In the far distant land of memories, on the rooftop of the school.
Jake kicked the hamburger out of Blaze's hand and then followed it with a punch to his gut. Blaze went flying, sliding on the floor a few meters before stopping dead.
He curled up, holding his stomach in pain. Tears welled up in his eyes, but Blaze held on so they didn't spill out. He swore to not be weak in front of them.
"Where's your lunch money, huh? You thought that if you didn't bring money, we were going to leave you alone, huh?" Jake said, continuing to kick Blaze while he's down. With superpowers, his strength was not that of a regular teenager. Each felt like a baseball bat hit at Blaze.
Veronica came over and slapped Blaze in the face.
"Remember to bring money tomorrow, trashy!" The girl yelled at him.
Suddenly, a fist thrust from nowhere and landed on Veronica's pretty face. She went rolling on the ground.
Jake was enraged but met him was a kick straight to his jaw. The impact hurled Jake flying to the wall, next to Veronica.
Standing there was Alyson with her blossom lion mane. It was magnificent under the sunlight, fearless like a true lion.
"You?" Jake groaned.
"Fuck off!" Alyson simply said.
Jake picked Veronica up, and the two quickly scattered from the scene.
Back then, Jake's power was only D-rank. He was no match for a true C-rank like Alyson. He ran away fearfully like a coward he truly was.
Alyson squatted down by Blaze's side. She gently reached her hand out to help him.
But Blaze slapped her hand away.
"I don't need your pity, Awakened!" Blaze screamed.
Alyson sighed and sat down next to him. She gently put her palm on Blaze's shaking back.
"I don't pity you, Blaze."
Suddenly, she dragged him over and hugged him tightly.
"I am your friend. And friends help each other."
Blaze didn't resist and let her do whatever she wanted. He just lay there, motionless. Everything was falling down on him. It had become too much to bear. And right then, he just needed a moment of peace.
Alyson rubbed his hair gently.
"You are one of the smartest people I ever knew, Blaze. You can learn everything in an instant. You were fearless even in front of stronger people than you.
You are destined for greatness, Blaze."
Blaze's breathing calmed down. He lifted his head to meet her. Their faces are so close together that they can even smell each other's breath.
Alyson's face flushed red. The Lioness that everyone feared was then just a shy little girl.
"It doesn't matter, Alyson. I don't have power."
Alyson smiles and touches his face. They can feel each other's pulses.
"I don't think power should be what measures the worth of a man. It is the content of his character.
And you, Blaze Singer, are one hell of a man."
Present day.
"Keeps her alive is enough." Williams says.
"Don't we need to preserve the merchandise, boss?"
"As long as she isn't dead, we can even chop all her limbs off." William shares a sadistic smile.
His allies, all three males, laugh in unison.
One floats to the air, his limbs dissolve into a mini cyclone that revolves around his body.
The second takes out a plastic bottle and splashes water on his right fist. The water moves like it has a mind, clinging to his fist and forming an ice sword sticking out of his knuckles.
Another slams his forearms together. Pieces of ground around him shoot up and stick to his body, making an armor made out of dirt and rocks.
Alyson roars as loud as she can, hoping the noise will reach the other.
"It's useless." Cyclone man says. "I sucked out all the air surrounding us. No air, no transmitter, no sound escape."
Specifically, he created a sphere that isolated the air outside from inside. The people inside the sphere can hear each other, but they cannot hear outside. This principle applies the same way for the other side, no sound from the inside can penetrate to the outside.
Alyson turns her back and runs as fast as she can. Cyclone man waves his hand and blows a strong wind to slow her down. Ice man jumps forward and thrusts the ice sword into her back.
"Careful, though! Avoid critical points to not kill her!" William shouts from the side.
Ice man adjusts his sword to aim slightly downward and sinisterly points at her bottom.
Alyson spins back and kicks the sword away.
Ground man comes from the side and rams her ribcage.
Alyson screams out in pain and is knocked flying. Ice man keeps a close distance. His ice sword turns soft and becomes a spike whip. Ice man lashes onto Alyson while she's still in mid-air.
She falls to the ground, blood on her hip.
Alyson holds the pain and gets up immediately. She keeps trying to run away.
"Wow! She's tough!" Ice man says.
"That's why she's valuable!" Cyclone man says. "The plaything needs to have a bit of resilience, you know. Otherwise they will all break in seconds in front of our customers."
Ground man chases Alyson and charges at her again. She uses four legs to jump up, almost reaching three meters in height. But then cyclone man blasts her down, which causes her to be shoved directly at ground man.
Alyson falls to the ground again. This time most of her ribcage has been broken. Bones caves inside her own flesh and stabs at her own lung.
A gurgling cough ripped from her throat. Then blood spurts out from her mouth, spilling over her red lips. She convulses involuntarily due to the pain, but it only causes the bones to twist and carves out her flesh more. She can't breathe properly. Her vision is filled with red.
Her lion mane retracts to its original hairstyle. The whiskers disappear.
William walks over with hands in his pocket. He soccer kicks Alyson in the face and sends her to sleep.
"You shouldn't have resisted." William shakes his head. He takes out a small metal device and drops it on Alyson.
It turns into a mechanical bug and attaches itself to Alyson's skin. William holds a red trigger in his hand, controlling the bug.
"Stop!" A hoarse voice fills the space.
The Animals look over to the side. A strange shadow figure who wears a black cloak.
William keeps looking while pressing down on the trigger. A white light covers Alyson, and she disappears.
It is advanced teleportation technology.
[Optional objective failed]
[Sub reward has been deducted from the mission]
"You've made a mistake." Blaze doesn't raise his voice. He doesn't even flinch. There's only a cold, razor sharp feel in his tone.
"Tell me now where you have taken her, and you may live.
Refuse to cooperate, and I will kill you. And I will burn your soul for eternity more."
William lets out a high-pitched, almost childlike laugh. He shows too many teeth. His shoulders shake, and his eyes are fixed on Blaze like he is a joke.
"The fuck do you think you are? Grim reaper? Get out of here before we kill you."
Blaze inhales slowly through his nose, something in him has snapped.