63) The Broken Trust
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{3rd Pov}
Merina looked at the scene before her, her eyes widening in pure disgust as the reality of the situation fully registered in her mind. Several men were openly forcing themselves upon women whose bodies already showed obvious signs of previous abuse. Bruises, torn clothing, trembling figures, and expressions that had long since lost hope painted a picture that made her chop them into pieces.
The situation only became worse the more she observed.
Men, women, and even children were locked inside filthy cages nearby while those vile acts continued without restraint right in front of them. Fear, despair, and helplessness hung heavily in the air, making the entire place feel suffocating.
She did not need anyone to explain what kind of people these were.
These were indeed illegal slave traders.
Merina took a slow, deep breath, forcing herself to remain calm instead of charging in recklessly. Her first instinct had naturally been to intervene immediately, but now that she had actually reached the scene and seen the scale of the situation, she understood that things were far more complicated than simply defeating the men present.
Even if she rescued the captives right now, there was no guarantee the city officials would genuinely help them afterward. In fact, considering how openly such activities were happening, there was a very real possibility that the authorities themselves were either involved or willing to ignore it for profit.
At best, the incident could simply be buried to avoid attracting attention. At worst, the victims could be reclassified as “legal” slaves afterward and quietly sold off again somewhere else once the situation settled down.
When she had first heard the screams earlier, she had acted on impulse without fully thinking things through. But standing here now, she finally understood just how difficult it truly was to save these people properly.
Unless she used her official authority as a member of the Athena Familia, there was a high chance that rescuing them here would only lead to temporary relief before they ended up trapped once more under a different name or excuse.
‘No wonder Goddess made no attempt to help them,’ Merina thought with a wry smile forming on her face. She had been by Athena’s side for years, long enough to understand that the Goddess of Wisdom was far more perceptive and intelligent than most people could ever imagine. In fact, Merina would not have been surprised if Athena had already realized that illegal slave traders were operating within the city simply from a few subtle hints alone. That was the terrifying part about her wisdom.
Perhaps Athena had already concluded that the situation was effectively a lost cause from a practical standpoint. Exposing themselves carried risks, and there was no certainty that doing so would actually improve the lives of the captives in the long term.
There was also no guarantee that the Empire would willingly cooperate with them even after revealing their true identities. Political authority did not automatically mean obedience, especially within another nation’s territory where power structures and interests were different.
The only reliable way to truly ensure the safety of these slaves would be to personally take them back to Altena, where they could be protected under Athena Familia’s authority and kept away from those who would simply exploit them again.
However, that solution came with its own overwhelming difficulties.
Arranging transportation for so many people would take time, resources, and careful planning. The journey itself would not be simple either, especially with vulnerable individuals who were already physically and mentally exhausted.
And above all else, they were currently traveling toward Argon Town for their own objectives. Turning back toward Altena right now was simply not realistic, no matter how much Merina might want to help these people properly.
‘Even so…’ she thought, her fists clenching slightly as the atrocities unfolding before her continued without pause. Every second she stood there watching only made the disgust and anger inside her grow stronger. She simply could not tolerate witnessing such injustice with her own eyes and then turning away as if it were none of her concern.
Even if the outcome would ultimately be flawed, even if saving these people now might not guarantee their future safety, that still was not enough of an excuse to do nothing.
Her decision was made that very moment.
Merina slowly unsheathed her sword, the faint metallic sound cutting through the filthy atmosphere of the place. Then, in the very next moment, she vanished from where she stood.
The men who had been indulging themselves in tormenting the captives suddenly froze in confusion. For a split second, they did not even understand what had happened. Then thin red lines appeared across their necks.
A moment later, their heads slid from their bodies and crashed onto the ground separately, blood erupting upward like fountains as their corpses collapsed soon after.
“The hell?!” one of the slave traders shouted in shock. Unlike the others, he had been sitting on a chair near the desk, seemingly observing the situation to make sure none of the slaves died during the sick entertainment of the men present.
Before he could properly react or even draw a weapon, something pierced straight through his neck.
Merina had already appeared beside him.
Her sword stabbed cleanly through his throat before she twisted and jerked the blade sharply. The motion was brutal and efficient, instantly severing his head from the rest of his body as it fell lifelessly to the ground moments later.
Her face was concealed beneath a mask, leaving only her eyes visible. Those beautiful amber eyes stared directly at the terrified slaves, who were still struggling to process the sudden slaughter that had unfolded before them.
