Point-of-View: Siert Huet

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  Ickho Sshol……the man who haunted my nightmares and nearly crushed my spirit during most of my childhood……wh-why is he here? I-I need to focus, he's inside the barrier with us, and he's got Demonic powers……I h-have to.

  "Watch out, he's attacking!" Exclaimed Yuur, everyone scattering as he yelled.

  Prato fired a heat beam at Ichko, which he evaded, but it grazed his back and scorched off his skin, eliciting a hiss of pain from him. He let out an angry growl and fired a large blast of flames from his mouth, Prato sprang away to evade it, but the force upon impact sent him tumbling away, hitting his head on a rock and losing consciousness, blood trickling down from the side of his head.

  Rex flew up and fired both his guns at Ickho, who countered with a blast of Obliteration Magic, wiping out the projectiles. Rex quickly flew back to dodge the blast, which grazed the tip of his tail and the outer halves of his guns, erasing them. He tossed the weapons aside with a frustrated and pained expression, his tail trembling with pain.

  Ickho then shot towards Zubu with a maniacal snarl, purple blasts swirling around his hands. She sprang back and fired a large blast of wind at him, which he countered by combining his palms together and firing all the Obliteration Magic he'd charged up, wiping out the wind attack, continuing on forward……and erasing all trace of Zubu, all that was left were her feet and ankles……n-no……

  "You fucking bastard!" Exclaimed Ida furiously, coating the end of her staff in a sphere of dense earth and swinging it up at his chest, which he narrowly evaded, before she drove the other end straight at his midsection, striking him before could evade and eliciting a gasp of pain from him.

  She then planted the heavy end of her staff on the ground, gripped it with both hands and swung herself up, slamming her feet onto his jaw, sending him stumbling back. She let out a fierce roar and raised her staff, aiming to bring it down at his head, when suddenly……she froze and stopped, her eyes widening……

  "Z-Zubu……? But I thought you……I-I'm so glad you're alright!" She exclaimed, a look of relief in her eyes.

  Huh? What is she talking about? Suddenly, her expression went blank, as if she was in a daze. No, could it be……

  "Ida, snap out of it, he's using Chaos Magic on you!" Yelled Yuur, rapidly flying towards her with his dragonfly wings, as Ickho charged up an Obliteration Magic blast and aimed it at her.

  Yuur reached her just in time and pushed her out of the way, she fell to the ground and remained limp, right as Ichko fired the blast, erasing Yuur's midsection and most of his head, his lower half and the top of his head falling to the ground, blood pouring out of them. I-I need to do something……but……my body……it won't move……

  Ichko then stumbled back and clutched his head with a pained expression……using Chaos Magic takes a toll on the user. Before he could regain his bearings, Rex swooped down with a look of fury and slammed his fist onto the side of Ichko's face, sending him flying away and skidding along the ground before crashing onto the wall of the barrier, cracking it severely, as he coughed out blood.

  He fell to the ground and stood up shakily with a dark look in his eyes, a look that I was all too familiar with……it was the look he got when he wanted to torture or kill. Damn it……why can't I move!? I'm completely useless. Rex then shot towards Ickho with his claws raised and his eyes blazing with rage, rapidly closing in.

  "Tch, I really want to kill you, but I was told to capture at least four……I will have my fun torturing you later!" Ickho declared viciously, evading Rex's attack, grabbing his tail and swinging him down, slamming him onto the ground with a resounding impact and knocking him unconscious.

  I was the only one left. He walked over to me with a smirk on his face, his fists clenched. Th-this is bad, I need to move……but……why……why won't my body listen to me?

  "Wh-why are you h-here?" I stuttered, my feet rooted to the ground as he closed in.

  He stared at me with a frown, narrowing his eyes while scanning my face, before widening them with recognition……

  "Well, well, now this is unexpected! To think that I would run into you here, of all people……hah, I can't believe that you're still alive! Did you really think that you could escape me?" He remarked with a vicious smile, "You're nothing more than my tool……I am going to enjoy reminding you of that!"

  That was the last thing I heard as he swung his fist towards my face, everything going black as his punch connected……damn it……no……

  I don't remember who my real parents were, everything before the age of five is a blur……my past memories are more clear from that point onwards, but they are far from pleasant……at the time, I barely knew how to speak at all, but even if I did, I probably wouldn't have spoken much……because all I saw was pure horror and suffering, day in and day out.

  Ickho was a highly influential noble merchant from Platinberg, he dabbled in many different types of trade, but the one that I was most familiar with was his slave trading business. But he didn't just sell slaves to others, he kept some for himself as well. I was a bit different though……he enjoyed torturing and mutilating his slaves, and……he forced me to assist him.

