CHAPTER 56: CHAPTER 56: PAST [2]

Little Evelyn was shocked, and a little frightened, too.

She had fought many enemies, and most of them were stronger than her.

However, she had always been able to win against them.

But this time, Little Evelyn’s opponent was truly terrifying.

No one had ever been able to dodge her attacks, but this person could make her daggers disappear from reality right away.

This was truly a formidable opponent.

And if Little Evelyn wasn’t careful, she would be killed.

— Who is this guy?

— Is he a monster?

Right now, she was losing focus.

And on the battlefield, losing focus meant losing.

Like a ghost, Kael successfully approached Little Evelyn in a flash.

No sound could be heard.

He didn’t even leave an afterimage.

Then, with just basic movements, without using too much physical strength, he successfully pinned the little girl to the ground.

Taking away her ability to move.

His sapphire eyes were fixed on that cute but skinny face.

Little Evelyn’s ruby eyes were also fixed on his unreal handsome appearance.

— No...

— No way...

"Gulp." The little girl swallowed her saliva.

For the first time in her life, little Evelyn felt death so close.

— Is today the day of my death?

— I don’t want to die...

— I want to live...

But the outcome was already too obvious.

There was nothing else she could do.

Desperately, little Evelyn closed her eyes, clenched her teeth, and prepared to accept death.

"Hic..."

Tears welled up in the corners of her eyes.

After all, she was just a 7-year-old child.

But...

1 second.

2 seconds.

3 seconds.

4 seconds passed.

Nothing happened.

"Huh?"

Little Evelyn was still alive.

She carefully opened her eyes, and what entered her vision was a gentle, serene smile.

Coming from her opponent.

And for some reason, when little Evelyn saw that smile...

She felt very comfortable.

Ignoring her expression, Kael slowly leaned down, bringing his mouth close to little Evelyn’s ear.

Then, in the smallest voice, he whispered:

"Do you want to be freed?"

***

Kael had been thinking a lot.

About how to turn this memory into a good one.

And then, he came to a conclusion:

For a slave, the thing they crave the most is freedom.

And that was even more true for little Evelyn.

He curled his lips slightly.

...

"Do you want to be freed?"

The little girl froze.

Puppies dilated.

Trying to digest what she had just heard.

But no matter how she thought about it, the words just now had only one meaning.

— Freedom...?

That was what little Evelyn had always dreamed of.

A distant dream.

But today, it was surprisingly close.

Trembling, the little girl opened her mouth:

"Please... Please take me out of here..."

More tears flowed out, like a waterfall.

But this time, these were not tears of fear.

But tears of happiness, of hope.

At this moment, the screams of the audience could no longer disturb them.

Receiving the answer he wanted, his smile became even brighter.

"With pleasure!"

Not wasting any more time, Kael quickly picked the little girl up.

Making sure that she couldn’t fall, he slowly turned towards the door to escape the cage.

Below, the audience was confused about what was going on.

They paid to watch the killing, but up until now, no one had bled.

How disappointing.

"Wow wow wow! What do you two think you’re doing?"

The referee entered the arena.

His face was fierce.

"Isn’t it obvious? This girl and I will escape from here."

The referee stomped his feet, his face becoming even more distorted.

"Nonsense! You’re slaves! And slaves are supposed to stay here until they die!"

"Is that so?"

Kael said, picking his ear, looking indifferent.

"But so what?"

He blew on the earwax.

"That’s what I want. What can you do to me?"

"HUH!?!?!?!?"

Then, without giving the referee a chance to make a move, he immediately charged towards him.

With the speed of a wild beast.

[Authority of Guttony!]

The referee was eaten.

But Kael did not stop.

Still holding little Evelyn, he ran out of the arena, past the screaming spectators, and into the corridor leading to the exit.

Behind, the slavers were chasing him at full speed.

"Stop, you slaves!"

"Wait until we catch you!"

And because Kael had to run, hold a little girl, and carefully observe his surroundings, his speed was naturally slowing down.

The distance between him and the slavers was getting shorter and shorter.

Realizing this fact, little Evelyn panicked.

"Can we do it?"

Kael turned his head around.

There were about 20 slavers.

"Of course not. Before we escape, we might be caught."

The girl’s mood was extremely confused.

However, in the end, little Evelyn still had to say what she needed to say:

"I-In that case... leave me here. Escape alone... This was your idea after all..."

"Never!"

Kael replied instantly.

But just as she said, the situation was not looking good at all.

With no other choice, he stopped, then put the little girl down.

"Listen Evelyn, I’ll stay here to hold them off, and you will continue running along this hallway, okay?"

His voice was gentle.

Even though the situation was extremely urgent.

"Wait, what about you then?"

The little girl hugged his arm, her eyes filled with tears, on the verge of sobbing.

Kael kindly pushed her away.

"Don’t worry, I’ll be fine. I’m very strong. So, I’ll live."

"No!"

Little Evelyn screamed.

"It’s still too dangerous!"

They had clearly just met for the first time.

But somehow, she felt as if they had been together for a long time.

Her heart ached at the thought of leaving Kael here.

"Then do you want us both to die?"

He patted her head.

Gently.

"No..."

"Then run."

"But what about you?"

"I will live."

"Really?"

"Of course."

He wiped away the tears from the corners of little Evelyn’s eyes.

"Can I... know your name?"

She asked, sobbing.

"Kael Draven."

"That’s a beautiful name... Will we meet again?"

He beamed.

"We will."

"Then... Goodbye, Kael. And good luck."

With that, little Evelyn began to run toward the light.

"Goodbye..."

He muttered.

[First Challenge: Complete.]