"Help! Help!"
Larys, the guard stationed at the prison saw a thin man running towards him with tears and snot all over him.
"Who the…?" He gripped his spear tightly as the man approached him. He didn't know who he was. By the look of it, he was unarmed but Larys didn't loosen up as there is already an intruder in the fort.
"Who are you? State your business!" Larys commanded in a deep voice that was opposite to his young body. He raised his spear and pointed at the man.
"Ma-master is in danger! She needs help. Commander has summoned every able body to the ground." The thin man halted his steps inches away from the spear tip.
"Master? In danger…?" Larys was having a hard time believing what he just heard. Though he was new here, he have heard about Master's power. But that didn't mean he have seen it first-hand either.
"I am commanded to be manned here. Under no circumstances I am to be relieved of that duty and who are you? I haven't seen you here?"
'Mother fucker! Just go away!!'
"Master's new personal assistant. I don't care if you've seen me or not, what matters here is the fact that she needs assistance. The intruder is much stronger. He has already defeated all the members and the master is the only one remaining. If this continues she will also be defeated in no time. Do you want that to happen?" The young man had an authoritative aura to his voice.
Larys was contemplating. It was true, he have heard reports about the intruder defeating other members and summoned all the remaining guards leaving only the bare minimum to guard important things.
But hearing the thin man made him confused. Does she really need my help? Can he even really trust this guy? He might not have met him since he hasn't really met his master too.
"Who is master's master?" He wanted to at least make sure the guy was genuine. Master's master was only known to the members of this fort and no outsiders knows about it. So it was a good way to test the waters.
"Stella, the wind. Now go! There is no time!" The urgency in his voice increased. "C'mon. Go now! I'll guard the prison since I'm useless in the battle. Go on!" He urged Larys and stationed himself in front of the door.
Though having doubt he decided to trust the guy, not to mention the keys to the prison were hanging beside him. It was not like he will just suddenly smash his head and take the ke---
Smash!!!~
Before he can even complete his thoughts he was completely knocked out.
Damien who took the wall-mounted lamp and smashed it on Larys's head had a triumphant smile on his face.
"Fool! Never turn your back on an enemy! Now this benign and benevolent young master will save the day and those idiots will forever be in debt to me."
He took the keys from Larys's side and slid them into the keyhole.
***
At the same moment, inside the prison.
Clack!- Click!-
The prisoners all heard the rattling sound coming from the door and they know someone was opening the door.
Everyone was anxious as to what awaited them on the other side.
Luther was gripping his shackles tightly to break free from them but the mana equipment was unbreakable with his strength.
"Luther, what should we…?" the butler was speechless as he didn't know what to say in this helpless situation. Whatever he says nothing will change. If their perpetrators want them dead then it is death. There was no escape from these shackles. Truly a miracle is needed to escape from here.
Suddenly, one of the other travelers stood up. Her blond hair cascaded over her face and her blue eyes were brimming with life.
Luther had an eye over her from the get-go. As she was the only one without any form of despair or helplessness, all she had was annoyance on her face like all the things that happened just were a minor inconvenience in her path.
"Saddle up boys, we're going home." She said.
"What? What are you saying, Celeste?" One of the guys from her group asked in doubt.
"…We're escaping from here. Through that door comes help. C'mon, stand up. We don't want to waste any more time here." She urged the others.
"How do you know it's help? It can be anyone." Luther asked. He wanted to know why she was this confident.
"It is my baby brother. I can sense his presence on the fort. He's a wild one. He might have already defeated all of them. Get your people ready." Said she.
"…"
'What the fuck? That small kid is that powerful?'
Krshhh!-
The door still wasn't opened, though there were so many sounds coming from there. Many clacking and clicking and yet nothing happened.
By this time, all of the prisoners were ready to move out but…nothing happened apart from the sounds.
Celeste was fuming.
"Open the damn door, Cal!!" She shouted with full energy. Her annoyance was visible.
Grunt!-
After clacking sound, came the grunt.
Someone was clearly pushing the door to open it but nothing was happening.
"…Wow, looks like your brother is running out of fuel." Luther had a smile on his face. The others also joined him. It was pleasant to smile after so many hours of horror.
"…Just shut up...Hmphh!!" Celeste flushed with embarrassment. Her whole body was trembling.
'Just you wait, Cal. I'll beat the shit out of you for embarrassing me.' She clenched her fist in determination.
After some more minutes, the door finally opened. Opened a little bit, like a small slit in a large room.
Through the small openings, they saw a thin and frail-looking man. His disheveled white hair cascaded over his red eyes.
He was sweating and blood smeared all over his clothes and face but it didn't deter his handsomeness to dim or fade.
"Who…?" Celeste was visibly confused as she expected her brother to be the one to open the door but what she saw was a weak man with a… creepy smile on his face.
"The yo-young master!" Luther spoke in astonishment and bewilderment.
"… It's him. It is truly him. The young master came to rescue us!" The old butler spoke what the others were thinking. They all were astonished as the no-good young master really came to save them.
Not in a million years, they thought he would be the one to save them. They never even thought about him being even remotely come to rescue them. He was the last person on their mind to do something like this.
"Yep! That's right, your beloved young master is here to save the day." He said widening his arms like a grand posture but it was, of course, not visible from the other side as his arms were hidden behind the unopened door.