"Mister. Please, we wanna go back home."
Adaline found this man to be different from the others too. She grabbed his robe and held it while looking up at him with pleading and hopeful eyes.
The man felt the gaze but closed his eyes as if in pain. He stiffly shook his head no and continued checking Sakura's wound to see how bad it is.
Sakura can see that the it was hard for the man to reject their pleas and narrowed her eyes in thought.
'He doesn't seem to want to go along with this bizarre "celebration" but then why does he still follow this peoples commands? No.... better yet, would such a guy stay if he displays such dislike in the using of children? I bet he would loath the parents who give their children in a silver platter just to please their 'lord.' So why does he still go along with it?'
"Why..? Why won't you help us!?"
Adaline eyes grew hazy and misty from the new tears that began to slide down her face. Her hands trembling while clutching his robe.
He grimace and tries to harden his heart. He finishes wiping off the dirt and twigs that was all over Sakura's wound and then moved the dress to cover it until a healer shows up.
"It is none of my concern. I can't help you."
"You said you can't, not that you don't want to."
Sakura quickly took notice of what he said and scrutinized his reaction.
"You want to help us, but something is making you unable to. You view all this in contempt and disgust, but you still follow their commands. Why?"
Sakura didn't have the leisure to keep her childish act. She put her full attention in his reactions and movements and noticed the small changes.
'Sakura was a princess trained to watch others every action and words. And having those memories of all the passed ones pushing itself around my head, I can say I became an expert at it.'
Zay eyes twitched and his movements froze after she spoke, but then he hid it all with his normal stiff faced expression. However he didn't hide it quick enough from Sakura's eyes.
She narrowed her eyes and looked deeper at his expression.
"They have something they can use against you."
"!!"
His eyes quickly turned to catch her own probing eyes. He noticed this child was different from the usual children. He noticed it the moment that he and Ronald found the girls.
***
"I gotta piss for a sec."
"The others are already pursuing those who ran. We have to follow too."
Zay looks at the man whining. His face held no expression yet when looking closer at his eyes, there was hidden scorn and disgust.
"Just for a sec, and besides they would be caught in a few minutes. So let's just wait here."
Ronald moves the bushes that he picked and widen his eyes.
"Well shit."
He whispered in pleasant surprise.
Zay wondered what he found and walked closer. Hidden by his hood, his eyes widen in surprise when he saw two small figures holding each other and hiding behind those bushes that were under the tall tree.
"Hehe~ I found you~ So this is where you hid."
The child that was clutching the other one eyes widen in pure fear, her eyes filled with tears and her whole body began to shake from terror.
The other one, he noticed that her eyes held fear as well but she quickly hid it with a glare. She hid the one crying behind her.
Ronald snickered in amusement and reached out to grab them. But the child who was glaring wouldn't allow it to go so easily. The moment he was just inches away, she reached out with her own hand and dug her nails in his arm and pulled, making a long bloody trail in his arm.
"Argh!!"
Ronald moved away while grabbing hold of his arm, creating a small space for the kids to run. And Zay felt that that was what she was aiming for, since the moment Ronald moved she tilted to the opposite side and lifted the other one to go through.
Zay watched the whole thing and was amazed that she thought of this. He didn't even moved to help or to intervene, that is until the other one called to him.
"Zay! Grab those fucking bitches!"
He can see the rage in the other man's eyes but knew he couldn't ignore this any longer. Zay sighs and quickly grabbed both girls. But he first went for the blond one who seemed to be the most trouble and then grabbed the other one who was frightened stiff.
"Give those fucking brats here!!"
Ronald eyes held discontent and anger. But then it turned to glee when he noticed they couldn't run away.
"Ronald."
Zay spoke in a warning tone when he saw the mans reaction.
"What!"
Ronald glared at him when he heard his tone.
"You're not allowed to hurt them. Remember that."
"Tsk! Don't worry, I won't be too rough. Hand one of them over at least. You can't hold them both."
Zay knew that if he gave any of the girls to him, he would treat them roughly. He didn't move for a moment which got Ronald to narrow his eyes at him, but then his gaze relaxed when Zay gave Sakura to him.
'I rather not hand him any of them, but seeing as he was going to start something may as well give him the one who seems the toughest. If I gave him the crying one, he would have beaten her to submission and use the excuse that she tried to cry for help.'
When he saw the blond child bare her teeth rather that cry, he knew she was a strong one. Especially when she still talked back toward Ronald when she saw that he wouldn't hesitate to harm them.
***
"... you are smart. Too bad it won't help you now."
Zay got up from the kneeling position he was in while helping them. He tied them again but hadn't tied them as tightly as Ronald did when he threw them in the wagon.
While checking that it was tied well, but not too tightly. He started to head out to ask where the healers are. But stopped when he heard Sakura's next words.
