The three approached the hall, reaching its vicinity within minutes. Takeshi suddenly stopped, causing Sota to bump into his back.
"What's wrong, Takeshi?"
Sota whispered, but Takeshi didn't answer. Instead, he closed his eyes and entered a state of profound concentration. Everything turned into an absolute void as he tuned out Sota's voice and the whistling wind. He took one deep breath, then another. Suddenly, a golden-yellow dot appeared directly in front of him, then exploded into circular fragments that scattered throughout the darkness—two fragments beside him, and dozens more ahead.
The circles varied; some were large, while others glowed more intensely. He opened his eyes, and the points—visible only to him—vanished.
"There are a lot of them."
***
During the past two weeks, Orfin had explained the methods of using Aura alongside abilities. Takeshi had memorized Orfin's words perfectly, along with his light tone and wide smile.
"To use Aura, there are two ways," Orfin had said. "The first is through Abilities, and the second is through what are called the Pillars of Usage, which allow a person to apply their Aura in different forms. These are divided into four basic categories, one of which is called Detection."
Detection allowed one to know the location and distance of people by meeting certain conditions between the 'detector' and the 'subject.' Orfin had later added:
"Actually, you've been using one of the Pillars from the very start! It's called Emission."
Emission allowed the user to unleash their Aura, increasing its density manifold—this was what Takeshi had done on the first day of training. In two weeks, Takeshi had partially mastered Detection at a 'Low Level.' Mastery levels started at Low, then Intermediate, then Mastered.
Both Emission and Detection had been achieved by Takeshi at the Low Level—a feat that usually required at least a month for each. The Low Level was considered the most difficult, as it required starting from zero; subsequent levels benefited from a body already conditioned for evolution.
After Takeshi mastered Low-Level Detection, Orfin said something Takeshi could never forget:
"Right now, you can only see small dots for everything that possesses Aura. This is the Low stage, which allows us to eventually master advanced levels easily... but you mastered it quickly for two reasons: First: Releasing your Aura and expanding its perimeter—using Detection—made your body grow accustomed to it. Second: You, yourself."
Takeshi hadn't understood those words then, and they still occupied his mind, especially since Orfin had refused to explain the second point.
***
Takeshi turned toward Sota and addressed Eve on his back:
"How many people live in this village?"
The little girl lifted her head and took a quick breath before speaking.
"I don't know, but there's the old man who always scolds me when I play in the mud, and Mama and Papa and some of my friends—"
Takeshi realized that asking a girl who wasn't even eight was a mistake; how could she know the exact population? Since he knew neither the number of villagers nor the number of slave traders, entering was a massive gamble.
The three crept silently to the entrance of the hall, where they began to hear muffled voices vibrating through the thick, tall walls. Takeshi turned to Sota and whispered:
"Take the girl and hide in a safe place, now!"
Sota didn't move. Though his trembling legs wanted to flee, he fought his overwhelming fear for the sake of the girl clinging to his back. Sota wiped sweat from his brow and said:
"Sorry, I can't do that. I made a promise to Eve's mother."
Takeshi covered Sota's mouth, his features darkening with anger as he hissed:
"Idiot! Don't raise your voice! You'll see her father, don't worry! Just... just leave this to me..."
Sota grabbed Takeshi's shirt tightly.
"No! I won't go! And you have no right to stop me, Takeshi!"
Takeshi felt Sota's hands shaking. He realized that despite Sota's terror, he was forcing himself forward to keep his word. This made Takeshi feel a pang of guilt; while he wanted to go in, he was also plagued by the fear of making a reckless mistake—like what had happened with the Royal Skull Gang.
Takeshi bit his lip hard, trying to think, but a voice from behind the main door cut his thoughts short.
"Did you hear something outside?" "Probably an animal... or maybe a piece of 'merchandise' we missed!" "If you hear something, go check it out..."
The traders inside had heard Sota. Being close to the door, their voices were now clear to the three outside. Takeshi shot one last glare at Sota—a look that placed all the blame on him.
You absolute fool of a merchant!
Sota leaned closer to Takeshi and whispered hesitantly:
"What are we going to do?"
Takeshi didn't answer. Instead, he turned toward the door, raised a clenched fist, and slammed it with such force that the door was ripped from its hinges. It flew inward, crashing into several people.
Takeshi stepped inside with heavy, rhythmic strides. He saw a massive crowd of shackled people in common village clothes sitting against the walls. Guarding them were men and women wearing the same dark moss-green robes as the man he had fought earlier.
Everyone in the hall turned toward Takeshi. He slammed his left palm against his right fist, cracking his knuckles. With a cold, serious expression, he said in a voice barely audible to those in the room:
"You have made a grave mistake."
Takeshi stood tall before the crowd.
"Who is this idiot?"
"Probably one of these foolish villagers, Hahaha!!"
"But to rip off that massive door... that's nearly impossible for a normal human."
The traders whispered amongst themselves, while the captives stared in stunned silence. Sota entered behind him with Eve on his back. Upon seeing the crowd, Eve cried out:
"It's our people!"
Takeshi could tell they belonged to a specific organization by their uniform robes.
"EVEEEE!!"
One of the captives stood up and rushed forward, the old, rusted chains on his wrists snapping under the sudden force of his movement. He was a bearded man with black hair like Eve's—her father, Aaron.
Before Eve could speak, one of the gang members—a thin man with a sparse beard—shoved Aaron violently against the wall.
"Pa-papa!!"
Eve screamed, a sob catching in her throat. Aaron looked up to see the man drawing a sword. Terror gripped him, not for his own life, but at the thought of dying in front of his daughter, leaving a wound in her heart that would never heal.
The gang member raised his sword high and smiled.
"You should have kept your eyes closed and played dead, old man!"
He brought the sword close to Aaron's neck, his grin widening.
"People like you—talentless villagers—deserve to die. But we, who are superior, have shown you mercy. You should accept the fate we decide for—"
He never finished his sentence. His head slammed into the opposite wall next to a jar of farming tools. His nose shattered along with the stone, and a fresh, deep fist-mark was imprinted on his face.
"And who are you to decide that?"
Takeshi stood in his place, his clenched hand still extended from the strike. Aaron looked up at Takeshi, his eyes shimmering with shock—a shock shared by every person, captive and trader alike, in the hall.