Motoyasu turned the door handle slowly.
The wood splintered.
A spear burst through the panel, aimed at chest height. Motoyasu ducked—fast and instinctive, his body dropping before his brain had time to process. The blade whistled over his head, close enough to ruffle his hair.
He didn't hesitate. His own spear snapped forward through the hole, a thrust that could be heard more than it could be felt.
A wet sound came from the other side. The gurgle of a throat that no longer worked.
"Shit!" Someone behind him—Rino, maybe.
"We have to go now!"
Ren's voice came out sharper than he intended. "Should we break the window and jump out?!"
Bakta's voice, steady as ever, cut through his panic. "That's a bad idea. We'd be too exposed. Let's just get through that door and run in circles. Buy time."
Motoyasu was already moving, kicking the door off its hinges, his spear sweeping the corridor ahead. "Alright. Got it. Let's go then."
The soldiers on the other side were packed tight—but only on one side of the corridor. The other side was practically empty. Must have been rushed. Sloppy. But that's good for them.
"Come on now!"
Bakta and Bara surged forward, their massive frames filling the corridor, axes and fists clearing a path. Motoyasu stayed just behind them, his spear darting past their shoulders to catch anyone who tried to flank. The rest of the party pressed in the middle—Tersia, Farrie, Welt, Rino, Lesti, Myne, all of them moving fast, weapons ready.
Ren fell to the rear. Rhea was beside him. Elena, too.
They sprinted down the corridor. The soldiers behind them were recovering, shouting, forming up.
Then Ren heard it.
The whistle of bowstrings.
"Shit!"
He didn't look back. He didn't need to.
"They're aiming arrows at us!"
Tersia's voice was strained. "There's no place to take cover! It's just a straight corridor!"
"No choice." Ren gritted his teeth.
"Damnit." Rhea's voice was tight.
They turned at the same time. The arrows were already in the air.
Ren's sword became a blur. He didn't think. He couldn't track individual shafts. He moved his body, swords forming arcs that deflected and parried away the arrows coming. Rhea's twin blade was doing the same thing too besides him.
An arrow slipped past.
Shit! He's not fast enough, he couldn't stop tha—
It whizzes past Farrie's head. She flinched hard, but didn't say anything and kept on running.
More arrows. More. It looks like this barrage won't stop soon.
His muscles burned and his shoulder started to feel the burden. But he didn't stop. No, he couldn't.
"We need to move faster!" Motoyasu's voice echoed from the front.
Ren parried another volley, felt the impact jar up his arms. "A little busy here!"
Rhea laughed, it was sharp and breathless. "You complain too much, Sword Hero."
"You should save your breath. You sound exhausted already."
"Haaaaah?!"
"Duck!"
Myne's voice suddenly echoed from behind. Ren dropped without thinking, his body hitting the stone floor hard. Above him, a massive gust of wind roared past—so close he felt the air pressure shift, felt his hair whip against his scalp.
"Gaahh!"
The soldiers' formation collapsed. Bodies tumbled, shields clattered as they were thrown back and archers stumbled into spearmen. The wind spell had torn through their ranks and scattered them like leaves.
Rhea bolted. Ren followed, his legs burning at such sudden motion and increase in speed. He caught up to the main group as they rounded a corner, plunging into a narrower corridor lined with decorative fabrics and empty armours.
"Any solution?" Ren asked, his voice clipped.
Welt's face was pale, but his answer was steady. "Sorry. We just have to trust that Noritoshi knows our situation by now and has launched the signal for plan B."
The corridor seemed to grow darker. Everyone fell silent. Even Motoyasu's relentless optimism had dimmed. They had known this could happen—known that discovery was a risk, that the plan had contingencies. But knowing something intellectually and experiencing it were very different things.
Tersia's voice cut through the quiet. "We've got problems."
He was running backward now—not quite, but close, his body angled, his eyes fixed on the minimap that only he could see clearly while moving. The rest of them could barely keep their footing, let alone navigate by a flickering magical overlay. Tersia had always been the one with the dexterity for it, the one who could run and duck and read the map without tripping over his own feet.
"Archers behind us, still. But that's not the worst part." His jaw tightened. "There's another group ahead. And to the left. And to the right. They're boxing us in."
Ren's stomach dropped. "Surrounded?"
"Not yet. But we will be in about thirty seconds if we keep running straight."
