The inside of the warehouse was much larger and wider than it appeared from the outside. The lighting was poor, and the gas lamps were dim, creating an eerie atmosphere.
The trucks that had arrived earlier were illuminated by the truck's headlights.
Osian stopped the truck and got out of the driver's seat.
'The knights guarding the entrance told me to go inside and take care of things myself.'
This meant they were not guarding the inside.
Moving the kidnapped people was entirely the gang's responsibility.
'From their attitude at the entrance, it seems they are aware that they are doing something dirty.'
Perhaps they didn't want to directly interfere with whatever was happening inside the warehouse, just to obtain some sort of absolution for not directly laying hands on such matters.
It was ridiculous. From the moment they condoned the kidnapping, they could never be free from guilt.
'Now I need to check what's happening inside here.'Osian headed to the back of the truck he had driven.
Although he had knocked out the driver and passenger, there were still kidnapped children inside.
Osian immediately approached the sacks loaded in the cargo area.
As if hearing his footsteps, the movement in the sacks became tense.
"Shh. Don't worry. I'll free you soon."
The children, who had been worried about kicks and curses, unconsciously relaxed at the soft voice.
Osian used a knife to untie the children. There were five in total - three boys and two girls.
They appeared to be between 11 and 14 years old.
The children stared at Osian with round eyes. It was natural, as standing before them was not a rough gang member, but a young nobleman.
"W-Who are you?"
The oldest girl among the five kidnapped children asked courageously.
"Someone who came to rescue you," Osian answered briefly.
Relief spread across the children's faces, but Osian added:
"But not right now. There are watchers outside, and I have something to take care of here."
"S-Something?"
"There are other kidnapped people besides you. I need to rescue them too."
"Then we'll..."
"For now, hide yourselves here."
He had considered freeing the children before entering the warehouse, but that wasn't the best method.
It was still raining outside, and even if children from another area were released, they couldn't do much in District 29.
It was better to bring them to this warehouse with no prying eyes and tell them to hide until everything was over.
"I'll come back once I'm done."
"P-Please don't go."
The youngest boy spoke to Osian and then began to sob.
At such a young age, and having been kidnapped, the mere thought of the person who rescued him leaving was terrifying.
Knowing he shouldn't cry, the boy couldn't hold back his tears.
The quick-witted 14-year-old girl tried to comfort him, but the tension releasing only made the boy's crying more pronounced.
'This is awkward.'
While the sound wouldn't be heard outside, the problem was inside the warehouse.
The boy's sobs, though not loud, echoed like a whisper inside the warehouse.
Like a shark sensing blood in the deep sea, a response came.
"What fucking brat is crying? Who is it? Huh!"
The rough and unrefined voice made the child instantly stop crying. He was terrified by a voice from the same type of people who had kidnapped him.
But the one who detected the sound seemed unwilling to let it go.
"Oh? What organization are they from? Letting kids cry like this, is this how you manage things?"
One of the gang members from earlier was slowly approaching, hitting the side of the truck.
He came close to the cargo area and looked at Osian.
"When kids cry, you should beat them with your fists or kick them until they're a bloody mess. Things are going well right now."
"That's right. Things are going well."
"What?"
"Seeing a guy like you running around."
Osian approached the gang member and kicked him directly in the chin.
He carefully controlled his strength so the chin wouldn't break, and the gang member fell back, losing consciousness.
The children's eyes sparkled at Osian's heroic appearance. It was like watching a hero take down the gang that had kidnapped them.
"I'll be back soon."
When Osian turned back, the children nodded. Admirably, they also remembered to keep their mouths shut.
The children wrapped themselves in sacks to camouflage themselves while Osian dragged the unconscious gang member far from the truck.
He was likely one of the kidnappers who had arrived earlier, probably waiting here while his other colleagues were away.
Osian immediately slapped the unconscious man's cheeks.
After a few slaps, the gang member regained consciousness with a blurry gaze.
"Wh-what?"
"From now on, you'll guide me."
"Who are you!"
Osian, now tired of persuasion, gripped the man's arm and slowly applied pressure.
"Aaack...Umph!"
As the man tried to scream, Osian quickly stuffed his removed coat into the man's mouth.
Applying more grip strength, the man trembled like an aspen leaf and shook his head.
Seeing surrender in his eyes, Osian removed the cloth from his mouth.
"Puha! Cough! Cough!"
"It's better if you don't do anything stupid. First, I'll ask a question. What were you doing here?"
"I-I was left behind to wait for the colleagues who went inside."
"Were you the highest-ranking one?"
"I was lucky. I got selected by drawing lots."
Seemingly aware of his situation, the man began to spill information.
"What are the guys who went inside doing?"
"They took the kidnapped children. They're doing something called 'selection' there."
"Selection?"
As Osian raised an eyebrow at the strange word, the man quickly explained:
"We're checking if they have talent. Most are children, so they naturally have high growth potential, but among them, there might be particularly outstanding children."
"Guide me."
If he doesn't know exactly what's happening inside, he'll have to check directly.
"Uh. That's..."
