Chapter 68

After being dragged onto the ship, Ambasha suffered a tremendous shock and lost consciousness.

A while must have passed.

Barely opening her eyes, she found herself trapped in a dark, dreary prison.

“Ugh…”

It felt oddly familiar.

It was…

The sensation of scars that remained on her body, even though they had completely healed.

Memories from her days as a slave that she had scarcely managed to forget.

Back then, she was often dragged off for no reason and beaten in places like this.

Blood flowed, bruises formed, and wounds that had festered burst open, oozing pus.

Recalling those painful yet horrific moments, Ambasha instinctively began to shiver.

At that moment…

-Creeeak!

“!”

The door opened with a loud noise.

What came into her view next was a man with a muscular build.

“Finally awake, huh? You little rat.”

“Gah!”

Ambasha’s face fell deeper into despair upon seeing his unpleasant grin approaching her.

“You haven’t forgotten who I am, have you? Hehe, looks like you’ve gained some weight during our time apart… You dirty little slave girl have really blossomed.”

“Ah… ah…”

She knew who he was.

He was a subordinate of Marquis Philippe, her former master.

The man who had routinely beaten her alongside the Marquis for no reason…

Ompus.

How he ended up here, she had no idea.

However,

This moment of confronting a being she could never resist back then—

Like a nightmare returning.

Ambasha instinctively trembled, and tears began to well up in her eyes.

The thought of resisting didn’t even cross her mind.

Like a mouse instinctively huddles in front of a cat.

The instincts etched into Ambasha’s body from her brutal life as a slave emptied her mind,

Filling the void with sheer terror.

And…

Seeing the small girl quivering in fear,

Ompus licked his lips and raised his tightly clenched fist.

“I’m really going to enjoy this. I was so stressed out coming here… Let’s have a good time together after so long!”

With those words, Ompus swung his fist down fiercely.

In response, Ambasha instinctively wrapped her arms around her head and curled up.

Feeling the dreadful moment of that nightmare returning.

Realizing she was falling back into the hell she had just barely escaped…

‘Ah… Father… please save me!’

With his name echoing in her heart, Ambasha squeezed her eyes shut.

But then…

-Crack!!

“Gahhh!!!”

A sudden sound of something breaking, followed immediately by a scream.

Simultaneously, she felt a surprisingly light…

A shock that came with no pain.

Curiously, Ambasha slowly opened her eyes.

And then…

“…Huh?”

She couldn’t help but have a blank expression at the scene before her.

A scene she never expected…

There stood Ompus, clutching his fist with a face twisted in pain.

His fist was swollen blue as if it had broken, and he was writhing in agony.

Meanwhile,

Around Ambasha, a Magical Barrier spread out—

The result of training she had undergone until now, which had now reflexively activated upon sensing danger.

‘Ah… that’s right… I could use this now?’

In her fear, she had briefly forgotten.

She was no longer a helpless little girl, but a 3rd Grade Warrior capable of wielding magical powers.

On the brink of reaching Intermediate level,

In a state where she could naturally use condensation, Magical Barriers, and strengthen her body.

Though using more than two things at once still proved difficult and wasn’t quite at the Intermediate level yet…

Even this much was more than enough to handle a typical person without magical talent.

Just like… right now.

“Grrr… urgh… you… you little rat… what… what in the world is happening…”

Ompus began to tremble in reverse shock and fear.

Seeing the very being that had been an insurmountable source of terror now gripped by fear was a satisfying sight for Ambasha.

She slowly…

Began to smile at the corner of her lips.

A genuine smile coming from the joy of being able to offer “salvation” in return for all the grudges she had held until now.

*

“Ugh!!”

Ompus received a kick to the head from the tiny girl.

What seemed like a feeble attack, akin to a kitten’s paw, felt as though he had been struck with a massive chunk of metal.

Rolling on the ground in extreme pain, Ompus thought.

‘What… what the hell… what is this?’

The situation began to take an odd turn.

Just moments ago, his heart was filled with joy and elation, relishing the thought of playing with his long-lost toy.

