《Myth.》 [Fragment #01] #01. Prologue / Metamorphosis The Great Myth is not just a myth¡ªit¡¯s a prophecy. Of how, when the last kingdom of the cannibals, Canbalasia, would fall down, a hero would rise. A hero of both sapien and cannibal descent. A hero of such powerful hold of mana¡ªthe life-force of this world¡ªthat armies would kneel down to him. A hero of such valor that his epics would never go questioned. Canbalasia fell down a decade ago. *** The chandelier that stood atop the velvet throne was marvelous. It shone so¡­ brightly. It seemed as if his own eyes were sparkling as he stared at the sight. He stood at the corner, wearing his navy-blue coatee on top of an all-white combo of shirt-pants. He noticed his black boots were kinda dirty. Why did he always have to screw up? If he was being honest, he was clumsy. He wasn''t becoming the General of the King¡¯s personal army anytime soon with that sort of attitude. Not before he was twenty-two. Another soldier walked to him and slapped his back as he stood beside him, ¡°What¡¯re ya thinking?¡± he asked. ¡°I forgot to polish my boots.¡± ¡°Fuck that, Darsh. We got more serious shit to deal with.¡± Both of them turned to the throne that faced the empty court right beside them. The place was huge¡ªaround a dozen men would need to stand on top of each other to touch the ceiling. And wide enough to seat around a hundred people on both sides across the pathway in the middle. A priest, in some shabby orangish robes, walked down the pathway to the throne. Both of the soldiers were staring at him as his footsteps echoed around. All of his beard had turned white, and there was not even any hair on his head. And, if he¡¯s being honest, the man seemed like he was coming with some bad news¡ªhe seemed worried. Soon, another pair of footsteps appeared from behind them. They noticed a tall, muscular guy with a cape and a golden crown walking to the throne. It was the King. Both soldiers got aside and placed their right fist on their left chest as a salute. ¡°Your honor!¡± He nodded, his head lowered and his hands behind his back, as he walked across them. Another short, scrawny figure followed him, hidden behind his back. The prince. ¡°My Lord! Lord!¡± ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Maharaj?¡± the king asked. ¡°Lord, I-I just s-saw the dream.¡± ¡°What dream?¡± ¡°... It¡¯s¡­ begun, Lord.¡± ¡°What has begun, fool?!¡± ¡°... The Great Myth. It¡¯s begun!¡± The king frowned. ¡°It is but mere folklore, Maharaj. As the royal priest, I do not expect that from you.¡± ¡°I-It¡¯s not, Lord. It¡¯s been years since I¡¯ve been trying to warn you! If it weren''t real, you¡¯d not have a heart-attack in less tha¡ª¡± ¡°ARGH!¡± The king held his left chest with both hands. He tried to stand up, but his legs had no power left, so he stumbled and fell down on the ground. The priest stood frozen, some steps in front of him. ¡°And¡­ d-die.¡± ¡°Papa!¡± the prince shouted as he ran to him. He crouched beside his father, desperately shaking his shoulder to wake him up. ¡°Papa! What happened, Papa?!¡± ¡°He won''t survive,¡± the priest said. ¡°In the next fifteen seconds, he¡¯d die.¡± ¡°Nnnnnmghnmgh!¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± the prince yelled at the soldiers. ¡°What the hell are you guys staring at?! Bring some water! And meds! Send somebody to call the doctor too!¡± ¡°Y-Y-Yeah,¡± the other soldier ran off inside the corridor. Darsh stepped closer to the dying king. He didn''t understand what was happening in the room, but it was definitely not good. He slowly crouched beside him. As the prince shook his dad, he yelled, ¡°What the hell are you doing here?! Do get some he¡ª!¡± Darsh placed both his palms on top of the king¡¯s chest, and began giving him CPR. He kept jerking his hands down. He noticed his robes were in the way, so he quickly held his collar and tore it open. And continued with his CPR. The prince didn''t say anything. He¡¯d have got the idea that Darsh knew what to do in such a situation. So he just kept staring at his father¡¯s half-dead eyes. Darsh observed the king¡¯s eyes too¡ªfor any damn signal that he¡¯d live. They stared at absolutely nothing toward the ceiling. It¡­ wasn''t looking so good. ¡­ He was no longer taking any breaths. And his lips weren''t suffering like they were. His skin was turning colder, and his fingers had loosened. He¡¯d really died, just like the priest had said. Rudra kept shaking his father¡¯s shoulder, trying to wake him up. ¡°Papa! PAPA!¡± his voice cracked. The lump in his throat choked him as tears began flowing down his eyes. ¡­ Damn¡­ W-What was happening? Darsh gulped. The priest walked up the stairs, lowered his head in front of the corpse, and said, ¡°May the Lord rest in peace.¡± Then he turned to the crying prince, ¡°Tomorrow, Lord Rudra Seth, you shall succeed your father, Lord Vikram Seth, and be crowned king¡ªat the ripe age of fourteen, the youngest Dansamia shall see for years to come.¡± He stood up again. Darsh looked up at the priest as he turned away and said, ¡°I¡¯m really sorry for your loss.¡± His footsteps echoed around as he began walking away from the throne-room. Darsh panted as he stared at that old man¡¯s meek back. The Great Myth¡­ is true. *** That¡¯s it. The metamorphosis was finally complete. Because that was the day the antagonist was born. *** He panted as he dashed down the dark, dingy corridor of his house. He hit one of the cupboards, which threatened to fall down, but he pushed it aside on the wall and went past. He couldn''t care less about all that shit for the moment¡ªeven the pain he¡¯d felt on his feet because of hitting the cupboard so hard. He quickly sat down by the door and picked his shoes up. And that¡¯s when he noticed that he had no socks on. He hated wearing shoes without his socks on¡ªbut fuck it for now. He quickly pulled them up and, without even tying his laces, threw himself on the door. It was raining so fucking hard outside. The gray clouds thundered as put himself out on the street and ran away, leaving his house behind. He was never coming back to this place ever again. He was so fucking done. ¡°Ishaan, don''t go away!¡± Mom shouted behind him. But he wasn''t stopping. He was done with all the fights, arguments, and that shitty aura he felt all around his house. It was suffocating, and he didn''t want to suffocate anymore. Even the cold raindrops that soaked his hoodie and pants felt more comfortable than his house. Even the shoes that hit potholes every now and then felt nicer. He ran and ran and ran through those dark and narrow streets, filled with cramped-up houses that were probably drinking tea and sitting in their cozy blankets. He didn''t even know where he was going. He had made so many plans these past few years, but none of them seem even remotely real now. He was just being childish with those plans, probably. He saw he was nearing a park, that stood hidden on the edge of the street, around those warm little houses. The trees might keep him away from all the water for some time, probably. Without a second thought, he just ran inside, looked here and there, and noticed a huge tree at the corner¡ªthat still had warm, dry soil beneath it. He went up to the corner of the park and snuggled himself into a ball¡ªhis knees in front of his face, his arms around his legs. He then sunk his face inside his chest and knees, and closed his eyes. He took a deep breath and sighed. The raindrops were pounding harder than before¡ªharder than even his heartbeat now. He panted and tried to calm himself down. Wind passed through him, and he felt cold trickling down his spine. He shivered. His drenched clothes were not helping. He sniffed¡ªprobably because of the rain, probably because he wanted to cry. Probably both. Fuck that, though. He wasn''t supposed to say that word, but today, he will. Fuck this. Fuck that. Fuck everything. Fuck every single fucking thing. He remembered Mom¡¯s wrathful face and his Dad¡¯s cold, unnerved demeanor as their blurry voices shouted at each other as loudly as they could. He could sense it¡ªboth of them wanted to choke each other to death. Like they had for the past couple of years. His shivering calmed down a little, and he wasn''t panting anymore either. His skin, though cold, was adjusting to the atmosphere, so it didn''t feel as painful as it was some time ago. He took in a deep breath and sighed it out. He was just fourteen¡ªhow was he even gonna survive on his own? He¡¯d need to find someone who¡¯d give him both work and a place to live. As soon as possible. Also, he had to escape from this town first. His parents might find him if he stays here. He had to go somewhere far, far away. Probably to the cities, where sapiens live and work. But since he was alone, survival would be harder there. Especially because he was living in a cannibals¡¯ ghetto, even though he wasn''t supposed to be. But at least he¡¯d be sure his parents won¡¯t come there for him. It was gonna be such a hard decision to make. But fuck that for now¡ªhe had to think of this rain first. He had to get warmer clothes, and some money to travel away to the next town. He felt alright now, finally. He could think rationally. He sniffed in again. How much time has it been since he¡¯s been here? Probably half an hour? He heard some footsteps. Someone was running. Probably toward him. Definitely toward him. His heart punched his chest¡ªwhat if it were his parents? He pulled his head up. And was relieved to see who it was. The girl approached him, her clothes dry and clean, and seemed worried for him. She was around his age. She threw her cloth umbrella beside and crouched down in front of him. ¡°What are you doing here like this?