No Way Out

The morning of day number 2,190 was starting. At this point, he was long tired of counting those fruitless, uneventful days spent largely lounging in the depth of darkness, rotting in the cold and gloomy prison cell. Prisoner number 0125 slowly opened his eyes, calculating that it would soon be morning by the sound of the incoming Watcher’s footsteps.

Even though he had slept the usual six and a half hours, he was always on alert, even though nothing ever happened. Counting the unending days helped him cope with the fact that he has been there for six years now and he had many more pending.

Shiki opened his eyes to the same scenery of the rocky wall beyond the iron bars, just in time to see a Watcher pass by. The being, neither man nor machine, walked in its usual hunched back posture and wore attire akin to that of a nun. It had an expressionless face, a blue lantern in hand and the brand-marking stick in the other, walked by without as much as a glance to see if all prisoners were in their cell, until it sensed Shiki’s eyes. The moment he thought he’d see a reaction, Shiki shut his eyes and feigned being asleep.

There was nothing scarier than a Watcher wielding the brand-marking stick onto his mark, burnt behind his left shoulder that caused agony. He slowly moved his pale hand on it and sighed.

He was seated against the wall, under the sorry excuse for a window and on the cold ground. His four by four-meter cell was empty except for a hole in the ground and a sack as a bed. He looked upwards and his ears picked up the sound of the seagulls outside and spotted a glimmer of sunlight through his window high up, carved in the rock to let some air in.

He could smell the seawater caused by the high waves, but then, he picked up another scent and slowly moved his head to the right.

It was the smell of lemons.

“Already awake?” he murmured softly. The silence was so stark that he could have just whispered. He was directing that question to his neighbor, another prisoner and possibly the only one currently staying in the region. He had little idea to the exact location of his cell in the prison since the Watchers, or any other guard, would blindfold them to take them to their occasional working unit in the depths of the prison of Raagan for long, grueling hours of ore mining.

But judging by the never-ending silence at any given hour, he assumed that only he and the man he eventually nicknamed Lemon were residing in this section. This was due to something the old man regularly requested: the sour fruit for some reason or another. Shiki couldn’t catch his name so it was either Lemon or bookworm, considering that it was the only other thing the old man had in his cell, unlike Shiki’s barren cell. He had never seen the actual cell, but his ears picked up the sound of him flipping through pages and placing large books on a makeshift shelf.

“You wouldn’t ask unless I was awake.”

The old man nicknamed Lemon replied in a grumpy, toneless voice. Shiki was under the impression that the man could be well in his fifties.

“Don’t you get tired of eating that crap?”

“Lemons are surprisingly healthy. Once you get accustomed to them, they don’t taste so bad.”

“Careful, you’ll ruin your appetite”

“Ha! I’m so looking forward to today’s feast!”

It was obviously a sarcastic comment and Lemon played along. They were in a prison, so they got the bare minimum to pass by and to have enough strength to lift a pickaxe in even darker areas should the need arise. They could on occasion request a particular type of food if they follow procedures and not cause trouble.

Shiki heard the sound of Lemon flipping a page.

“It’s dangerous to be alone with your thoughts” Lemon suddenly said before Shiki could formulate a question. He was a bit curious to what Lemon was reading. It had become a habit to ask such a question since it got a conversation going, and as Lemon said, Shiki had a lot of time to be alone with his thoughts, and he had a lot to think of.

“Heh.”

“Have you ever heard of ’The Legend of the Sky’?”

“What’s it about?”

“It’s about a group of people who go on a journey across a distant, unexplored continent in search of a dragon” Lemon said, his voice softening as he narrated a summary of what he had read thus far.

“Fiction, huh.”

“It’s a fascinating concept. And with so much unknown in our realm, who knows what is yet to be discovered!”

“Like dragons?”

“Not necessarily. The depths in our ocean, the far reaches of space, lik-”

“Shh!”

Shiki abruptly stopped him in his tracks. He was enjoying listening to what Lemon was saying, but he was always wary of their surroundings. While generally not hostile, the Watchers were ordered to keep the prisoners quiet in their cells and two of them came rushing to his cell and Lemon’s. There was no need to oppose them. The least he would get were less food and harsher labor if he disobeyed. He was accustomed to it now.

There was no point in being defiant.

There was no way out from the prison island of Raagan.

“Out…”

The Watcher, speaking in a thin voice, had come for him earlier than usual, and it was a rarity that he and Lemon would go out together. Shiki stood up and slowly moved towards the entrance of his cell where he was offered to willingly wear a blindfold, which he did. Upon wearing it, the Watcher opened the creaking cell door and Shiki moved out and stopped. A second later, he heard his neighbor’s footsteps on the hard ground as he too stepped out.

They knew the drill from there. The Watcher would hold the brand-marking stick, nearly half a meter long and with a pointy tip, right over their mark. The presence Shiki felt was sinister. There was no point in resisting. Being impaled by the stick onto their mark would cause immense pain, so he moved forward and would only move in a different direction if instructed by the Watcher’s voice. This way, no one would memorize their prison cell, but Shiki was sharp. He counted every single step every time he was moved out. It took 498 steps to reach the ore mine and it took several turns and a couple of stairs downwards to get there.

Judging from the turns they took, he thought they were heading to the open area inside the complex. Shiki and Lemon only removed the blindfold when instructed, shortly after the door closed behind them and they found themselves in a large common area with several other prisoners. The walls were painted in a drab grey color and there was absolutely no furniture inside.

“You look terrible.”

“Sorry, I just woke up, old man” Shiki snickered as a reply.

It had been a while since Shiki saw the feeble old man. The tanned man in his late fifties still had a surprising amount of healthy white hair and a trendy moustache, but he was piling up the layers from basically doing nothing in his cell. His neglected thick white eyebrows and narrow brown eyes made him look permanently annoyed and his usual voice did little to alleviate that impression.

As far as Shiki knew, Lemon was not treated to harsh labor. The grey jumpsuit, obligatory for all male prisoners reeked of the lemon he had been eating. He had no chance to wash his hands either, as water was only available at certain fixed times throughout the day.

Shiki was half his age and his features were the direct opposite. His eyes were a strange shade of yellow and his shoulder-length, black hair was unkempt. It had been a while since he asked for a haircut. His skin was fair and frail for a man in his mid-twenties.

With their hands free, the two stepped forward to avoid being in the way should any more prisoners arrive. There were already a lot of men in front of them and a quick glance showed at least two hundred people gathered. The large room had four doors, one on each side and an upper balcony with a single door leading outside.

Shiki knew no one personally, but some voices were familiar. He had encountered or heard them before, but since they were prisoners, Shiki had no intention of trying to strike a conversation with any of them, although it seemed no one knew the purpose of why they were brought to the common room. People were confused and worried, and there were signs of people trying to pick fights. He thought it was a folly to bring so many together in one place with minimal supervision.

“Oh. This is surprising. Even the female prisoners are here.”

Shiki gazed in the direction Lemon was eyeing. Female prisoners were easily identified by the orange jumpsuits, with their prisoner number marked on their left breast. The females were outnumbered and all of them were uneasy in the presence of so many men that might have not seen the sight of the female specie for ages. In fact, there were a couple of men whose sole interest was them.

“How long since you last saw a woman?”

“Years!”

“Do you think any of the Watchers are female?”

“Watchers are artificial human beings” Lemon explained, something he had once done when Shiki first became acquitted with the old man. They were made out of clay and infused with an artificial soul small enough that the Watchers could only do a handful of tasks, and they are attracted by the branded ones, or so he heard. “So, they are effectively genderless. Besides, their dark blue skin color doesn’t make them desirable.”

Shiki was unsure of that point. He had ever seen the Watchers in the dark, and there was no source of light in their cell apart sunlight and the blue light from their lanterns. While they did resemble humans, their expressions are far too inscrutable to think of them as humans.

