Chapter 9: Pain and Suffering

The screen fades away and the banquet enters into view with large chunks of rubble at the center of the room.

My gaze locks onto the demon's clothes on the floor, when a bump in the blazer catches my attention. Stepping closer to reach inside, I pull out a clear blue teardrop stone. Leaving the investigations for later, my hand moves to place it in my right pocket.

Groaning, choking and gasps for air circulated in the room. The flooding from earlier must have caught everyone by surprise.

This is a consequence of their selfish actions. Not a soul in the kingdom will feel remorse for their pain, and soon they will be driven out in exile. They should feel lucky if we provide even a single boat to leave the nation.

"Nobles of Sarconia, the Viscount has spoken on your behalf! You will leave this kingdom in exile immediately and never return!" I commanded while adding mana into my throat.

Scared faces of the nobles faced downward, while others turned pale in shock from my ultimatum. The two guards at the entrance finally made their way in with swords in hand, but were quickly motioned by the nobles to stand down. A woman wearing a drenched yellow dress pleaded with crying eyes, "Please, my children are waiting in the room upstairs, let me go to them."

My face filled with blood as I yelled, "Help each other up and move outside… NOW!"

The kids will have to wait, just as they did while these bastards attended the banquet. The villa was quite large, so figuring out how to safely clear the building was going to be an issue.

Upon hearing my words, the nobles quickly rose up, some limping and others needing support from the guards, as the weight of my stare put fear in their hearts. Seeing the mutilated corpses, some of the women panicked, letting out a screech, but continued heading through the hallway.

Following behind the last stragglers, we stepped out into the garden as the nobles were finding a place to rest. One, two, three, four… eighteen, or twenty if we include the two entrance guards. The man who detected us earlier was no longer carrying the artifact. I stepped over to where he was sitting.

"You! Roughly how many rooms are there in the villa?" I asked, staring in his eyes.

"Ah!" He jumped slightly off the ground, "Th-there are o-o-only twenty r-r-rooms sir!"

My heart wanted to fly over to check on Dean, but my brain stopped me. These nobles may give intel to foreign nations, so we will have to wait here.

ERRRRRM! BOOOM!

The mast of one of the boats could be seen broken from its post.

ERRRRRRRRRRM! BOOOM!

ERRRRRRRRM! BOOOM!

The tall posts tilted over as they crashed onto the deck. Three boats lost their masts. That must be Dean disabling the boats! Expecting a fourth mast to fall, but the air remained silent. Concern started building in my heart. One minute. Two minutes. Three minutes. It felt like an eternity, and finally in the fourth minute, footsteps with metal clanking echoed faintly beyond the garden, hidden below the steps.

Did the guards get him? I was preparing myself for battle, when a bald head pops up over the steps. Watching in anticipation, as the figure slowly appeared. Finally, Dean entered into view and I released the breath held in my throat.

Following behind him in a single file line were ten guards with hands tied behind their backs. This guy never fails to impress!

He walked straight over in front of me and had them kneel down. Before speaking a word, I walked over closer to the villa entrance and signaled for Dean to follow.

He showed no signs of injury or battle, so I started first, keeping an eye on the group behind us, "Did you find the commoners?"

"About one-hundred, divided in three of the boats, chained in the lower decks." He replied with a calm tone.

Impressive. He retrieved that much information in such a short time, I had to ask, "New ability?"

"Yes, I can see heat signatures through walls," he gave a slight smile. My mind was blown, but that had to wait.

"This villa has twenty rooms or more with people. I will stay with the guards and nobles, while you evacuate the entire building. We will put everyone on a single boat, then rescue the commoners."

As reliable as always, he gave a short nod and headed straight inside the villa.

Walking back towards the guards and nobles, I knew this might take awhile. Staying alert of everyone's actions was tiring, so I ended up compacting the nobles together and forcing them to kneel, facing the guards to prevent them from being untied.

Counting them again, one, two, three… eighteen. One, two… eleven. Fuck, one of the untied guards escaped.

Scanning the garden for any movement, I spot him hiding behind the tree with pink leaves. Panicking, he takes off running.