¡± she asked him. He just stared at her innocent, comforting eyes. Just looking at her comforted him enough¡ªhe didn''t need warm, dry clothes anymore. But what does he tell him now? ¡°Sayaka, I, um¡­ What are you doing here?¡± ¡°I noticed you from the balcony of my house. What are you doing here?¡± He chuckled a little. ¡°I ran away from my home.¡± ¡°... What? But why?¡± She sat on the ground beside him, not even caring that her cotton dress might get dirty. ¡°You know, Sayaka.¡± She sighed. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s why.¡± ¡°Yep.¡± ¡°I don''t think you should have done that, Ishaan.¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± ¡°You should go back.¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not going back.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Just because. I¡¯d go far away from this city, earn my own money, and live on my own. I don''t nee¡ª¡± ¡°How will you travel? Do you have any money right now? Or even food?¡± He didn''t. He knew he¡¯d messed up. But he didn''t wanna accept that. That¡¯s be like accepting defeat. And he¡¯d not lost yet. So, he didn''t reply. But his silence probably gave her the answer. After all, she was a lot smarter than he was. ¡°Go back, Ishaan.¡± ¡°... No.¡± ¡°Try sometime later.¡± He gulped in¡ªshe was right. He could just try again tomorrow, when it won''t be raining as much and he¡¯d have time to steal some money from his parents¡¯ lockers. But he didn''t wanna go back. He was finally outside, and¡­ he might not be able to do it again. All boundaries were crossed today¡ªhe couldn''t take it anymore. He was not going back. ¡°I¡¯m not going back,¡± he repeated. ¡°Think with your head, Ishaan.¡± She stood up and raised her hand at him, offering to pull him up. ¡°Come, get up. You can rest at my home for now.¡± Home, huh? Home¡­ Home, home, home, home, home, home¡­ ¡°Ishaan, what are you thinking?¡± He looked up at her. Even metaphorically. ¡°Come.¡± ¡°... No.¡± ¡°Now you¡¯re being an idiot.¡± He smiled. ¡°I know.¡± He took her hand and got up. He rubbed his butt clean and stared somewhere far away. He couldn''t meet her in the eyes right now. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. ¡°I¡­¡± It was a bitter truth he had to accept¡ªhe wouldn''t make it like this. He had to prepare. ¡°I should really head back home.¡± She sighed. The rain had started to fade off, and he didn''t feel as cold as he was¡ªthough his nose was still blocked. ¡°You¡¯re not as big of an idiot.¡± ¡°Haha, yeah.¡± He finally looked at her, and saw some form of comfort in her eyes¡ªlike she was finally able to breathe again. He smiled. Now he felt even shittier for making her worry because of him, and for a reason as dumb as this one. He was really an idiot. ¡°Let me drop you back home. You don''t even have an umbrella,¡± she said as she picked her umbrella and dusted mud off it. ¡°No, you don''t have to.¡± She¡¯d already done enough. He didn''t want to embarrass himself more by asking for more help. ¡°It¡¯s fine. You just live around the corner.¡± ¡°No, Sayaka.¡± ¡°Tch,¡± she looked at him. And she probably couldn''t go against his sharp, determined gaze, so she sighed and looked away. ¡°Okay.¡± He smiled at his win. ¡°Okay then, let¡¯s head back.¡± He walked below the rain as if he didn''t even feel those raindrops hitting his shoulders. She reached him and put the umbrella on top of both of them. Even if it was just for some moments, Ishaan felt warm beneath the cold rain. *** Rain had stopped as he stood in front of his house, looking at the drenched road beneath his soaked black shoes. Mom was definitely giving him a beating tonight. It might have been ten or eleven in the night right now, and he had been out for over an hour. And he was dripping, from top to toe. He sighed, gathered up his courage, and pushed the door. He walked to the corridor, and noticed that the cupboard had flipped. He frowned¡ªhe was sure the cupboard hadn¡¯t tumbled when he¡¯d hit it. He then looked around¡ªthe photo-frames that hung on the walls were down, the shoes were all over the entrance. He didn''t have a good feeling about it. His parents surely had a really, really big fight when he was gone. But¡­ why would they make such a mess of the house¡­? He stepped into the corridor. His shoes were leaving big pools of water¡ªMom won''t really like that. So he took off his shoes, folded his pants a little, and then continued. His feet were still soggy, but his imprints were not as deep as before. The wooden floor creaked as he looked around the corridor. Someone had put out all the lanterns. The place was as dark as he¡¯d left it. He reached all the way to the other end of the corridor, which opened to the kitchen. The dining-table was upside-down, the chairs were all around the place. And, at one corner, between all those fruits lying on the floor¡­ was a pool of blood. Legs sprawled up in patterns not possible, the body¡­ was of Mom. He looked up at her skinny body, filled with cuts and wounds that were too deep, and then looked at her dead eyes that stared directly at him. They were asking for help. And¡­ when she died¡­ they¡¯d probably frozen like that. W-W-Wh-W-Wha-W-What? His hands began to tremble and his chest pounded as he tripped on his own feet. ¡°M-Mom¡­?¡± he weakly called. His neck was too scared to produce a sound. ¡°M-M-Mom? Mom? MOM?! MOM! MOOOOM!¡± He had to do something¡­ He had to call somebody. He sprang up and dashed outside the room. That was the day this nightmare had begun. *** Years later, as a young lad, I stared into her eyes again. But not as Ishaan. I didn''t remember who she was, or what we were. Fuck, I didn''t even remember her name. ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°... Sayaka. And yours?¡± ¡°Itsuki.¡± ¡°... Oh.¡± ¡°... What?¡± ¡°You have an odd resemblance with a guy I used to know.¡± ¡°... Seems somebody important.¡± ¡°He is.¡± Prologue ends. *** Three years later, Kai Prison. There was light on top of this steep climb. It shone so brightly that he had to close his eyes for a second. Then the eyes opened again, and he could see the bluebonnet sky with white clouds standing tall. He stepped out of the adit, his boots thumping through the rocks. The heavy sack on his shoulders made it hard for him to even walk, but he¡¯d done this over a hundred times by now. On the edge of the adit, he walked over to where the other sacks were kept and threw down his one among them. Behind, a guy was loading them up on a bullock-cart. He sighed as he held his waist and turned to the sky. His whole body was covered in sweat. He turned to his abs and chest¡ªhe¡¯d made quite a muscular body for himself, doing hardcore work like this all day long. Even though he didn''t look like a professional warrior or something, at least he had definition. Just if his mana training was going as well as his bodybuilding¡­ ¡°Itsuki!¡± somebody called him. ¡°Haruto?¡± The guy came running toward him. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± He stopped right in front of him and bent down to catch his breath. ¡°Huff, huff! Huff, huff! Seven tonight.¡± Itsuki knew what it meant. ¡°Right before dinner?¡± ¡°Yep,¡± he finally straightened himself and looked him in the eye. ¡°Let¡¯s just wash ourse¡ª¡± The bells rang. Everybody suddenly stopped whatever they were doing and began preparing to go back to the dorms. That¡¯s what conducts the life of them prisoners¡ªthe bells. ¡°It¡¯s five already, huh?¡± Haruto commented. ¡°Didn''t quite feel like it today.