Chapter 6: The organization

Two months had passed since Ariel started living with Lucas and Author. She and Lucas seemed much closer now; she was more talkative around him and appeared more comfortable in his presence. However, deep down, the fear of being captured again still lingered in her mind. She tried to brush it off, but it remained.

Meanwhile, Lucas had intensified his training, now doing double the amount he used to. Sometimes, he even carried Ariel while exercising to add extra pressure and weight. One morning, before Author left for work, Lucas finally asked him if he could get a wooden sword to begin more intensive training and learn how to fight. Author agreed and handed Lucas some money to buy a basic wooden sword before grabbing his bag and leaving.

Lucas waited for Ariel to wake up. When she did, he told her to take a shower because they were going to a nearby market to buy his wooden sword. Ariel nodded and walked into the bathroom. After showering, she put on some of Lucas's clothes, and the two of them left the house.

After a few hours of walking, they finally arrived at the market and found the perfect store to enter. Before stepping inside, Lucas warned Ariel with a stern expression, "Try your best not to show your ears, or you'll be targeted by people who will try to capture you. There's no such thing as a free beastman. If anyone asks you anything, tell them you belong to the Gidion family. Got it?"

Ariel nodded, and they both entered the market. It was crowded with people, many of whom weren't even shopping—they were just standing around, talking. The market was made of stone walls, with valuable products stored inside magic-sealed display cases. Lucas walked up to the merchant, with Ariel following behind, and asked, "Do you by any chance sell wooden swords?"

The merchant immediately smiled. "Of course, I have wooden swords." He bent down, reached under one of the display cases, and pulled out a sword. It was wooden, but it glowed as if it were enchanted.

"This is a high-quality wooden sword. It's as durable as an iron sword and increases damage by 20%."

Lucas's eyes widened as he yelled, "Twenty?!" But his excitement quickly turned into suspicion. "How much does it cost?"

The merchant grinned mischievously. "At the cost of your little beastman over there."

Suddenly, two masked men in black coats kicked open the door of the merchant's store. They held wooden guns and fired two shots into the air, throwing the entire market into panic.

"NOBODY MOVE! WHOEVER MOVES WILL BE KILLED!" one of the masked men shouted.

The merchant trembled in fear, as did everyone else in the store. "Take whatever y-you want! Please, don't kill me or anyone here!"

Ariel was terrified. Her primal instincts were about to take over, but Lucas managed to stop her from acting recklessly, preventing her from getting herself killed.

The two masked men scanned the room as if searching for someone. Suddenly, one of them locked eyes with Lucas and shouted, "I found him!"

Both men dashed toward Lucas with incredible speed. Startled, Lucas instinctively jumped back into a fighting stance. "Ariel, get out of here! It's not safe!"

But Ariel was frozen. She couldn't move. Her body trembled as if her very soul was leaving her, her expression locked in horror.

"ARIEL, GOD DAMN IT!" Lucas shouted.

The two masked men grabbed Lucas by his arms. The rest of the shop's customers, including the merchant, fled in terror, leaving only Ariel behind. "ARIEL, GET OUT OF HERE!" Lucas screamed again.

One of the men suddenly punched Lucas in the gut, making him cough up blood. "A-Ariel…" he groaned.

The other masked man grabbed Ariel by the neck, intending to kill her. In that instant, something inside Lucas snapped.

His eyes glowed red, and his body became surrounded by a demonic aura. In the blink of an eye, he instinctively closed the distance between himself and the man strangling Ariel. He grabbed the attacker by the throat and flew upward. One of his fingers started glowing, and in an instant, he fired a beam of light straight through the man's heart, killing him instantly.

As Lucas turned to face the remaining attacker, the man quickly pulled something from his pocket—a strange tool that emitted multiple electric shocks. Both Lucas and Ariel were struck. Ariel, still gasping for air on the ground, collapsed unconscious from the shock.

Lucas, enraged, dashed toward the masked man, but he was hit by the same electric attack and fell next to Ariel. As they both lay unconscious, the masked man pulled out a strange, magic-powered device from his pocket and brought it to his mouth.

"Mission complete."

He then put it back in his pocket.