Chapter 11: Eastern Forest (4)

I felt terrible. Opening my eyes, I sensed an unpleasant burning sensation. My head wasn't too happy either, but at least the sleep had dulled the pain a bit. Judging by the darkness and the moon in the sky, which was three-quarters of the way through its journey, it was around 3 AM. It would start getting light around four.

Carefully, with a slight headache, I realized that I wasn't alone in this place. There were people nearby, just like me, bound by their hands and feet. Most of them were asleep, but some were awake.

"Are you awake, girl?" one of them, the one closest to me, asked in a whisper, so that no one else could hear. She appeared mature, yet quite young. Her long violet hair was disheveled, and her face reflected exhaustion, even emptiness. I didn't want to imagine what she had been through.

"I'm not a girl," I replied in a hushed tone, my voice a bit raspy due to the dryness in my mouth, trying not to move unnecessarily.

"Really?" She briefly widened her eyes, not believing my words. "But you look like one, and that hair tie. I don't think boys wear those."

I understood she was talking about the hair tie I was wearing, which belonged to Mira. She left it by the river when we were training, and she forgot it there when she went on a mission. I had taken it to make sure no one would steal it, and I intended to return it to her when she came back. The hair tie was violet with a red heart and a white skull in the center, and she had mistaken my gender. Moreover, with my relatively high, yet undeveloped voice, I could easily pass for a girl to those not accustomed to such things.

I nodded to confirm her assumption. "Yes, I'm a girl. So, where are we, and why are we here?" My throat had finally adjusted to whispering, and the hoarseness had vanished.

"We've all been captured by bandits," the girl wearily pointed at the culprits. I couldn't see in their direction because I was lying on my side. It was best not to move more than necessary. "They want to sell us into slavery, and..." She didn't finish the sentence, looking away.

We didn't need to say more; everything was clear without words. It made me feel sick to my stomach.

I hate this more than anything in life. Such violence can never sit well with me. Even the thought of it brings up unpleasant feelings. Okay, regular beatings. Physical pain fades, leaving behind anger at my own weakness. But this...

"Are you awake?" a familiar, calm voice came from behind me. Rolling onto my back, I sat up, shifting my gaze to the one who spoke. It was the tamer.

"Well, well, don't look at me like that," my captor sang melodiously.

I tried to break the ropes by infusing them with mana, but I had very little mana left. Also, the material of the bonds wasn't ordinary. I doubted I could break them even if I had enough mana left.

"No need for unnecessary movements. They suppress magic. Not as effectively as the Magic Council's original cuffs, but enough to restrain even our boss," this guy explained with an exaggerated gesture, like a kindly teacher in some old cartoons. But unlike them, this didn't look kind, and I didn't feel the warmth, only twisted coldness. "By the way!" He remembered something, turning toward the campfire. "Boss, our little girl woke up!" He raised his voice a bit to call someone.

We didn't have to wait long. The man who had beaten me recently got up from near the campfire and headed our way. The campfire was quite far away, maybe about a hundred meters from us, but even in the darkness, I could clearly see him.

Approaching me closely, he examined my face and said, "You're from Fairy Tail. Selling you doesn't make sense; you'd be noticed. You all are too close," he paused before continuing, "You'll become a concubine, and to make sure you don't escape, Nigan will use his magic on you. His magic works not only on animals but also on humans, though not as effectively. You will probably break, but we don't need more. Strong girls are rare, and you have great potential," he said, squeezing my jaw without any emotion, explaining my impending fate.

I was struck like a bolt of lightning. What I had feared after waking up had come true. Anger began to eat at me from the inside, and it was clearly visible in my eyes. "I'm a guy, you moron!" I responded with difficulty due to his grip. I'd rather they kill me than this.

After these words, the mage's eyes widened. Their leader didn't believe me and immediately reached between my legs.

I felt a painful shock and disgust and then I fell out of reality.

"Boss, boss, please be more careful! Can I? Please allow it!" I cried out, coming back to my senses. "You can still kill him. I'll make him my puppet!"

"Take him..." The boss sighed and, shooting a clear look, gave permission. The gang's leader got up and began to move away.

"Heh-heh-heh," he began approaching me, humming his laughter.