¡± They both began walking back to the dorms too, just like the others. ¡°I think you should wear a shirt or something,¡± Haruto commented as he looked at his bare chest. Itsuki picked up his shirt and said, ¡°I go inside the adit. It gets dirty, so I take it off before going in.¡± ¡°And your pants don''t?¡± he smiled. Itsuki gave a little smile back for a moment. It was kinda rare for him, but Haruto was actually clever with his jokes sometimes. The twilight sky was filled with large clouds floating around as the sun set somewhere far away. He liked this kinda warm evenings. Meters away on that barren land, there was a thick, deadly fence. On the other side of it, the adult men worked. And their shifts were a lot larger than the kids¡¯. Some guys were literally lying on the ground. One of the guards took out his sword and poked at the malnourished flesh. ¡°He¡¯s dead, huh?¡± Haruto stared at him too. Itsuki turned his eyes away. They¡¯d be working there next year too. They were seventeen, and didn''t have much time left here, in Section-F, where the teens worked in far better conditions. ¡°I hope we could take them out of here too,¡± Haruto commented. ¡°We¡¯ve already talked about it.¡± ¡°I know.¡± Itsuki sighed. Obviously it was better if they could save everybody from the clutches of the Kai Prison. It¡¯d have been even better if they could save every-fucking-body from every single prison-camp like this one, where people are thrown into these dangerous mines against their wishes, where they die such painful deaths. But they can''t. At least, not until they¡¯re outside themselves. And that¡¯s a bitter pill they have to swallow. *** Itsuki pulled his shirt down his torso as he turned to others. His companions were in a circle, their heads down, as they waited for him to be done. The lantern on the top flickered as Itsuki walked up to them and took his place, beside Haruto. The darkness of this cell left an impression on their faces¡ªRen, Souta, Kenji. But Itsuki was used to this ritual by now. ¡°I¡¯ll begin,¡± he said. ¡°The opening Haruto and I have been working on is finally complete.¡± Souta smiled at them. ¡°That means we can go ahead with the plan now?¡± ¡°Yeah. It¡¯s better if we do it by today or tomorrow.¡± Souta nodded. Kenji then met his eyes. ¡°I don''t think we should rush it. You guys should go see the B-section, inspect if we all would be safe.¡± Haruto replied, ¡°We¡¯ve already inspected the place today¡ªwhich might not be enough, I agree. But we found three places where we could plant the bomb. And, we also tracked the path to the armory.¡± Ren just saw the argument unfolding for now, deciding not to speak whatever was in his mind. But Itsuki knew he was up to something, and he didn''t trust him enough to leave it be. Itsuki would have got it out of him forcefully, but Ren was very much a part of their plan now, so a fight against him could be dangerous. Better keep him close. ¡°But do ya know if that¡¯s safe? We gotta make sure no one sees us planting the bomb¡ªor even the bomb itself. At least not until we¡¯re out of there first. I guess we should observe a little more,¡± Kenji replied. Itsuki countered this one, ¡°I understand your concerns, Kenji. But the opening we¡¯ve made is not that deep inside the main Kai dungeon. It¡¯s around the edge, where it connects with the Kalin dungeon. Somebody might catch it one day or the other.¡± ¡°Then just make another opening which we know won¡¯t catch their eyes,¡± Kenji argued. ¡°That¡¯s not possible,¡± Haruto replied. ¡°If the soldiers get to know about it, all hell would break loose. Surveillance would be tighter¡ªwhich we can''t afford. This one is our best shot, and we gotta hurry to make it work.¡± ¡°And there¡¯s no mana-manipulators among the guards tonight. The battalion had to go for a mission, and won''t come back until tomorrow morning. That means our chances of success are substantially high. The rumors are on everybody¡¯s mind too. There¡¯d be no better time than tonight.¡± Kenji, for this, had no counter-argument. He sighed. ¡°Okay. That means the plan just got a lot more dangerous?¡± Itsuki nodded. Haruto added with a smile, ¡°It wasn''t like it was never not dangerous.¡± Souta chuckled a little. Itsuki then asked him, ¡°Souta, what about the b¡ª?¡± Footsteps. Irregular ones. A couple of people walked from cell to cell, delivering food. Somebody reached their cell too and slammed open the rusted metal latch. He then walked in, kept the food plates down beside them, and walked out. The latch echoed again, and this time, the man also locked the cell. And went away with other guards. They waited as the footsteps reached for one cell after the other, handing out meals and locking the cells up. Everybody had their heads down until then. Soon, the footsteps faded away. ¡°The bomb?¡± Itsuki whispered to Souta. ¡°I just have to tweak a little tonight. I¡¯ll be done before one AM.¡± One AM was when they¡¯d planned to begin their escape. ¡°And what about the rumors?¡± Haruto asked Ren. Ren looked back in his eyes for a second, probably thinking what to say¡ªor probably saying what he wanted to with his eyes. ¡°Everybody¡¯s talking about it these days. But the fire might die down soon. We better hurry.¡± ¡°It¡¯s decided then,¡± Kenji said. ¡°Tonight,¡± Haruto stretched out his arms, ecstatic just with the thought of it, ¡°we¡¯ll be free men.¡± *** ¡°Finally, the day has come.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll be leaving this shitty place behind us, huh?¡± Haruto commented as he looked at the ceiling. He was drunk¡ªbut not on alcohol. On excitement. Ren, on the other hand, was laying on the ground at one corner, his hand on his belly, his eyes fixed on the ceiling. His eyes were closed. He was probably resting. Kenji finally took the last bite of his food and kept his plate down, beside others¡¯. He too then lay down. Souta worked at the far end of the room¡ªbehind the mount of our blankets and all¡ªon some spherical shit. He told everyone that that ball was the bomb, but Itsuki didn''t think it¡¯d explode. But he left that on him. The cell of just mortar-and-cement walls and floor, rusted bars at one edge where guards popped up anytime they liked¡ªhe¡¯d really spent so much time in there. And now that he was about to leave it, the room felt so¡­ comfortable. Almost nostalgic, already. ¡°Itsuki,¡± Kenji asked him, without even opening his eyes again, ¡°what will ya do once y¡¯are out?¡± Itsuki sighed and looked away. He straightened his back, which was on the wall, and pulled his knees up to hold them. He didn''t wanna tell all of his plans, so he¡¯d tell him just the shit he could swallow. ¡°I¡¯ll probably go and find Dad.¡± ¡°Your dad, eh? I don''t even know if mine would be alive.¡± ¡°Same here,¡± Haruto commented. ¡°It¡¯s been seven years since my family was¡­¡± He lowered his head. ¡°... Hmm, I get ya, pal,¡± Kenji said. Haruto gulped. Nobody said anything for a moment. Even Souta lowered his head. ¡°Anyways, I¡¯ll be a rogue explorer,¡± Haruto announced. ¡°Itsuki and I have been thinking about it for so long¡ªwe¡¯d form a band and go to dungeons and shit, train our mana, and get better at it.¡± ¡°You guys wanna collect the Fragments too?¡± he asked curiously. ¡°Yep. All explorers wanna do that, to be honest.¡± Fuck, why was Haruto telling them all this shit?! ¡°Yeah, nice. Go get all of ¡®em Fragments and fuck everybody¡¯s asses.¡± ¡°What about you, though?¡± Haruto turned to him. Kenji¡¯s smile faded a little as he thought about it for a moment. ¡°I wanna go back to my ghetto. See how many survived.¡± ¡°... This world is nuts,¡± Souta spoke up. ¡°Ever since the¡­ invasion, it¡¯s become so hard for us cannibals to survive.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Kenji said. ¡°I fucking hate these asshole sapiens.¡± ¡°Sapiens don''t have Bloodlust¡ªwhich is the reason why they¡¯d never see us as humans.¡± ¡°And they¡¯re scared of us for it,¡± Itsuki reminded them. ¡°But we shouldn¡¯t really talk about all this shit for now. Let¡¯s just focus on the mission.¡± ¡°Bloodlust shouldn''t be a problem. Some don''t even got Bloodlust anymore,¡± Kenji commented. ¡°Like Itsuki.¡± Itsuki hated when somebody brought up the topic of how he didn''t have any Bloodlust. But he could just sigh and let it go. He should''ve been used to this shit by now. It wasn''t that he was a cannibal without Bloodlust. He was¡­ a sapien. And sapiens just don''t have Bloodlust. Nothing rare about it. But he had to act as if he was a cannibal. ¡°I wanna say something to you guys,¡± Haruto looked up at all of them. Souta turned back and met his eyes, and Kenji and Ren too. When Haruto was sure he had everybody¡¯s attention, he announced, ¡°If you guys don''t find anything else outside, I hope you all will join our band.