After destroying those three swordsmen, the ice and dust from their bodies covered all in front of Lioran. From inside the fog, as he was walking out, Liuran looked toward the children and said:
"Good thing I managed to control the spell, otherwise all of you would have been turned to dust."
Then he turned his face toward Zubi, the commander of the swordsmen, and Goba, the slave trader, and said:
"Now, it's your turn."
Goba and Zubi, seeing how their three swordsmen were destroyed without Lioran even lifting a hand, felt terror. Goba's legs gave out, and he fell on his knees, pulling his hair and whispering:
"This can't be... this can't be..."
Zubi trembled, holding his sword toward Liuran, and thought:
"A circle-eight or nine magician… what's he doing here? I have to escape, no matter what! I can't beat him… do I even have a chance to run?"
He looked at the dust left from his men, his hands and feet shaking. Without moving his head, his eyes searched around for a way to escape. Then he saw the trader fallen on his knees, whispering like a madman:
"This can't be... we're all going to die..."
Zubi felt more fear. Looking at Goba, he even thought of killing himself, because he knew if he fell into Lioran's hands, his death would be worse. His shaking hands tried to turn the sword toward his own chest.
At that moment, Lioran saw Rona holding her brother's head on her lap, and the two little twin boys standing near her. Their tears were falling, and because of the frozen hell Liuran had created, they were shivering with cold.
Lioran softly asked, "Are you cold?"
Then he took another step and softly whispered to himself:
"Let's test this spell."
He activated the spell: The Lost magic "Black Fire".
From under his right foot, a small black flame appeared and started melting all the ice.
Rona looked at it in surprise, her face filled with joy, and said:
"Thank you!"
Zubi, seeing how Lioran could use both ice and fire, shouted in shock:
"Are you the great nine-circle magician Gitsu? One of the royal guards of Tira? The one who controls both water and fire?"
Lioran answered in confusion:
"Gitsu? Who is that?"
Zubi thought:
"Yeah… this can't be Gitsu. Gitsu is known for killing wildly and hating dark-skinned people. If it was him, he would've gone after the children, not us... Think, think… how do I escape? "
Lioran walked slowly toward him. Zubi's eyes darted everywhere, looking for an escape. Suddenly he noticed Rona, still holding her brother, looking at Lioran.
He thought:
"This monster will kill us for hurting these kids. He even melted the ice so they wouldn't freeze… That's it! That's my way out!"
Zubi rushed toward Rona, grabbed her by the shirt, lifted her with one hand, pressed his sword to her neck and shouted:
"Now let's talk! If you want this little girl alive, let me go. Deal?"
Rona cried and screamed, "Let me go!"
Lioran looked at him and said:
"You fool… you still don't understand what situation you're in?"
He then released his Demonic Aura of the Mad Sword Technique.
A blood-red aura poured out of his body as he slowly stepped toward Zubi.
Zubi froze. He lowered his head, watching Lioran's feet approach, blood dripping from the aura with every step. His hope vanished. He thought:
"This pressure… even eighth- star swordmasters I've seen didn't have such an aura. There's no way I can defeat this monster..."
Just when he was about to drop his sword, he faintly heard Rona's weak crying voice, as if his ears were closing. He thought:
"No… maybe I still have a chance."
He lifted his head and saw Lioran's black, empty eyes. In that instant, he suddenly found himself standing inside an endless ocean of blood. The clouds and sun were all red. His legs sank halfway into the bloody sea.
He thought:
"Where am I? What happened? Wasn't I just talking to that monster?I think it only happened because I looked into his eyes. Those eyes… they weren't human eyes. I shouldn't have stared into them. None of this matters now—I just need to get out of here as fast as possible. "
He wanted to get out of the ocean of blood, but no matter which way he ran, he saw no land—only a sea of blood ahead of him. After surrendering to the futility of running and struggling to survive, he stood still. Then, a wave taller than a massive mountain came toward him.
Seeing it, he fell to his knees, tears streaming down his face as he let out a painful laugh, saying to himself,
"So… this is the power of a god…"
The wave crashed down and dragged Zubi into the depths. He struggled, tried to breathe, but he couldn't move, couldn't even blink. Looking up at the red sky, accepting his fate, he thought:
"If I had one more chance… I'd live better. I wouldn't give up so easily. I'd fight to the end. Forgive me, Roya… I couldn't take revenge for you..."
He closed his eyes and fainted.
In reality, it had only been a brief moment of eye contact with Lioran. But in his mind, five long minutes had passed in that illusion created by the Demonic Aura.
Zubi dropped his sword and released Rona. Tears flowed from his eyes and foam came from his mouth. Rona quickly ran away from him.
Lioran approached, pressed a finger to his forehead, and softly pushed. Zubi fell back like a statue, unconscious.
Lioran said:
"You've got strong will… even though you fainted, you're still standing."
Then he turned to the trader and said:
"Hey, trader..."
The man was frozen in fear, giving no answer. Lioran put his foot on his head, slammed it against the ground, pressing hard, and shouted:
"Are you deaf? Didn't you hear me calling?"
