"Are you sure that we need this many people just to kidnap an old man and an old lady who don't even have magical powers?" a skinny man with sharp eyes asked. "This is overkill, don't you think?"
"I agree," a chubby man replied. "Ten wizards to capture two Ordinarius is simply too much. They can't even use magic."
"Stop yapping," a middle-aged man ordered. "Orders are orders. Have you not heard who these people are? They are the ones who raised that Honorary Knight whose head has gotten too big after getting his title."
"True," a witch in her early thirties concurred. "Still, an Epic Legacy? The Legacy of a Colossi? Even I will be tempted to take that for myself. I don't blame the boy for being ambitious. But, it's just his bad luck that he ruffled so many feathers."
The other Wizards and Witches who had been sent to capture Ethan's Grandparents nodded their heads in agreement.
"Let's make this quick," the middle-aged man stated. "Don't use unnecessary violence. You might accidentally kill them. Use paralyzing spells only. Do not, under any circumstances, use other spells. Do I make myself clear?"
""Yes, Sir!""
It was already past ten o'clock in the evening, and all the lights in the farmhouse were turned off.
They had already confirmed that there was no one else around except for Ethan's Grandparents, so they decided to strike.
They proficiently cast a silencing spell in their surroundings, as well as a barrier of illusions to prevent anyone from seeing what they were going to do. This was not the first time these Wizards and Witches had done such a thing, and it showed.
They were in fact a mercenary group, composed of ten Mages and ten Warriors, that went by the name Pale Veil.
Despite knowing that they would only be up against two old people, they didn't lower their guard and remained professional.
One of the Wizards used a flying broom to float beside the window of the Master Bedroom, where the old couple was sleeping, and unlocked it.
But as soon as the window was opened, a flying sandal hit the Wizard's head, making the latter groan in pain.
However, it didn't end there.
"Do you really think that we will allow you fools to use us to harm our grandson?" Agnes said as she jumped out of the window with another sandal in her hand. "Not a chance!"
A resounding crack reverberated in the surroundings as Agnes' weapon of choice smacked the jaw of the Wizard whom she had hit in the head, making the latter's eyes roll up into their sockets.
This made him lose control over his flying broom, which slowly descended to the ground.
Agnes had grabbed the broom's handle, until her feet landed on the ground.
"Come!" Agnes roared. "I'll send you all flying!"
The old lady pulled something out of her skirt, which was none other than a spiked club that she used as a secret weapon.
The Wizards and Witches who had seen her do such a thing looked at her weirdly. Pulling something out of that place was simply unexpected.
"Nothing's changed," the middle-aged man stated. "Stun her!"
"""Impediendum!"""
Nine spells flew in unison, aiming at Agnes, but the old lady only sneered as she dodged them all as if she was a teenage acrobat, making the middle-aged man narrow his eyes.
Agnes made a beeline toward the Witch who was nearest her location, while dodging the other spells that were aimed in her direction with uncanny speed and dexterity.
The moment the chosen Witch was within range, Agnes pulled back her arm in preparation to strike.
"You old hag, know your place!" one of the Witches shouted as she cast a spell that the middle-aged man didn't approve of.
"Ventus Tempestas!"
A powerful gust of wind exploded from the tip of the Witch's wand, blowing Agnes toward the house.
"Fool!" the middle-aged man shouted as he was about to cast a spell to prevent the old lady from slamming onto the stone wall of their house.
When Agnes was only a few meters away, someone caught her mid-air and broke her fall.
The sound of something cracking spread faintly in the night, making the Old Lady's face turn pale.
"Benjamin!" Agnes looked at her husband with worry after seeing that he was the one that caught her.
Unfortunately, the momentum was simply too strong, and the old man's back inevitably slammed on the wall of their house before sliding to the ground.
"I'm fine," Benjamin said as blood seeped at the corner of his lips. "Have you gained some weight, Agnes? You're much heavier than I remembered."
"You fool!" Agnes held her husband tightly. "I told you to stay inside the house. Even if I hit that wall, I'd be unscathed!"
"Haha, sorry," Benjamin replied. "Even if what you said was true, I just can't stop myself, you know? Seeing my wife getting bullied made me want to act as a hero just this once."
"Stop talking," Agnes fumbled through her magic pouch to look for a potion "I'll patch you up."
The middle-aged man glared at the witch, but the latter only snorted.
"If they didn't want to get hurt, they should have come peacefully," the Witch stated. "Serves them right."
The middle-aged man sighed and shook his head helplessly. "Go help that old man. Tend to his injury. Our employer wants them alive. If he croaks before we deliver them, we're going to get a pay cut."
Two of the Wizards walked toward Agnes, while being accompanied by four warriors. Searᴄh the nôvelFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.
"Old lady, don't take this personally," one of the Wizards said. "This is just business. So, allow us to check your husband. Don't worry, we won't let him die until we delivered you to our emplo--"
The Wizard who was talking earlier suddenly collapsed on the ground head-first, surprising his companions.
"Hey! What happened to you?!" the other Wizard approached his comrade to check what was wrong with him.
He didn't see any injuries on his comrade's body until something dark trailed from the man's head.
The Wizard didn't hesitate to swipe the dark liquid to take a better look at it.
"Blood?" the Wizard muttered.
But before he could even say anything to his comrades, he, too, collapsed on the ground.
The four Warriors accompanying the two of them groaned in pain before all of them fell one by one, making the remaining members of Pale Veil scan their surroundings to look for their attackers.
"Sorry, Mother. I'm late."
A deep and sinister voice spread in the surroundings, making Agnes raise her head to look at the person that was walking in her direction.