…
“How the hell did you get reservations at this hotel? It has everything and it’s cheap.”
“I think I've fallen in love with that waitress. Do you think I could have sex with her?”
“She really is very pretty, but you are uglier than a lie HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”
“How about we go to the beach tonight? There will be some kind of festival that the tourists themselves organize, with competitions and many other things. There will even be a couples competition in which you and Christopher could participate.”
“It is a very good idea, we will participate”
“Wait Christopher. We will go later, let them go first because I want to play with you a little before we go have fun at the beach.”
…
Walking, hiking, traveling or running through the enemy base is a real pain, and not only because of the labyrinthine paths full of geese, reliefs and holes that were already difficult to navigate, but because the paths kept dividing into more branches again and again.
It was not easy to get through the interior of the enemy base. So many detours and turns tired whoever was crossing it.
At least that would be the case if you were not in good enough physical shape for this kind of mission. After all, physical fitness is quite important for this kind of life.
Stalactites and stalagmites adorned the length and width of the base, giving it a somewhat dark appearance due to the quantity and the way in which they were placed by nature.
A rather small stream is seen running through certain areas of the base, carrying some fish and perhaps some small magical creature that is swimming in the clean waters, which now looked stained with blood and this scared the adorable and pure spirits.
Also, the interior of the dangerous base is full of tough enemies and even some small and deadly magical beasts, in this case, said mortality could be due to the powerful poison they own.
One of them was the Carnivorous Beetle, which was a small, but terrifyingly deadly beetle that was passionate about meat, no matter what kind it was.
This magical little beast possesses a venom so powerful and deadly that one sting is enough to paralyze its prey and then it happily devours them.
The worst thing of all is that if its prey is bigger than this one, it simply makes a hole in the poor prey, enters inside it and even if it is still alive it begins to devour it. The victim may or may not feel pain, but little by little its life will end.
According to some people who have survived an unpleasant encounter with the little magical beast, the pain of being devoured from within is indescribable. Not even they know what they did to escape such a horrible fate, being eaten from within, one would think that only in the most terrifying nightmares could that happen.
But no, in Kosmos there are magical beasts and creatures that are capable of that and much more.
“Don’t get close to that beetle.” The order was given by Neledia who was dodging the deadly insect the moment she recognized it. The little magical beast was already preparing to receive them with its small open jaws that were already dripping with yellowish poison. “Dodge it, it’s very poisonous.”
Instantly, Christopher and the others made a move, trying to step as far away as possible from the beetle, which, annoyed and still hungry, decided to return to the darkness among some rocks.
“If that magical beast bites us, we will be doomed…” At this moment, Christopher’s attention was interrupted by a strong jolt from the surroundings.
-BOOOMMM-
Loud explosions caused chaos outside, while shock waves constantly hit the enemy base. The explosions were powerful enough to affect the interior.
Rocks fell from the top of the base and were accompanied by a pile of sand.
“Another explosion again.” Nervousness was taking its toll on Diana’s mind as she watched in great detail the effect of having a small war on the surface.
I watched the rocks fall and they were big, medium and small.
And she knew that letting herself be crushed by any of them was not an option.
The dust rose, making it difficult for him to breathe normally for a short period of time.
And the ground, which did not stop shaking with each explosion, only made it even more difficult to travel.
“It seems like the battle on the surface is intensifying,” Sebastian looked very serious, “I just hope that no landslide blocks our path.”
“That’s why we have to hurry.” At that moment Neledia jumped, dodging a stalagmite that blocked her path and, followed by the others, they reached a high area where they had no other option but to jump and continue.
“But, keep an eye on the surroundings, let us know if you manage to see any magical beasts, enemies or possible obstacles that pose a danger to the team.” His feet touched the wall and he jumped again, they stayed that way until they reached the top “but keep this speed, we can't waste time.”
