The Battle for Redemption

Ding...

Ding...

Drops of water can be heard falling, and the repeated and annoying sound wakes Jona up. As he opens his eyes, he finds himself chained, without his equipment and weapons, wearing nothing but ragged pants. His arms are chained in a Y shape, and he stands up to look around.

Jona: [Where am I?]

He thinks while analyzing the place he's in. It's a small room with stone walls, barred windows, and a thick wooden door. Clearly, it's a cell. He tries to struggle and free himself, but his efforts prove futile due to the lack of strength in his bare hands, caused by his power.

Adan: "No point in trying, those chains are made of iron. Even if we wanted to, we couldn't escape."

Jona: "Adan!? Are you okay?"

Jona asks, unable to see him clearly as he's directly behind his back.

Adan: "I'm fine, but the situation we're in is not good."

Jona: "Mai... Guberth! Do you know where they are?"

Adan: "No, I just woke up too, but I know that you do..."

Jona: "..."

Jona remains silent, with a sad look.

Adan: "Wherever we are, that dwarf has something to do with this."

Jona: "He must have his reasons."

Adan: "I know, that's why as soon as we get out of here, I want to punch him in the face."

Jona gives a faint smile. He was worried that Adan wouldn't trust Guberth anymore, but his worries quickly vanished.

Jona: "Thank you, Adan, for-"

Adan: "*Shh*"

Both fall silent as they hear someone approaching while talking among themselves.

Male Voice: "-they brought that blue-haired girl?"

Female Voice: "Nah, she was too agile, managed to escape. That's why I think it's going to be a problem soon."

Jona: [Blue-haired girl? Mai? She managed to escape?]

Jona thinks to himself, relieved. But soon his relief is interrupted when both of them enter their cell.

Male Bandit: "(Evil grin) Look, the little princesses are awake."

Both enter and now Jona can see what their kidnappers look like. They are dressed in tattered clothes and a cloak, clearly bandits.

Female Bandit: "What's the matter? Aren't you going to say anything?"

The bandits stare at both of them with terrifying smiles, but they remain silent.

*Pow*

The male bandit punches Jona in the face.

*Pow*

Male Bandit: "So, you're not going to say anything?"

Jona continues to remain silent.

Male Bandit: *Clicks his tongue*

The bandit prepares to strike again, but the woman stops him.

Female Bandit: "No, don't be like that. Let me take care of them. You know I handle my toys very well."

Male Bandit: "Wow, creepy. Alright, I'll leave them in your hands."

The man exits, closing the cell, leaving only the woman with the two captives.

Female Bandit: "So, how should I begin?"

She says this with an erotic smile on her face as if she's eager for it.

Adan: "How about starting with me? Seeing you act like this is getting me excited."

Jona: "Adan?!"

Jona panics, shaking the chains.

Female Bandit: "Ahhh... *Moan* Yes, panic some more. I love that."

The woman approaches Adan, this time revealing her face.

Adan: "(Smiling) I'm looking forward to our time together."

The woman becomes embarrassed, not understanding.

Female Bandit: "(Embarrassed) Y-you think you have any authority here?"

Jona: "Don't you dare touch him. I swear I'll kill you if you lay a finger on him."

The woman shifts her attention to Jona and prepares to go towards him, but before she can, Adan stands up and puts his face close to hers, speaking again.

Adan: "(Whispering) Don't listen to him, my dear. Come on, we're going to have an amazing time together."

Then the room falls silent. Not understanding what is happening, Jona starts screaming.

Jona: "Adan! Adan! Are you okay? Don't do anything to him, you cow!"

Suddenly, the chains on Jona's arms fall to the ground. He quickly turns to see Adan.

Adan: "Wow, these things hurt."

Adan says while removing the handcuffs from his wrists. Jona looks and sees the woman lying unconscious on the floor.

Jona: "So, did you like my performance?"

Adan: "Hehe, you made her fall like a little duck."

Both smile at each other.

Adan: "Come here, let me take off those chains."

Jona extends his arm but then gives up.

Jona: "Better not. I think they'll be useful until I find my things."

Adan: "If that's what you say."

Both leave their cell, locking it from the outside, trapping the female bandit inside. They walk cautiously, avoiding attention, until they hear some bandits talking around a corner.

Voice 1: "Looks like someone invaded our headquarters."

Voice 2: "Haha, who's the crazy one?"

Voice 3: "Must be one of those idiots trying to play the hero."

While they hear this, Jona gestures with his hand, signaling Adan to follow his lead.