"Let this be a lesson to those who run," I told the crowd as I lifted my arm with a closed fist and quickly expanded my fingers. The sound of exploding flesh and metal made everyone flinch, as the repeated thuds and clanks hit the floor.

Running footsteps echoed in the air, as two children ran out of the villa straight towards our group. Finding the woman who pleaded earlier staring at them anxiously, I gave her a short nod of approval. She briefly stood up and hugged them, then settled her children down on the floor.

A continuous stream of footsteps rushed out of the villa as our group grew larger, when finally around thirty minutes later Dean stepped out. Seems the total headcount stopped at ninety-two.

He moves in close to me and whispers, "There is a dungeon below."

Nodding, I turn to the crowd, "Listen up! Everyone will be moving onto the undamaged boat."

It had been difficult listening to the children and adults crying, but their woes paled in comparison to the suffering of the commoners. Allowing their subjects to live in subpar conditions, while the nobles flaunted luxury and wastefulness. My heart felt no empathy for their current situation.

The night was still young, with a slow cool breeze at our faces, not a cloud in the sky, with the full moon I've seen my entire life staring down at us and the stars twinkling away. Searching for my favorite constellation Orion, it appeared in my peripheral vision, but as my eyes rotated to focus in that direction, the pattern seemed… different, unrecognizable. A shiver was sent down my spine thinking about how many years have passed since my era was erased.

Leading the crowd at the front, with Dean at the rear, I paused at the top of the docks to the far south and pointed for the first person to move onto the ship attached on the left, as the train of people followed behind. The four identical ships all boasted two masts, one massive with sails reaching to the sky and one smaller one that appeared to help maneuver. There was enough space on the top deck for the ninety-two people as they chose their spots and sat on the wooden floor.

Turning to glance at Dean, I told him, "Please free the commoners, and have them help free others. I'll stand guard here."

As Dean moved to enter the ship attached to the opposite side of this dock, a voice spoke up, "Sir, I am a commoner too!"

Immediately, more jumped in.

"Me too!-"

"My family is waiting for me!-"

"Sir, I'm a lesser noble with no land or title, but I still want to stay!-"

"I'm a lesser noble too!-"

Were the lesser nobles treated just as bad as the commoners in some instances? They staffed the nobles' manors and offices, and had considerable experience of the kingdom's government and infrastructure. Allowing them to stay would leave me open to spying, but their knowledge, even if just a little bit, would probably outweigh the negative impact.

"Very well. Lesser nobles and commoners that want to stay, deboard the ship and wait at the docks below. Fair warning before you decide, we are abolishing the monarchy system of nobles," I explained, staring at their faces.

Eight commoners wearing decent clothes and with unkempt hair quickly squeezed their way through the deck, avoiding eye contact with the nobles, and made their way off. The lesser nobles hesitated, but twelve of them ended up choosing to stay.

"Traitor!" a middle-aged man in the back snarled towards one of the young lesser noble men, wearing red and knee high socks with short blond hair. That kid must be the spy, I was sure of it.

Commoners from the opposite ship finally make their way to the top deck. They were drenched in sweat, dirt and grime on their skin, with ragged clothes, barefoot, and visible scars on their bodies. The pain in my heart shifted into anger. History books and movies showed in vivid detail how slaves were treated, but seeing it first hand makes me sick to the stomach.

Dean appeared and made eye contact with me. Taking a few quick strides forward, gathering momentum with each step, he propelled into the air with incredible power, gracefully landing over twenty meters away on the neighboring ship further north and disappearing below deck.

Show-off! His control of the blue aura abilities are extraordinary. The guards had already witnessed his ability, so nothing was lost with this information.

Focusing back on the exiled group, my eyes catch a yellow aura building on one of the guards with his back turned wearing a thin white armband. It seems he was untied recently.

"What ability is that?" I calmly ask him.

Flinching at my question, he nervously turns his head, "Healing sir, Her Ladyship is injured with a fractured foot."

Healing aura! My mind was racing with possibilities, hopefully some of our ancients have this ability for further research. Good health is needed for a strong nation. Thinking back on how my cells were replicating, completely repairing my left hand, this ability must have been installed in the void itself.

