"Will you not answer me?" She sighed. "Alright, then."
She stared at the blade of the Stone Sword
"I was once told by my friend that I must never recall the owner of the sword, or mention that it is truly of... 'Bone'."
Her eyes suddenly widened, and she dropped the sword. "Haah... What kind of trick was that?" She let out an awkward deep breath, "It felt like a gaze swooped over me for a moment."
"I felt it too." One of the male cloaked figures was breathing heavily. "Is that perhaps the boy's, Regalia?"
"No, Kelda already confirmed it isn't." She waved off the man's statement, "I'm not sure, but this blade is ominous." She picked it back up and walked around Yadrith's back, placing the sword in its scabbard. "It's no longer our problem."
Yadrith was in thought, 'A gaze?' He realized what he had just done was extremely foolish. He understood what Oliver had told him back then.
Oliver may have exaggerated it by telling Yadrith to never recall the owner of this blade. But, by referring to the 'Bone', an odd presence had swept over them.
'It must be the Blacksmith!' Another possibly suddenly ran through his mind, 'Or the being the 'Bone' belongs to...'
Whichever one he felt uncomfortable with, an infinitely more powerful individual watching him, Yadrith felt a chill run through his body. 'I should not do that again.'
The feeling of someone watching him was horrifying. Though he has received another trump card to use that may stun an enemy, even if it is for a moment. However, stunning an enemy and annoying an entity whose gaze leads to a discussion about his own moral values.
In his mind, he secretly apologized to whoever had just briefly glanced at him. Well, there was a chance they were still watching, though very unlikely.
"Honestly, selling someone like you is ridiculous. Your last name is Jubel, you have an ominous sword, and you don't have a Regalia. Nobody will buy you, and frankly, I'm scared to let you leave. Not knowing what connections you have, and the fact that you know all of our Regalia's to some extent." She paused and exhaled with a slight smirk, "I'll just have to kill you... Although, it pains me to kill pretty boys."
His eye twitched, and he silently observed her as she took out a dagger from a sheathe on her waist.
"I prefer not to kill innocent people with the threads, it's a very terrifying process, so I will simply plunge this dagger into your heart."
Yadrith grimaced, feeling a false sense of hope.
Siisssssss!
Her eyebrows lowered, and the man next to her opened his mouth.
"A snake?" The man said.
She suddenly looked into Yadrith's eyes, taking her dagger away from him.
Knock! Knock!
"They're knocking...? The snake is knocking?" He walked up to the door.
"What are you doing!?" the woman in black leather yelled.
"I'm letting the snake in, what else?"
"That sounds ridiculous! Stop, now!" She felt an ominous feeling from the door.
"Ha, don't be ridiculous Sera. It would be unwise of me to ignore such a pitiful creature."
"You damn idiot!" She ran past Yadrith, momentarily releasing her restraints and grabbing the man. "Are you trying to get us fucking killed? Did you ever consider that snake could be that fucker's comrade?" She pointed at Yadrith.
"Haha..." He rubbed his neck, feeling the peace in his freedom. "The closest thing I have is a friend that's a jumping spider."
She succeeded in pulling the man away from the door and let out a breath of relief.
Knock! Knock!
Sera turned to the door, "Tin! Why didn't you let the snake in?"
Tin frowned, "You just said I was an idiot!"
The two subordinates and Yadrith, who were unaffected by the odd condition eyes had widened. Though Yadrith was a bit happy.
Sera reached out for the handle but stopped herself. "Fuck, fuck! It's trying to brainwash me!"
"Release my companion, and I will reward you with your life." A cold, deep, and calm voice spoke from beyond the door.
"...Mahaya?" Yadrith recognized the voice.
"What kind of monster have you brought to our doorstep?!" She ran over and picked up Yadrith by his collar. "A snake!? Do you know what that even symbolizes?"
"...Well, actually, she's a jumping spider." He averted his gaze.
They all froze once more, as the serene voice echoed in the room.