He resumed his path and nimbly dodged other obstacles. “I would just like to stress that we will avoid engaging in combat with the mercenaries as much as possible, unless it is absolutely necessary. Fighting them will only waste our time, but if we have to, we will fight to the death.”
“It’s for the best, and I don’t want to fight in our enemies’ territories, but…” Christopher added, his skin crawling as he remembered the exact moment he killed another human being. Even so, he had to forget it as soon as possible or at least endure that feeling until everything was over. “Any plans in case we unfortunately can’t avoid fighting the mercenaries?”
“Yes, I was analyzing the situation, especially considering the hostile and confined environment we are in, this was the best I could come up with considering this team.” Neledia jumped up and then stepped aside and continued transmitting the directives.
“As much as possible, we will only fight using Selestia and Anita’s long-range skills.” They nodded without hesitation in the slightest, “Selestia will be in charge of neutralizing any possible long-range enemies, using only arrows while Anita will be the mid-range attacker. I understand that your Snake Whip sword is perfect for these cases.”
“You, Anita, will be in charge of finishing off any enemies that have escaped Selestia’s attack range,” Neledia smiled at them, “you girls will show what the beautiful flowers of Gignit are capable of.”
“Yes” they answered in affirmation.
“Are we just going to attack them?” Diana asked, thinking that maybe something was missing. “I feel like something is missing. How are we going to distract them?”
“Distraction? Of course.” With her thumb, Neledia pointed behind her, right in the direction of Christopher who looked serious as he nodded. “There, your boyfriend will do it. Christopher, you will do something to draw the attention of our enemies, but at the same time do not let them discover you.”
“It shall be done,” Christopher replied.
“H-he’s not my boyfriend… yet.” Diana said softly.
“Sebastian, Diana, and Mathias.” Neledia looked at the three of them, her eyes reflecting nothing but the purest seriousness. “We will be in charge of the close combat, so we must be alert, not just us, but everyone.”
Seriously, Neledia looked at Selestia and Anita. “You girls will not only focus on the enemies, but also protect Christopher from a distance in case he is discovered. We don’t want our young Lord impaled.”
Maybe the joke was off topic, but at least it helped reduce some of the tension the boys were enduring. They've already killed one person, maybe their minds are completely shattered, so something to laugh about wouldn't kill anyone.
“Yes ma’am.”
…
The team led by Neledia was not the only one currently inside the base, it was true that they belonged to the rescue unit, but many others belonged to the same unit.
An example was this team which was currently fighting, at a total disadvantage, against a garrison located in a wide area, as if they were guarding something.
“We are at a disadvantage. Where are our reinforcements? Is there no one nearby who can give us a hand?”
The adventurer looked from right to left as a hammer crashed into his shield, cracking and breaking it instantly. Splinters flew into the air as the adventurer flew to the side.
“You guys are really stupid,” a rough-looking man laughed with bland superiority. He was an enemy of Gignit. “Do you think that just because you're invading our base, you've got us on the ropes?”
The mercenary took a step back and sparks flew as the saber he was holding firmly collided with a thrust from another of his opponents. The mercenary mocked his opponents again, "It seems that you are still very inexperienced."
“Don't listen to him,” shouted another member of the team of five adventurers, “ignore all his provocations, don't be afraid because he's just talking nonsense, this guy is a simple nobody, nobody knows him.”
The mercenary was not going to let himself be provoked or even offended by such mentions; he couldn't care less about being treated like a "nobody."
His fellow criminals laughed, mocking those they considered pathetic opponents “all I can hear is ‘kill me like my other two friends’ and if that is what you wish.” With his hand extended and his finger pointing forward, specifically towards two bloody, lying bodies.
Those bodies had no limbs. All you had to do was look around and you could see arms and legs lying around. “I'll do my best to make it happen for you.”
The mercenary laughed again as he pointed at them once more, “You are too used to living in peace, that is why you are weak.” He took a step and then another, all of them advancing towards this group of adventurers belonging to Gignit, “that is why you are the perfect target to become slaves.”
