CHAPTER 44: Escape the bandit town Part 1

“Daikichi!!!” I shouted as I pushed through the crowd. “get the fuck out of the way! Seismic step!!”

I jumped up towards the guillotine platform and the sound of the ground erupting brought all the attention towards me. The minute I land on stage, I was face to face with the so-called big boss who didn’t even flinch as my landing brought a strong gust of wind. “And who might you be?” He asked raising an eyebrow. Scars in his face, well built and his knuckles are twice the size of mine.

"Me? I'm the guy that will turn you into a superhero~ Pound!" I stepped in bringing my fist towards his abdomen and the minute it made contact, I clenched my fist tighter and using all my force to dig my punch deeper. He was too cocky not blocking and it was too late to react as he went flying out the stage as the impact of my skill sent him soaring towards a building.

“Big boss!” The two burly bandits holding Daikichi let him go as they ran for me while trying to draw their weapons. I stepped in using my seismic step skill and forced one bandit to sheathe his sword. I kicked him in the shin, and he stumbled to the ground. As the same moment, I quickly turned towards the other bandit and punched him in the throat causing him to choke and gasp for air. The other bandit tried to unsheathe his sword again as he jumps back and all of a sudden I hear a loud bang coming from the crowd.

“3-step combo!” I hear Suyeon voice and the bandit’s body suddenly became a blur as he flew out the stage like a bullet. I rush towards Daikichi who looks abnormally skinny and his face is full of bruises. But all he did was stare at me as tears accumulate in his eyes.

“Y-y-Yasu!” He weakly shouted my name and I could hear his voice was hoarse. He tried to stand up but his legs gave out on him as he fell back to the ground.

I have no choice but to carry him. I say in my mind.

“Suyeon! Get ready! We need to make a run for it!” I shout as I see the whole crowd go wild. Some running away from the commotion while others are drawing their weapon ready to charge at us.

“Item bag!” I take out a sword and swung at the crowd while shouting, “Sky king’s wind!”

A tornado formed right at the center of the onlookers and everyone that was close to it got sucked in forming a human tornado. Some tried to run away and disperse as the tornado started launching them up the ceiling of the cave.

I picked up Daikichi and ran towards where we came from. “SUYEON! Follow me!! Daikichi! Where’s Kana?!"

I carry him on my shoulder with his head in the front while Suyeon runs to catch up with me.

“S-she’s in the auction house!” He shouts trying to tower the voices erupting everywhere and the havoc makes it hard for us to hear each other even though we’re this close. I look around to try and spot Dorang location but he’s nowhere to be seen along with the Mother and son I bought. They probably made a run for it the minute they saw me punch the so-called big boss of this place.

“Suyeon! We’re running back towards the way we came from! Keep close to me!” I tell her as I ran back towards auction house another exit.

“O-okay!” She answers back as she runs behind me. Daikichi didn’t say anything, as he’s probably too exhausted to even make a sentence.

“Don’t worry Daikichi! Once we’re in a safe place, I’ll give you a healing potion! Just hang on!” I feel him nod and I ran as fast as I can towards the other exit we came from where the Auctioneer died. Once we arrived, we wasted no time and ran down the corridor again. I hear footsteps in front of us. With no time to think, I gently placed Daikichi down the ground as I grip both hands on my sword.

“W-what are you d-doing?” Daikichi asked as he leans on the wall. Right before I answer him, I see two bandits coming towards our way. The minute they see us, they paused for a few seconds before drawing their weapons while they charged at me.

"Suyeon, stay with him," I say as I rush towards the group.

“Yasu! Wait!” I hear Daikichi shout behind me and I can hear a worried tone in his voice. I didn’t have time to reply to him as I see one sword aim for my neck trying to decapitate me. I quickly step back and using the momentum his continuous swing and unable to stop due to probably the lack of experience and knowledge how to use his weapon, I brought my sword towards his forehead stabbing him through killing him in an instant. The other bandit froze in place as he sees his companion arms limp dropping his weapons at it clatters to the ground. I grab the dead bandit in front of me, pulled out my sword from his forehead before running towards the other one.

