Three years since I’ve rotted in that prison… for a crime I didn't it. Finally, I was getting out of it that night.

  Dad, I was ing for you.

  ***

  Itsuki and his group soon reached the ground-floor of the dorms, where everybody was walking here and there to get to their rooms. The nterns didn't light the pough, and the four bent their heads down and silently mixed among them. They walked through the narrow corridor, inches from the other inmates, aheir gaze straight at the foyer.

  A bunch of soldiers, muskets and swords in their hands, ran by them up the stairs. Haruto turned back to look at them. He whispered, “The word has spread around about our escape.”

  “Shit! We didn't think they’d react this quickly,” Kenji said.

  “What do we do now?” Souta asked the group.

  Nobody spoke for some time as they walked through hundreds of people at the foyer. Soon, they stepped out to the open grounds, joining the group that was getting ready for their shift. They stood in the queue and the guards asked for attendance before letting them hit the dungeons.

  “Let’s tinue,” Itsuki finally told them. “No point wasting time by thinking about them. They might not even know where we’ve gone for now, y’know.”

  “Makes sense,” Kenji replied. “Alright then. This is where we part.”

  “Best of luck,” Haruto said as Kenji and Ren hastened away.

  “Good luck to ya guys too,” Kenji replied.

  Everything was still going acc to the pn. The guards would not be able to begin their search for, like, tey minutes or so, probably. They’d o get their sketches first and pass it onto every guard, which would take time. A fuck lot of time.

  Itsuki, Haruto, and Souta were gonna be safe. They’d be ihe dungeon, and then escape to C-se, where the armory is. But Ren and Kenji might be in danger. Shit, he should’ve alerted them.

  Too te, though. But Ren and Kenji were no kids, they’d probably figure it out themselves. Itsuki had to focus on his own task at hand for now.

  Itsuki walked to the guard. “Juo,” he told him. The guard took some time to find his name on the papers, and then put a tick against the he uard stared at him, but Itsuki didn't look back. He had to aal, and make sure they didn't suspect that he’s lying.

  He walked past, his head lowered, and hurried toward the adit, where others were pig up their axes aing to work. Haruto and Souta soon caught up to him.

  He looked over at Souta—he still had the bomb under his shirt, which the guards must have mistaken for a big belly. “Good that they let it through,” Itsuki whispered. “Not a lot of people are fat here.”

  “Newbies almost always are,” Haruto replied. “I told you they won’t notice a thing.”

  “Hmm.” The guards fuheir chest, with their hands behind their butt, as they gred down at the guys ing behind them. Some even had their eyes on the ones who had picked up their axes and began w. The three of them quietly reached the others, where the axes were lying, and took one each. Haruto helped Souta handle his neon, since he had to make sure it didn't touch his belly.

  It could have been dangerous. And they wao take no ces.

  Itsuki walked ihe same dark adit that he’d appeared out of just some ho. The only difference was that it was in the middle of the night this time, and the nterns were burning bright. The three stepped ihe dark tunnel.

  ***

  The crowd had thinned out a lot. Most of the prisoners were already by the mines, where they were supposed to be. The ground was almost empty.

  Ren and Kenji ran through the field, standing out like a sore thumb. That wasn't good for their mission, but whatever. The building was just a couple more meters ahead, behind the dorms.

  The two slowed down together. Ren hoped their pn would work as they approached the two guards that stood in front of the building, where Chief Admin resided. “We’re here on a request from the C-se Sub-Admin,” Ren said as he hahem a letter.

  The guards opehe letter and read it as Ren took out another letter and showed it to them. “We have to deliver this to the Chief Admin.”

  The uard walked up to them and gnced over at the letter. He then looked at them suspiciously. His sharp gaze and lips hidden under his facial hair said it quite clearly—he didn't trust them.

  Ren maintained his poker-face. It was all about mind-games now—if they thought the two were suspicious, they were. No questions asked.