…
“Get ready,” Neledia warned, her attitude much more serious than before.
His ears twitched in an unmistakable sign of having picked up a sound, “further ahead I can again pick up the sound of our enemies and although it is very little I can also pick up the smell of blood.”
Mathias nodded as well, although this time it was different. He was no longer one of anxiety for fear of what could happen, that was for later. He was one of conviction, no doubts and preparedness “I also manage to understand it, it seems to be more than one.”
Neledia nodded, mentally praising the demihuman.
“He knows how to use his semi-human abilities very well.”
The others were also in the same boat, prepared for anything.
“Hide” ordered the leader while the others, without complaining or making a sound, got to work, observing from the safety of some stalagmites and pillars, they observed the situation of their enemies.
“It seems they are very anxious.” Selestia looked very serious while she did not take her eyes off her enemies.
Just then, another tremor had occurred, caused by an explosion on the surface. The attitude of those mercenaries changed, becoming somewhat more frightened and with expressions that only denoted fear.
“Did you see their reactions?” Sebastian said, pointing at all of them. “With that we could confirm that they are not used to fighting very often.”
“You’re right, I notice that all of them seem to be close-range fighters, look at the weapons they use.” Christopher pointed to the hips of those mercenaries, where sais, combat knives and short swords rested waiting to be used, “none of them seem to be mid-range attackers, much less long-range ones.”
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
“They must be interior guards,” Mathias added, making Anita nod, Selestia and Christopher turned to him and with their looks they agreed with him.
Apparently, almost everyone was familiar with these terms, they had to be because if they wanted to be adventurers they would come across these types of scenarios and enemies very often.
Only one person, somewhat inexperienced with certain terms, did not know what “interiors?” meant, and that was Diana.
“They are interior guards, they are in charge of strictly monitoring a certain area of a place, in this case, this specific area.” Anita turned her gaze back to those people, noticing several things in the process, “but those over there… don’t seem to be that strong and…”
“They all look very skinny, too…” Christopher also analyzed the situation quite well “besides, they are wearing rags and do not look prepared to fight at all, if we attack them now, I am sure we will kill them all…”
“They are slaves, and I have no doubt about it.” The doubts that everyone had floating around in their minds were completely dispelled thanks to what Selestia mentioned. “Just look at them carefully, look at how they dress, those rags, how skinny they are, the constant trembling caused by fear, the way they hold their blades and swords. They are true novices who have no idea how to fight.”
Selestia looked at the young Lord “it’s like you say Christopher, if we attack them right now, we will kill them all, they wouldn’t be able to do anything to defend themselves, but…”
“He is just taking orders from his masters.” For a moment, Mathias’s gaze turned somewhat melancholic as among them were a few demihumans who were crying in fear. “The slave collars they wear make it clear that they are slaves and unfortunately they have no other choice, who knows what will happen to them if they disobey their masters.”
“That's right,” Neledia also focused her gaze on each of them and especially on one who caught her attention “apparently, everyone there is a slave except for him.”
His finger pointed towards the group of sad slaves who were trembling, more precisely towards one individual who stood out above them all. “That man does not seem to be a slave, his very presence contrasts greatly with that of the slaves. While the slaves wear rags, he dresses in a manner worthy of a mercenary.”
Long sword sheathed behind him and in his hand what appeared to be some kind of sword with some strange writings on it.
Neledia continued with her idea “that must be the master of all those slaves.”
“That mercenary seems experienced,” Sebastian added, “plus, what he’s carrying is a magical falcata sword.”
“Falcata?” Selestia asked with some curiosity, but without taking her eyes off the enemy.
“Yes,” Sebastian replied, “the falcata is a sword that is concave near the hilt and convex at the tip. This type of sword can only show its great potential to people who know how to use it.”
"So, that could give him an advantage?" This time Christopher was the one in charge of asking the question, but he directed his question towards Diana as she headed towards his same hiding place.
