Chapter 14

Third Person Point of View

"What on earth are you doing? Let go of me!" La-La shouted desperately at the people surrounding her, her attempts to free herself met with only smiles from the onlookers.

"I had no idea Love Hunter could be so ferocious and loud," remarked one of the men, insulting La-La. She looked at him in disbelief, pausing in her struggles.

"Tell me, are you guys... Sandmen?" La-La questioned them. "Well, little one, you catch on quick," one of the Sandmen responded, sighing.

"Are all of you after the golden string?" La-La inquired, the Sandmen exchanging glances. "Don't," one of them attempted to stop his companion from approaching La-La, but he persisted.

"Yes, we are," he answered La-La with a menacing tone. She glanced at everyone and sighed once again.

"Keep dreaming, little hunter, because soon you'll assist us, and if not..." the Sandman threatened, leaving the rest unsaid. "If not what?" La-La challenged, but the man signaled a slicing motion across his neck, followed by laughter from the group. La-La could only shake her head in disbelief.

"You're all crazy," she stated in a serious tone. "Yeah, yeah, we are," another one replied, standing up and moving away from La-La to take a seat.

"You all know that you will gain nothing from me! This is some kind of joke to all of you" La-La exclaimed in a furious tone. "We all know that – we will gain a lot," a woman answered confidently.

"You're a Love Hunter, so finding a golden string for you is as easy as pie," one of them remarked. "Easy—?" La-La was about to respond.

"Just wear your little gourmet ring, and we will be done here. You'll be free. How about a deal like that?" the sarcastic tone lingered in the woman's voice. "You're on the bat making a deal with me?" La-La questioned.

"Yes, we are. You are our little hostage. Just a little cooperation from you, little cupid," the woman said as she stepped forward, attempting to hold La-La's shoulders. La-La immediately reacted, pulling away.

"You are all dumb," La-La retorted, and suddenly, the woman clenching her hand caused La-La pain. "Just what are you doing?!" she said angrily.

"Stop that!" another intervened, and the woman ceased her actions, raising both hands. "Insulting us will get you nothing. Just cooperate and make a little pact," another member suggested.

"You should have done your research first. I won't sign that dumb contract," La-La declared. The Sandmen looked at each other, uncertain.

"You will gain nothing from me. I lost my ring, and it won't arrive for six months. You're all fools," La-La explained, leaving the others in disbelief.

"Do you think we'll believe that?" one of them asked skeptically.

"I don't care if you believe it or not, but I can't help you, that’s all" La-La replied. "I don't think she's lying," another whispered, but it was dismissed.

"Of course, this little one is lying. She wants the gold string by itself," another one said, and the group seemed to agree. La-La rolled her eyes.

"Why would I need that complicated gold string, huh? I am not that dumb" La-La questioned. "And for your information, a gold string can only be owned if the holder falls in love with you at first sight. You're all teaming up without knowing that, kidnapping Love Hunters, putting your position in danger. In addition to that, you should have known the probability of that gold string is yet a myth, it’s written in a book you all dimwit " La-La explained, and the others looked at each other.

"You're lying!" the woman shouted at La-La. "Why would I lie?!" La-La shouted back, leaving the woman taken aback. La-La sighed.

"Ask even the information of our headquarters; they will say the same, even try kidnapping other love hunters they will say the same" La-La said.

"Do you think we will believe you, huh?" the woman challenged. "Do you have any problem with me? Believe me or not, the Gold String is only acquirable by one – one only since it's a string that will give you a heart, not to make you human – well, to be exact, yeah, but it's maybe a blessing, but it's a curse at the same time since all your memories of past life will come back, meaning all of the pain will come back, we are sinners-" La-La said in a serious tone.

"Well, at least one of us can become a person who cares about past lives. It may not be that hurt," the other one said.

"Why don't some of you use some brains, you know? What do you think we are, mythical creatures, doing this job?" La-La asked.

"It's simple because we are sinners," the others answered. "Yeah," everyone chimed in, nodding in agreement. La-La, tied up and losing all her energy, sighed even more deeply.

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"Do you think 'sinner' is just a simple term? Being an MT means we all had sins – murder, rape, lust, greed, anger, madness, and so on. So forth, our sins are not simple. Some might have killed someone or killed themselves, lost someone they loved. Do you think that's as simple as you fear it?" La-La said. The others made eye contact with each other, visibly scared.

"You are scaring us," the woman admitted. "But it's a fact," La-La asserted.

Then, noise began to erupt in the room. "Okay! Okay!" the one who was sitting cut through the noise, and it gradually became silent. He raised his left hand. "Let's say what you are saying is true, but we have already done wrong things. We will not escape from the punishment," he said.

"Just let me go, and I will pass through it by, I will not report it " La-La pleaded.

"Just simple as that?" the other asked.

"Yeah, just as simple as that. I wouldn't report this, so all of you wouldn't have any problem. Just let me go," La-La said. They thought, and some hesitated. Then, one of the Sandmen near La-La, holding a knife, startled her. Her eyes widened because of that, and suddenly, he raised the knife.

La-La sighed because of that, looking at the man with her brows nearing together, but he just gave her a smile. Now freed, La-La stood up and stretched her body.

