"Who are you and what are you doing here?" I asked, shifting my gaze back to the girl, my voice still icy and inspiring natural terror. If I weren't in a full rage now, which was just starting to recede, I would have been afraid of myself, that's for sure, especially considering the image in the mirror.
"Huh?" She looked up at me, her face heavily tear-streaked and expressing complete despair, her lower lip trembling, and she continued to sob out of inertia.
"I asked who you are and what you're doing here, aren't you too weak to help the guardians?" I asked her, with a slightly more eerie and cruel voice, gradually losing patience and wanting to kill her quickly and finally get to the most interesting part.
"My... name... is... Vita... Orlova..." she stammered, continuing to sob. "They... sent me... here, so that I... could help the elders... in searching for one... person..."
"I see," I nodded, and at the sound of my voice, she lowered her head again, shrinking and trembling even more. "If you want to survive, go downstairs and bandage those lying there; I still have business here." I said calmly.
She flinched, barely got to her feet, and passing by me, headed downstairs. I don't know why, but I didn't want to kill her; I just felt sorry for such a little girl, so all my anger disappeared somewhere. After she left, I turned my gaze to Lin Yun Er; I needed to take her out of here before starting to torture the local workers. Taking her, I went up to the roof, tied up the mage, presumably at the peak of mid-level in two elements and with spiritual seeds. After all, upon closer inspection, that woman didn't look like a high-level mage; she was still far from Zhang Kong.
Carefully carrying Lin Yun Er, I sped towards her house. It wasn't far, so I was soon there. Tearing her ropes, I was about to carry her into the apartment, but she stirred, opened her eyes slightly, and apparently, frightened by my aura, lost consciousness again. Without much thought, I carried her into the apartment. There was another mid-level mage from the guardians who quickly died from a dagger in the heart. Lin Yun Er's mother had already woken up and, hearing someone arrive, came out into the corridor. Seeing me holding her daughter and her comrade with a dagger in his chest, choking on blood.
"Who are you?" she asked, shocked by the scene. "What are you doing with my daughter?!"
"The so-called guardians, wanting to capture one person, kidnapped your daughter to blackmail him. I killed everyone I met and saved your daughter, bringing her to you," I said, my voice still slightly chilling. "So now I'm handing her over to you directly." Saying this, I laid Lin Yun Er on the floor in the corridor, thinking her mother could carry her to the sofa, and then, taking the mage who hadn't fallen yet, I left, leaving the mother in complete shock and utter confusion.
After that, I quickly returned, took the two unconscious mages from the roof, and entered the building through the back door. The building had a very spacious entrance hall; in the opposite corner lay four mid-level mages. As soon as I entered, they sent a barrage of low-level spells at me. Did they think they could work on the element of surprise? Easily dodging their spells with a step of wind, I found myself right next to them and knocked them all out using lightning shock. Straightening up, I looked around again. The girl, Vita, was sitting in the corner, all hunched up and trembling in fear, staring with empty eyes at the scene unfolding. Tears no longer flowed from her eyes, but they were so red and tear-stained that it seemed she had no tears left to cry. I even felt a little sorry for her, but alas, if I kept her, she might easily betray me later, even with a spiritual contract.
"Why didn't you run?" I asked, as I thought she would escape after I left, since she was the only one with intact legs.
"Me?..." she said, looking at me with slightly more coherent eyes. "And where would I run?" she asked in a detached voice. "I have no one, nowhere to go. The guardians will kill me if everyone else dies except me. So it doesn't matter to me where I die."
"Aren't there any of your relatives among the guardians? Why were you working for them at all?" I asked, not too surprised by her words.
"No, I'm an orphan, born in Vladivostok, and ended up in an orphanage right after birth. At sixteen, thanks to my good exam results, I managed to get into a magic school. Upon awakening, I awakened the element of poison with peculiarities. After that, the guardians took me in, but sent me here a couple of months later because I took too long to subdue my stars," she said in a detached voice, but gradually more notes of sadness appeared in it.
"You didn't suppress your stars?" I asked, tilting my head slightly. If she's not tied to the guardians, maybe I should take her in? "What are the peculiarities of your poison magic?"
"Yes, I can't subdue them, it's too cruel!" she said, raising her voice for the first time, but then stammered again, even quieter this time. "Sorry, don't hit me... My poison is three times stronger than usual."
"I see, quite good," I said, nodding, while thinking: "What! Poison magic at a low level, and three times stronger! How could they send her here just for long subjugation? Or did they think it would be safe here and were just sending her to gain experience?" "How do I know you're not lying to me?"
"I have no reason to lie," she said sadly, lowering her head. In fact, it was true, and I didn't feel any lies from her, and I knew how to recognize them. "Please, kill me quickly, please."
"How long have you been subduing your stars?" I asked, intending to take her as my student; it would be a good acquisition, especially if she awakens spirit, shadow, or curse as a second element.