She nodded, “Yes, this sword has its center of gravity from the middle forward, if a slash were to reach you, it would produce a deep cut, it is better to avoid being cut and even more so due to its center of gravity because when it is distributed in that way, one could attack with greater force simulating that way…”
“By the inertia and force of an axe…” Neledia was silent for a moment “and the worst of all is that it is magic. Does anyone recognize the writing along the edge of the falcata?”
Selestia narrowed her eyes, focusing as much as possible on that person's falcata, more specifically on the runic writings, trying to remember everything she had learned, but what truly led her to identify what those writings belonged to were her butterfly swords made by Alrika.
“Her patterns!” Selestia said. “Those patterns look pretty similar to the ones Alrika drew on our swords, so she might be imbued with air elemental magic.”
“You’re right,” Anita joined in. “The writing itself is quite similar to ours.”
“Perfect!” Neledia exclaimed, happy to have found so quickly the possible solution to the intrigue of the magic scriptures, “knowing what kind of magic those runic scriptures belong to, we will know how to proceed from this point, so let's finish it once and for all and continue since we won't be able to pass without taking care of it.”
…
“Damn it.” complained the one who seemed to be the master of all these slaves. There were a total of about nine slaves who did not stop trembling and transmitting with each movement they barely executed the fear that invaded them.
“What are all those morons thinking? And they just had to attack us today?” Reluctantly, he looked away and ran his eyes over to one of the slaves standing next to him who, like the others, was trembling, even more so when she received the hard and disheartened look of her master.
Despite being somewhat thin, caused by not so good nutrition, she had a nice figure.
That slave began to tremble when she realized that her master was eating her with his eyes.
“I was really looking forward to having fun with her all night, tch.” The mercenary sighed again with obvious weariness. “And I have so much stress built up, why the hell did they have to attack us?”
The slave was breathing with marked difficulty and fear, just thinking about everything her master would do to her made her blood run cold, inside she even felt relieved that she would not have to spend another night with her violent master.
But his cruel master's words made his blood run cold and a cold sweat ran down his spine. "There's no other way, I'll have to wait until everything is over and we finish them all off."
“But, you better get ready…” with a smile full of evil, the master looked at that slave “…because after we finish with all those imbeciles that attack us, after that, I will unload all my stress on you, we will have hard sex like never before, because I will break your ass from ramming it so much.”
And the master squeezed his slave's buttocks so hard that he almost tore it off.
The slave felt sorry for herself and swallowed. It was impossible for her to let the little tear that ran down her face, loaded with so much fear and sadness, fall and crash against the hard ground.
She knew her master was serious, and she knew that whatever her master would do to her would hurt her greatly.
Knock knock.
Some things that looked very similar to stones rolled across the ground towards them. They all looked with some curiosity at those things that rolled towards them. “Those things… are not stones…”
And at that moment those things imploded, releasing endless smoke into the air and quickly darkening the entire place. The coughing and the inability to breathe easily made themselves felt.
“THAT’S A SMOKE BOMB.” The mercenary’s face reflected surprise, in truth this event was something he had not expected. “Have they managed to get here?” He thought to himself as his gaze was invaded by the blackness covered by smoke.
His eyes moved from left to right.
“USELESS SLAVES, PROTECT ME.”
And without complaining, but shedding tears, all his slaves quickly went to cover the one who was unfortunately their master. They could not avoid it, the slavery collar forced them to do so, otherwise they would be severely punished in some way.
The collar may tighten, suffocating them or explode, and could even decapitate or electrocute them.
“YOU!” he called out to the one who seemed to be his favorite slave, with whom he had recently claimed to be intimate. He grabbed her hand and pulled her towards him. “Come here, slave! I don’t mind losing the others, but you are my favorite toy, you are the one who can endure anal sex the most, so stay close to me.”
