Southern Part of the Atrecaeca Kingdom.
A young man was standing in the middle of the plaza. He had short brown hair and a pair of black eyes. His gaze was hollow, but it felt like he was observing something.
He was wearing ragged clothes that covered his upper body to his knees. His body was full of dirt and his skin was extremely tanned. Despite the intense heat, he wasn't sweating.
There was a handcuff made of metal that was attached by a big chain on his wrists and ankles.
When he looked at the plaza, his focus was glued to a book that someone was reading ten meters away from him.
He oddly looked at it as if he was interested in it.
Unfortunately for him, he was distracted by a whip that struck his back.
The sound produced by the strike was so loud that it made people know that it was a perfect strike.
The young man suddenly dropped to his knees while screaming, "Aaaahhhhh!"
"This disobedient slave." A middle-aged man, who whipped him, walked to him and grabbed his hair. His expression was filled with anger and frustration.
"Aaaahhhh!" The man kept screaming in pain as he struggled to get up. However, the middle-aged man was dragging him by his hair as if he was treating him like an object.
He was brought to the group of people who wore similar clothing to him. After reaching the group, the middle-aged man kicked him from behind so that the ragged young man fell near them. As a result, those who witnessed such cruelty couldn't help but fear the consequences they would face if they didn't follow this middle-aged man's words.
The young man was struggling to get up as the pain spread all over his body.
The middle-aged man snorted. "Get up and follow me."
To avoid the consequences, the young man had no choice but to endure the pain. He stood up even with tears in his eyes as he continued walking with the rest.
Two hours later.
They had reached a certain place and the chained people were divided into a few prison cells. They were locked behind bars, not for those who were guilty, but for those who were enslaved.
The young man was locked with a middle-aged man and a young girl.
"Are you alright?" The young girl came to him, observing his condition. She could see several wounds on his body, making her think that he was going to die soon.
The young man looked at the girl for a moment but chose not to say anything.
The middle-aged man, on the other hand, warned her, "It's better if you don't associate yourself with him. It's not his first time disobeying the merchant. If you follow him, there is a chance that the merchant will be doing the same to you."
"…" The young girl gasped, not knowing what to say. On the one hand, she was scared of pain. On the other hand, she didn't want to see the man in front of her die.
The young man only turned his body around so that he didn't need to see the woman.
Yet, the girl actually approached him and tried to wipe the wound.
"Ouch!" The young man was startled by the sudden jolt of pain as he turned around, shouting, "What are you doing?"
The girl said with a smile. "Helping you doesn't mean following you, right?"
"…" The young man opened his mouth in surprise. He wanted to say something, but the words stuck in his mouth. This might be the first time that someone tried to associate with him.
He was known as eccentric from a long time ago, but to think that she would be doing something like this.
"Whatever." The boy snorted, acting as if he didn't care about her treatment. He thought that she would lose interest if he kept being mean.
Unfortunately for him, that never happened.
Several days had passed and the boy kept getting beaten due to his own interest. The girl always tried to treat his wounds despite having trouble herself.
However, he also noticed something from her. He actually found three scratch wounds on her lower arms. It appeared that the merchant harmed her as well.
On the one hand, the boy had told her to avoid him so that she didn't have to suffer. On the other hand, he felt bad because the girl's intention was good and yet, she was being punished for it.
After two weeks, the girl's complexion had become paler. Yet, she didn't stop doing the things she had always done.
The boy couldn't help but ask, "Why are you doing all this? You should have just stayed away from me and you will be fine."
The girl smiled weakly. "If I tell you that I want to die, what will you do?"
"Huh?" The boy was shocked to hear something like that from the girl's mouth. "What do you mean? Why do you want to die?"
"We have been enslaved for various reasons. Usually, the male will become either a meat shield for the soldiers or a slave for the mine. On the other hand, the female will become either s*x slaves or a toy for the rich. I haven't been sold yet, so why don't I do this and die in the process? This way, I only have to suffer for a while instead of for a lifetime."
Her reason was surprising. Even the boy couldn't believe what she was saying.
She could say a lot of lies such as she was doing it because of her heart or whatever reason that could change him. But this honest explanation moved the boy's heart.
The boy never realized that this would be his turning point.
Sadly, their fate had been sealed. The condition became worse and worse. Even though he was wounded, he still had a better vitality than the girls. So, he should still be able to last for a while or until he gets a new owner.
On the other hand, the girl's complexion became worse by the day. Her body had become weak and it seemed that she was going to die sooner or later.
Seeing the girl sitting down quietly on the corner as if she didn't want to trouble the others, the boy couldn't help but move next to her.
"What are you doing…" The girl asked weakly.
He didn't let out a word. He couldn't say anything even though he felt indebted. There was nothing he could do to help her this time.
Sadly, their misfortunes had yet to end. When the boy was about to lament his actions, an explosion occurred.
*Boom!*
The explosion was so big that it also hit the room they were in.
"What?!" The situation became chaotic. The shock wave knocked everyone back, the explosion destroyed a portion of the wall and ceiling and the rubbles was scattered around.
"Kh…" The boy was thrown to the other side of his cell, only to be stopped by the bars.
He didn't know what was happening, but when he opened his eyes to see what was going on, the sight was something that he couldn't forget.
The girl was lying in front of him. She might not have been crushed by the rubble, but it was clear that some smaller ones hit her.
Her head, her hands, and her waist were bleeding.
"What is this…" The guy gasped when he realized that she had been unconscious. If this continued, the girl would definitely die.
He wanted to help her, but he didn't know what to do. However, he could see that due to the explosion, there was a hole in the room and the bars that locked him got hit by one of the big rubbles, causing it to bend. The hole made from it was big enough for them to leave.
However, there was a dilemma. In their country, a slave would be treated the same as livestock.
Due to the harsh living conditions, people often sold themselves as slaves for various reasons. If they were found to be running away, they wouldn't be accepted anywhere. In fact, there was a high chance that they would be apprehended by the guards and they would face bigger trouble.
On the one hand, the only way for him to save the girl was to leave this place and find a doctor. On the other hand, if he went to the doctor, they might die either way.
The guy gritted his teeth, wondering what he should do. When he took another look at the room, he realized that some of the slaves had been trying to escape as they didn't want to be buried in this place.
There were also a lot of cracks around the building, showing that it would collapse any time soon.
Those conditions only reinforced the will to live for the boy. He looked at the girl and started lifting her up with all his power.
He felt indebted to the girl. No matter what he needed to do, he was going to save her.
Unfortunately, they were just young slaves. They could only run away from the place, the city, or any place they could see, as the chains and clothes would identify them as slaves. They had to run as far as they could.
But eventually, the boy reached his limit as he was too exhausted to even maintain his consciousness.
Unbeknownst to him, not long after he fell unconscious, two shadows appeared, covering him from the sun.
