Shez took a deep breath as he saw Allen and Hellen leave the house. He clenched his eyes shut, as the crumpling pain in his shoulders, knees, jaw and crotch seemed to eat him alive. 'I've survived worse' he told himself as he glanced around the room for something that could help him escape. Although he could drag himself out of the house with the chair, he wouldn't be able to use his healing spell in front of the humans.

He glanced at the fireplace that was decorated with portraits of an old couple, and some black and white portraits of the same couple but younger. The two portraits were at the top of the lit fireplace. What was more concerning though was the dead bodies of the same old couple thrown carelessly beside the fireplace.

Shez had no time to grieve over someone he didn't even know. He dragged the chair towards the fireplace, as if a lame dog jumping its way to food. He jumped near the fireplace but how would he use the fire to burn the nylon threads?

He wanted to stroke his chin thoughtfully, but couldn't. He again looked around to find something flammable so he could transfer the flame - but there was nothing relative in reach. He jumped the chair around and faced the opposite direction of the fireplace. He leaned back and let himself fall on the fireplace. The impact slipped some firewood sticks aside.

The flames crackled and hissed, licking at the nylon threads binding Shez to the chair. Smoke curled upwards, stinging his eyes as the ropes began to smolder and finally snap. He could only pull out one arm from under his chair, to caste the spell. He had to wait for the thick ropes around his torso to burn before he could stand up. He saw the flames reaching for his torso from around the back of the chair.

"krupaya mama duhkham jadam kuru hanumate" he muttered in Sanskrit, as the flames engulfed him. The flames spread rapidly around the ropes that tied his chest to the chair, and his top.

The orange flames had burnt the ropes around his torso and were now burning his top. He saw the flames spread throughout his orangish brown jacket and set it on fire. He turned to his side to thrust his elbow on the burning firewood.

He didn't feel a burning sensation due to the fire resistance spell he used on himself. He hauled himself to a sitting position with his elbow on his knees beside the chair which had also caught on fire by the time Shez got on his knees.

He let out a deep breath and opened his jacket. He pulled his arms out of it as fast as possible, as he knew that the spell just disabled his receptors and he could still be damaged by the fire. A jolt of pain shot through him as his weight crashed down on his shattered knees. He gritted his teeth, the sound of his own pained groan echoing through the silent room.

He twisted his torso towards the fireplace and grabbed one of the burning sticks. He couldn't feel the heat of the flame on his bare skin. He turned the stick upside down - with the burning part facing the ground. He pushed the stick onto the floor, and chanted again in Sanskrit:

"aham dirghayushah purushah bhavishyami" he muttered under his breath as the flames extinguished itself.

The flames, now reduced to shimmering golden particles, began to dance and swirl around him, emitting radiant, golden light. The light seemed to be absorbed into his skin, a warm, tingling sensation spreading through his body. The fine golden particles wrapped around Shez's arm that was holding the stick against the ground. The particles seemed to be absorbed by his bare forearm. His nerves emitted a golden glow, and the glow flowed through his nerves.

It flowed to his chest and to his jaw. With a cracking sound, the jaw snapped back int place. The glow reached his other shoulder and something snapped inside of it. The glow then flowed down at his abdomen, and the pain on his crotch seemed to disappear. The glowing golden flow finally reached his knees and healed them without a cracking sound. With a gasp of relief, Shez felt the bones realign themselves, the pain fading. A relief shined across his face, as he hauled himself to a standing position.

"Much better" He sighed, "I should head to the Drayers Organizations immediately, after I assassinate my target."

He covered one of his eyes with his glovelettes palm, and blinked once. His other eye turned orange when he reopened it, with the nerves around the eye thickening under the skin.

***

A bull exhaled its breath on the sand, puffing it aside. Its pupils turned orange as it stopped sniffing the brick wall on its side - as if it gained consciousness out of nowhere. It jerked its head behind and saw on one on the street. The street had houses on both the sides and had residents doing their chores but the girl with the brown bag wasn't there. The bull's eyes turned black again as it began to sniff the wall.

