Kaede's eyes sprung open, and immediately taking off her covers, she's out of bed geared and armed.
*Snore*
Kaede rolled her eyes at Kirara who was sn in the bed beside hers. Kirara had gotten herself exhausted just thinking about the escape, and the result was the sn heal before her.
Kaede adjusted the straps of her specially made utility belt, her fingers brushing over the small devices Artificia had fabricated. Eae hummed faintly with magicules, ready to detonate and destruct.
Turnitention back to the softly sn Kirara, she allowed herself a faint smile. For all her nerves during the pnning phase, Kirara had fallen asleep the moment her head hit the pillow. Typical.
She pced a hand on the sleeping girl's chest, ign the blush that crept up her face as she did so. 'Artificia, do you see it?'
'Yes.'
As Kaede firmed the and in her mind, a faint shimmer rippled over her palm, invisible to any ordinary observer but unmistakable to her trained sehe telltale sign of her unique skill, [Devour], shimmered against Kirara’s chest as it took effect. A cold, ing energy pulsed through Kaede’s palm, and she focused ily on the curse binding her friend.
The log curse was more than just a , it was a culmination of maliagic, coiled tightly around Kirara’s very essence. Sg her face, Kaede found herself tasting the plexity of the spell, yers of twisted runes designed not just to suppress, but to punish any attempt at breaking it.
But Kaede wasn’t deterred. [Devave her a unique perspective. She visualized the curse as a liviy, and with the skill’s ing nature, she began to u.
The threads of magic resisted violently, shing back with sharp bursts of energy that made Kaede’s arm flinch. She took a breath, as Artificia drew in the curse as though siphoning poison. The energy flowed into her body, dark and bitter, but Kaede’s skill devoured it greedily, verting it into raw magicules.
Kirara stirred under her touch, a faint whimper esg her lips. Kaede froze, gng at her face. Her brow was furrowed, her expression pained, as though she could feel the remnants of the curse fighting to g to her.
“Shh,” Kaede whispered softly, her voice steady despite the slight ache in her arm. “Almost done.”
With a final surge of effort, she pulled the st of the curse into herself. The curse surged within her, but Kaede’s unique skill pressed it, breaking it down into nothingness.
The bck aura around her hand dissipated, and the room fell silent.
Kaede let out a slow breath, shaking her hand as the lingering tingles of dark magic faded. She g Kirara, who was now pletely still, her breathing calm and steady. The faint tension that had always seemed to hover around her was gone, repced by an aura of lightness.
Kaede hesitated for a moment, debating whether to wake her now or let her sleep a little lohe pn wouldn’t o start for another hour, but Kaede knew how crucial every sed would be.
“Kirara,” Kaede said softly, nudging her friend’s shoulder. “It’s time.”
Kirara groaned, shifting uhe covers. “Five more minutes…” she mumbled.
Kaede huffed, crossing her arms. “We don’t have five mihis isn’t training, Kirara. We’re on a schedule.”
At that, Kirara’s eyes fluttered open, a groggy expression giving way to sharp focus as the weight of the mission came back to her. She sat up quickly, brushiangled hair out of her face. “Right. I’m up. Like, I’m ready,” she said, swinging her legs over the side of the bed and grabbing her boots.
Kaede handed her the utility belt, pact orbs fitted with single glowing runes littered its surface. “This is yours. They're MMPs (Magicule Magic Pulse) use them to unlock the doors. This is a ‘fsh-pulse.’ Use it only if you get ered. It’ll blind anyone nearby for ten seds, but it’ll also drain magicules from the user, so don’t overdo it.”
Kirara examihe orb, turning it over in her hands. “Got it,” she said, her toeady but her expression tense.
Kaede turo the faint glow of the proje h above her wristband. The map of Falmuth’s capital was detailed and precise, thanks to the drones she’d sent out earlier to survey the area. Patrol routes, barrier locations, and potential escape paths were all carefully marked.
“All right,” Kaede said, her voice quiet but firm. “Here’s the timeline: Shifu is already in position just within the borders. He’ll move in aowards the sewers after I start the first distra at exactly 02:00, drawing the majority of the guards away from the prison’s mairahat's when you'll move in during that window and disable the barriers with the MMP devices.”
Kirara nodded, g up her boots. “And if the guards cat too quickly?”
