Chapter 7 Book 1 Horrified Xu Mei
Before she could respond, the wagon door creaked open again. The four figures who had scaled the wall climbed in, their faces still obscured. One of them, a woman with a raspy voice, spoke.
"We could not find any other with a hint of magic…"
"Maybe this is the only…" another man said but noticed that Xu Mei was inside the carriage.
The four people looked at each other and then at the man who took Xu Mei.
"Who is she?" the woman asked in confusion before taking out a metallic stone.
"The reading is faint." she said with a frown.
"Maybe it's from the boy," said another man.
"Yeah, well anyway. Good work, Silas. Though she is not a magii we can still sell her and earn some gold. The boss will still be pleased."
Silas, Xu Mei's captor, grunted in response. "This one was snooping. Almost alerted the whole place."
"Doesn't matter now," another man said, his voice deep and gravelly. "We got the target. The boss wants the new Magii recruits. Especially the ones who awakened recently. They're easier to 're-educate' before the Order gets their hooks in them."
"This one," the woman said, gesturing towards Ethan, "is a strong one. The apparatus detects a good amount of mana. He'll make a fine addition to the… re-education program."
Xu Mei's blood ran cold. Re-education. She knew what that meant. It was Elara's twisted vision, the forced suppression of magic, the indoctrination into their hateful ideology. And they were here for Ethan.
"No… This is dangerous. If I do not do anything, then Ethan and I will be in danger." Xu Mei's mind is now in panic.
However, contrary to her previous anxiety, her emotion seemed to have become a bit calmer. She seems to feel a hint of camaraderie from Ethan and feels that everything will be fine as long as he is there to help her. He was a magii just like her after all.
Although still feeling fear, her fear gave way to a cold, hard resolve. With someone she wanted to protect and the confidence she had with his awakening, she decided that she wasn't going to let this happen. Not to Ethan. Not to her.
She suddenly had a realization that she already had a power, a secret weapon. She had to fight.
…
The wagon began to move, jostling them roughly. The five black-clothed figures were now inside, two guarding the door, two sitting opposite them, and Silas still standing near Xu Mei.
Xu Mei's mind raced. Five of them. All bigger, stronger. But they couldn't see her power. Her sharp senses, honed by months of silent practice, were on high alert. She felt the vibrations of the wagon, the subtle shifts of their weight, the direction of their gazes.
She started with Silas, the closest. He was standing with his back partly to her, his attention on the road ahead through a small slit. Xu Mei focused, she could feel her power urging. She didn't try to lift him, but to trip him. With a sudden, precise push of telekinetic force, she sent a small, sharp stone that had been on the floor skittering directly under his left foot.
Silas yelped, his foot sliding on the unexpected obstacle. He stumbled forward, pitching headfirst into the opposite wall of the wagon with a sickening thud. He lay still, unconscious.
The other four reacted instantly, looking at the direction of Silas. "What was that?!" the gravelly-voiced man snarled.
"He just tripped, idiot!" the woman snapped. "Get him up!"
But Xu Mei was already moving. Her eyes darted to the woman. She saw a small, ornate dagger strapped to her thigh. With a lightning-fast burst of telekinesis, she tugged at the strap. The dagger, still in its sheath, flew from the woman's leg, spinning through the air. It struck the woman sharply on the temple. She cried out, clutching her head, momentarily disoriented.
The gravelly-voiced man charged, his club raised his eyes focused on Ethan who is curled on the ground. Xu Mei didn't hesitate. She focused on the man's knees, pushing outwards with all her might. He screamed as his knees buckled inwards, a loud crack echoing in the confined space. He collapsed, clutching his legs, writhing in pain.
The remaining two men, startled by the sudden, unseen attacks, looked at each other, confused. "What in the…?"
Everyone was confused as to who their enemy was. But most of them are looking at Ethan. They did not put in mind the weak-looking girl sitting calmly on the side.
Xu Mei didn't give them time to think. She spotted a heavy, canvas sack near the wagon door. With a powerful surge of mana, she lifted it, sending it swinging like a pendulum. It slammed into the head of one man, knocking him cold. The other, seeing his comrades fall to an invisible force, froze, his eyes wide with terror.
"G… g… Ghost!" he stammered, his club clattering to the floor.
But no one answered. Xu Mei didn't answer either. She just focused her telekinesis, not on him, but on the wagon door itself. With a mighty push, she unlatched it. The door swung open, revealing the dark, winding road outside. The man, seeing his chance, scrambled towards the opening, desperate to escape the unseen attacker.
