I took no detours on my way back to the city. Tracing a straight line from the summoning site, I walked through forests and plains without following any human-made path.

I didn't know which time the execution was set for, and I wasn't about to risk everything just to be safe.

If I took Yasmin it wouldn't be by talking. Whatever charges they got on her, they weren't planning to hold any trial. The punishment had been set.

It would take fighting. A war against the Church and everything they represented. I knew. And I was willing.

The city came into range. The streets were quiet, the gates peaceful. Merchants were making their way in with me goods to trade. Stalls were being set up. If I didn't know any better, it felt just like any other day.

And who’s to say executions weren't normal in this world? I probably wouldn't have cared if it was anyone else.

Carriages and people alike made a way for me as I approached. I saw their looks. Their whispers and pointed fingers. The news had spread; they knew who I was, and why I was back.

The gatekeepers were waiting for me already. Swords and spears menacing me.

“One more step and you are dead!”

From up the walls a [Mage] warned me. He didn't look that strong; certainly below level 20. Him alone wouldn't be enough to stop me, but I was sure the whole city would come at me.

No, I didn't want to get innocents involved. Not as long as I could avoid it.

“I am willing to surrender!”

I shouted loud enough that every single soldier near the gate could hear me. And they did going by the puzzled looks they exchanged.

“On one condition,” I added. “That I am brought to the execution place and to the [Oracle]”

It wasn't really a condition. I was making the decision easier for them by offloading the problem—me—to the big shot.

There were some tense seconds. Someone ran off deeper into the city. A few orders and a few barks later, someone stepped in front.

“Listen, if this is a trap we won't hesitate from attacking!”

I nodded.

“go on your knees. I'll throw you some handcuffs. Put them immediately. ”

It was humiliating, but I could do that much. Obeying, I inwardly laughed as I inspected the handcuffs I had just acquired.

[Mana-sucking handcuffs]

This shackles absorb mana on contact.

Right on the money!

I wanted to make my way in without leaving a trail of blood and, most likely, reaching the [Oracle] exhausted and half-dead. Experience told me they assume someone without access to mana is powerless.

Perhaps the logic held at the lower levels, when physical attributes were still negligible. But to me, who didn't use mana at all, they were mere decoration that I could break on a whim.

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Slowly, making sure the soldier had always a clear view of my hands and what I was doing, I put the handcuffs and ties them.

“Bring me to the [Oracle].”

He did so, but not without checking twice that the handcuffs were in place. We robotically walked towards the center of the city. His steps were a trained succession of movements without soul or thought. He didn't look at me even once.

As we were getting closer, more people stopped to look at us. The Church had made sure I wouldn't be able to step into the city without being immediately recognized. Who knew if the information had spread even further away.

Soon enough the multitude was packed densely enough that my escort had to use his authority to keep advancing.

No one liked me. Parents closed their children's eyes. They themselves looked at me like I was a rotten piece of fruit. Their noses wrinkled and their heads shook no.

Right in front of the Church’s stairs there was a raised scenario. The [Oracle] was there, waiting for me. But I didn't have eyes for him. Only a fire born in my guts that threatened to burn everything at its pass.

Yasmin was lying on the wooden floor in a deplorable state. Her usually clean, soft, and bright skin looked lackluster. Ugly and dirty, kept from food and sun for too many days.

She raised her head, and when she saw me, her eyes filled with tears. Those eyes… they told me was afraid, not of losing her life, but of me being captured. Even then, she put me in front.

We reached stage and I was ordered to go up. I took my sweat time with the stairs in a futile attempt to calm myself down. To stop the fire for becoming an uncontrollable beast.

But I lost the battle.

“Free her.” I was looking at the [Oracle] straight to the eyes, as if my lifeless stare was a statement of how serious I was.

“And if I do, you'll come to me, right?” He scoffed. “i already have both of you. She dies here and you wi-”

“I.” Metal cracked.

“Said.” The crack travelled through the surface until something popped.

“Free.” I pushed my hands to the side, and something broke.

“Her!” Piece by piece, the now corrupted handcuffs, were dissolving into thin air.

Enough was enough. I was at my limit. Even knowing that the [Oracle] was stronger than me, I just couldn't leave Yasmin in this sorry state. I should have waited for an opening. For him to become distracted.

But I lost it.

I barely heard the public’s agitated noises as they witnessed what happened. I saw my enemy getting ready. His mouth moved, and words came out of it; he must have been yelling.

My mind was not in the right spare to care about him or what he was saying. Either way, I was busy preparing my own attack. Assumed he was cursing at me and throwing wild threats, I had [Fusion] preparing my energy attack.

I’d have opened with a huge blow, but the square was too busy for that. Instead, I settled for a flashy show, something big enough to scare everyone away.

I cast the bright ball, perfectly aimed at the [Oracle].

It didn’t take even one second for panic to arise from all around. I saw as the crowd parted in absolute chaos, trampling one over others, fending only for themselves.

Right as the place was emptying, the [Oracle] stopped my attack with his bare hand. I looked carefully, examining every fiber on his skin, but I found nothing. It wasn’t a devastating attack, but not having made even a single scratch was prove enough that the fight was gong to be tough.

“Don’t worry, Yasmin. I will save you.”