Shez blinked again with the uncovered eye and gained control of another bull. Another bull at a distance was eating overgrown weeds at the corner of a house. The bull immediately jerked its head up and glanced forward, with its eyes turning orange.

The bull spotted the girl Shez was looking for - the one with the long braid as a ponytail and a brown bag held in her hand. Her pace was faster than earlier. Shez knew she was either near the dealing spot or she was in a hurry.

The bull lightly squinted its eyes and charged at her. The concrete wall behind her seemed strong enough to withstand the blow Shez planned on delivering with the bull. She was about to get to the dead end and most probably climb the wall. The bull thundered towards her without making a sound.

Its feet marched on the dirt as it pointed its large horns towards the girl. The bull sprinted across the thin street, with residents screaming out of fear.

"The bull's mad!!" They shouted as everyone dashed inside their houses - clearing the way for the bull.

The bull was finally near the dead end. The girl - already hanging on the wall let go of her grip and landed on the ground as she heard the screams. She jerked her head around and fount the angry bull with orange eyes charging exactly at her.

Her heart pounded against her ribs as she tried to move out of the way. But the bull was faster, and before she could even twitch her muscle - She found the bull looming over her feet - The stench of dirt and animal musk filled her nostrils The bull didn't want to hit the concrete wall and smash its horns - but it was under Shez's control. The brown bag slipped from her grip and smacked open against the ground - bundles of cash rolling out of it.

One of the horns pierced through her stomach - in an instant. Her mouth was left wide open as she couldn't even glance down to see her injury. Her life flashed before her eyes - her parents' last smile, her brother's goodbyes before she left to deliver the bag - and her roommate's face - all flashed on her mind as she felt her stomach crumbling down into a ball.

The bull's other horn struck the concrete wall and broke off. The bull screamed in pain and backed away as its eyes turned black again. The bull pulled out its stabbed horn, dribbling with blood, and turned around. The bull screamed as loud as it could.

The lifeless body of the ponytail girl fell on the open brown bag - leaving a trail of blood stain on the concrete wall behind her - and the money inside the bag.

***

Shez' s glowing orange eye stopped glowing as he removed his palm from the other eye. His eyes turned back to dull orange as he sighed and shook his head side by side. He squared his shoulders with a shrug and turned to the fireplace again.

He joined his hands in front of his chest with a clap, and muttered in Sanskrit "aayami praveshah" as he pushed his palms away from the chest and pointed them in thin air.

The fabric of reality started bending and waving in front of his hands, as the thin air tore apart like a cloth. An orange ring formed around the torn hole that was floating in front of his palms. The portal widened itself to be large enough that Shez could pass through.

These kinds of portals were generally used to travel between the brute dimension and the human world - but these were the only kind of portals that could be opened with Dragon magic. Shez saw the Brute Dimension on the other side. He held his palms upright and didn't move them. Another portal opened inside the Brute Dimension that was visible from the first portal.

The Portals stood in a convoy, leaving just enough gap between the two portals for Shez to step through. Shez bent his knees and Dashed through the portal. He saw Lailah standing near her desk - and saw the raw fear in her eyes. He knew she was in danger - and it had to be Hellen or Allen as they were the only threats to the protector of the key Shez wanted to protect.

Shez stepped inside the portal and thrust his foot against the ground on Brute Dimension and leapt across the other portal that led to the Drayer's Library. He dove inside the portal and turned right, mid-air - only to find out that an electric charge was coming right at him.

His eyes widened as he saw the electric charge stab his stomach. Lailah saw Shez smash himself on her desk. The two portals in the convoy were closing rapidly but Lailah managed to witness the feat Shez achieved to save her.

Although Shez didn't know Hellen had reached the library but he was glad he wasn't late. His face squinted on his nose as the electricity surged through his body, paralyzing him. He could see Hellen standing on the corridor and the shock on her face was obvious. Shez's bare torse made the pain even worse.

Lailah's face lit up as she saw Shez take the blow for her. She snatched the giant key from the drawer and grasped it with both her palms. Shez couldn't move a muscle as he saw Hellen approach him at a steady pace.