Motoyasu didn't slow down. "Then we don't go straight. Tersia, which way has the thinnest line?"
Tersia's eyes flickered, tracking the icons on his minimap. "Left. Maybe half a dozen guards. But there's a staircase beyond them—could lead down or up. I can't tell."
"Down," Bara rumbled. "We need to get to ground level. The estate's outer walls are our only exit."
"Unless Noritoshi's already launched the signal," Myne said. Her hood had slipped slightly, but she didn't stop to fix it. "If the army is moving, we just need to hold out until they arrive."
"That's a big 'if,'" Ren muttered.
"It's all we have."
They hit the left corridor at a sprint.
The five guards ahead raised their weapon in preparation. They weren't ordinary soldiers. Faced with Legendary heroes, the stuff of the legends, their stance remained firm and confident. The grip they have on their weapon was unchanged. No, it grew even more strongly. Elites. Rabiel's personal guard, probably. The ones who didn't flinch when things went wrong.
Bakta's axe swung at the first. The man blocked—actually blocked—his blade catching the axe head and deflecting it into the wall. Sparks flew as the stone cracked on impact.
Motoyasu's spear thrust at the second. The guard sidestepped fast, too fast, and brought his own sword around in a counter that forced Motoyasu to leap back.
Bara tried to run through the third. The man held his ground. His shoulder met Bara's chest, and both of them staggered.
So that confirms it. These were killers, unlike those ordinary soldiers from before.
"Ren! Rhea!" Motoyasu's voice was hurried. "We need you up here!"
Ren was already moving, pushing past Tersia and Farrie, past Welt and Rino, his sword coming up. The corridor was too narrow for all of them to fight at once, but they didn't have a choice. The red dots on Tersia's minimap were closing in from behind, and these elites were blocking the only way forward.
He engaged the fourth guard.
The man's sword came at him in a diagonal slash—right shoulder to left hip. Ren raised his blade to block, catching the edge just before it reached his collarbone. Steel rang against steel. The impact went up his arm.
He pushed forward, shoving the guard's sword aside, and stepped into the opening. His own blade came around in a horizontal cut aimed at the man's ribs.
The guard twisted. The sword passed through empty air. Before Ren could recover, the man's knee slammed into his thigh—not hard enough to disable, but enough to unbalance him. Ren staggered back a step.
The guard didn't pursue. He reset his stance, his sword held low, his eyes tracking Ren's movements.
Ren lunged. A thrust toward the chest. The guard sidestepped and brought his blade down in an arc that would have taken Ren's arm off at the elbow if he hadn't pulled back. He did, just barely, the tip of the guard's sword grazing his sleeve.
Fast. Strong. The guard's face was calm, almost bored. He had done this before. He had killed people before.
Ren adjusted. Instead of attacking, he waited. The guard's confidence was a weapon—one Ren could use against him.
The man grew impatient. He stepped forward, sword raised for an overhead strike. Ren didn't block. He moved left, letting the blade whistle past his shoulder, and brought his own sword up in a riposte aimed at the guard's exposed side.
The guard twisted again, but this time he wasn't fast enough. Ren's blade caught him across the ribs—not deep, but enough to draw blood.
The guard hissed. His calm cracked. He came at Ren with a flurry of strikes—overhead, overhead, a thrust, a slash. Ren parried each one, his feet moving backward with each impact, his arms burning from the force. The fourth strike was a thrust aimed at his throat. Ren deflected it upward, stepped inside the guard's reach, and reversed his grip on his sword.
The pommel slammed into the guard's face. Bone crunched.
The guard staggered. His sword dipped.
Ren's blade came down.
For a millisecond, he hesitated.
The guard's eyes widened. He knew he was about to die. Ren could see it in his face—the sudden, sharp awareness, the flash of something that might have been regret or might have been fear.
Then rationality took over. Ren brought the blade down.
The guard crumpled.
Ren stood over him, his sword now wet. But his breathing is steady. Too steady. He should be panicking. He should be shaking. Instead, he felt nothing.
So this is how it feels. To kill someone.
He couldn't feel anything about it. No, maybe he was subconsciously bottling away any emotion he was currently feeling. Hard to say. But his hands grew steadier. His breathing calmed.
He looked up. The others were finishing their job too.
"Move!" Motoyasu shouted.
