Chapter 18 Consequences

Chapter 18 Consequences
Nolan stopped right in front of Otis, who was slumped on the floor. He crouched down and pulled out his smartphone, showing a photo of the receipt for Heidi’s purchase that Otis had handled for Harold. Otis read it and gasped; it was clear from his face that he remembered the transaction perfectly. He looked up at Nolan.

"What’s the point of showing me this receipt?" Otis asked.

"The girl you bought back then... she’s my older sister," Nolan answered, his voice heavy and cold, his eyes fixed on Otis with lethal seriousness.

"Okay... and? What’s the problem?" Otis asked, confused.

"I’m going to ask you once. You obviously know the man named Harold who gave you the order. He’s one of the three owners of the Colosseum. I want to know where he is right now because I’m going to see him and take my sister back," Nolan replied.

"Ha... are you insane? Your sister was sold as a slave and bought with cash. The deal is done; there’s no taking it back. Besides, what right do you have to take her? Do you even have the money to ransom her or buy her back from my client?" Otis asked with a mocking smile.

"I’m asking you nicely. Where is Harold’s address? I can’t exactly run into him here at the Colosseum; we aren't allowed near people of his status. So while I’m still being patient with you, answer the question," Nolan said in a low, chilling voice.

"Sorry, I can't tell you. I'm not looking to start trouble with people like them. Besides, as a middleman, it's unethical for me to leak a client’s information," Otis replied firmly.

"Fine, you asked for it," Nolan replied, his voice calm but heavy.

Nolan raised his hand, and a massive, multicolored orb of light erupted from his palm. He fired it out of the cube. "Blaaaam!" A colossal explosion followed, lighting up the entire void of space for a brief moment before it plunged back into darkness. Otis, witnessing it, turned pale with terror.

"W... what did you do?" Otis asked, staring at Nolan with trembling lips.

"That attack just now was a six-element strike combined with the void element. I call it the Big Bang. Just so you know, I can use every element however I want because my element is void, and I can use them anywhere. That means I could easily put a Big Bang inside your body and you'd explode just like that, but from the inside out, right this second. Got it?" Nolan asked with a sneering smile.

"W-well... what do you want?" Otis asked, trembling.

"Have you even been listening to a word I’ve said? Don't make me repeat myself. Tell me where I can find Harold, or give me his home address. Fast. Don't push your luck with my patience," Nolan answered irritably, raising his finger with a small, multicolored orb of light glowing at the tip of his index finger.

"Okay... okay... I'll tell you," Otis replied, shaking as his eyes darted toward the tiny ball of light at the end of Nolan’s finger.

With trembling hands, Otis reached into his pants pocket and pulled out his smartphone. Panicked and hurried, his fingers danced across the screen. Nolan watched him calmly, still keeping his finger raised in front of Otis. Moments later, Otis displayed a recap of a slave sale agreement; it listed Harold’s exact address and even his ID. Nolan immediately snapped a photo of it, then snatched the phone from Otis's hand to read the full document.

It turned out Harold hadn't just bought Heidi that day; five others were purchased alongside her. The purpose of the purchase was explicitly written: two for experimentation, one for the arena, and two to be kept as "pets"—one of whom was Heidi. Nolan photographed every page with his own phone and then emailed the files to himself using Otis’s phone, quickly deleting the sent mail to cover his tracks. He turned to the terrified Otis and smiled.

"Pleasure doing business with you," Nolan said.

Nolan grabbed Otis by the head, and they instantly reappeared in front of the east locker room. "Whoa!" Nadine, who was still standing there, jumped in shock at their sudden reappearance. Nolan smiled and pulled his hood back up, then stepped forward to straighten Otis’s shirt and hand back the phone.

"Sorry, you dropped your phone," Nolan said innocently.

"Oh, right, thanks. Wait, why did you call me out here again?" Otis asked, looking confused. He had clearly forgotten everything that happened inside the Room, just as Nolan had promised.

"It’s nothing... turned out I had the wrong guy. Sorry for bothering you," Nolan replied.

"Hah... I see. Well, try not to interrupt people while they're working next time," Otis grumbled.

"Sorry, sorry... won't happen again," Nolan replied.