“Shhh… listen to me,” she said in a hushed but firm voice, trying to calm them before panic spread further.
“I am here to save all of you.”
Her words caused them to pause, though it still took several seconds for their minds to fully register what had just happened. Slowly, they began connecting the dots, realizing that the people who had been tormenting them moments ago were now lying dead on the ground.
“R… Really?” one of the female slaves asked weakly, hope finally appearing in her eyes despite the horrible state she was in. Her exposed body was covered in bruises, blood, and the remnants of semen and what had been done to her, making the sight difficult to look at without anger.
“Yes,” Merina replied firmly.
“I will kill every slave trader here and free all of you.” Her voice remained steady before she briefly shifted her attention toward the slaves locked inside the cages nearby.
“Meanwhile, the moment you are freed, run outside and scream for help. Tell everyone what happened here. The Guild should intervene once they learn about this.”
Even as she said those words, she was not entirely certain whether the Guild in this city would truly take action or whether they were already connected to the local officials responsible for allowing this kind of slavery to continue in the first place.
Still, it was the best option she currently had.
‘I should ask Goddess later about how to properly help them…’ she thought inwardly.
‘If only she had not antagonized that Noble Lady earlier, perhaps we would not have to worry this much about how to deal with the aftermath of all this.’
Of course, that was assuming the Noble Lady was not another scumbag involved in such matters herself. Still, a part of Merina wanted to believe otherwise. As a woman, she felt that even someone like a Noble should be able to understand the horror of what these unfortunate people were going through and offer help if they became aware of it.
Deep down, she found herself hoping that the commotion here would eventually draw that woman’s attention and lead her to investigate what was happening.
“Very well. Focus on freeing the others, I will deal with the remaining slave traders,” she said before grabbing the keys from a nearby table and tossing them toward the women outside the cages.
The women groaned in pain as they struggled to move their battered bodies. Even simple movements seemed difficult after everything they had endured. However, the hope of freedom and the desperate desire to escape this hell gave them enough strength to force themselves forward and reach for the keys.
One by one, trembling hands grabbed them.
Soon, the sound of locks clicking open began echoing through the room as cages were finally unlocked.
Merina did not waste even a second after that.
The moment she confirmed the captives were beginning to free one another, she turned and left the room without hesitation. Focusing on her superhuman hearing, she quickly located the remaining slave traders scattered throughout the area, she moved with superhuman speed killing them before they knew what hit them.
Within less than a minute, over twenty more people had been killed by her hands. Combined with the ones she had already eliminated earlier, the total had reached twenty eight dead slave traders.
At the same time, she had counted roughly forty five slaves being held there in total, including both humans and demi humans alike. The scale of the operation was larger than she initially expected, which only deepened her disgust toward the people involved.
Meanwhile, the freed captives began rushing outside as best as they could. Most of them barely had enough clothing to cover themselves, wearing whatever scraps they could find simply to hide their exposed bodies. Despite their condition, they still forced themselves forward and began screaming for help the moment they reached the streets.
It did not take long for chaos to spread across the city once word began circulating that illegal slave trafficking had been taking place within Morten itself.
Seeing that the commotion had successfully begun and that the situation was no longer hidden in the shadows, Merina finally allowed herself to leave the area, at least somewhat satisfied that the truth had been dragged into the open.
...
“Just to be safe, I should discuss this with Art,” she muttered to herself as she continued searching through the city after changing her clothes.
There was no way she intended to keep walking around while wearing the same outfit she had used during the rescue of the slaves.
Before leaving, she had specifically asked the freed captives to keep her appearance a secret, even though none of them had actually seen her full face because of the mask she wore.
Still, amber eyes combined with black hair was already an uncommon combination by itself, one that could easily attract attention and lead suspicion toward her. She knew she should have disguised herself further, perhaps by dyeing her hair beforehand, but with her elven ears on top of that distinct appearance, the chances of being identified were far higher than she would have liked to admit.
As she moved through the city streets, continuing her search, she eventually realized something troubling.
She could not figure out where Tet and Athena had gone.
Of course, she was not overly worried about their safety. Tet was already a Level 2 adventurer, someone far beyond ordinary humans, while Athena was literally a Goddess. Unless they somehow encountered a powerful monster, there was little chance either of them would actually die.
And even if Athena herself somehow ended up cornered, she could simply release her Arcanum and force any mortals around her into obedience without difficulty.
