Damsel in Distress

Josh blinked several times to see if his eyes were deceiving him, but truly, Val was no longer there.

He quickly looked towards the two men behind who were oblivious to what was going on as their gazes were fixed around the people surrounding them, observing for any suspicious movements.

“B-Both of you! Did you see where Val went?” He already expected them not to have an answer for that, and the bewildered expression on their faces confirmed it.

He felt dizzy and leaned on the counter of the shop for support.

Without being told, the guards separated hastily in search of him.

Even the shop owner was surprised how the little boy suddenly disappeared as he stared at Josh who looked obviously distressed.

‘How? When? Is it an enemy? It has to be. But to kidnap him right under our noses? They have to be Divines or highly trained humans. Shit! Shit! Shit! I should’ve brought more men! Why did this happen!’

He didn’t even want to think of what would happen if he who had sworn to deliver only the best of news, tells something like this to the master.

The thought of Val having been the one to escape crossed his mind and was made even more plausible by the strange way he has been acting. But still, this didn’t change the situation he was in.

He was about to rush into a search when the shop owner who was holding onto the yellow duck stopped him while pressing it.

“Sir, what about your gift?”

“Squeaky! Squeaky!”

Josh who heard this turned towards him with fury in his eyes.

“What was that?”

***

Val who was now walking slower through the crowd sighed in relief as everything had gone according to plan, although he still felt awkward after doing all those cute things. But it was necessary.

He had waited for the perfect opportunity where everyone’s attention at the moment was off him.

The girl whose father won a nice gift kept glancing at him so it was naturally difficult to escape without her noticing but she got distracted when her father handed her the teddy bear.

After seeing this opening, Val had to get Josh to shoot an arrow once more but he was generous enough to shoot two, giving him the time to escape.

Now, he was headed towards the city walls which he somehow needed to pass through to get to the forest, which was going to be the most difficult part, because of the guards stationed there.

Val hoped that after all this, he wasn’t going to be disappointed, well, not as though he didn’t like the thrill of a little adventure.

He hasn’t been allowed much freedom in the first place, after the incident that happened a few years ago which he couldn’t clearly remember.

While being careful, he estimated that it would take him about 30 minutes to get to the walls.

Running and sometimes walking to avoid suspicion, he took routes and alleys with as much less people as necessary.

Fortunately, even though some people wondered why a little cloaked person was walking around, he was yet to get the interest of anybody.

It didn’t take long to begin seeing the 20 meters talk wall clearly and with the speed he was moving, which was like that of a top athlete, he would be getting there soon.

All his physical capabilities and senses were much enhanced than normal people.

From speed to strength, smell to hearing and even healing.

He avoided moving too fast, which would be a bad idea.

This was noticed some time ago and excluding him, only five people knew about this.

It wasn’t very normal to have all this as heightened as he possessed at such an age, which convinced them further that he is a Divine manifestation.

Just as he was passing through an alley, he saw a girl with shoulder-length blue hair, worn with a blue and white hair band.

Her azure eyes shone with worry and by the clothes she was dressed in which was a blue and white expensive-looking long-sleeved gown, with flower designs; it was obvious that she wasn’t from a normal family.

“S-Stay away!” she slowly backed away from three boys who drew closer to her with grins on their faces.

It was noticeable that the grin of the boy on the left-hand side was a façade and he was truly nervous and scared but the two other boys were the real deal.

“So, what do you have to offer? If it’s good enough, maybe we’ll let you go unscathed,” said the boy at the center, trying to mask his ill intent but failing miserably. He obviously didn’t plan on letting her go unscathed.

Val was slightly surprised by this because the girl was probably the same age as him with the boys being a few years older.

There was no one around, which made it perfect for such an activity.

This was the first time Val was seeing something like this and even though he was curious, wanting to see how it would end, he found it quite pitiful. Besides, he needed to get to the forest quickly so he couldn’t spend time watching.

He let out a sigh while making a decision.

“My dad would…”

“We know and we don’t care who the f*ck he is and what the f*ck he’s going to do,” the center boy cut short the girl who was about to threaten them, causing her eyes to get filled with tears.

She knew very well about her lack in physical performance but she still made up her mind to try her best in order to escape, but just as she turned around and took her first step, she bumped into something and fell to the ground.

“Argghhh,” she groaned slightly while opening her eyes which met the bright red eyes of a boy she was on top.

She blinked several times not afraid in the slightest contrary to what one would expect, rather, her expression was one of surprise mixed with admiration.

‘Didn’t expect this,' Val sighed internally.

He wanted to take them all down as quickly as possible, so he dashed towards them but when he was about to go past her, she suddenly turned backwards right in front of him and even though he tried to stop himself they bumped into each other, hence, their current state.

“Huh! Where did he come from?” the boy on the right-hand side asked in confusion. It was as though Val had appeared out of thin air.

“You’ve gotten yourself in deep shit boy,” the center boy who was obviously their leader frowned while stepping forward.

Seeing her showing no signs of moving Val cleared his throat, which made her realize the awkwardness of their position and stand up quickly with a tinge of red on her face. She also remembered what was going on before now causing her to frown slightly.

Val also stood up looking towards them.

“I’m actually in a hurry, so I hope you don’t mind letting us go?” Val made sure his hood was always on, as he said with a hint of threat in his tone.

She was able to see his eyes from that angle due to their bright nature but she didn’t get a complete picture of his face.

“Look at him, feeling like a Prince charming. I guess we would beat the shit out of you after all.”

Their leader said as the right-hand boy stepped forward.

“Let me go first,” he said with a sadistic grin while taking a fighting stance.

From his point of view, he believed that he looked furious, but Val kept staring at him like a clown.

Seeing his foe not making a move the boy believed that he must be in shock although the expression said otherwise, so he went ahead to throw a punch, but just before it made contact, his body caved inwards as he vomited a handful of blood.

He wondered when Val’s leg had gotten to his guts and this was the last thing that he could think of before rolling on the ground and coming to a stop, obviously unconscious.

‘Maybe I overdid it,' Val brought his leg down, shifting his gaze to the remaining two boys who were now shivering in fright.

“Y-You…, how did you……”

Before the leader of the three could complete his speech, Val dashed forward, punching him in the face as blood shot from his mouth with him falling a few meters away.

“I-I’m s-s-sorry. I didn’t mean to…” The last boy who was scared from the beginning kept apologizing with tears in his eyes.

“Take them both and get out of here.”

The boy noticed that Val’s voice was strained but he didn’t want to find out why as he immediately began to drag his buddies' bodies away.

Val on the other hand kept breathing roughly with his eyes giving off a dull glow, as he stared at the blood on his fingers which he wiped from his chin.