I jumped up, attempting to break my bonds with a massive surge of mana, charging them with lightning. I got nowhere; they only stretched slightly, like elastic, before returning to their original state.

"Quieter, quieter!" he whispered in my ear, gripping my throat.

I was already furious, but now my limits broke. I was filled with pure anger, boundless rage that made me scream. But because he was choking me, I could only wheeze and growl.

He placed his other hand on the top of my head, dropping his staff, and it felt as though someone was breaking my brain. It was like trying to shatter a bone or break glass, but in the slowest way possible.

I tried to resist, and at some point, when my mind began to crack, everything seemed to empty out. The world lost its color for a moment, and it felt like something powerful but viscous flowed out of my heart, spreading within me.

The colors returned instantly, but the feeling of emptiness didn't leave me. At that moment, it was as though everything and everyone in a large radius were momentarily pressed into the ground.

All emotions were pushed to the background, leaving only cold hatred, fear, and pure rage. But even so, they didn't consume me. I could still think rationally, even though my compassion and pity for the women and children behind me had vanished.

Fortunately, even though I no longer cared if these people lived or died, I realized that I needed to maintain control of my mind. My principles and moral values played a significant role in this, and that's why the pressure didn't affect me. The key was not to forget what was prohibited and what was allowed, to ensure I wouldn't do anything I'd later regret.

It started to seem to me that my abilities were limitless. When I wished, I could stretch my bonds, creating empty space where they touched my skin, and then I created a small point over my hand that drew the space into itself. It was small, about two to three centimeters, and had a bluish hue. The magic was not as powerful as I wanted, but it was enough to pull the tamer who was lying next to me. As soon as he got up, I hit him in the face, knocking him out. My physical strength had increased immeasurably, much more than if I had infused my body with magic.

All twelve bandits had already risen and were rushing toward me. To avoid hurting the people behind me, I stepped aside. A wind spell was coming at me, intended to cut me. Immediately, a barrier formed a few centimeters from my skin, stopping the wind. I wanted to send the same spell back at them, but I lacked the magic, and the new energy, which I recognized as a curse, could only enhance my physical strength.

Their leader charged at me, but I simply pushed him away with the palm that was enhanced by the spell, reminding me of "Shinra Tensei" by Pain. Without pausing, I closed in on each of them, preventing them from regrouping and trying to knock them out with a single blow if possible. About half of them didn't survive my strength.

I wouldn't allow them to die so easily, and I didn't want to break all their bones to preserve Fairy Tail's shaky reputation. I would hand over the remaining bandits to the government for a reward, and they could deal with them as they saw fit. I needed the money right now.

Some of them had engaged in activities that deserved a death sentence: human trafficking, pedophilia, rape, kidnapping, all combined would give them unforgettable experiences of a long and torturous death in a prison for such individuals.

I had asked Makarov about the country's laws once, so I wouldn't accidentally break them. In response, he gave me an entire book that explained them.

After dealing with most of them, I saw the boss taking people hostage.

"Release me, or she's dead! You've become stronger due to some malicious magic, but you still won't harm them," he said. "So they still mean something to you. I wonder who will be quicker—will you kill me, or will I kill her?" He was right; I had no intention of harming women and children. Even if I felt nothing now, he would kill her. However, I would regret it later when this effect wore off.

"It's okay; calm down. You're one of those who seek meaning in battles, aren't you? So why do you need this feeble cover-up? Come on, fight. You humiliated me, but I forgive you. Thanks to that, I've understood my weakness," he said, showing no emotion on his face or in his voice. He didn't release her.

I just sat on the ground, studying him closely. I had nothing more to do. The leader of the bandits was suddenly enveloped in pink smoke, making him release the woman. She fell with a shriek and crawled away.

"Well done, kid!" Wakaba stepped forward with a flourish. "He's securely captured. Do you want to beat him?"

"No, I don't want to anymore," I replied shortly, slowly recovering and cutting off the flow of the cursed energy. My internal state was gradually returning to normal, and I finally began to feel emotions. It happened suddenly, like a brain explosion, filling me with happiness.

"Whatever you want," he said calmly, walking up to the bandit leader and delivering a punch to his jaw. The blow was so powerful that the man immediately lost consciousness.