He spotted something peculiar at the other end of the room. Right underneath the balcony, there was a large object covered by a massive sheet. He couldn’t quite make out what it could be, but judging by its shape, he thought it was a pile of something. But the area was secured with four Watchers, the same dark blue faced wardens so no one dared getting anywhere close. But unlike usual, he saw no gleam in their eyes, meaning they were not active.

Before he had the time to try and make guesses to what was hidden underneath the beige sheets, the door on the balcony creaked open. Everyone was instantly alerted and all eyes turned in that direction. Any talking and bickering immediately stopped.

Two Watchers entered in a hurry and stood by as a man that Shiki was unfamiliar with stepped in between them. The young man gave off a vastly different aura compared to any of the guards in the prison. He was not even wearing the stipulated uniform, the one which even the highest ranked warden adhered to, so his carefree appearance was met with bemusement by many.

“Who’s he?”

“Dunno.”

Shiki certainly didn’t expect the human guards behind them to ask such a question. He had taken notice of some human guards and more Watchers creeping in shortly after they entered, so they were virtually surrounded from all fronts; a sensible decision to keep everyone under control. But Shiki was more curious about the new man, so he put on hold that very same question he was going to direct at Lemon, who he too narrowed his eyes in order to examine the man in the distance. The man, probably around Shiki’s age, wore a tattered dark blue cape over a long-sleeved half opened blue vest with a white shirt underneath. The dark grey jeans and brown leather belt made them a mismatch with his upper body which was topped off with a thick chain necklace.

He brandished thick, long black hair that covered his forehead completely and long side bangs. There was glee on his face when he prepared to address everyone.

“Hello!” he said with a smug look. He raised his voice to be heard across the large room. “Let me satisfy the question on everyone’s puny minds” the man continued, knowing he had everyone’s complete attention.

The room, choked full of prisoners and guards, was at a standstill and he took a moment to enjoy their undivided attention before continuing.

“I am Shadow, resident number 0120” he firmly stated which drew even more attention. The guards were stunned, yet the Watcher failed to act in any conceivable way.

“A prisoner?” Lemon murmured under his breath. He was unconvinced. The young man was not wearing the uniform and the Watchers seemed to be on his side.

“This might seem odd to hear” Shadow started saying before trailing off and crossing his arms, before undoing them and then pointed at the four Watchers directly below, who moved almost on command. “But, let’s start a fucking riot!!”

On his very command, the four Watchers unveiled what was underneath the beige sheets: weapons.

“I have control over the Watchers! For a short bit…”

He shouted the first part before his second part was drowned by roars and shouts. Most of the prisoners didn’t care. The stash of weapons carefully hidden under the sheets presented a near impossible possibility and the human guards quickly feared at that sight and the idea that someone hijacked the artificial beings. It took seconds for the inmates to grab a weapon, ranging from wooden swords, axes, pickaxes and even the Watcher’s famous brand-marking sticks, and disorder quickly ensued.

“Kill the guards!”

“Destroy the bastard Watchers!”

“Hell yeah! Let’s break out of this dump!”

“Why is there a banana in here too?!”

Armed with weapons that weren’t authorized to get anywhere near close to the rowdy prisoners, the situation quickly turned chaotic and Shadow watched in total delight as fighting broke out near the weapons stash between the prisoners, and others turned on the guards who were trapped inside the room, showing that Shadow was the one masterminding the revolt. Heads were bashed, Watchers were crushed and blood was sprayed onto the walls and floors.

Shiki and Lemon were almost at the back and neither of them had any intention of getting involved in the riot. But Shiki saw that it was an unlikely one in a million opportunity to try and force an escape. The sudden urge nearly blanked his mind, until the Watchers’ eyes turned red and they showed signs of movements. Shiki immediately quelled his thirst as he and Shadow, up above, were the first to realize that Shadow had lost his control over the artificial beings.

“Oh shit…”

Shiki managed to read his lips and reaction and knew the situation would turn dire in an instant. The reawakened Watchers reacted immediately to the riot with the brand-marking sticks and attacked the prisoners as panic spread. Bodies were sent flying by the Watchers’ abnormal physical capabilities and reflexes. Shadow was flung off the balcony by the two Watchers.

“Eh, this won’t end well” Lemon murmured in frustration after a long sigh. They had done nothing, but he knew they would be get caught up in the fight regardless. Everyone would. The Watchers wouldn’t stop until everyone is down. He could just surrender, but he knew the punishment wouldn’t be a lenient one.

“We can make the most of it.”

“Shiki?”

Shiki spoke with a whisper after crouching and picking up an object he had not seen in a long time: a dagger. Lemon scratched his head and thought they might as well try something. If there was anyone he should try and rely on, it had to be his cell neighbor.

The situation only calmed down slightly when the door behind the two burst open. Without even waiting to see who could be entering after the door was smashed open and into the walls, the prisoners immediately saw their exit and jumped at the incoming person who wasn’t even the least intimidated by the sight of all sorts of deadly weapons aimed at him. Not a single weapon made a dent on his tough silvery grey skin, as everyone and anything within a meter was flung away by him swinging his muscular arm. The men looked like ragged dolls and one was flung so hard that he hit the distant ceiling by the power of the clothesline delivered by the buff man.

That stunning maneuver caused everyone to stop and look as the large man took a deep breath in order to speak.

“Who the hell started a party without me?!”

It was not exactly something one would expect by a foreign guest instructed in keeping order in the prison but his presence and authority had already made some of the revolting prisoners rethink their life choices.

“The Iron Titan…!” Shiki said, he too regretting picking up the dagger that came at his feet. The silvery grey skin that blocked all sorts of weapons reverted back to its original brown color. His trademark ability, the one that allows him to coat any part of his body in iron, hence the title, was on full display and anyone with a bit of knowledge on one of the most feared combatants were trembling in their boots.

Yet, his mighty presence still didn’t prevent some fools from lashing at him. Lemon knew there were some prisoners were desperate to escape the inescapable prison and the opportunity that Shadow provided was too tempting for some to pass. And the man nicknamed the Iron Titan welcomed any challenger with a wide grin and opened arms. It didn’t matter if it was just the five incoming fools that were dashing at him with all form of deadly weapons, or if it was two hundred.

“Come get some…!”

They were all stopped in a matter of seconds, their faces smashed with a fist the size of an average human’s face. In an instant, without letting anyone bypass him, the large man who basically covered half of the door with his sheer mountainous size, knocked down all five men.

And he was ready to endlessly wait for anyone who had the guts to fight him. The regularly shirtless, muscled mammoth of a man was afraid of nothing. He was instantly recognizable by his banana-colored, windswept spiky hair and his tendency to never wear a shirt, even on formal occasions. Lemon had heard rumors that he endured the entire boat trip to the island of Raagan shirtless and without flinching in subzero temperatures. He was two heads taller than a regular human being and he had enough physical strength to crush a human skull, without utilizing his insane ability to coat every inch of his body in an iron substance, in a blink of an eye.

He had the common decency to wear a decent, albeit ripped black and yellow sweatpants with his family’s emblem, a bear, on both of his thighs. The emblems were decorated with gold strips and he wore a bulky, red cinch belt to keep all tied together.

More people relentlessly attacked in search of an opening, but the Iron Titan, whose real name was not publicly known, laid waste to all and demonstrated his enjoyment. Lemon examined it was just the exhilaration of overpowering hapless goons while employing the use of an inhuman ability that made him almost invincible.

“Next!”

Shiki was waiting for a moment to strike. The Iron Titan guarded the only opened door and no one was getting through, so he knew that attacking the Iron Titan, or at least feign an attempt, would be the only solution. He spotted how he retracted the iron fortification back to the center of his chest and Shiki acted right when he sent the next poor prisoner with a brutal punch. Shiki slid to try to slash his side to see if he could get him. The iron coating retracted as anticipated after incapacitating the poor guy, seemingly signifying that he could not hold such a state for too long. And Shiki aimed for his arm since it was further away from the center than his side. He betted that if he could at least cut the Iron Titan, it would instigate the others to act. There was no one else ready for a one-sided beating.

