"Ronoah!"
Silas moved through the chaos like a shadow, his dagger whispering through the throat of a guard who barely had time to register his presence. He heard a gruff voice shout out in a panic. Before he could turn his attention to it, another guard rushed him, sword raised high. He slipped behind him, slid the stolen blade between his ribs, and vanished into the smoke before the body even hit the ground.
Around him, the prison's upper halls had become a war zone. Mutinous prisoners and men clad in dark armour were locked in a desperate struggle for freedom. Although, the armoured men were beginning to systematically drive the frenzied prisoners back. The two 'blessed' ones in particular were cutting them down one by one, leaving a trail of crimson splatter, smoke, and screams.
Honestly, Silas wasn't expecting the boy's plan to escalate this quickly. More specifically, he was most surprised by how quick the escapees were to lay down their lives. That just went to show how quickly the new Empire had made enemies of its own people.
To carry so much anger that they would rather die than occupy their prisons. Not to say that the nobleman didn't understand their indignation. No, he shared that very same feeling, possibly more than anyone else in this chamber.
That's why he immediately aligned himself with 'blessed' one that was seemingly dropped right in front him against all odds. Thankfully, from what he observed so far, the boy was already a cunning and sharp sword, waiting to be unsheathed.
All Silas had to do was aim it at the Emperor August's throat. He and all his Children who were responsible for the death of his family. But not to revel in his own rage…
Silas pressed his back against a crumbling pillar, eyes scanning the chamber. He scanned through the field in search of a particular giant he'd lost track off.
… A prisoner with bloodied fists charged him with a wild scream. The nobleman simply sidestepped and turned, not blocking the punch, redirecting it. The man stumbled past him, overextended, and Silas brought his dagger up in a clean upward stroke.
The man crumpled, dead before he understood he'd been killed.
'Pitiful. They can't even tell allies and foes apart.'
Silas turned away just in time to catch another incoming guard. This one wore heavier armour, his sword stained with fresh blood. He stepped into his blind spot, ducked beneath the swing, and jammed his dagger upward into the man's armpit.
After a violent twist, then a pull, The guard gurgled and fell.
Just then, he spotted a towering mass of flesh and muscle tearing through guards and prisoners alike. It was Goro. He had partially recovered himself from his battle with the blessed guard, now he was fighting again. A small conclave of guards had gathered around him. Now and then, the giant would land a kick that sent one or two men flying off.
Things were not looking good, any second now, Marauders would crash into the hall and massacre everyone in a gory feast. The plan was for them to be out of her by then. Or at least close enough to the gates to just slip through. As of now, they were neither of those.
Not to mention that Rhys was about to be killed by the two Eshe users he was currently engaged with.
Silas exhaled through his nose and made his move.
He weaved through the blood-slicked floor, his steps measured and silent, until he emerged behind Goro's flank. The brute had just ripped a curved blade from the hands of a guard and sent him crashing into a support beam with a sickening crack.
"Goro," Silas said, his voice low, sharp.
Goro didn't turn, but Silas saw his jaw flex. Another guard came at them from the side, he pivoted, drove an elbow into the man's temple, and let him drop like meat. His eyes were fixed somewhere to his left.
Silas followed his gaze. Smoke, bodies, flickers of red light. The hall ahead was a cauldron of chaos. Rhys was somewhere in that storm, his flaming chain flaring like a beacon, clashing with the flicker of gravity distortions and a blur of silver from the blade-wielder. Both Eshe Users bore down on him like wolves on an injured stag.
… But, Silas was too focused elsewhere to notice one of the escapees bearing down on him.
Silas was then tackled, a sharp pain travelled up his right side. He drove his blade into the man's shoulder, but he didn't stop. This one was particularly stubborn. The blade remained stuck in his shoulder blades as he pushed the nobleman against a wall and began strangling him.
Pressure started building up against Silas's skull as he ran out of oxygen, his consciousness beginning to slowly fade away. Luckily for him, the loyal giant was close-by. He grabbed the stray prisoner by the head and… crack! He violently twisted his neck.
Silas collapsed to the ground, his breath turning ragged as he desperately gasped for air.
Goro discarded the prisoner to the side and knelt down next to Silas. After assisting him up, Silas spoke to him in a hurried manner:
"Go get the boy, I'll follow behind."
He hesitated first, then continued:
"If you can't find a path… make one."
***
The blade arced down, a flash of cold steel slicing through the thick, smoke-filled air — and Rhys couldn't move.
The gravity user's Aspect clung to his legs like invisible chains, rooting him to the spot. His body screamed to dodge, but his bones felt like they were made of lead. The black flames along his chain flared wildly, but his limbs were too slow and heavy.
Rhys tried to pivot, to hurl himself out of the way, but the weight on his limbs only grew worse. Every motion was sluggish, like moving through wet cement. His left leg gave out as the surrounding pressure spiked again, and he dropped to one knee with a grunt. Before he could recover, Ronoah struck.