However.

What he felt when he aimed his punch at her was not the soft flesh he expected,

But a horrendous pain as if he had been struck by a chunk of metal.

At that moment, Ompus’s mind was filled solely with horror and disbelief.

Exactly half a year had passed.

It had only been that long since he heard news of Marquis Philippe’s death and Ambasha being captured by the Pirate King.

In that time, it didn’t seem like she had changed much.

Her injuries had healed as if she had received healing magic, and though her previously frail body now had some vitality, that was it.

As far as enjoying a fragile little girl with a small stature and thin limbs went, it should have been easy for Ompus.

That was what he believed.

“Gagghh!!”

In this moment, Ompus found himself on the receiving end of enjoyment instead.

While he felt the bitter reality smack him in the face, he still couldn’t comprehend the situation.

‘H-how… how could this be…!’

Ompus had no talent for magical powers, yet he grasped how absurd the present was.

The powerless little girl who had disappeared for half a year suddenly transformed into a warrior capable of wielding magic freely and was beating him up.

Considering how difficult it was to learn magic and attain a higher level…

This was as ridiculous as a frail girl who reappeared after six months handling a 3-to-500 match.

Eventually, beaten badly until he was sprawled on the ground, Ompus failed to understand the situation.

Dazed and exhausted, he lay there.

Facing that monster…

Ambasha coldly smiled at him and said,

“What? Already down for the count? You shouldn’t do that. You haven’t even paid back a fraction of what I suffered before…”

“! Ugh….”

As those words left her lips, Ambasha made a fist with her tiny hands.

Feeling terror akin to the iron fist of a demon coming from her small hand, Ompus shouted urgently.

“W-wait! I… I was wrong! So, please…”

“I was wrong?”

“Y-yeah! I’m… I’m so sorry! P-please, just stop hitting me!”

“When I asked you to stop, what did you do?”

“! Th-that’s… agh!”

Ambasha’s fist landed squarely on his face once more.

With a crunch, his nose broke, and blood began to flow profusely, bringing him even more intense pain.

“But… I’m considerate, so I’ll only stop here for now.”

“Grrr… th-thank you…”

Bleeding profusely, Ompus weakly expressed his gratitude.

However, unfortunately, the situation was far from over.

“Well then, let’s start with some questions. Where exactly is this place? It seems like we’re on a ship, but where are we headed?”

“!”

“Are you not going to talk?”

“I… I will! We… we are currently…”

Knowing he would be beaten again if he didn’t answer correctly, Ompus hurriedly explained the situation without any deception.

The Duke Ocleang’s orders to capture Ambasha, and the fact that they were heading to the Kingdom of Frantz.

“Hmm… I see. Now for my next question, who is the strongest person on this ship?”

“T-that would be Commander Pierre. I hear he’s a Grade 7 Intermediate Warrior…”

He was certainly weaker than both the recently fled Napoleona and Garden.

It was odd, but given that he was a parachute from Duke Ocleang, it was only to be expected.

‘Of course, he’s still plenty strong enough to deal with a girl who seems to be merely a 3rd Grade, or maybe a 4th Grade, but still…’

Though Ompus was spilling the beans on the results of his ruthless beatings, he still didn’t feel entirely defeated.

If he could just survive this, he could report the situation to higher-ups and take revenge.

Now, lying flat on the ground, Ompus began to watch Ambasha’s reactions, preparing to sprint towards the prison door.

At that moment…

-Swoosh!

“…Hiiiii!!!”

“!”

At the same moment, both Ambasha and Ompus’s faces turned pale with astonishment.

The only difference being that Ompus’s expression added a layer of extreme pain to his astonishment.

The source of their emotional response was a being gnawing at Ompus’s neck—

A little creature with white fur, about 50 cm in size.

As his carotid artery was severed, he began to suffocate.

Feeling despair in this situation where he was dying without vengeance.

In Ompus’s ears, the last voice filled with confusion from the girl echoed.

“Zebby? How did you get here…”