“I have not eaten anything since the morning, so I am probably just famished. Hehe.”

After ending the sentence with embarrassed laughter, the ashen girl in front of me closed her eyes and her head rolled to her side limply.

You have to be kidding me!

“Hey! Don’t faint on me like this!” I hollered as I tapped on her shoulders with greater strength than before. However, there was no longer any response from the girl.

My heartbeat quickened and immediately placed a finger below her nose and pressed my ear on her chest. The warmth of her breath on my finger, as well as the sound of her beating heart, assured me that she was still alive.

I heaved a sigh of relief and sat straight again. My eyes ran through the dim and dingy room filled with black magical beasts hopping around aimlessly. The beasts had already stopped entering the room and were twitching their noses nonchalantly as they milled around. The whole floor, all the way out to the corridor, looked as if it was covered with a black furry carpet. How were many thousands of them were there? Where on earth did all of them come from? Not to say that it was really weird as they were shy creatures that hardly showed themselves in front of humans.

Unless… Was it the doing of the girl? I furrowed my brows as I turned my eyes towards the unconscious girl.

From the conversations I overheard while the men were doing their planning for the kidnapping, Liliana was a magician, and she had also admitted. But magic that can attract magical beasts? Was there something like that? In the first place, it should not be possible for any magic to be cast in the cage.

“What on earth is the situation now?” I tousled my hair in frustration as I tried to make sense of what had happened.

“Pue!”

Just then, the ears of the beasts picked up all at once and they started to get more agitated with some hopping through the door again.

“All I told you to do is to look after the kids, and you can still mess it up?!” A furious voice shouted as the sound of people stomping through the corridor resounded. It seems like the men have finally returned.

Shrill shrieks were accompanied by dull grunts from exerting force. From the sound of it, they were attempting to kill off the magical beasts. But there was way too many for them to clear it just by brute force.

“These critters just fell out from the ceiling on their own. I had nothing to do with it!” the man with a raspy voice argued back.

“If you didn’t do anything they wouldn’t have fell down from the ceiling! Who told you to mess with the girls? Shit, there’s one up my back! Give me the torch!” I recognised that voice as the one belonging to a man in his late twenties with brown hair filled with blonde streaks. Although not well-respected, he was the leader of this team of slave traders.

“Oi, are ya still not done yet? We need to move out now!” a deep voice bellowed out from a place further away. That should be the giant of the group, a balding man nearing 2 metres in height. From the sound of it, he should be standing somewhere near the staircase that leads out of the basement.

“Tsk. We will have to use the sleeping gas then.”

There was a sound of footsteps heading away from the room before a door slammed shut. Soon enough, a mild pungent scent wafted into the room. I immediately held Liliana up and covered both our noses with my hand. Even with the precaution, I started feeling dizzy. However, I pinched myself on my thigh to keep myself awake using the pain. After being exposed to so many kinds of sleeping gases, I should have developed some immunity to it, right?

With a combination of self-depreciating thoughts and pain, I managed to resist the effect long enough to watch the movement of the magical beasts slowly dull before stopping completely. After the scent completely faded, there was a faint sound of a door opening before the footsteps of the men climbing down the stairs echoed.

“Good riddance.”

I immediately lay on the cold metal floor and closed my eyes as I adjusted my breathing to make it seem as if I was sleeping.

In the hazy darkness, the floor trembled slightly as the footsteps of multiple people entered the room. With each step, there was the sound of bones cracking together with the squeak from stepping on something mushy. After a while, it turned into the sound of shoes stepping on sand.

“Oh, the brats are all asleep?” a raspy voice asked. I forced myself to remain still as my heartbeat quickened from the nearness of his voice.

“We used sleeping gas. What else do you expect?” the leader snapped back.

There was silence before the leader continued in a tight voice, “Where is the silver-haired one?”

“Uh? Huh! Is she not around? Shit! There are some cut ropes here. She must have escaped!”

There was a deep sigh before the sound of a fist making contact with a human body was heard.

As someone groaned in pain, the sound of footsteps echoed through the room again.

“Hmph. She must have run into the hole.”

“Do ya wanna go after her?” a deep voice boomed.