Kaede smirked. "I'm sure you ha. But just in case, A set of modified drones are set to simute a sedary assault he market district. That should buy us extra time if needed.”
Kirara stood, her movements quid precise as she secured her own gear. “What about the prisoners? How many are we expeg?”
Kaede’s expression hardened. “Three hundred firmed, but we’re prepared for more. Once we’re in the sewers, we’ll regroup with Shifu and make our way back to the forest. ions, no risks.”
Kirara took a deep breath, rolling her shoulders to looseension. “Uood.”
Kaede stepped toward the door, her hand h over the tch as she gnced back at Kirara.
Kirara gave her a sharp nod. “We won’t fail.”
Kaede opehe door, the cold night air rushing in to greet them. The streets were dark, the only illumination ing from the dim nterns hanging at irregur intervals. The city seemed to hold its breath, unaware of the storm brewing in its shadows.
The two of them moved swiftly, their footsteps silent as they navigated the narrow alleys leading toward the prison plex. Kaede’s wristband flickered, a red dot marking the approach of a patrol.
“Stop,” she whispered, holding up a hand. She pulled Kirara into the shadow of a nearby cart, her eyes fixed on the glowing map.
The patrol passed, their armor king softly as they walked. Kaede waited until the sound faded into the distance before signaling Kirara to move.
They reached the outer wall of the prison, the faint hum of the barrier audible to Kaede thanks to [Magic Perception], and to Kirara who had suddenly decided that Falmuth was hostile territory, activating [Battle Awareness] even from this distance. Kirara k, retrieving the MMP device from her utility belt. The fist-sized lowed faintly, its energy building as she activated it.
“Thirty seds,” Kaede whispered, watg Kirara's fingers flying over the device as she activated it.
Kaede went back to keeping watch, her eyes sing the darkereets for any sign of movement. The tension alpable, every sed stretg loha.
The MMP device emitted a low beep, signaling its readiness. Kirara pced it against the base of the barrier, stepping back as the device pulsed with energy.
The barrier flickered, its hum faltering before it colpsed entirely. Kirara grinned, a sense of triumph sparking in her chest. “We’re in.”
Kirara moved through the now-unprotected entrance, her movements swift and silent. Ihe prison was dimly lit, the air heavy with the stench of damp stone and unwashed bodies.
Kaede passed her the wristband, the map shifting to dispy the interior yout. “Cells are two levels down. Stay safe.”
Kirara immediately desded the stairs, her footsteps muffled against the stohe faint sound of voices echoed from the lower levels, but they pressed on, their focus unshakable.
Reag the sed level, Kirara stopped, extending her senses. She noticed a glowing node on her wristband. “Magic barrier ahead.”
Positioning herself he edge of the corridor, her haing on the hilt of her bde. Kirara k, pg the orb quickly to disable the barrier’s entments.
As the barrier dissolved, a faint sound behind her made Kirara tense. She turned, her eyes narrowing as a figure emerged from the shadows.
"Who goes there?!" A guard marched out of the darkness, a spear in hand. The guard’s spear gleamed faintly uhe dim torchlight as he advanced, his eyes narrowing as they locked onto Kirara. For a moment, the corridor was filled with an almost unbearable tension, the silence broken only by the guard’s heavy boots against the stone floor.
Kirara straightened, her hand still resting casually on the hilt of her bde. Her demeanor shifted, her usual tense energy repced with an uling calm. Her eyes glimmered faintly—a sign that [Bewilder] had activated.
“Who are you?” the guard demanded, his voice sharp with suspi.
Kirara tilted her head slightly, her expression softening into something almost disarming. "For the hree hours, you will tinue your patrol and you will tell no one about seeing me or what I'm doing." she said, her words weaving into his thoughts like threads pulled taut.
The guard blinked, his earlier suspi giving way to a dazed nod, before turning back the way he came, his footsteps fading into the distance.
She advanced deeper into the prison, the air growing colder and heavier with every step. The faint sounds of muffled sobs and distant whispers reached her ears, a grim reminder of her rather odd mission.
Kirara had no idea why Kaede had decided to help the obviously suspicious ogre now named Shifu. But, being the bleedi Kaede was, Kirara had no choi the matter, so here she was, resg bandits she literally just captured.
"Time to be a hero, I guess."
SaberGlory