Chapter 64 Cheating Death - Consequences (Part 8)

I will release another 2 chapters later today, around 5pm probably.

Enjoy!

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After turning around, the young man seemed slightly different.

“I sent your friend a message. I gave him a chance to save you. If he shows up in time, perhaps he can save what I assume to be your brother?” The young man spoke casually but giving Hannah a slight ray of hope.

That slight ray was slowly drowned out by the reality of her knowledge.

There’s no way Daichi will come even it could save us. He’d be walking towards his death… Maybe if he had a chance, but if this guy told him that the bulls were his pets, he’d know better.

He won’t chose to save us… We’re going to die.

Looking like she’d just been grievously wounded, the young man noticed her expression and tapped his fingers on his leg. Instead of giving her hope, his words seemed to have dashed what little hope she’d had away.

Suddenly unsure as to whether this friend of theirs would show up, he merely gave it this much thought before shrugging it off. It was a mere slight, and this was all merely for slight amusement for him.

“I gave him 12 hours. So in the meantime, your brother can play with you.” the young man said turning back around and walking into the forest.

Hesitating at the meaning of those words, Hannah’s mind immediately went to the worst possible solution before Kaden made a small cut on her neck.

Widening her eyes, Kaden began to cut her. Slowly and methodically, small shallow cuts that stung and made her clench her teeth as her heart settled down.

She’d immediately thought of something far worse. Physical torture was something she could endure, but the thought that had crossed her mind had made her heart sink.

“This… I can handle this… This is good… This is better…” Hannah thought.

The pain caused by each freshly made cut made her want to scream, but with every cut Hannah’s mind wandered to what she had first thought, and that small sliver of relief washed over her every time.

…

Tael stood in the wooded area nearby as he set up a sound barrier around himself. He wasn’t interested in hearing the little girl scream.

Tael wasn’t the sort to enjoy hearing the screams caused by physical torture. He found it boring like most things. Any body would scream if hurt the right way.

The type of screams that made Tael feel something were the screams caused by injuries that could never be seen. Injuries caused by the type of pain that couldn’t be compared from one person to another.

Tael was waiting for Daichi to arrive, arrive and see his friends tortured, mind crushed and dead.

That would be of slight amusement to him after what these kids had done to his Bulls.

He could have just let things go, but it was a matter of principle.

As such… He was going to keep his word. He wanted two of their lives.

“The shorter girl is dying. She’s doing a commendable job trying to keep herself alive… She’s even used some sort of skill to cauterize her neck, but the blood loss is already too much.

The boy is going to die one way or another now that I’ve placed a seal with limited mana within him. The odds of the boy coming being able to reverse it are near impossible. Although with his personality, I wouldn’t be surprised if he killed himself after he comes to his senses hah.

The girl is the most likely to survive… If the boy gets here soon enough… Although if he gets here too late… Well that’s his problem.” Tael stood still as he looked beyond the trees and pondered how this little event would turn out.

Tael closed his eyes and begin to count as he muddled all of senses wanting to maintain as much anticipation possible.

…

Daichi was jogging without rest for hours on end until the mare in front of him stopped him.

“Regardless of why you’re doing this. If you show up tired and exhausted you won’t even be able to respond if he changes his mind. Be prepared for a battle, and be prepared to die.” the taller mare stared at him, almost showing some emotion before she pointed in the direction they’d been traveling.

“That’s the way to go, maintain that direction and use the sun as a parameter that you are still going in the correct direction as you run. This is where I stop. I won’t go closer” she said as she walked past him and began to walk towards the direction they had just come from.

Daichi watched her back as she slowly walked out of sight within the forest. She’d already told him that she would only go part of the way.

Unfazed he looked back over at the direction he was going to be heading in.

At some point as he’d been running, he’d thought of a few techniques and ways he could try to implement his skills. He’d considered what would likely happen, and whether he should bother to believe any of the words Tael had said. At the very least he’d questioned whether he would truly let him live.

Daichi’s mind kept wandering back to the one thing that kept making his heart palpitate. He’d ignored the reality of his decision even though he felt he had to make it.

“If I go, there’s a good chance I am going to die.” Daichi finally said the words aloud.

He had come up with a few methods and tried to think of the different possible outcomes but he’d ignored the very real probability of his death.

Now saying the words aloud he finally let them sink in as they caused him to hesitate and reluctantly want to change his mind.

Instead of getting anxious as his heartbeat was going crazy inside of his chest, he let the feeling wash over him.

He’d known what he’d chosen, he knew this was a very real possibility. He wouldn’t go back on his choice now. Even with the threat of death, Daichi steeled himself as he reinforced his decision. He would rather die now, then forever wonder who he was. He’d make the decisions he wanted to make in order to become the person he wanted to be.

Allowing the breeze to carry his feet forward, Daichi began sprinting forward. Less hesitation in his footsteps with each step he took.

Even fully resolved to go through with his choice, his body felt stiff and his chest heavy. The burden of making constant life and death choices were still weighing Daichi down, especially now that the life and death he was considering was his own.

His decision was crazy even to him, but that recklessness was something he felt was completely his own.

…