But the Iron Titan was wary, even though Shiki thought he had him. The iron coating reappeared around his right arm just in time for Shiki to slash with his new dagger, and inevitably did no damage on the iron skin. He overestimated himself. He could have easily dealt major damage to his muscular arm if his past self had done the deed, so he found himself in dire trouble when the enemy turned his attention to Shiki, who tried leaping back.

“Oh no you don’t!”

“Shit…!”

Shiki thought he was done when the heavy arm swung downwards at him and Shiki was ready with his guard up, so he hoped to get away with a broken arm at most, until he saw the Iron Titan slowing down.

“Hmm?!”

“Debilitate.”

To avoid taking a needless risk, Shiki dived back as the Iron Titan swung in air, looking dazed at how his arm suddenly slowed down.

“What happened?”

“I owe you big time, old man” Shiki said to his partner, who had put his bandaged left arm forward, aimed at the immovable enemy. Lemon intently glared at the Iron Titan who could move his arm freely again.

“Oh? Someone who can use magic?” the Iron Titan eagerly inquired, spotting a faint glow under the wrapped arm. Lemon weaved magic he himself inscribed on his left arm to activate an effect that dulled the Iron Titan’s speed which was what allowed Shiki to get away. “I’m glad that there’s someone with a few balls!”

“Hmph.”

Shiki formed a devious smile and the Iron Titan was confused as to why, until he heard a faint sound coming from somewhere near his feet. There was a circular object.

“Close your eyes!” Shiki said to Lemon, thinking the old man didn’t realize what the item he tossed was. But Lemon had already braced himself when he saw Shiki flinging yet another object he found on the floor from the stash of weapons.

“…!”

The Iron Titan figured it out too late. It was a flash bang and he was momentarily blinded by the burst of light. Shiki launched himself at the Iron Titan again with his eyes closed and slashed in his direction. Shiki dreaded that he had already coated his entire body in iron again to be safe, but getting a slash would have been a bonus. His intention was for him and Lemon to brush past him and get beyond the immovable object. The two dashed by and never looked back and hoped that the flash bang’s effects would last as long as possible.

After running nonstop in any available direction, as long as they as far away as possible from the Iron Titan, the two finally came to a halt. Lemon was on the verge of passing out from exhaustion and breathed slowly and heavily, all the while holding his heart which he felt was on the verge of exploding. It had been years since he last ran, or did any form of exercise.

Contrasting him, Shiki was only sweaty.

“I-I’m impressed you have…so much…stamina.”

“Dude, breath. I don’t want you dying on me” Shiki replied. Lemon’s voice came out as a whimper. He knew the old man wasn’t as fit as the guy who did some form of training daily in his cell. He could have run a lot more, but for Lemon’s sake, Shiki decided to take a break.

They were in an underground area in a darkened corridor and only the emergency red light was on, highlighting the steel floor and suffocating interior of the area they were while leaving some segments obscured in total darkness. They were in a long corridor but there were no signs of any human guard or Watcher, and from their current position, he could prepare for any attack.

“I didn’t think you’d actually pick a fight with one of Aswart’s commanders. It’s a miracle we made it out alive” Lemon stated after calming his breathing.

“Miracle? More like calculated risk” Shiki said coolly. He wasn’t foolish enough to take on one of the most dangerous individuals one would ever hope not to face. He needed a diversion and the flash bang that one of the fools who attacked dropped was just the thing he needed. His intention was always to escape from that room, even if he required a certain someone’s assistance. “Do you have a plan?”

They were currently in an area unknown to Shiki. He had never stepped foot there.

“We’re underground” Lemon replied, which wasn’t the kind of answer Shiki was hoping for. Even if escape had seemed so unlikely in those six years that he had been incarcerated, Shiki still had a plan or two. It had been hopeless resisting the oppressive Watchers, but he had to be ready for when an opportunity to flee presented itself.

“Security is lax.”

“I suspect that all forces are concentrated in the common room.”

“And few would think anyone made it past the Iron Titan.”

“No, the other doors opened up after we made our escape and more guards flooded the room. It would be foolish of them to think no one emerged from there.”

The two progressed further down the corridor which only headed in one direction, but Shiki saw a crossroad up ahead. He led the duo, dagger in hand and wary of any other sound other than their footsteps on steel. The flickering red and yellow sirens were distracting, but he tried paying them no mind. Lemon followed right after, trying to keep up with Shiki’s tense and hurried pace. He often looked behind his shoulders to see if there was someone following them.

They arrived at the crossroads Shiki had spotted from a distance, but anywhere they looked, all corridors seemed the same. Shiki analyzed the directions labelled on the way, with one indicating an elevator.

“This way” Shiki said, pointing left.

“We’re certainly not going right” Lemon said after the two heard shouting and silhouettes of guards chasing some prisoners. And from that direction, the two spotted two fleeing women heading their way. Shiki only thought they were women from their long hair as it was hard to spot the color of their jumpsuits with the flickering red lights.

“Shiki, we’re moving!” Lemon asserted after stepping in the agreed upon direction, but Shiki waited a moment and observed the two women approaching, stomping heavily until one of them fell hard on the ground.

“Eri!”

The first woman stopped and looked back.

And thanks to her stopping, Shiki managed to determine that they were being chased by two guards, not Watchers. A human’s and a Watcher’s paces were distinct from one another. The downed woman that was referred to as Eri seemed to have no stamina left and struggled to get up, while the other woman kept a bit of distance, hesitant if she should just continue fleeing or help her.

“Run, Raakel!”

Eri’s voice sounded even younger and much more desperate compared to the woman who was going to offer a helping hand, but a lightly armored guard, armed with a lance, was soon upon them.

“Shit! Fuck off!” Raakel screamed, taking what looked like a rock from her pocket, as far as Shiki could see from meters away. He didn’t think she would throw it as it was the size of a coin, but Raakel readied her fingers and took aim before firing it by flicking the rock. It released with much greater speed that Shiki had anticipated and it duly struck the guard in his protective helmet, smashing the area where it struck around his forehead and knocking him out cold.

“An earth user?” an intrigued Lemon assumed after watching her manipulating the rock. “But she’s at a disadvantage on the steel ground.”

“Eri! Come on!”

Raakel begged her to get up, but Eri was dead exhausted. And before she had time to try and help her up, another guard with identical armor was all over them before she could properly react. Raakel dug her hand in her pocket to produce another rock, but the guard was far too close for her to conjure her attack. And to make matters worse, the rock fell out of her unsteady hand.

“Die, pris-”

The lance was already high up, with Shiki thinking the guard wanted to stab the two of them at once, by first impaling Eri, the closer to him, and then Raakel. Raakel buried Eri’s head in her chest as she stared down the guard, thinking she could catch his spear.

But Shiki had other ideas. With the guard stomping on his way to the two, none of the three saw Shiki coming like an elusive shadow. The guard spotted someone emerging, but was far too helpless and exposed and it took Shiki just a minor movement to reach for his throat and do the damage. The guard fell down, having been unable to properly register what had happened as he fell flat on the ground, lifeless.

“You two okay?” Shiki asked. Eri seemed consigned to her fate and was still trembling with her head against Raakel’s chest. The former couldn’t quite believe that they were saved in the nick of time by a stranger and was momentarily stunned.

“Y-Yeah…” Raakel responded after calming down from the adrenaline. “Eri, we’re saved, for now” she told her partner. The younger girl, and seemingly more fragile than Raakel, finally moved her head away from her and showed a scared, teary face.

“Thank you…” she said to Shiki as Raakel helped her up.

“We need to hurry” Lemon told them and led the way, with the two new women walking in between the two as they finally emerged from the eye-hurting ambience of the underground corridor and rose a level through a U-shaped staircase, where they could finally take another break. The light was easier on the eyes after ascending.

