Chapter 72 Aya’s Rescue
It was a long way down, dark, and musty, and there was a lot of dust swirling around in the air, which caused his nose to twitch. He maintains a heightened state of awareness at all times in the case that someone approaches from behind.
It was so dark that it was impossible to make out any details in the hallway, but just as he reached the bottom of the stairs, a muffled voice reverberated through it.
“Help! Please! Somebody!”
Val halted in his tracks and cocked his head to the side while listening intently. He wanted to make sure that he wasn't hearing things that he wasn't supposed to hear or that he wasn't simply imagining things in his head because, as of late, his mind has been wandering off to other places.
“Help!”
He couldn’t distinguish whose voice it was since it was only on echoes and the distance made it quite distorted and warped. It could be Lilia, or Aya, or maybe another woman they kidnapped, though the intel said that the girls were kept in the basement. He took his phone out of his pocket, which, strangely, had not been damaged in any way by the events that had just transpired. He moved around the screen until he found the flashlight symbol, and then he pressed it. A small halo was enough to illuminate his way as he veered around.
“Help!” The voice called out again, but this time it was closer.
“Where are you?” Val yelled back, carefully threading across the hall, one step at a time as he steered the light on his phone through the throng of doors lined on the wall.
“Here! I am tied!” It answered once again, this time, it is a bit closer and he quickly recognized who the voice belongs to.
“Aya?”
“Yes! Sir Val? Oh, thank heavens! Sir Val, they took Lilia.”
Two doors on his left were where Aya’s voice was surely coming from. She was apologizing for Lilia being taken away even though it wasn’t any of her faults. Val was quick to sprint on his feet, halting in front of the door and twisting the knob. However, it was unsurprisingly locked. He suspected the metal thing and found out that it was rusted and wearing loose. This building is certainly beginning to crumble and pest is slowly eating it down.
He took a couple steps back, and in one swift motion, he kicked the door so hard that it sends the hinges flying into the side.
First thing he saw as he turned around was Aya's horrified face. Her eyes widened in both dread and relief at the same time. It was fortunate that they did not place a gag over her mouth since otherwise she would not have been able to scream for assistance. Her arms were bound onto the chair, rendering her completely immobile.
“Boss Kael is on their tail, are you okay?” Val moves closer to her in a hurry in order to examine her for any signs of injury, but it does not appear that she has sustained any harm, except for her terrified and tear-stained face, which was bright red due to her emotional state.
“Yes,” she breathed out, her voice a little strained and hoarse from screaming, though he didn’t know how long, yet surely long enough to make it raspier.
Val wasted no time pulling out the dagger he tucked in his belt and began cutting the rope around her arms.
“How did it happen?” he questioned while glancing at her face and then throwing a quick peek at the door in case someone showed up unexpectedly. He’d better be prepared for anything that might jump in.
Aya was trembling excessively. Her breath was ragged and shallow. Her nose sniffing as though she was holding back her sob, and her eyes full of emotions he couldn’t decipher. Their gazes met, and Aya’s lips began to quiver until she finally burst out in tears.
“We…oh I’m sorry… I should have known better,” she sobbed, sliding down to the floor as though she had been sapped with all her strength as he kneels down soon as she were free from constraints.
Val was stunned for a moment, not knowing how to console her as he wasn’t that accustomed to giving comfort. He kneeled down in front of her, lifting her face to look at him, wiping the tears from her cheeks, and taking her hand.
“Hey, now, now… it’s okay. We’ll get you out of here, okay? Lilia will be safe too,” he said, cajoling her to stand up so they can get the hell out of this place quickly. Kael planned to destroy this place and it is not a good idea if they’ll stay here any moment longer.
“Will master Kael kill me?” She sniffed, scrunching her nose to accept his hand, and stood up. Dread lingers on her tone, still shaking. It’s no wonder why she ought to ask him that question. She had known what Kael was like and there’s no mistake about what that man was capable of. She had seen him kill a person without flinching or showing any remorse. She was aware of Kael's capacity to be cruel in any circumstance, but particularly so when he regarded something as pointless or rather stupid, along with anything else that didn't mesh well with his preferences.
But she’s a friend to Lilia now. In fact, she was her only friend, and Kael will definitely take that into a consideration now that something had changed. Though that wasn’t much of a sure. He knows how Kael thinks and it is quite unpredictable.
“No, of course—” he paused for a second, uncertain exactly what it was that he wanted to say, and then he said, “not?” in reluctance.
Aya immediately stiffened by what he said and gawked at him, gasping. “You hesitated, oh my gosh…I don’t want to die.” She shook her head, and her tears started streaming down once more.
Val immediately regretted what he said. He scratches the side of his head and tucked the dagger he still held on his belt and immediately assured her about his statement.
“No one is dying Aya.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes…” Val gently took her arm and lead her out of the room. “Now, let’s get you out of here.”