39 The Carnage Mace Gang

Even though the twins were only at the fringe of the royal capital, the sheer number of people around was startling. But one thing was even more shocking to Savyrran; the smell of poverty. It was everywhere. Large rudimentary structures meant to be homes towered everywhere. There were countless number of shops clustered along the sandy streets. Even though Coast Town was considered the poorest in their province, in reality, they were a happy people who did not lack their basic needs. In Coast Town, there were no street children, stray animals nor crime.

Here in Hill City, it was the very opposite. Or perhaps, it was because they were only in the Lower Domain. A worn out sign, almost falling from its post, had the inscription: 'Welcome to Imun, Lower Domain.' Royal Hill Province followed a strict hierarchy in its design. The entire royal capital was built such that they followed concentric zones whose status got higher as it got closer to the royal palace. Each domain was divided into quarters and Imun was one of the several quarters in the Lower Domain.

The Lower Domain was the least of the three and also the farthest from the royal palace. Generally, this domain was the poorest and least safe place in the capital. But even then, there were many quarters that were still livable and not entirely terrible to raise a family. Imun, however, was another nightmare altogether. This place was fondly known as the lowest of the Lower Domain. Here, all kinds of low-lives and misfits perfectly fit like a jigsaw puzzle. It also had the highest crime rate in the entire province and possibly even in the kingdom. From a distance, one could make out the outline of a large hill which served as the foundation of the royal palace. However, the distance was so great that the royal palace only appeared like a small picture in a painting.

After asking around for a while, Savyrran learned that the Royal Dream Academy was found in Lafkan Quarter, in the Higher Domain, and therefore, the children had a while until they got to their destination. For a moment, Savyrran wondered why the train had just dumped them here when they had not yet reached their destination in the first place.

"Savy… We really shouldn't be talking to people here too much. It does not look safe."

Savyrran smiled at her brother then nodded. Even without Ovandarrak's warning, she could tell this place was not the paradise she had anticipated it would be. There were filth and noise everywhere and for a moment, she wondered how this place was the famed royal capital.

"Let's find a place we can stay." Savyrran said rounding a corner. She had seen the sign of a hotel a few blocks away and thought they would have to get settled in as soon as possible. Hopefully, they would not have to stay for long until the trials were over. Once the trials were over and they got enrolled in the academy, they would relocate to the dormitories. "How about the Darana Hotel over there?"

"Not so fast newbies." An amused voice interrupted their conversation.

Savyrran stopped in her tracks as she turned her head to see who was wasting their time. They did not have all day and she was beginning to feel hungry. Savyrran caught sight of a young man, probably in his mid-twenties, standing on top of a platform about five meters above the ground. He was almost as dark as Savyrran's eyes but the hair on his head was a sharp contrast to his dark skin. His hair was as white as snow and flowed on his back like a horse's mane. Savyrran had never seen anyone with such unique hair and thus wondered if he perhaps, he was wearing a wig. Even though Master Bufan's hair was a lot similar to this, Savyrran was sure that the old man's hair had grown whiter over the years with age.

But as Savyrran looked closely, she saw that the young man's eye brows were exactly the same colour as his hair. She had been too sheltered in her small town. Even in Ahn Bayari, the largest city she had been to, she had never seen anything out of the ordinary. To be fair, someone like her who had either essence nor soul armos was not considered normal either. She really could not complain.

"Come on Rynyk, don't hog up all the fun." A woman's voice joined.

At first, Savyrran could not see the woman who had suddenly spoken until a short woman as dark as the man and with the same kind of long white hair suddenly appeared in a gray mist. The woman's pupils were yellow like the light surrounding her. A yellow user. Savyrran thought, a smile grazing the corner of her lips. Amazing. They were truly in the royal capital.

"Oh sister, you know I would never do that. But these two look so innocent I just could not help myself." Rynyk said. He had the look of a predator who had just spotted its prey. "You two are new. You don't look rich but your medium grade space rings say otherwise. I think they would look great on my fingers. Don't you agree?"

"Well, that depends." Savyrran said. Her bright eyes dancing with excitement.

"On what?" Rynyk asked.

"On whether you like those fingers."

Savyrran's words had been said with casual cheerfulness, yet it was impossible to not notice the chill in her voice. A small glint flashed in Ovandarrak's eyes at his sister's words. He knew this was a declaration of war and he was prepared to attack if things escalated.

Rynyk and his sister, Fronyak, were stunned to silence for a while until they both burst into laughter. This was so good. This rat was really talking back at them. Nice. Just nice.

"You plan on chopping my fingers, little rat?"

"More than that if you keep wasting my time."

