Woooom

The sirens continued to blare, and footsteps echoed in the distance. I remained seated and stared in the distance.

"....I'm tired."

I could hardly move my body.

Out there, on the opposite side, the guards were probably fighting against the inmates who had escaped.

I knew the plan from Professor Bucklam who had told me everything. At least, everything that he knew.

Five other people were aware of the plan. They all seemed to belong to the same organization.

....The one that I also seemed to be a part of.

"You..."

I snapped out of my thoughts after hearing a certain voice. However, I didn't turn my head and continued to stare in the same direction.

"....How come you're here?"

In the end, that was all she managed to say.

I almost laughed then.

"I'd like to ask you the same question."

No, really.

I was actually curious.

"That's none of your-"

She stopped upon realizing her own hypocrisy. Her expression crumbled, and she eventually clicked her tongue.

"My aunt. That was my aunt."

"....I see."

It finally made more sense to me.

"....."

"....."

"....."

"....So?"

"So, what?"

I turned to look at Kiera who had her mouth open. As if realizing something, she ended up muttering something along the lines of, 'Would you believe this fucker...'

I could only hear because she wasn't trying to hide her voice.

"I only said, 'I'd like to ask you the same question'. Didn't mean that I was planning on sharing after you shared."

"You..."

She raised her fist and leaned her body slightly. It looked like she wanted to hit me. However, I didn't flinch and just stared at her.

"What are you doing?"

Her red eyes sparkled in the dark as she clenched her teeth.

"....."

That fist never reached me.

With a long breath, she leaned back and cursed.

"Fuck."

I silently shook my head and similarly leaned back. My body still ached, and my mana was recovering very slowly.

In the distance, I could still hear the muffled banging sounds. It seemed pretty intense out there.

".....You're pretty strong."

My thoughts were once again broken by Kiera's voice.

"Strong?"

I looked at her and almost doubted her words.

Did she really just call me strong...?

I wanted to laugh. Strong? As if. I was currently still weak.

The only reason I was even able to keep up with her aunt was because her mana had been sealed for so long that her body was still getting accustomed to life without restraints.

I would've been killed with a flick of her finger had that not been the case.

Still...

"....Thanks."

I received her words and didn't deny them.

Such was my persona.

"Not a trace of humility, huh...? Well, I get it. Annoying as you are, you are pretty strong."

Kiera ended up shrugging her shoulders.

"So yeah..."

She proceeded to scratch the side of her face.

"....Uh, yeah."

Scratch. Scratch.

"Yup."

Scratch

"Right..."

Repeating the same words, she struggled to get the words out of her mouth. Confused, I continued to stare at her when she ended up clicking her tongue.

"Whatever, fuck. I just wanted to say thanks."

"Thanks...?"

I was taken aback.

This was the last thing I had expected her to say.

Scratch. Scratch. Scratch.

"Killing that bit-my aunt...Thanks for helping me."

"...."

Even as she clarified, I had a hard time getting the words out of me. I thought I had gotten an understanding of her character, but...

Just what sort of situation was this?

Suddenly thanking me out of nowhere... I honestly never expected it.

'Maybe, she's the type that's really upfront about her feelings.'

The type that said what they thought. It made sense when I thought about it. However, I hardly knew her well enough to be sure.

I was just about to say something when Kiera's face scrunched up and she rubbed both sides of her arms.

"Ah, shit... You're making me cringe at my own comments. Ugh, fuck. Goosebumps. All I feel are goosebumps."

With the help of the wall, she proceeded to stand up.

"Whatever, I'm fucking leaving."

Without looking back, her steps echoed throughout. The entire way, she continued to run her arms while muttering 'goosebumps' over and over again.

As her back gradually shrank from my view, I managed to hear a few more words from her.

"Where's my cigarette when I need it? Shit."

I saw her smack her own head.

"That was so fucking cringe. Ugh-!"

"This..."

I stared at the scene and unknowingly found myself smirking.

It was funny.

And in a way... It was cute as well.

She was certainly a unique character.

But...

"....."

I shifted my gaze to look up at the ceiling and gradually, I lost my smile. Would she really be thanking me if she knew the truth?

"Haaa..."

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes.

Her aunt... The person that she wanted to kill.

She was still alive and kicking. I knew this because I was the one who helped her escape.

"What a sick twist."

.....The fact that she was her aunt was a sick twist I hadn't expected.

Had I known, then...

"Heh."

I suddenly laughed as realization hit me.

"....I'd probably have done the same thing."

Of that, I was sure.

In the end, this was a necessary step that I needed to take.

'I wanted to only let the Professor escape, but that would indeed be a little too suspicious.'

