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27.45% The Wizard's Obsession / Chapter 14: Escape (1)

Chapter 14: Escape (1)

Alba's mother was a slave. Her father was the manager of the cotton farm where her mother worked. She led a relatively easier life compared to other slaves as the manager was her father. Though he didn't do anything for her, she could still get away with many things others in her position couldn't. She was mischievous as a child and sometimes a little too energetic. The manager's wife saw her as nothing more than an eyesore.

Her mother passed away early and she had to work in the plant. Though work was hard, she could keep up with it. The guards would whip the other slaves if they found them lazing around, but they turned a blind eye to her behaviors. She was sixteen when the manager passed away after away being poisoned.

The first thing the manager's wife did after finishing her mourning was to sell away the illegitimate child of her late husband. In her view, she was nothing but a disgrace to him. A result of a momentary lapse of self control.

Alba was scared when she was taken away from the farm where she had spent her entire life. Girls of similar age sat beside her in the carriage. More girls would get on the carriage every time it stopped. Alba thought about running away but the sight of armed escorts dissuaded her from doing so. The number of girls in the carriage started dropping with each town they passed by. When they reached the town of Opal, it was finally her and two other girls turn to disembark.

The girls were taken to the red light district and locked up in a room. Alba had heard about the red light district and what happened there. She was scared of what fate had in store for her.

One of the girl was taken away by a man who handed some money to the manager of the brothel. The girl resisted with all her might but the only thing the struggle led to was more pain for the girl. The man slapped her and dragged her by away.

The girl returned an hour later with swollen eyes and red cheeks. She sobbed while crouching down at the corner of the room. Her hands hugged her abdomen and she appeared to be in great pain. Looking at her terrible state terrified Alba.

It was the other girl who was chosen the next day. The girl was frightened out of her wits and she bawled while flailing her limbs. A guard tried to calm her down but was hit in the face by her stray arm. The guard turned red with anger. The whip that he only kept in his arms as a deterrent flew through the air and hit the girl. Successive whip cracks resounded and the girl lay twitching on the floor. The girl looked miserable but she wasn't spared. The customer returned with the girl and left her on the room. Her condition was much worse than the previous girls'.

Alba decided that she wouldn't resist. If causing more pain was the only thing that resisting did, then she would rather let them have their way with her. Making up her mind, she was prepared for the time when it would finally be her turn.

A fat man dressed luxuriously came by with two guards whose gear sparkled as if to boast about their superior quality. The manager of the brothel fawned over the man and spoke, "Sir Robert, I have reserved the most beautiful girl of the batch for you. She is still a virgin. Most importantly, she seems very submissive. I am sure you will enjoy yourself."

The fat man nodded and handed a gold coins to the manager. The manager's smile turned radiant and he brought out Alba. She looked at the man named Robert and gazed at the floor. Robert seemed satisfied with the girl and took her to a room upstairs. He had her sit on the bed and took off his clothes. His big belly jiggled with each step he took and soon he was standing in front of her. His eyes were full of lust as he started undressing her.

Alba closed her eyes and decided she would remain in that state until it was all over. She was expecting pain from her crotch but nothing happened even after some time. She opened her eyes to look at what the man was doing when a palm grew larger and larger until it covered her entire vision. Her cheeks burned as she tried to figure out what was happening.

She was scared of pain. She had decided that she wouldn't resist if doing so spared her from pain. She couldn't understand why the man still slapped her when she hadn't even tried to resist. She was thinking hard when another slap landed on her face. Her right ear started ringing and one blow after another landed on her face.

"Your face is so pretty. I really like the sound it makes when I hit it as well. Awwww, why are you crying? Don't cry. It makes me feel like I shouldn't hit you." Robert spoke as if he was speaking to a child. The blows didn't stop even after he said those words and tears started flowing down her temples. Seeing the tears fanned the flames of lust in him even more as he began hitting her harder.

Alba put her arms above her head to cover her face. Robert grabber her wrist and pulled her arms apart. Her wrist hurt from the rough hold. "Bit*h don't put your arms up. I hate it when you do that. Next time you do that, I will break your arm."

Despite the threat, her arm went up on its own as the blows to her face got heavier. A look of immense anger came over his face as he grabbed her arm and twisted it hard. A crack resounded followed by her agonized screams. Things got worse from that point as he started assaulting other parts of her body as well. She fainted midway from the abuse.

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When Alba opened her eyes, she saw a young man. A smile bloomed on his face as he saw her awake. He gently asked her, "What's your name? What is the last thing you remember?" She wanted to speak but a thought popped in her mind, 'Is he with the people from the brothel?'

She kept her mouth shut and just sat there like a stone. He took a few steps towards her and her body started trembling on its own. Images of the horrible time flashed through her mind and her heart felt cold. She tried to shoo the terrible memories away from her mind when a warm palm landed on her forehead.

"Are you cold? You are shivering really badly." The young man spoke just as gently as he had before. She had just relaxed a little when the memories of the palm that hit her repeatedly played in her mind. Her trembling worsened and the young man backed off.