As the man hesitated, Osian drew the sword from his waist.
The gang member's eyes trembled. It wasn't just about drawing a sword - someone who pulls a weapon in this situation must be confident in their abilities.
Moreover, the recent experience of nearly having his arm crushed by Osian's grip was something he didn't want to imagine again.
"Oh, I'll guide you."
He had no choice.
Osian made the gang member lead the way, following closely behind.
As they approached one side of the warehouse's outer wall, a passage to another area became visible.
Slanting downwards, it appeared to be a path leading underground.
"Just go straight down this way."
The warehouse was not a simple warehouse. This was just another deception, and the real location was below.
How far down had they gone? A single door blocked the path.
Unlike the shabby warehouse, this was a sturdy-looking door that seemed well-maintained.
"Only those with a key can enter this area."
From his demeanor, it didn't seem like he was lying.
Osian recalled the human trafficker he had knocked out earlier. There was no key on the driver, so it was likely the passenger had it.
"Unless someone from inside comes out, this can't be opened by force..."
The gang member's words were cut short as a brilliant white light burst from Osian's sword, burning through the dimly lit dark space like a flame.
While holding his breath and staring at that blaze, Osian gripped his sword and stood at the doorway, taking his stance.
Just at the moment of wondering what he was about to do, Osian swung his sword from bottom to top, from left to right, and from top to bottom.
A passage large enough for people to walk through was created in the massive iron door.
The gang member trembled even more upon seeing this.
He belatedly realized he had been taken hostage by a truly dangerous person.
"Keep guiding me. You won't say you don't know the internal structure, right?"
"Oh, yes, I understand."
The gang member guided Osian.
The inside was slightly brighter than the warehouse. Though relatively speaking - the interior still wasn't well-lit.
Then a forked path appeared. The gang member guided Osian down the left path.
"This way."
"What's on the right?"
"That...I'm not sure. Truly. The knights warned us not to go there, so we've been avoiding it."
After walking down the left path for a while, an open space revealed itself.
"This is where the selection happens. The process of taking those with talent."
The space beyond the passage was a moderately sized cavern.
Beyond the railing, a scene of children gathered in the space below could be seen.
And the kidnappers who were roughly pushing or threatening them.
At that moment, a door on one side of the cavern opened, and a group appeared.
'Priests?'
Osian pressed the blade against the hostage's neck to prevent him from making nonsense sounds, and carefully observed the unfolding situation.
Leading the group was an elderly priest, followed by knights and several other priests who used holy power to examine the children's condition.
The children were then separated.
Out of approximately 30 children, 3 were singled out - likely the ones with the most potential.
About 20 children remained in place, seemingly possessing only ordinary talents.
These children were taken by lower-ranking priests.
Seven children remained.
"These are useless. Not worth a single thing."
As the elderly priest shook his head, the knights signaled to the kidnappers.
"Dispose of them quietly."
"Hehe. When have we ever caused problems?"
The kidnappers grinned, even under the knights' contemptuous gazes. Everyone gathered here had shed any guilt about their actions.
The kidnappers approached the 7 children.
Even young children have some instinct.
They realized they had been abandoned by the priests and that their lives were in danger, and began screaming.
"P-Please spare us!"
"Waaah. I want to go home!"
"Priest! Save me, Priest! Mommy! Daddy!"
Despite the children's pleas, the knights and priests did not move. Instead, they left with the other children as if they couldn't hear the cries.
The human traffickers forcibly dragged the resisting children elsewhere.
They pulled out clubs from their waists and mercilessly beat the children.
"You little shits, shut up!"
"Want to die here?!"
Osian, watching this, realized something he had forgotten.
This was a selection site. And selection doesn't always mean picking out talented gems.
On the contrary, selection can also mean filtering out those with no talent - what people commonly call "chaff".
Osian raised the blade to the human trafficker's neck.
"Do you know what will happen to those 7 children who were separately selected?"
"Th-that..."
The man's eyes darted around. He wanted to dodge, but it was too late.
If he truly didn't know, he would have immediately said so.
"Looks like you know. Don't think, just answer."
"Those without talent...can't be raised by the order, and there's no need..."
"So?"
"They tell us to...make use of them as we see fit."
"Surely you're not sending them back to their original place. How do you 'make use of' them?"
"That..."
What would happen if a gang that kidnaps and kills people were told to "make use of" young children?
"Seems similar incidents have happened before. Your hesitation suggests it's something unspeakable. And you..."
A heated emotion flickered in Osian's eyes like a flame.
"Were involved."
"Please believe me. I absolutely did not. I tried to stop it, but my colleagues..."
What came from his mouth was a complaint claiming his own innocence, shifting blame to others.
-Swish.
Osian swung his sword with a cold gaze. There was no need to listen to disgusting excuses to the end.
Leaving the fallen man behind, Osian lightly jumped down below the railing.
They were taking the children to a dilapidated warehouse door.
Osian kicked the firmly closed door.
Regardless of the noise or commotion, he no longer cared.
-Boom!
The door was crushed and bent, and inside, bewildered gazes turned toward Osian.