They ran. Ren fell into position at the rear, his sword still in his hand, his mind still empty. He didn't know if that was strength or brokenness. He doesn't care enough to find out now. To be fair, it's not like he has any time for it.
They hit the staircase at full speed. Bara took the steps three at a time, his axe scraping sparks off the stone wall. Motoyasu was right behind him, his spear extended, ready for whatever waited below.
Then Tersia's voice, tight with alarm. "More guards. Converging on the ground level. Lots of them. They must be expecting us."
Ren's stomach dropped. "Can we regroup with Noritoshi?"
"No dice." Tersia's eyes were fixed on his minimap, his jaw tight. "There's a lot coming that way too. We'd run straight into them."
"Ughhh, damnit all." Motoyasu's grip on his spear was white-knuckled.
They reached the bottom of the stairs. A corridor stretched ahead, lined with doors. No guards yet—but Tersia's map said they were coming.
Myne's voice cut through the panic. "What if we hide?"
Everyone stopped. Turned to look at her.
"...Huh?" Motoyasu's expression shifted from fear to confusion.
"It's not like they have a minimap ability like we do, right?" Myne's hood was still pulled low, but her voice was steady, sharp. "And they also didn't seem to have a mage capable of detection spells. Otherwise they would have found us already."
Elena nodded slowly. "That's a solid idea. We just need to hold out. Or—" She glanced at Myne, then at Rino. "—if Noritoshi still hasn't sent the signal by the time we find a good spot, we do it ourselves. You two should be capable of that, right?"
Rino's face lit up with fierce determination. "Of course! Don't underestimate me!"
Myne's lips curved beneath her hood. "Yes. You can depend on me."
A thunderous crack split the sky. Light bloomed through the narrow windows at the end of the corridor—red and gold, spreading outward like a blossoming flower.
Fireworks. Massive, brilliant, unmistakable.
Tersia whooped. "That's Noritoshi's signal!"
Ren felt something loosen in his chest. The signal. Finally.
"Good." He tightened his grip on his sword. "We just need to hold out now."
Motoyasu grinned—the first real grin Ren had seen from him since the fighting started. "Then let's find a place to hide. Somewhere with only one way in."
Bara pointed to a door at the end of the corridor. "There. Storeroom, by the looks of it. Solid door. No windows."
"Perfect." Motoyasu was already moving. "Everyone in. Bara, you're on door duty. If anyone comes through, put them through the wall."
Bara grunted. "Gladly."
They piled into the storeroom—a cramped space filled with crates and barrels, the smell of old grain and dust thick in the air. Bara positioned himself by the door, his fist raised. The others pressed against the walls, weapons ready, breathing shallow.
Ren pressed his back against a stack of crates, his sword across his knees. His hands were steady. His breathing was steady. The emptiness in his head was still there, but it didn't feel like a weakness anymore. It felt like armor.
It didn't bother him when the sound of metal boots against stone echoed through the corridor. Soldiers. Dozens of them, by the weight of it—the rhythmic clank of armor, the low murmur of voices and the occasional barked command.
Ren watched the door. Everyone watched the door. Bakta's grip on his axe was white-knuckled. Motoyasu's breathing had gone shallow. Rino had her hands pressed over her mouth to keep from making a sound. Even Tersia, usually so quick with a joke, was completely still.
The footsteps grew louder. Closer.
Then they began to fade.
No one moved. No one breathed.
The footsteps receded into the distance. The corridor fell silent.
Ren's breath was as steady as ever. Around him, the others weren't quite the same—shoulders sagging, hands unclenching, the tension draining out of the room in a collective wave.
Strange. A moment ago, he would have felt just the same as them. The same fear, the same tightness in his chest, the same desperate urge to run.
But now he felt... nothing. Detached. Like he was watching them from a distance. Like he was back home, sitting in his room, staring at a screen while the world moved on without him.
The feeling was familiar. Too familiar.
"Hey, Ren." Farrie nudged him with her foot. She was sitting cross-legged on the floor, her back against a crate. "Are you alright? Not injured or anything, are you?"
Ren blinked.
Farrie tilted her head, studying him. "I'm a little worried. You were spacing out, so I thought you were injured and were holding in the pain or something."
"…Why would I do something that stupid?"
"I don't know!" Tersia piped up from across the room, his usual grin creeping back onto his face. "Men usually do something like that to impress ladies. Figured you might do something like that too."
Ren shot him a flat look. "…Never listen to him. Ever again."