I didn't give him a chance to regain his composure as I stepped in swinging my sword towards his neck causing his head to fly off killing him in an instant. I ran towards Daikichi who just watched with his mouth open. “Y-yasu..y-you kill-“

"No time to explain. Soon we'll be surrounded. We got to go now and find Kana. Let's go!" I picked him up like a messenger bag as I started to bolt towards the inside. “Suyeon. Stay close to me. If anyone attacks us, kick them to oblivion!”

“O-ok!” I hear her shout and it’s quite surprising she was able to keep up with me.

I ran through the corridor until we met with the gate that needed two people from the inside to rise. “Suyeon. Kick the door down!"

“3-step combo!” She suddenly jumped forward creating the poses of her skill and the last pose are in an outward position towards the door. The minute her foot made contact, the door erupted as the whole place shook and the ceiling of the corridor we came from collapse as dirt came crashing down closing the exit. I stopped towards where the auctioneer died and as I look around, I don’t see any of the corpses that we left here.

I set Daikichi down and called out my dimensional bag. I pulled out a healing potion and gave it to him to drink. It seems like he hasn’t drink any water as I see him gulp down the potion as if it was the first thing he drank in weeks emptying the bottle up to the last drop.

“Are you feeling better?” I asked him and he nods.

“Y-yeah. Y-Yasu? Is it really you? You're alive! You're alive!" He suddenly hugged me and I felt a warm feeling as I hear his sob after a minute, he slowly pulled away from me and looked at me in the eyes. "I thought we're all going to die here."

“You die? I’ll kill everything in this world before I let you die. I’ll hear what happened to you guys later. But for now, we need to find Kana and get out of here.” I tell him and he nods wiping while wiping his own tears away.

"Not only Kana but also a couple of people.” He tells me while he tried to stand using the wall as his support. “We were a group of people that came to this world. And…Suyeon!” He suddenly hugged her, and I can see Suyeon crying out from the joy of seeing him.

I heard voices coming from the corridor that leads to the stage where the auction happened.

“Daikichi, can you walk?” I asked him as he lets go of Suyeon to look towards the hallway watching the darkness.

“Y-yeah. I feel really hungry but at least my body is not hurting.” He replied to me and I gave him a nod as I checked around to see if he has any severe wounds. Luckily it looked like he only starved.

“Good, what class are you?” I asked him.

“I picked a class called Dual.” He replies to me as he leans on the wall to support himself.

“What level are you?” I asked him without taking my eyes off the dark hallway.

“I’m level fourteen.” He replies weakly as I slowly walked towards the darkness.

“I’m guessing you don’t have any weapons on you right?” I asked him as I looked into the dark. The footsteps are getting louder and louder making me grip the handle of my sword.

“N-no. They forced us to empty our dimensional bag. The only thing they couldn’t take from us was our dimensional bag.” He tells me and I can see he’s still having a hard time keeping himself straight up.

“Can you use axes?” I asked him and he nods. I took out the ogre queen’s pair of axe and gave it to him. I was worried he won’t be able to hold it but my worries disappeared as his eyes went wide while grabbing the weapons off my hands.

“Holy hell, where did you get this?” He asked me and I turn back around as I hear the footsteps getting louder and louder.

“No time to explain. Get ready, they’re coming. Suyeon, just use your jump skill. Your 3-step combo might cause this whole place to collapse on us.” I whisper to her as we both looked towards the dark corridor.

“Okay.” I see her stand beside me as we wait for the bandits to pop out any minute. The minute I see one bandit, I rushed toward him catching him off guard as I swing down my sword at his left shoulder forcing my blade to travel down towards his right foot. He died in an instant as his body was sliced in two. One bandit tried to draw his sword but Suyeon came and kicked him causing him to go flying back towards the darkness. Daikichi stopped the third bandit and they battle it out with Daikichi winning in the end by cutting an arm.

“I-I give up! P-please don’t kill me!” He says as he gets on his knees due to the pain of having his arms cut off. Daikichi then stops attacking him and he started walking our way. Right the minute he had his back turned toward the bandit, the bandit lurched towards him with a dagger in hand trying to stab Daikichi in the back. I quickly jumped between them pulling Daikichi by his shirt and tossing him behind me while I catch the bandit’s wrist. Suyeon suddenly came and kicked the bandit from the knee causing his leg to snap the wrong way. He screamed as he dropped to the ground letting go of the dagger at but she muffled his mouth smiling at him.

