Ch 64 : Hidden Protector

This week, Auron spent most of his time at home. He accompanied his sister Evelyn and helped his mother with the house chores. Every few days, he would stroll around the marketplace to buy groceries.

"That's the tenth one. Where are the guards that are supposed to be patrolling the town?" Auron thought as he saw a group of bullies harassing a frail old man. They often targeted the elderly and weak beggars, taking whatever little money they had. Auron even witnessed them using children to beg and collect money for them.

"I really want to do something, but if a kid like me stands up to them, they'll probably just laugh it off," Auron sighed helplessly.

"What if they don't know you're a kid?" Xiao Yu suggested.

"They don't know if I'm a kid? You mean beating them under the cover of night?" Auron was intrigued by the idea.

"Becoming a batman in another world, huh. Let's do it. I'll operate at night. First, we need a layout of this town," Auron smirked.

"I'll show you the layout of the town based on your previous strolls. You only need to map out the remaining areas," said Xiao Yu. A map suddenly appeared in Auron's mind.

"This is good. We only need to map a bit more," Auron said excitedly. He then walked towards the uncharted areas immediately, marking the places where those bullies frequently gathered.

---

After mapping the remaining part of the town, Auron made his way back home. As he passed by an alleyway, he saw an old man lying on the ground. The man's body was thin and frail; his ribs were visible beneath his skin, as he wasn't wearing a shirt.

"Are you alright, sir?" Auron asked, genuinely concerned about the old man's condition. It was winter, and the old man must have been freezing.

Auron swiftly approached the old man to offer his help. He wanted to coat the old man with his celestial aura before taking him to buy some food and clothes.

Suddenly, the frail-looking man chopped at Auron's neck, intending to knock him out. The weak demeanor disappeared as the man used a force strong enough to incapacitate a normal kid.

"What are you doing, sir? Are you trying to kidnap me?" Auron's voice turned cold. He had sincerely wanted to help the man, so he had let his guard down. But now, using his mystical eyes, he could see a black aura emanating from the man—an aura that resembled the murderous intent of a monster.

The old man was shocked and tried to flee, but Auron grabbed him and threw him to the ground. Not wanting the old man to make any sound, Auron stuffed his mouth with a piece of the towel he used to wipe his sweat.

"Now answer my question. You may choose to lie, but I'm sure you won't like what I'll do to you if you do. Another thing—don't even think about lying to me because I'll know," Auron said as he dislocated both of the man's feet.

"First question—are you a kidnapper?" Auron asked.

The old man shook his head, denying it almost instantly.

"I told you, I'll know if you're lying," Auron added. The old man was lying.

Fire appeared on Auron's hand as he gripped the old man's legs. The searing sensation caused the man to scream, but the towel muffled his cries as his legs were slowly burned.

"I'll ask you again. Are you a kidnapper?"

The old man nodded weakly, still trying to endure the pain.

"How many kids have you kidnapped? Use your fingers," Auron instructed.

The old man slowly raised his hands, showing ten fingers. Auron knew the man was lying but decided to let it go for now.

Suppressing his anger, Auron asked another question. "Where is your hideout? You're not operating alone, are you?"

Feigning hesitation, the old man pointed in a direction.

"Let's see what you've got there. This town is hiding more secrets than I thought," Auron mused as he reconnected the old man's feet so he could move faster.

"You think your people can help you, don't you? You're truly wrong," Auron sneered as he followed the old man. They strode through dirty and dark alleyways until they reached an abandoned house.

Suppressing his agony, the old man ran into the house immediately. Auron let him go, allowing the man to call for help.

Auron's mystical eyes had already detected several people inside the house—fifteen in total, most of them early Tier 1 magi. The strongest among them was only a late Tier 1 magus.

Auron walked leisurely into the house, unfazed. He was greeted by a barrage of spells.

Coating his body with darkness celestial aura to protect his clothes from damage, Auron stood unharmed.

"What a great welcoming gift you've prepared," Auron said sarcastically, unaffected by the attacks.

The kidnappers were stunned that their spells had no effect on the boy.

"Who are you, kid? It's impossible for someone your age to be this strong," one of the kidnappers said, visibly shaking in fear.

"It should be impossible, but I'm different from others. It should have taken a longer time to track you all down, but one of your members foolishly attacked me," Auron replied coldly, noticing the dark aura surrounding all of them.

"I think there's a misunderstanding between us. Why don't we compensate you? We could give you 100 gold coins so we can all go our separate ways," the man who seemed to be the leader offered.

"100 gold coins, huh. That's quite a huge sum you have there. So, how many kids have you sold over the years?" Auron asked coldly. He could tell this operation had been running for a long time.

"Inferno Chain."

Blazing hot chains appeared out of nowhere, slithering towards the kidnappers and binding their limbs. The scorching heat burned their bodies black.

"So, how do you pass all the security checks? Did you bribe the guards?" Auron asked.

"Do you think you can make us talk, kid? Our boss will kill you later. Hahaha," the leader laughed before collapsing, having taken poison hidden in his mouth. Seeing this, the others followed suit.

"What a ruthless group. They really keep a tight lid on their operations, huh. This only strengthens my resolve to cleanse this town further," Auron said, shaking his head.

"I need an interrogation spell. Otherwise, it's hard to extract any information," Auron thought.

"Xiao Yu, create a unique spell using the Omniscient Fire Heavenly Rune and soul force," Auron instructed. He needed Xiao Yu to form the base of this complex spell, which would blend celestial aura and soul force.

After searching the house, Auron couldn't find any other leads. He only found three kids who had been recently kidnapped. He released them and instructed them to report to the guards. As Auron was shrouded in darkness celestial aura, the kids couldn't identify him.

"It seems like this was just a drop-off point for them. I still have time to deal with this before returning to the academy," Auron thought, making his way back home.