Once her divine identity became exposed, nobody within the city would dare make a move against her regardless of what they personally thought or felt.
Gods existed on an entirely different level of authority and fear.
As for Tet… Merina did not concern herself nearly as much over what might happen to him. In fact, a small and rather unpleasant part of her even hoped that something fatal would happen to him eventually, believing that perhaps only then would her Goddess finally be able to move on from this absurd phase of love she had fallen into, though she knew there was no danger in city that could harm a Level 2 like him.
With those thoughts lingering in her mind, Merina continued searching for the two of them throughout the city. However, even after nearly three hours had passed, she still could not find any trace of either Tet or Athena.
Eventually, she returned to the inn they had booked earlier, hoping they might have already returned there while she was occupied. But upon arriving, she quickly realized they were not present there either.
In the end, she assumed that the Goddess had likely dragged Tet off to some scenic location she had planned to visit beforehand. Since there was little else she could do for the moment, Merina decided to at least deal with another issue that had been bothering her.
She began dyeing her hair orange.
The process itself was simple enough, but she still focused carefully on it. After what had happened earlier, she no longer wanted to keep walking around with such an easily recognizable appearance.
Just as she was in the middle of finishing up, she suddenly paused when the sound of the door clicking open reached her ears.
Turning around immediately, she found Athena standing at the entrance.
However, the moment Merina properly saw her expression, her own face changed slightly in alarm. Athena looked completely devastated, almost like someone who had lost every remaining purpose in life.
“Mary?” Athena called out weakly, using Merina’s current alias.
The Goddess slowly looked toward her before asking in an exhausted tone, “Was Tet here?”
Even speaking those three simple words seemed to drain her.
Merina’s confusion deepened further as she smacked her lips together before replying, “He was not. Do not tell me he left you halfway through?” she said, already beginning to piece together a rough idea of what might have happened between them.
Although even then, she still did not fully understand how serious the situation truly was.
Athena smiled in response, but it was a horrible smile, empty and unnatural, as though she was forcing the expression without actually meaning it.
At that moment, Merina immediately realized that something was deeply wrong.
Then Athena’s gaze slowly shifted and fixated on something nearby.
Following her line of sight, Merina noticed it as well.
A knife.
It was lying quietly on a plate beside the peels of the apple Merina had eaten earlier.
‘A knife?’ Merina thought in confusion, unable to immediately understand why Athena was staring at it so intensely. Instead, her mind arrived at a far more harmless conclusion.
‘Does she want to eat an apple as well?’ she wondered as she watched Athena slowly walk toward the table.
The Goddess stopped in front of the plate before quietly grabbing the knife by its handle.
“Goddess, do you want to eat an apple as wel—”
Merina’s heart nearly stopped.
In the next instant, she realized how Athena had positioned the knife directly toward her own chest, the blade angled perfectly for a self inflicted stab.
As Athena moved her hand to drive the knife forward, Merina reacted immediately.
Her body vanished from her original position with such speed that it almost looked like teleportation. The chair behind her shattered from the sudden force of movement, while the wooden floor beneath her feet cracked and sank slightly from the explosive acceleration of her body reaching inhuman speed.
One moment she had been sitting calmly.
The next, she was already in front of Athena.
Her hand shot forward and grabbed the knife directly by the blade itself, stopping Athena’s attempt completely before the weapon could pierce her chest.
“What are you doing, Goddess?!” Merina shouted in complete disbelief, shock and panic evident in her voice as she tightly gripped the sharp edge.
Without wasting another second, she forcefully twisted the knife away, breaking Athena’s grip on the handle before immediately throwing the weapon across the room and far out of reach.
Athena completely ignored Merina’s questioning. Instead, she shifted her body and tried to move toward the knife that had fallen onto the floor.
Even though Merina’s grip remained firm, Athena still struggled forward stubbornly, her focus entirely locked onto the weapon. The two of them lost balance in the struggle, and Athena ended up falling onto the ground with Merina on top of her, pinning her in place while trying her best not to hurt her in the process.
“Goddess, what happened?!” Merina questioned again, this time with far more urgency in her voice as panic slowly began creeping into her mind.
But Athena still did not answer.
Her eyes remained fixated on the knife lying in the distance, staring at it as though it were some kind of salvation waiting for her.
She gritted her teeth and tried dragging herself across the floor despite Merina restraining her. However, no matter how much effort she put in, it was completely futile against someone as physically powerful as Merina.