  The first o staring at the signature otom of the note. “I have chosewo to send over my message to the Chief Admin. Please let them through,” it said.

  He sighed. “Wait here,” he said, still gring at the note as he walked io the foyer, his boots g against the ground.

  The other oheir eyes owo, and they lowered their heads. “Why did he specifically choose you? And why would he choose two guys for an errand like this?” he asked them.

  “We don't know, Lord,” Kenji replied.

  The guard looked over to the ntern in his hand, and then somepce far away beside them. He pted for a moment.

  In the meahe first one walked out and hahe note back to Ren. “You both may gh. Chief Admin is ohird floor.”

  “Thank you, lord. Long live the King.”

  “Long live the King,” both the guards replied.

  They walked ihe building quietly and walked through the foyer, to the staircase beside. The nterns there had beeinguished long ago and the building seemed empty.

  Their boots were too loud, and they had to slow themselves doce their boots really softly to make sure they alerted nobody. They even trolled their breathing.

  Ren finally sighed in relief. “Good thing they didn't catch us.”

  “Yeah.”

  “They would be ing back for us here ohey got to know that we’ve run away. They saw our faces and burhem in their memory—I could see that. We gotta be quick.”

  “The guards would take ten-fifteen mio circute our sketches a everyoo search for us. We have to light this p six more minutes. It’s not gonough.”

  “Y’are fetting that we also o escape from this pce before the ten-minute mark now. It’d take us five-seven mio make a fire big enough that people notice.”

  Kenji gulped. “We do it.”

  “We gotta find some ons—just in case.”

  “Itsuki and Haruton ‘em from the armo—”

  Ren jerked his arm and stopped. “They won’t be here to protect us, asshole. We gotta watch for ourselves noon’t ya fug uand?!”

  Kenji looked straight into his eye, thinking for himself for a moment. “Alright. Ya find ons for us, and I go fire the admin room. Whaddya say?”

  Ren nodded. “Works.” He then spun to the door—probably to the sed floor.

  “Your shirt.”

  “Oh yeah,” Ren quickly got it out and threw it at him as he bahe door open and dashed out.

  Kenji tinued his the floors. “What if he’s just betrayed me?” Kenji whispered to himself.

  Kenji whispered way too loud. Whatever…

  ***

  Ihe dungeon, Itsuki walked past a turn and looked around. The path was filled with mana-gems shining brightly, embedded on the edges like stars in the sky. That meant no one had been there yet.

  They were on the right path. He stepped inside. Haruto and Souta were still following him.

  Their footsteps were too loud. They tried their best to lower the decibels, but they couldn't do it enough in ay tunnel like this one.

  Itsuki treaded every inch carefully, his axe ready for any surprise attacks they might face. So was Haruto’s.

  They were probably safe inside, for now. Itsuki had thought the guards would’ve called everybody outside the mines by now. But slow unication was their major disadvantage.

  Itsuki soon noticed a big boulder at the left edge of the path. He sighed. So, nobody has noticed it yet.

  He jumped over the stoo the boulder and got to work to push it aside. Haruto soon joined in. Souta, by the meantime, had his eye around the path they’d e from to make sure nobody noticed them. He quickly took his shirt out of his pants and got the bomb out.

  Itsuki and Haruto were dosuki then got ihe hole on the ground as Haruto helped Souta with the bomb.

  It was a really narrow passage, where only ohin guy could seep through at a moment. They wouldn’t be able to even turn back if they found somebody oher end. Also, the walls of this narrow tunnel might choke them at any moment. Their rudimentary digging couldn't really be trusted, y’know.

  But it didn't matter now. Itsuki crawled through the dirt effortlessly, like he’d done so many times already. He made sure Haruto and Souta were just behind him. He stopped to let them catch up. Their pace was severely restricted because of the bomb.

  When he saw them ing up to him, he tinued. As he pushed himself past the mud, his Dad’s face came to his mind.

  The man looked just like him—triangur face, sharp eyes, long hair, brown skin. But he had long facial hair, which Itsuki didn't.