“I really owe you” Raakel said to Shiki. She was younger than Shiki had initially thought, perhaps even younger than him. She had greyish pink, tousled long hair and rare scarlet eyes. He was unsure if her hair was dyed or otherwise, but she was a pretty, tough looking woman. “Name’s Raakel. Thanks for your help back then.”

“Right, we owe you our lives” her partner said.

An angel.

Shiki thought he was looking at an angel. While Raakel was an undeniable beauty, Shiki was at a loss of words when he laid eyes on Eri’s clear, still teary face. She had long blonde hair, with her left side tied in a violet ribbon, which matched the color of her eyes. She looked even more fragile up closely. Her soft voice and radiant smile released an air of innocence that the two men hadn’t seen in ages.

He internally questioned what such a woman was doing in prison. He had previously laid eyes on some other women present in the secluded section of the prison island, but judging solely by their appearance, he thought they were worthy of being criminals. But Raakel and Eri were different, with the latter’s brimming aura punctuating that.

“My name is Eri” she said with such a sweet smile that even Lemon, who was next to Shiki, was charmed.

“R-Right. I’m Shiki and this is…”

“You can call me Lemon” he said. Lemon was the nickname Shiki had given him, and he thought that it might be best if his real name was excluded.

“Lemon? As in the fruit?”

“Yes, a metaphorical term. I’m a sour guy.”

“That’s not funny, old man” Shiki said, breaking a smile nonetheless.

“Intros aside, any idea what to do? We got away in the panic that spread because some idiot threw a flash bang” Raakel complained.

“So, idiot, what are we going to do?” Lemon asked Shiki, with Raakel immediately realizing what she might have said. Shiki jokingly rolled his eyes.

“Dunno. I’m an idiot, after all.”

“C-Come on! I didn’t know! Sorry!” Raakel fired in embarrassment.

“Now, now” Eri said, trying to calm the situation.

“Realistically speaking, escaping Raagan is a tall order” Shiki said, analyzing their chances. He and Lemon had yet to stumble upon a guard, but he knew the riot would be quelled as quickly and effectively as possible. Given that they were underground, they had to first make their way up.

“Staying in the common room was madness with all those guards, Watchers and rioting prisoners!” Raakel said to explain the reason other than wanting to attain freedom. He agreed. They could have been easily hurt severely in the commotion. Any sensible person wouldn’t try to fight but rather find a way to escape. If not done correctly, both choices could be considered pitfalls.

Shiki took another look at the two women. He judged that Eri was even younger and her lax posture made him think that she wasn’t suited for a fight. Raakel was rougher in appearance and she noticed his gaze.

“I’m good in a fight” she said. She had an idea that Shiki wasn’t merely looking at her large breasts.

“Any weapons?”

“No, just some rocks I picked up while mining. I can throw them.”

“I saw that. An earth-user.”

“R-Right.”

She seemed reluctant to reveal what kind of magic she was attributed to.

“And her?”

“No fighting experience. No stamina. Totally useless in combat. Lack awareness.”

“Raakel…”

Raakel still produced a smile for Eri to reassure her.

“I’m afraid it’s up to you, Shiki. I will support you” Lemon said, patting Shiki on his right shoulder before indicating that they should move.

“Follow me.”

This was their best chance to escape. Shiki knew now that Lemon had some unusual magic up his sleeves, or rather, under his sleeves. With Raakel capable of firing rocks if needed, they had someone capable of long-ranged combat to some degree.

Shiki moved at a hurried speed and the others struggled to keep up. He did wait when they were too distant, but he also kept them a bit behind for a reason. His sharp ears couldn’t quite pick up any other sounds besides their footsteps and Lemon’s heavy breathing. He was acutely wary of any possible threats. And when he finally heard the sound of enemy footsteps, he was on his toes to end the upcoming encounter swiftly.

He put his hand up and both Raakel and Lemon stopped promptly. Eri wasn’t so attentive, so she bumped her head against Shiki’s back.

“S-Sorry…!” she said, almost shouting when Shiki turned his annoyed eyes on her.

He didn’t quite mind. Eri’s delicate frame and clumsy nature did remind him of an old friend of his so he could base Eri’s character and actions on that girl. And more than that, he didn’t want her to witness his kills.

“Cloak of Darkness.”

Magic.

Shiki could use it too. Every human being in this world had an innate ability to wield some form of supernatural ability, whether it was elemental affinity such as Raakel’s, forced implantation that Lemon could use and other unique characteristics. Shiki’s affinity to the element of darkness made it ideal for his stealth assaults. The poor lighting in the present corridor made it the perfect condition for his trap. He blended with the darkness as if he was a shadow and sprang into action when one of the guards breezed by without even doubting that someone was hidden in a thin layer of darkness.

Shiki emerged so silently, without even making a sound with his bare feet that the guard was taken out in a split second. He suffered no pain and the blood released was minimal. Shiki put him down after slitting his throat and holding the guard’s mouth tightly. He sensed the next one coming. He had no time to hide the body, and the others were a corner away, with Lemon keeping guard and directing Shiki should someone come from their direction.

“W-What hap-”

The new guard spotted Shiki and the dead guard immediately after coming close, but Shiki swiftly blended with the darkness again. It allowed him to wall hug his way to the guard and jumped out to deal the decisive blow. While effective in combat, the standard light armor left the neck partially exposed so it was the best area for Shiki to aim. There was no need to prolong someone’s suffering. He was aware that the guards were doing their job. They just got in his way.

“Well done” Lemon said after he and the women caught up with Shiki when he instructed them to do so. Lemon didn’t as much as flinch at the sight of Shiki’s targets, but Raakel and Eri were a bit intimidated, with the latter not even wanting to lay her eyes on them. Instead, she offered a prayer with trembling hands.

Shiki continued leading down a series of corridors. He carefully avoided confrontation. His abilities were not suited for crowd control and by the time that they arrived to a large room, he had only encountered and killed those two unfortunate guards. He couldn’t hide the rest with his abilities at any rate.

“A storage room?” Raakel wondered when they entered the room and saw a whole lot of boxes, some of which contained rations and ones used for freshly prepared prisoner uniforms. Shiki didn’t particularly care as long as the room connected to somewhere else, but he raised his hand to stop them.

“Someone’s coming.”

No, he thought something was coming. His senses remained sharp and he could hear the footsteps of two, one light and the other extremely heavy. He didn’t think it would be guards. He figured the extremely heavy ones were giving chase and were coming closer from the direction they were heading.

“Hide…!”

Barely two seconds after they found a suitable hiding place, someone literally passed through the door, like a ghost. It was the guy that Lemon and Shiki thought had long kicked the bucket: Shadow. The last time they saw the mysterious individual was when he was tossed off the five-meter-high balcony and must have landed in the mix of prisoners fighting over weapons. It mustn’t have been the prettiest place to land.

And Shiki feared as to who might be chasing with those heavy steps. Just afterwards, when Shadow prepared to stomp away after rolling on the ground, the heavily fortified door was blown open as another familiar face entered.

“Man! You just don’t give up! Don’t you like, have a life?!” Shadow shouted in utter frustration at being chased by the strongest individual in the prison. “Do you love me or something?!”

“What? Hell no. But you’ve got an interesting ability!” the delighted Iron Titan said, his expression of satisfaction contrasting Shadow’s exhausted face.

“Well, I don’t like you!”

“I don’t like you either!” the Iron Titan yelled after charging forth. The entire room trembled like an earthquake at the fully armored muscle man dashing forward and launched his fist at Shadow, who didn’t have time to act. Everyone watching thought Shadow was a goner when he failed to react in time, only to see his body impossibly twisting around the massive fist to allow the Iron Titan’s mega punch through. It was as if he was elastic. His body seemingly pushed itself to the side.

Shadow took the chance to flee in the other direction as the Iron Titan pondered on his insane dodge.

