“What? —Who?”

“----.”

Nevertheless, as he was looking in shock, all he could see and understand, was the scene in which the two bandits had their heads knocked into one another, by the hands of a small boy.

However, the moment their eyes met and he could see the boy better, a cold chill rolled over his body, as he recognized the boy responsible for killing the bandit outside the camp. Still, by far, the thing that was frightening him the most, was his eyes that seemed to be looking at a dead man.

But as Zuger was looking at the boy, someone else was communicating in his mind in order to get his attention.

[Good kid, you did well in hiding your presents from the others. By lowering your breath and making your energy subside to the lowest point of activity it will be hard for anyone to detect you. Even the white hair boy did not catch you. --- And just like that if you can make the energy flow into your muscle, you’ll acquire more power, and with another portion of energy and consciousness outside your hands, you can make anyone unconscious if you can hit their mind hard enough. Though if you hit too hard they will become mindless husks and die, so control the power well.]

“Yes.”

But the short answer, was not reassuring, as there could not be sense much of Levis’s true self in the voice. But more problematic was the fact that he was speaking with his mouth and not with his mind, making Zuger squint his eyes at him.

[ [He is not listening to you.] ]

[ [What do you want me to do, it is already good enough that he didn’t lose himself and just came here to kill. Still, who would’ve thought that he would remember and come here, after a night of full training? This is going to be a problem.] ]

[ [A problem indeed. Shouldn't we help him? Before he’ll do something too idiotic?] ]

Though as the debate in his mind continued, Levis was already in front of the stunned Zuger, that was looking at the young boy of six or ten years old, as a knife was in his left hand, and as he was scrutinizing him, with the eyes of someone that was ready to kill an insect, and not a human. Zuger could not help, but speak at the boy with a wry and forlorn face, as though he knew something like this could have been his end. Even though he did not expect to come so soon and unannounced.

“Are you here to kill me?”

“Yes.”

“You have reached this place, despite the guards and the three before, so you must have quite the resolve and tenacity to come. So who have I killed?”

As the question was thrown at him, the murderous intent in Levis’s eyes worsened, as he narrowed his eyes at the bandit, before squatting down and stabbing the knife into the ground to the right of the bandit’s leg, before rising straight to his feet.

But before expressing anything, Zuger could only see the boy raising his right arm while closing his hand into a fist, as his gaze was darker and darker.

Yet, before he knew and aspected it to happen, his view changed from the boy, to the right side of the place as his left cheek burned and his bones hurt, as though he was hit by a hammer, while some blood was flowing out from an inner injury in his mouth.

But just as he was about to look at the boy again his view changed from the right to the left, while seeing the blur that was the boy. As his right cheek was hit, making him spit and spill blood from his mouth, and the pain was reaching his mind, the same hammer or rock hit his face again, this time breaking his nose as blood begin to pour rapidly over his lips and down his chin onto the ground.

If some were to enter the prison tent, what they could see right now, was the scene of a little boy using his right arm as a whip while his fist as a sort of rock to beat the face of the bandit ceaselessly, as blood was thrown right and left, as the right fist of the boy was all red in the blood of the bandit, while droplets of blood were falling down and hitting him, as his face was stained by little red dots.

However, before the life of the bandit could end, the boy ceased his unbridled torrent of brutality, as he began to take deep breaths. As he looked to the left at the knife that he had come with, before crouching and taking it in his left hand, however as the feeling changed, as the blood spilled from the bandit, had hit the knife, making it unclean, as the feeling of the blooded knife in his hand felt strange yet familiar from when he had first come with.

As he returned to his feet, and looked at the bandit before him, that could barely be recognized from the blood and swollen face, his eyes could be barely seen, as he was glancing at the boy one more time, seeing as he was raising his left hand over his right shoulder, preparing for a slash to end his life.

Just before the figure of the boy become a blur he glanced for the last time at his right, at the person he had called brother for the last dozens of years.

But just as he was expecting his end to be either fast or even crueler, was postponed by the long break of feeling nothing for some time, and as he decided to turn his face to see what was the cause of his prolonged life, only to find a monstrous face looking at him.