Realizing what Athena was truly trying to do, Merina immediately changed her approach.
She released her grip on Athena for a moment, then quickly grabbed the knife herself before crushing it tightly within her hand. The metal groaned under the force before snapping apart into broken pieces.
But even then, she was not satisfied.
Walking toward the nearby window, Merina opened it and threw the shattered fragments outside, scattering them into the grass below to ensure Athena could not reach them again.
Only after making absolutely certain the weapon was gone did she finally turn back around to face Athena once more.
“What did he do?!” Merina growled, her anger immediately shifting entirely toward Ember without hesitation. In her mind, there was little doubt that he was responsible for Athena ending up in such a devastated state.
Athena flinched slightly at the sudden outburst before slowly lifting her gaze, her broken and exhausted eyes meeting Merina’s.
“It is my fault,” Athena said quietly, her voice weak and drained of strength.
“Your fault?!” Merina repeated in disbelief.
“I knew from the very first day that I should have driven that man away from you. First he made you fall in love, and now look at you…” Her expression twisted with frustration and anger as she continued.
“I knew this would devastate you eventually. That scumbag should have died in a ditch.”
To see her usually dignified and composed Goddess reduced to this state filled Merina with both fury and helplessness, and as a result, she instinctively pushed all of the blame onto Ember.
However, Athena’s expression suddenly froze.
A different emotion surfaced within her, anger.
“DON’T CALL HIM LIKE THAT,” Athena said slowly, each word coming out heavy and sharp despite the weakness in her condition. Her tone carried an unmistakable threat behind it, harsh enough to immediately make it clear that this was not something she would tolerate.
“Tell me, Goddess, what exactly did he do?” Merina asked with a tired sigh, already realizing there was no easy way to calm Athena in her current state.
Suddenly, Athena snapped.
She moved forward abruptly and slapped Merina across the face. Merina could have easily dodged the attack if she wanted to, but she deliberately chose not to move, allowing the slap to land without resistance.
Even with all the force Athena put behind it, Merina’s head did not move even slightly. Instead, it was Athena’s own palm that turned red from the impact.
“Done venting yet?” Merina asked calmly, though Athena’s expression only darkened further at her reaction.
“You selfish piece of shit,” Athena spat out angrily.
Merina still did not flinch. “Am I selfish?” she replied evenly.
“Goddess, a million people depend on you. We have served you for decades. What about all of us? Did you forget everything just because of one man?”
“My Tet is not just any man!” Athena shouted back immediately, her emotions spiraling further out of control.
“He is Tet! I love him!” Her voice trembled as she continued.
“But now I hurt him! I broke his trust! Therefore, I need to die! I must die!”
By the end, her words had become almost hysterical, her expression twisted by guilt, grief, and desperation all at once.
Merina let out another heavy sigh.
Then, before Athena could continue spiraling further, she stepped closer and gently struck a precise point on Athena’s neck.
In an instant, Athena’s body went limp as consciousness left her.
Merina quickly caught her before she could collapse onto the floor, carefully supporting her unconscious Goddess in her arms.
“You must die? Huh… how easy for you to say,” Merina muttered with a bitter chuckle, a deep sense of betrayal settling inside her chest.
They had spent years together.
She had devoted decades of loyalty and service to Athena, respected her more than anyone else, believed in her more than countless others did.
Yet now, the very person she admired so deeply was willing to abandon everything and everyone who cared about her for the sake of a person who did not even return her feelings.
The thought left a sour bitterness in Merina’s heart.
She looked down at the unconscious Athena resting before her.
Not taking any chances, Merina carefully restrained all four of Athena’s limbs to the bed. She had no idea how long the Goddess would remain unconscious or when she might wake up again, but at the very least, this would prevent her from trying to harm herself the moment she regained consciousness.
Once she finished securing her, Merina’s expression slowly changed.
The earlier panic and concern faded, replaced by something colder.
In her mind, someone needed to be held responsible for Athena’s current state, and that person was Tet.
‘He let her grow comfortable around him,’ she thought bitterly as her anger steadily increased with each passing second.
‘He never stopped her from kissing his cheeks, never created proper distance between them, always allowed her to stay close to him…’
The more she thought about it, the colder her face became.
From her perspective, even if Athena had gone too far in the end, Tet was still the one who had allowed things to develop this way from the very beginning.
After making sure the restraints were secure, Merina locked the room from the outside before finally leaving the inn, her mind already focused on finding Ember.
To be continued…