“Looks like I need to bearhug this guy!”

There was still no sign of anger or tension on the Iron Titan’s face. He was enjoying it. Before long, he continued his progressive chase and he took down the frame of the entrance, which was somewhat smaller than the other side and he simply didn’t fit through. He activated his iron ability and his head and shoulders crushed the wall, only slowing him down slightly. He failed to sense the other presences in the room so the group of four was temporarily out of danger.

“What’s this guy’s ability?” Lemon murmured in disbelief. He thought they would see Shadow’s head pop and explode.

“It’s like he was elastic…!” Eri said, echoing Shiki’s initial thoughts. But it was different.

“His body moved before the punch hit him” Raakel said. It had warped around his arm. Shiki was curious about his elusive ability and thought there was much more to it. He visualized the entire sequence to see if Shadow had done so deliberately or otherwise, and in those ten seconds it took him to recall that event, he let his guard down.

“W-What are you doing here?!” a guard shouted after storming into the room. And it was Eri that had first sighted the incoming enemy from the direction they were heading. Shiki’s lapse in attention could have been costly against someone wielding a lance, but Shiki reacted quickly and attacked the guard, who seemed well versed in close quarter combat as he blocked two of Shiki’s slashes in quick successions and forced him back.

“Tsk.”

Raakel was ready to aid him in the fight, but the area was narrow due to the objects in between. Shiki watched down the enemy, who seemed confident, until he felt his feet stuck.

“What the hell?!”

“Swamp.”

Seeing that he was somehow unable to move, Raakel was going to launch her attack, but she was intrigued as to how the guard’s feet became stuck. It was due to Lemon’s magic; the old man lifting his right arm to use this particular magic that swallowed his target’s feet partially into the ground, as if stuck in quicksand. She spotted a gleam under the well-wrapped bandages.

It took the guard only two seconds to come to terms that he was trapped and unable to move, but he would still be able to keep Shiki, wielding a dagger, at bay, or so he thought. The moment he sensed the chance, exactly when Lemon first activated his devious magic, Shiki was already behind the guard, with the dagger at his throat.

“Throw away the lance and answer my question.”

It was an order: submit or die.

Helpless as he was, the guard submitted and gave the information Shiki had wanted: the way upwards. He rewarded the guard by sparing his life, but not without inflicting a devastating neck breaker wrestling move that knocked him out cold. He would still suffer from some serious injury, but at least he would live.

“There’s an elevator up ahead” Shiki said before moving forward again. They were headed in the right direction after all.

“Great, no stairs.”

Lemon welcomed the news. He had quite enough of walking around aimlessly.

“They work well together” Eri whispered to Raakel, who had been thinking something along the lines.

“Yeah…”

She hated admitting it, but had it not been for the two, they would have long been captured. She thought she would have never cooperated with other prisoners. If they do manage to escape, a dangerous killer, her assumption of Shiki, would be let out in the open world. But she couldn’t allow herself and Eri to remain in such a place for so long. With escape on the cards, she had to do everything possible to achieve it, even if she had to stick with two dangerous individuals.

“How far underground do you think we are?”

Lemon directed that question to Shiki. He was aware that Shiki was obsessed with such trivial things, but the man in question was uncertain. There had been a long corridor with a slope leading to the common room, and he never thought of trying to ascertain how level the area was. He never considered how deep underground everything was.

“A few levels” he vaguely replied.

Lemon’s question was relevant. They needed an idea before they pressed one of the ten numbered buttons when they entered the large elevator. The two tried mulling over and taking guesses, but there was no hint as to where each floor would lead. Lemon was getting impatient and restless.

“Press a damn button!”

“What if it leads right to the guards’ quarters?”

“I’m sure the blasted guards have better things to do than waiting for us!”

Lemon had had enough of the suffocating place that was the underground. The eerie silence and the stiff air were getting to him.

“They’re coming” Raakel warned. She was at the edge of the elevator, and while her hearing was nowhere near as good as Shiki, she relied on her eyesight. They last came from another long corridor and Shiki deliberately light up the area around the last corner with one of the hanging spotlights. As a result, Raakel spotted incoming shadows, and there was more than a few.

“P-Please, hurry!” Eri said. She hated seeing them fighting but she was aware that it was vital to pick the right one.

“We’ve got no choice, I’ll press five.”

“Wait! That’s my unlucky number!” Lemon replied as Shiki was going to press. The young man offered an annoyed glance to his long-time neighbor over his shoulder.

He still pressed the button numbered with a black five despite the protests.

And nothing happened.

“See!”

“That’s just a fluke.”

Raakel retreated as shouting guards approached.

“What’s the holdup?” Raakel tensely questioned.

Shiki pressed another button, at random this time, and nothing happened again. He pressed another, and another, and another, all different ones, but the elevator was stuck.

“You’ve got the be fucking kidding me!” Raakel screamed in frustration and mashed the buttons harder after shoving aside the two men to show them that they were in immediate peril.

“Don’t break the console!”

There was no way out from the situation. There was no chance of Shiki taking down the three guards. There was no darkness to blend into in the well-lit corridor and Lemon thought he would be abusing his magic should he try Swamp again on all three.

So it was a surprise when the tense Eri stepped in front of them, just inside of the elevator.

“Eri?!”

Raakel stopped her maddening bashing when she saw Eri take centerstage. She outstretched her hand and Shiki spotted something faint shining under her jumpsuit, right above her left elbow.

“Physical Barrier…!”

A near invisible warm light covered the entrance of the elevator, just as one of the guards pushed his lance forward. Sensing dangerous despite what Eri might have done, Shiki moved in front of her to stop the incoming attack. The guard was aiming for her abdomen and Shiki thought that if he acted quickly enough, he could deviate the attack.

Eri seemed into a trace after uttering those words. Her outstretched hands moved to the side and her hair lifted gently upwards. Lemon thought that he couldn’t deny that she activated some sort of magic, but it was up for debate whether her effect could actually stop a weapon attack. He never heard of such magic.

Shiki was ready, even though he was putting himself at grave risk, but before the lance’s tip reached him, it was repelled by a near invisible force. The activated barrier rippled and the guard was forced back with quite a bit of momentum and he ended up knocking the other inbound guards.

Shiki was taken aback and was actually going to offer praise, but Eri collapsed down and he felt the barrier disappearing. At that moment, the elevator’s door closed and they felt themselves being lifted to higher levels. Lemon noticed that none of the buttons were light as they should be.

“Eri! Why do you have to be so reckless?!” Raakel said angrily and worriedly. Eri had almost collapsed and was gasping for air.

“I-I’m fine. I hope I was a bit of help.”

“Of course you were!” Raakel quickly responded.

“Yeah, we were almost in trouble there” Shiki said, offering his compliments that Eri had banished Shiki’s image of her as being a bit of a liability. He even offered his hand, but Raakel didn’t give him the chance to come in contact with her. She lifted the drained girl up on her feet.

“Support magic?”

Raakel didn’t quite like how attentive Lemon had been. She didn’t want to show their hands to the two men they had just met up with by sheer coincidence, even if they were on the same side.

“Isn’t it imbedded magic like yours?” Shiki asked. He had never heard of such an ability.

“Not quite. I carved magic on my arms by myself, but hers was bestowed by someone, from what I could see” Lemon responded. He showed signs of knowing a thing about Eri’s magic.

“It’s complicated!” Raakel said to dismiss the subject and while Lemon remained curious, he respected her caution. He understood the sentiment of not wanting to get too close to fellow inmates, even if they all had one goal. After all, he and Shiki both barely revealed anything about themselves.

“Eri can defend herself and us to some point.”

“She won’t be using it again” Raakel answered firmly before Shiki was going to question if she could support them. Given how exhausted Eri was just from manifesting a single form of magic, he thought that it was not something she could use in quick succession.