Jona: "Hey, fellows! How are you doing? Working hard?"

Jona says this as he drags the chains along the ground, approaching the trio of bandits.

Bandit 1: "Who are you?"

They shout as they draw their weapons, but before they can say anything else, Jona lunges towards them, swinging the chains, hitting all three bandits at once, throwing them against the wall, and knocking them out.

Jona: "Seems like my power works on chains too."

Adan: "(Surprised) Wow, that was absurd."

Jona smiles, and they continue walking.

Adan: "By the way, what were they talking about?"

Jona looks at Adan, confused until he notices that Adan is no longer wearing his translation necklace. He quickly looks down and realizes he still has his on.

Jona: "Why am I still wearing my necklace?"

Adan: "I was wondering the same thing."

Confused, they simply accept the fact since they don't have much time to think about it.

They start walking through the headquarters, searching for their belongings, avoiding combat as much as possible.

Jona: "Damn, where is it?"

They say this as they look into a dark room.

Adan: "Uh, Jona, we have a problem."

Jona quickly looks back and sees a bandit behind Adan, holding a knife to his throat.

Bandit: "Stay where you are, or I'll kill your little friend."

Jona starts looking around, searching for a way to help Adan.

Bandit: "Stop looking at things and look at me, or I'll kill him."

Jona is in a difficult situation. He needs to act but is afraid of hurting or even killing Adan.

Jona: "Shit."

After saying that, the bandit starts trembling as if he's receiving an electric shock and falls to the ground.

Jona: "Nice one, Adan."

Adan: "Wasn't me."

They look towards the entrance and see someone standing there.

Jona: "Mai!"

Jona runs and hugs Mai.

Jona: "I thought you had escaped, Mai."

Mai: "And leave you guys here to die? Now let me go. We don't have time for this. By the way, take these."

Mai removes all their equipment from her body.

Jona: "How did you do that?"

Mai: "I discovered it after I stored my clothes inside my body to assume the slime form."

Jona: [That's useful.]

Both quickly put on their equipment, but something is missing.

Jona: "Where are my pans?"

Mai: "Well, that's a problem."

Mai signals for them to follow her, and they do, encountering some bandits along the way until they finally reach an open area outside the headquarters, with a large number of bandits celebrating. But more importantly, they are using Jona's frying pans for cooking.

Jona: "(Whisper)This is going to be troublesome."

Jona whispers to the group.

Adan: "(Whisper) Can't we just leave your stuff behind?"

Jona: "(Whisper) Of course not. Here's the plan: you two, who can attack from a distance, take care of the ones on high ground, and I'll handle the ones on the ground."

Adan: "*Sigh* Alright."

And so, with a plan in place, they charge toward the bandits, catching them by surprise. Before they can even reach for their weapons, Jona starts attacking with the chains, spinning his body along with them, sending many bandits flying. Some bandits who are further away draw their bows to attack Jona, but they are quickly stopped by Adan and Mai's attacks. Jona begins to attack the bandits who are close to his belongings, but one of them manages to trap one of his arms' chains using his sword, leaving him vulnerable to attacks.

Adan: "JONA!"

Adan yells, preparing to cast a spell but is quickly interrupted when one of the archers almost hits him with an arrow.

Adan: "Damn it!"

The bandits prepare to attack Jona, but before they can, Jona pulls the bandit who is holding his chains towards him and uses him as a weapon to strike the other bandits.

Adan: "What the hell is this?!"

Adan shouts in surprise, unable to understand how someone can have such strength to do something like that.

Mai: "Jona, get out of there."

Jona quickly retreats, and then Mai casts a spell, using an ability that creates a slime beneath the bandits, immobilizing them, unable to move their legs.

Adan: "That's what I needed."

Adan begins to cast a spell as well.

Adan: "Sleep!"

A cloud of purple smoke fills the area where the bandits are, causing each one to fall to the ground like a stone, unconscious.

Jona: "See? It wasn't that hard."

Jona says, but the exhaustion in his body is visible. He goes to his belongings, grabs his frying pans, and then shows his arms to Adan.

Jona: "Can you take them off for me, please? I won't need them anymore."

Adan takes the key from his pocket and removes the handcuffs from Jona's arms.

Jona: "AAAAA *Relieved sigh* Much better."

Then a tall sunroof is pulled open, and a man comes out from a cabin door.

Bandit: "What's all this noise? Can't even sleep in peace."

The bandit is massive, over 200cm tall, and not just in height, he is also very fat and strong. He starts looking around, seeing all the other bandits unconscious on the ground.