Does the ability have the power to bring someone back to life? Resurrection is the realm of Gods. If my Soul Eater ability can capture and release souls, perhaps in combination with healing, resurrection would be possible. Ignorant of this world, my mind was itching for knowledge.

"Alright, listen up everyone! Prepare to depart immediately!" I commanded.

Murmurs spread through the crowd as they stared at each other in confusion.

"But sir! The wind is too light, we would barely break even against the current!" a man in the back rang out.

"Not my problem, perhaps you'll arrive by sunrise," I ended the conversation.

A few of the lesser nobles who seemed versed with ships reluctantly stood up and worked on bringing down the sails. A lady dressed in a black coat and knee high boots, brandishing long red hair seemed to be giving orders to a few of them, as she walked towards the bridge and stood at the wheel. A few men untied the ropes from the docks and pulled in the step ramp.

When the ship didn't have enough power to leave the docks, the passengers panicked. I had no choice but to help give them a push. Enlarging my imaginary palm, I pushed the air towards the sails, as the sailcloth slowly stiffened, creaking the wood, and slowly moving the ship out into the river. The cool breeze was heading roughly southwest, which the sails finally caught and they slowly headed up river.

The minutes slowly crept by as more commoners escaped the confines of the lower decks and gathered at the bottom of the docks. Confused and tired, they sat or lay on the ground defeated, waiting for their next commands.

Losing your sense of independence is the same as losing your soul. In a modern world, years of therapy would be required for these people, but here in the medieval era, the only solution we can provide is a better life and open up new paths for them to find happiness and heal with time.

All the commoners were safely evacuated down the docks after thirty minutes had passed. Dean met up with me again, and I gave his final task to open the front gates and guide the people back to the capital. Watching the sailing ship still crawling up the river, I turned my back to them and headed back to the villa.

It was time to investigate the dungeon.

Before Dean left, he told me it was down a spiral staircase to the right of the main hallway locked with a giant metal door. I strolled into the villa, passing the banquet hall, and into the main hallway. There were paintings with golden frames in between the rooms, and red carpet running down the middle of the hallway. The walls appeared to be built with high quality wood carved with intricate patterns, wood moulding lined along the corners, and metal chandeliers hung throughout the ceiling.

Reaching the spiral staircase, I headed down the stone steps and walked into a hallway where the ominous metal door was blocking entry, with two torches on each side casting an orange glow on the cold metal.

Not wanting to waste time, I stepped back to the staircase and stuck out my open hand. Slowly clawing at the door, the metal groaned, resisting my attempts, as I circulated more mana to my hand and continued crushing. A deafening screech was permeating in the hallway as the door slowly gave way.

SSSSSSS! DUNG! The door broke off from the hinges and fell towards the floor.

BOOOOM! Dust flew up and filled the air, as I used the neck of my shirt to cover my nose and mouth and peeked inside the darkness. Grabbing one of the torches on the wall, I headed inside.

The putrid scent of death instantly hit my nose hiding behind my shirt, even my tongue tasted the horrid air. Walking further in, the room opened up and there were jail cells lined up on each side with iron bars.

Blood stains decorated the floors and walls of this place. Moving up to the first cell on the left, there was a bucket in the corner and hay lying in the middle of the cell. Brick wall separating the cells, I moved over to peer into the second cell.

Flinching from the dozen sets of broken eyes staring back at me, I called out concerned, "Are you all okay, can you move? I'm getting everyone out of here."

Instantly crushing the prison cell's lock, I swung the gate open and noticed these were all children about six to thirteen years of age. My heart sank, feeling faint in my body, I tightened my fist realizing I needed to show strength for these kids.

"Please, help each other up, I will take you somewhere safe. The nobles have been killed and others forced to leave the kingdom, they will never hurt you again."

One of the older kids raised his hand and pointed to the other side, and with a raspy voice, broke out his words, "H-help Mark."

My heart sank, I swung around and marched to the opposite side of the room. Peeking in the first cell near the entrance, I saw weird contraptions, possibly for torture. Moving to the next cell, more different ominous looking devices. In the third cell, I found him.

