"Urgh! She's already sent back to the Count. You can't…. Cough! You can't get her back now!" Hearing the leader's words, I sneered and began squeezing his neck tighter.
"Where is the teleporter? Either you take me there, or I kill you and every one of your men. And do not think that I won't. I know this place is not overseen by the knights and guards." I was being serious this time. Just thinking about how scared Sophie must be right now. Being kidnapped and taken back to the place she ran away from. How could she not be scared? My eyes lit up, and ten fireballs formed around me. One floated towards the leader's face causing some of his hair to become singed, while the others flew forward and slammed into the entrance of the building, blowing it inwards.
No more playing around. Even if there is a defensive magic set up here, it would not matter. "Mana shield." I softly spoke as I began walking forward without waiting for the leader to answer. I still had detection up and found only one source of residual magic that had enough power left in it to be considered for transportation. Whether I was correct or not was another story. But from my understanding of magic circles and runes, this was the most likely place for a transporter.
"Argh! Let me go. I will tell you!" I did not listen to him. I was bringing him along with me no matter what, so why would I let him go so easily?
"Leader!" I heard a yell come from my side as I stepped through the entrance. I was met with no resistance at the entrance so I guess the defense system was not much of anything. I do, however, think I did feel a slight itch on the mana shield but nothing more.
I turned towards the voice that yelled to see six men staring at me with their swords drawn. I sneered, and a second later, those same six men were now upside down with their heads stuck in the floor. "So? Where is it?"
"Basement… the second basement!" The leader of the Foster Gang yelled out. I nodded and waved my hand, putting the stupid idiot to sleep. The basement was the exact place I was getting the residual magic signature from. I dropped the leader and then grabbed him by the ankle and dragged him along with me as I found the stairwell. I already knew the whole place in and out, so there was no need for me to ask for directions.
Any gang member that came to attack me was stuffed head first into the wooden floor boards. Sometimes with magic, other times by hand. With the bandits, it was feet first. This time it was head first.
I arrived at the bottom floor quickly without much issue. I made sure that every time I destroyed something that I put out the flames soon after. I did not wish to start a fire here in the slums. While I am sure there are a lot of people who are bad in these slums, the kids and the other good people who are living here struggling to make ends meet were not. One fire can destroy not only their homes but also take the lives of the thousands living in this place.
In front of me, inside a small room on the second basement level, is a small platform with a magic circle slowly spinning around in a dormant state. "Hmmm, connects to points between two identical magic circles. Interesting concept. Uses a form of space and time magic bending locations…."
I looked at the magic circle over and was quite surprised. Teleportation magic actually creates a bend in space and time to connect the two points. I made sure to imprint the entire thing into my mind before stepping onto it. I already understood the entire makeup of the magic circle. I injected a bit of my mana into it and then watched as the scenery around me changed.
"What!? Who are you!? Dedrei!? What is going on!?" A man wearing metal and leather armor yelled out while pointing a sword at me.
I guess the man in my hands was called Dedrei. Not thinking too much about anything, I used my detection magic and scanned the entire building I was in. It was definitely a mansion, and I was currently on the third basement floor. The building had three basement levels and four top levels. And the person I was looking for was locked away in a small room on the third floor. The room was dark and dim, with only a bed and a bathroom. There was not even a single window to be seen. Sophie was in the corner of the room with her head in her knees. I could hear her crying.
My anger started to take control as a loud crack was heard. Dedrei's head tilted to the side lifelessly as I raised his body up and tossed him full force at the guard, pointing his sword at me. "All those who helped kidnap Sophie will be punished."
Dedrei's body flew through the air and smashed into the guard, causing him to fly back with the body. Their bodies slammed into the wall, crashing through it before slamming into the wall in the hall outside. I heard a cry of pain before silence. I could tell the other man was not dead, but he did have quite a few broken bones.
I know my actions may seem rash, but I do not care. Sophie is locked up like a prisoner when she has done nothing wrong. Whether these people wished to help the Count or not is not my problem, they still helped, and that is all I need to know in order to punish them. I didn't mean to actually kill Dedrei. He was just unlucky. My hands slipped due to anger….
"No, since taking the stairs, it will only cause issues for me. Since it is basically a straight shot, I will just fly straight up." It was time to see just how good my strength truly was. I flapped my wings and rose off the ground. When I reached the ceiling, I pulled my fist back and imbued it with magic before thrusting it out.
*Boom!*
A loud explosion of rock and cement rocked the entire mansion. I looked up and could now see a clear hole leading up to the first floor. I could hear the sounds of yelling and saw the guards running towards the hole I made with my detection magic. Not wanting to be delayed, I quickly flew up through the hole and landed on the first floor.
"I should have put more power into my punch." I couldn't help but sigh at my own lack of intelligence. A bunch of guards came out of the side rooms and were now surrounding me.
I was about to make my move when a loud, arrogant sounding voice echoed through the hall. "To think, the child prodigy that the noble circles have been talking about is nothing more than a two bit thief!"
I turned to see a young handsome man in fancy clothes walking over with a very angry expression. "Count Freedman, I presume." I drew my sword and pointed it at him. "I think the one who should be called a thief is you, or should I call you a perverted thief? I mean, who goes around stealing young girls off the street?"
"Stealing young girls? I have no idea what you are talking about." Count Freedman tried to act dumb.
"You are not very well informed, are you, Mr. Pervert? This world has laws that even a noble like you needs to follow. The girl you kidnapped is no older than myself, and if I am not wrong, you can not forcefully take her away no matter what. I have already heard about your grand little scheme in the country. Release Sophie now, and I will ignore everything you have done, and I will leave this place. If you do not return her, I do not mind destroying your entire mansion." I could see Count Freedman's face turning all kinds of different colors as he ground his teeth. If looks could kill, well let's just say I would be dead by now.
"You do not seem to understand how this world works. Those with high status are able to do as they please. I can do as I want because I am a count. There is nothing you can do to stop me. You and the girl are nothing more than a commoner. I dare you to even think of bringing my…."
*Boom!*
A wall on the opposite side of the Count blew up. Count Freedman's eyes were wide in shock, and a trace of fear appeared within them as he stared at me. My hand stretched out in a gun pose. I drew it back and blew on the tip of my index finger. I smiled and tilted my head as my eyes glowed with an eerie light. "I said I would destroy your mansion, and I mean it. I keep my words. I will give you one last chance. Will you end this peacefully, or will you have your house destroyed? Because I can say this now. No one is stopping me from taking Sophie back. She is my friend and is in need of my help. Plus, your status means nothing to me because I can probably say that I am the most important person in this kingdom besides the king himself at this time, now that I am thinking about it. If I realized this sooner then maybe Sophie would have been fine."