  Almost every single day, I'd have to watch and assist him to tear off fingernails, twist and hammer screws into flesh, pull out teeth, tear off fingers and toes, skin people alive, and that's just scratching the surface……and if I looked away or threw up, he'd whip me afterwards……even to this day, my torso was covered in scars from those days, I was always careful to keep them hidden.

  The screams of those he tortured echoed in my nightmares to this day, but more than that or the physical scars he inflicted on me, his words scarred me far deeper……he would repeat those words over and over as he whipped and beat me……"you are completely useless, can't you do anything right!?"……"how truly worthless you are, you are lower than an insect, nothing but trash!"……"I did not give you permission to scream, do I need to discipline you even further!?"

  I was given food and water, but only just enough to keep me alive……I was frail and weak, and would often drop his torture tools by mistake……and whenever I did, he'd kick me into the ground mercilessly while berating me for being so useless and incompetent……to be honest, I didn't even understand some of what he yelled at me, but regardless, there was always only one response that I could bring myself to utter……"I'm sorry".

  Over and over, so many times so that those words began to lose their meaning……it became like an instinctive reaction, something I'd blurt out in an instant if I felt any hint of aggression directed at me, or even around me……I truly felt worthless, I didn't understand why I was allowed to remain alive, when so many other slaves were slowly and methodically killed so brutally right in front of my eyes, all of whom I was helpless to save……

  And yet……I didn't want to die. I probably didn't realize that at the time, but deep down, that was how I felt……I wanted to get away from him, his torture, the screams of his victims, I wanted to get away from it all……but I was only a child, I had no idea how to do so. And then, it finally happened, when I was eleven or twelve.

  If I remember right, Ickho had been heading for Silvland with the intention of selling some of his slaves, I was brought along as well. However, on the way there, his carriages were attacked by bandits. He managed to escape with some of the Adventurers he'd hired as bodyguards, but the slaves, including me, were left at the mercy of the bandits.

  But compared to Ickho, they weren't as bad……at least, not to me. Most of those slaves that were being transported had been women, so the bandits toyed with and abused them, tossing them aside once they were broken or dead……I was mostly ignored by the bandits, but as a result, they barely fed me at all……I was driven to the verge of death due to starvation, with no idea of how much time was passing by……

  That was when those bandits happened to pass through one of the areas surrounding the Rustlands, where they encountered a group of Adventurers and were wiped out. The remaining slaves, including me, were taken to the Rustlands as refugees, since slavery is outlawed there. Not long after that, I was adopted by my current parents, who were part of the group of Adventurers that saved me, they're retired though.

  For a long time, I didn't speak, I simply cowered in the corner of a room they put me in. But they were patient and understanding, and slowly but surely, dragged me out of my shell. I was taught to read, write and other basic skills, and while my trauma never went away, I learnt to suppress it, at least to an extent.

  My Anima then awakened when I was thirteen, and I felt a fair bit stronger by the physical boost it gave me, and after the horrors I'd witnessed during my childhood……the idea of possibly helping people appealed to me, especially after doing nothing but watch when Ickho killed all those people, that's why I decided to become an Adventurer.

  Slowly but surely, I started to talk and interact with people more, but those six or seven years of watching torture and being tortured had taken its toll, leaving a deep scar in my psyche that I doubt will ever fully heal.

  Despite that, my life after I was brought to the Rustlands……has been a happy one. The memories of my past may have continued to haunt me, and may do so forever, but I thought that's all they'd ever be……nightmares from the past, not to be concerned about in the present. I……I never expected to run into him again……

  H-huh……? Where am I……? My head hurts……I groaned and tried to reach and rub my head, but my arm wouldn't move……instead, a slight clink echoed out. I froze and opened my eyes, looking around as a sense of horror seized me. I was in a cave, along with the others……and we were all chained up.

  "Fitting that you would be the first to regain consciousness, my long-lost tool……do you have any idea how frustrating it was to lose you, after all those years of carefully grooming you to be my most satisfying toy to play with! I wanted to chip away at you bit by bit, building up the anticipation before finally killing you, I was quite distraught that I had to leave you behind that day……and now, after all these years, I found you again!" Greeted Ickho with a deranged cackle.

  Chills ran down my spine as I noticed a table with several tools on it……tools that were very familiar to me. They were stained with blood and slightly rusted, and had clearly been used recently. And now……he was going to use it on us……

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  Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Don't forget to vote, and feel free to leave a comment, I appreciate any and all feedback and criticism!

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