"It's okay. You are safe now. I am a doctor. I treated you. You don't have to be scared, I won't hurt you." He continued trying to soothe her. Alba didn't trust the young man, but she didn't think that he was with the bad people anymore.

The next day, she finally told him her name. He asked if she remembered what happened to her. Recalling the incident, tears welled up in her eyes. "It's okay. You don't have to tell me. You are still mentally exhausted. Just rest." He spoke patiently and headed out the door to the main room of the shop.

Alba heard loud knocks followed by a rough voice. The owner of the voice started speaking with the young man who had saved her. She peeked through the door to see what was going on when her body turned stiff. She saw the two guards of the man who hurt her. They were trying to trick the young man and take her away. She was about to close the door when her eyes met one of the guards. He smiled at her and the smile sent chills down her spine. Her free arm which wasn't immobilized by a splint started shaking and even closing the door seemed impossibly difficult.

The guard stood up and walked to the door. He held the doorknob and pulled it with great force. The doorknob which she held slipped out of her hand because of the sweat that had accumulated on without her knowing. Her body froze and she couldn't muster any strength to move it.

The young man who had saved turned around to look at what was happening when the other guard rushed at him. She wanted to warn him about it but her throat refused to make any sound. She watched powerlessly as the guard hit him with a sword's pommel and he fell down face first.

Tears welled up in her eyes as thoughts about what would happen to her popped in her mind. Her legs felt weak and she fell on her butt. She had lost all hope when suddenly, the doctor got up with great momentum. He tackled the guy who had hit him to the ground and took out a dagger from his belt. He stabbed repeatedly at the guard's abdomen. Blood flowed out of the wounds but the guard refused to give up. He made a fist and hammered at the doctor's face repeatedly.


Chapter 15: Escape (2)

Brom grew up in the slums. He had no memories of his family. He was always alone for as long as he remembered. Life was hard. He got by with the food the people who passed by offered him. If he was lucky he could get three meals a day, but most of the time he had but a single meal a day or none at all.

Brom lived his life being miserable, but he didn't hate being miserable. All he knew was that he would starve to death if people didn't see the miserable state he was in. Brom understood that he could cling on to life only because of the pity people took in him.

It was a cold winter. He sat in a corner shivering. A girl who lived in the slums just like him moved closer to him to keep away the cold. They sat there huddling close together. It didn't keep the cold away but it was better than nothing. A middle aged man saw the duo when he was passing by. Seeing the scene melted his heart and he bought a blanket and food for them. Brom was grateful to someone after a long time, his cold heart that didn't feel much gratitude or warmth for anyone thawed a little for the girl next to him. Maybe it was because he hadn't had much contact with anyone in a long time or maybe it was because he liked the girl. The world seemed bright to him despite the gloomy weather.

Good things never lasted, a homeless guy looked at the duo with much envy. He hated how the brats received more help from people just because they were kids. The kids got all the attention from the people passing by and got treated kindly while he had to beg for a single bite and got nothing but harsh words of contempt and disgust.

The homeless man waited for the middle aged man to depart. The moment he left would be the moment he took action. He made sure the middle aged man was gone before going over to the kids. He snatched the food out of their hands and kicked away the hands holding the blankets tightly. The kids resisted with all their might but their starved small body couldn't contend with the homeless man.

Brom tried to comfort the girl who was sobbing. He didn't know why but seeing her cry evoked an unknown feeling in him. His heart felt like it was being poked by a needle. The boy held the girl closer to him and tried to keep her warm. He was starving but the only thought in his mind was to keep the girl warm. The girl stopped crying and eventually fell asleep. The boy too fell asleep embracing a warm body for the first time in a long while.

'It's cold. What is it that I am holding? Why is it so cold?'

Brom's mind was still hazy. He had just woken up and his palms felt like they were touching ice. The day was indeed cold but his palms felt even colder. He opened his eyes and what he saw chilled his heart. The girl was pale and still. Her whole body was cold. Colder than the chilly air surrounding them. He tried to wake her up. He nudged at her, shook her repeatedly and called out to her but the girl didn't reply or wake up.

It took a long time for Brom to understand what had happened. The girl was dead. It wasn't the first time he had seen a corpse. He had seen beggars die in a similar way when they didn't get any food to eat or were too cold. Brom's heart grew cold. It was now far colder than how it had been before it thawed. He was full of anger and resentment.

It was still early. The slum was dim and most of its occupants were still sleeping. Brom's mind was blank. He placed the corpse of the girl down slowly and looked around. He saw the homeless man who had robbed them sleeping underneath the warm blanket a few meters away. His body trembled uncontrollably, but unlike the previous times, the cause was not the cold but his boiling anger. He picked up a stone lying on the ground and held it firmly in his palm. He took steady steps towards the man and crouched in front of him.

The man was sleeping soundly. He had no idea Brom was right next to him glaring at him with eyes that cried murder. Brom raised the stone up high and brought it down with immense force. The stone felt strong resistance from the man's skull and stopped but he raised it and brought it down again and again. The sleeping man never woke up and his blood splashed around as if a melon that was being smashed squirted its juices everywhere.

