She’s amnesic?
Lana wondered.
— A solution to your amnesia?
Lucius asked, intrigued.
Wait, are you sure it’s a good idea to talk about this in front of Lana?
he whispered.
— Yes!
My amnesia isn’t really a secret.
I just don’t want it getting around, Emilya said.
When I brought it up, I honestly thought she was going to kill me on the spot, Lucius thought.
— Do you think that mage can do something about it?
Melvis asked.
— It makes sense, when you think about it.
A mental-type mage can access anything related to the brain, and by extension, memories, Lana said calmly.
— Exactly.
So if I can’t find whoever did this to me, I’ve found another way to get my memories back, Emilya said cheerfully.
With that, she said she was tired and was going to sleep.
The others soon followed suit.
Lana volunteered to keep watch.
Everyone else fell asleep, even Emilya.
Neon and the others reached their village.
— They’re back!
a young boy shouted from the top of a tree.
Everyone began to gather, especially the men, since the women weren’t allowed to leave their tents without permission from the man they’d been passed on to.
When they saw the returning men looking dejected, and then saw the state of their boss’s body, they were devastated and asked Neon what had happened.
— We picked a fight with the wrong people, Neon said bitterly.
The older men began to wonder whether the incident from twelve years ago was about to happen again, and everyone was on edge.
But Neon reassured them: it wouldn’t, since the people who had killed the boss had left without holding anyone accountable.
Hearing this, they all flew into a rage and demanded revenge.
— Let’s go find those bastards and make them pay for what they did to the boss, one of them said.
— Guys, trust me, going after them is a bad idea.
You’ll end up dying for nothing.
We should bury the boss and choose someone to take his place, Neon suggested.
— Looks like our enemies have turned you into a coward.
What happened to your bandit spirit?
another said.
Neon sighed.
He was tired of trying to talk sense into them.
Even though he was the boss’s right hand, none of them respected him, because he was a mage and had a reputation for being sly.
— Come on, guys, let’s find them and give them the beating of their lives!
another shouted.
Suddenly, Neon raised his hand toward one of them and fired an energy ball.
It went straight through the man’s skull.
Everyone froze.
— See?
This is what happens when you don’t listen, he said, cold and calm.
At first, they tried to band together against him.
They came at him from every side, but he had grown up among them and had watched them train every day since he was born, so he knew all their moves by heart.
He, on the other hand, being a mage, had almost never used his abilities in front of them.
Apart from the boss, no one knew his true strength or what he was capable of.
He only used telepathy to pass on orders, and threw blinding balls of light at any enemy who attacked him.
He fired beams in every direction, taking them down one by one.
Those he judged a bit stronger, he brought under his control.
I won’t forget what you put me through all these years.
All the times you humiliated me and treated me like dirt.
Now that the boss isn’t here to stop me, I’ll make every last one of you pay, Neon thought, burning for revenge.
He kept walking calmly through the village and went first to Arcon’s tent.
He tossed Arcon’s head down right in front of it, thinking nothing but bad things about him.
I never liked you either.
You were the worst of them all.
Especially when you drank, I wanted to kill you.
He stepped inside the tent.
Five women were huddled there with their children, terrified.
They were covered in bruises, and some were still bleeding.
In Neon’s eyes there was nothing but disgust at what their boss had put them through.
That guy wasn’t human.
If I’d won my fight against that lady, would she have ended up like them?
There’s no point thinking about it.
— Come with me.
I’m here to set you free, he told them.
They shook their heads.
— If…
if we go outside, he’ll…
he’ll hit us, one of them said.
— Don’t worry, he’s dead.
Wherever he is now, I doubt he can keep tormenting you, he said to reassure them.
Come on, let’s free the others.
They looked at one another, and then one of them stood up and followed him outside.
When they stepped out, it was a massacre: nearly all the men were dead, and only a few were still fighting those under Neon’s control.
He went calmly from tent to tent, telling the girls inside that they were free.
They walked along, staring in horror at the bodies on the ground and covering the children’s eyes.
— Do you think he wants to hurt us?
one of them asked in a whisper.
— Don’t worry, my mission is to get you to safety.
Suddenly, he realized he had no idea where the city Lucius had told him about was.
He pulled at his hair, feeling stupid for not having asked, but he’d been so scared at the time that he hadn’t dared say a word.
He turned to the women and asked if they knew whether there was a map of the region somewhere.
They didn’t answer; they just pointed behind him.
When he turned around, a man punched him hard and sent him sprawling.
— That’s what you get for getting too comfortable.
And you lot, did you really think you could run away with him?
Do we treat you so badly that you don’t even hesitate to leave?
said the only bandit still standing.
The women started crying and begging to be spared.
— You’re a real bastard, Rant, Neon said as he got up.
Haven’t they suffered enough?
Leave them alone and come fight me, he said confidently.
Rant lunged at him, but Neon didn’t move.
He stared straight into his eyes, expressionless.
Rant couldn’t figure out what he was thinking, but the fact that he wasn’t moving made things easier.
Then, without understanding why, his movements grew slower and slower, and his body started to give out.
He hadn’t noticed that Neon had hit him from behind, planting one of his energy balls there.
It had gone straight through his chest.
He fell before he could even touch him.
Neon looked down at him with pity.
Since he was little, this was the man who had tormented him the most.
After all those years he’d finally gotten his revenge, but he didn’t feel the satisfaction he’d expected.
He just felt a little empty.
Night was beginning to fall, so he suggested the women stay there for the night and set out at dawn for somewhere new.
They thanked him with tears in their eyes.
Then he went into his tent, and they went back to theirs.
He wanted to eat, but his head and the rest of his body ached too much for him to move a muscle, and he fell asleep on an empty stomach.
The next morning, Emilya and the others woke up, ate, and hit the road again.
Maria stayed close to Emilya.
She was still trembling; she could still feel blood running over her hands, and she couldn’t stop seeing the look on that man’s face as he died staring at her.
She hadn’t been able to sleep at all the night before.
It’s strange.
The more time passes, the less scared I feel.
Is it thanks to Emilya?
Or is getting used to this just something that runs in the family?
No, I can’t think like that.
As a future warrior, I’ll surely face situations where my life is on the line again.
I can’t keep feeling sorry for myself like this.
I promised myself I’d become stronger, so I have to keep that promise.
It’s what Dad would have told me to do.
I have to pick myself up and move forward.
She had made up her mind.
She understood that, as a future warrior, she would have to get used to situations like this, that she would have to kill other people who wanted her dead, and that this was the reality she now had to face.
She told the rest of the group, and everyone accepted her decision.
— Well, then, that means we can start your training again.
I’ve been thinking about what to put you through next, Lucius said with a mischievous smile.
Maria was terrified at the thought of what awaited her in training.