  That guy had so muon with him, yet… he killed Mom. And he shattered his family to pieces.

  A him here. Three years of painful torture, bullying, beien and toyed around. And then, at the end of it all: death.

  This time, he was gonna escape the destiny his father had imposed upon him. This time, he’s gonna escape death. And find him.

  And kill him.

  And ge this fucked up world.

  And it begins with his death.

  And it begins today.

  Itsuki saw the other opening. And luckily, he could see or hear nobody around it. He quickly climbed by the edges and threw himself out on the ground. He gnced around as he turned back to the hole aended Haruto his hand, pulling himself up.

  Then both Haruto aook Souta’s hand ead dragged him up, the bomb between his legs. Haruto picked up the bomb a it aside as Souta y on the ground, panting.

  Itsuki stood up and rubbed dust off his shirt and pants. “Alright, we’re in the A-se now,” he whispered to them.

  “Where do we pnt the bomb?” Souta asked him.

  Footsteps. Fuck, somebody roag them! Itsuki looked around for an axe or something. “Fuck, I left my axe back there!”

  “What the fuck, Itsuki?!” Haruto whispered back as he pulled his axe out from the back of his shirt and began ag like he was digging. Souta followed him.

  Itsuki turo the er. The guy roag, and judging from the boots of him, he might be one of the guards.

  … He couldn't get caught. That’d put the whole fug pn in jeopardy. He had to think of something.

  The tunnel just had stones and mud and random shit like that. Nothing of substance.

  The guy was getting nearer. Itsuki paid no heed and just began digging with an invisible axe in his hands. As the guard came up the er, his foot stopped for a moment to look at them.

  They didn't even dare look at the guard. They were busy hiding their faces uhe shadows of the ntern.

  Seemed like it worked, for he simply tinued his walk a away. Still, they waited and tinued for a couple more moments.

  Luckily, the footsteps simply faded away. No catch. Itsuki sighed. Haruto held his chest as he turo him. “He was a mana user,” he whispered. “I saw a scabbard by his waist.”

  “I use mana too,” Itsuki said. “And we had an axe, in which I could bind my aura and use it as a on.”

  “He even had muskets,” Haruto replied. “And our mana-shields still aren't strong enough for them.”

  “... Yeah, agreed.” It could have still been dangerous for them if it came to a fight. Itsuki and Haruto were still just intermediates, and Souta didn't even know how to nd a punch.

  Souta whispered, “Guys, let’s be quick with this now.”

  “Y-Yeah, yeah,” Haruto replied. “Let’s go to the spot we’d made for the bomb this m.”

  Itsuki took Souta’s axe so he could focus on the bomb in his shirt, and the three looked around and began walking deeper into the tunnel with caution. Itsuki was studying the walls—they had no mana-gems or coal in them. Probably that’s why nobody was there at the moment. This pce was literally sucked out of its minerals.

  Their footsteps echoed, even though they tried their best to walk as softly as possible. The nterns flickered as they walked past them, to a Y-interse, and took a left.

  “How many levels deep are we?” Souta asked.

  “It’s A-level,” Itsuki whispered back. A-levels were dangerous.

  “Are we going to the S-levels?”

  “No,” he replied. “Mana radiation is too high there. You might start vomiting blood or shit like that.” S-level was really dangerous for average men like Souta, who’d never had any sort of mana manipution training. He couldn't even feel his own mana right now.

  “Hmm,” Haruto agreed. “And we also have gunpowder in our hands—which explode because of the radiation.”

  “ it?” Itsuki asked. “I don't think it works that way.”

  “Apparently we don't know how Souta made it. It depends.”

  “... Probably.” Itsuki was still not sold, but this wasn't the time for random debates like this one anyway. They had to focus on the mission.

  They walked deeper and deeper and deeper. Luckily, they saw no one inside for now. It was just like how they’d p would be right when the shifts had just ged. It’d take some time for the new workers to e in this deep. Everything was going acc to the pn.

