V2.C2 A Plea for help, Hope

Leo focused his senses to hear the voice clearly.

"Please stop… Let me go please… D-Don't… Someone help… Stop it."

It was more than two kilometers but he could hear it with his sharp senses. It was filled with pain as if someone was torturing the owner of the voice. He changed direction and poured more mana to increase the speed.

Yue also noticed the sudden change in his expression and asked,"...What happened?"

"Someone needs help."

He sped forward the switchback roads. It took him fifteen minutes to clear the roads because of U-turns. The more he heard the more fierce his expression became.

'These scum.'

He exited the Reisen Gorge to see a large tent surrounded by many small tents. He was sure that the atrocities were being committed inside the bigger tent .

He drove past the humans sitting around a campfire and stopped in front of the big tent. The duo stepped out of the Drachen, he gave a signal to Yue and entered the tent.

[Caution:- The scene ahead is a bit gory, so if you don't like violence or rape. Please don't read until you see this warning again.]

The screams of women mixed with the crazy laughter of men. The three women begged for mercy but the dozen men continued assaulting them. The horrible wounds on the bodies of women showed the inhumane torture they endured at the hands of these men.

One woman with ears like rabbit noticed him and tried to warn him to run. He shook his head and used intimidation with enough mana to cause the men to only lose consciousness. He wasn't going to let them off so easily.

He silently threw three daggers in front of the women and walked out of the tent. One moment later, cries for help were heard. But this time men called for help while the woman took out all their grievances in form of torture.

Yue stood outside the tent with a serious expression. She could guess what was happening inside the tent.

"Yue, please treat the women inside… I'll go check out the caravans."

"Leave it to me…"

He walked toward the caravans parked a few meters away from the tent.

[End of the gruesome? scene]

Inside a dark place, several women and children huddled together, their limbs were bound by ropes like some animal. Some were crying while others sat there awaiting their cruel fate.

A girl stood out amongst them, not because of her different light blue hair color, not because of two bunny ears on her head. But her blue eyes shone like a pair of gems in the dark, they were filled with determination and hope amidst the people despairing.

'Stay strong Shea. They will… come. I just need to wait…'

But the pained screams coming from outside crushed her courage over and over.

'What did we do to them? We never harmed anyone. Then why do we have to suffer like this?'

'I should have fought more… but they took the children hostage.'

Shea, a girl born with power to manipulate mana was ostracized by the people outside her tribe and called her a Monster. But her mother comforted her but even she passed away from an illness.

'Okaa-san, you said I'll meet them one day. The people who will cherish me…'

'Still, I didn't lose hope… I tried to change the fate of the tribe… I tried everything… yet I couldn't.'

'We are nothing more than slaves in their eyes… If only I…'

Her bunny ears twitched hearing some screams filled with pain not of women but women. Then came a deathly silence.

Everyone's eyes opened wide with different expressions. Some eyes lit up with hope while some despaired more from the screams. Sound of light footsteps resounded in the silence.

They hugged each other tightly, hoping to hide their children from the one coming. Pale sunlight poured inside the caravan. All eyes fixed on the person who opened the door. They looked at the pair of blood-red and blue pupils, an unusual color for anyone in Tortus.

"I'm here to help."

Only four words… still they were enough to give them hope. Tears of relief poured from everyone's eyes.

But one girl wasn't crying, no she just stared in the unusual eyes of the young man who was here for help.

Then she saw her waving his hand to create wind blades and freed three people. He threw several daggers at them.

'Without chant… same as me? Is he the one Okaa-san told me about?'

The girl called Shea finally saw some hope in her life. The burden she had to bear felt a bit lighter.

"Take everyone and gather outside, I'll free the rest in the meantime."

The man said and vanished from her sight.

Her friend cut her rope, she stood and walked outside hastily. Her father stood there with her tribe members.

"Otou-san!"

She ran and hugged her injured father.

