3 Slave Auction

"Listen up! It's in your best interest to try and present yourselves as useful during the auction, or you'll end up in a worse situation than this," Jim announced sternly to the slaves as his subordinates gathered them up.

"Captain, what should we do about the red eyed kid and the little girl?" One of his subordinates asked.

"They are our most valuable assets, so keep them together towards the back. I want ninety percent of our units guarding that cage," Jim declared, surprising his subordinates with his directive.

"Ninety percent focused on just two kids is excessive! We won't have enough people to watch over all the carriages!" Jim's subordinate pointed out, voicing his concern about the idea.

"Fine, but if they end up hurt or worse, dead, you'll have to explain to the boss why you wanted to limit the number of soldiers guarding them." Jim said sternly, causing the subordinate to reconsider.

This would be their largest slave auction yet. The girl alone would fetch more than all of their previous auctions combined, but now with the addition of the red-eyed boy they had stumbled upon, they were essentially walking with a mountain of gold.

So if anything were to happen to them, the boss would personally have a 'chat' with whoever was in charge of the planning.

"A-Actually, I think you're idea is better captain…" He said, and instantly left the scene.

Jim used the boss as an excuse, but in reality, he was still deeply afraid of Michael. Ever since their conversation four hours ago, this unsettling feeling hadn't subsided—a sensation as if death was slowly creeping up his spine, leaving him with a sense of helplessness.

Jim was currently conflicted about what to do. If he abandoned the group due to his gut feeling about Michael and it turned out to be false, he would be hunted not only by the group's full force but also by soldiers.

Despite his escalating fear of Michael, Jim's fear of his boss was too great to make him abandon the mission.

Back in Michael's cell, he was staring at the interface screen.

[Interface Error! Interface ìղէҽɾցɾąէìղց: 0:53:28]

'53 minutes left before I get all of my powers back... but why do I feel this way?' Michael wondered, his thoughts consumed by a sense of unease.

"It's because deep down, you don't like your powers! For hundreds of thousands of years, you've been unmatched against powerful foes. You fear that if you regain that power, you'll return to a life of endless battles in a world you've been fighting to get to. And if that happens, you'll think all of it was pointless," the monster friend said, almost echoing Michael's own thoughts.

Michael's thoughts were interrupted when someone spoke suddenly.

"So you're the young'un who's got Jim all worked up. Well, you don't look scary none at all." Cooter said, picking his tooth with a toothpick.

"I don't mean to scare people, it just happens. I apologize if that's the case," Michael replied, his tone devoid of emotion. "I merely asked if he could end my suffering."

"Your apology don't seem too genuine. I reckon Jim was scared of you 'cause of how wild you sound for a little fella, which is kinda strange, but not exactly scary." Cooter said.

"Well now, I like you, little fella. Seems like Jim's gone soft in his bandit ways. How 'bout you help me take care of him, and I'll set you free?" Cooter proposed.

"As long as you hold up your end of the deal, I don't see why I wouldn't," Michael said, accepting the proposal.

"Well, seems like you're mighty sharp too. I'll need you to keep Jim occupied while I slip in and handle business. You'll know when it's time to put the plan in motion." Cooter said, stepping into the cell and taking Michael with him.

Michael found himself inside a spacious carriage with nothing but hay on the floor and a metal pole where his hands and feet were chained.

Across from him was a little girl, the same age as his new body (6), with black hair and light blue eyes, also in the same chained situation as Michael.

She was crying and struggling, attempting to escape from the chains. Unfortunately, their mouths were sealed shut by some kind of magic, preventing Michael from communicating with her.

"My friend, doesn't this little girl remind you of your sister?" the monster said as it approached the crying girl.

'I didn't have a sister, only a mother.' Michael communicated silently in his mind.

"You are mistaken, my friend! I've been with you your whole life. You had a little sister whom you loved dearly until your father took her away." The monster asserted.

Michael ignored the monster's words, as thinking about them only brought him more pain, something he was tired of feeling.

He clapped his hands to get the girl's attention, and it worked. She looked at him with a confused expression, sniffling constantly.

He waved at her in an attempt to calm her down, but she didn't wave back. Instead, she seemed suspicious of Michael.

He attempted to make funny facial expressions, but the expressions he made ended up looking scary rather than amusing.

Her eyes began tearing up and she distanced herself from Michael, even turning her back away from him.

He gave up on trying to cheer her up and sat eerily still, staring at the wall without blinking once, waiting for the signal to proceed with Cooter's plan.