“No, that is not necessary. We have what we want here. She was just something extra we captured,” the leader replied indifferently.

As I suspected, Valeria was just caught up in the kidnapping of Liliana. Unlike Liliana, Valeria was most likely just a normal person with unique hair-colour as she was left outside the cage. She was frightened and crying when she first woke up, but after knowing what had happened, she was quick to calm down. While wiping tears and snot from her face with her sleeves, she had agreed to work together with me to escape and said that she will do her best to return to her mother.

Was this the power of having a family to return to? I don’t even know if my family was still alive, much less how to return to them.

“Quick, move the cage out now. Nai has already prepared the caravan. We need to get out of this place before they come,” the leader instructed.

“Yes, sir,” the men grunted before I felt the cage shaking slightly as it got lifted up.

As I continued to lie still, my brain went into overdrive with the new information. ‘They’? Who was the ‘they’ that they were talking about? The red-haired girl looked to be wealthy with her good quality clothes and smooth hands, but these guys were experts and well-versed with the trade from how brazen they were to kidnap children in broad daylight. Even the town mayor was unable to catch them.

Or it could even be that the mayor was in cahoots.

After the cage was placed on the floor again, it was the raspy-voiced man who asked the first question.

“So which gate do we take?”

“None. We will go by the underground tunnel from the cemetery.”

“Huh? Why? Isn’t that for emergencies?”

There was a sound of knuckles cracking before the leader finally hissed out, “Because this is an emergency.”

A chirpy and younger male voice spoke up, “It’s ‘cause we have been had. This girl was with the Prince of Lorzelea. While we kidnapped her, there was another group of men who were trying to capture the Prince in the store.”

I recognised it as the voice belonging to a teenager around 14-year-old with moss green hair and the youngest member of the four-person group. I initially thought that he would be the easiest to trick, but he was surprisingly the most difficult and the most annoying.

“What?! Why is the Prince here in such a small town?”

“Who knows? Anyway, the informant must have known about this when he told the Boss about the girl so this is definitely a trap. The Prince managed to escape but we have royal guards after us now and they are closing down all the exits so we need to move out as soon as possible.”

“Does Boss know about this?”

“Everyone knows about this except for you. Maybe if you weren’t so busy messing things up here and causing trouble, we could have left faster,” the leader snapped again. There was another deep sigh before he continued, “Anyway, we are going to move out now. You go with Nai. I will go with Igor to make a decoy.”

A while later, the floor started to tremble and the sound of hooves clopping on the sound followed.

I opened my eyes slightly and found myself shrouded in darkness at the back of a caravan filled with sacks and wooden boxes stacked on top of each other. Slowly and trying not to make a sound, I sat up.

Ha, it seems like the slave traders had been brought into a scheme much bigger than they had anticipated. I couldn’t help but let out a wide grin. With how things are going, there may be a chance for me to finally escape.

I gripped my pants tightly and looked down at the girl lying beside me. Strands of her red hair that reminded me of the setting sun had escaped from her hairdo and messily framed her small face. It was too dark for me to see her face properly, but I was sure her face and lips were still the same shade of white as before. Mental exhaustion and hunger were most likely the factors that had caused her to faint. I had to get them to give her medicine and food the next time we stopped.

If what they say was true and a royalty was involved, she must be someone even more important that a daughter of a wealthy man. It would not be too bad to sell her a favour if that was the case.

“Oya. You’re awake. Can’t sleep from the anticipation of meeting your new owner?” A cheery voice said as the front flap of the caravan opened and a gaunt face with moss green hair peeked in. Although it vexed me, I had to admit his senses were very good. His deep green eyes narrowed to become a crescent moon as he continued, “It seems like the owner this time round is going to be pretty great. Rich and kind, I hear!”

I snorted. “A person who buys slaves is kind? Don’t joke with me.”

“It’s Lorzelea after all. I heard they treat magicians like treasure here. A better life awaits you, my friend!” the teenager chortled before the flap closed again.

Magicians are treated like treasure? That was a new concept. He was obviously trying to stir me up with a sarcastic lie. Even though I was said to be an extraordinarily strong magician and an abnormality for having awakened my charge early, I had never once felt ‘treasured’.