¡± Itsuki sighed. He didn''t want that¡ªhe didn''t trust even a single one of these three. And Haruto knew that. Yet, he handed this invitation to all of them. Probably out of emotions. Haruto stood, and everybody looked up at him. ¡°We have just one motive¡ªcollect all Fragments, fight this regime, and bring a new era for the cannibals.¡± ¡°How¡¯d you two fight the whole fucking government?¡± Kenji asked curiously. ¡°... We don''t know. But what we do know is that we¡¯d need a lot of assistance for that, and we¡¯d need to train a lot. We¡¯d need to level up our mana capabilities, especially raw-mana applications.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not an explorer or something, but aren¡¯t¡­ raw-mana techniques a lot harder than bound-mana techniques?¡± Souta asked. ¡°Yes, they are,¡± Itsuki told him. ¡°Bound-aura is a lot easier to learn. And to get to raw-mana, you first need to perfect your bound-mana applications, except to learn basic raw-mana applications like the mana-shield.¡± ¡°Except Souta, all of us are quite good at bound-aura already. We can fight guns with swords now,¡± Ren commented. ¡°We can easily challenge D-level dungeons and, even though I highly doubt that you¡¯d find the Fragments there, you could still get a lot of mana-crystals and earn a lot.¡± ¡°Better than mining mana-crystals for nothin¡¯ in return here,¡± Kenji added. ¡°But anyway, how d¡¯ya guys plan to find these Fragments? Y¡¯all ain''t got any maps or something.¡± ¡°¡­We¡¯ll figure that out,¡± Haruto replied. Kenji thought for a moment. ¡°That¡¯s yer problem,¡± he finally said. ¡°Ya don''t have any plans. Just a dream.¡± Itsuki didn''t want any of this anymore. ¡°We know. You can just shut up about this, Ha¡ª¡± ¡°We know where to begin, though,¡± Haruto told him. ¡°Don''t speak any further.¡± ¡°But Itsuki, I¡ª¡± ¡°No.¡± It was final. Haruto sighed and lowered his head. He definitely wanted to tell him more, but Itsuki had to intervene. Giving away valuable intel just to prove something to someone wasn''t the way to go. ¡°So, ya don''t trust us or something?¡± Kenji asked. Souta stepped in, ¡°Stop it, gu¡ª¡± ¡°I knew it from the very start. Ya and Haruto never trusted the other three of us, right? We were just pawns in yer plans, and after we¡¯re out, it¡¯ll all be over.¡± Ren turned away to the corridor. Souta began fiddling with the bomb again. Itsuki felt they all kinda thought the same too, and that''s why they escaped his gaze. Haruto told them, ¡°That¡¯s not true. I don''t know if it¡¯s the same with Itsuki, but for me¡­ I trust you all more than anybody else in the world right now. And if that weren¡¯t the case, I¡¯d have never asked you all to join our band.¡± Silence. Nobody believed him. The aura of the room spoke volumes. There was a lot that everybody wanted to say, but nobody said anything. Nobody trusted the others enough. Could he really escape with¡­ such a dysfunctional group? ¡°We¡¯ll tell you everything. Once we¡¯re outside,¡± Itsuki finally said. Ren looked up at him, and their eyes met. ¡°I promise.¡± Ren looked away. Kenji had never turned his way. Itsuki sighed. ¡°Souta, how long will it take?¡± ¡°Just a moment more,¡± he replied as he carefully rubbed the top of the iron shell with gunpowder. ¡°It¡¯d need fire. How do you plan to get that?¡± ¡°I know how to get that with my mana, don''t worry.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± Souta kept the bomb down and stood up. ¡°What time is it right now?¡± ¡°Twelve-thirty,¡± Ren replied. ¡°Just half an hour left, then,¡± Kenji said. Souta held his waist. ¡°Let¡¯s do it, guys. Let¡¯s forget our differences and pull it off.¡± ¡°Yeah. What¡¯s most important for us right now is to get out of this shithole,¡± Haruto reminded them. *** Y¡¯know what differentiates cannibals from sapiens? The Bloodlust. *** Footsteps, dashing through the dark. ¡°We might die tonight,¡± Souta whispered. ¡°We know,¡± Haruto replied. ¡°We were never gonna not die.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s not talk ¡®bout death, guys,¡± Kenji said. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s better if we all focus on the objective at hand,¡± Itsuki said. ¡°And remember¡ªdon''t make any mistakes. Even the slightest of slips could get us caught. I¡¯d rather die tryna run away than die by torture.¡± ¡°Me too,¡± Kenji said. ¡°We¡¯ve spent such good times here, guys,¡± Haruto said. ¡°I don''t wanna leave this place.¡± ¡°You¡¯d be transferred to A-section next year. Do you really wanna get in that Kai dungeon and die?¡± Souta asked ¡°That¡¯s the problem. Staying here means death, and trying to run away means death too,¡± Haruto replied. ¡°We can''t be here forever,¡± Itsuki said. ¡°This day was bound to come.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°Focus on the mission, guys,¡± Ren scolded them. ¡°Oh, yeah yeah,¡± Souta said. ¡°We¡¯re gonna reach the ground floor soon. Then we split. Y¡¯all know what to do, right?¡± Kenji confirmed. ¡°Yeah,¡± everybody said together. ¡°We have three minutes,¡± Itsuki reminded them. ¡°Best of luck, guys,¡± Haruto told everybody. The footsteps split in different directions. And faded away. *** One end of the empty corridor lit up, and a guard¡ªin the usual uniform of a red coat, white pants, and black boots¡ªappeared out of the corner, with a lamp in one hand and a musket in the other. His footsteps echoed on the stone-floor as he marched through, observing the inmates and making sure nothing unwarranted was going on. He then noticed that the door to one of the cells was wide open. He quickly ran up to it and crouched down. He found the pieces of the broken lock by the door. He looked inside¡ªthe cell was empty. The kids had run away. He quickly got up and ran back. ¡°Soldiers! Soldiers! Some inmates had run away! ¡°This is a serious threat to security! Pick up yer swords and guns!¡± [Fragment #01] #02. Bomb in the Belly Three years since I¡¯ve rotted in that prison¡­ for a crime I didn''t commit. Finally, I was getting out of it that night. Dad, I was coming 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 lanterns didn''t light the place enough, and the four bent their heads down and silently mixed among them. They walked through the narrow corridor, inches from the other inmates, and kept their 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 continue,¡± 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 according to the plan. The guards would not be able to begin their search for, like, ten-twenty minutes or so, probably. They¡¯d need to 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 inside the dungeon, and then escape to C-section, where the armory is. But Ren and Kenji might be in danger. Shit, he should¡¯ve alerted them. Too late, 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. ¡°Junji Eto,¡± he told him. The guard took some time to find his name on the papers, and then put a tick against the name. The other guard stared at him, but Itsuki didn''t look back. He had to act normal, 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 picking up their axes and getting to work. Haruto and Souta soon caught up to him. He looked over at Souta¡ªhe 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 flaunted their chest, with their hands behind their butt, as they glared down at the guys coming behind them. Some even had their eyes on the ones who had picked up their axes and began working. The three of them quietly reached the others, where the axes were lying, and took one each. Haruto helped Souta handle his new weapon, since he had to make sure it didn''t touch his belly. It could have been dangerous. And they wanted to take no chances. Itsuki walked inside the same dark adit that he¡¯d appeared out of just some hours ago. The only difference was that it was in the middle of the night this time, and the lanterns were burning bright. The three stepped inside the 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 plan 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-section Sub-Admin,¡± Ren said as he handed them a letter. The guards opened the 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 other guard walked up to them and glanced over at the letter. He then looked at them suspiciously. His sharp gaze and lips hidden under his facial hair said it quite clearly¡ªhe didn''t trust them. Ren maintained his poker-face. It was all about mind-games now¡ªif they thought the two were suspicious, they were. No questions asked. The first one kept staring at the signature on the bottom of the note. ¡°I have chosen these two to send over my message to the Chief Admin. Please let them through,¡± it said. He sighed. ¡°Wait here,¡± he said, still glaring at the note as he walked inside, to the foyer, his boots clanking against the ground. The other one kept their eyes on the two, 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 lantern in his hand, and then someplace far away beside them. He contemplated for a moment. In the meantime, the first one walked out and handed the note back to Ren. ¡°You both may go through. Chief Admin is on the third floor.