As the face of the boy was contorted, while he was grinding his teeth, as all the blood vessels were bulging, while his eyes were red, and as his left arm was motionless, with the knife on the bandit's neck, the two of them became frozen on one another's eye’s.

But as the two of them stood unmoving, looking at one another for several seconds, Levis started to speak for the third time since he arrived in the tent, however, the words were not directed at Zuger, as he was bewildered and confused at who was referring to.

“Why it is, that I can not kill him?”

[You---.]

[---Kid. Killing is easy, everyone can do it, but getting the life that you had before is not possible anymore. Even if you kill, you will only feel the fulfillment of killing him for a moment, before returning to the reality, in which your Grandfather and Grandmother are dead. That's why you can not kill because once you will kill him, there will be nothing stopping you from looking to that reality.]

But to the boy’s out-of-place question, only silence answered, as the two of them were still in a dead-lock-like stare.

[Hmmm—, Wait up kid,--- this guy is not afraid of death, so killing him might not be the thing that terrifies him the most. However, what is the most frightening thing to happen, to a slave that has escaped slavery and had become free?]

“Being a slave!?”

“W-WW-Wh-at d-d-id you sh-ay?”

But as the words, that came out of Levis’s mouth were becoming even more bizarre, he could not help himself but to question him, even as his mount was full of blood and the face and lips were swollen, assembling some sounds resounding words. As the word “Slave” was giving him a cold chill down his soul.

But to his surprise, the boy took the knife from his neck and returned to a normal standing position, as his face returned at the one that was akin to a human looking at an insect, which made him more unnerving and terrified than ever, as his instinct was screaming at him that something sinister was going to happen.

[Now follow my lead and—.]

Just as anxiety was covering Zuger whole, the young boy turned his head toward the pale and unconscious bandit, making his eyes widen in fear.

“Wait if you want to—.”

“You know, he is slowly dying. They might have said to you that they can help, the both of you, however, his situation is not as easy as they had said. His internal bleeding and wounds might have started to heal but, the truth is that all his organs will start to fail one after another after all the biggest damage received is to his sea of consciousness. Even if he is all healed, he will never regain his consciousness.”

However, as Zuger was trying to speak, out of fear of what the kid might do to his brother, he was interrupted by a long dialog about his brother’s condition, as being much worst than what the guards had previously described, but he was unable to refute him, as he himself was far more inclined to believe him, then what he had been described and explained previously.

“But do not worry, as I will help the two of you.”

Though as the word “help” came out of the boy in front of him, as he was turning his head toward him while wearing a simple smile of concern and pity, the previously felt danger erupted, as all that his instinct could perceive was an unimagined level of crisis.

“YO—!”

Yet, just as he was about to raise his voice to alert the guards, the left hand of the boy shot directly over his mouth, blocking any word that might escape. As he was crouching down at the same level with his gaze, the dread he was experiencing from the kid in front of him, was unknown even for him, as his rationality was starting to break down from all that was happening.

But, as the young child, brought his index up for him to see through the swollen eyelids, a small red dot could be seen as his irises contracted, at the unknown red speck.

“You said earlier that you want to kill the leaders of the bandits and somebody else right? Well, you can be happy, as I will give you that opportunity.”

But as he was speaking, he began to look to his left and right, as though he was saying some big secret, before concentrating on him, with a malicious smile, while speaking in a soft whispering manner.

“However, to do that, I need your whole devotion so I can be sure you won't betray me. So, can you become my slave?”

But as Zuger's eyes were widening in terror, the finger had already touched his forehead, as he had finely begun to struggle as tears began to flow from his eyes making an extremely bitter sight. However, he could not even cry at the torment he was experiencing even as he was desiring nothing more than to die, as heavy drowsiness was taking him.

“Don’t worry, this will be painless, and as a reward every time you try to tell somebody anything of this or try to kill yourself, all you'll be able to do, will be nothing more than scream in the most excruciating pain you will ever experience, so don’t forget, alright!? Don’t worry about the other guy, since you want him to live, I will help him too, so sleep tight and remember not to speak bad things.”

And, as his eyes were becoming too heavy, to look further, the last images that he could register, were that of the boy going to his brother and touching his forehead, after which he was taken away by the angry guard, in charge of the place he was in, before fading to the dark of unconsciousness.