Brom learnt that day that life was incredibly cheap. It's worth was less than that of blanket and few bites of food. He looked at his hand that was bloody and wounded because the rough points in the stone pierced his palm every time it made contact with the man's skull. It didn't hurt when he was smashing the stone against the man's face but it hurt a lot now that he let go of the stone.

Brom didn't want to die in the slums like the girl or the other man. He started stealing and fighting. A gang saw him as a promising man and invited him to join them. He didn't have to think twice to make the decision. He joined the gang and his sins grew greater with passing time.

He had recently found a reliable backer. His name was Robert. Though he was a sick pervert who beat women for his pleasure, it didn't bother him. What mattered to him was that the man could provide him with whatever he wanted. He followed him around and did all the dirty task for the man and in return he could do what he wanted most of the time without any restraints.

Apparently, a doctor had saved the woman whom Robert had beat to near death just the other day. That wasn't good. The girl was supposed to die in the dark alley without making any waves. If she lived and word spread about what Robert had done to her, his reputation would take a big dive and his life would be turned upside down as well.

He got his partner to investigate the doctor. The results weren't favorable. The doctor was also a wizard of first circle. Wizards and warriors were tough to deal with. Since the man was a only a first circle wizard, it wouldn't be too hard if they took him by surprise. It would have been a lot harder if the opponent was a warrior. They couldn't go overboard though. All they had to do was kidnap the man and threaten him. Maybe break a finger or two to scare him enough to keep his mouth shut. The doctor had built quite a reputation for himself for the past year. They also couldn't let him find out about Robert. While his connections were powerful, the man himself was a wizard, he ought to have connections of his own and a powerful teacher. If Roberts identity got exposed, then the whole thing would blow out of proportion. They also couldn't just kill the doctor as killing a citizen and a wizard to boot would make much bigger waves than killing a single slave girl whom no one cared for.

Everything was going according to plan. He had caught the attention of the wizard and his partner had taken to chance to hit him behind his head to knock him out. He had just grabbed the girl when the man who was supposed to be unconscious got up and tackled his partner to the ground. The bastard even took out a dagger and stabbed his partner repeatedly.

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Vincent stabbed the man over and over again but the man retaliated by striking his face repeatedly with a bare fist. Blow after blow landed on his face but he felt none of it. The only thought in his mind was to finish off the guy he was pinning down as fast as he could. He would have preferred stabbing his heart or throat over his abdomen but the man's hands were in his way.

The man's blows got weaker and weaker until he could no longer keep his hands up and slowly lost his strength. Vincent wanted to finish the man off by stabbing his heart but just as he was about to do so, the other man who called himself big hound rushed at him with a dagger of his own and stabbed at his heart. Vincent moved on the last moment and the dagger dug into his shoulder.

The man pinned Vincent down and tried to drive his dagger deeper. Vincent used his right hand to prevent the man from pushing his dagger deeper while his left hand made way for the man's shoulder. Mana gathered in his palm and slowly transformed into electrical sparks as his palm made contact with the man. A jolt spread through the man's muscles and his arm spasmed. Vincent took the chance and pushed away the man whose grip had loosened. He pulled the dagger out of his shoulder and threw it aside.

The man on the floor held his right shoulder with his left arm. His shoulder's muscles had contracted and wouldn't loosen. His right arm was as good as useless for the fight right now. The spot where the bastard touched also had a burn on it and it stung like hell. His neck and forearm also felt like thousands of ants were crawling over them. He felt his right arm slowly loosen but he still couldn't control it properly. He wanted to take a rest until his arm recovered but the bastard wouldn't let him be.

Vincent rushed at the now unarmed man and tried to stab him. His opponent however seemed much more experienced in a knife fight and kept his distance. He wanted to cut off the man's right flank before committing to a big swing but he couldn't move his left arm properly. He was also losing strength as blood continued to pour out of his wound, he needed to end this fast or it wouldn't be good for him.

The man seemed to realize it too as he kept his distance and tried to buy more time. He looked at the young wizard and spoke in a provoking manner with clear intent, "You won't have much strength in a while master Vincent. How about giving up and making it easier on yourself?" It seemed to have worked as the young man rushed at him with a big swing.

The man used his left hand and intercepted the swing. Making such a big move was a fatal mistake when using a weapon with small reach. He grabbed his opponent's wrist and was about to disarm him when a jolt travelled up his arm through his palm. His palm got burnt because of the shock and his left arm lost their strength as well. Both his arms were rendered useless for a short term and engaging in a fight now would be stupid. He ran for the door as fast as his legs could carry him but before he could put any distance, Vincent drove the dagger through his sides and pushed him down.

The man wanted to call for help. His original objectives of not making a scene didn't matter anymore. To him, Robert's reputation wasn't as valuable as his life was. He didn't care if the guards would take him to a cell and lock him up as long as he could live. He had just opened his mouth to cry out when a strong hand choked his throat and a strong electrical shock came from the grip. His throat felt like it was on fire and breathing became difficult.

Vincent let go of the man's throat revealing tiny charred craters on his neck. The shock had caused a strong burn on the man's throat and he was writhing in pain. Vincent hurriedly grabbed the dagger on the man's side and pulled it out. He held the dagger and place it against his opponent's throat. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath and sliced.


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