As I once again sat in the darkness, I punched the metal floor.

“A better life my foot.”

“Brat, don’t make any noise or we will have to drug you again. You know how nasty that thing is, yeah?” a raspy voice hissed from beyond the flap.

I heard the sound of the teenager sniggering and clenched my fists.

Ever since I had been discovered to be a magician over a year ago, my life had been a series of shuffling between ‘owners’. The first was a wealthy merchant who first discovered my power. The second was a nobleman who later fell into ruin. The third was a noblewoman who had many male servants serving her. My time with her was the longest, and thanks to her, I managed to learn how to use magic. However, in the end, I was still sold off by her. Right before I was carried off in the cage, she stood outside with a fan covering the bottom of her face and said, “I don’t like boys prettier than me.”

How stupid.

But was my life before that any better?

Memories of my family and that village flashed through my mind.

Was a life of hunger better than a life without freedom?

I gave a bitter smile.

In this world, power and wealth were what matters. Even if I am finally able to escape this time round, it would still be thanks to the ‘power’ and ‘wealth’ behind the girl.

My eyes heated up and I raised an arm to wipe away the tears that ran down my face. Even though I had been betrayed so many times, why am I still unable to stop the tears of frustration at my own powerlessness?

“How laughable…” I chuckled softly as I slowly regained control of my emotions and my tears dried up.

Because, in this cruel world, I will absolutely not let out anything other than laughter.

*****

It was difficult for me to determine how much time had passed in the darkness of the caravan, but after what seemed to be around an hour, the caravan slowed before coming to a stop and the voice of an unknown man called out, “What business do you have here?”

“The body for burying, good sir,” the teenager replied cheerily.

“Hah… Body? In this caravan?” What seemed likely to be the gatekeeper of the cemetery exhaled noisily as he paused. Should I scream now and disclose my location? As I toyed around with the notion, my thoughts were shot down with his next words.

“It’s that, isn’t it? Go on ahead then. I did not see anybody pass by here,” the man said in a dismissive tone that sounded like he had lost his interest.

“Thank you, sir,” the teenager replied cheerfully and soon the caravan moved off.

My heart grew cold. The gatekeeper must be in cahoots or have been bribed so it wouldn’t have a difference if I had shouted. In fact, it would have just earned me mockery and then drugged.

As the caravan rocked side to side on the uneven ground, I watched the faint light that shone in from the flap that occasionally peeked open turned from orange to red and finally turned completely dark.

Even though it was already dark, the caravan showed no sign of stopping. Were they planning on going forward through the night?

“Hey. Do you sense anything?”

“… Let’s just keep going. We need to send them to the Boss before the day comes.”

The pair who had been silent suddenly started to talk with tense voices. I sat up straighter and tried to put more focus on my ears. The hair on the back of my neck stood on end and I rubbed my arms from the unfamiliar sensation.

“Shit! Did you hear the rustle of the bushes?” The raspy-voiced man cried out in fear.

However, as the cloth covering the caravan was too thick, I was unable to hear the rustling he spoke of.

“Shut up and stop getting freaked out. It was probably a rabbit or something,” the teenager hissed as he tried to suppress the panic in his voice.

The speed of the caravan started to increase and the sound of hooves clopping on the floor increased in pace.

“Ngh…”

Beside my feet, Liliana let out a slight groan. My eyes lighted up. Was she finally waking up?

“Hey. You okay?” I asked in a lowered voice.

“Hah... Ngh. Stop...”

Was she sleep-talking? I stretched a hand towards her with the intention of waking her up. However, the moment I touched her bare arms, my hand shrank back from the unnatural heat radiating from her body.

She is burning up!

I twisted my head towards the flap to the head of the caravan and asked loudly, “Hey! The girl is having a fever, do you have any medicine?”

The flap opened to reveal the irritated face of the stout man. “Didn’t I tell you not to make a sound?”

“But she is sick. Isn’t she important to you guys?” I retorted back as I held her up. Her whole body was hot and now that there was faint moonlight flowing in, I could see that her face was an even ghastlier shade of white compared to before with sweat droplets forming on her forehead. Her pale lips trembled as she took in quick shallow breaths.

