Free Web NovelChapter 86: Recruits [Part 8]
In the end, Yumi decided to accept the task that Richard proposed.
It was nothing too hard... Well, it was risky but not something hard to do.
All Yumi had to do was follow the instructions that were given to her. Moreover, the instructions were nothing too hard to do.
It was not like she was going to build a rocket or a jet.
With Yumi’s acceptance, she was led by Richard and Cindy to a different part of the manor. This time, she wasn’t led into the underground dungeon and was instead led to a small clearing that was recently made outside the premises.
A small base was set up in the clearing, but instead of campers what was in the clearing were prisoners.
Again, Yumi was subjected to a scene she never thought she would ever have to see or deal with in her life.
Men were chained to iron stakes, they were left out in the open while a few shelters were scattered around them.
The shelters looked to be housing but upon closer inspection, they were also prisons.
Yumi took a good look at the prisoner camp and realized that most- no, all of the prisoners were men.
But that was not the most horrific part of it all. Instead, a more terrifying scene of beautiful women going around and choosing men was what scared her even more.
Yes, the scene of human beings being put through distressing situations was horrific but the scene of the women going around and treating the men as mere commodities was more disturbing to Yumi. Moreover, the way the women "inspected" the men was something the young homunculus would have never thought anyone was capable of doing.
Some of the women carried blades and potions which they used on the men. Yumi knew what those potions were- she didn’t know what their effects were but after living in the mystical world for some time, she knew that those colorful liquids in glass bottles were not just some special juice or drink.
But the presence of those items and the way the women acted made Yumi quickly figure out their identity-
"Witches..."
She muttered silently but her words did not go unnoticed.
"You should be used to them right?"
Richard asked curiously, after all, he was well aware of the relationship between Hana and Yumi.
While Hana was not really a witch, she was still someone who had similarities to one.
Though she could be considered a saint when compared to mystics like Morgana and even Cindy, Hana was still someone who had her own dark history.
After all, someone with power at the level Hana had was not a mystic that had lived in peace and quiet.
Though Richard did not go out of his way to explain such things, after all, Hana was still a good person in comparison to even himself.
Still, Yumi had to understand the reality of the mystic world one way or the other.
Now, she was going to be the first test case for the idea that Richard had.
Right now, Yumi’s situation was unique.
Her existence as a homunculus only came about due to the need for a bait. In other words, the reason she was able to exist the way she was is because her time was inherently limited.
After all, the outcome for the creation of a long living homunculus was always something on the level of the pets which Cindy was proud of.
A being who looked completely human that was born through magic was something that could not exist unless they were mystical beings.
Moreover, Mystical beings were not really "human", they only "looked human".
Think of fae, as despite having a humanoid appearance, they still have some distinct unnatural and inhuman elements in their figures.
This inhuman or unnatural parts of their being is what allows them to exist.
Even in the mystical world, the creation of a homunculus was something that was considered impossible.
Though Richard was able to stabilize Yumi’s existence for now, giving her near immortality, her state was still very unstable.
Even now, the world was still trying to return Yumi to a natural state and Richard didn’t want to deal with any accident in the near future.
Even if Yumi was not really all that important to him, the young teen had somehow taken root in the heart of Hana and a few other people in his group.
It would be easy for him to just ignore them but if he did that and something happened to Yumi-
Richard’s leadership would immediately be put in an unfavorable state.
It was easy to plant a seed of doubt but really difficult to clear it out. Like a weed, doubt would never be removed, it would just hide and wait for the opportunity to come up.
Richard was well aware of this as even he had such a mindset when dealing with others.
It was a paranoid state of thought, one that would greatly limit the development of relationships but Richard was still able to have many companions didn’t he?
Still, having more is better than having less and while he could care less about the people who don’t really favor him, he still had to ensure that those that do maintain that state for as long as possible.
Even now, while the job he had for Yumi was dangerous, it was not really all that life threatening.
Just like a doctor who would harp on endlessly about the 0.0001% probability of something bad happening. All Richard did was make sure that all his bases were covered.
Even failure wouldn’t really do too much harm on Yumi, at worst she would pass out for a while but she won’t really get any significant damage done to her soul.
"Okay, here’s the guy"
Richard, Cindy and Yumi finally reached a certain man, he was not simply chained to an iron pole, he was crucified on an iron cross.
The man had once been a feared member of the insurgent forces. The right hand man of Jon who was now being subjected to an even more sinister fate.
Richard did not recall his name but Maria wanted him to suffer just as much as his captain.
The reason for her hate was because of the things the man had done under the protection of Jon.
While Jon was a man who had abused his power by relying on the forces that supported him, his right hand man was just an asshole that rode on Jon’s power.
The man was the type of individual one would see in drama’s, the follower who sticks to the person who has power and whose existence revolves around nothing more than glazing their daddy.
But if that weren’t enough, the right hand man of Jon was also a huge pervert and abuser. He used his borrowed authority to assault his comrades and even threw some at enemies just so he could survive engagements.
