Kidnapped

"Why is that so?" Lilith asked Eren as she observed the look on his face.

He was truly not having any negative reaction towards the destruction of his home.

"With them gone, I won't have to worry about trying to please someone who doesn't value me," he replied.

As his father stopped valuing him the day his second wife gave birth to a child, Eren didn't feel the need to be sad about his departure.

"Let's go," he said and turned around to leave but just then, a group of men descended from the sky. "Quick, hide!" He said to Lilith who did as he told her to.

"Kid, this place is not safe," one of the men dressed in red robe said to Eren. "You should come with us to a safe place."

There were five of them, three were dressed in red robe, and the two others were putting on silver-colored robes.

"I don't know who you men are," Eren said, displaying his unwillingness to go with them.

"We are mages and we are here to protect lives, we won't harm you," the second man on red robe replied.

'What mages? I thought they never existed? Why is everything suddenly changing?'

Eren thought as he stared at the men who called themselves 'Mages'

First it was the appearance of creatures that killed and destroyed things, second was the appearance of Lilith, a demon, and now... Mages?

Were they ever in existence and probably hiding or did they just appear out of somewhere along with the creatures that attacked his school?!

"If he is displaying unwillingness, arrest him then. We don't have all the time to waste on him," one of the two men dressed in silver robe said to the red ones.

"But..." The first red man was about to speak when the second silver man interrupted him.

"Do what Robert tells you to! We have other kids to save as well!"

The red man sighed and went to approach Eren. As he got nearer, he stretched out his arm and muttered something and then white smoke gathered around the two of them.

Seeing what was happening, Lilith wanted to take action but as if knowing she would do that, Eren cautioned her immediately.

"Hey, no matter what, don't let them see you!" He whispered before everything went black for him.

The red man heard a little of what Eren said, thus he looked around to see who the boy was talking to but after looking around, he saw no one. With a sigh, he carried Eren who slumped in his arms on his back and went to join the other four men.

"I've got him covered," he told them and they nodded and left the place.

-------

Eren didn't know how long he had slept but when he finally opened his eyes, he saw himself lying on the floor of a large room; in sort of an empty hall. But it wasn't only him.

This applied to many other kids his age and some slightly older than him. They didn't seem to be familiar with the surrounding.

"What are we doing here?"

"Where are we?"

"Have we been kidnapped?"

Many questions arose but none of them were getting answered until the door finally opened and a tall man dressed in golden robe walked in and stood before them.

"Good morning y'all. My name is Archmage Ryker," he said but no one responded, thus, he continued. "It's a shame that you here has slept for a whole week, I almost assumed that you have died."

Gasps escaped the lips of the kids after they heard what the man said. How could they have slept for a complete one week?!

"What did you do to us?" Someone bold asked and the man smiled shortly.

"Nothing of the ordinary, just some drugs to make you sleep but I never expected you here to be this weak. Some of your mates woke up the next day while some two and three days after you were brought here but you here especially.... It is disappointing."

"Why are we here in the first place?"

"Now, that is a good question. The reason you were brought here is to prepare you for the upcoming war with the beasts that has invaded our world. I know some of you might still be unaware of what is happening but places like City A, Spade town, Cellz, and the nearby towns have been destroyed by these creatures. It is our duty as Mages to protect the remaining places and protect the lives of the masses. Initially, our intention was to do it on our own but unfortunately, we are lacking individuals and as such, we need to train kids like you and get you ready because the battle could start at any time."

As the golden-robed man, Archmage Ryker, finished his explanation, the room fell silent. Eren's mind was reeling with questions and doubts. He looked around at the other kids, seeing a mix of fear, confusion, and determination on their faces.

One of the kids, a tall, lanky boy with messy brown hair, spoke up. "How are we supposed to fight these creatures?" he asked, his voice shaking slightly.

Ryker's expression turned grave. "That's what we're here to teach you. You all are going to undergo a very important experiment, one that would change your life forever. Many of you are bound to fail, or even die during the process but what matters the most is the outcome. If you do not want to die, you must be willing to survive and when you do, you must remember the reason why you had to do this and all the things you went through just to succeed... You must not forget that."

Eren felt a shiver run down his spine. What experiment was Ryker talking about and what does he mean by 'many of you are bound to die'?

He looked around and as expected, the other kids were as confused and worried as he was — he was not the only one. This kid of relieved him.

One kid, small feature with red hair and eyes wlaked to the front, to the amazement of others.

"Sir Ryker, I don't care what this is all about but I am not going to sit by and watch some evil monsters take over our world," the boy said, stunning Ryker. "I am going to be among those that will stop them from succeeding in their evil plans, count me in!"

Ryker beamed, this was the type of student he wws looking for. A soul willing and ready to protect his world.

Influenced by the boy's behavior, some bold kids began to join one after the other and soon, the entire kids were all screaming, displaying their willingness and readiness to join Ryker.

Every one else except for one kid — Eren.