"Ouch! Slow down a little."

"S-Sorry."

Everyone watched them with a warm smile, a stark contrast to the one they had moments ago.

A girl around thirteen came with three women of her own tribe. The wounds on their bodies reminded her of the atrocities that happened here.

She blinked in surprise when their wounds healed in a few seconds. But no one noticed it, they were too busy admiring the girl. Her blood-red eyes captivated everyone in the vicinity. She looked around the tent and noticed some headless bodies near the large tent. It scared her but she knew they all deserved it.

The youth also came with some beastmen children. The blonde girl beside him stared in her direction, so she also stared back.

'Why does her eyes remind me of... Okaa-san?'

Her father bowed in front of the young man. "I'm Cam Haulia, the chieftain of the Haulia tribe... Thank you for helping us. You are the Saviour of our whole tribe... We will never forget this favor of yours."

Everyone from her tribe followed her father and bowed, she also bowed clumsily.

The youth shook his head. "Please raise your heads. I am Leo."

She raised her head to see a gentle look in his eyes.

The golden haired girl also nodded. "...Yue."

She repeated their names in her mind to not forget.

"What happened here? Can you tell me about it if you don't mind?"

Her father nodded his head. "We ran from Sea of Trees to live near the mountains, but someone imperial soldiers saw us. We escaped to Raisen Gorge… they didn't follow us there. Monsters nearly killed us, so we came back here to see imperial soldiers waiting. They captured us and…"

Her father clenched his fists tightly.

With eyes filled with curiosity, Leo asked, "Why did you run in the first place?"

She couldn't stay silent anymore, gathering her courage, she stepped forward. "It was all my fault. I—"

"—My daughter… Shea was born with the power to manipulate mana… We hid her from everyone in Verbergen… but they found out somehow… we fled from there to avoid being executed."

The youth stared into her eyes, making her nervous.

"Do you have the power to predict the future?"

"H-How did you know?"

'Why does he know about it? Nobody from the tribe would tell him that. No point in hiding now.'

She nodded her head in answer.

"What will you guys do now? I don't think you can go to Sea of Trees or survive in Reisen Gorge."

This question was directed at her father, the Chieftain of the tribe.

"We really don't know, more soldiers might be out there. We'll get captured again and sold as slaves."

Leo assumed a thoughtful expression. "Can you guys guide us to the Great Tree? From what I heard humans tend to easily lose their way inside the fog."

Shea saw everyone in her tribe hesitating. They will surely get executed if anyone from Verbergen caught them.

"The beastmen their will—"

"You don't have to worry about your safety. If anyone tries to harm you," he squinted his eyes. "I will kill them."

Shea felt chills just from looking in his eyes.

Her father also must have felt it, but he nodded. "Okay."

She saw Leo summoning a peculiar object out of thin air. He connected it with four caravans and sat inside it. "Get inside the caravans, we'll go full speed."

She looked at her father who was sending some signals from his eyes she couldn't understand.

"Idiot, go sit with them," her father whispered.

"Okay!"

Leo looked back to see Shea standing behind the Drachen while clutching her miniskirt in nervousness.

"C-Can I sit with you guys?"

He came out and opened the back seat door.

"Sure, hop in."

Shea sat comfortably and asked, "Leo-san, I-I saw you using magic without chant. Are you guys also?"

Leo nodded his head. "Yeah, we both can manipulate mana like you."

Shea looked at them silently before she buried her face in her knees. "Hic, Okaa-san, I'm not... the only one…"

Yue got up from his lap and squeezed into the back seat. She pressed Shea's head into her chest and brushed her hair gently.

"...Let everything out… I'm here for you."

Leo smiled at the pair. 'Guess she sympathizes with Shea. They both had unique powers from birth, only to suffer. Shea is also tough to endure till now. She reminds me of myself in a sense.'

He checked behind to see every Haulia seated inside caravans and drove toward the Sea of Trees.