Chapter 7 – Masked Saviour
Jasmine's disappearance was a new development that I had to also worry about, in addition to my already existing problem of the daily quest.
She had been missing for two days. An alleged kidnapping was what her father strongly believed had happened since they had been contacted by her abductors.
But a million gems was a lot of money to request for Jasmine. Yes, they were wealthy thanks to the influence of the Barleys before them but the Barley family of the present day did not contribute to Silver City like they used to do.
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Meanwhile, in the main house of the Barleys.
Miss Rose Barley sat on the edge of a brown cosy couch, her face etched with worry and her eyes glistening with unshed tears.
She clutched a crumpled photograph of a radiant young girl with blue hair like the sky above and a smile — their missing daughter, Jasmine. The once cosy living room now felt desolate, a reflection of the vacuum left in their lives.
Footsteps thudded against the floor hastily. It was Jasmine's father — Christopher Barley — pacing back and forth in the living room. Even as he tried so hard to hide his pain from his wife, his eyes failed him.
He came to a halt and glanced at his wife, who was battling the turbulence of emotion stirring within her. Mr. Christopher sat down by her side, his arm going over her shoulders and pulling her into his space with a voice mixed with concern and reassurance.
"Don't worry, Rose. We'll find Jasmine. We'll bring our baby girl home safely."
"Jasmine has been gone for two days now, I can't bear the thought of her out there, alone and scared for her life," she said.
Her voice was barely a whisper as she choked back sobs with the tears in her eye flowing freely.
"Until we find her, I won't rest. I've sent the guards to search every nook and cranny of this city and they will not return unless Jasmine is with them."
Christopher reassured his wife and took her shaking hands, holding them firmly in his. Rose looked at her husband, her eyes expressing both gratitude and anguish.
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"This is some secluded warehouse indeed. Luckily for you, Jasmine, you are a person of interest to me today."
[ 00 Hrs : 58 Mins : 21 Secs ]
I'd found Jasmine by combining her magical energy signature with my magic.
Easy peasy lemon squeezy.
With the way she was bound stiff and the number of guards stationed around and within the warehouse, I won't be able to save her without getting into a fight.
Whatever their reason for kidnapping Jasmine was, it must have been very important to them. I wondered what that could be but I was unable to place my fingers on it.
I guess I'll have to ask them myself...you know, hear it from the horses' mouths or however that saying went.
The warehouse was massive but I bet it would be empty inside and that won't work well for me if it was. That kind of vast space without any hiding spots would be difficult to traverse.
But who cares?
I found it funny that I was deeply thinking about the situation when I could simply rush in there, save Jasmine and be on my way.
Heaving a long and deep sigh, I took out the hard white mask that I purchased on my way to the warehouse. It had only two narrow slits for my eyes as the only openings and that was good for me.
I didn't want anyone seeing my face or recognising me if it turns out that I may have to fight seriously.
The weather was so peaceful and dull for what was about to happen.
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With a snap of my fingers, a tune started to play out of the blues. I tuned it loud enough for the villains inside the warehouse to savour the melody like I did.
A beautiful song that I came to love very much in one of my previous lives in a place called Earth.
The tune was ominous and domineering, at least that's how I felt about it.
It was the perfect requiem for the judgement I was about to deliver the moment I put that hard white mask on my face and became a new figure.
I became White — the bane of all things hindering my path to becoming the alpha that the pimp system was crafting me into.
The tune started to play as White donned a black coat crafted from the snap of a finger. He vanished leaving a space in his wake, about to render a performance under the tune that echoed in the atmosphere...
— For The Damaged Coda by the Blonde Redhead —
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"Can you hear that?" asked one of the captors to another.
Jasmine was tied up in a room inside the warehouse, turning her head, trying to figure out who was foolish enough to play music out loud in such a lonesome location.
"Hear wha— I can hear it."
The men that guarded her were confused by the strange sound that played to their ears.
"What's happening?"
"I dunno but get your portion ready. I don't feel great about that tune."
Just as they were on high alertness, in preparation for what was to come, they heard screams and cries of their colleagues beyond the door.
Bangs and booms, that signalled them of an exchange of magical spells, resounded under the roof of the warehouse.
"W-Wh-What's going on?" one of the two men stuttered.
Her captors had been overwhelmed by fear and it was a clear chance to make a run for it but she couldn't move else she would have taken that opportunity.
They bound her tightly — her feet, hands, trunk and mouth.
"What's going on?" she wondered, "It must be father and his men. Thank heavens."
She was a little bit relieved with the fact that there was a chance of whoever was outside there being her father.
The door suddenly burst open, tearing from its four corners where it was hinged to the wall as the bodies of two guards plummeted with it into a wall, shattering it.
The guards that watched Jasmine started to tremble seeing two of their colleagues bleeding from their mouths, ears and eyes and gashed at their bellies.
At the same time, they took out small glass bottles that had sparkling green liquid inside.
White's eyes narrowed into slits.
"That portion again?"
As the green liquid flowed towards the open part of the small glass bottles, about to drop into their mouths, the strange masked figure appeared between them.
White buried his little fingers into the mouth of the bottle, stopping the flow.
"Sorry, boys but I will be taking this," he said, faking a deep voice.
Their eyes widened, stunned by the speed of the intruder. They still saw a form of him in front of them even as he has taken their bottles.
That form started to disperse into nothing.
"Aft-Afterimage?"
"Sleep tight," White's voice whispered into their ears like a lullaby before a loud thud echoed and the guards dropped to the ground, slipping into unconsciousness.
White cast his gaze on the damsel he had come to save.
"Hi!" he said, his eyes going shut as he was smiling though the mask hid it.
"Get away from me!" Jasmine yelled, tugging against her restraints to break free.
[ Daily Quest Completed ]
[ You have earned +3 Pimp Points (PP) for saying 'Hi' to Jasmine Barley ]
[ You have earned +2 Pimp Points (PP) for getting a reply back from Jasmine Barley ]
[ Pimp Points: 27 ]
[ Pimp Status: 2 ]
[ You have 23 Pimp Points (PP) left to climb to the next Pimp Status ]
"Hmm," White muttered. He was indifferent to the prompts.
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White ambled towards her, stopping when he was a step away from her. He looked down on her.
Her cloth had been torn apart and lightly veiled her bosomy chest and lush thighs. Jasmine was ashamed and made an effort to bring her two legs together as White's gaze analysed her from head to toe.
Nearly every part of her body was bare to him.
What would they have done to her if he had not come?
The Jasmine he was seeing had lost her pomposity. She was now weak and pitiable and these features disgusted White.
"Please, don't do anything to me."
White stretched out his hand over her head.
"Healing Halo," he whispered.
A golden circle instantly appeared over Jasmine's head, glimmering with tremendous magical energy that washed down Jasmine's body and rejuvenated her.
Jasmine felt refreshed like one would after a cold shower. The pains were gone and she felt lively again.
White tore apart her restraints and gifted her a long piece of black cloth to cover herself.
"Your family will arrive soon."
She was happy with the information but even more, she was overwhelmed by White's daring presence and strength.
White had charmed her without even doing much.
"Please wait..." she said, stopping the masked vigilante who was already leaving.
White paused and turned his head slightly.
"Who are you? What is your name?"
For a brief moment, White did not answer and just continued towards the entrance of the room.
Reaching the entrance, he stopped and turned to Jasmine.
"White... I am White."