened wide -try to hold on as long as you can, okay?-.

The girl had no choice but to nod, she closed her eyes and just hoped it wouldn't hurt. Unfortunately it didn't, she opened her eyes suddenly just as she felt a painful cut being made on her cheek.

Biting her own lips in an attempt to fight off the pain, the woman made two more cuts on those tender cheeks. Three cuts, which bled moderately, looked a lot like a cat's whiskers, only these were above the skin. The little girl clenched the hem of her clothes very tightly. Even though her eyes were tightly squeezed, the salty tears managed to find a way through her eyelids.

-I love it, you look beautiful- said the woman, blushing disgustingly -I like to hurt and make pretty girls like you suffer so much- she finished with one side so she would start with the other side -cutting their tender skin, causing them pain and watching them cry. A pleasure that very few people will understand-.

The girl began to give in the moment she felt the first cut on her other cheek, unfortunately she would be left with those scars forever. -kggggg- she could no longer bear the pain -Nidya...- she called out to the beautiful magical creature -...help me-.

-Who is that Nidya...?-.

POOOOOFFFFFFFF.

It looked as if something had exploded in the area under the tree, right where a small water cave was located. The water surrounding the area jumped into the air and evaporated immediately, it seemed as if rain was falling only in that area.

The others were completely stunned, not understanding what the hell was happening; they scanned every inch of the area where the supposed explosion had occurred.

The action lasted only a few seconds, as almost instantly the waters fell like rain. The woman barely managed to hear a few words before the cold embrace of death ripped her soul out with a single touch.

-Scum, you will pay with your life for touching them- the attack traveled at blinding speeds, it was so fast that the last thing that woman managed to do was blink. A thin stream of water was the cause of passing through her head and skull.

It entered through the front, passed through the carina, the brain, and just as it entered, it exited through the back of the head.

The jet stopped, leaving the woman with her mouth open, her eyes bulging, and blood and other disgusting cranial fluids coming out of the perfect hole.

Just like that, she fell on her back, leaving the poor girl completely terrified. It was the first time she had seen a person die and she did not like the sensation; she even felt like she was going to vomit.

Nidya did not have even the slightest hint of compassion, when she saw that this woman was hurting the poor children she exploded in anger and decided to end the lives of all the aggressors involved, starting with the one she considered a vile scum.

Meanwhile, the crab had finally managed to free itself and return to the water when the man softened his grip.