After hearing what he had to say, I knew that if he had been the only one to escape, then my chances of getting what I wanted would decrease drastically.

Furthermore, given that he was no longer a professor at Haven, his value to the organization wasn't very high.

It was for this reason that I went along with his idea and saved Kiera's aunt.

Or more like...

"Allowed him to save her."

The figure that I had stopped with the threads was none other than the professor.

It was merely an act.

....A way to make her think he was on their side.

I wasn't sure about the price my action would have in the future. Whether it would make Kiera turn against me, or whether the professor would end up backstabbing me, but...

"It's necessary."

I was alone. I needed allies. People I could use to help me uncover the secrets of this organization.

Exploiting the professor's weakness, I managed to get him to my side. However, how much trust could I really put in him?

The only thing I could rely on was his character.

Was he the same person that I had seen in the vision? If so...

"It's worth the risk."

They were coming for me. From the moment I had killed Wesley back in the Mirror Dimension, their appearance was inevitable.

I knew that and for that reason, I had to get ready.

Even if it meant deliberately failing.

[Rose Keline, Kiera's master and enemy has survived and managed two other convicts. The future is following the same trajectory.]

An expected notification flashed in my vision.

It was followed up by another.

[ Main Quest Activated : Prevent the Calamities from awakening or dying.]

Aoife K. Megrail 1 : Slumber

: Progress - 0%

Kiera Mylne 2 : Slumber

: Progress - 2 % + 7% ---> 9%

Evelyn J. Verlice : Slumber

: Progress - 0%

"....."

I wordlessly stared at the window that appeared before me.

Failure.

My first failure.

I felt my chest tighten staring at the +7%.

It was a necessary loss that I was willing to take. I still knew nothing about what the situation entailed, and what would happen once the bars reached 100%.Most likely, it was going to be something bad for me.

However...

I was willing to take the risk and allow it to build up a little.In the end, I gained something more valuable with my decision.

To build a solid foundation.

I was willing to sacrifice short-term gains.

***

In a remote forest.

Woo Wooom!

The air twisted and two figures suddenly appeared out of thin air. Stumbling forward, they managed to stop after a few steps.

"Huuuu... Haa..."

"This is....?"

They were none other than Rose Keline and Robert Bucklam. They could still feel the lingering heat from Kiera's spell as they immediately channeled their mana to cool themselves down.

Rose looked around in confusion. Then, as if realizing that they were no longer in the prison, she turned to look at Rober where she smiled.

"It looks like you've saved me."

Catching his breath, he managed to say,

".....I was only following the plan."

He glanced at the shattered glass in his hand. It was a one-time use relic that enabled him to teleport outside of the prison.

The organization had paid a massive price to get it into his hands.

There was also another inmate who had received the same relic. Their job was similar to his, which was to help the greater-

risk members to teleport out.

It was already hard for the organization to get them to have access to the relics. The difficulty of giving it to the higher-

grade inmates was almost impossible.

It was for this reason that the two of them had been given the relics.

Their job was to escape with them.

"Mhh~ Well, I should still thank you."

Rose broke the silence that had suddenly gripped their area.

Rubbing her wrists which were still bruised, her brows wrinkled slightly.

"I won't lie, I was having a rather tough time dealing with the two of them. Especially that boy. His fighting style... It was rather unique."

Recalling the way the boy from before fought, and the emotionless expression he wore as he attacked her, Rose chuckled.

"...An interesting one."

Such was her evaluation of him.

"A very interesting one."

He definitely was.

"But..."

Rose looked around and tilted her head.

"Are we the only ones here? Where are the others?"

"I'm not certain."

Robert looked around.

Their relics were set to similar coordinates and therefore, theoretically, they should have already teleported here.

.....From what he had been told, their job was supposedly easier than his.

It was for this reason that Robert felt confused by the situation.

'Could something have gone wrong?'

He hoped that was the case, but responded differently.

"They might've been held back by something. I went straight to you the moment I could so I wasn't able to see."

"Hm~"

The smile on Rose's face widened. She seemed very pleased.

"Indeed, your reputation precedes you as a distinguished professor. Your sense of priority is commendable. I consider myself lucky to have gotten you as my helper. I'll make sure to tell the Directorate about your contributions. I'm sure they'll reward you."

".....Thank you."

Robert lowered his head to express his gratitude.

"I'm grateful for your words."

"Don't be too excited. I'm only putting in my word. Whether you get anything out of this will depend on 'him'."

"Who...?"

Robert tilted his head in confusion.

Rose's smile suddenly faded.

Then, as if two hands were squeezing at her throat, she managed to force out a few words.

"....The one who walks among us."