“Where do you think we’ll stop?” Shiki asked. He dismissed his own question in favor of a more pending issue: where will the elevator be stopping them. As Lemon had noted, none of the buttons turned on, even though floor number two, presumably their level, was turned on with a light circling the button.

“We need to be ready for anything” Lemon replied just as the elevator came to a halt. The four, with Eri recovering her stamina a bit, moved to the side to avoid being in front of the door, so when the two doors opened, Shiki took a glimpse to find out that they arrived at another large area, which looked like an office of all places and there was no one in sight. The four went out and the elevator went down again, no doubt to pick up the guards. Lemon failed to act quickly enough to grab an object to keep the elevator up. Since it lacked a safety feature when closing the doors, no one wanted took the risk and the first large object was a way off from the elevator. Apparently only the moving elevator had doors and the shaft remained open on that level. Lemon thought it might be a good idea to cut the elevator’s rope, but it was beyond them.

“We need to hurry” Shiki said upon spotting a balcony beyond the desk and the large glass door. The office was crowded with numerous portraits of unknown people on the walls, along with an endless supply of cabinets, and even a large aquarium. The main desk, at the center of the room, was littered with paperwork. The wooden floor was covered with expensive rugs. This made him think that someone well ranked had to be the occupant.

He didn’t quite like the idea of there being a balcony. It would mean that they’re high up. Two small palm trees on each side of the balcony were dancing in extremely windy weather. As far as Shiki knew, the island of Raagan was a castle fortification so he had never heard of an actual tower, with approximately ten floors, even before his six-year stint in prison. But they had risen quite a bit with the elevator, underground or not. He originally assumed that they hadn’t been so deep underground in the common room.

They watched with cautious eyes as they moved about, in case of any traps. The area was quite spacious. It was hard to imagine an elevator specifically stopping at a level with a single office given that guards might have used it. Their attention quickly shifted off the furniture and onto the man that stood up from the large armchair that had been facing the balcony. Everyone tensed when such a big man managed to successfully hide without even trying. He had been perfectly silent.

“The warden…!” Lemon said, identified the man that stood up and turned to face them.

“So, what do you bunch of prisoners think you’re doing in my office?”

The bald, dark skinned man’s gaze immediately gave the impression that he was a man of authority. His dark blue, decorated uniform and mace on his right hip made him intimidating and being a head taller than Shiki, just barely the tallest amongst the four, he had already stopped the group just by his mere presence. Even without Lemon’s words, they knew he was a man of power in the prison.

“I was just about going to descend” the man added when no one offered an answer.

“How dangerous is he?” Shiki whispered to Lemon, who was behind him. They had regrouped together when he was first spotted, with Raakel being next to Lemon and Eri behind her, whose eyes landed back on the operational elevator.

“You could have directed that question to me.”

“He’s warden Cullingham” Lemon responded. “Head of security.”

Shiki didn’t quite care who they were up against at this point. Being so close to freedom, there was no way he was letting anyone get in their way, but he was wary. He drew his dagger but he knew he would be outmatched in a one-on-one fight against someone wielding a mace and staggering confidence. Cullingham didn’t as much as flinch at their presence or that he was outnumbered. He moved around the desk at a leisure pace, even daring to take his eyes off them. Yet Shiki thought it was not an opportune enough moment to strike.

“Raakel, watch my back” Shiki faintly told her.

“Right.”

“Watch it. He is dangerous” Lemon clarified and warned. He raised his right arm but struggled a bit to do so. “And don’t come in contact with him for any reason.”

“Oh?”

“He can reduce someone to dust should he wish!”

“Ah, resident number #0050” Cullingham said with a bitter smile at having his special ability exposed before the confrontation had even started. He wanted to keep it as a surprise. “If you are pointing your hand at me… Hmm… So, he was right. That’s why you wanted the grimoires. I heard of the risks of learning the secret magic within each one, but never did I dream that you would wield that very magic against me, the one who allowed you those books.”

“It’s a roundabout way to learn new magic by forming the glyphs onto my body. One gets bored after so long in prison” Lemon said with a tense laugh.

“You shouldn’t be able to use magic in the cells though” Shiki said. The slight tinge of magic would alert the Watchers instantly and they could easily trace the mana generated by the activated magic back to the user.

“It’s actually my first-time activating this kind of magic, and it’s taking its toll” Lemon admitted. He had to lower his arm after experiencing faint pain and was unable to keep it straight aimed at the warden for too long.

“First time?!”

Shiki was surprised to hear that.

“H-How did you carve them?” Eri questioned nervously. She was still anxiously watching the elevator. With the shaft open, she could see the rope at work. It was only a matter of time, but Lemon’s words attracted her attention.

“With a knife, of course, so my arms are a bit messed up.”

Eri thought she had been better off not asking. She couldn’t begin to imagine the state of Lemon’s arms at this point and the self-inflicted pain to achieve magic. His arms were tightly covered in clean bandages, but there was a trace of blood leaking through.

“Guys, we don’t have time to deal with him!” Raakel stressed. Like the others, she knew more guards were coming, and for now, there was only one troublesome foe. She touched the remaining five rocks she had in her pocket, and dreaded that the ground underneath her feet was wood. She could only be of little help as warden Cullingham started his slow approach after bumping fists hard.

“Here I go!” Shiki stated and was going to take the first, tense step.

“Oh? If it isn’t resident #0125.”

“Hmm?”

Shiki stopped when the warden recognized him. He had taken into account that the warden of the prison would know of him. Why wouldn’t he? After all, Raagan was home to the most dangerous criminals in the entire world.

“I know everything about your past and your skills.”

“Good. Then you should know how deadly I am with a dagger” a pleased Shiki replied, not willing to be looked down upon. Shiki went for a frontal approach. Raakel dashed to the side, with a rock in hand. Lemon rose his hand up and Eri waited nervously.

It was unlike Shiki to try such an approach, but he wanted to gauge out Cullingham’s abilities and style. If he was the highest warden of Raagan, then he had to be strong and cunning. He would try a feint depending on how he reacted, but he was well aware that he could be in Raakel’s way, should she fire. In fact, he knew that she would be hesitant to shoot with him there. He had noticed how wary she was of him and Lemon, but he knew she wouldn’t try to do him harm.

“Fo-”

Lemon was ready to create a diversion for Shiki. It was the perfect aid for someone who preferred a stealthier approach. There were four of them so Lemon believed that they could find an opportunity to get away to that balcony. He was sure that Shiki would be no match to Cullingham in terms of strength. He knew what the warden was capable of, from even before his time in Raagan.

He was going to cast an effect that disoriented Cullingham’s senses, but something swished by him so quickly that his arm was swayed slightly and he swallowed the remaining letters.

“Too easy!”

Cullingham moved his hands at Shiki’s head, who was waiting for the last second to react. He was aiming for his throat. He didn’t expect the uniform to offer any protection, not against a dagger. Shiki gazed intently into Cullingham’s deep black eyes and kept his own unblinking, until Cullingham’s eyes shifted to his left all too suddenly.

Shiki thought it was Raakel charging up, but before he knew it, something moved by his side in an instant. The shockwave of someone’s heavy foot landing right by his unbalanced him.

It couldn’t be! The Iron Titan?!

He was the one who came to mind. Shiki had been completely absorbed in his fight. He had imagined that if the elevator came up, he would be hearing Eri’s screams. He would have vouched for her to do that. And he reasoned that it would still take another two minutes for the elevator to be up after counting how long it took them. He fearfully realized that he failed to consider that there could be an alternative way to reach the warden’s office even though he saw no other passageway from what they had seen of the office so far.

“Y-You?!”

Ignoring Shiki’s existence completely at that point, the warden put both of his arms up to defend but it wasn’t enough. A devastating kick landed against Cullingham’s arms and the large warden was launched sideways into the cabinets, destroying the one he crashed heavily into.