But Xu Mei was faster. She grabbed a loose piece of rope from the floor, and with a flick of her wrist, sent it lashing out. It wrapped around the man's ankles, pulling him back. He tripped, falling backward, his head striking the wooden floor with a dull thump. He too, was out cold.
Silence descended upon the wagon, broken only by the creaking of the wheels and Ethan's ragged breathing. All five black-clothed figures lay unconscious, scattered like discarded puppets. Xu Mei stood panting, her small body trembling with adrenaline, but her mind was clear. She had done it. She had fought them all.
She looked at Ethan, who was staring at her with a mixture of awe and terror. He was still huddled in the corner, his small body shaking. She rushed to him, her heart aching at the sight of his bruised face.
"Ethan," she whispered, her voice choked with emotion. "Are you okay?" while she untied him.
He looked up at her, his eyes welling with tears. "They… they hurt me. They said… they said they were going to make me forget magic."
Xu Mei gently touched his bruised cheek. "It's okay now. They can't hurt you anymore."
As she spoke, her eyes fell upon the unconscious figures. Her gaze lingered on the woman, on the small, ornate dagger that had flown from her thigh. It lay on the floor, glinting in the dim light.
Suddenly, with a speed that startled Xu Mei, Ethan reached out. His small, trembling hand snatched the dagger from the floor. His eyes, once filled with terror, now burned with a cold, terrifying rage. The light that had pulsed from him during his awakening, the raw mana of a newly awakened Magii, seemed to flicker around him, though unseen by Xu Mei.
"They hurt me," he repeated, his voice flat, devoid of emotion. "They hurt me. They wanted to take my magic."
Before Xu Mei could react, before she could even comprehend what was happening, Ethan plunged the dagger into the chest of the nearest unconscious man. A choked gurgle, a sickening crunch. Then, with a chilling, staggering body, he moved from body to body, his small arm rising and falling, the dagger glinting in the faint light.
Stab.
Stab.
Stab.
He showed no mercy. No hesitation. His face was a mask of pure, unadulterated fury, his eyes devoid of the innocent boy she knew. Five times. Five bodies. The straw floor quickly became slick with dark, spreading stains.
Xu Mei froze. Her breath hitched in her throat. She stared, wide-eyed, at the horrific scene unfolding before her. This wasn't the terrified Ethan she had rescued. This was something else. Something primal, something terrifying. The innocent boy had been consumed by a darkness she couldn't comprehend. She had never witnessed such brutality, such cold-blooded vengeance. Her mind screamed in protest, but her body was paralyzed, unable to move, unable to speak.
Ethan stood over the last body, the dagger dripping, his chest heaving. The rage slowly, almost visibly, drained from his face, replaced by a dawning horror. His eyes, still glistening with unshed tears, seemed to clear, as if he was waking from a nightmare. He looked at the bloody dagger in his hand, then at the dead men, and then at Xu Mei, his face crumpling.
"Xu Mei… what… what did I do?" he whispered, his voice a broken sob. The dagger clattered to the floor.
Xu Mei couldn't speak. She just stood there, tears streaming down her face, her body trembling uncontrollably. The horror of what she had witnessed, the sheer, brutal finality of it, overwhelmed her.
…
The wagon, now driverless, swerved erratically before finally coming to a halt, its wheels grinding against the dirt road. The commotion, the sudden silence, and the lack of movement from the wagon itself had finally drawn the attention of the town's night guards, who were patrolling nearby.
A few minutes later, the wagon door was flung open. Two guards, their lanterns swinging, peered inside. Their eyes widened in shock and disbelief.
They found Xu Mei and Ethan huddled together, crying. Ethan was covered in blood, his small hands stained crimson, his face streaked with tears and dirt, his eyes wide with a dawning, terrible understanding. He looked like a child who had just woken from a nightmare, only the nightmare was real, and he was at its center. Xu Mei, though physically unharmed, was sobbing uncontrollably, her body shaking with silent tremors, her gaze fixed on the gruesome scene on the wagon floor. The air was thick with the metallic scent of blood and the heavy weight of unspoken horror.
The guards, seasoned by years of protecting Hollow Town from minor skirmishes and small Mana Beast incursions, had never seen anything like it. Two small children, surrounded by five dead adults, killed with a brutal that defied their age. The sight was sickening, baffling, and deeply disturbing.
They rushed forward, their lanterns casting long, dancing shadows that seemed to mock the stillness of the dead. The cries of the children filled the night, a chilling testament to the darkness they had just endured, and the even greater darkness that had been unleashed.