"Is the bargaining chip one of your family or friends? No, it must be family seeing how strong the leash they have on you. But who? Wife, child? Ah.... is it the son you haven't seen for a while now?"
For the first time, Sakura saw the mans glare. His chestnut colored eyes held a shadowy black that almost made it seem like opal brown. Sakura quickly noticed that the his shadow seem to move and the room seem to have darken as well.
Adaline whimpered and Sakura looked surprised but not scared like Adaline was.
'Oh? From what I can see, his main magic is dark magic and maybe even earth magic.... haha! What a coincidence.'
Sakura ended up giggling at what she noticed when she saw his main magic abilities. And while he was watching her giggle to herself, his glaring eyes seem to loosen their hostility.
Her giggling seemed so innocent and for the first time that he has seen her, she appeared to be a child her age. Especially since her face was all clean and her hair was cleaned from all the twigs and leaves. It reminded him of who he was doing all this for, which made his guilt grow even more yet more resoluted to follow through.
"Ah sorry."
He snapped out of his thoughts when he heard here speak through her laughter.
"Its just that your magic affinity are almost exactly like mines. My eyes and hair may seem a bit yellow or blond, but that's because the silver of spatial magic gave it that lighter image. But I have dark magic and from the other color I can see in your eyes, can I say you have earth affinity too?"
The man eyes widen and the air around him went fully back to normal, the darkness seeping back to hide in the shadows.
"Dark magic..?"
Sakura noticed his eyes scrutinized her owns and she just smiled warily. Adaline was confused while watching the interaction between the two, but she knew that this seemed to be important so she didn't try to interfere.
"They are hard to see, but the rim and iris of my eyes are quite dark, and it's hard to see this as well, but there is some that mixes with the silver, giving it a darkish color so people will just think that is the gray representing spatial magic."
"How would you-"
"Because I can use it subconsciously."
"!! Wait, you can use it!? But your not even- no, is this why your here too? But then they would put even more work to get you than the other one, or- did they not know? How? how did they not find out?"
Zay looked away in confusion and was taking the information he just recieved in to process it. Taking this chance Sakura again analyzed his words.
'He just said "how did they not found out?" He seemed surprised that he just heard of this, or rather, he seems to doubt my words because he hasn't heard anything from those around him. But why would he be surprised?'
Sakura narrowed her eyes, her head calmly picking through his every words and reactions.
'The main surprise for him is not that I can use magic, but that they haven't found out that I can. But why would he be surprised.... a mole. It seems that there is someone who is close enough to be able to tell if I have anything useful. Meaning that they are close enough to see me almost everyday and in long hours..... fuck. Did I have a fucking informant right under my nose and didn't notice!?'
Griting her teeth in frustration and rage, she didn't notice that her own surrounding started to darken just like how Zay surrounding has.
However Zay sensed it and was startled by it.
"... its true."
His facial expressions displayed his astonishment but he hurriedly looked around and hasn't sensed anyone close to them yet. He stepped back toward them and grasped Sakura by the shoulder.
"Stop! If you release anymore uncontrollable magic, they would take notice!"
He watched how the dark in her eyes swirled in her startled eyes but then disappear when she shut then tight to take a few breaths of air.
'Dammit! It happened again. Why today of all days did it decide to go out of control!...... is it from the accumulated stress? Heh... how pathetic.'
While mocking herself she finally calmed down and looked at the man who was grasping her shoulder. His eyes held panic and a sense of alarm.
"You care."
"Pardon?"
He scrunched his eyes and it displayed his confusion of her words.
"You stopped me knowing that they would find out if I kept releasing anymore of my magic. You don't want them to know because you know it is even more dangerous for me if they did."
"Thats..."
"I know you don't want this to happen. But something is stopping you from helping us. If you want, just try to postpone this stupid ritual or whatever till help gets here. Then we can help you. How about it? They won't know you betrayed them, and you can get whatever you are aiming for. Just that you need to help us just by buying us time."
"... I- I can't. I just have to do this and they would return him."
"Your son?"
"... yes."
"Hah. I bet you regret giving them your son bu-"
"I didn't give them my son!"
He glared in anger when he heard her words.
"My wife.... my late wife, she lost her way. I used to be an Adventurer and while leaving to one of my tasks, she was scammed or brainwashed that she started to believe in this- this nonsense! She left home with our child and took him to one of this hidden sanctuary for this crazy fools."
"So you returned to an empty home and thinking the worse, thought that some bandits harmed your family and went searching."
"...yeah. But when I finally found her walking around in a daze state as a beggar eating from the streets in a town that was around 100 or or so miles away from our own town. I found out that she gave our son away to them so he can become a vessel!! When I began to interrogate her even more for our sons whereabouts. She went mad and said that I shouldn't take away this important opportunity for our son! I was so angered I wanted to just-! But I held back. I needed her to take me to where they were."
