Niisan 13

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♪ Bandits Ahoy! ♪

“Out.” Not long after, our resident bandit chief lady came by again.

“You sure have a lot of free time, old lady.” I said, trying to get a rise out of her. “Don’t tell me we’re getting the VIP treatment? Not to be rude, but this suite could use a little more room service, don’t you think?”

“Not bad. Laugh it up while you can, brat.” She didn’t take the bait. ”You’ll be losing that privilege forever once I’m done with you.”

And here I thought I could get her to use that mystery punch again. …What a pain. I could’ve given one of her underlings the slip and escaped with everyone, but it was too risky with her personally getting us.

Filly, Benny and I were taken out of the jail cell which the lackey man locked behind us. The kids from the other side of the iron bars looked on worried and scared. I gave them a small nod of reassurance without letting the bandits notice.

Vicky walked up front, the three of us behind her with the lackey bringing up the tail. Now then, what’s the plan… I could escape with Filly at any time, but that would mean abandoning the other 10 children to their fates. I do have a few ideas however――

As I was trying to decide which plan I should go with, I noticed small pieces of paper stuck on the long hallway walls. … I was expecting these. We didn’t have much time to talk, but some of the kids who went through―― Refining, told me about these.

These parchments mark out a map of the interior. The ink on the paper was old and faded but not impossible to read. I memorized the markings with quick, stealthy glances.

I then began organizing the many markings in my mind. It looked a lot like… a fort? It seemed to be an old, abandoned fort.

The structure was all over the place… it almost felt like a maze. My guess is that they kept adding to the construction without making too many plans, leading to a state where one could find lots of random dead ends here and there. In addition to these untended to, dusty areas, I also saw a number of small courtyards just there for no apparent reason. Bizarre…

We walked for approximately 5 minutes. We went up some stairs somewhere along the way, passed through many more dead spaces, and finally arrived at our destination. At a glance, this too looked like another courtyard formed due to faulty construction, but this one was the size of a basketball court.

The ground was overgrown with weeds, upon which sat a band of rough and rowdy men in a rough circle. Each of them held liquor mugs and looked to be having a jolly old time. Great place to be having a party, I thought sardonically.

“Rally up, boys!!” Vicky bellowed “I’ve brought along the main dish for tonight!!”

And upon seeing us three kids, the lot of them cheered, “OOHHHH!!!!!!”

I was honestly… dumbfounded at their abnormal level of fervor.

We were made to enter inside the circle of bandits and that’s when I noticed a certain object. At the center of the circle stood a bed, a canopy bed by the looks of it――

No. This was no bed. This was no bed at all. Beds don’t have those. Those shackles meant for the sole purpose of holding all four of a person’s limbs in place.

That thing was an operating table―― No. To be blunt, it was a bed made for torture.

“All right, my lovely scoundrels!” Vicky cried at the bandits, “We’ll be having a little rehearsal before the main event! Which one of you will be the lucky bastard, I wonder!?”

“Meeee!!” One of the men left the circle and came up to the torture bed.

The bed already had a live boar tethered to it. It’s four legs were spread wide―― all ready for chopping.

“There’s my lucky bastard! What’s yer name!!”

“Ave, Ma’am!!”

“Oh kay, Ave! See that big knife there? take it! Oi, someone get him a blindfold!!”

The man called Ave picked up the knife leaned against the torture bed while another man took out a napkin and tied it around his eyes. It was like a bizarre interpretation of breaking watermelons at the beach.

“I’m sure everyone here knows the rules!!” Vicky yelled, “Can’t see? No problem! Trust your gut and chop off the part I tell you! Get it right, and I’ll get you what you want! Liquor and whores! Even a tenth of the profits if you want!!”

The bandits cheered louder than ever.

“1 practice round! Then 3 tries! It’s so easy, eh! I’m just too sweet on ya louts!” Vicky riled them on even more, and the men sang her praises.

“You’re the best, boss!!” Said one.

“If only she was sweet in the bedroll, yeah!!” Said another.

“If you're into it, I can crush your nuts under my boots all ya like!” Vicky banted back.

Gyahahahaha!! their laughter boomed in the wide courtyard.

These people… were not sane.

Did they really do this, with humans… with those kids…!?

“Let’s get the show started! Sing, boys, sing!!” On Vicky’s command, the bandits began to stomp their feet in a folk tune, all together.

“♪ Bandits Ahoy, Bandits we Be! ♪”

“♪ We Stop the Cries of Children, We Swipe them Merrily! ♪”

“♪ An Arm, a Leg, an Eye, an Ear! ♪”

“♪ What’s the Pick? We can’t Wait to Hear! ♪”

“Right arm!!”

“Yeh! Git the right arm!!”

“One go, one go!!”