Shiki landed on one knee and prepared for a counterattack on the man he was sure would be the Iron Titan, but when he lifted his eyes and readied himself, it was some skinny guy instead: a fellow prisoner to boot. Shiki stopped himself when he sensed no hostility from the guy at his side who had his hands tucked into the jumpsuit’s side pockets. The presence that had unbalanced him damaged the wooden floor upon landing there and he gazed down at Shiki with pitying eyes for a mere moment.

Shiki felt the impact of the mysterious man’s side kick on the warden and his right arm was slightly numbed by the shock of the kick. He couldn’t imagine what would have happened to him if he was the one struck. Cullingham landed heavily, destroying a set of steel cabinets and blowing about countless sheets of papers. To add insult to injury, a portrait dropped on his head and cracked in two, but he was not yet out of commission.

“Resident #0000, huh? How the hell did you escape too?”

Shiki had to wonder how such a weak looking man landed such a powerful attack. It was almost equivalent to the punches the Iron Titan had been dishing out, if not stronger. The man with shag grey hair was even thinner than Shiki was and had a vacant expression. He didn’t look like the kind of person who would leave an impression, but Shiki was intrigued by the prisoner’s number. All zeroes.

“Everyone was leaving” the young man said in a completely lifeless voice.

“You’re the one we definitely can’t allow to flee” Cullingham warned after struggling to get up.

“Hmph.”

Resident, as Cullingham called his prisoners, #0000 was unimpressed by the warden’s declaration and turned his body slowly to continue what he started. Feeling that he was in the way, Shiki took a small leap back, with the young man not even glancing at Shiki this time. He felt that had he been a few centimeters to the right before attacking Cullingham, he would have been caught up in the attack.

“Let’s see what you’re made of” Cullingham said to resident #0000. The young man didn’t even produce a stance and only bended slightly forward, still with his hands in his jumpsuit’s pockets. This seemingly irritated the warden who charged forward. He had an object in hand, and within reaching distance of his opponent, he swung a globe that had been on the cabinet and smashed it into his other hand.

The globe, which had been the size of a human head, was crushed to dust with minimal effort.

“A feint!” Shiki said, stepping further back just to make sure he wouldn’t be targeted.

“It’s his ability” a flustered Lemon said. The area in front of resident #0000 was covered in thick dust, and Cullingham’s body couldn’t be seen within.

“Take this!”

Resident #0000 was ready and unimpressed by the warden’s attempt to unnerve him and stood his ground, even when the mace at Cullingham’s hip was flung at him without warning. He apparently felt it coming and moved a step away. With another object thrown on his left at the same time, resident #0000 instinctively moved to the right, exactly where Cullingham emerged from the dust.

“Watch out!” Eri screamed when resident #0000 involuntarily moved in the warden’s path.

“Go to hell!” Cullingham shouted even louder than the young woman, but he failed to see the special resident panicking. It looked as if he simply chose to move that way. Cullingham downed his hands at his opponent to disintegrate him with a simple, singular touch, but resident #0000 charged his left arm and retracted it calmly.

Something akin to cracks formed temporarily on his arm when he was going to push it at Cullingham, but from Shiki’s calculations, Cullingham would get him first and Shiki was going to act by at least throwing his dagger. He was the grateful type and whether deliberately or not, the fellow prisoner pushed the warden away when he was getting desperate to slash Cullingham.

He didn’t even get the chance to do it.

Before everyone knew it, the fisted hand struck so suddenly that Cullingham’s mind didn’t quite comprehend what had occurred to him. Resident #0000 swung his hand and acted so quickly that the air around it rippled. No one managed to see what became of the warden’s impacted jaw as his head, and half of his torso were buried in the ceiling. His legs simply dangled.

“…!”

“Holy shit…” Lemon said, making out what the rest were feeling at seeing the deed done.

Shiki became convinced. The strength and speed that young man exhibited in that single moment was more than the Iron Titan mustered. With such a thin frame, Shiki failed to comprehend where all that insane physical strength was coming from. The cracks that had momentarily formed disappeared entirely and resident #0000 stretched his shoulder, before rounding it all up by cracking his left hand’s fingers one by one. Shiki noted at least two broken fingers, but he didn’t seem to mind or care.

His unexpressive facial expression didn’t tell the whole story at all. The warden was more than knocked out. Shiki would be surprised if he survived that. His eyes didn’t follow Cullingham’s flight to the ceiling, which was at least four meters up. It all happened in an instant.

The same passive man glanced at the four behind him who were lost for words before slowly walking towards the balcony and opened the glass door by pushing it. A strong gust of wind invaded the room. The sky was covered in ominous, dark grey clouds.

“We’re moving” Shiki said despite how cautious he thought he needed to be. He approached the young man, who didn’t seem to mind his presence. Shiki thought that he must have considered them fellow prisoners trying to escape in the chaos and that Cullingham was simply in the way. He had no beef with them.

“The next elevator is almost here” Lemon said when he stepped outside in the freezing cold. The balcony was quite expensive and plain apart from the two palm trees. There was literally nowhere else to go, and when each of them took a look down, their hearts froze. They were at least ten floors up, directly over the sea. The balcony actually happened to be stretching out beyond the main building which was a large tower, and the castle fortification could be seen by gazing to the left side of the balcony.

But the issue was that there was no alternative. No adjacent building existed and this was the top of the building. They could literally see the tip just a few meters above the building with a black and white flag dancing in the strong winds.

“You’ve kidding” an exasperated Eri said when she saw no other way. The wind seemed to be pushing them closer to the edge.

“Is jumping the only way?”

It was the solution no one wanted to hear. With them being ten floors up, plus the land upon which the tower connected to the castle fortification was built, it was insanely high up.

“The sea is directly below” resident #0000 said before stepping onto the thick, stone guardrail, much to their dismay. It might have been his lack of expressions, but he showcased no fear or issue with jumping. “It’s escape or death.”

“Wait! Jumping is insane!” Raakel replied in agitation. “The sea is too rough and Raagan is far away from any close country!”

“There’s a boat” he answered. He pointed at the small boat battling against the rough seas. Shiki thought it had to be a patrolling boat and it was the only one. “The guards and that large man are coming.”

They hadn’t forgotten what they were running away from. It seemed like a cruel joke to be trapped so high up with only one option. But none of them contemplated confronting the Iron Titan and his numerous guards.

“Where did you come up from?” Lemon inquired. He thought they had a solution.

“I climbed the elevator’s shift.”

“You what?”

Lemon couldn’t quite believe the words he heard, but considering what he had just witnessed, he thought that the young man had no reason for lying.

“I’ll hijack the boat.”

“B-But it’s impossible for us to jump!” Eri protested, and she was met with cold, piercing grey eyes from the prisoner.

“Are you ready to accept death?” he asked her with a harsh tone. “Or will you fight against fate? No one is forcing you.”

“It’s worth the risk” Shiki said as Eri was stunned and terrified by resident 0000’s words. She was taken back and fell silent despite the fear she was experiencing.

“Good luck if you come” resident 0000 said before taking a leap of faith without showing a shred of fear. He tilted just slightly forward as if taking a simple step and he opened his arms wide before falling towards the unforgiving sea.

“He seriously jumped…!” Raakel said, sounding disturbed after seeing him crashing down into the sea and the fall felt like an eternity. Right after the splash, they heard the sound of a small bell, and promptly, the elevator arrived. When it opened, the Iron Titan was at the center of the numerous guards that came to capture them. He had to lower his head to get out of the elevator without bumping his head.

“What will we do?” Shiki asked. He actually already knew his answer to that question.

“I-I’m sure it’s rocky down there” Lemon said. He swallowed hard and put his trembling hands on the guardrail. His knees felt so weak in that moment, but there was no time.

Shiki dragged his arm as he stepped on the guardrail.

“S-S-Shiki…!”

“He survived” Shiki said with an impish grin. He spotted resident #0000 emerging from the sea. It was what he had been waiting for: to see if the first fool who dared try such a ridiculous escape would survive the drop. No one other than Shiki could see the tiny head drifting against the strong waves.