  “... Who would believe that five seventeen-year-olds broke through the most scary prison-camp of the Dansamian Empire.”

  “Don't jinx it,” Itsuki told Haruto. “We still have a long way to go.”

  “Everything has been going right for now. I’m excited.”

  “You’re jinxing it so hard now,” Souta smiled.

  “Yeah, apparently. I’m sorry.”

  They found that little hole that they’d made this m, at the edge of this path. Itsuki hurried up to it, crouched down, ahe edges. “Nobody was there.”

  “Phew!” Haruto sighed.

  “Let’s be quick,” Itsuki told them as Haruto and Souta squatted around him and began pg the bomb. Itsuki, in the meantime, got up and began searg for the boulder they’d found. He noticed it, hurried toward it, and quickly brought it back. The two pulled their hands away as Itsuki pced the boulder above the bomb, leaving a little space along the hole’s edge for the cord-fuse.

  Souta opehe tied-up cord and pced it by the edge. It was a long rope, aood up to pce it all the way to around a dozen steps ihen looked at us. “Light it up.”

  Itsuki kept staring at him in disbelief. He… had not expected such a big cord. He looked over at Haruto, aher had he.

  “Apparently, our pns are a little bit different, Souta.”

  “... What do you mean?”

  Itsuki asked, “ you run?”

  “... Yep.”

  “How fast?”

  “Maybe as fast as you guys.”

  Itsuki nodded as he stood up, waved his axe in the air, and swung it straight down, cutting the cord short. He threw the rest toward Souta as he crouched down.

  ***

  Kenji dashed up the dark, empty staircase. He could finally see the door to the third floor as he panted hard through his nose. He couldn't even use his mouth to breathe, or else, somebody might catch him.

  He held the door a on his knees, catg his breath. “Huff, huff. Huff, huff. Alright,” he whispered to himself as he straightened his back. Fuck, he misjudged—he still wasn't ready. So he took some more time to calm his breathing down. He didn't even have a on. He’d be killed if somebody saw him there.

  His lungs calmed down. He pulled opehick metal door and peeped out.

  The mps flickered on the walls by the edge. The e housed doors to the rooms. Whie was Chief Admin’s…?

  He walked in, careful not to wake anybody up, and calmly observed one door after the other. There were six rooms on the floor total, and he had no clue whie he was supposed to burn.

  Fuck! A big part of this mission y on his shoulders. If he burnt the wrong ft, the soldiers would be a lot quicker to react whe takes pce. He sighed.

  Alright, he could do this. He’d to calm the fuck down.

  He chose the sed-st door by the edge of the corridor—the rht in front of the staircase—and threw Ren’s shirt in front of it. If he burnt that pce, the e between the Chief and other soldiers would be cut, sihe staircase would be promised. Yeah, that should fug work.

  He bent doinched his fingers. He closed his eyes to trate all his mana on those fingers, and flicked up a fire in his fiips.

  “Soldiers! Go check the sed and third floors! Me and my team are enough for this one!”

  “Aye!”

  Fuck! Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck! His fiips began trembling. The door beside him was still opeo close the door before they came in! , fire it up!

  It fug did—a little fme of fire popped up on top of his fingers. He quickly used that to burn the cloth.

  The footsteps were quickly approag him. He couldn't t how many there must have been, but there were a lot. He won't be able to fight ‘em alone. Kenji quickly got up and bahe door close. He then twisted its handle and locked it.

  Footsteps came up and tried to pull it open, but couldn't. Kenji had his eye fixed there as he took off his own shirt.

  “This corridor is locked! Chief never does that! I believe the fugitives are here!”

  The guys kept jerking the door. Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuck! His arms and torso were trembling as he crouched just oher side of the door, fanning the fire on Ren’s shirt. Fuck! He had o escape now!

  He stood up and took out the dry leaves that he’d been hiding in his pants’ pockets. He threw them in, and the fire ger. Fuck yeah! He threw his own shirt in and blew air at it.