Seeing her condition, the two men quieted down. “Shit. Nai, you go and get the medicine,” the man with the raspy voice said as he jerked his head.

“Alright, alright,” the teenager replied flippantly as he started to crawl in. However, he stopped in his tracks as his green eyes widened in fear.

“Crap!” Without saying anything else, he jumped off the caravan.

What was that? Before I was able to understand what happened, a dark figure jumped onto the horse. With an anguished neigh, the horse immediately veered off the road right into a ditch.

“Shit! Did that kid just ran away on his own?!” The raspy-voice man cursed as the caravan toppled sideways.

I held Liliana’s head in my arms tightly and closed my eyes as I braced myself for the impact.

My body knocked against the side of the cage as it rolled a few rounds before finally coming to a stop. The scent of moist earth and the prickly touch of grass on my face prompted me to open my eyes. I sat up slowly as my head continued to swirl from the tumble.

As I looked around to get my bearing, I realised that we had rolled out of the caravan onto the grass at the side of the road. The bottom of the cage had flipped to the side, and the side of the cage with the door was now overhead. The caravan had also completely flipped to the side with a visibly cracked back wheel.

Just then, a glint on the grass made my eyes shine.

It was the keys to the cage! I had seen it before when they unlocked the cage for me to eat and stretch. It must have dropped off from somewhere when the caravan flipped. I immediately stretched my arms to grab hold of the keys.

“The keyhole… It should be here?” I fiddled around the keys with unsteady hands as my heart raced from the excitement of having the chance to finally escape.

“Ow… I am going to kill that kid when I see him the next time!”

My shoulders jumped from the voice nearby and I immediately hid the keys in my pockets.

I quickly spotted the stout man getting up from the grass floor. Luckily, he did not seem to have seen me with the keys. He rubbed his head as his face scrunched up. With unsteady feet, he stood up and started to look around.

“So what was that animal that attacked? I am going to beat the shit out of it for ruining my pla-”

The man never got the chance to finish his words as his head disappeared.

I froze as I watched the headless body sway before toppling on the ground limply.

What has just happened?

From the spot where there should have been a neck connecting to the head, blood poured out profusely, staining the earth to become a dull red colour. The scent of iron in the air convinced me that the scene in front of my eyes was real.

“W-Why is there a magical beast here?” a shaky voice called out from behind.

My eyes were finally able to tear away from the body and turn towards the spot where a dark silhouette stood.

True enough, a cat-like beast with charcoal black fur and black translucent aura stood in the middle of the dirt path as it rolled a circular object around with its paws. With a height of around 1 metre and muscles rippling under its sleek fur, it circled around its ‘toy’.

Magical beasts were not well-understood creatures. Although most of them took on similar shapes to common animals, they are very different from normal creatures as they survived by absorbing magic in the air or from killing other magical beasts. Perhaps it was due to the magic in their body, they also had much higher stamina and strength than normal animals.

Although researchers have been trying to find out more, it was notoriously hard as they tend to live in difficult to reach places and avoid human contact. And the most intriguing thing about them was how they turn into stone when they die and break down to a sand-like substance.

But, why was one of these elusive creatures right in front of me again?

“My head hurts… What happened?” The girl in my arms stirred and mumbled softly.

The ears of the cat-like beast immediately twitched and its head turned in our direction.

Now that it was facing us properly, I could see that its light green eyes that shone eerily in the dark resembled Liliana’s. As I met its eyes unflinchingly, the beast continued to stare at us while tilting its head slightly, as if pondering over something puzzling.

And then finally, as its tail swung from side to side, it stepped towards us with silent steps.

“Heee!”

All of a sudden, the teenager screamed and ran off in a scramble as he kicked up dust.

The cat-like beast stared at his direction and its ears twitched before it too, leapt off in his direction.

“Liliana! Wake up, we need to go now!” I shouted as I shook the girl in my arms. This wasn’t the time to be gentle because it was our best chance to run away when the magical beast was still distracted.

“Mnngh? What is happening?” Liliana rubbed her eyes blearily before looking around the cage blankly in a daze.