Shiki tried pulling heavy old man up, who breathed heavily and looked down once more.

“Shit! Why isn’t this iron bastard chasing Shadow anymore?!” Raakel complained before moving onto the guardrail in a seated position. She felt there was no other choice as she faced the huge fall with bated breath.

“R-Raakel?!”

“We need to do it, Eri! We need to go home. We need to clear our names!” Raakel shouted, but her voice was dampened by the winds that nearly pushed her over the edge. “Hold my hand! I’ll protect you!”

She outstretched her hand to Eri, who slowly and hesitantly took her hand.

“I’ll trust you, as always” Eri replied with a naïve, trusting smile. She tried breaking free of the fear chaining her down.

“I’m not going to hold your hand forever” Shiki said to Lemon with a cheeky grin to try and motivate him. His eyes were analyzing how long it would take the dashing Iron Titan to get to them.

Ten seconds.

The girls were prepared for the drop, and only Lemon wasn’t.

“Stop!”

“It’s suicide” the frightened Lemon said.

“It’s thrilling” Shiki fiercely replied before doing what Lemon thought was unthinkable.

Shiki jumped, all the while holding onto Lemon’s arm with both hands for a better grip. The old man was pulled over the edge without having the time to make peace with his jumbled thoughts and regrets.

“…huh…?”

At the same time, narrowly avoiding the Iron Titan’s arm, Raakel and Eri jumped down as well, both with their eyes closed, and hand in hand.

And to his dismay, the Iron Titan grasped only air.

Screams.

He would blame those girly screams not too far from where he was. Shiki didn’t even count how long it took them to reach the unforgiving sea. The adrenaline of falling at such a speed into the unknown for so long got to him, no matter how much he would deny it. The man obsessed with counting and statistics could only helplessly fall. He hadn’t felt so hopeless since being at the mercy of the man who brought him to Raagan and when he could only watch in horror as others around him were massacred.

His mind nearly drifted recollecting the nostalgic and painful past. The pressure almost made him faint, until his body dipped into the freezing ocean and his mind and body reawakened. Fortunately, the ocean was far deeper than he anticipated and there was no risk of them hitting the rocks on the sea floor. He reacted and ascended much quicker than Lemon did, who was also conscious when they landed in the sea.

He also spotted Raakel’s unusual hair color drifting, but he didn’t see Eri.

“Eri!!”

Raakel screamed as hard as she could and a second later, when he roamed his eyes on the surrounding area, he spotted a flailing arm dropping under the sea.

“Guh!”

Lemon emerged from underneath and breathed his lungs out.

“The boat is there!” Shiki said. He quickly pointed out where Lemon had to go. Fortunately, the boat was fairly close.

“S-Shiki?!”

The ocean was so cold that Lemon almost could not feel his entire body.

“I’m going to rescue Eri” he stated and dived back under water in search for her. Despite how grey the sky was and how rough the seas were, it was a miracle that it was so clear under the sea and he quickly spotted Eri. A part of him couldn’t allow her to drown. He again drew a resemblance to his old friend, Ivy, but dismissed it. He thought because he had quickly become loyal to this group or simply because he was a man and couldn’t let a beautiful young woman drown under his watch. He swam hard downwards while controlling his breath. Eri was still flailing her arms, holding her breath and had shut her eyes closed. She was sinking as a result.

I got you!

There was no way to tell her that, but upon contact with her right arm, Eri opened her eyes wide. Her shift in expression showed him that she was glad that he came, even though neither of them could speak. He was going to pull her up, until Eri felt a tug from her other arm.

Feeling the pull as well, Shiki’s senses spiked. They had worried about the huge drop, the rough waves and the rocks underneath, yet no one had time to think what sort of abomination could be lurking in those waters. Shiki still had his dagger in his pockets should something show up, but he wasn’t confident of fending off a sea monster.

Something held tightly onto her left arm and even pulled her up. Shiki had already drawn his dagger slowly, and even if the sea was so clear, he couldn’t quite see what was beyond Eri.

As it turned out, it was another savior: resident #0000. He too looked surprised at seeing Shiki. Knowing there was no time to waste with Eri at her limit, the grey-haired prisoner signaled Shiki with his eyes and just a small nod. Shiki understood immediately. Resident #0000 held on Eri’s arm tightly and the two rose upwards in sync towards the visible surface and emerged.

“Ah!!”

Eri took the longest breath of her life and coughed maddeningly once she felt the cold air breezing against her face.

“Eri!”

By then, both Raakel and Lemon were on the boat, which happened to be even closer. It was only a short swim away.

“You okay?” Shiki asked her. He saw that resident #0000 entrusted her to him.

“Y-Yeah… You saved me again.”

“Hold on tightly.”

Resident #0000 didn’t need help to climb onto the boat, even though both Raakel and Lemon had offered him a hand to get onboard. He did so nimbly and effortlessly. Shiki entrusted Eri to Raakel once they were close, who helped her up and tightly hugged her and Lemon was the one to help him onboard.

“I’m so glad you’re okay. I thought I lost you.”

Hugging her even tighter, Raakel seemingly refused to let go and Eri was immobilized.

“Haha, I-I’m fine, really” Eri replied with a wimpy laugh. She was dead exhausted though.

“Definitely would have preferred if a woman helped me up” Shiki said jokingly and Lemon was almost tempted to throw him back into the sea. Shiki felt that the two were rather calm after taking over a patrol boat. It was a small wooden trawler with a cabin at its center. He quickly roamed his eyes around. “Where’s the enemy?”

“Ask him” Lemon said. He indicated that there was someone else on board, the same guy who gave a towel to the two women.

“A towel for babe, and a towel for sweetie” the enchanting man said to the two stunned women.

“You?”

“I was hoping for some company, and having two lady friends would have been more than enough. But fate allowed you, the emo looking guy, the fat old man and the rebel to also board my freedom train” the eccentric man said dramatically, ignorant of what they went through. He had another two towels ready to distribute, but he looked reluctant to give one to the two men.

Lemon eventually snatched them from his hands.

Shiki could never forget the man’s face and attire. He thought he had seen the last of Shadow, especially in the second encounter when he was being chased by the Iron Titan. He was almost certain that Shadow had been captured or killed if the stubborn giant moved onto other targets. The Iron Titan was known for not being the kind to lose a target.

Yet, Shadow was there, on the boat that would lead them to freedom. He thought too little time had passed. With Shadow not wet, Shiki presumed that he must have stolen the boat from the small front port, but Shiki had assumed it would be the most guarded part to prevent the prisoners from fleeing. Escape by boat was the only reasonable method of escape from the island.

“Ugh…”

Raakel had no energy in dealing with him. She disliked the names he called them but appreciative of the towels.

“Are you escaping too?” Shiki decided to ask him.

“Hmm? Yeah! Like the boat?”

“Sure. As long as it floats.”

Shiki had to trust that he was on their side too and when Shadow looked up, towards the highest point on the island and made a sign, Shiki was reassured.

The middle finger.

And a brazen smile.

Both aimed at the Iron Titan who was watching down from the warden’s balcony.

Shadow made his escape.

All six of them had escaped from the prison that was thought to be unescapable. It had been a huge stroke of luck that the boat happened to be where it was, yet Shiki thought there was more to it. He didn’t imagine Shadow had been waiting for them. But the boat had been further out when they originally jumped.

Did he see them and waited?

Shiki also looked up and the balcony seemed so far up high. Hell, even the bottom of the tower looked incredibly high up on the cliff. The Iron Titan and the numerous guards could do nothing and the giant’s face showed signs of frustration. With no boat in the distance, no one would be chasing them anymore. But he thought the escape would be the easiest part. When he turned and moved towards the bow, where resident #0000 was, he thought the challenging part was coming up: they were heading into a massive storm off the shores of Raagan.