Inside an underground prison with a lot of starving prisoners, a dark and oppressive place, where the harsh reality of confinement and deprivation was felt by all who were held there. The prison was likely to be located deep beneath the ground, with few windows or openings to the outside world. The air was stale and musty, and the only light came from dim, flickering torches that casted eerie shadows across the walls.
Armaita rushed through the darkened hallway. Prison cells from both directions, filled to the pack with starved people. When they saw Armaita run past, they ferociously jumped to the bar and reached out with their dirty hands. They did not know who she was or what she was here for. All they knew was that she might be the answer to their escape.
The cells were small and cramped, with little room to move or stretch. The floors were cold and hard, and there was no bedding or furniture to make the space more comfortable. The prisoners were likely to be malnourished and weak, with sunken eyes and hollow cheeks. Some may be emaciated to the point of death, while others may be barely hanging on to life.
Armaita saw their desperate eyes and body so skinny that their skin only wrapped around bones.
"Hmmm, I have an idea." Armaita swiped her hands, and all the cells broke open.
The prisoners stepped out of their prison cells for the first time. At first, they had an explosion of bliss, then mixed feelings of freedom and frenzy. They looked at each other in confusion. They couldn't believe it. They were free! FREE!
"Your freedom is not yet assured," Armaita said. "Out there, guards with steel swords are going to come and put you back in your cells."
They were still confused. They hadn't talked for so long and all of them forgot how to move their lips. People could imagine the hell they had to go through. They were packed in a cell and starved for decades. These people could survive because of their power, but the damage was mostly done to their minds and souls.
One man tried to move his lips. It was trembling at first, but he managed to let out a sentence with much effort. "What… c-an… we… do?"
Armaita was silent at first as she stared at the man. The man was actually a bard magician, using his voice to sing out spells. It was why he was able to speak.
"Fight! Kill them! They have locked you up for decades! Give them no mercy and make them pay!"
The crowd was silent, and then they burst into a roar.
"KILL!!!"
KILL!!!"
KILL!!!"
Armaita grinnes. "Go."
"Yeah!!!"
The prisoners ran in every direction like animals ready to shred their prey.
Armaita smiled then rushed towards a particular direction. She flicked her arm. Hundreds of tiny drones came out of her sleeve, and flew everywhere. "Find him for me."
The drones pushed out another pair of rotors, and sped up. They were as tiny as mosquitos but they have the speed of a train.
As the hundreds of micro drones buzzed through the cramped corridors of the underground prison, their whirring wings cast eerie shadows on the walls. Their small size and agility allowed them to dart through narrow passages and around obstacles, searching for their target: Tarrar
The drones were equipped with advanced sensors and cameras, which scanned every nook and cranny, looking for any sign of their quarry. They were also armed with stun guns and other non-lethal weapons. These weapons were not designed to kill, but only to annoy and distract.
Tarrar, meanwhile, was on the run, darting from one hiding place to another, hoping to evade the relentless guards that were chasing. His heart pounded in his chest as he heard the faint footsteps sound getting closer and closer. He knew that if he was caught, he would face severe torture. Since he considered himself a businessman, he did not heed Aldred's advice to increase his strength. Now, a lot of guards here were Platinum Rankers. He was a Platinum Rank as well, but his battle experience could not be compared to them. His past job was a city manager anyway. He usually let his generals do the fighting.
He got even lazier in martial arts ever since he became Aldred's subordinate. Aldred was so powerful and his army was so massive that he didn't think he would need to protect himself from anything.
Who would know that he would be imprisoned in a foreign land just because of one wrong move.
"This is my mistake. I shouldn't have let Armaita seduce the priest. I should have studied the culture here first before doing anything. I was too arrogant!"
He cursed at himself for making such a foolish mistake. Tarrar worried that Aldred might look down on him because of this. All these time, he had zero to none failure, and Aldred had been satisfied with his competence.
He wasn't afraid of losing his position, rather, he was more afraid of losing Aldred's trust.
"I have to find Aldred—I mean Armaita."
Suddenly, a mosquito-sized drone hovered in front of his eyes.
Tarrar's eyes lit up. "A drone!"
"Hey, stop right there!"
"Crap! I got too excited!"
Tarrar scurried away. The small drones following him.
The wall beside him exploded, throwing him a few meters away. Two guards with thick steel gloves stepped out from the hole on the wall. Glaring at him, they sprinted forward and raised their gauntleted fist. A heavy energy formed around the fist, seemingly ready to blast with terrifying power.
Tarrar widened his eyes when the fists were coming at his face. He closed his eyes instinctively. But when they were 1 inch away, the fists stopped.
"AHHHH!!!!!"
Two terrifying screams echoed, bouncing against the wall of the underground prison.
When Tarrar opened his eyes again, he saw the guards were gritting their teeth as if they were in extreme pain. The veins on their arms were bulging, and they increased in size as time went on, like a balloon filled with air.
A second later, the veins on their arms exploded, and their arms twisted in a nasty way. But it did not end there, the twist and turns ran along their shoulders, and then their neck snapped like twigs.
Their eyes flickered for one last time before they both fell with a thud.
What Tarrar saw standing behind them was Armaita with both of her eyes lit up in crimson color. The way she looked made Tarrar shiver in fear. He was like a frog being stared at by a snake.
"I finally found you. Come with me."
"O-okay…"
"Hey! Halt your steps!"
Four guards appeared and their necks snapped immediately.
"Let's go."
Tarrar stood up and nodded as he immediately followed Armaita. They went through many alleys and stairs, all the while killing all the guards they met on the way in the nastiest ways possible.
"We're not gonna be able to conduct business with them if we do this," Tarrar said.
"You're still thinking of doing business with them?" Armaita asked.
"Money is money," Tarrar said.
Armaita sighed. She then tried to bend the space around her to teleport away but she failed. "They have a strong spatial blockade in this place."
She could enter the divine dimension to escape, but she was wary that an Adamantite Rank might be watching her and find out her secret. If they found out, they might kidnap her into a reality bending dimension again and they could probably read her minds with some kinds of legendary treasure or something. She did not want to risk that. She better be dead if that happen. She was just a clone anyway.
But she could not lose Tarrar. He was a very valuable part of his organization now. Besides, Aldred already considered him as a very close friend now. Tarrar already helped out a lot in growing his organization.
"I cannot teleport us away from this place. We have to kill anyone and everyone that blocked our path. Come with me!"
Tarrar sighed with regret, but what Armaita said might be the best choice they had. He could probably think of something else. Maybe a little expensive gift for the priest will make him forgive them and let them do business with a little higher tax. No matter what, the business must expand.
More money meant more resources for the organization. Tarrar wanted to contribute as much as he could to Aldred.
Five guards appeared with swords and shields, however, with a swing of her hand, Armaita managed to kill them in an instant.
Armaita saw a wooden door
"We are almost out. Let's go."
They sprinted with all of their power. When they reached the door, Armaita pulled the handle and opened it.
"We're finally out!"
Right after saying that, she saw thousands of soldiers outside in full gear, pointing their spears at them.