“♪ Bandits Ahoy, Bandit You be! ♪”

“♪ You’re Chopping off the Right Arm, for All of us to See! ♪”

Swaying along with the rhyme, the blindfolded man raised his arms high and swiftly brought it down on the helpless boar’s front right leg. There was a sickening sound of knife meeting flesh, followed by――

――Whiiiiiin!!! the hairy pig’s piercing cry.

My shoulders jerked, and I felt Filly tightly gripping my arm. She was shaking in shock. I pulled her into a side embrace.

… Filly’s Art,【Perfect Lexicon】, let her hear the voices of any animal. In other words, she could feel the sheer pain that the boar was suffering through almost as if it was her own.

“There it iiiiiiissss!!!”

“Gihahahahahahahaha!!”

“Atta lad, Ave!!”

The bandits seemed to crank it up even more after seeing the red blood profusely gushing from the severed appendage.

… This is nuts. This is just fucked up…!

But I… I’m no stranger to this sort of madness. People like them exist. I know that all too well. She destroyed every person I knew, everyone I held dear, right in front of my eyes―― She, my little sister, was exactly this sort of person.

“Now that’s the face I like to see.” Vicky grinned, seeing the pitch dark expression on my face.

“Be it a missing arm or an empty eye socket,” Vicky began with her broad grin, “there’s this noble who collects broken brats like that. And since this generous noble buys them off us, I figure we refine our products to their needs.

“The problem see, it’s that if we don’t put some heart into it, they’ll look ordinary, and the customer don’t like that. Do it like this, make it a game with hits and misses, and we can make ourselves some real art.”

She continued while approaching us: “Let me have a guess, you think we’ve gone looney? Well, you’re totally not wrong about that. But we do follow some rules in our own way.

“We’re not deranged, and we’re not monsters either. We’re humans, just like you, but only with a slight bit of taint.

“World’s a big place, eh? You don’t have to go very deep to find people like us, loads of them really. That’s just how it works, brat. You won’t learn this from your teachers.

“Not like knowing it now changes the fact that you’re getting on that bed! Heh, hahahaha…!!”

It was like she was telling me: You can’t understand this darkness. Just give up. That in spite of that, this darkness will persist in society, that it will naturally fester and grow.

Yeah, fuck that. Bullshit rhetoric like that doesn’t justify anything.

―― It only makes it all the more unforgivable.

“Leeet’s start the real deal.”

The boar had gone limp by now, and a few men carried it away.

―― Meaning, the bed was ready for a new sacrifice.

“Whoo, should I, pick?” Vicky looked over Filly, Benny and me, one by one.

Her eyes soon stopped at one of us: “... You. You’re going first.”

“Eh.” Benny went stiff. Vicky had raised a hand and was pointing right at him.

“We’ll take our time enjoying the aristocrats later. You’ll be our hors d'oeuvre.” All the bandits raised a cheer at their chief’s decision. Voices jeering to make him wail and suffer. Shouts promising that there would be no escape…

“... No… NO…!” Benny’s legs took him backwards. “No…! Please, anything but that…!!”

He didn’t turn back and run away. Doing even that was too scary. Vicky’s eyes were like a snake eyeing a fat rodent. And having that gaze directed straight at him, Benny felt despair, hopelessness.

I was the same. I couldn’t afford to look away. Who knows what she’d do the moment I did――

Vicky slowly closed in on the terrified boy. It was like she was putting blocks around a line of ants, sealing them in.

“(Jacky. Aren’t we going to save him?)” Filly whispered.

“(Can’t right now. There are too many of them...)”

I counted out roughly 30 bandits in this courtyard. I might’ve been able to handle it if I were alone, but protecting Filly and Benny at the same time was not going to be easy…

“(I know the basic layout of this fort. Finding and escape route won’t be an issue…)”

No, the issue was getting to that stage. Filly and I may have powerful Arts, but even I’m not naive enough to believe I can take on this many battle hardened men all at once.

I looked around, for something, for anything that might help…

“No… don’t… you can’t…!” Benny picked up stones from the ground and started throwing them at Vicky. They didn’t even faze the musclebound bandit chief, who instead raised an arm towards the boy.

“Here―― let’s see how we’ll raise your price.”

A dull sound of impact, and Benny was knocked down. He fell into the overgrown weeds, and I couldn’t see him anymore.

At the same moment, I heard a sound of something crashing from a completely different direction. Turing behind to the noise, I was shocked, “...What...”

The torture bed. Benny was lying on it now. He was writhing in pain, unable to move, while nearby men quickly bound him in place using the iron shackles.

What the fuck…!?

There was easily 6 to 7 meters of distance between Benny’s previous position and the bed. How did Vicky manage to move him all the way over there, and instantly? I had an idea. I knew only one Spirit Art that could create this sort of phenomenon.

“Great Spirit Bathin… it’s 【Fathomless Pit】...!!”