"There seems to be an odd barrier here, a darkness shrouding this building. A Regalia of yours? I could burst it as if it was a bubble with Rekh, however you should know the consequences of unleashing a powerful attack with Rekh in Telbak. The best I can do now is transmit my voice through this barrier." She cleared her voice, "In one minute, I will destroy the barrier and kill each one of you. If my companion is returned, we both leave and never meet again. I'm not sure if it's worth mentioning, but the boy I found patrolling this building. He is in my hands, I will kill him as well... Sera, Benloc, Kelda, and Tind."
Inside, all four of the individuals shivered. Sera looked at Yadrith and smiled.
"I sure am lucky I didn't kill you."
Unexpectedly, she grabbed him and held a blade at his throat.
"What are you doing?" Yadrith asked.
"In my line of work, even in this position. I can not trust you, so I will use my leverage to make sure my brother lives." Sera looked at Tin, "A snake may be deceptive, but a knife to the head always does its job. Tin, drop your barrier."
He nodded anxiously, and the moment his barrier dissipated, the door smacked open as if it had been struck by a cannonball. It flew off its hinge, landing a few feet in front of the doorway.
Luckily, they were expecting something like that, so they had moved away from the door. From outside stood a medium height, cloaked woman. Long purple hair flowed out of her hood, and inside the hood was a mask that covered her face.
"Let my brother go, you damn snake!"
Mahaya's masked face stayed in one spot, staring at Sera.
"I requested one simple thing from you." Mahaya lowered her head.
Tin's barrier reformed, trapping Mahaya.
Yadrith frowned, he felt as if the slavers were making a huge mistake.
Sera flicked her hand, and threads surrounding Mahaya firmly restraining all of her limbs, in Yadrith's point of view, Mahaya simply stood in place.
Mahaya shook for a moment, tightening her grip over Belk's head.
"What a powerful combination of Regalia's, you momentarily blinded me, it must be an effect you can trigger inside your barrier? Restrained me while I was blinded, and also got rid of my sense of sound." Behind her mask she smiled, "Release me, or I'll splatter the boy's brains."
Sera's eyes widened, feeling a dread more insidious and terrifying than anything she has felt in her life. Even Yadrith was momentarily stunned by the bluntness of Mahaya's statement, though considering that Miel was Mahaya's mother, it was no surprise. He had long figured Miel to be a wicked person, and to an extent Mahaya.
"Agh... Sister, it hurts!" Belk screamed.
Mahaya slowly strengthened her grip, seemingly revelling in his suffering.
"I'm sorry guys... Please release your Regalia." Sera felt her eyes burn and retracted her thread.
The rest of the group terminated their Regalia as well, not wishing to see Belk's head crushed.
"How spinless!" Mahaya laughed, and her grip tightened.
"Ahhhh!" He yelled in pain.
"Please stop!" Sera yelled, pushing Yadrith away right into Mahaya, who caught him.
'I'm basically a damsel in distress.' He sighed, "Mahaya, please... Don't kill the kid."
She turned her head to Yadrith, who was in her embrace. Momentarily giving relief to Belk. Yet in the next moment, her grip suddenly tightened, and she looked back over at Belk, prepared to see a spectacle.
"Please!" He begged once more, no longer able to withstand the screams of Belk. Even if the kid had meant to literally ruin his life, despite Yadrith only showing kindness. He did not hate Belk, because at the end of the day, Belk was a kid.
If it was Sera that Mahaya had been holding, he would have not complained. Or any of the other evils in this room, the throne of decaying bodies was enough to tell him they need to be stopped.
"Alright." Mahaya's calm voice was devoid of emotion. No, Yadrith felt that there was a bit of disappointment in it. "I've fractured his skull considerably and damaged his brain. He will die soon." She dropped Belk, who was still screaming at the top of his lungs in pain.
"..." Yadrith went silent, unsure of how to respond to her words.
Mahaya's head suddenly turned, looking at the throne of decaying corpses.
"You all disgust me." She looked at the group of slavers, "Learn from this."