¡± ¡°Thank you, lord. Long live the King.¡± ¡°Long live the King,¡± both the guards replied. They walked inside the building quietly and walked through the foyer, to the staircase beside. The lanterns there had been extinguished long ago and the building seemed empty. Their boots were too loud, and they had to slow themselves down and place their boots really softly to make sure they alerted nobody. They even controlled their breathing. Ren finally sighed in relief. ¡°Good thing they didn''t catch us.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°They would be coming back for us here once they got to know that we¡¯ve run away. They saw our faces and burned them in their memory¡ªI could see that. We gotta be quick.¡± ¡°The guards would take ten-fifteen minutes to circulate our sketches and get everyone to search for us. We have to light this place in six more minutes. It¡¯s not gonna be tough.¡± ¡°Y¡¯are forgetting that we also need to escape from this place before the ten-minute mark now. It¡¯d take us five-seven minutes to make a fire big enough that people notice.¡± Kenji gulped. ¡°We can do it.¡± ¡°We gotta find some weapons¡ªjust in case.¡± ¡°Itsuki and Haruto are gonna get ¡®em from the armo¡ª¡± Ren jerked his arm and stopped. ¡°They won¡¯t be here to protect us, asshole. We gotta watch for ourselves now. Why won¡¯t ya fucking understand?!¡± Kenji looked straight into his eye, thinking for himself for a moment. ¡°Alright. Ya find weapons for us, and I go fire the admin room. Whaddya say?¡± Ren nodded. ¡°Works.¡± He then spun to the door¡ªprobably to the second floor. ¡°Your shirt.¡± ¡°Oh yeah,¡± Ren quickly got it out and threw it at him as he banged the door open and dashed out. Kenji continued his way up the floors. ¡°What if he¡¯s just betrayed me?¡± Kenji whispered to himself. Kenji whispered way too loud. Whatever¡­ *** Inside the 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 an empty 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 communication 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 stones to 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 come 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 done. Itsuki then got inside the hole on the ground as Haruto helped Souta with the bomb. It was a really narrow passage, where only one thin guy could seep through at a moment. They wouldn¡¯t be able to even turn back if they found somebody on the other 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. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. When he saw them coming up to him, he continued. As he pushed himself past the mud, his Dad¡¯s face came to his mind. The man looked just like him¡ªtriangular face, sharp eyes, long hair, brown skin. But he had long facial hair, which Itsuki didn''t. That guy had so much common with him, yet¡­ he killed Mom. And he shattered his family to pieces. And he got him here. Three years of painful torture, bullying, being beaten 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 change 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 glanced around as he turned back to the hole and extended Haruto his hand, pulling himself up. Then both Haruto and he took Souta¡¯s hand each and dragged him up, the bomb between his legs. Haruto picked up the bomb and kept it aside as Souta lay on the ground, panting. Itsuki stood up and rubbed dust off his shirt and pants. ¡°Alright, we¡¯re in the A-section now,¡± he whispered to them. ¡°Where do we plant the bomb?¡± Souta asked him. Footsteps. Fuck, somebody was approaching 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 acting like he was digging. Souta followed him. Itsuki turned to the corner. The guy was approaching, and judging from the boots of him, he might be one of the guards. ¡­ He couldn''t get caught. That¡¯d put the whole fucking plan 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 corner, 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 under the shadows of the lantern. Seemed like it worked, for he simply continued his walk and went away. Still, they waited and continued for a couple more moments. Luckily, the footsteps simply faded away. No catch. Itsuki sighed. Haruto held his chest as he turned to him. ¡°He was a mana user,¡± he whispered. ¡°I saw a scabbard by his waist.¡± ¡°I can use mana too,¡± Itsuki said. ¡°And we had an axe, in which I could bind my aura and use it as a weapon.¡± ¡°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 land 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 morning.¡± 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¡ªthey had no mana-gems or coal in them. Probably that¡¯s why nobody was there at the moment. This place was literally sucked out of its minerals. Their footsteps echoed, even though they tried their best to walk as softly as possible. The lanterns flickered as they walked past them, to a Y-intersection, 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 manipulation training. He couldn''t even feel his own mana right now. ¡°Hmm,¡± Haruto agreed. ¡°And we also have gunpowder in our hands¡ªwhich can explode because of the radiation.¡± ¡°Can 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 planned it would be right when the shifts had just changed. It¡¯d take some time for the new workers to come in this deep. Everything was going according to the plan. ¡°... 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 morning, at the edge of this path. Itsuki hurried up to it, crouched down, and felt the edges. ¡°Nobody was there.¡± ¡°Phew!¡± Haruto sighed. ¡°Let¡¯s be quick,¡± Itsuki told them as Haruto and Souta squatted around him and began placing the bomb. Itsuki, in the meantime, got up and began searching 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 placed the boulder above the bomb, leaving a little space along the hole¡¯s edge for the cord-fuse. Souta opened the tied-up cord and placed it by the edge. It was a long rope, and he stood up to place it all the way to around a dozen steps in. He then 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, and neither had he. ¡°Apparently, our plans are a little bit different, Souta.¡± ¡°... What do you mean?¡± Itsuki asked, ¡°Can 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 and bent on his knees, catching his breath. ¡°Huff, huff. Huff, huff. Alright,¡± he whispered to himself as he straightened his back. Fuck, he misjudged¡ªhe still wasn''t ready. So he took some more time to calm his breathing down. He didn''t even have a weapon. He¡¯d be killed if somebody saw him there. His lungs calmed down. He pulled open the thick metal door and peeped out. The lamps flickered on the walls by the edge. The other edge housed doors to the rooms. Which one 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 which one he was supposed to burn. Fuck! A big part of this mission lay on his shoulders. If he burnt the wrong flat, the soldiers would be a lot quicker to react when the blast takes place. He sighed. Alright, he could do this. He¡¯d to calm the fuck down. He chose the second-last door by the edge of the corridor¡ªthe room right in front of the staircase¡ªand threw Ren¡¯s shirt in front of it. If he burnt that place, the connection between the Chief and other soldiers would be cut, since the staircase would be compromised. Yeah, that should fucking work. He bent down and pinched his fingers. He closed his eyes to concentrate all his mana on those fingers, and flicked up a fire in his fingertips. ¡°Soldiers! Go check the second and third floors! Me and my team are enough for this one!¡± ¡°Aye!¡± Fuck! Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck! His fingertips began trembling. The door beside him was still open. He¡¯d to close the door before they came in! C¡¯mon, fire it up! It fucking did¡ªa little flame of fire popped up on top of his fingers. He quickly used that to burn the cloth. The footsteps were quickly approaching him. He couldn''t count 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 banged the 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 on the other side of the door, fanning the fire on Ren¡¯s shirt. Fuck! He had nowhere to 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 got larger. 