Tersia clutched his chest in mock offense. Farrie laughed—quietly, so it wouldn't carry, but at least it was a real laugh.
She scooted closer, lowering her voice. "Seriously, though. You've been quiet. Quieter than usual, I mean. If something's wrong, you can talk to me. I'm basically your older sister at this point."
Ren raised an eyebrow. "Older sister? You're old enough to be my hag."
Farrie's expression froze. "Hag?!"
"You're in your twenties, aren't you?" Ren's voice was dry, almost teasing. "That's practically ancient. Shouldn't you be retired by now, watching your grandchildren play?"
Farrie's face flushed. "I am twenty-two! That's not—I'm not—" She sputtered, pointing a finger at Ren. "You little brat! I am in the prime of my life!"
"Prime of your life," Ren repeated, deadpan. "That's what all hags say."
"I will end you."
"You'd have to catch me first."
Farrie lunged. Ren slid sideways, using a crate as a shield, and the two of them ended up in a silent wrestling match—Farrie trying to grab his collar, Ren deflecting them with difficulty.
"Children," Motoyasu whispered loudly. "Be quiet. Soldiers."
They froze. Farrie's hand was still extended toward Ren's throat. Ren's hand was raised to block. Both of them stared at each other for a beat.
Then Farrie settled back against her crate, crossing her arms with a huff.
In the end, he couldn't hold back a little snort.
Unfortunately, that only made Farrie angrier. Her eyes narrowed, her jaw set, and she began to glare at him throughout their stay in that place. That glare… it promised future retribution. The kind of glare that said we are not done, you little brat.
Scary. He shouldn't have done that.
But a while after that, Tersia's sharp hiss cut through the silence.
"Shit." He let out a breath, his face pale. "Shit, shit, shit."
"What's up, Tersia?" Motoyasu leaned forward, his spear ready.
"It's Noritoshi." Tersia's voice was tight. "His situation isn't looking good."
Everyone's hands moved to their own minimaps, frantically opening the overlays. Ren's own map bloomed in his vision, and his stomach clenched.
Noritoshi was alone. A cluster of red dots swarmed around his position—guards, dozens of them—but he was holding them off. His icon darted and wove, retreating, striking, retreating again. He was handling them remarkably well, preventing them from making any progress. Ren felt something sharp in his chest watching it. Envy, maybe. Or admiration.
Then he looked at the staircase.
Naofumi's icon was there, holding a choke point. Kairn was with him, positioned behind—eliminating anyone who tried to push past Naofumi's shield with her spear. Together, they had turned the staircase into a killing funnel.
But the red dots were growing desperate. Some of them had broken away, climbing higher. Heading toward Rabiel's study.
Ren's map showed them there now—a cluster of soldiers hacking at the floor, trying to break through from above. Welst's icon was in the basement with the children, his hands raised, and Ren could imagine him reinforcing the ceiling, pouring his magic into the stone to keep it from collapsing.
At this rate, they wouldn't hold.
"They won't be able to hold," someone said. Ren wasn't sure who.
The storeroom went silent.
Motoyasu rose. His spear came up, the shaft resting against his shoulder, his face set in an expression Ren had rarely seen. Not nervous. Not joking. It was... determined.
"Let's go." His voice was quiet, but it carried. "We have to help them. At least eliminate those soldiers in Rabiel's study trying to break through."
From the corner of his eye, Ren saw Myne and Lesti exchange glances. Their mouths moved—low murmurs, complaints, the kind of words people said when they were scared and didn't want to admit it.
Motoyasu heard them too. He turned, his gaze steady.
"I know it's dangerous." His voice was still quiet. "That's why… feel free to stay here. But please—" He looked at Bakta, at Bara, at Ren, at Rhea. "—I need your help."
The silence stretched.
Then Myne stood. Her hood was still pulled low, her face hidden, but her voice was clear.
"No." She shook her head. "Forgive me for my earlier words. I merely lost my composure for a moment." She pulled her hood back, just enough to meet Motoyasu's eyes. "I will follow. Besides, it's safer that way. There's no guarantee we will actually be safe here."
Lesti rose beside her. She didn't speak, but she didn't sit back down either.
Motoyasu nodded once. "Then let's move. Stay close. Stay quiet. And do your damnedest best to not die."
He pushed open the storeroom door and stepped into the corridor.
Ren followed.