The mirth in Rynyk's eyes transformed into something else upon hearing the words of the arrogant boy with black eyes. For a boy, he had such a soft soothing voice, Rynyk thought.

Then Rynyk blew a whistle with his fingers in his mouth, and then suddenly, close to a dozen people emerged out of nowhere in flashes of orange and yellow. He himself released his essence and a verdant light engulfed his entire body, his previously coffee brown eyes transforming to the rain forests of the east.

"Not so smug anymore, are we?" Rynyk said with a savage laugh. "Now, would you like to know what I plan to do to you for wasting my time, damn rat?" Who here in the Lower Domain was not terrified of the Carnage Mace Gang? He would instil that same fear into this bunch of little rats.

"You talk too much." Ovandarrak finally blurted. His entire skin was crawling with annoyance from the irrelevance of this whole conversation. They had more important things to do.

Without saying another word, Rynyk prepared to attack. An emerald mace appeared in Rynyk's hand and then threw it towards the two children. As he hurled his weapon, the spiky head of the mace separated from its thick shaft. Instead, it was connected by a chain which only grew longer as it rushed towards Ovandarrak.

Ovandarrak's intense eyes focused on the green light speeding towards him but his sister's whisper brought him back to his surroundings.

"Let's go. This is a waste of our time." Just as Savyrran said it, Ovandarrak released his green essence and together with his sister, they disappeared from the very spot they once stood.

Rynyk's glowing mace clashed on an empty space with a loud bang. His several companions lost their footing from the shock waves that escaped from his soul armos.

"Where the hell did they go?" Rynyk's green eyes bulged with shock. He had seen green essence. Those two little rats were green users? That sounds like competition, and he hated competition. He ruled this territory and there was no way a bunch of children would challenge him and go unpunished.

"There they are." One of the gang members who had fallen on the ground said. He pointed to a trail of green light darting across the alley.

"After them. Now." Rynyk could feel his heart swelling with anger. Those little rats. He would kill them. He would kill them both. How dare they disrespect him and his gang? He had only intended to peacefully steal from them. Instead, they were proving to be stubborn. They needed to be thought a lesson.

Upon hearing the orders of their leader, the dozen members of the gang followed their gang leader, chasing after the two children. Rynyk was the fastest among them due to his green essence and soon, he could see the green trail of the children in the distance. Rynyk's eyes lowered in confusion when he saw that only one of the children was exposing their essence. However, the other one, who was not using his essence, was equally fast.

How could someone be so fast even without using their essence? Well, that did not matter to him. He would crush them nonetheless.

As they ran, anyone who saw the gang approaching quickly got out of the way for them. No one wanted to have anything to do with this notorious gang. And because this was the Lower Domain, the Soul Guardian Force would not even waste their time to clamp on crime in the region. Thus, people like Rynyk were left to their own devices. Here in the Lower Domain, if you were weak, you would simply become cannon fodder for the strong.

In running, they would bump into people or their goods. It was overall, a chaotic chase with the loud protest of traders whose goods were being destroyed all around.

But the gang had one objective in their mind, and they did not care about any of these people. This was no longer about mere space rings or money. This was now about the reputation of the Carnage Mace Gang. If people heard that two children stood up to them, won't that make others think they could do so too? Rynyk would not let that happen. He swore by his soul armos, the Carnage Mace, that he would teach those little rats a lesson and make an example out of them.

Meanwhile, Ovandarrak had sensed that they were being followed. These people were so relentless. "Savy, we should split up. They are still chasing us and we need to make it stop."

Savyrran, who was running side by side her brother, looked up at him. "Are you certain? You really want to fight them?"

"Well, no. But all these running is making me angry. So I guess I have no choice."

Savyrran smiled. Badisk could use some target practice. Since her last training with Master Bufan, she had not had any decent fight and her sword was restless. The only reason she suggested they ran was because she knew Ovandarrak did not like fighting. Sometimes Savyrran forgot that her brother was not a helpless little boy anymore. He was strong in his own right.

"Fine. Let's split up. I'll take that corner. Take the other one. Let's meet up at the hotel when it's over."

When Savyrran and Ovandarrak split up in opposite directions, Rynyk ordered his gang to do same and follow them.

Rynyk had been wondering how it was possible for the black-eyed boy to ran so fast even without an essence. Hence, he decided to follow the boy with Fronyak and another one orange user of his gang. He had the other four yellow users and three orange users to follow the other boy with the green essence. A yellow user could easily be defeated by a green user. However, a green user might have a hard time against several yellow and orange users. Thus, Rynyk trusted that his gang members could handle the boy. Besides, Shwei was with the group. They would be fine.

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