Lying face forward on an inclined stone, with arms tied to the back wall in metal clamps, his entire back was ripped to shreds with blood and deep gashes exposing muscle.

Breaking the iron bar gate, I quickly walked over to him.

"Mark, you're safe now!" I tried giving him hope. I checked his pulse. Nothing.

"Mark, fight it!" I'm not giving up. I felt under his nose for breath. Nothing.

My heart was jumping into my throat, vision getting blurry, "Danny is waiting for you!"

I dropped down behind him on my knees and closed my eyes, moving both palms close to his back. My heart was thumping violently, not letting me focus. I slapped my cheeks with both palms, and moved them back into place at his back.

Doubt filled my heart, why did I wait too long to check the dungeon!? The Viscount was responsible, I should have known! He's a fucking demon! I should have rushed here the moment I heard 'dungeon'!

Cells, muscle, and blood, they all played a part in repairing damage to one's body. I needed to speed up the process. Focusing, I shifted the mana with my left hand and sent a light spray of mana towards the boy's damaged tissue while imagining the cells quickly repairing. In my right hand, I focused the mana with thoughts of circulating his blood.

Nothing was happening, why was nothing happening! Am I too late? No! I won't give up!

"Mark! Find my voice!"

I quickly crushed the clamps on the back wall and softly laid him on the ground. Slowly pumping the center of his chest to help his heart pump blood.

I checked his pulse again, nothing. Did my existence cause this fate? Making an empty promise to his brother, for what? I should have sensed the urgency of this dungeon.

Sweat was raining down my neck, as I pumped harder. The crunch of a rib reverberated into my heart.

I checked his pulse. Nothing.

I used my right shoulder to clear my eyes, searching for Mark's face. My heart froze, blood draining out of my body.

His eyes were cloudy, he was gone. I was too late to save him. I banged my head on the ground next to him, "I'm sorry Mark."

Lifting my head up, I wiped away the tears. I had to be strong for the other children.

Closing his eyes, I coddled him, gently carrying him in my arms. I stood up, carefully holding Mark close, checking the other cells before heading back to the children. The children were frail and weak, but all of them were standing and slowly walking out of the cell.

"Please follow me," I said, while my voice was breaking.

Walking towards the exit, I made sure they climbed over the fallen metal door safely, before continuing up the spiral staircase. Slowly heading up as the children were far too weak, barely able to move, until we finally made it outside the villa.

I slowly placed Mark on the floor, and spoke to the children, "Please wait here, I will bring more help."

Gazing at the helpless children now resting on the ground, I focused on my silhouette and quickly rose high into the air, then pushed myself towards the capital. Flying through the air, following the road, I spotted the large crowd of commoners who were just freed. Moving towards the front of the group, I spotted Dean's head and dropped in front of him.

Slightly flinching in surprise, he reached for his sword, but I quickly spoke with tears on my face, "Dean, there are twelve children waiting back by the villa. I found Mark, but… it was too late. Please take a few volunteers to help carry the children to the capital. They have seen too much and must be protected at all costs."

Moving his hand away from the sword, he said, "Danny is here with us."

"Oyy, did you find my brother Mark?" his voice rang out from somewhere in the crowd, as he squeezed through and approached me.

Looking downwards, I spoke softly, "I'm sorry Danny, I was too late. He died protecting the other children."

Danny's eyes filled with tears running towards me and hitting my chest with his fists. All I could do was stand there and take it.

"That damn fool, I told him to stop being a hero!" he cried out.

I had nothing to offer. I don't know why I said it, but the words came out of my mouth, "Do you want revenge?"

He froze in place, covering his face with both hands. Slowly looking back up, staring me in the eyes and forcing out the word, "Y-y-yes."

I patted him on the head and said, "His bravery won't be forgotten."

Stepping back, I shot up into the sky and headed towards the river. My heart was burning with fury, red filling my vision, those bastards were all guilty. Every one of them had slaves. Every one of them were laughing and enjoying their time with the Viscount. Causing pain and suffering to this degree was inhuman. They were all trash.

The sails were glowing in the moonlight as I caught up to the ship, keeping my distance behind, high in the air.

May they burn in hell.