51 Test 3 (1/2)

As Edmond woke up from a deep sleep, he winced, as it felt as if his head had been pounded by a thousand hammers.

The pain was so bad that he had to take a little bit of time to open his eyes, but when he did, he saw that he was in a very unfamiliar place.

It looked like it was a Palace, of sorts, with a high ceiling and a grand chandelier that he had only seen in a few pictures hanging down from above.

That was the first thing he saw, but as he brought his eyes down, a sight appeared in front of him that made him gasp and scramble to his feet.

There were two…cages, of sorts, in which two familiar individuals were present, gagged and tied up to make sure that they couldn't even move an inch.

These square cages looked like they were made of a transparent material that weirdly shimmered in the air, and as Edmond looked around, he spotted a creature that he knew, right away, was the one controlling them.

It looked like an octopus that had come onto land, and it was so large that even 50 of him would be able to stand on top of it and still not cover the entire area of its body. It was a pale red in color, and its eyes that were set in its gigantic head looked at him intelligently.

However, it suddenly averted its gaze when a man laid a hand on its head and stroked it.

Edmond, too, turned his head to see this man, but he didn't recognize him.

Still, glancing at his friends who were imprisoned, he shouted, ”Who are you? Release them! We are protected by World Government Law! You cannot prosecute young Ascenders…”

As the man raised a single hand, the words that were about to come out of Edmond's mouth stopped instantly, making him choke and cough as it had felt as if something physical had tightened around him to make this happen.

Only, it was simply the amount of power that the man commanded with his stature, which allowed him to stand far above Edmond, who was just a common citizen.

”My official title is Lord Dreadvale, and I inherited it when I took the position as the City Lord of Dreadvale City. Don't quote the laws you studied in school to me. In times of strife, a City Lord has complete command over the lives and deaths of common Ascenders who have not been designated as 'Special' by the Government. Do either of you qualify to be one of those monsters who can get that designation?”

With a gulp, Edmond turned to once again see Aaron and Woof, who were frantically trying to get rid of their bindings.

That was when something suddenly occurred to him.

”But he's a Survivor! He's…”

”Not been tested and approved, yet. Your lives are in my hands, as I call this a time of strife.”

Finally, Edmond had no option but to agree that they were at his mercy.

The World Government had set up many rules to ensure that Ascenders would be allowed to grow. At the same time, though, some rules had to be laid down for times of war when disobedience could cause massive loss of life. Clearly, the City Lord was using that loophole, and as Edmond hadn't taken an advanced class on the topic, he had no idea how to counter him.

But why were they even in this situation?

With a start, he combed through his memories, which made him realize that they had been caught by this man while entering the Town.

But why? What did he want with them?