The Hundred First Generation: The Ancient Power Returns

Chapter Eleven

Kidani and Grace watched in stunned silence as Celina lunged forward at the soldier. The Trelosa soldier ducked under a swipe Celina made with her blade. A fist connected with Celina's stomach, making her groan gently. She fell to the ground, sliding through the dirt a few feet when she hit the grass. 

Kidani was the first one to move. Her hand suddenly sprouted claws that must have been a few inches long. She swung her hand at the Trelosa soldier. The Trelosa tried to jump backwards, but he didn't get the chance. The soldier fell to the ground as soon as Kidani's claws pierced the fabric that made up the mess. 

I briefly saw the face of the soldier. It was a young man, much like I had expected, but he didn't have an evil edge to his gaze, which made me gasp. I had expected somebody heartless, cruel, and rotten to the very core. 

However, when I met the eyes of the young man, I didn't see that. Instead, I saw a young kid about our age who only wanted to help people. Even if he was a Trelosa, I couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to him than what we were seeing by just looking at him on the surface. 

Grace touched her chest with both hands. A small orange light appeared when she pulled her hands away. The light hit the Trelosa soldier in the chest. Grace breathed out gently as the light was absorbed by the soldier's fabric uniform. "Reveal the truth that you have hidden deep in your heart," the orange haired girl whispered. "The Master of your Feelings commands you to do so."

The Trelosa soldier stumbled around on his feet before falling to the ground. The soldier stared up at me, eyes wide. Kidani leaned down and pulled his face mask off with her hand, the one that was still normal. Meanwhile, her clawed hand slowly returned to normal. 

"Who are you?" Grace asked, crouching down and meeting his eyes. "Please tell us now."

"It's in your best interests for you to tell us the truth," Kidani said, crouching down as well. Her head was to the right of Grace's. They really looked like a couple while they were like that, but I didn't say a thing about it. I knew that it wasn't the best time to mention it since we were in front of an enemy agent. 

The boy let out a sigh. His eyes were dark and so was his hair. His hair was rough and messy, as if he hadn't brushed it out in days. There were dark circles beneath his eyes, which made him look incredibly exhausted. "I'm a Trelosa soldier," the boy told them. He sounded breathless when he spoke, as if being pressured into speaking so suddenly was exhausting him. 

"We meant your name, dirtbag," Celina told him, rolling her eyes. "Go on. Cough it up already. We don't have time to waste on your smart remarks."

"It's... It's Finley," the boy responded. "My name is Finley."

"Why did you attack us?" Celina asked. She grabbed Finley by his collar and picked him up. She pinned him up against a nearby tree. I expected the dark haired boy to struggle against her grip, but strangely enough, he did nothing but hang there limply. 

"She told me to," whispered Finley. "Hakate told me to attack you guys."

"Hakate..." Celina whispered. "Figures that the villain behind this is the leader of the Trelosa soldiers. I should have expected that." She met Finley's eyes. "Why did you follow her instructions? I know that Trelosa soldiers only ever do things if there's something in it for them."

"I-I can't tell you that," Finley said stubbornly. "I really can't. Back off already." He started thrashing against Celina's grasp, but the weapons master was holding him firmly, which meant that he didn't stand a chance. "Please, let me go already."

"We can't do that until you tell us the truth," Celina snarled. "I'm telling you that if you want to ever see the light of day again, you should tell us."

Finley sighed. "I guess I'm not seeing the light of day again," he murmured simply, shaking his head. Finley held up his hands to us. "Go on. Let's just get this over with already."

A frown appeared on my lips. "This seems too easy," I whispered. "Nobody with an ounce of sense would willingly offer themselves up as a prisoner to the enemy. I'm new to this magic business, sure, but that doesn't mean that I don't know human sense."

"Whatever. He's surrendering. That's good enough," Celina said. She snapped. A pair of handcuffs appeared from midair. She grabbed the cuffs and locked them around the wrists of Finley. He didn't struggle at all as Celina cut open a rift with her dagger. 

We all stepped through the rift and ended up in an abandoned prison. The walls were covered in spiderwebs and other sorts of pests. A rat darted by my foot, which made me jump and squeal in shock. Grace took my hand and smiled at me serenely, as if to make sure that I was kept under control. 

Celina pushed Finley into a cell nearby. He fell to the ground in the blink of an eye. He moaned slightly but didn't push himself off of the ground. He curled up into a ball and fell asleep mere seconds later. 

Celina led us back through the rift. This time, we ended up in Viveca's room once again. "They still aren't back," she whispered. "Whatever. We have new people. That's the important part."

"Who in the world would willingly confess all that?" I asked myself. 

"He didn't willingly confess it," Grace told me. "I manipulated his emotions to make sure that he told the truth." 

"That's pretty cool," I smiled to Grace. 

"Now, we wait," Celina said, taking a seat on the floor. "The others will be back soon. Hopefully they didn't run into any trouble like we did."

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I hurt my toe and it won't stop hurting gdi dij

-Digital