Chapter 11 Slave Showcase : Free The Slaves

Chapter 11 Slave Showcase : Free The Slaves
The room immediately turned chaotic. Nolan swept the enemy in front of him, and before the man could even fall, he lunged forward in a flash, delivering an uppercut so powerful the man didn't just drop—he flipped backward through the air and slammed hard into the ground, motionless. Nolan instantly spun, driving his elbow into the face of a man behind him before snapping a sidekick into the gut of another attacker closing in.

Meanwhile, Nina leaped onto a man's shoulders and instantly twisted her body, sending him spiraling into a violent crash against the floor. She followed up by sweeping the legs of two men behind her until they fell, then stood and threw a back-kick squarely into the stomach of someone trying to ambush her. Rico struck a man with a double-leg kick and, the moment he landed, went into a low tackle on another opponent, transitioning into a suplex that shattered the floor tiles.

The three of them fought fiercely until many of their enemies lay scattered and unmoving. Two men lunged at Nolan from behind; he vanished, reappearing at their backs to slam his fists into their heads, sending them flying forward until they collapsed. Nina formed her hands into the shape of a pistol and fired orbs of flame at the men approaching her, setting them ablaze instantly before casually blowing on the tip of her index finger.

Finally, Rico tapped into his Orb powers. He stomped the ground, causing sharp stalagmites to erupt and trap several men in place. He moved quickly, striking them one by one until they hung limp, impaled by the stone spikes. When it was all over, Rico stood panting heavily. He looked over at Nolan, who was strolling toward the elevator, and Nina, who followed closely behind. Both looked completely unbothered, as if the fight had never happened.

"Good God... what are they made of... dammit, I'm really starting to question my life choices. Why have I even been hanging out with Nolan all this time... whatever," Rico muttered breathlessly in his head.

Rico ran to catch up with his two friends, and then they all stepped into the elevator and the doors slid shut. Nolan pressed the button for the top floor, but Nina hit the second floor.

"Hey... why did you hit the second floor?" Nolan asked.

"I want to check out the slaves, maybe a friend of mine is there," Nina answered.

"Sheesh... whatever," Nolan replied.

"You guys... we're in a place we definitely shouldn't be... why are you acting so relaxed?" Rico shot back, frustrated.

"This is exactly why I wanted to go alone, you guys are a real pain," Nolan said, rubbing the back of his head.

"Whatever, dude," Rico replied, annoyed.

"Yeah... whatever," Nina added.

"If you're coming along, don't complain," Nolan said sharply.

"I'm not complaining," Nina snapped back.

"I can't even complain... nobody listens anyway," Rico grumbled.

"Ting," the elevator doors opened. When they stepped out, the three of them were shocked. Before them stood a row of 3x3 rooms with glass walls, looking just like a pet store displaying animals in glass cages so buyers could look inside. They walked down a hallway where the left and right sides were "slave" display cases filled with many girls, women, young men, and older men. Almost all of them looked listless and defeated. There was even a man wearing a collar banging on the glass wall—perhaps hoping to be bought or freed—but his voice couldn't be heard at all from the outside.

Naturally, the three of them ignored it. When they reached the end of the hall, they branched off to the left and right, then reconvened in the center.

"Find your friend?" Nolan asked.

"Nope," Nina answered, disappointed.

"Let's head up. Time to talk to Marvin," Nolan said, walking back toward the lift.

"Are you sure you're just going to talk?" Rico asked.

"What do you think?" Nolan countered.

"Obviously not. Probably won't even involve words," Rico answered.

"There you go, you know the drill. Let's go," Nolan replied indifferently.

"And we're just leaving these slaves here?" Nina asked, glancing left and right.

"Do whatever you want with them," Nolan replied.

"Nice... they're free, then," Nina said with a smirk.

Nina raised both palms, and fire like wide, incredibly long whips erupted from her hands. She gripped the flames and lashed out at all the glass displays on both sides simultaneously. The glass struck by her whips turned red and melted, allowing the slaves inside to get out. Nina then turned toward the end of the hallway and freed everyone else the same way.

The slaves began to peek out with confused expressions as Nina jogged back to the elevator to join Nolan and Rico. As the three stepped inside, the slaves began emerging from the melted glass, watching as the elevator doors closed.

After that, the elevator headed back up toward the penthouse, which could be reached from the fifth floor via its own separate private lift. When they reached the fifth floor, they stepped out and entered an office at the end of the hallway. "Blam," Nolan indifferently kicked the door wide open. They walked inside and headed to the left, where a private elevator stood ready to take them directly into the penthouse above.

Meanwhile, in the penthouse living room, Marvin was watching television. His legs were closed tight, and Nadine—who had been dressed up in a short-sleeved blue gown with a plunging neckline, her long black hair falling straight down—sat on his lap with her back to him, leaning against his body. Marvin's hand was busy massaging and squeezing Nadine's chest; her face remained expressionless, her gaze as vacant as a soulless robot.

"You have to listen to me if you want to stay alive. I think I like you; turns out you're pretty cute when you're cleaned up," Marvin said. He started sliding his hand inside Nadine's gown, squeezing her breast until she winced, though whether from pain or something else was unclear.

Nadine didn't answer, but she nodded. Marvin then picked up a bottle and turned Nadine to face him. He pulled down the front of her gown, leaving her chest fully exposed. He opened a bottle that looked like an ampule and drew out a pipette filled with liquid, smiling at Nadine.

"Now, I'm going to train you," Marvin said.

But before he could do anything, "ting," the elevator opened. Marvin had just enough time to look toward the lift before a palm slammed into his face and gripped it tight. The force sent both Marvin and Nadine crashing to the floor. "Pling," the bottle Marvin was holding fell to the ground but didn't break, and the liquid stayed inside.

"Hey... what the hell is this!" Marvin shouted from behind the hand that wasn't covering his mouth, clutching at the arm of his attacker.

"Yo... how's it going, Marvin? Remember me?" asked Nolan, who was the one attacking him.

Nina and Rico stepped out of the elevator and immediately helped Nadine, who was sitting on the floor in a daze. Rico caught one look at Nadine and blurted out, "oh shit," before quickly looking away after seeing her exposed chest. Nina rushed to pull up Nadine's gown and looked over at Nolan, who was now sitting on Marvin's stomach with his hand still clamped over the man's face. Rico glanced at Nolan.

"What did I tell you? He didn't even say hello," he muttered in his own head.