Chapter 14

Athos woke up in an unknown place. He looked around and all he saw was a white room. He tried to get up, but a sharp pain in the back of his neck stopped him.

"Damn it, Mom! Why do you always knock first and talk later? That's why-" It was then that he remembered everything that had happened. The fire, the burned body of the father, the guards taking his mother away and her hitting him on the head to stop him from attacking the guards.

Athos jumped out of bed, ignoring the lingering pain in the back of his neck, but fell to the floor shortly thereafter. His body was numb for some reason.

Hearing the noise coming from the bedroom, a passing nun entered and quickly helped him back to bed.

"Boy, you shouldn't get out of bed yet. You're still recovering." She gently placed him back on the bed.

Athos tried to push her back, but her body didn't obey. His limbs were limp and uncoordinated, as if he was drugged. He looked suspiciously at the nun in front of him as he circulated the mana through his body to rid himself of the effects.

"I'm sorry we used magic on you, but you couldn't stop struggling in your sleep, so we had to do that to keep you from getting hurt." She said, seeing the suspicion in his eyes.

"Where I am?" Athos asked, after looking around for the tenth time and not recognizing the place.

"We are in the city church, more precisely, in the area where we bring sick people to be treated."

"How did I get here? Do you know what happened to my mother after I passed out?" Athos asked quickly, clearly concerned for her safety.

"The city guards left you here, along with the others injured in the fire. We kept you in a separate room from the others, for safety." She replied, apparently a little sorry for him.

"What do you mean, security? Why would I need security?" Athos said confused.

"Some people might have bad intentions against you after what happened yesterday. We didn't want anything to happen to you, so we left you isolated." She tried to get up and leave, but Athos stopped her.

"Wait, you still haven't answered my question: What happened to my mom after I passed out?" Athos gripped her left wrist tightly, preventing her from leaving.

"How can you move?" She was clearly in shock. She would never have imagined that Athos had already awakened her core, as well as being able to manipulate it. "Let me go!"

"Not before you answer me, What happened to my mother?" Athos tightened his grip, hearing an answering snap.

She pulled out a dagger she kept hidden in her back and tried to stab him, but Athos grabbed her forearm, stopping the knife inches from her chest.

"Shit! That's why I don't like going to church!" Athos kicked her in the chest, leaving her breathless. Afterwards, he twisted your left wrist, leaving it at an unnatural angle.

"Arkk!" She screamed in pain, lessening the force that pushed the dagger and trying to reflexively pull away. Athos took the chance and used all his strength to twist his body, throwing the nun onto the bed and straddling her.

He pressed his right knee over his twisted left wrist, immobilizing the limb. At the same time, he used his now free hand to take the dagger from her hand and press it against her throat.

"If you try to scream, I'll cut your throat like a chicken, understand?" Athos threatened, citing the 7th sentence of the "48 sentences when you want to threaten someone" that his mother taught.

She still tried to resist, but Athos she twisted her other wrist and pressed the dagger even deeper, causing a trickle of blood to drip. This time she held back the scream, fearing it would cut deeper.

"Do you feel more willing to talk now?" Athos asked, with anger in his eyes.

"Yes, I-" She tried to explain herself, but a left hook shut her mouth.

"You don't speak, you just answer. Am I clear?" Athos asked, trying to look intimidating.

"..." She didn't answer this time, glaring at him.

"Fine. Now tell me, what had done you do to my mother after I passed out?"

"The captain of the guard took her to the city prison. I don't know what happened after that." she said quickly.

"And why did you bring me here?"

The city guards brought you here. The other fire victims tried to attack you, so we moved you here."

"Do you want me to believe that you guys saved me out of goodwill?" Athos asked with a raised eyebrow.

"It's true! We couldn't let anything happen to you, you brat, so we moved you here!"

"What do you mean, couldn't let anything happen to me? What are you talking about?" Athos punched her again, causing blood to leak from the corners of her lips.

"You'd better let go of me soon, because at any moment someone is going to show up and things are going to get ugly for you." The nun said, trying to threaten him.

Athos took the dagger from her throat, causing her to sigh in relief for a second, before slamming the hilt across her nose. He shut her mouth to keep her from screaming and for a few seconds, the only sound heard inside the room was the muffled screams of the nun.

"You only answer what I ask, remember? Now tell me, why can't you let anything happen to me?" Athos asked hastily. He knew he couldn't waste time, but he needed answers.

"We received orders from the Baron... to keep you alive as collateral... after yesterday's riot." She answered between gasps, having trouble breathing.

"Okay, now you've lost me. What do you mean a riot?" The more Athos listened, the more confused he became.

"People wanted justice for the victims of the fire, so they gathered in front of the baron's house and asked for the alchemist to be handed over to them."

"My father is already dead! What else do you want to take from him??" Athos was furious with the townspeople. He gripped the nun's neck furiously, as if he wanted to take out his anger on her.

"Wait. There's more! The Baron was afraid of a revolt, so he decided to execute the alchemist's wife instead!" The nun said quickly, seeing the murderous intent in his eyes.

'How can a child emit murderous intent? She thought with dread.

"Shit, shit, shit! When will the execution be??" Athos asked, on the verge of a mental breakdown. He had just lost his father and now his mother, his only emotional support, was about to be taken away from him as well.

"Will you let me go if I say so?" She asked with tears in her eyes, trying to appeal to his feelings.

"If you don't tell me, I'm going to kill you right now!" Unfortunately for her, Athos didn't give a damn about her fake cry.

"It's today at noon! Two hours to go until the execution." She responded begrudgingly.

"Last question. Where's my gear?" he asked, determined to save her.

"In the priest's room! He stored his equipment and potions there. Boy, I've said it all, so-" Athos interrupted her.

"Then you are no longer useful to me." Athos said coldly, He slammed the handle of the dagger into her temple, making her faint. "You're lucky I've never killed anyone until now, because you sure deserved it,"

Athos opened the bedroom door and peeked around to make sure no one was coming. That's when he noticed his hands were shaking. He'd never interrogated anyone before and despite the facade he used to scare the nun, he didn't have the heart to kill anyone just yet.

'It's no use thinking about it. I have to concentrate on getting to the priest's room first. Luckily, I know where it is.' He thought, running towards the room, while trying to avoid other people.

Although he had never been to the church infirmary, his mother had taken him to church several times to try to indoctrinate him. If he remembers correctly, the church was divided into 4 sections: the orphanage, the infirmary, the nuns' quarters and the church itself where people gathered.