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 complete fucking lie. He gulped in. Where the fuck was Ren?! Kenji could only hope that he¡¯d come 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 come 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 fucking 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 fucking place. He gulped in and controlled 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 fucking alright. They kept beating the door. Some even slammed it with their weapons. ¡°Bring a mana-manipulator!¡± someone shouted from the other side. ¡­ There were no mana-manipulators 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 banged it 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¡ªwhite face and hair, black coatee and waistcoat over a white silk shirt. He noticed the fire and half-naked Kenji, and demanded, ¡°Who are y¡ª?¡± Kenji punched him on the nose. The old man fell down. Kenji gulped, thinking about what he was gonna do for a moment. ¡­ He wasn''t a fucking monster. He wasn''t a fucking monster, he wasn''t a fucking¡­ He picked the man up and threw him on the fire. ¡°ARRRRRRRRRR!¡± the old man shouted as he flung his arms right and left to pick himself up. Kenji kept kicking 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 slams on the door got louder too. Kenji hurried inside the house. He observed the red carpet on the floor, along with all those wooden chairs and cupboards and¡­ the couch at the center. It¡¯d burn. All of it would burn. He was so fucking grateful for that. Smoke began filling up the drawing-room. He heard commotion at the bedrooms that he couldn''t see¡ªthe 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 searching the place. 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 flames were now coming 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¡ªthe fire, the burning butler¡¯s dead corpse, the family that stood frozen, and the servants who were coming 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 one, throwing out some mana with this one. The mana hit the guy some meters away from the knife and chopped his neck into 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 cannibal? ¡°He can use mana! Oh god, this man can use mana!¡± the wife shouted as she hid under her husband¡¯s chest. He turned to them as other servants backed off. A fountain erupted out of the second 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. ¡°W-W-What do you want, kid?¡± ¡°... Freedom.¡± [Fragment #01] #03. Flames Rise Up ¡°... Freedom.¡± Kenji looked straight in the husband¡¯s eyes. The wife was still glued to his chest in fear, and he embraced her tighter after Kenji said that. They both could die, for all he cared. He looked over to the luxury furniture burning at the other side. Servants still stood a couple steps in front of him, and guards¡¯ yells echoed around as they tried to walk in through the fire he¡¯d made. There was no way out now. That asshole Ren was gone, and Kenji was cornered. He¡¯d kill him the next time he saw him. A dead corpse lay beside his feet. How would he escape? ¡­ Chief. He asked the husband, ¡°Where¡¯s the Chief Admin?!¡± ¡°C-Chief lives next door.¡± ¡­ Fuck. What if there¡¯s any gap between the door and the fire by the other side, which they could use to rescue him?! Fuck no! Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck! He had to think of something else. He had to get outta here and kill that asshole. Or else, they¡¯d fail in their mission. The fire flickered in front of his eyes. Should he step inside the fire? No, the soldiers would kill him instantly, and that¡¯s if he doesn''t burn up in flames. That¡¯s just suicide for no reason at all. He had to think of something. *** With the fire in the middle of his fingertips, Itsuki lit the fuse-cord of the bomb. As it began burning, the three took off. It should work. Souta spent all that time on it, and Itsuki has to believe in his work now. It should work! A big explosion took place behind their backs. ¡°Ahahahajhajhaaha!¡± Haruto laughed excitedly as he looked behind. ¡°It worked! It worked!¡± ¡°You doubt my abilities?!¡± Souta was ecstatic too. ¡°No, it¡¯s just that I didn''t believe you the first time I saw it.¡± Souta laughed. ¡°Fuck you!¡± ¡°When did you start cussing, huh?!¡± ¡°Lemme enjoy the moment!¡± Both of them were quite happy about it, and so was Itsuki. But he just maintained a slight smile as he turned around. Yeah, the fire was following them. The coal around the edges of this tunnel was burning. Another little explosion took place. ¡°You guys know the way up, right?¡± Souta asked. ¡°Obviously,¡± Haruto told him. They took a turn as they ran up the incline, and soon, they could see malnourished, thin men working peacefully with their axes. They all confusedly spun at them, noticed the havoc behind them, and yelled on top of their lungs as they dropped their stuff and joined them. They could see the opening some more feet above, right ahead of them. Finally, the coolest part of this shit was about to begin. ¡°Get ready!¡± Itsuki shouted as they sprinted out of the adit onto the empty field. Another blast took place behind them as the last groups of people ran out and got on their knees. The whole entrance to the mine was now lit up in flames. People had gathered around to help the others that had just come out. Itsuki realized they probably shouldn''t have blown their cover¡ªthey should have just acted like the others. But they¡¯d sprinted too far away for that to happen. Some guards were running to them with their swords. Itsuki stopped and swung his axe at them. A mana-beam¡ªa purple streak of mana in the shape of the blade on the axe¡ªcut through the air and hit one of the guards¡¯ flesh. Then he swung at the other one, and he missed. He had to aim carefully with this shit weapon, because the beam the axe¡¯s design was gonna make would be like a bullet, not a usual large wave that a sword makes. Guess he¡¯d just manage, though. And they were about to get to the armory anyways. Bullets came at them, but Haruto had already managed a mana-shield that provided them defense against them. Mana-beams from swords and stuff would penetrate, but most guards weren¡¯t really trained in mana, luckily. Bullets pattered through their feet as Itsuki noticed the buildings on the other side of the fence. A column of smoke rose through some random building far behind the others. He smiled. Kenji and Ren had done their jobs. ¡°Itsuk!¡± Haruto called out. Three guards by the door of the building they were running to. Itsuki tightened the grip on his weapon, pulled it up his chest, and swung it down. Then again. And then again. The three beams, one after the other, glided through the air as they hit those defenseless guards. Souta, holding his head down, asked, ¡°How could you guys even do all this stuff?!¡± His voice blurred among the muskets yelling all over the place, all aiming at them as they broke through the door with their axes and ran inside. They ran through the empty foyer of the building. There were lamps all around the woodwork and stone-work, and the silence of the place was such a change of pace from all the commotion they¡¯d made just outside. They ran to one of the corridors and went in. Luckily, there was nobody inside right now in the building, just as they¡¯d predicted. Itsuki saw through the doors and slammed open one of them. The others followed. Haruto pushed the metal door close behind them as Itsuki looked around the place. Those creepy lamps¡¯ light landed so softly on those muskets hanging all around the shelves. There were also swords at one corner. Itsuki smiled. ¡°Finally¡­¡± *** Ren ran through the empty corridor of the Admins¡¯ building, windows at one edge. The sword in his hand shone through the moon¡¯s light. Ren looked at the ground. Other teens were worked up about the fire and the blasts at the other section beside. They were fighting the guards, and some fistfights had emerged. Ren smiled. This shit was going just as they all had planned. Now, he just gotta find Kenji. And then wait for Haruto and Itsuki to reach there for them. Ren turned to the other corner and began climbing up the other staircase. He¡¯d found this secret staircase just a couple minutes ago, and not even the soldiers knew about it. This was probably made as a secret escape for the Admins. Whatever. They can suck his dick. He just had to save Kenji for now, and meet others. Their part of this plan was already fucked up. They¡¯d lost a lot more time than they¡¯d planned, and he didn''t know if Kenji was even alive or now. He told ¡®em that this