Somewhere in the slaver's base.
There was something odd happening in the room. One second they were in chains, and the next second the chains fell off. Just like that… they hadn't even moved a muscle and somehow, they were free.
The guards tensed immediately the realization dawned on them… they were more than fucked.
Sara did not waste time like the rest of them, she immediately glanced at the greatest threat of them all.
The blonde haired man.
A dark glow began to emerge on her hands as she turned to face him. "Let's dance, pretty boy."
The man frowned and pulled out his whip.
"Come, I'll teach you your place."
•••
When the adrenaline wore off, Stark fell to his knees, sucking in a sharp breath. His body still felt terrible, and it was as though he could go unconscious at any moment.
Shifu, who he had summoned at the last minute, stood behind him with his axe lifted, while his dire wolf finally left the dead guard and sat at his back.
As Stark took another painful breath, his body was engulfed in a light green glow. Strangely, the glow felt a little moist, as though he was being doused by a wet rag.
But it was working…
It took only a few seconds for the cloudiness in his head to clear, after which he rose to his feet and stumbled forward.
He had specifically told Shifu to release the more dangerous slaves, so the guards were probably still there.
Fixing the damages wasn't going to be difficult after all.
But there was still a problem. Two problems to be exact.
Stark had checked every single one of the doors in this hall, there was no one inside them which was strange since Stark saw two people walk down here.
Edward, and the skinny guard…
He walked through the hall up until he got to the end of it, then he leaned his back on the wall, sighing tiredly.
"There has to be som—"
Stark's eyes brightened the moment it clicked in his mind. How did he arrive here in the first place?!
It was a trap door!
He quickly began pushing every single block he could see, hoping to find an opening and then finally…
Click!
One of the blocks pushed deeper and the whole wall groaned. Dust fell from the ceiling and the entire wall moved out of place, revealing a secret room that lay within it.
There was a sound of dripping water somewhere in the distance, and the dark space had several crystals brightening it up.
Not the type of crystals put in place by people, no, these were natural crystals.
And the room in front of him? It was a natural cave. A very, very large cave.
Immediately Stark stepped in, the door shifted, clicking back into place.
After observing the cave for a moment, he blended with the darkness, sticking close to the corners.
He continued this way until he finally found his target…
Edward was sitting on a small rock, constantly checking his watch with an anxious smile on his face.
Stark knew that he was expecting a mystery customer, but he had no idea why the man was waiting in here instead of his office.
There was no way he could have predicted his arrival. Even from the way he was looking, Stark was sure he had no idea what was happening in his base right now.
As Stark watched the man, a cold drifted from deeper into the cave, dancing on his skin as it blew past.
'Wind? Why is there wind in this cave?' That was when he finally realized why Edward was down here.
There were not two entrances to the lair. There were three, and this cave led to the last one.
Holding his dagger tightly, Stark crept up to Edward like an assassin, which he technically was… moving as quietly as possible.
Then when he got so close that he could no longer conceal himself, he stepped out of the shadows and stared at Edward like the killer he was being paid to be today.
Startled, the man jumped to his feet and took a step back, his eyes wide in shock. "Who the fuck are you? How did you get in here?!"
Stark did not answer, there was no need to answer scum like him.
But there were a few words he had to say…
"Snatching kids from their families, taking women for sex slaves, kidnapping young men and making them work farms all the rest of their lives."
Slave trade was illegal in Zethon, but at the same time slavery was very much legal.
No one would believe a slave that said they were kidnapped and forced into slavery… not when their slaver was a renowned lord.
That was why the trade blossomed.
Greedy lords with no regard for human life were the reason a law outlawing the entire process had not been enacted.
"How should a sack of shit like you die?"
Edward's fist tightened until his knuckles turned white. He took a step back but then he probably realized running would make no sense.
Then he laughed.
"I am a sinner so what?"
He took a step forward. "You call me shit but before this I was worse than shit! Digging through trash to get food, begging and robbing to get the next meal."
The man chuckled darkly. "Go back to that life? I would rather sell a thousand more slaves, who cares if their masters are vile?"
He placed a hand on his chest and cackled. "I don't give a fuck! I'm fucking rich, get that through your skull you sack head!"
Stark was exasperated.
'Is this guy this dumb?'
He had expected him to be pleading for his life by now, instead he was here sprouting nonsense.
Stark realized the source of his confidence a second later…
BTZZZZ
A bolt of lightning flew out of Edward's ring, racing right at Stark.
He twisted his body almost instantly as the lightning whistled past him, causing his skin to buzz as stray currents danced over it.
Boom!
The wall behind him shattered but Stark had already moved, sprinting towards Edward.
Edward was a businessman, he was no fighter. As Stark approached, he swung, a heavy punch aimed for his head, but Stark blocked, slashing his wrists.
The man screamed, turning to run but Stark split his belly open before he could take a single step back.
"Wait, wait, I'll release th—"
Stark sliced up, the blade meeting the man's throat—and with a simple swipe, his hands were bathed in blood.
Edward's blood…
The slave trader collapsed to the floor, his hands clasped on his throat as life drained out of him.
Stark stared at him darkly, watching his dying form with a complicated expression.
Two people…
In the past he would have never imagined himself doing something this heinous, but he had killed two people today.
Two people and yet he felt nothing.
He sighed…
And then he stepped over the body, locking those thoughts at the back of his mind.
The spirit shard floated into his hand as he walked deeper into the cave, the familiar sound of shattering glass echoing through the cave walls.