The Art that can move things, requiring no time, and ignoring all obstacles. Meaning, this lady can teleport…!!

“Wohoh! There it is! 【Fathomless Pit】!!”

“That’s our boss ma’am, the Bloody Tigress! Strongest spirit master in the world!”

Vicky’s men showered her in praise. Rakel did tell me this red haired bitch was first rate, but I would’ve never expected this. ―― 【Fathomless Pit】.

Even at the Capital’s Academy, where they gather every Art user that shows talent, you’d only find 1 or 2 people with a rare Spirit like Bathin. And I have to fight that? A bandit chief spirit master…!?

“So… Someone…! Help, help meeeeeee!!” Benny yelled as he struggled in his bindings. The chains rattled, but didn’t budge… the boy’s efforts were in vain.

“(Jacky!)”

“(I know!!)”

My training, my effort, my strength, it was all for this, all to prevent the suffering happening in front of me. No more. I won’t let myself taste that helplessness, that defeat. Not anymore――!!

Something. I needed to find something, some way to escape, but what…!!

“ ―――― Ah.” I know.

“It’s showtime, boys, sing, sing your lungs out!!”

Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! The bandits stomped.

“♪ Bandits Ahoy, Bandits we Be! ♪”

“♪ We Stop the Cries of Children, We Swipe them Merrily! ♪”

“♪ An Arm, a Leg, an Eye, an Ear! ♪”

“♪ What’s the Pick? We can’t Wait to Hear! ♪”

“An eye!!”

“Eyeeee!!”

“Stab it in good!!”

“♪ Bandits Ahoy, Bandit You be! ♪”

“♪ You’re Stabbing in an Eyeball, for All of us to See! ♪”

The blindfolded bandit flipped his knife so that it pointed downwards.

Just then ―― Whiiiiiin!!! cried the boar as it bashed into the man.

Even while missing one of its 4 legs. Even while trailing in its own blood. The boar―― the same boar that have been mutilated in their ‘rehearsal’ had done it.

When I noticed that the animal, which had been hastily hoisted to the side, was still conscious, I had quickly told Filly to make it move.

“What in the hell!?”

“It’s still alive!?”

The closest bandits immediately backed off, alarmed by the sudden occurrence. The one with the knife had already been mowed down.

“Filly! Have it tackle anyone nearby!” I commanded.

“Gotcha!” Filly replied, then turned her attention back to the boar under her control, “Sorry, please do a bit more for me…!”

The 3-legged boar followed its instructions and dispersed the men, while Filly and I made our way to the torture bed to rescue Benny.

“Y...you guys…!” Benny mumbled, surprised.

We tried our best to quickly remove the thick cuffs on his hands and feet, but no luck, they were too tough. So instead: “Ok, fine. We’ll just take this whole thing (the bed)! Grab on, Filly!”

“Yah!!” Filly yelled in agreement.

“ ―――― Fucckkkking braaaaaaatttttssss!!!!” Vicky roared, palpable rage on her face.

Charging at us, the woman threw her fist. With the gap between us and her, it was physically impossible for this attack to reach us. ―― But something like distance, mattered not for her.

I picked up Filly under one arm, and lifted Benny, bed and all, with the other, and then ―― jumped straight up.

Turning off my gravity with 【Veiled Wings of Freedom】, I instantly ascended very high.

Dark, starlit sky filled my surroundings. The criminals were all far below―― surely unable to reach me no matter what weapon they throw. Now, the question was, do I keep going up, or descend.

“Filly!” I signalled, and she understood perfectly, “Got it! Big birdy!”

A large falcon swooped in through the night sky as soon as Filly called out. It latched on to my shoulders and began carrying us away. I still hadn’t mastered flying with my Art yet, but I could achieve the same effect like this.

“What’s the plan, Jacky? We’ll go back for the others right?”

“You can bet on it. But for now, head towards town. We’ll make it look like we’re running away. Try to land on a random roof and so we can get Benny out of this bed first. Then we’ll go back for them.”

“Gotcha!”

So we did just that, and not long after, the bandits were searching for us all over town in a rush. Once we confirmed that they were busy, we touched down on an inconspicuous rooftop, using the force of the drop to break the torture bed and free Benny.

“Um… thank you…” The boy said, still kind of out of it.

“Don’t thank me yet, we still have to save the others. Also, you should come with us since they might capture you again if you’re alone.”

“Oh, okay. Sure...” Benny agreed to the arrangement while rubbing his left wrist.

I glanced back at the destroyed canopy bed. …Actually, it sort of looked like a bunk bed now. Maybe I hadn’t gotten a good look at it before, but it really did look like the sort where one person could sleep on top with the other person on the bottom.

“... Doesn’t matter. Let’s go.” I mean, I broke it already, who cares.

I prompted Filly and Benny to climb down from the roof so we can be on our way.

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