Chapter 18 - Gold Light

  The scene stayed frozen for what felt like an eternity, but it probably lasted only a few seconds. Then the pressure vanished, instead turning into a dense haze of wind, creating a stiff breeze in the warehouse.

  He turned it all into gas? All of that mana?

  Norton fell to the floor, looking around in shock. The magic blaze on his arms had gone out, leaving only his bare arms. “W-What was that?! Who?!”

  Oh, it was lovely seeing him squirm like this. The fear in his voice, the way his head whipped back and forth searching for threats—this was how she'd felt just minutes ago.

  But Felicia had to contain her satisfaction. She didn't know how far Daniel was from them yet, and she suspected he had lied about his range. A lot.

  A few hundred meters, my butt.

  "I'm out, fuck this shit," Stag said, abandoning all pretense of professionalism as he bolted toward the stairway.

  “No you fucking don’t! Come ba—”

  Norton's voice suddenly cut off mid-shout, but only the sound. Felicia found herself surrounded by a golden barrier that stretched up through the roof of the warehouse and beyond. Everyone still moved around her—she could see them gesticulating frantically through her mana sight—but she could no longer hear their voices or feel the vibrations of their movements.

  She was safe. They could no longer hurt her.

  Norton looked up at the ceiling, where the barrier had appeared from. Then he started panicking in earnest, running after Stag toward the stairs with the desperate, graceless movements of someone who knew death was coming for them.

  Frank joined the retreat as well, though he had farther to run from his couch. All their earlier composure had evaporated, replaced by the primal terror of prey animals fleeing a predator.

  And Felicia sat in the center of it all, warded off from the outside world, watching their panic with dark satisfaction.

  She no longer saw anyone, and her mana was close to running out. But she knew—she was saved. The relief alone threatened to overwhelm her, but she kept herself from sobbing.

  It wasn’t over.

  The ground shook beneath her feet with the force of something massive hitting it. Then bodies entered her vision again, strewn across the floor like broken dolls. All five men who had appeared at the hotel, three others she hadn't seen before, and her two brothers. They were alive, conscious, and looking toward the stairway with absolute terror written across their faces.

  Then another person came into view, slowly walking toward them.

  Oh, Daniel… I didn’t know you could make a face like that.

  Even through her limited mana sight, she could see the cold fury radiating from him. This wasn't the patient teacher who'd shown her magic, or the slightly awkward stranger who'd stumbled over his words when they first met.

  This was a warrior, a protector, who had donned the face of war.

  And it was for her. That mask of rage was there for her, to protect her and keep her safe.

  It was what she had been longing for her entire life.

  …Maybe the gods did listen?

  "Can you see them, Fillie?" Daniel's voice sounded from everywhere at once, warm and familiar despite the trembling rage that underlay every word.

  "I see them," she replied, nodding as well just in case her voice didn't carry through the barrier.

  "Do you want to?"

  She understood exactly what he was asking. These men had kidnapped her, threatened to kill her, planned to sell her like cattle. Her own brothers had confessed to murdering her mother and trying to kill her as a child.

  The rage from before returned in full force, crystallizing into absolute certainty.

  "Leave the two blonde ones alive for now."

  The eight other men simply vanished from where they had been. For Daniel, it was that simple. They had been there, and now they were not, erased as easily as words wiped from a chalkboard.

  Then the barrier around her vanished, and sound rushed back into the world.

  "—oney? Gold?! I'll give you as much money as you want! Just let me live!" Norton was pleading, somehow stuck to the floor by the same golden energy that had protected her earlier. His neck, arms, and feet were all pinned to the stone, leaving him helpless and exposed.

  The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

  The mighty young master of House Harrowbloom, reduced to begging for his life from a stranger.

  "That's up to your kidnappee, I'm afraid," Daniel said. His voice was perfectly calm despite the lives that had just vanished. "And from the look on her face, I doubt you'll get away without wishing for death."

  Felicia felt the ropes binding her suddenly loosen and fall away, letting her stand again for the first time in what felt like hours. Her legs were unsteady, muscles cramped from being tied in place, but she managed to stay upright.

  She walked over to her brothers to get a better look at them in their current state.

  They looked so pathetic. So small. Norton's face was still bleeding from her magical attack, the gash across his cheek making him look lopsided and broken. Frank's usual smugness had evaporated entirely, replaced by the wide-eyed terror.

  And Felicia learned something new about herself.

  She enjoyed it.

  The sight of them, helpless and afraid, sent a warm pulse of satisfaction through her chest. After years of their casual cruelty, their dismissive treatment, their elaborate schemes to destroy her life—seeing them reduced to this felt like justice.

