Asher the Insane

23 - Baohu the Protector

The old man with the opera mask next to me burst and his blood flew all around, splattering everyone except the violet-haired woman on the stage.

She was completely untouched, even though she should have been covered the most.

The man's face was the only thing that was unharmed. It was not twisted in pain, and it didn't appear as though suffering but rather astonishment marked his final moments.

I knew who he was.

Noufu, a governor and high-ranking member of the state.

"Jesus Christ," the horse-man yelled, spitting out blood he had gotten in his mouth and losing the grace of his words as he had them before, "What the fuck, Faye." He cleaned off a few more chunks of flesh from his face but he did not seem very affected by it, just slightly annoyed, "you could have warned me and, to me, it looks like you traumatized some of the attendees. Imagine, THIS is what the characters in Gantz must have felt like and I must admit this feels a bit weird, seeing someone blow up. And there's no disconnect, cause they're not aliens," He thought for a second, "but in the end, they still were literal slave-holders and very pro-slavery. Can't feel too bad for these guys."

Despite having a highly melodious, almost sing-song-like voice, the woman with the violet hair remarked, "This is the fastest method," in a very simple tone.

The remaining bidders and other staff members who weren't the guards, just now realizing the horror which had befallen their associates, started screaming.

I had just stared death in the face and was stunned up to that point myself.

Forcing myself to say something, I tried to focus on the one person I had come for.

"AINI, GET OUT OF THERE," I threw the mask away and got up to the stage, and ran towards her.

"Baohu?! Is that you?" Of course, she was as shocked as me seeing what had transpired.

The horse-man had already removed her and every other slaves' collars with just his pure strength.

I knelt at her feet and loosened the rope which bound them, "I'm sorry that I haven't been there to protect you."

"Save that for another time. How did you get here?" She asked as we tried to escape this unsightly exhibition together.

"It's a long story. But more pressingly, who were that man and that woman?" I asked Aini as we ran.

"I'm not really sure. What I do know is that his name is Asher, and I believe the woman's name is Faye," she said.

"That doesn't exactly tell us much."

More guards came, and the now freed display slaves fought for their oddly gained new freedom.

Everything turned into a disarray of fighting, blood, screaming, and escaping.

Five guards approached in an attempt to stop us, but I could see that they were frail and in the heavy shock they found themselves in, their fighting prowess would be diminished greatly. They wouldn't able to hold us off for very long.

I grabbed a nearby broom, and being covered in light for a second, it turned into a spear of the highest quality.

They seemed surprised. No wonder, only a few possessed a skill like this.

[Chosen Tool], the skill passed down by my family's bloodline. It let me turn everything I see potential in into my very own chosen tool, in my case, an enchanted guandao.

I had this weapon since I was five years old, but now was not the time for reminiscence.

As one guard saw the elegant weapon, he ran away. I can't blame him for that.

I stood between the rest and Aini, I did not travel so far just to allow them to harm her. Whatever the cost, I had to keep her safe.

The first strike was mine and I would not miss, even if I did, [Perfect Strikes] would lessen the chance of missing per missed attack.

After dispatching four guards in a row, the skill did not even activate once.

All of them were weak, mainly because most of the stronger guards tried to confront the woman called Faye.

They stood no chance, not even the slightest.

Their lives ended the second her finger was pointed in their direction, and their final moments were a bloody pulp erupting in the air.

Even so, I found it incomprehensible that she exhibited no emotion at all while slaughtering most of the slavers' soldiers.

After all those ordeals, I heard that Asher the horse-man kept to his promise and released every slave he came across before venturing further into the bowels of the scums' lair, freeing as many prisoners as he could.

When the majority of the guards had died or ran away, Aini and I fled without being pursued.