  Fuck. This had to work!

  “OPEN UP, FUGITIVES. AND WE MIGHT LET Y’ALL GO UNHARMED!”

  A plete fug lie. He gulped in. Where the fuck was Ren?! Kenji could only hope that he’d e to save him from all this shit.

  … No, Ren isn’t strong enough. He wouldn’t be able to walk through a dozen soldiers to e save him. Ren would’ve abandoned him by now and escaped with others.

  This made his heart beat even faster. The lump on his throat filled up. He’d… He’d fug told himself not to trust these assholes!

  He shouldn't have ever said yes to shit like this. It’d be all for nothin’. He’d soon die here, his body ripped apart and blood flowing all over the fug pce.

  He gulped in and trolled himself. No. Nobody had abandoned him for now. He was just scared, and that’s why he was thinking of shit like that.

  It’d be alright. Everything would be fug alright.

  They kept beating the door. Some even smmed it with their ons. “Bring a mana-maniputor!” someone shouted from the other side.

  … There were no mana-maniputors on-duty that day, right? What if… they did have some?

  The fire was increasing. Kenji looked here and there, and then quickly began banging on one of the doors. After a couple of punches, he panted, and then ba again.

  The fire was increasing. Smoke was starting to fill up the corridor. He had trouble breathing. He needed air to keep the fire burning.

  A butler opened a door—white fad hair, bck coatee and waistcoat over a white silk shirt. He noticed the fire and half-naked Kenji, and demanded, “Who are y—?”

  Kenji punched him on the he old man fell down. Kenji gulped, thinking about what he was gonna do for a moment.

  … He wasn't a fug monster. He wasn't a fug monster, he wasn't a fug…

  He picked the man up and threw him on the fire.

  “ARRRRRRRRRR!” the old man shouted as he flung his arms right ao pick himself up. Kenji kept kig him down on the ground. He made sure this asshole wouldn't get up and make his way outta the fire.

  “What’s happening?!” the soldiers screamed. And then, it soon turned into a jumbled mess of shouts. The sms on the dot louder too.

  Kenji hurried ihe house. He observed the red carpet on the floor, along with all those wooden chairs and cupboards and… the couch at the ter.

  It’d burn. All of it would burn. He was so fug grateful for that.

  Smoke began filling up the drawing-room. He heard otion at the bedrooms that he couldn't see—the drawing-room was huge. A woman was whispering to her husband or something, and from the other rooms, some servants were waking up too.

  Kenji began searg the pce. He went through the cupboards and threw the books and photo-frames down, walked around the walls with portraits of men with puffed chests, upsetted fruits and stuff through the tables, and soon found a knife among them.

  The butler soon hit the edge of the door. The fire on his shoes and clothes lit up the carpet.

  … The fmes were now ing at him.

  The doors behind him opened, and servants were shocked. They shouted, “Lord! Mistress!”

  The husband and wife quickly came out of their room. Their eyes widened as they met Kenji’s. Now he seriously didn't know what to do.

  He looked around at all the mess he’d created—the fire, the burning butler’s dead corpse, the family that stood frozen, and the servants who were ing for him.

  He had to make sure nobody messed with the fire. He had to fight.

  He tightened his grip on the knife and filled it up with his mana. The knife glowed purple as Kenji stabbed the first servant’s liver. He then quickly pulled it out and swung it at the other ohrowing out some mana with this ohe mana hit the guy some meters away from the knife and chopped his neto two.

  … He’d never killed a man before.

  But, for some reason, it seemed normal for him to kill. Was it… because he was a ibal?

  “He use mana! Oh god, this man use mana!” the wife shouted as she hid under her husband’s chest.

  He turo them as other servants backed off. A fountaied out of the sed one’s neck as he fell on the ground, dead.

  Kenji’s eyes met that of the husband’s, who was just as shit-scared as he was. “hat do you want, kid?”

  “... Freedom.”