Chapter 119: The unconscious couple

"To them?" Aiden turned around and looked at the two black dogs. Both were looking at them with eager expressions, awaiting his command. "To be honest, I'm not sure what happened either…"

"Well, they do seem to be loyal to you, boy." Number 3 spoke with a smile behind her mask. She walked to the two hounds and patted both of their heads while crouching down, which they happily accepted.

"Look, they are already loyal! If you want, we could bring them back, after all that happened, they could come helpful in healing Lily." She said while she continued playing with them.

"I guess… In that case, we should just bring them with us." Aiden agreed. While Lily did put up a strong front while she faced that vile man, she did force herself. As soon as the battle was over, she broke down crying miserably.

Standing up and walking back to Aiden's side, Number 3 couldn't help but ask.

"Anyways, what happened? How did you control these war dogs? Normally this shouldn't be possible, they are trained since birth to be absolutely loyal to their master and follow every command without the slightest hesitation…" She pondered.

"Well, I do not know actually. During the battle, I felt an instinct and ordered them to protect Lily. It wasn't a conscious action on my part…" Aiden honestly answered.

Listening to the boy, Number 3 was lost in thoughts for a few seconds, thinking about what could have happened. Looking at the dogs, they didn't seem to be under any spell, or mind control. That means that somehow, Aiden naturally gained the loyalty of these dogs!

"Hmm… I will need to research this matter later…" She muttered eventually. She had a distant memory about a story she heard a long time ago that could be relevant, but before she could make any conjecture, she would have to dig into ancient texts.

"Anyway," She shook her head and looked at the boy. "Bring the dogs with you, and let's go. Let's get the two elders back, and leave this damned place..." Then she stepped out to the hallway. Facing the engulfing darkness at the distance, she lowly muttered, whispering her thoughts into the wind.

'The big fish have already escaped anyways…'

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Two people wearing white and black faceless masks on the faces could be seen walking in the dimly lit underground hallways followed by two armored big black dogs. Ignoring the desperate wails and cries that could be heard from the seemingly countless steel doors to their left and rights, they were walking with casual but decisive steps towards their destination.

Looking at Number 3 leading the way, Aiden was quite puzzled. Looking at his map, it seemed she knew the dungeon layout perfectly and even knew where the elderly couple was held. 

"How?" He asked after a while looking at his master, unable to figure out an answer. 

"How what?" She asked back but continued after a momentary pause. "How do I know where to go?" The smile on her face could be felt by her cheeky tone.

Aiden silently nodded, while he kept his gaze on his Master. His eyes flashed their golden brilliance for a moment.

"You think that I am involved in this right?" She asked again, with the same cheekiness. Seeing the golden luster flash once again in Aiden's eyes, she couldn't help herself and chuckle at his disciple. "We didn't waste our time waiting for you and the prince. We have a pretty good understanding of this underground system now. Also, don't forget, I already know most of the underground tunnel system that goes under the ground."

Hearing her response, Aiden managed to calm down, the golden brilliance in his eyes faded, returning to their normal state.

"Still…" Looking at the dark hallway ahead of them, he spoke with a serious voice. "This place is very nasty. So many people are being held here. How does the city or this kingdom ignore this? There must be thousands of people held here, used, and sold for all purposes!"

"Aiden…" Number 3 sighed at his question. "Do you really want to know? You won't like the answer." Despite the question, and Aiden's attentive look, she didn't continue, instead, she brought up a different topic.

"What really interests me, is what happened to you? From what I've seen in the room, you were pretty vicious there. I know you have a pretty savage battle style, but still… That scene was incredibly gruesome, Aiden."

"I…" This was a good question actually. Even for Aiden, he was actually asking the same from himself for a while now. During the first combat, as his emotions reached a critical level, he felt like he lost control over his own thoughts and his body. He wanted to see and feel the blood, he wanted to hear his enemies' desperate cries… He felt like he became a monster through and through. 

However, he wasn't sure how to bring this up, even if he felt like he needed guidance. He didn't want to lose the 'family' he got. All three of them, Lily, Granny, and Number 3 was important in his life now.

"I'm not sure…" He answered eventually. "When I saw them and knew that they caused Lily's suffering, I just wanted to punish them. I was angry, I guess." 

Although he didn't lie, he didn't speak the entire truth either. He wanted to receive some guidance but didn't want to cause worry. He wasn't sure what was happening either, but he had a feeling it was related to his secret, that he shouldn't reveal.

"I see…" Number 3 hummed as they walked forward in the eerie corridors. She didn't speak for a while, seemingly lost in thought. Reaching yet another junction, she silently took the rightmost one, followed by Aiden and the silent dogs.

After several minutes of silent contemplation, she finally spoke.

"Once we get back, we will train. Just you and me for a while. We need to see what is happening, only then can we find a cure."

Aiden silently nodded in response. 

Eventually, crossing through the seemingly endless corridors, they arrived at their destination. A black, thick steel door with no windows on it. The door didn't have any logo or mark on it, and as Aiden tried to use his [Dark Sense] on its interior, he couldn't, his attempts were thwarted by some mysterious magical energy.

"Don't bother, it's warded." Number 3 spoke, keeping her gaze on the door. "It is very strange, however. This cell is way too high class for those two elders. It makes no sense. Why are they placed here…"

She gently, elegantly waved her right hand vertically in front of the door. As her arc reached its end, suddenly a transparent energy formed a crescent shape and flew into the steel door, slicing it into two.

The energy dissipated as soon as it went through the door as well, showcasing an excellent control over the magical energies. Aiden watched the action with great focus, however, his eagerness wasn't rewarded this time either, he received no notification from the system. 

Noticing his disciple's intent focus, Number 3 chuckled. 

"You want to learn magic? You will have to learn control first! You can't even control your own emotions currently! Your sister on the other hand…" Her thoughts trailed off once again, as she stepped over the doorway. 

Entering into the large dark room, she waved with her hand once again. A white orb made from the energy formed in front of her, levitating in the air. 

In the next moment a gentle breeze suddenly came from behind, carrying the orb of light high up above them, keeping it there. As she walked forward, the breeze seemingly listening to her unvoiced commands carried the orb illuminating everything around her in 10-meter radius.

Once again, no matter how hard Aiden tried to watch, he couldn't get a response from the system. Although this puzzled him, as he seemed to have no issue when studying Granny's Rune Magic. He was wondering what was the difference between them, but sadly, without Enya's assistance, he couldn't figure it out. Finally giving up, he sighed, and followed after her master, stepping inside the room.

He tried sensing his surroundings, he noticed two weak life forces at the far corners of the room. Pointing to that direction he loudly exclaimed.

"There! They are there!" 

Following the direction, they soon saw two silhouettes chained against the wall. Coming closer they soon saw the two elders unconsciously hanging from the wall in a wretched, battered state. The woman on the right was missing his right arm, her trunk was crudely wrapped around with linen cloth. The blood stained it dark red. Her clothing was torn, the results of a severe whipping session could be seen behind the torn attire. 

Her eyes and her whole face were swollen.

The elderly man next to her wasn't in a better state either. While he wasn't missing any limbs, his clothes were torn as well. His upper torso was covered with wounds, blood still oozing from some of them. He was missing several teeth, his face was swollen just like her wife's, maybe even more. 

What was even worse, is that the bruising on his right knee told the tale of how it came into violent contact with some sort of blunt weapon, and how his old bones cracked under such force.

"I'm glad Lily will not see this…" Aiden muttered to himself, which Number 3 could only answer with a heavy sigh.