"Eight months," she replied quietly, without lifting her head. That's a very good result; Mu Ning Xue spent the same amount of time.
"Are these all the peculiarities of your magic?" I asked, carefully examining her body. I noticed that the poison energy filled her body; of course, it was weak, barely noticeable, but it interested me.
"Ah, yes, there's one more thing: due to the incredibly strong poison element, it gradually poisons me," Vita replied indifferently, raising her head. "So if nothing is done, I will die in a couple of years, especially if I cultivate actively," she said, in a calmer voice now. I examined her again. She had bright green, almost acidic eyes. A cute Slavic face, short black hair down to her shoulders, with a small green streak on her bangs. Her face and skin were very pale, almost like snow. She was slender, if not thin, with a small, pretty bust. The fact that she was poisoning herself was bad, but it didn't mean the problem couldn't be solved.
"Do you want to return to the guardians? Is there anyone important left there? Don't lie, I'll know if you do," I said sternly, with few arguments left against taking her. But the fact that she could be molded into my personal assassin killer, all that's needed is to awaken the right elements. And the main person indebted to me for her life, that's worth a lot. Plus, extra hands wouldn't hurt.
"No, I wasn't there very long, but over me, because I took so long to subdue my stars, they treated me as a servant, an assistant, no, rather as a pet that does all the dirty work for the masters," she said sadly, with notes of anger in her voice.
"I have an offer. If you come with me, I will save your life and help you develop. Your self-poisoning problem can be solved," I said calmly, looking intently at her.
"What?" she said in surprise, her eyes showing emotion for the first time in our conversation; they widened and almost popped out of their sockets.
"Yes, of course, if you don't want to, I can kill you," I said, raising my hand and pointing it at her.
"No, I agree! What will I have to do for this!" she stammered, trying to stand up, falling to her knees and burying her forehead in the floor as if before some deity.
"You will have to obey all my orders, without exception. Otherwise, I will kill you, and you must be loyal to me until your death," I said, simultaneously taking a spiritual contract from my spatial bracelet. "A drop of your blood," I said, offering her an inkwell.
"Okay, and why?" she said, getting up and kneeling, cutting her finger in one motion, and giving her blood. "Sorry if this is a rude question."
"It's okay, it's for the spiritual contract. I'm not going to take your word for it," I said calmly, filling it with such harsh conditions that she practically had to ask permission to breathe. "Here, sign it," I said, finishing and handing her the contract and a pen.
"Yes, sir," she said, quickly signing the contract, after which it burned and entered my and her chest.
"Now, the last question. Have you told me the truth so far? If you lie, your soul will suffer irreparable damage. You will not only never be able to become a mage again, but you will lose your sanity," I said calmly.
"Yes, it was all the pure truth," she said, her expression unchanged. Well, deceiving a spiritual contract is impossible; it's a direct violation of the laws of magic that have existed since ancient times.
"Good. Is there a basement here?" I asked, looking around for a descent. Torturing people in the building isn't very convenient; that's what basements are for.
"Yes, I'll show you," she said, jumping to her feet and running to the door next to the stairs leading up. Behind it, there was indeed a descent, and at the bottom was a very spacious basement.
"Excellent. Bring everyone who's lying unconscious in the building here," I said, admiring the beautiful place. It would be easy to accommodate all ten remaining guardians here and have some fun.
"Y-yes," her voice trembled slightly. I understand why she answered; after all, dragging eight people, who are not very light, is not an easy task for a fragile girl.
"It doesn't matter if they get new bruises or abrasions," I said, taking out a couple more skeins of rope and giving them to her. "Tie up everyone who isn't already tied."
"Yes, sir," she said, nodding. "Excuse me, perhaps a rude question, but what should I call you?"
"You can call me Asura, but my real name is Jiaxing Yun. I am the one you were sent to help find," I replied calmly, slightly shifting my mask to show my face. Shock appeared on her face after my words. But quickly regaining her composure, she ran upstairs.
"Oh, you've really gotten into it," Asura chuckled, speaking for the first time since the confrontation with the guardians began.
"This is just the beginning; the most interesting part is just starting," I said, taking hooks from my spatial bracelet and attaching them to the ceiling. There were ten hooks in total, for the number of people who would be hanging from them.
"Oh, yes, you know how to torture people properly, don't you? Considering your past, I'm not sure," Asura asked doubtfully in a cheerful voice.
"I've seen a lot in movies and read a lot about it," I said, thinking for a moment, tying the woman's and the light mage's hands and feet so that they would hang from the hooks with their arms raised, exposing the rest of their bodies for torture. "If anything, we'll learn in the process."
"It will definitely be fun," Asura said. "But what are you going to do with that girl? Since you made a contract with her, are you keeping her?"
"Yes, why not. Her poison element is special, and she has shown good talent in development," I said, thinking for a moment. "I think she will be useful, especially if I can awaken shadow or curse as a second element. Although spirit would also be good for me."