Chapter Twenty One - Fading of the Light

*** Sophia Cazador ***

“No…” I struggled to break free as I felt his hand glide down my body.

“Please…” my voice was barely over a whisper.

His one hand holding the body of mine was far stronger and kept me from breaking free as the other did things to me. He touched my body in places I have never allowed anyone to touch, and as he reached for the one place special to all girls I jerked with all my might.

The drink the mistress had given to me robbed me of most of my strength but I had enough left to break free one hand and push away his.

“A fighter hmm…” the voice of the one holding me down whispered in to my ear.

He roughly grabbed my freed hand and slapped me across the face.

The other hand stopped touching my body as he held my chin in his hand.

“I am going to have fun breaking you in,” he said.

I closed my eyes as I felt his lips come close to mine.

“I’m sorry,” I whimpered. “I’m sorry.”

“Yes,” the boy whispered, his breath a herald to his proximity.

“I’m sorry Papi,” my voice was no more than a feeble whisper as darkness engulfed the room.

*** Leo Cazador ***

“Sophia!” I cried out, my voice bleeding mana.

As I ran I brought out the case from the bag on my back, I popped it open. Inside was a gun designed with both science and magic in mind, it was a personal rail-gun. It was powered by mana, inside the stock of the gun is a converter that transforms the dense mana within diamond clips into electrical energy. Diamond was easy enough to make, the case carries four of the battery clips. Aside from that there were six munition clips. I stuffed the clips into my deep pockets and tossed aside the case, I inserted one diamond clip into the back of the stock and a munition clip into the loading dock.

I quickly came up to the city gates.

I set the gun to burst mode and fired. The static energy from the discharge was tangible, as was the sonic booms it unleased. The city gates were shredded with the first burst, the second burst left the tall and once strong wooden doors in splinters.

Guards rushed to the gates but I was already past them, I was grav-skating towards where I had last felt Sophia’s presence. I could still feel her general direction but it was like searching for someone by their voice in extremely thick fog.

As I got to the place where I last felt her proximate location I entered the red-light district, a place for harlots and prostitutes.

My blood ran cold.

“Grah!” I roared as I turned even my despair into blood lusting rage.

I turned towards the nearest of the buildings on the street, a well decorated “palace”, and conjured a seal of high level magic.

“The Great Inferno,” I summoned. Blood red seals appeared upon the building seconds before the entire place was engulfed in such a thermal force that it distorted the very air. Wood turned to cinders and stone into molten slag, the entire site was leveled into a burning heap.

I turned towards the next building.

“Earth Burial,” the building was slowly swallowed by the earth it rested upon.

Even though the mana I used was substantial I still felt like I was suffocating in an ocean of it. I wanted to release it, I wanted to unleash it, but I didn’t have the time for it now. I still needed to find my Sophia.

Guards appeared here and there to stop me, even a mage appeared here and there, I was not merciful with them. They had no fault in my plight but I did not care, there was a child waiting for me and I was already too late.

I used the gun to tear through them, it was a devastating weapon as no barrier could stop the rounds that flew at a minimum of twice the speed of sound.

When I finally reached the place holding my sweet Sophia I stopped at the door, I hesitated to enter, after a moment I regained myself and stepped inside.

*** Mistress Bellona ***

“Who is that?” A working girl asked me as a new customer entered the gates. He stopped at the beaded entrance, he was holding a strange artifact in his hands, as he gave off an aura of danger. The noises from the outside startled us, but seeing this unique figure entranced us, to say the least we knew not how to react.

After a moment, as I watched the stranger enter, I regained my senses.

He didn’t bother going for any of the working girls and headed straight for the stairs leading up to the private rooms.

I quickly rushed to block his path.

“I’m sorry dear but aren’t you far too young?” he looked no more than a teen, no maybe he wasn’t even that old yet.

He looked up to me, his strange mask revealed only his eyes.

He said nothing.

For a moment he looked at me then raised the strange artifact and pointed the twin bar ends towards me, my instincts screamed at me to run, to dodge. I listened.

His eyes followed me but the tip of his artifact did not. He lowered it and continued on above.

***Leo Cazador ***

I kicked in door after door, I couldn’t feel her exact location, but I knew I was extremely close. Some of the patrons were angry with me and decided to do something about their annoyance, those men did not survive the day.

Room after room.

Trash filled my eyes, perversion permeated the very air.

By the time I reached the end of the corridor where I still felt Sophia’s presence strongly, my hand was shaking as it twisted the nob. The lock was nothing to my powerful wrist, it strained and snapped though it did not unlock the door, but with the force I pressed forth with caved the door.

Inside I found a man slumped over a small feminine body.

He was laying atop a very young girl, he did not turn to look at the one who had intruded.

I stepped forward, compelled by a feeling of instinct.

Could it be?

I stepped closer, the man was not moving, in fact he was not breathing at all. His hand was holding the small frail hands of a child while the other rested on the chin of the child.

Sophia. Oh sweet Sophia.

Tears streamed down my face as I peeled away the corpse revealing my dearest child. I dropped the corpse to the floor not caring for who it was that I unceremoniously dropped to the floor.

There she was, my beautiful Sophia. Her eyes were glossed over as black tendrils covered her body.

“You used darkness in fear,” I stated as my hand brushed against her skin glancing towards the ring that stilled glowed cruelly black.

I tore open her green dress and pulled out my pen with golden ink within, I wrote upon her belly the holiest of magic, Devine Light. My innocent Sophia, it was heaven’s judgment, no black or grey soul could survive the burning light of divinity. The spell activated and her soft skin glowed, the tendrils slowly retreated. They did not disappear, but were kept at bay. Her fear had activated the ring and not her will, it was not her sin to bare.

I took her into my arms, gently, I carried her from the room and headed out, I was finally taking my Sophia home.

My unrestrained mana shredded every threshold too small for me to pass through.

A small force of soldiers from the city waited for me outside the brothel.

I looked at them as they looked at me.

“May you rest in peace,” I said barely loud enough for the closest to hear. “Graviton.”

The effect was not visible as it took place inside their bodies. A powerful gravitational well took form inside each of the men who stood in my way, it crushed their innards into a ball. It was not powerful enough to mash them into a singularity, but the effect was evident. All the men fell dead at my feet, their inner organs damaged beyond recovery.

Ignoring the corpses I stepped forward, continuing on my path. I was going home.