Forty-five minutes passed, and Michael hadn't moved a muscle, not until he felt the seal on his mouth release and the chains mysteriously lift off his arms and legs.

The girl, who had been crying in the corner, heard a noise behind her and turned to see Michael standing up. Her eyes widened, practically begging for Michael to help her.

"I'll help you. But first, I need to do something," Michael whispered. He jumped into the air and then dropped down onto the carriage floor, causing a loud bang sound.

"What was that? Was it inside the carriage?"

"Someone check it out."

The next moment, a bandit entered the carriage and saw Michael lying unconscious on the floor.

Although they were instructed not to approach any of the slaves under any circumstances, the bandit had been informed of the importance of Michael and the girl. Fearing repercussions for failing to watch over their most important assets, he quickly went to check on Michael.

"Hey kid, are you alright—?" The next moment, the bandit's eyes rolled back and he slumped forward. Before he could hit the carriage floor, Michael caught him.

Blood dripped from the bandit's forehead, and a red streak resembling a chain marked his face.

Michael dropped the bloody chain and proceeded to loot the bandit. Among his belongings, he found a dagger and a few other items that were of little use to him.

Michael concealed the dagger and resumed his seat, patiently waiting for events to unfold.

A few minutes later, chatter could be heard from outside the carriage. "Where's Hit?"

"He went inside to check up on that noise earlier."

"Hes still isn't back."

"Now that you mention it, he hasn't come out ever since."

Michael heard footsteps approaching the carriage and noticed two bandits poking their heads inside. Their eyes widened upon seeing the unconscious body of Hit near Michael.

"Who did he get Hit from?!" The scrawny bandit said in panick.

"Look at that brats chain, it's off!" The chubby bandit said, pointing at Michael, "Go get Jim, I'll keep watch!"

The scrawny bandit nodded and left to fetch Jim. "I don't know how you got out, but it was a dumb thing to do," the chubby bandit remarked.

Michael remained silent as he observed the chubby bandit standing at the carriage entrance, sword in hand.

A few moments later, three more bandits arrived.

"I got Jim and Cooter!" the scrawny bandit announced.

"Good job, you two. The boss will be pleased to hear about your work," Cooter praised Chubby and Scrawny, who were squealing with delight.

Jim and Cooter entered the carriage next. Jim remained silent, staring at Michael. 'He couldn't have escaped on his own. These chains can only be opened by me and Cooter…' It was at that moment that Jim was struck by a realization. He reached for his sword at his waist and turned around to attack Cooter, but he felt a sharp pain in his chest and saw a sword plunged into him.

He turned to face Cooter, who was smiling. "You loyal dog. If only you hadn't been so dumb as to blab about this kid to the boss. Now he's beefed up security, and you've become a liability. Maybe I would've brought you into my plan, but now you're just a loose end."

Cooter's momentary happiness was cut short when he saw Jim casting a spell. Cooter had thought that stabbing Jim in the heart would either kill him or prevent him from using magic and lead to his eventual demise. However, he had miscalculated, and he had no time to hide—only to take the magic attack head on.

But before Jim could finish his spell, a small dagger pierced his chest—this time wielded by Michael.

Jim's body dropped the next moment.

Cooter let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you, kid. You saved my hide."

Cooter turned to face Chubby and Scrawny, who were frozen in fear. "Listen up, you two. We've got enough money here to last us a lifetime and then some. I've got folks getting ready to take out those loyal dogs and claim it all for ourselves. Are you in?"

Without any hesitation they nodded, not wanting to end up like Jim.

"Well, kid, a deal's a deal. You're free to go, and I owe you one for savin' my hide from that loyal dog," Cooter said, nodding with gratitude.

Michael hadn't expected Cooter to honor their deal; after all, there was never any honor among thieves.

He walked over to the girl. "Let her free, I promised I would help her."

"No can do, kiddo. That girl right there is the golden ticket. Her value alone is more than every slave here times ten. I reckon you're gonna have to break your promise this time," Cooter said with a sigh, realizing the situation's gravity.

"You owe me for saving your life. I'll cash in on it now." Michael said, his tone demanding.

"I appreciate it, but you're askin' for too much. I'd sooner meet my maker than let go of my golden ticket," Cooter replied firmly, his tone unwavering.

Cooter observed Michael's determined expression and sighed heavily. "Didn't want it to come to this, kid. I genuinely liked you, but now you've become another loose end like Jim," he muttered regretfully.

"Indeed, I didn't want it to end this way." Michael said.

[Interface ìղէҽɾցɾąted!]

[Hello, Michael!]