"My boss will kill me since the library is closed, I didn’t even finished my job" La-La mumbled to herself. "Oh, we had a replacement for that," the other one said.

"What did you say?" La-La asked the man.

"We had one of us replace your work," he answered. La-La was in disbelief. "You had someone do my job?" she asked again, and the man nodded.

"We are not that bad," the girl added. La-La looked at the girl, still processing the unexpected turn of events.

"What's your name?" she asked the woman. The woman, who appeared to be the same age, had short black hair and answered, "Lilia." She added, "Class C-22."

"Your newbie," La-La said, causing Lilia to feel insulted.

"Not to insult you, but you kept talking to me disrespectfully. I am at least a decade older than you," La-La stated, then looked at the man sitting.

"Class?" she asked the man. "Aaron. Class 67-B," he answered.

"I am still older, but not yet. Why didn't you teach her to have some—ugh, never mind. Are you the oldest here, Aaron?" she asked. "Yeah," he answered without hesitation, and La-La facepalmed.

"So, La-La is my name, and I am from Class 32-B. It seems I am older than everyone," she said. Everyone suddenly stood up, leaving her shocked, prompting her to take a step backward.

"We apologize!!" everyone said in a loud tone.

La-la Point of View

A few moments Later

I decided to call Yuna's phone, but it went unanswered for a while, leading me to ponder on who else to call. In a moment of curiosity, I dialed my own phone, only to have it ring twice before being declined.

"What is that?" I reacted aloud. "Is everything okay?" Lilia asked me. I looked at her and gave her a reassuring smile. "Yeah, everything is fine," I said to her. "If there's any problem, just call my name, I mean call me" she suggested.

"Yeah, thank you. Just go help them repair the car, I will follow too" I told her. She nodded and immediately left me alone in the room.

There are a total of 11 people here – 11 MT Sandmen, to be precise. Earlier, as an experienced woman, I spent hours explaining everything to them without realizing how much time had passed. They wanted to help me get home, but ironically, the van they had used to kidnap me earlier had broken down. They offered for me to stay here until tomorrow, as they were confident they could fix the car. I agreed, and right now, I am calling Yuna to assure her and let her know what happened. It will be past midnight soon.

Now, who to call? Should I call Axel? – no, I don't think so. I also forgot his number since it’s been a year pass since he gave me his number ugh. I facepalm. Now, what am I gonna do? I sighed.

Then, I remembered Zayne. But what if he is asleep? I know he is a nice guy, but asking him is too much. Never mind, let's just try it; it's making me anxious leaving the two at my house. So, let's just call him.

I dialed the phone, and it immediately answered. Woah – that was fast

"Hello," I said. "Ms. Lanaya, are you okay?" Zayne asked, his voice carrying an obvious tone of anxiety.

"It seems you're awake. I apologize for calling this late, but I need some help," I said in a low tone. There was a brief pause before Zayne responded, "Yeah, yeah, there's no need to apologize. Just where are you?" he asked.

"What the hell, man, let me talk to her," I heard Axel's voice on the other line, and I wasn't mistaken. I could hear a lot of commotion on the other end of the line.

What is happening? Why are they two together?

"Right now, I am in Nasta village near the border of Hanara City," I explained. "You know, I just have—" I was about to continue when Axel interrupted, "Yeah, I am coming there. Just wait for me," he said. Wait, coming? Why?

"Huh, huh, you're coming? Why? Wait—" I tried to say, but the call abruptly ended. I looked at the phone, puzzled. What is that? Then suddenly Aaron rushed through the doors.

"What is it now?!!

"What is happening?" I asked to him as I was about to gave the phone to him suddenly hold my hand I was shocked but he is shaking abruptly making me looked serious at the moment since I know there I something happening.

"You better hide; we received a report that some of the MT in other divisions are coming here," Axel urgently stated.

"What do you mean by that?" I asked him. "Ho-how do I explain this?" he mumbled to himself, loosening his hold on me.

"Calm down," I said to him. "All the Love Hunters are in hiding now, protecting other MT. Due to that, it's rare to catch one like you, and it seems they received a report that some Sandmen caught a Hunter. We bet that they are after you and targeted us since we're weak," Aaron explained. My eyes widened.

"What do you mean by that? That is a total mess," I said, the gravity of the situation sinking in.

"Yeah, it is. I know it's hard to believe, but please hide," Aaron urged, and I nodded. The situation seemed pretty serious.

Just what the hell is happening now?

Aaron, who was in a hurry to leave, I stopped him. He looked at me with a questioning look, but I smiled. "Don't worry so much about me. Protect each other," I said to him, then reached out the phone to him. He received it and nodded at me.

Then he left. I looked around the room, realizing there was nowhere to hide. What about outside? I thought that might be a good option.

A little back to reality.

"Just what is going on?!" I shouted as I felt a familiar presence of power. I got out of where I was hiding and was shocked to see Axel fighting the Sandmen and Zayne being captured.

"La-La!" Zayne and Axel said happily as they saw me. I took a deep breath. They are happy even in this situation ?!! you gotta be kidding me??

Just what is with this mess?