On your knees

 Niard nodded in agreement, moving slowly as if he didn't want to leave the room. All his senses screamed at him to stay or even to try to save that man, but there was nothing he could do to bring salvation to that poor magic user.

 He was a victim of both sides, feeling helpless and full of self-contempt.

"If only I were stronger," he whispered, only to be interrupted by the sound of a heavy body falling on the floor, as if ice had fallen on his limbs to freeze all of his body. His eyes quickly darted to see what had happened, staring until it felt like his eyeballs would 

pop out of their sockets. 

The man's blood had splattered on the general's uniform, who had just disposed of him.

"Why did you kill him? Aren't you following the empire's laws?" Niard mouthed in anger. 

Tala averted her eyes from the sight of the corpse that began to evaporate as if the man had been merely a mirage.

 Jerry did not take his eyes off Niard, who was shaken by the man's death, as if it were the first time he had seen blood spilled in such a manner.

"And now show me what you and your superiors will do?" sighed the general, pointing to Jerry, his words like fiery arrows hitting Tala's heart. Jerry rolled his eyes in disdain at the unpardonable crime the general had committed. 

He should have calmed down and not hastily disposed of the magic user, but how could he control his anger? Only those who had experienced losing everything would understand his hope and perspective.

"Hey, Niard, move, the show is over," Tala's voice came as she tried to get him out of the general's room. He stood motionless like a statue, nodding in agreement with lowered eyes as he moved his feet toward his room.

"If only I were stronger, I wouldn't have let this happen. The witch hunter's target was me, not that man. Damn it," Niard whispered through increasingly heated breaths. 

He knew he had to work on himself and that fixing of this society wouldn't be easy, especially with hatred and a desire for revenge running rampant.

"I know what you're hiding," Tala said cautiously. Niard stopped walking and turned to her with a cold stare, as if he no longer felt the energy of life and was a dead man.

"After everything that happened, you have the audacity to speak to me. You were the one who caught that man. He is now dead, do you understand? A life of someone was taken right before my eyes," Niard said with a trembling voice, his eyes looking strange. Tala was 

shocked by his reaction. 

"What do you mean by blaming me? His fate was inevitable death. Why don't you mind your own business?" Tala said angrily, then left with a heart full of rage, forgetting even what information she had wanted from Niard.

"Calm down, Tala, no one got hurt because of you. It was all the general's fault. He is the one who got you involved. You have to hold yourself together," she thought, feeling her nerves strained by the idea of an innocent person being 

punished because of her. 

She tried hard to push away memories from the past, not wanting to repeat them.

"You know that Niard is a magic user and you didn't turn him in to the authorities, my dear," Tala heard a voice she hated. It was Nectar, the one who had become obsessed with her after she rejected him a few years ago. She didn't expect to encounter him in the novices' quarters.

"I do what I want, and you are not my lover, do you understand?" Tala said, not in the mood to deal with him. She didn't care if he got angry and caused a scene; her nerves were exhausted.

"Magic! Magic! Damn this magic!" She bit her lip and continued quickly outside, needing to calm her nerves.

"Would you care for me if I became a sorcerer?" Nectar whispered, desperate for her love. He clenched his fist, the image of Niard in his mind angering him. He hated that the one he loved was interested in someone else.

The sounds of machinery being dragged on the ground, a factory noises, and thick dust obscured vision and made breathing difficult. He tried to free his arms from the restraints, but it was useless.

"What do you want from me? And where am I?" Niard shouted, facing the four men who looked more like criminals than part of the reserve army.

"Boy, you have no right to speak. You angered the boss, and you started hanging around his property. That's something no one forgives," said the man holding a huge iron wrench. Niard had heard of an abandoned factory near the reserve army academy, and he thought he might be there.

All he remembered was someone hitting him on the head when he left his room. He couldn't identify who knocked him out. The blood flowing from his body was enough to paralyze him, making him dizzy.

He was in a terrible state. These men didn't give him a second to think about how to save himself. Niard didn't think these thugs would let him go without a fight, so he ruled out resolving things peacefully. He was sure these men had been with Nectar before.

"System notification:

Basic system features will be restored in three, two…" 

The system began rebooting, and a smile adorned Niard's face. For the first time, he was glad to have a magical system.

"Do you dare to laugh?" said the man with the wrench. Before he could hit Niard hard, Niard grabbed the wrench. The man noticed that Niard had freed himself but didn't understand how.

"Urgent mission:

Defeat these thugs, reward unknown."

Niard read the system notification, opened his eyes, and stared at the man whose hand was about to be crushed by Niard's grip. 

Five men advanced towards Niard quickly, but he didn't tire himself.

"On your knees, you fools," Niard used his aura suppression skill. Their heads hit the floor, feeling an immense weight of energy coursing through their veins. They had never fought someone like him before.

"And now, what were you talking about?" Niard said in a cold voice, slowly wiping the blood from his face as he stared at the trembling man before him.