He was the type of asshole whose greatest talent was in kissing ass and that led him to be put through the same punishment as the ass he kissed and even licked.
Yumi looked up at the poor man, her eyes showing a hint of pity for the man but when Richard told her of his grand "exploits" the little bit of pity Yumi had for the poor guy vanished.
Instead, she showed an expression of pure disgust.
The man who was kept conscious through magic could only stare weakly as he looked down with a sorrowful expression.
He had already tried to express remorse for his actions, but he broke within hours.
It was really amazing how quickly people who loved to hurt others broke.
Unfortunately for the man, his fate was in Maria’s hands-
Well, until this moment...
"Congratulations kid, you’re going to be free!"
Richard said with a smile as he looked up at the man.
Maria had already appeared a few minutes ago, the man was worried that Maria would try too argue against his release but she was surprisingly quiet.
A light of hope lit up in the man’s heart while the other prisoners who were near him had looks of jealousy painted across their faces.
Why did the biggest asshole among them get a free pass?
They felt like it was unfair and were about to say something when Yumi asked.
"Are you sure? If I use the spell on him, his family would also be affected"
Her words silenced everyone, Maria showed a gleeful smile as she stared at the man who had a horrified look in his face-
"Wait... please... no, anything... you could do anything to me! Please! MY FAMILY HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS!" freeweɓnovel.cѳm
The young man who seemed to have lost all energy suddenly got a sudden burst of power.
Richard knew little about the Philippines but his internet knowledge made him understand two things about Filipinos.
One- they were resilient bastards, the type who’d be able to laugh and dance about during a typhoon. The world may crumble but they were cockroaches that could rise up through anything.
Two- they had a strong family culture.
Filipinos could endure anything but the moment someone even remotely close to them gets harmed, they break.
Richard now watched this first hand as the man who shrugged of the torture inflicted upon him was finally crying out, begging- not for his life but for his family to be spared.
"Don’t worry, your family won’t feel any pain... they’ll just... go poof~"
Richard smiled as he explained but his words only caused the man to get even more panicked. He moved about erratically, the wounds on his arms and legs that left him crucified were getting larger and it was as if he was trying to break free by shattering his own hands.
Unfortunately for him, his wounds quickly healed, preventing him even that small chance of escape.
Yet the man was still undeterred as he tried everything to resist.
But Richard, Cindy and even Yumi were unmoved as Richard coldly spoke with a smile still on his face-
"Do it"
"Yes"
Yumi replied calmly as a crimson magic circle emerged below her feet.
Seeing this, the man finally gave up- he knew that he had no way to escape this.
The loss of hope in his expression, the regret... everything caused his expression to shift continuously and as his mood finally settled to one of complete and utter defeat, his eyes wandered towards RIchard.
The eyes of a loser who had lost everything stared at the young man with a handsome face.
"Monster"
Were the last words he spoke before a brilliant golden light enveloped him.
Cindy watched as the man turned into a brilliant golden light that shot towards Yumi.
After the man became nothing but fuel for the ritual, she turned to Richard and let out a sigh as she asked.
"Did you really need to do that?"
Instead of Richard, Maria was the one who interjected to answer.
"It was part of the deal, I can’t really torture him any further. There were few things in the world that he cared about, even his own pride was something he was willing to give up. But I know that he always kept a photo of his family and that he stuck to Jon because he had a deal about having his sister receive money for his work..."
Maria knew a few things about Jon’s right hand man, things that even the rest of the group were unaware of.
While the jungle changed them, they were still people who participated in the madness for reasons beyond their control. Few people would give up their life and future to become corpses in the jungle, especially a bunch of talented kids who entered a good university.
The man was unfortunately suffering from the most common problem in the country... poverty.
His sister was diagnosed with chronic leukemia, while it wasn’t a death sentence, it was a disease that needed constant maintenance just to live through life.
A poor family with a daughter that needed expensive maintenance to live-
In the US, that was the origin story for an orphan picked up by kind parents or a brother who was forced to watch his parents secretly dispose of their sister.
But this was the Philippines and the story was much worse as the family chose to give up on anything good just to keep their beloved daughter/sister alive.
His story painted a different picture and the other prisoners realized that the man they hated was not all that bad.
Yet Cindy-
"So what?"
"Huh?"
"So what if he had a sob story? Was that really worth this impromptu act?"
In fact, Richard had planned their actions and delivered the plans through telepathy during his explanation of the man’s sins.
While Maria understood the reason why it had to be done and Yumi too wanted to see the man suffer before he was killed.
To Cindy, she had to act out a worthless ploy just to make a nameless idiot suffer.
"Don’t mind her, she’s just trying to get more test subjects"
Richard’s words explained the whole situation, Maria understood immediately what the young witch was planning with her words while the rest of the onlookers only felt a chill run up their spines as Cindy rolled her eyes and directed her gaze towards them.
As this was happening, Richard’s focus was on Yumi who was enveloped by a cocoon of light and within the span of a few minutes-
*SHIIIINE*
