After the boy's revelation, Saé decided to let him go, knowing there was nothing more she could do at this stage. However, she didn't give up trying to solve the mystery surrounding him. Discreetly, she began to follow in his footsteps.
"Maestria, mastery of observation."
Along the way, Saé spotted Ryo setting traps to obtain food, but since his behavior was not suspicious, she did not dwell on this detail.
When she reached the boy's camp, Saé witnessed a most dramatic scene.
"Well?"
"Sorry... I didn't make it."
"Are you fucking kidding me?"
The boy was violently beaten by members of his own group, revealing the cruelty and violence that reigned among them.
Saé watched the scene with growing anguish. The young boy was being targeted by every member of his group, who seemed to take an unhealthy pleasure in this gratuitous act of violence. Blows rained down on him, leaving him defenseless and unable to fight back.
She watched in horror as the boy was the target of a series of brutal blows, each one seeming to weaken him a little more. The attackers' faces were distorted by a disconcerting rage, a sight that chilled Saé's blood as she stood by helplessly, unable to do anything but watch the tragedy unfold before her eyes.
After being manhandled, the young boy found himself face to face with an imposing man, clearly the leader of the group. The latter, with short hair and an intimidating physique, gave him one last word.
"Listen to me carefully. This is your last chance. After this, you can say good-bye to your grizzled debris, you hear me?"
Saé felt a surge of anger and frustration towards this man who was inflicting such suffering on a defenseless child.
"Did you understand me, you little brat? I didn't hear you!"
As the young boy remained mute in the face of his group leader's so-called question, the latter prepared to inflict a violent kick to his ribcage. Terror flashed in the boy's eyes, knowing that he was at the mercy of this ruthless man. With threats hovering like a sword over the boy's head.
However, before the gratuitous violence could descend upon him, Ishikawa made a spectacular entrance. He emerged from the shadows like a savior, abruptly interrupting the flow of events. His imposing presence and aura of determination seemed to project a sense of security into the tension-laden air.
"Who are you?"
Even if he didn't fully understand the situation, Ishikawa had discerned the exploitation of this child's weakness by members of the group for personal gain. His intervention was both an act of bravery and a categorical rejection of any form of unjustified violence.
"It's my turn to ask you the question. Who do you think you are?"
Saé was still reeling from what she'd just seen. Her eyes betrayed her confusion as she tried to explain to Edano the shocking scene that had just unfolded before her eyes. Her hands trembled slightly, a sign of her unstable emotional state.
"Edano, it's... it's hard to explain..." she began in a hesitant voice, struggling to find the right words to describe the horror she had witnessed. "I found the boy who was spying on us earlier... I thought he might be responsible for the exploded field, but now... now I'm not so sure..."
He then tried to calm her down. "Saé, relax, explain calmly please."
Edano seemed to have mellowed a lot since the secondary riddle.
Saé paused, trying to gather her thoughts as images of the brutality she'd witnessed still swirled in her mind. She resumed in a trembling voice: "He's just... he's just a kid, Edano. I think he's just... being manipulated by people more powerful than him."
Ishikawa stepped towards the group leader, his gaze imbued with deep sincerity and palpable disapproval. He stood there, straight and determined, ready to express his indignation at the situation unfolding before his eyes.
"Don't you find it... repulsive?" he uttered in a voice marked by restrained but perceptible anger. His words echoed in the air, laden with an implicit accusation against those who exploit the weakest to satisfy their own needs.
"It's inconceivable that you would use a child in this way," Ishikawa continued, his eyes flashing with disapproval. "To manipulate someone who is clearly in distress, who can't even defend himself... It's simply abominable."
His speech was punctuated by unwavering firmness, underlining his profound disagreement with the cruel methods employed by the group. He couldn't tolerate such injustice and was ready to make it loud and clear.
"So what are you going to do about it? You want to fight Mister Hero?"
Although Ishikawa wanted to do everything in his power to defend the weakest, he had no weapon with which to defend himself.
Saé, with a firm but compassionate voice, abruptly interrupted the impending confrontation between Ishikawa and the leader. She advanced with a determined step.
"We're going to take this young boy with us, and that's not a question."
However, the latter wasn't willing to give in so easily.
"You've got to be kidding!"
He was about to grab the boy by force when the latter, in a final act of desperation, let out a heart-rending cry.
"The Burning Spear of Polyphemus!"
Immediately, a holographic spear sprang up behind him and came down in a flash, slamming into the leader's eyes and temporarily blinding him.
"Chief?"
"What's going on?"
This moment of confusion allowed Saé, Ishikawa, the young boy and Edano to escape without being caught. The unexpected diversion had offered a precious chance to flee and escape an uncertain fate at the hands of these ruthless individuals.
After the confrontation, the group returned to my side. Ishikawa, full of gratitude to Saé, thanked her warmly for saving the child from the impending horror.
"Thank you so much, Saé. Without your intervention, I'd probably be fighting with him."
The look of gratitude in his eyes showed his admiration for Saé.
Edano, however, had a different perspective. He didn't share the same feeling of gratitude towards Saé. On the contrary, he berated her, pointing out that she had made a mistake by intervening.
"Do you realize you've just gotten in our way? That kid doesn't have the ambrosia, I remind you!"
Saé tried to calm Edano, whose outgoing personality was beginning to resurface.
"We'll find a way, I'm sure..."
However, for him, the child could be an element manipulated by more sinister forces, perhaps even sent to seize the precious ambrosia.
Edano, in a voice tinged with mistrust, suggested that the whole situation was nothing more than a carefully orchestrated trap to draw them into a new ordeal with potentially disastrous consequences.
"This kid is nothing more than a Trojan horse. How did he manage to blind his group leader? He hid an ability on him too!"
Ishikawa, anxious to put an end to the argument between Saé and Edano, made a firm decision.
"That's fine. I'll take care of this child myself."
After all, it was he who had initiated this move to protect the young boy, and therefore he felt vested with the responsibility of looking after him to the end.
This statement eased Edano's worries somewhat. The fact that Ishikawa was taking charge of the child gave him a certain assurance as to his safety, and he felt more reassured by the idea that the child was not his own responsibility.
Ishikawa turned to Saé, eager to explore every possibility of surviving the next ordeal.
"Saé, do you have any ideas or clues as to how to survive?"
"Well..."
Saé seemed about to share his thoughts when suddenly another survivor caught everyone's attention with an announcement.
"Please, please. Come closer everyone, I have an announcement to make!"
All eyes turned to this individual as he asked everyone to gather round.
"Who is this guy?"
"Let's see what he wants with us"
Once everyone was gathered, he spoke.
"I'll keep it short. I've figured out how to survive the next explosion!"