Meanwhile, his other slaves positioned themselves in defense mode around him, by order of the master they all had to protect him at all costs. But that meant that they would probably die at any moment, and they shed tears in torrents, a single idea crossed the thoughts of each of them:
“Please don’t let it hurt me”
“Please don’t kill me”
“Don’t make me suffer so much”
“I don’t want to feel pain”
“Don’t abuse me”
“Let it be fast”
“My Gods, what wrong have I done?”
“I don’t want to die”
It was really too sad to live this way. Enslaved and never able to contradict the one who was the master, the owner of their lives.
Suffering all kinds of mistreatment, tortured and abused and still not being able to do anything, much less get anyone to help them.
Puff, puff, puff puck.
And the distinctive sound of bodies crashing against the hard ground echoed throughout the surroundings.
“How useless,” the mercenary complained, radiating a great deal of annoyance, “they are nothing more than mere garbage, useless, I should have killed them all myself.”
The slave at his side still did not quite understand what her master was referring to.
“While we’re at it, let’s just fight it already. I don’t want to waste time so I’ll finish them off as soon as possible.” The mercenary raised the falcata and sent some magical energy into it causing the magical writings to glow “blow this damn, disgusting smoke away from me.”
The falcata produced a lot of wind and quickly cleared the place, going from a thick curtain of smoke to being able to see beyond their own noses again. With that action, oxygen was allowed to pass through to both of their lungs.
The slave looked down at the ground, observing all the people who have been accompanying her in this life of slavery.
These people were her family for a long time, they were the ones who helped her when she became a slave, they were the ones who treated her when she was severely abused and helped her recover.
And now, every single slave, every single one of his family, all of them were lying on the ground with their eyes rolled back in their heads and a lot of saliva coming out of their mouths.
“No,” she felt the life drain out of her mouth.
The slave fell to her knees, her eyes dead with sadness. She felt as if a part of her heart had perished, sadness invaded and took over her entire existence.
“No…” she said again, trying her best to endure the spasms, and finally she broke down in tears.
Those people who were apparently dead were his friends, his family, his life, they were the people who made his sad and hard life of slavery more pleasant.
“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO”
It seemed to be raining beneath her because she was shedding so many tears that the area began to flood.
The slave cried bitterly and her heart was broken. She now felt that she had lost absolutely everything: her freedom, her dignity, her life and finally all her friends.
“SHUT UP, YOU FUCKING SLAVE.”
The mercenary shouted, pushing the half-human slave away with a hard slap to silence her once and for all. When he was about to hit her again, he had to use his good reflexes and the falcata in his hands to dodge and repel several arrows that flew towards him.
“I don’t know who you are,” he said, dodging another one, “but with this pathetic attempt at an attack you won’t be able to… aggg.”
He felt something truly painful embedded in his entire back. “What the hell! What is this?” The pain sent electric shocks to his brain which redistributed them to the affected area. “A boomerang blade? But all I saw were arrows… or maybe…”
“Pathetic attempt at attack?” Selestia seriously continued pointing at him well hidden from a stalactite falling from the ceiling “The pathetic one seems to be you, falling for such a feint…”
It was difficult to hold on; the boomerang had hurt him because it had penetrated deep inside him, injuring his back; now he was breathing with some difficulty.
“Finish it, Selestia,” a voice echoed, “we must continue as soon as possible.” It was Neledia.
"You're going to finish me off, you say?" The mercenary raised his head again, unable to blame anyone; behind him the pool of blood did nothing but grow in size.
The arrow seemed to whistle as it went so fast, as if it were cutting through the very air, traveling and seeking to reach its destination, until it finally achieved its deadly objective.
The mercenary thought he would be able to avoid it, since the arrow was going straight ahead, it was too obvious that it would try to bury itself in his abdomen.
“I don’t know who you are, but it’s obvious how much of a novice you are, look at that attack head on…”
He couldn't believe what had just happened, when the mercenary was centimeters away from deflecting the arrow using his falcata, the arrow seemed to have drawn a very small curve in the course of its launch, it deviated a few centimeters upwards.