Otis turned around, marched back into the locker room, and slammed the door shut in irritation. Nolan turned to head toward the administration office, with Nadine following him in total confusion, staring at him as they walked side by side.

"Is the business done?" Nadine asked.

"All set... hmm... it’s already 5 PM. Right, time still moves forward inside the Room," Nolan answered casually.

"Yeah... you disappeared for almost an hour, Master," Nadine said.

"I that so? And you waited in front of the locker room that whole time?" Nolan asked.

"Of course, Master," Nadine answered proudly.

"I see, okay then, let's go pick up Nina, and after that, we'll head to the stands to watch Rico's match," Nolan replied.

"Okay... Master," Nadine chirped.

"Hey... why are you calling me Master?" Nolan asked, glancing at her.

"Because I'm your slave. You said so yourself earlier," Nadine replied, smiling up at him.

"Good grief, that was just acting. Call me by my name and skip the 'Master' stuff; it gives me the creeps," Nolan muttered.

"Okay... Nolan, I love you," Nadine replied, happily hugging his arm as they walked.

"Whatever," Nolan replied dismissively. He didn't push her away, clearly not wanting to provoke the creature clinging to him.



A few moments later, in the nearly empty spectator stands, Nolan sat in the middle, flanked by Nina and Nadine, who were both clinging to him. Nina remained silent, her hair a mess as she kept her head down.

"Nolan."

Hearing his name, Nolan turned toward Nina, but "pow," Nina’s fist landed squarely on his cheek. The force threw his hood back and sent his head spinning. Nolan snapped his head back to look at her, furious.

"Hey... what the hell!" Nolan yelled.

But Nolan froze when he saw Nina’s face—livid and streaked with tears. His anger vanished instantly. Nina grabbed Nolan’s jacket with both hands, pulling him in so close that his face was inches from her tearful, raging eyes.

"Do you have any idea... that scumbag took off my clothes, sucked on my nipples, and felt me up down there," Nina screamed through her tears.

"Oh... and? That was it, right? He didn't break the rules," Nolan said casually.

"I’m a virgin... and he’s the first one to ever lay hands on me. Do you have any idea how humiliating and disgusting that feels?" Nina shouted.

Hearing Nina’s words, Nolan was shocked half to death. He tried to process what he had just heard.

"Say that again? You’re a virgin?" Nolan asked, making sure.

"Yeeees... and that man was the first person to ever touch me," Nina answered loudly.

"But didn't you say you have a boyfriend?" Nolan asked.

"Listen and plant this in that stupid brain of yours. I started dating Jasper in refugee bunker right after our city had been destroyed. We were both half-dead with grief from losing our families, and we were constantly busy and terrified because we could have died at any second. Do you really think we could be all lovey-dovey or do anything sexual back then? Then he died, so obviously it’s impossible after that. Think, you idiot," Nina answered with extreme anger and frustration.

"Oh... shit," Nolan muttered, feeling a genuine pang of guilt.

"I’m a virgin too, you know. I was in the basement the whole time, hehe," Nadine chimed in.

"Shut up!" Nina screamed in rage.

"Okay... okay... I’m sorry. But we managed to get Harold’s data—"

Before Nolan could finish, Nina yanked his jacket and kissed him squarely on the lips. Nolan’s eyes widened so far they looked like they might pop out of his head. Even Nadine was stunned, covering her mouth with her hands. After breaking the kiss, Nina grabbed Nolan’s hand and pressed it directly against her chest.

"Once we get back from here, you’re going to lick every single spot that scumbag licked on my body. You’re my man now, and it’s your responsibility to clean me," Nina said, her face flushed red, eyes burning with rage and overflowing with tears.

"Wait... what... seriously? Look... I know I messed up... ah... whatever," Nolan stammered, completely speechless as he turned his face away, his skin turning bright red while he tried to hide behind his arm.

"And after her, I'm next, okay? I want to be licked too. That fat old guy yesterday kept squeezing my chest," Nadine added, perking her chest up.

"Please, just shut up," Nolan replied, suddenly feeling a massive wave of stress, while Nina just sat there in silence with her arms folded over her chest.