The first slash came low, Rhys barely blocked it with the chain wrapped around his arm, the impact jarring his entire body.
The second was faster.
Steel grazed his ribs, carving through the fabric of his coat and biting into flesh. Rhys gasped, pain flaring sharp and hot. But still, he couldn't move fast enough.
Ronoah pressed forward, a blur of motion and flashing steel. Another strike; this time across Rhys' shoulder, sent him reeling back, balance lost and vision swimming.
He lifted his arm in defence, but the gravity user's Aspect pulled it down before he could fully raise it.
Ronoah's blade blurred, driving straight for Rhys' throat…
He felt his entire body get plunged into icy petrification.
… And then the wall exploded.
A deafening roar — deep, guttural, and not remotely human — tore through the hall as the stone wall to Rhys' right collapsed, chunks of debris sent flying like shrapnel.
The blade missed his throat by a hair, slicing a thin line across his collarbone instead. A flash of white-hot pain shot through Rhys' body, but survival instinct roared louder.
Ronoah staggered back, his speed momentarily useless against the storm of debris raining from the broken wall.
The Gravity User's hold on Rhys faltered, the sudden chaos snapping his focus. The weight around Rhys' legs vanished, and he stumbled back coughing, blood staining his tunic where the blade had grazed him.
Out of the dust and crumbling stone, two figures appeared.
Their charred, twisted forms slithered through the rubble; hulking, monstrous things with obsidian skin cracked like cooling magma. They were much bigger than anything Rhys had seen before.
Marauders. Probably Brutes.
One let out a distorted shriek, its head jerking unnaturally as drool hissed against the hot stone below.
The air turned suffocating. Smaller creatures began emerging behind them, like a tide of black death.
For a moment, just a breath, there was silence.
Although, Rhys was celebrating.
'About time!'
Then the Marauders charged.
The largest of them lunged first, its clawed hand crashing down on the people closer to the hall's. Multiple guards and prisoners were caught under the blow, the shockwave from the impact shattered the stone floor, cracks spider webbing out in all directions.
"Damn it!" the gravity user growled, his Aspect flaring violet as he flicked his wrist, pulling a chunk of broken stone into the air and launching it at one of the Marauders with visibly great effort. The creature barely flinched, the rock bounced off its charred hide, leaving only a faint scorch mark.
Rhys' chest heaved, adrenaline thundering in his veins.
This was his chance.
He barely registered the burning pain in his shoulder or the throbbing in his legs; the only thing that mattered was the chaos. The Marauders weren't just a threat, they were a distraction. The other user was already engaged with the monsters but Ronoah was still locked on Rhys.
But before he could gather himself, a massive fist shot out without warning…
Boom!
Ronoah had just regained his footing, blade spinning into a new stance, but he didn't see it coming. The punch connected with a sound like thunder, a full-force hook from Goro's massive fist, catching Ronoah square in the jaw.
Crack!
The assassin was launched across the chamber, crashing through a pillar and skidding across the stone in a dazed heap.
It was Goro. After dealing with the assassin he clamped his hand around Rhys' shoulder like a vice. Blood still smeared across his mouth, his breathing ragged, but his grip was strong as ever.
"No more fighting," Goro rumbled, his voice low but fierce.
"We run."
Rhys was shocked a bit that Goro could speak. He stared at the giant for a few seconds but decided to put it aside for now.
"No need to tell me twice."
Just then, a Marauder roared, hurling a guard across the room like a ragdoll.
The man hit the wall next to the main gates with a sickening crack… and didn't move.
Rhys' gut twisted.
Silas appeared beside them, his dagger still gripped tight, eyes flicking between the Eshe users and the Marauders with sharp precision.
"It won't be long before they turn their attention back to us."
The gravity user tried to regain his footing, his Aspect surging again, the floor around Rhys beginning to pull inward like an invisible whirlpool.
But a Marauder lunged at him before he could finish the technique.
The user barely managed to lighten his body to leap back, but the creature's claws still tore a deep gash into his arm.
He cursed, blood splattering onto the floor.
Ronoah blurred to his side, his blade ready, but even his speed couldn't outpace the Marauders.
Looking directly at the gate, Silas didn't hesitate.
"Let's go!" he barked.
Goro didn't need to be told twice.
The giant grabbed Rhys' uninjured arm and surged forward, ploughing through the crumbling corridor like a living battering ram.
Silas kept pace, his movements quick and calculated, always one step ahead of the noise.
Behind them, the Marauders tore into the Eshe users and the remaining guards, the battle devolving into raw carnage. The last thing Rhys saw before turning the corner was the gravity user, his hand outstretched, trying to pin them down again, but the weight never came.
A Marauder's claw was already slamming into his ribs.
The Eshe user's shout of pain echoed through the ruined hall as Rhys and his group disappeared through the gate.
… But they were not ready for what waited for them outside.