< Part II: The Answer I Am Looking For\u00a0<\/p>\n
Part II: The Answer I Am Looking For\u00a0<\/p>\n
Claim\u00a0<\/p>\n
Abril was surprised to see a strange landscape; they were in a dark alley that smelled of urine\u00a0<\/p>\n
and rotten food.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere are we?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the real capital of Laios,\u201d replied Sirius, holding Taren. The place seemed very different to Abril compared to what she remembered seeing when she had been taken to the kingdom of Cosset, so she asked, \u201cAre you sure? It looks different from what I remember.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are in one of the poor neighborhoods.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
After taking a quick look at the run\u2013down buildings outside the alley and making sure there was no danger, Abril focused all her attention on Taren. He was still unconscious and looked very pale. She used her magic to help him while Sirius said to her, \u201cThere\u2019s an inn nearby; I hope we can find an available room.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Abril helped Sirius hold Taren up. As they walked out of the alley and down a few streets, she felt uneasy seeing that all the streets were completely deserted. At first, she feared the worst, that everyone had been attacked by monsters and there was no one left, especially considering the sorry state of the place. But soon they saw curious eyes watching them from half\u2013open windows and doors.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sirius said, \u201cI don\u2019t think we can go unnoticed; we\u2019re the only ones on the streets.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone seems to be terrified. What do you think has happened?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know, but hurry up; it\u2019s not good to stay exposed for too long.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
They walked two more blocks to the inn, but the door was closed. Sirius knocked on the door insistently.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOpen up, we need a room.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Curious eyes peeked through a crack, and a male voice spoke:\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re closed, so you better leave.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOur friend is sick and needs rest, please let us in. I will pay you well.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
That man didn\u2019t seem willing to open the door, so Abril showed him the bag of gold she was carrying, made the coins clink, and said to him, \u201cWe have a lot of money, we\u2019ll be very generous, please let us in.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/4\u00a0<\/p>\n
< Part II: The Answer I Am Looking For\u00a0<\/p>\n
Claim\u00a0<\/p>\n
The door opened, and a tall, big, muscular man with dark skin and grayish hair hurried them inside, then closed the door.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThank you very much,\u201d Abril said while trying not to collapse under Taren\u2019s weight. That man pushed her aside, took Taren in his arms as if he were a little child, and said to them, \u201cFollow\u00a0<\/p>\n
me.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He led them to a room with two beds, laid Taren on one of the beds, and said, \u201cYou\u2019re not from around here, are you? Where do you come from?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sirius answered the question, \u201cWe\u2019re travelers. We were passing through here, but everything is closed. Has something happened?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe slums have never been safe, but now they\u2019re even worse. Monsters have been showing up and killing whoever they find. Everyone is afraid to leave their houses, afraid to be the next ones to become their meal.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDo the guards do nothing?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe guards are useless; their weapons don\u2019t affect them, and the magic users have only been able to hold them back. But no one feels safe anymore, and judging by your appearance, I suppose you were also attacked by a monster.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, but we managed to escape,\u201d replied Sirius.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That man walked to the door and said to them, \u201cMy name is Dovant. If you need anything, don\u2019t hesitate to ask, although I will charge you for everything you request.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cCould you bring us some food?\u201d Abril asked. Sirius added:\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd a change of clothes. We also need to clean ourselves.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the end of the hallway are the bathrooms. You can clean up there, and I\u2019ll bring the rest\u00a0<\/p>\n
right away.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Dovant left the room. Sirius looked out the door to make sure he had left, and after making sure no one was listening, he said, \u201cApparently, the entire kingdom is suffering monster attacks.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t understand why Enzo didn\u2019t ask me to come earlier if things were so bad. If the letter had mentioned how bad things were, I\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou shouldn\u2019t blame yourself. This is not your fault.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI just think that if I had closed the Hades rift when I returned from the Fairy Land, none of this would have happened.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\/4\u00a0<\/p>\n
:\u00a0<\/p>\n
< Part II: The Answer I Am Looking For\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cStop thinking about what could have been and wasn\u2019t. It only eats away at the soul and destroys your mind.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Abril approached Taren, she infused her magic in him again and said, \u201cI hope he recovers\u00a0<\/p>\n
soon.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Claim\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cTaren is like a cockroach; no matter how much they attack or step on him, he never dies, so don\u2019t worry, he will recover. We just have to give him time.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope so.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Dantriel was summoned by the queen of the elves to the dungeons. He accompanied the two guards who had come to get him without asking any questions, but curiosity was eating away at him inside.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Upon arriving at the dungeons, he thought they would take him to the cell where Ethan was, but when he saw that they were taking him to the torture chamber, his skin crawled.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He hesitated for a moment, whether to enter or escape, but in the end, he gathered his courage and entered. Ethan was hanging on the stone wall with thick steel shackles.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Dantriel bowed before the queen. Without raising his head, he began to speak, \u201cYour majesty\u00a0<\/p>\n
summoned me.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The queen gestured to the guards to hold him. Dantriel asked, \u201cWhat does this mean, your majesty? Have I done something wrong?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The\u00a0<\/p>\n
queen approached Dantriel, took his chin, raised his face, and with an indifferent look, replied, \u201cNo, I only do this as a precaution.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The queen released Dantriel\u2019s chin and headed towards the only chair in that room and ordered with a cold voice, \u201cBegin.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Dantriel stiffened when he saw one of the guards heading toward him with a hot poker in his\u00a0<\/p>\n
hand.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m going to be tortured,\u201d he thought.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But the guard passed by and headed toward Ethan. He put the hot poker on his arm, but Ethan didn\u2019t scream; he just clenched his teeth and looked at him with great hatred. That was repeated several times until they managed to get a cry of pain out of him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened to my sister?\u201d the queen asked as she crossed her leg and looked at him with indifference.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ethan remained silent. The queen made a gesture with her hand, and the torture resumed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
3\/4\u00a0<\/p>\n
< Part II The Answer I Am Looking For\u00a0<\/p>\n
Claim\u00a0<\/p>\n
They beat and cut him until he was half dead. Dantriel could only clench his fists, watching how they tortured his friend, helpless and unable to help him. The queen asked again, \u201cWhat happened to my sister? If you continue to refuse to answer, it won\u2019t end well for you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ethan continued to remain silent. That torture continued until they left Ethan half dead. The queen was very upset; her always impassive face showed different expressions. The contained anger and rage were evident.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you won\u2019t speak, you are not necessary to me, so you will die.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The queen drew her sword, placed it on Ethan\u2019s neck, and when she was about to slice his throat, Dantriel said, \u201cEnough, your majesty, I will tell you what you want to know, so please, have mercy, don\u2019t kill my friend.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
With a half smile, she replied, \u201cThat will depend on you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
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He Threw Away and Sold to the Devil 253 < Part II: The Answer I Am Looking For\u00a0 Part II: […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[87],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30021","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-his-regret-their-knees-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30021","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30021"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30021\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30021"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30021"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30021"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}