Zay sat in one of the chairs, his whole body displaying his exhaustion. Sakura waited for him to continue, but she felt like she already knew where this was heading.
"I lied to her and told her I believe in the.... lord of theirs. The corrupted being who just wishes to remake this world to a better one... heh. She was overjoyed and didn't think twice after. So she took me to the hidden town of theirs and I met the man named "Sir" there. He seemed to be the one who collects the children and when I asked if I can see my son. He said to me "he is being evaluated right now, so there shouldn't be any disturbance allowed." I wanted to kill the bas- the man but I knew he was the only one who knew where my son was and to return him."
Zay sighs when he thinks about this part.
"So I made a deal with him, I would help them in their cause, but they have to return my son to me in the same state he was in; a healthy, and not a vessel for whatever their worshipped. So I have been working for them to get the only family I had left."
Again she noticed his wording and was a bit confused.
"Only family you had left? What happened to your wife?"
".... she killed herself because she felt I took her sons last chance of redemption in this world by taking away his chance to be "usefully to her lord". I didn't even feel sorry when I buried her corpse...."
He laughed in a defeated voice and looked even more like the world was on his shoulder.
"Then they told you this will be your last task and return your son to you."
"Yeah, so that's why I can't help you."
"It would be a bittersweet ending to your story if they actually did do what they said they would do."
"What you mean by that?"
"How are you so sure they will give you your son?"
"We both sign a contract-"
"A contract using contract magic?"
"He said it was-"
"But did you see the mage pour contract magic on it?"
"... I- they said it was already casted on the document."
"Did you sense a flow of magic in the paper?"
"I....! I can't remember..."
"So they used a type of mental magic device, you were too strong to fully brainwash, so they may have altered your memories a bit."
"Dammit!!"
He slammed his fist on the table beside them, causing the bowl of water to spill on the table and a few droplets on the floor.
"No... how would you suspect that? Maybe you are lying so I can lend a hand to help you."
"Nope."
Sakura popped the p in a carefree manner.
"Its because since today would be the ritual, all the children that they collected would be offered up to their lord and his servants."
"! what?"
"The reason this would be your last task is because they plan to kill you when you are the most defenseless. And that's the moment of you meeting your son again. The joy and relief that you would feel will leave you defenseless and easier to dispose of. And it would be the most useful disposal since they need human blood to strengthen their lords awakening."
"That- no, how would you know their ritual process?"
Even Adaline who was at the side listening to all this was confused in how Sakura knew this, but then she noticed Sakura turn to look at her and smiled warily at her, which cause her to be even more confused.
'Because that was how the ritual went when Adaline became the main character in the sacrificial alter.'
Then she turned to look at Zay.
'But I didn't know that Zay was the sacrificed blood of this ritual. His blood was mixed with the corruption and even fed to his son. How twisted can this world be? Even more so the boy must have been broken from witnessing his fathers murder, making it even easier for those things to take control of him.'
"If you want a chance of saving your son, then help us postpone this thing, convince them to wait till midnight just like they wanted so that the ritual will be at its "peak" moment. With that time, help would have arrived."
"How are you so sure that help will arrive? They wouldn't know about this place unless someone directed them here."
"Trust me, help will be here. But if they haven't arrived till the midnight, or if they arrive just in time, then I need you to help us recognize your son. His appearance, and his name, I need to know."
"...."
"Trust me. Either way, you have nothing to lose, your already sentenced to death, might as well die trying your all."
"..... He inherited my dark magic but as well as his mothers contract magic. Meaning he inherited all dark attributes. His hair is quite wavy yet it matches those of your friend wavy type. His eyes remind you those of a cat by their shape, and his eyes are dark yet gleam like dark opal. He wears a necklace that holds the symbol of my guide. The Ravens."
"!!!"
'That description.... it sounds familiar, especially when I heard of the necklace.'
***
"You don't seem like a man who likes jewelry."
Sakura panted in pain while digging her nails in her arm to stay in control. She glares at the man sitting on a throne made of dark wood. He watches her struggles with a smirk and decided to humor her.
"This necklace is a type of memento of the boy who I took over. It is the last thing he held precious in this world and was the thing that destroyed him."
He snickered when he remembered that moment of breaking that boys mind.
"It was the last thing he recieved from his father. The father who died trying to save him, and the one who thankfully died in front of him, breaking his mind and spirit. It was truly a beautiful scene when his souls fully dissolved."
"Fucking bastard!"
Sakura grounded her teeth in disgust and hatred while looking at this man's face filled with laughter.
"Shall I tell you the boys name? I bet he would find peace to know someone out there thinks of him. Hahahaha!"
Sakura only glared at him through her spasms of pain, and through her hazy mind she heard him.
"His name was..."
****
"Azazel Norik. That is the name of my son."
The name overlaps with the one in her memory.
"Heh... what the hell..."
'What type of coincidence is this!?'