When we finally got down to the main cross junction, the voices we heard earlier became more clearer.
”...so that is when I bound that guys daughter and dragged her away. You should had seen the look on her fathers face as he laid down crying on the ground with broken kneecaps! I couldn’t stop laughing during the entire raid.”
”That is brutal! It is like the time I was having my way with the wife and daughter of a merchant. I had bound them all, and all he could do was helplessly watch. It is quite the rush to be in control, ya know.”
It is the same voices of the guys who captured an enslaved me... I hid myself behind Izuma and started shaking out of fear.
”What’s wrong, Lotus?”
Izuma looked worried as he asked me. I then point toward the voices.
”T- Those guys was it that sold me into slavery... They are bad people!”
My eyes started to water now and the shaking intensified. Despite having killed monsters, those guys are more terrifying than them.
”I- I’m sorry... I can’t go any further...”
I am still traumatized since the day I got made into a slave. Because I am used to Earth standards, the concept of slavery is utter barbarism for me. It fills me with deep disgust and disdain to even think about it.
Now I gripped harder at Izumis clothes and armor. Then he first looked at me, then toward the voices.
”I got something I need to do. Stay here girls.”
Izumi then gave me to the girls who looked heartbroken at the sight of me. I did not feel well at all, and just wished to get away from everything.
”Oi! Who the hell are you?”
”Are you a newbie?”
The guys suddenly got startled as Izumi approached them.
”Are you the people who captured and sold a pale girl with golden eyes a while ago?”
Izumi straight out asked them. They looked puzzled and then gave a confident answer.
”That is an awfully specific question. Was she kin of yours?”
”What if she was? Are you here to get her back? Tough luck then, kid.”
The men looked at Izumi as if he was an idiot. Then they continued.
”Since you found our base, then you can’t return alive.”
”That’s right. If you was a girl we would had sold you into slavery instead!”
Both of the mean unsheathed their weapons. Izumi followed shortly after.
”This makes it easier for me to deal with lawless scum like you. I shall tell you that the girl is in good care of me, right now.”
With great speed and precision Izumi first chopped off the arm of one guy, then he followed up with a stab in the eye. In the span of 2 seconds the guy died.
”What the fuck!? What are you!?”
The surviving guy cried out as he attacked Izumi with his mace. Izumi effortlessly blocked such a simple attack and kicked the guy in the crotch with his steel boots. This express neutering made him kneel in overwhelming pain below him.
”Lotus, come over here.”
Izumi commanded me, so my body started moving on its own toward the screaming kneeling man.
”You want revenge? You can get it now if you overcome your fear. I won’t force you though.”
He comforted me and gave me a chance for revenge. I was still scared shitless, but seeing the man crying out in pain alleviated it a bit.
I looked down at my hands and saw that my nails had instinctively turned into talons. It was as if my body was telling to ”Do it.”. And with a sudden glowing pulse from my Phylactery did my sense of fear get dulled. Izumi reacted to it and smiled.
”Y- You are bad!”
My talking had devolved into that of a child at this stage. All the emotions mixed with the fear dulling power of my Phylactery turned it into a mess.
The man whom had been screaming, now kneeled down panting below me. As he looked up and saw me, a look of fear was written all over it. He tried to protect himself from me with one arm by raising it.
With a brutal slash I felt how my talons tore through flesh and bone as if it was jelly. My hand got completely covered in blood and the arm now leaned limply down. The man now cried out in pain but before he could react I used both my hands to jam my talons through his eyes.
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A blood churdling scream was heard as I tore the mans eyeballs into pieces, and I felt how my talons firmly stuck to the skull inside the sockets. During the entire execution I felt nothing strangely. I whom had been crying a moment earlier now performed a brutal execution. This is so alien.
I decided to finish him off by destroying his brain through the now empty blood soaked sockets. With all my might I jammed my talons into the bone from where the visual nerve connect. A sickening crunch was heard and the man became limp. In a second my talons completely turned his brain into a slurry.
With the the deed done, I pulled out my now utterly blood soaked and brain covered talons out of the sockets. Then I gave the body a light kick in order to not get blood over my clothes.
”I did it...”
I said somberly and looked at Izumi who had spectated the whole spectacle. He looked oddly pleased instead of disgusted.
”Yes you did, you may rest easy now knowing these bad men will never come after you again.”