plan wasn''t gonna work. Whatever. *** Kenji stared down at his feet. The blood on his arm dripped through his fingertips. Most of it had dried up, though. And his pants had turned red too. The wound on his forearm stung. But not much. What stung him more was that he¡¯d just fought and killed so many innocent people, whose bodies now burnt in the other room. He looked up at the door. The whole drawing-room was now engulfed in flames. Its wicked crackles echoed around his ears. He walked back, through the bed, to the window at the edge. So this is where he dies. And how he dies. He¡¯d fucked everything up. Not just for him, but for others as well. And then he was calling Itsuki out for not trusting the gang enough. He was so fucking sure Itsuki wouldn''t have fucked up this much if he were in his place. Ren had abandoned him. He didn''t know if he got to the Chief Admin or not. And now, he was gonna be engulfed by this fire soon enough. Why was it so fucking hard to kill those fucking assholes?! They¡­ had been torturing him for so fucking long. Fuck them. Fuck his morals. Fuck him. Fuck everybody. He looked at the ground. The rumors that Ren had spread were working¡ªother kids had risen up in arms. There were arguments and even fistfights between them and the guards. Ren was a genius. Spreading those rumors that the guards were about to blow this whole place up really angered many of them. The guards were now fighting them while preparing for battle against their group of jailbreakers too. The fence at the edge of Kalin dungeon still hadn¡¯t fallen off. That meant Itsuki and Haruto were still on the other side, the C-section. He could see the coal mine burning, though. Yeah, they did well. And they still are. And Kenji could do nothing but sit still, waiting for the flames to consume him all. *** The prisoners had stopped whatever they were doing and set their eyes on the flames that arose from the coal-mines of the Kal dungeon on the other side of the fence. Whispers blurred against the crackling of the flames. Guards walked to them and yelled at them, pointing their fingers at their tools and ordering them to get back to work. The prisoners, by this time, were angry. They all had heard the rumors. ¡°These dungeons here have no more resources left to extract. The Empire thinks we¡¯re no use to them anymore. So, they¡¯re planning to burn this whole place down one random night.¡± ¡°Some guys said they¡¯ve heard the Admin talking to his superiors about this plan.¡± ¡°These mines store coal and mana-gems. It won¡¯t be hard for them to use that to burn it down.¡± A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. ¡°All of the cannibals here would be killed. And everyone would think it was an accident.¡± ¡°We won¡¯t go without a fight!¡± The prisoners raised their fists and stomped at the guards. More guards hurried by, got in position with their muskets, and began shooting at them. But they were heavily outnumbered¡ªa lot fell down, but a lot more reached them and grabbed their collars. The fight was on, and on equal footing. By the Admin building too, the young prisoners stood up against the guards. Their eyes were filled with rage, their fists with power. ¡°If we stand up against them, we¡¯d die. If we don''t, we¡¯d still die. So it¡¯s better to try and then die without regrets than to die like a fucking loser.¡± ¡°This time, these sapiens would see the rage of us cannibals. That¡¯s how they¡¯d know how to treat a human like a human¡ªwhether a sapien or a cannibal.¡± *** Itsuki walked out of the shelves with a lantern in one hand and a musket in his other. Haruto wore the guards¡¯ coatee and turned to the other two, who smiled. Haruto smiled back. ¡°Looks cool,¡± Souta said. ¡°Get one for me too.¡± He took out another dark-blue coatee from the wardrobe and threw it at Souta, who opened it and had a look at the insides. He touched it with his fingertips to feel it better. ¡°It¡¯s such a soft cloth.¡± ¡°Yeah, right? It¡¯s very comfortable.¡± It really seemed like expensive material. Itsuki walked to him and felt it too. It¡­ was a lot better than the cheap, rough pieces of shit that they gave the prisoners to wear. ¡°Y¡¯know, these uniforms could help us camouflage better.¡± ¡°... Makes sense.¡± Haruto thought for a moment about it, and smiled. ¡°If we¡¯re shooting at the guards with these clothes on, the other guards won¡¯t know what side they have to support¡ªwhich would delay their reactions.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°That¡¯s such a good idea,¡± Souta praised. ¡°Let¡¯s get changed, then.¡± Itsuki was already draped in weapons. So, now he had to take his scabbard, musket, and all that stuff off. He then took the buttons off his shirt and revealed the grenade-belt on his chest, filled with bombs. ¡°What the fuck, Itsuki?¡± Haruto looked at him carefully taking off the belt and keeping it on the ground. ¡°Do you think we¡¯d need such powerful stuff?¡± ¡°Probably,¡± Itsuki replied. ¡°You never know what might help in a war, right?¡± He took his pants off and took up the clean, white one from the pair Haruto had kept in front of him. ¡°Do we get ¡®em too?¡± ¡°You can,¡± he said as he pulled his pants up. Wait, what if¡­ ¡°No, don''t.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± He took up the shirt and frowned at the grenade-belt. ¡°What if a bullet hits ¡®em?¡± ¡°... Yeah, you¡¯d be gone,¡± Souta said. ¡°You might survive a bullet, but definitely not a grenade blast.¡± ¡°But we¡¯d have mana-shields. Bullets shouldn''t¡­ penetrate¡­¡± Even Haruto was unsure of the mana-shields, because he knew it too, just as well as Itsuki. That the mana-shields might not work. But he still had a point, though. The chances that a bullet would penetrate through their mana-shield was still really low, and the chances that the bullet would actually hit these grenades was even lower. Itsuki thought for a moment as he buttoned his shirt. Finally, he made a decision. ¡°Nah, fuck them. We don''t need this shit. We¡¯re strong enough for now. Especially because we know mana-manipulation and they don''t.¡± Itsuki took up the navy-blue coatee and wore it above his white pair of shirt-pants. He then crouched down and stuffed his bare foot inside one of the boots. As Itsuki tied his laces, Souta was done with the uniform. He turned over to the mirror and had a glimpse of his clothes. Haruto did the same. Itsuki stood up after he was done with the boots and looked at their reflection. The rich navy-blue cloth felt so good on the three young boys. ¡°Feels like we were just inducted into the army today,¡± Haruto said with a smile. The pants were really loose for all three of them. But Itsuki liked his clothes comfortable like that, so he didn''t mind. He took back up the musket, wore the ammo-pouch on his waist, and slung the scabbard around his torso. He then turned to others. ¡°We don''t have a lot of time.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°Aye,¡± he jokingly corrected them. ¡°That¡¯s what you use now.¡± ¡°Aye,¡± both of them said at once. ¡°Seems like they¡¯ve already abandoned this building to quench the fires down.¡± ¡°Not just the fires,¡± Itsuki explained. ¡°The other inmates must be scared too now, if Ren¡¯s rumors have worked. They¡¯d keep the guards busy too.¡± ¡°Hmm,¡± he nodded. They were in a really comfortable position for now, where they could get a chance to change clothes and get weapons. It was some sort of a break between the constant fights they were about to have. But the same couldn''t be said for Ren and Kenji. Itsuki feared they must be fighting with scraps of weapons at some corner of the camp. They¡¯d lost a lot of time here. They had to be quick from now on. And reach their friends with weapons as soon as possible. The fence should have been broken by now. Itsuki hung the bayonet and pulled his sword out. He looked at his own reflection on the blade¡ªthe dark bags around his eyes didn''t look really healthy. He gulped in. ¡°There¡¯s a secret I have to reveal to you guys, once we get out,¡± he suddenly announced. Haruto and Souta looked up at him. But he couldn''t meet their eyes like this. Not now. Haruto understood that, probably, and he patted his shoulder. Then he walked away. ¡°Alright. Let¡¯s focus on the mission for now.