Bandit: "What the hell happened here?"

Until his attention turns to the group.

Bandit: "Looks like you had quite a bit of fun, didn't you?"

The bandit says this while pulling a serrated sword from his waist.

Bandit: "But now I'm go-"

Before he can finish, Jona strikes his leg with the frying pan, breaking it and causing him to lose his balance. Then, a precise blow to the side of his head, causing his body to turn and fall to the ground completely unconscious.

Adan: "Like, wasn't he supposed to be the boss?"

Mai: "Jona, you didn't even let him finish speaking."

Jona: "And why would I? He's a bandit."

A small scream of fright is heard in the background—one of the bandits who was pretending to be unconscious screams in fear of the situation. Mai quickly restrains him, preventing him from escaping.

Jona: "Oops, well done, Mai."

Jona approaches the terrified bandit, trembling with fear, almost wetting himself.

Jona: "I have a request for you. Could you show me where you keep the people you capture?"

The bandit nods without even thinking twice.

They start walking, with the group following the bandit back inside the headquarters.

Jona: "If you're leading us into a trap, I'll punch you with all my strength."

Jona says this while smiling, leaving the bandit completely terrified.

Bandit: "I-I won't do that."

He responds, trembling. And so, they continue walking for a while, with the group threatening the bandit and him simply guiding them, until they finally reach a door.

Bandit: "It's here."

Jona: "Then open it."

The bandit goes to the door and opens it, and everyone enters.

Jona: "WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?!"

The scene is infuriating. There are men, many women, and children in this room, with faces of despair and hopelessness. And in the midst of it all, there are some bandits "having fun." One of them notices the presence of the group and approaches.

Naked Bandit: "Who the hell are you? Can't you see the place is occupied?"

Adan: "You bastards."

Before Adan can do anything, Jona starts speaking.

Jona: "You must be having a good time, huh?"

Jona says this with a calm but terrifying voice.

Naked Bandit: "*Laughs* Yeah, you can bet on it."

With the bandit's laughter, the group remains silent until Jona raises his frying pan and strikes the back of the bandit's neck with a precise blow, dragging his head to the ground with such force that it is completely destroyed, leaving a hole. The other bandits who were there notice the scene and quickly rise, but before they can do anything, Jona kills each of them with head blows without hesitation.

Adan: "Jona?"

Jona: "I was a fool for avoiding killing them."

Jona says this while crying for the situation of the people there, but quickly swallows his tears and says,

Jona: "Do you want to live?"

Those desperate people look at Jona one by one.

Jona: "If you do, come with me."

Jona heads towards the door, and before leaving, he says, "You too" to the bandit who was guiding him. And so, a massive group of people goes to the open area where most of the bandits were. Jona picks up a sword from the ground and hands it to a woman who is right behind him.

Jona: "Kill them!"

He says this while staring into the woman's eyes, who starts crying and fiercely attacks the unconscious bandits, stabbing them. Then, more people from the group join the woman, and together they kill all the bandits who were there. And when the task is finished, he says,

Jona: "Eat everything you can find, equip yourselves, and escape from here. Men, show what you're made of, and even if it costs your lives, protect those by your side."

A shout from the group can be heard throughout the headquarters, and they prepare themselves, wearing the bandits' equipment, and grabbing their weapons. In the commotion, some bandits go to the open area but are quickly defeated by Adan. Jona turns to the bandit who is serving as his guide and says,

Jona: "Take me to your leader."

The trembling bandit, afraid of being the next victim, agrees, and before they go, Jona turns to Adan and begins to speak.

Jona: "Go with these people. They need someone to guide them."

Adan: "Alright."

Adan agrees without question, without asking why.

Jona: "Let's go, Mai."

Mai: "Are you sure?"

Jona: "I've never been more sure in my life."

And so, both of them follow the bandit to another building within the headquarters, where they find Guberth chained up, covered in wounds, bleeding all over his body.

Jona: "GUBERTH!"

Jona shouts, moving towards Guberth, but he is quickly stopped by a knife coming his way, forcing him to dodge to the side. The knife hits the bandit who served as their guide in the neck, and he falls to the ground, slowly dying from the bleeding.

???- "Why did you take so long? I was getting bored playing with this dwarf."

A skinny man with black hair, black eyes, and Asian features, standing at 175cm tall, says this as he rests his hand on Guberth.

Jona: "You bastards, get your hands off him."

Big Brother: "My, how impolite (sarcastic smile). Well, let me introduce myself. I am the leader of these wretches, and they call me Big Brother. A pleasure to meet you."