The trader came to his senses and quickly cried out:
"Forgive me, master! I didn't hear your voice. Please, tell me what to do!"
Lioran said:
"What? Don't you want to kill me anymore?"
The trader screamed:
"Please forgive this lowly one who didn't know his place! I'll never make such a mistake again. Spare my life, I'll do anything you want!"
Lioran removed his foot and said:
"Good."
He then cast a black magic spell of the fifth circle, known among dark mages as Slavery.
A black magic circle appeared under Goba's feet.
Lioran asked:
"Do you want to become my Dog?"
Terrified but glad to have a chance to live, the trader shouted:
"Yes, master! Please, give me this chance!"
The spell was activated. Strange writings rose from the circle, wrapping around Goba's arms and legs. He jumped back, panicking:
"What is this?! Why are they moving on my body?!"
The writings all gathered into his chest, entering his heart. A black skull-shaped mark appeared on his chest.
Lioran said:
"From now on, you are my Dog. Any betrayal, any word against me, and your heart will stop instantly."
Goba fell to the ground, pressing his forehead, bowing deeply, and said:
"Am I crazy to even think about something like that? Please, be at ease, my lord." And he thought to himself, "Even if I make a mistake, at least my heart will stop—I'll have a peaceful death."
Lioran, with a devilish laugh, replied to him, "Oooo, you better not make a mistake. Because I will never give a second chance. If I see a single mistake from you, not only you, but all your loved ones and friends will suffer for it."
Hearing this, Goba, while bowing before Lioran, saw the shadow of a demon cast over him. And the only way to survive was to be a loyal dog.
Lioran said to him, "Now put this swordsman in the cart, and get on the cart yourself so I can come."
Guba replied loudly, "Yes, my lord!"
Lioran said, "Don't speak so loudly."
Guba answered again, very softly, "Yes, my lord…"
Lioran said, "I didn't mean that quiet… Well, never mind."
Then he turned toward the children. Mira was still unconscious. Rona and the other two children—twin brothers named Goncha and Toncha, who looked so alike that no one could tell them apart—were all huddled together, trembling as they looked at Lioran in fear.
Lioran approached and said gently:
"Hey, are you okay?"
But all three immediately bowed, shaking, and shouted:
"Please forgive us for causing trouble! Let us go!"
Lioran, surprised, said to himself, "I didn't do anything to them, I just wanted to ask how they were… Am I really that frightening to children?"
Then he thought, "Alright, I'll give them a smile so they understand I don't mean to hurt them."
He told them, "Raise your heads."
All three, with fear in their voices, replied, "Yes, sir," and quickly lifted their heads, looking at Lioran's face. Then just as quickly, they lowered their heads again, crying out loudly in tears, "Please, master, forgive us! Don't kill us!"
Lioran had only wanted to force a smile to ease the children's fear, but instead, their fear only grew. He had pulled his lips upward as much as he could, pressing his teeth together. Yet when the children saw that smile combined with those eyes, they became even more terrified.
Goncha thought:
"How can a person be this scary? Mom was right… white people are scary. If I survive, I'll never leave the tribe again."
Toncha thought:
"That face... that was the smile of a demon..." Tears fell as he whispered:
"Mom, I should've listened to you. I never should've come here."
And Rona thought:
"Are we all going to die? And all because of me... because I wanted clean, fresh water for my birthday. No… I must save the others. But how?"
Lioran remembered his mother's words: 'Better not to smile, than to force a smile.' and thought:
"Maybe that's why they don't believe me."
He then cast a healing spell on Rona. She raised her head, feeling the warmth:
"What a gentle, calming magic..." The wound on her forehead healed.
Lioran said:
"No need to be afraid. I won't hurt you."
He asked the twins:
"You two aren't hurt, are you?"
They both shook their heads:
"No, sir."
Lioran told Rona:
"Let me heal your brother too."
Rona's eyes lit up:
"Really? You'll help him too? Thank you, sir, !"
Lioran cast the magic of healing on Mira as well. All the wounds on his face and hands, and even the lash marks on his back that had torn his shirt and left him bleeding, were healed.
Mira opened his eyes, rubbed them, and asked, "Ah… where am I?"
Rona and the twin brothers quickly threw themselves onto him. With tears in her eyes, Rona said, "Brother, are you alright? I was so worried about you."
Mira looked around, remembered what happened, then saw Lioran staring at him with emotionless eyes.
Quickly, Mira lowered his head and begged:
"Please, sir, don't hurt my sister and friends. Just take me with you, let them go. Spare their lives!"
Pressing his knees with his hands, he prayed silently:
"God, if you exist and hear me, this is my only wish. I ask for nothing else. Please, make a miracle... let my sister and friends live..."
Lioran answered calmly:
"You're still too young to speak like this. Don't worry. I won't harm you. You're free to go wherever you wish."
Mira raised his head, seeing Liuran's serious face, realizing he wasn't lying. Tears flowed down his cheeks. He wiped them and whispered:
"Thank you, sir... thank you."