  But that satisfaction was quickly overwhelmed by everything else crashing down on her at once. The kidnapping, the death threats, the revelation about her mother's murder, the casual way they'd discussed killing her…

  She continued past her brothers, moving directly to Daniel. Without hesitation, she buried her face in his chest and cried her heart out.

  All the fear she'd held back during the confrontation came pouring out in great, wracking sobs that seemed to tear themselves from her throat. Her legs buckled beneath her, and Daniel caught her easily, holding her up in his arms like she weighed nothing.

  "I'm sorry, Fillie. I should have realized people might come after you."

  "No," she managed to say between sobs. "I thought the same. I didn't think monsters like these existed!"

  Daniel sighed, and she could feel his gaze shift to the two figures pinned to the floor. But he remained silent for now, simply holding her close while she let out everything she'd been holding inside.

  The sobs eventually died down to hiccups, and Felicia took several deep breaths to calm herself. The warmth of Daniel's presence, the steady rhythm of his breathing, the knowledge that she was finally, truly safe—it all helped ground her.

  "Is Liz alright?" The question came out in a whisper.

  "She'll be fine, but she was hurt quite badly. I'll take care of it, though."

  Felicia nodded against his chest, letting out another breath of relief. She would never forgive herself if her oldest friend and ally had been permanently injured because of her. Or worse.

  She turned, looking back at her two brothers through her near-depleted mana sight.

  “So my own brothers were the ones who blinded me and killed my mother…”

  Another wave of mana washed over the room, this one tinged with a fury so pure it made the air itself feel sharp. "They what?!"

  "Yes." Her voice felt hollow. "Let me introduce you properly. This is my oldest brother, Norton, and this is Frank, the second oldest. They have the same mother, as you can probably tell from the family resemblance."

  Daniel's mana blazed around them, and she couldn't blame him. But his voice remained carefully controlled when he spoke.

  "Nice to meet you, brothers."

  "And this is my new teacher, Daniel. Or..."

  Suddenly, she remembered all the questions she'd wanted to ask him when they met again. About his true identity, about the power he wielded so casually, about whether he really was who she suspected he might be. But this was not the moment for those revelations.

  "...Or Uncle."

  Daniel looked at her with a silent question written across his features, but he left it for later. "Do you want me to take care of them?"

  "No! Wait! We're Harrowbloom!" Norton's voice cracked with desperation.

  "I don't give a shit what you are," Daniel replied with such casual contempt that it made Felicia's heart sing. "Your father would thank me if I removed you from his bloodline."

  "Don't kill them," Felicia said after a moment of internal debate.

  "Oh, tha—" Frank started, hope flickering in his voice.

  His mouth was suddenly covered by another block of golden barrier, cutting off his words.

  "I don't want you to die, brothers." Felicia opened her clouded eyes again, staring straight at them with an expression of cold satisfaction. "I want you to suffer."

  Their faces turned ashen, more pale than they already were. Their eyes flickered frantically between her and Daniel, finally understanding that begging wouldn't save them.

  "Blind them. Make sure they can never see again." Her voice was perfectly calm, perfectly certain. "And take their snaking tongues as well. Make sure they can never utter another lie or command to anyone."

  Her brothers thrashed against their restraints, ripping their skin bloody against the bonds. But nothing helped.

  "As you wish," Daniel said quietly. "You might want to look away, though."

  “I might.”

  And I might not.

  Muffled screams sounded out as two pairs of knives suddenly appeared in the air over their eyes. They were made of the same golden light as the cuffs and barrier.

  Ah, it’s gold light. Another of Artorias’ known magics…

  The knives fell, and Felicia had to avert her sight. The screams intensified, then they stopped.

  “It’s done,” Daniel said, putting an arm on her shoulder. “They’ll never be able to see or talk again. Let’s go.”

  She didn't witness their tongues being removed, but she trusted him to have followed through completely. Then she felt something warm and soft settle around her shoulders—a blanket that smelled faintly of pine and safety, alleviating a chill she hadn't even realized she was feeling.

  It was so warm.

  “Let’s leave this city as soon as we can, huh?”

  "Yeah..." Felicia leaned into Daniel's side, finally allowing herself to feel relief. Her tormentors would never hurt anyone again. "Let's."

  Behind them, two muffled figures writhed in their golden restraints, learning what it meant to live in a world without sight or voice. Learning what Felicia had lived with every day since they'd taken it from her.

  Justice, she decided, had never tasted so sweet.

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