The leader says this while placing his hand on his chest and bowing his torso in a gesture of reverence.

Big Brother: "I noticed you made quite a mess out there. I was so looking forward to when you would come to see me."

Jona: "I'm going to kill you."

Big Brother: "Oh, how brave (psychotic gaze). Come and try."

Jona lunges towards the leader, but suddenly a barrage of knives is thrown at him. However, the bandit makes no movement. Jona manages to defend against the incoming knives, but he becomes confused and wary of how this happened.

Big Brother: "Didn't you say you were going to kill me? What happened?"

Still confused by the situation, Jona turns to Mai.

Jona: "Mai, now."

Mai throws some acidic slime balls at the bandit, but he easily dodges each one of them.

Big Brother: "Did you really think that would be enough to kill me?"

Jona finds himself without ideas, not understanding how the bandit executed that knife attack.

Guberth: "Jona... I'm... sorry."

Guberth says these words weakly.

Big Brother: "HAHAHAHA, THIS BASTARD KEPT REPEATING THAT ALL THE TIME. (LAUGHING) Do you know what's even better? We only needed to say that we had his woman and daughter, and he handed you over."

Jona once again tries to lunge towards the Leader, but once again, a set of knives is thrown at him. He dodges, but one of the knives ends up hitting Mai. Jona looks back, worried, but the knife is quickly dissolved by Mai's slime, and not only that, he felt as if someone had tried to cut his neck.

Big Brother: "What the hell was that? Do you have some sort of protection amulet? And this girl? What the hell is this?"

The now enraged and confused Leader starts acting more seriously. Jona goes back to Mai and stands beside her, looking down and seeing that his necklace is glowing. "Lili," Jona thinks, grateful.

Big Brother: "*Clicks his tongue* Let me tell you something even more interesting then. This dwarf handed you over to save his woman and daughter, but little does he know, we don't even know who they are. (Laughs) Just the thought that we might have taken them made this idiot give you up."

Despair is clearly visible on Guberth's face, and just by looking at that expression, the Leader begins to laugh uncontrollably.

Jona: "Don't worry, Guberth. I'll kill this bastard and get you out of here."

The bandit leader immediately stops laughing and stares fixedly at Jona, who has a serious yet calm expression.

Big Brother: "*Clicks his tongue* How boring."

After saying that, the Leader approaches Guberth, looks at him with a smile, and puts his hand on his chin.

Jona: "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"

Big Brother: "I'm tired of you."

With those words, the Leader delivers a strike with a dagger to Guberth's neck, making a deep and clean cut. Guberth starts bleeding, blood gushing out.

Jona: "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO"

Jona screams in despair, unable to do anything, unable to get close to the bandit.

Jona: "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH"

The screams continue, while the bandit laughs at the situation. Jona desperately lunges forward, once again being stopped, but he keeps trying, and trying until an aura starts emanating from his body.

Big Brother: "Ohhh, it seems someone has awakened the Berserk Rage."

Ignoring what the Leader has to say, Jona advances again, this time alongside Mai, who creates a fog with her slime.

Big Brother: [This is getting tiresome]

The bandit thinks as he activates his ability, the ability to stop time for 5 seconds. However, he always returns to his original position when those 5 seconds are up. He advances towards a silhouette he sees in the fog, a larger silhouette, and attacks it. But this silhouette isn't Jona; it's Mai, who has altered her body. He looks to the side and sees a wok pan being thrown at him. He quickly deflects it to change its trajectory. His time is running out, and he continues searching for Jona, unable to find him. Until he looks up and sees the same person coming towards him through the air. He prepares to throw a knife, but before he can do so, his time runs out and he returns to his initial position. He tries to escape but is prevented from doing so because his leg is trapped by Mai's slime. With no options left, he looks up as Jona gets closer and closer, delivering a blow to his head and killing him instantly.

Jona: "AAAAAAAAAAAAA GUBERTH!"

Jona runs desperately to Guberth, breaking the chains that held him and placing his hand on his neck.

Jona: "Guberth, stay with me."

Jona cries desperately, trembling. Guberth puts his hand on Jona's face and says,

Guberth: "Thank you..."

Jona: "No, no, no, Mai, can't you do something?"

Mai: "I'm sorry, Jona."

Jona is devastated, and then Guberth stops moving... He is dead.

Everything is silent, and then a deafening scream. And so he finds himself, with his head on Guberth's chest, screaming, screaming until his throat hurts from all the screaming.