Good, at least she’s awake now. It will make my job easier. I took a deep breath to calm myself down before patting her shoulders to get her attention again.

“The slave traders have just been attacked. We need to get out now while they are busy. Can you walk?” I asked urgently as I unlocked the cage and stood up.

The girl’s light green eyes widened but her demeanour was calm. “Ah, so it has reached that part already? It feels like I just missed a big chunk of a movie after falling asleep,” she murmured as she placed a hand under her chin thoughtfully.

What is she talking about? I ignored her delirious mutterings and tried to pull her up by holding onto her arms.

“Can you stand up on your own?”

Liliana stood up but quickly winced and her body trembled before she sat back down unsteadily. She tilted her face up and gave an apologetic smile. “Sorry, but I don’t think I can walk.”

From the look of it, it was even difficult from her to stand, much less climb out of the cage and run away.

“But we need to get out now,” I replied as my voice rose with desperation.

“I know. Its wild beasts, right?” the girl mumbled as she rubbed her eyes again. “Don’t worry. We are going to be fine.”

“What do you mean?” I stared at the girl in disbelief. There was no way we were going to be fine if the cat-like beast returns.

“It’s okay. If it’s you, you can definitely do it. Sui is a strong magician after all. With a rain of ice lances, you are going to kill off the wild beasts....” the girl continued to mumble with a smile as her body swayed lightly.

“It’s no good. Your fever is too high for you to think clearly,” I muttered as I pushed her to lie down. The girl made no effort to resist and lay on the floor again.

Even if I am a magician, there was no way for me to fend off the cat-like beast on my own. I swallowed a lump in my throat as I glanced at the lifeless body lying on the ground. I am not stupid enough to think that I can kill a magical beast that is able to one-hit kill a full grown man.

Should I just leave her here and run away then?

The freedom that I had been hoping for was just right in front of me. All I had to do was jump out of the cage and run into the forest. Granted that this was an unfamiliar place, but it was a hundred times better than sitting here and waiting for the cat-like beast to come back and become sitting ducks.

“It will be alright… Don’t worry…” Even though her eyes were already closed the girl still mumbled incomprehensible words. Where on earth did she get her confidence from?

“Ah!” The girl’s sudden exclamation made me jump as well.

I crouched down to her eye level and asked apprehensively, “What is it?”

Was she hurting somewhere? I quickly gave her a once over but found no additional injuries.

She tried to sit up once before falling back clumsily. Giving up, she tilted up her chin instead and looked at me with wide eyes. “I do not have my charge yet so you can’t use your magic properly. D-Did I mess it up?” she stammered.

My head felt as if a pail of cold water had been splashed on it.

“Do you know the situation we are in?” I asked frostily as I balled up my fists and stood up. While I was seriously thinking of how to escape, she had been muttering nothing but nonsense. Even though I knew that most of it were because of her fever, I was unable to stop the ire and irritation in my heart.

“In the first place, why should I save you when I can just run away and save myself?”

Before I knew it, piercing words had already spilled out from my mouth.

Now we were in the middle of a forest with no help nearby. Someone had just died in front of us, another was probably going to die soon, after which the cat-like beast will return. If I was to leave her here, what were her chances of survival?

The girl that lay in my shadow blinked blankly before she lowered her head and fell silent.

Of course, it was this kind of reaction.

I turned around and climbed out of the cage nimbly. Luckily, my period of inactivity from being stuck in the cage had not affected my mobility much. I gave a good stretch with my back towards the cage before taking a deep breath of the cool forest air.

It wasn’t the time to dwindle. If I wanted to do something, I had to do it now. The problem was, what was it?

“Then…” From behind me, the girl finally opened her mouth. “Do you want a better life?”

I turned around slowly and met her eyes. She had somehow managed to sit up and was looking at me directly with unblinking light green eyes.

“Sui have been through some pretty tough times, right?” she continued to ask before giving a good-natured smile that did not fit the situation. “Even though I look like this, my family is pretty rich and influential. My family will definitely reward you handsomely if you save me. If you like, you can join even join my household! Although my father is strict and tends to overwork people, he is definitely a fair person.”