He gave me headpats and sheathed his sword. Then he called over the other girls. Seris felt sick over seeing a slurry of brain leaking out of a mans eye sockets.
”Eww!” - Nyaya
”That is nasty work.” - Nino
”Umm, why are Lotus’s eyes glowing?”
Nyaya then curiously asked.
”Good question Nyaya, [Appraisal: Project]”
[Appraisal: Lotus]
Name: Lotus
Description: Lotus is a slave which is owned by Izumi. She comes from another world and was blessed by god. In her previous life she died of an accident in a subway station.
Appearance: Her skin is white as snow. Her hair is white, shiny and reach down to her feet. Her eyes are golden with crescent shaped irises. Her breasts are as big as A cups. Her body is lean but got pronounced hips. Her phylactery located under her ribcage got a golden color. Her height is about one and a half meters. Her overall beauty is super natural.
Race: Lesser Lich (Holy) LV.3
Class: Cleric (Mistral) LV.3
Titles: Executioner, Slave of Izumi
Blessings and skills:
Photographic Memory (Reading): Allows the user to perfectly remember written words and pictures from books, scrolls and papers.
Blessed Undead: The user is not affected by anti-undead spells and project a aura of courage instead of fear.
Overpower Fear (Race): Allows the user to ignore any Fear effects for a while. Whether mental or magical it do not matter. The eyes glow brightly during its active period.
Possible Evolutions:
Lich (Holy): The normal form of Lesser Lich. Normally a evil deed is required in order to become a proper lich, but holy liches can evolve as soon as they have gathered enough magical energy. Notable features of liches is that by using magical power they can instantly kill a target by just touching them. Holy liches reverse the process and instead heal or revive their target.
”Well, I’ll be damned. Lotus leveled up during this encounter. She gained her Overpower Fear race ability which let her ignore Fear. That explains why she suddenly acted so out of character. The meek crying girl turned into a cold blooded killer.”
Izumis assessment was correct. I who now had gotten back to my previous state, now felt disgusted after looking at my blood soaked hands. Going to a long time to get the blood and bits of brain out of my nails.
”I’ll be okay now. It felt good to slay this wicked man.”
A lot of my fear was gone now despite my Overpower Fear skill getting turned off. If I ever get free of my enslavement, I will dedicate my existence to rid this world of scum like this. I can understand now why Izumi like being a Hero.
”Let’s go, girls. Our main objective here is to make Lotus more powerful. So do not slack off, now!”
Now that I got this out of my system we cautiously explored the dungeon. With Nyaya looking for traps and Nino guarding our backs, there were no true dangers. The main purposes was for me to get battle experience, so loot was a secondary issue.
”Gu-AAAH!!”
A hobgoblin cried out in pain as I smashed it straight in the head with my staff. A loud crunching noise was heard as I caved in the skull. Meanwhile I casted Lesser Smite which I aimed at another hobgoblin. My party just stood a bit away to intervene in the case I would be in actual danger.
The charging and screaming hobgoblin lost balance as my smite vaporized its left leg kneecap. It comically rolled forward to my feet before stopping right in front of me. I quickly ended its life with a powerful poke in the throat.
Throughout the entire day scenes like these played out. I massacred hobgoblins and other weak monsters and soon became proficent in the use of my staff, claws and magic. Not on the level as the rest of my party, but I can manage fairly well on my own now.
At dusk time Izumi decided for us to camp in the dungeon. Because it is a comfortable temperature and we are not exposed to the elements it was ideal for us. Our camp was placed near the entrance, outside of where I brutally executed the horrible man. No way we could get rid of the bits of brain that easily.
For dinner we got it something that was a little more delicious. Because of the wolves we had slaughtered on the way here we got fresh meat. It was stringy and tough but after three days it was a nice change. Seris truly is an excelent cook. Not only does she do magic on the battlefield, but in the kitchen too!
At bedtime I now felt more at ease around Izumi than usual. The usual reluctance and hesitation is gone. Why am I not on my guard around him any more? My feelings are conflicting now inside me. I still want to hate him for enslaving me, but also thank him for letting me have revenge on the ones who put me in this situation in the first place. This night everyone slept soundly, especially me who fell asleep first on his chest in the sleeping bag. I think I felt someone playing with my hair before I lost all consciousness...