¡± Souta¡¯s eyes said it¡ªhe really wanted to ask what was up, but he let Haruto take the lead in the situation for now and stayed silent. Itsuki took a deep breath. He¡¯d spent all of the last three years keeping that secret inside his chest, making sure nobody knew. To stay away from trouble inside the prison. But, once they¡¯re out, he was free. And he could trust them enough now. Especially Haruto. *** The three were finally ready. They loaded their muskets in the middle of the dark room, surrounded by weapons, in silence. Creepy, but the situation was tense now. Footsteps echoed on the other side of the door that lay just in front of them, on the other side of the shelves. They were opening one door after the other, upsetting stuff and searching for them. It seemed like there were four or five of them. Luckily, they could handle this many guards, especially because their enemies used muskets and weren¡¯t mana-manipulators. Itsuki stood up and took cover behind one of the shelves. ¡°Quickly,¡± he whispered to Haruto, who was still stuffing the cartridge in with the ramrod. He finally got up and stood by the other shelf. Souta walked over to the third one, farthest from the door. They all stood still. The footsteps were getting closer and closer. Haruto was really scared, but he held it inside and puffed his chest to calm himself down. Yeah, they were gonna take part in an actual gunfight. And even a mana-fight, if it came to that. It would be exciting, but deadly. The door was slammed open. Itsuki wasted no time to take the aim and shoot the first guard. The bullet hit his chest and spewed out a lot of blood. The guy fell back on his own comrade, who then lost control of his weapon and was shot by Haruto. ¡°Walk back! They¡¯re inside!¡± Itsuki quickly bit another cartridge off, stuffed it inside the muzzle, pushed it in with the ramrod, and was ready for the next shot. It was quite a process, but worth it. Two guards took cover on each edge of the door, on the corridor. Itsuki and Haruto would be able to secure this. It¡¯d be a bit tough for Souta, because the shelves got in his vision. So, it was a two-versus-two for now. Haruto finally reloaded his musket and looked at Itsuki. Their eyes met. And they smiled. Would they die there? Probably. But it¡¯d be a fucking cool death. And they weren¡¯t giving up just yet. Itsuki spun, and noticed that none of them were out firing. He waited for a moment, and when a guy suddenly began to turn to take a shot, he pulled the trigger. The gunshot hit the guy¡¯s shoulder, and he quickly jerked back to safety. As Itsuki hid himself too as he heard how the musket slipped from his hands and fell on the ground. He¡¯d probably given up. The second one popped up and shot, and just as the bullet went past him, Haruto spun and went for a shot. Too late, though, for the second one was back behind the covers. Itsuki pushed the next cartridge in the muzzle through the ramrod and then held the trigger again. As Haruto began doing the same, he turned his head behind the shelf, noticing what the other guys were up to. Silence. Eerie silence. Then one of them spun out and Itsuki jerked his head in. The gunshot hit the shelf just beside him. It was gonna be tough. These muskets were too slow for fights like this. He looked around to find a weapon on which he could use his bound-mana. Muskets, spare muzzles and ramrods, swords¡­ bayonets. At the far corner of the room, that bunch of bayonets hung silently, hidden in the darkness. Itsuki took big steps and hurried through the shelves, went past Souta, and reached the corner. He picked up one of them and attached it to the muzzle of his musket. Souta looked over confusedly. Itsuki smiled at him and threw another one at him. Souta caught it. Itsuki took another one and ran back to his place. He threw the other bayonet at Haruto, who fumbled with the catch for a moment before regaining his balance. ¡°Why this?¡± Haruto whispered. ¡°We¡¯re going all in,¡± Itsuki explained. Haruto smirked as he attached the blade to his musket. ¡°What do we do, huh?¡± ¡°You give me cover. Just keep shooting at the door. Don¡¯t let them take their shot. I¡¯d do the rest.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Haruto spun around and shot at the empty ground in the middle of the door. He then reloaded and fired the next moment. He was quick. So Itsuki gotta be too. He tiptoed through the other side of the shelf, where he was sure the guys at the door won''t be able to see him, and he reached just to the edge. He was just beside the door now, behind the shelf still. Haruto was behind, at the back corner, and he kept shooting. The guards really didn''t come out to fight him. Haruto was doing well. They were in range now. Itsuki spun out and swung his bayonet in a horizon, aiming right at the door. His mana cut through the air, broke through the bricks, and hit the other guy by his chest. The stones rained all over the place for a moment as the guard lay down, pieces of bricks all around and over him. A pool of blood engulfed him from all sides. His chest didn''t move. He was dead. The other one felt the impact of the wall breaking down behind his back too, and he was down on the ground head-first. Stones rolled over and hit each other as he tried to push himself up. Itsuki stepped over to him through all that rubble and stared at the back of the guard. He was twisting over to him, probably having a look at his face. Then his head thumped at the ground again. It was hard to believe¡ªthis torso was the same one that had been ruling over him for the past couple of years. This same navy-blue torso had hit him with whips, their boots, and whatnot. All of these fucking torsos deserved a death like this. He pulled his bayonet up and simply stabbed the torso. It was weak. Too weak. So it stopped moving. Taking breaths. Haruto and Souta came up to him, observed the dead bodies, and stayed silent for a second. None of them had thought that they¡¯d be able to fight back one day. That they¡¯d be able to kill the immortal. This¡­ This mana shit was incredible. Insane. Unbelievable. ¡°Let¡¯s get outta here.¡± *** The three ran past the lamps at the edges of the corridor. They clenched their bayonets, swords, and other blades in their hands¡ªthey didn''t need bullets anymore. They had a much more powerful weapon than that: mana. And mana was what¡¯d help them win this battle. As they approached the foyer, they noticed more soldiers. The soldiers took position, placed their muskets on their shoulders, and began shooting. The bullets came straight at them and hit their mana-shield. Haruto smiled as Itsuki swung his sword at them. The purple streaks again did their job. They cut through the edges of the corridor, went straight through the foyer, and slashed them all. Blood splattered and pieces of flesh spew all over the floor. ¡°Ahahahahahahaa!¡± Haruto got too excited about it. ¡°Motherfuckers, see y¡¯all later!¡± Souta was shocked, but he didn''t say anything. They hurried through the foyer, and just as they were halfway through, a mana streak hit the wall just above the door. They all pushed the brakes on their feet as they saw pieces of stone crumbling down over the entrance, taking over the only exit that they had. Their exit was blocked. Fuck. Itsuki spun back to see who did all that. On the first floor, atop the railing, a guard was looking down at them. Smirking. Itsuki didn''t have a good feeling about him. The guy jumped down the floor and landed on his legs, unharmed. He must have used mana for this shit too, somehow. Souta pulled his musket up and shot at that guy. But the gunshot obviously didn''t hit him. The guy laughed as he raised his sword up. ¡°Ya guys are so innocent. Ahahahahahahhaa! ¡°Ahahahahahahahahahahaa!¡± Haruto gulped. Fuck, his teammates were scared. He was alone in this shit, then. He dashed at him. Haruto followed him. Itsuki swung his sword hard at him from some meters away, and so did that guy. Their mana streaks hit each other and exploded, lighting the place for a moment before the thunder hit everybody¡¯s ears. The two were thrown aback, on their butts. Itsuki jumped up on his feet and was back up again, while Haruto took some time. His legs were trembling. Fuck. ¡°This is not the time to be scared, Haruto!¡± ¡°I-I kn¡ª¡± ¡°Remember all those fucking times they¡¯ve beaten you naked! Just because they wanted to have some fun!¡± Haruto froze for a moment. Itsuki knew he¡¯d hit right where it stung, but he just had to do it right now. He needed his rage in this one. The flames flickered. And the guy still stood on the other side. It seemed as if the blast didn''t even flinch him. His face was pitch-black. No eyes, ears, lips. No emotions. This was the enemy they had to beat. A sapien. That had no emotions for people like them. For cannibals like them. Itsuki was out of his daydreams, and he could see his soft pale face over his slender, powerful body through the light of the fire they¡¯d just made. ¡°... Itsuki, right?¡± he smirked. ¡°Or should I say¡­ Ishaan?¡±