It was a word of concern and a simple offer to help. It reminded me of how I had often imagined an angel swooping down to rescue me after I was found to be a magician. However, there was definitely still a gap between dreams and reality because the pale and sick girl in front of me was far from an angel.

“I really have no idea how to deal with you,” I replied in exasperation as I squatted down and ruffled my hair roughly. Should I laugh at the girl’s naivety or myself for getting moved by her words?

“Alright then,” I said decisively as I stood up again. I gave the girl a pointed look before I said, “I don’t intend on jumping from one cage to another, but your family better give me a very good reward later.”

The girl’s face brightened up and gave a dazzling smile. “Yes, definitely!” she replied as she nodded her head vigorously.

Where on earth was she getting her energy from when she was so ill?

I reached through the bars of the cage to grab her forehead. Before she could make a protest, I quickly recited, “O Goddess, please grant respite to this daughter of the land.”

The warmth from my hand transmitted over to her forehead, and gradually, I felt the heat going down to a more natural temperature.

“Was that a healing spell?” Liliana asked as she placed her hand on her forehead. Her face colour had turned slightly better, but I knew that it was only a temporary effect. The healing spell I had cast was just an elementary spell to reduce pain and discomfort, so she will still need to take the proper medicine and get sufficient rest for her body to recover.

“You are annoying. Go and sleep first. Don’t push yourself and make yourself sicker than this,” I replied before flicking her forehead. The girl scrunched up her face and rubbed her forehead unhappily before laying down obediently.

“Magic... Spells… What should I cast?” I muttered under my breath as I looked around for something usable.

Ah, that. My eyes caught sight of something that stuck out from the waist of the dead man unnaturally. I ran towards him and held my breath before I reached to pull out a longsword that was almost my height. He would not need this anymore after all.

Then, I ransacked his waist pouch to take out a smaller knife.

“This will do.”

I ran back to the cage holding on to the sword. While dragging the sword behind me, I circled around the cage, leaving a gouge on the ground. After I had completed the circle, I inserted the sword into the ground such that it was standing upright.

Alright, which symbol should I use? I closed my eyes as I tried to recall what I had been taught before.

Spells could be invoked using two ways, spoken words and written words. Because of the requirement for magicians of opposite charges to have physical contact in order for spells to be cast properly, casting spells using spoken words was the more popular choice even though written words gave a better effect.

Furthermore, the symbols used for the written words were said to be from an ancient language that nobody knows anymore, hence it was difficult for magicians to memorise. However, as my situation now was without a magician of an opposite charge, it was the only way to increase the power of my magic.

My eyes snapped open as I felt a tingling feeling run up my back. It was similar to the one I had felt before the cat-like beast jumped onto the horse.

It was coming back!

With the smaller knife, I made a small slice on the fleshy part of my palm. The pain made me wince, but I resisted and dipped my finger in the blood that flowed out. With my finger stained with blood, I hastily drew the symbol for ‘protection’ and ‘flame’ on the flat blade of the sword.

“Barrier, activate!” I shouted as I raised an arm. From my fingertips, a sensation of something warm and water-like flowed out towards the barrier. It was the usual sensation I felt whenever I used magic hence I was not panicked. Almost immediately, from the hilt of the sword, orange-red flames spread out in a dome shape over the cage. The gouge I had made on the ground served as a guide on where the barrier built up from.

Just in time, a dark silhouette stepped out from the shadows of the trees and peered at us as its tail flicked from side to side. The black tendrils surrounding it curled and uncurled like an extension of its body while it approached the barrier. However, it never came close enough to touch it, most likely aware that it was going to burn.

“Go away! We are not going to harm you!” I shouted loudly in an attempt to intimidate the beast. However, the cat-like beast only flicked its ears and continued to prowl around the barrier.

I slowly backed away from the barrier to move closer to the cage while I continued to hold my arm up to feed a continuous stream of magic into the barrier.

Now, who was going to give up first?

Is my magic going to run out first, or is the beast going to get bored and leave first?

I cast a glance at the girl behind me. From a time unknown to me, she had already fallen asleep, with her chest rising and falling peacefully.

“There’s no way my magic can run out first,” I declared fearlessly as I gave a wide grin.

“Because I’m going to get a better life after this.”