Chapter 16 - Bounty

The people from Wayeland pushed me into the corner.

They said I was a witch.

They were hunting me down.

After five years of living there, suddenly, they all planned to kill me.

They realized that I was not just a normal superhuman.

I was something else.

But I didn't know that.

Not until they showed me, and became terrified of me..

It was already hard trying to get by the days by myself.

I always wondered how I couldn't die.

Not that I didn't want to live.

But I was just not thankful for it. I found nothing to be thankful about.

<Raven Gemini Wells>

I heard a voice, somehow it's too plain and undramatic.

Is this a person talking?

<It is I, the Salamandite>

"Mr. Gemstone??"

<Yes>

"But why do you sound like a female now?"

<I don't. You just think.>

"I don't understand."

<I don't have a voice>

"Really? But where am I by the way?"

I scanned the whole place to make sense of where I might be but it was just white everywhere.

<You're still in the night market of Yuphoria master>

"Yuphoria? The town below the castle?"

<Yes>

"But where are the people? And Fily? And if I'm still there then why can't I see anything??"

<This is solitude, one of the many abilities that have been granted to you by the Salamandite>

"Solitude? I still don't understand! You're saying I'm still where I am but at the same time I'm not??"

<Yes, you have the ability to separate yourself from everyone else and bring your opponent or ally inside, but do note that this space is surrounded by anti-superhuman logic that deems the superpowers of superhumans useless when inside>

"You said I can bring allies and opponents with me inside, right?... Can you please bring Fily in here with me??"

<Affirmative.>

The sound of crystals clashing with each other enveloped the area behind me but when I looked at it, Fily was suddenly there!

"Fily!" I exclaimed happily and threw myself to hug her.

I was expecting her to be happy to see me too, yet I received no response from her so I called her again, "Fily?"

Still nothing. And when I looked at her, I saw the eyes of someone in pure confusion. She was looking at me like I was some sort of a stranger yet she stayed calm the whole time.

"Hello. Do I know you?" she said politely which almost made me trip from shock.

"It's me. Gem." I said, trying to see if she was just joking but her reactions were genuine.

"Where am I?" she then started asking questions that did not help the situation at all, "Who are you? What happened to my clothes? Who am I?"

I shut my eyes, refusing to believe that this was really happening to me, to Fily.

'Mr. Gemstone help!'

I said desperately in my mind. My heart was betaing so fast and loud that I could not help but feel suffocated about this whole situation right now.

One second I was about to get killed by that butcher man and next I was in this weird space with Fily who seemed to have forgotten everything about me already.

<Superpowers are unavailable for use inside the Solitude.>

"Superpowers..."

Fily's superpower is her super intelligence! What have you done Gem!?

"We should find a way to get out first." I held Fily's hands to comfort her but in reality I was the one who needed comfort the most during this situation.

Fily just lost her memories for god's sake! What if she couldn't get it back after leaving this place?!

But it's still worth the try. I hope that's not the case.

"How do we get out Mr. Gemstone?" I said, gathering all my courage with a deep breath as I wished desperately for the heavens to help me.

<Are you sure you want to exit?>

Mr. Gemstone's voice echoed in my head, giving me a glimpse of hope in this helpless situation as I glanced back at Fily who was now busy wondering beside me like a lost butterfly.

I smiled at her for the last time before confirming my request to the gemstone.

"Yes please."

All of a sudden, my body dissatipated in the air with different colors and shapes that started from my fingertips.

"Hang on Fily." I said and watched myself disappear from that place completely.

And in a flash, we were back to the village.

Still intact.

And Fily...

"Gem!" she called to me with eyes full of worry.

"You're back! I'm so glad you're okay now!"

"Step aside thick girl" the butcher man pushed Fily to the side as I was about to hug her which gave him an opportunity to grab my shirt's neckline, picking me up into the air with his strength that was far more superior than mine.

But instead of weeping, I opted to fight back to him by quickly revolving around his toned arm and landing a heavy double kick onto his face with the force that I gathered from using his toned arm.

I may be little but being little is also one of my strengths!

"You little-"

Before he could even react, I used my super-speed to create a momentum that enabled me to ram my head into his stomach, pushing him back a little which gave me an opening for a punch in the small thing under his apron... between his--

"AAAAAHHHH!!!"

I was just about to throw my super punch to him when he suddenly grabbed my hair! He caught my hair! This damn hair!

"Gem!" Fily screamed after seeing the way that the man grabbed my hair.

Slowly, he lifted himself into the air, along with me in his fingertips, being pinched like a little rat.

This guy can fly? But how--

With all his might, he launched me back to the ground like an expert pitcher, fast and with a good amount of force.

And that was it.

I knew I wouldn't be able to survive that.

But somehow... I landed into a soft thing.

Actually, it wasn't a thing, but rather--

"Super puff!"

"Air!"

I heard the people exclaim simeoultaneously.

It was air, from Fily's puff.

"Fily!"

Fily let go of her 'Super puff' slowly and was able to bring me back down safely.

The butcher growled in the sky and threatened to land on the both of us, cleaver first but then Venedette stood in his way. Her iron-like arms collided with the cleaver, creating a spark and a sharp clang that resonated through the whole area.

She then grabbed the man's head and hit it to her knees, deeming the man unconscious after that.

Venedette brought his head to the ground slowly, landing in the middle of the commotion with violent air around her that screamed bad news for the people around here, her people.

"What is the meaning of this?" she thundered with a deep voice, looking at everyone with a deathly glare that even I became afraid of.

Everyone knew that they have crossed the line and that their Princess isn't a bit happy about this but I did not expect Venedette to be this scary when she's angry like this.

"She's scary," Fily whispered to me with that sweet voice that calmed me a little bit.

"We're sorry Princess!!" One of the elderly went down on her knees which was then followed by everybody else, their heads were also bowing to the ground while Fily and I just sit there, in each other's embrace.

"Who started this chaos?"

"W-we heard of a rumor madame, that the monster is within our village."

"We didn't believe it at first but then some of them said that she has a million pog bounty on her head."

"You don't need that money." Venedette looked really pissed right now.

"We don't." someone responded with a soft voice.

Somehow, Venedette's expression became softer. She went to the butcher which she headbutted and checked if he was still alive.

"Take him to the doctors." she ordered to the people and two men immediately stood up to do what she ordered them to.

"I believe that was the fallen Sir Gordon," I heard whispers again, this time it was clearer because most of the people are still on the floor and silent.

"He must really be desperate to try and hurt a kid like that."

"He probably wants to regain his honor back with that bounty."

"Too bad he destroyed himself and his reputation for the second time now. I don't think the Princess will let this go."

"The kid kind of looks special to her too."

"You two, come on now, let's go." Venedette suddenly appeared in front of us and her hands which we took immediately without complains.

The people bowed still and went silent when we passed through them until we reached the bridge to the castle.

"I'm sorry, Gem." Venedette said without looking at me after arriving inside the castle's gates.

"It's not your fault." I said and pouted in response.

"As the princess of this Island, somehow it is. And I can't believe my people would do that to you. That was just disgraceful and a disgusting deed of a royalty." she ranted. Her face was sour while talking about the butcher man who almost killed me earlier.

"It's okay. They didn't mean it." I tried to reason with her, trying to lift her mood a little bit but she just gave me a fake smile before going ahead of us into the castle.