Chapter 73: Output

Many have gathered around the town to become witnesses to a public execution wherein Mr. Lagman would be the subject of the torture.

"Cast him into the fire!"

Chief Mordecai's men began to light the pile of wood underneath a huge cauldron filled with nothing but oil extracted from several animals upon being bold alive.

Yes, these townspeople have a way of inhumanely executing their livestock as if it were some kind of old ritual passed down to them by their predecessors.

"I've lost a lot of blood. It won't be long before I'm gone from this world, but that doesn't mean that I'm not gonna put up a fight—"

A single strike that directly landed on his wound had Mr. Lagman succumbs to the pain. He was instantly down on his knees as blood trickled on the side of his mouth, enduring the agony he was undergoing at the moment. And seeing him writhing in pain made the townspeople roar in excitement.

"Pick him up and tie him on the pole."

On the plaza where people had gathered, Chief Mordecai instructed his guards to place a log in a hole in the ground. It was initially designed to hold a metal pole where they would be able to tie some outsiders that dared trespass the premises of their town.

Mr. Lagman does not have the necessary strength and energy to struggle as he gets picked up by the guards and has his hands tied around the wooden pole.

"It was foolish to come here," said one of the guards tying the rope around his hands. "But I would have done the same if it was my wife and daughter. Our difference would be-- I would bring people with me."

"Then, w-will you look at it from my own perspective? What if it really was you in my shoes right now?"

"Mere hypothesis..."

"Get me some clothes! It's so hot here!"

Through the crowd, Crysalia squeezed in and reached the source of the commotion. Once in front of the crowd, Crysalia finally had the chance to freely breathe whilst being met with this intense heat coming from the burning firewood that heats up the oil-filled cauldron.

"Who is that?" Crysalia wondered, intently looking at the tied-up Mr. Lagman, who was about to pass out from blood loss and extreme fatigue. "Seemed like someone from Xenia's village. Too bad he got caught."

Crysalia did not go out of her house just to see why people from her town had gathered. She was outside because she wanted to follow Xenia without anyone noticing her intentions. In every way possible, Crysalia wanted to help, and unfold the mystery that imprisoned itself inside the towering factory.

As she gradually moved further away from the crowd with their encompassing monotonous cheer for enlightenment, Crysalia somewhat felt pity towards Mr. Lagman, who was a stranger to her.

Treading on a dangerous path that could lead to her and her father's banishment from the town, such condescending thought does not bother her after focusing on her goal. It had always bogged her why people, especially females, from outside came into the factory and never came out. The mystery that had been cast aside behind her mind was picked up once again by the unexpected presence of someone honestly younger than her. And braver.

"I need to catch up to Xenia without him noticing."

Upon reaching the end of the road, Crysalia turned to her right and moved forward into the alleys plagued with rats and cockroaches, for the place she was going in led to the dumpster of the town. She was heading towards a vacant lot where their garbage and other waste were discarded.

Her reason was not to have herself smell like trash but to take the shortest route possible in order to intercept Xenia without ever having an encounter with him because she would delay her actions so that Xenia would be going in first.

One more reverberating voice of the people went on before silence fell upon the plaza. It became so quiet that Crysalia became aware of how much noise in each step she made, thus shifting to her sneaky mode, which caused less noise and became inconspicuous.

Xenia's silhouette swiftly went past Crysalia's view, his footsteps thudding on the pool of water in his path as he continued running towards the factory.

"Are the townspeople having a celebration or something? No one's around."

Everything was going well for Xenia and his plan. With the townspeople gathered in the plaza, no one was in the streets and corners of houses. Xenia took the opportunity without having knowledge of what caused everyone to be away from the factory. That it was because of his adoptive father.

As Xenia was running, before he went past the alley in which Crysalia was waiting, her silhouette got caught at the side of Xenia's eyes. He wanted to stop but could not decide, so he just continued and took advantage of the absence of the townspeople and the guards.

And when Xenia finally reached the door that leads to the factory, he took a deep breath and looked around first before trying to open the door. As expected, the door did not open, for it was locked from the outside.

"A key. I need the key, but I don't know where it is."

So, instead of looking for the key, Xenia began to move to search for another entrance. The factory was made out of metal with black as its paint to attract much heat and conduct it to energy.

No windows or any passage that leads inside could be found. Minutes passed, and Xenia only found two doors; one in front and the other at the back of the factory where waste got directed to the sewer using a large stretchable tube.

Huffing, Xenia stopped to take a break. Both the exit and the entrance were locked from the outside. The guards and Chief Mordecai took precautions before leaving the factory.

Behind him, Crysalia was carefully watching him. Even Crysalia looked for ways to get inside but also found none.

"I told you to stay at your house, Crysalia."

"What— for how long?"

"Ever since the beginning. I knew you'd be stubborn."

Crysalia came out of her hiding spot and walked towards the resting Xenia. For some time, the building up of the townspeople's voices had reached the whole town, causing those who were still unaware of the commotion to go to the plaza.

"What are you gonna do now?"

Standing before the towering factory, Xenia did not want to resort to his trick, but he was forced to do so. Otherwise, he would not have any way of getting inside the factory. He would not want that.

"I've thought of a way, but I'm not sure if it will work."

[Reinforcement]

Xenia stood in front of the locked entrance door as he tightly clenched his fist. The surging of power and energy being poured into his fist was not visible to Crysalia's ice, so she was confused as to why Xenia was acting as if he was going to punch the door.

"Oi, you don't plan on using brute force, right? Can't you see how sturdy and thick that door is? You'll crush your fist!"

[Corrosion]

By applying both Reinforcement and Corrosion to Xenia's fist, he is willing to test if his plan would work.

"Step back, Crysalia."

"What do you mean step back?! Cease your stupidity, Xenia. You're not gonna crush that door unless you're superhuman —!"

His fist flew towards the door, and Crysalia failed to stop Xenia from punching the sturdy metal blockade, which she thought would mess up Xenia's hand. Her mouth was left agape when Xenia worked a miracle.

"You didn't destroy the door... but you punched a hole through the thick metal!"

Which destroyed the lock of the door, using the immense power in his fist plus the corrosive effect of the other Gift he acquired back on the island.

"One way to break through a locked door, yeah?"

"You're one crazy kid! I wouldn't have thought that you possessed a Gift. So, my father's words were true."

Xenia reached for the door and opened it. Both of them went inside to the dark and cold atmosphere of the ground floor of the factory.

"Are there no lights in here?"

They were like blind people trying to reach their goal, and Crysalia's hand stumbles upon this lever, which she accidentally pulled down. Power is generated throughout the ground floor, and bright light illuminates the whole room filled with nothing but boxes of canned sardines.

~