It didn't hit his abdomen, but rather the chest area. “What?” he asked himself as his vision blurred and he began to spit blood. “But-but what the hell.”
He complained, spitting out more blood, “h-how could it hit me? If that arrow was following a straight line…” He took a closer look at the arrow that had pierced his chest and understood.
His eyes turned bloodshot as his hands followed the path drawn by a strong thread that held the middle of the arrow. “Battle threads?”
“Very well thought out, Selestia,” Christopher congratulated, hiding behind some rocks, fully understanding his sister’s plan and mentally applauding her, “misleading him with ‘useless attacks’ while the real attack came from behind, hurt he wouldn’t be able to analyze and visualize the situation properly, then firing a single arrow pretending it was going in a straight line, too easy to dodge when you’ve always had everything in your hands, incredible of you…”
“N-No way” the mercenary was on his last legs, as he tried to remove the arrow from his body “I-I, in this pathetic way… damn it…”
He closed his eyes just to rest for a moment, but he would never open them again.
“Don’t cry,” the poor slave raised her shattered gaze, revealing her sad, glassy eyes filled with sorrow. She managed to see a beautiful Elven maiden, smiling at her and transmitting some peace with her smile. “Your friends are not dead, we would never kill them.”
The slave opened her eyes in surprise, she heard another voice calling her again.
“We would never hurt people who have suffered like you,” the woman spasmed again, pretending to cry again. “From this moment on, you are free from your master.”
And extending her hand, Selestia handed him what appeared to be the bondage ring that had kept her subdued for so long. “Free yourself and free all your friends, we are on a mission to free all those who are held captive and being mistreated by this criminal organization.”
The demihuman opened her eyes, incredulous at what her ears were hearing. Was someone really willing to rescue all those people? Selestia crouched in front of her. “Could you help us? Do you know where we could find all those who are in captivity? We want to free them all.”
Selestia placed the ring in the slave's hands, she was about to cry "finally" she murmured softly "finally we can be free and rest from our master..."
The girl didn't look that hurt compared to the other slaves, but she seemed mentally broken, and besides, she was the one the master used to be intimate with. Something horrible must have happened.
The slave grabbed the ring and brought it close to her breasts, sniffing some of the snot that came out of her nose. “Y-if you continue along that path until the end, you will reach the area where all the slaves are locked up, and if you go a little further, there is the pleasure area.”
She clenched her fists tightly as if a mountain of very bad memories were invading her. “There are all the slaves of all races who are not suitable for sale, so they are used to satisfy all the mercenaries… they use us for sexual pleasure or as their… punching bags. Both areas are well guarded, but I think everyone is fighting outside.”
The faces of each and every one of them, including Neledia's, intensified and abruptly turned into an ugly grimace of pure annoyance.
Selestia stood up and in that way cleared the slave's field of vision who could see the other members of this team, who were looking forward quite angry.
“Now we can advance with a little more ease, we will stop going around in circles in this labyrinth” Neledia pointed towards the path “the formation will be the same, if we encounter an opponent who is alone we will take care of it as quickly as possible, but if they are in a group we will try to avoid them, let the units in charge of facing them do their job.”
The boys nodded and got ready to leave.
“Please wait,” the slave called again, “it is very likely that I will not be able to see you again, at least tell me who you are…”
“We are adventurers from Gignit whose mission is to rescue you,” Christopher and the others smiled as the girl began to shed tears again.
“Thank you,” said the slave, drowned in tears, “thank you very much, thank you very much, thank you very much, thank you very much.” She was beside herself. She was finally free. She could finally rest and be at peace, stop suffering so much, stop being abused.
The others turned around and at that moment the smile on their faces died, they were upset, tired of hearing how people are treated so badly.
“Damn trash” thought Christopher quite annoyed “the more damage does he plan to do, when will this difference of races in KOSMOS stop?” and as soon as they appeared they vanished again leaving behind them the girl who was now preparing to free all her companions and most likely later escape from the place.