“Shhhh they will hear us if your too loud~," She says as she slowly moves her thumb near his eyes and as soon as she's right on top of it, she dug her nail into his iris causing him to scream in agony. I quickly came to his side using my strength; I broke his remaining leg as I forced it to fold the wrong way. Using the dagger he dropped, I stabbed him on the belly button and he screamed some more before passing out from the pain. Suyeon got up and we both started walking towards Daikichi who on the ground speechless as he watched us deal with the bandit.

“Y-y-you-“

"Let's go, they will send more people. Can you stand?" I asked him as I offered a hand and he took it but all he did is stare at the dying bandit with his mouth wide open.

“Y-Yasu thank you. But…holy hell you kill-" He says still can't get his eyes off the bandit.

“Daikichi, you got to be careful, never turn your back on an enemy. This world is full of backstabbing people.” I tell him as I pull him up to his feet.

"Y-yeah. Thank you." He says as he picks up the axes he dropped earlier.

"Ok, let’s go. I'll explain everything that's going on but once we're in a safe place. Come on, the backstage of the auction is this way." I tell him as I run towards a direction and they both followed behind me.

We pass the bandit Suyeon kicked earlier. He probably will die soon as I see his head bent the wrong way. We continued sprinting until we arrived where the slaves are and they’re still there crying inside their cages. Daikichi started cutting the locks on their cages one by one and they were baffled on what's going on in front of them.

“Everyone! Run now! Go!” Daikichi shouts and all of the slaves ran out of their cages going towards where we came from. "Wait! That's a dead end!"

They didn’t listen and just kept running into the darkness.

“Don’t worry about them, the minute they find it’s a dead end, they’ll run back the opposite way. For now, we need to find Kana and the group you came with. Where are they?” I asked him while I looked around but I don’t see any more slaves.

“This way, there’s a hidden door here that leads to a bigger room where all the slaves are. Kana and the rest are there.” Daikichi says as he ran towards one wall. It baffles me how they were right under our noses and if I didn’t spot Daikichi outside, I would have never found them.

Daikichi moved a box that slid in a weird way. I hear it click in place and all of a sudden, a wall was pulled in and it slid sideways exposing another hidden section. The inside reeked of feces and piss as the aroma slowly escapes the hidden room. The floor, the ceiling, the walls were painted white and a lot of bright lights were installed on the wall making it impossible to see any dark part of the room. The minute I step in and get a better view, I can see cages on top one another that filled up to the ceiling. There were so many cages of slaves that it looked like a prison. None of them made a sound even when they saw us while some probably have died of starvation.

“Holy hell, this is a shit load of people," I whisper as I follow Daikichi through the maze of cages with Suyeon following behind me. Then all of a sudden, I hear voices from a distance calling out Daikichi’s name over and over again.

“Daikichi!”

“Daikichi-san!”

“Kid! You’re alive!”

“Daikichi!”

The minute I saw them, I noticed Kana staring at me with tears streaking down her cheeks.

“Yasu!” She shouted so loud that a lot of the slaves looked her way. When I got a closer look, I see she lost a lot of weight. Most of them lost a lot of weight. It seems like they can’t stand unless they hold the cage to help them up. One of them seems unconscious as an older female is using her scrawny legs as a pillow for him.

“Yasu!!” Kana cried non-stop behind the bars of the cage as she tried to reach out for me. Her voice was hoarse as if she swallowed a handful of sand destroying her voice box. Her thin body is shaking and I see bruises and cuts all over her body and face. Her hair is a mess and the clothes she’s wearing looks like a blanket barely covering anything.

"Hey Kana, you look like you went through hell," I tell her as I go near the cage to let her touch my face. She cried non-stop as she traces my face non-stop and pulling me towards the cage to give me a hug. "Haha, stop crying Kana, you guys are safe now. Let me get this cage opened. Hey Suyeo-“

“I’m sorry but, who’s that behind you?” One girl inside the cage asked. She looked like a foreigner. Her voice is also hoarse and she looked like she was roughed up from top to bottom. If she had more weight, she probably would look gorgeous but as for now, they’re all skin and bones and it’s making me wonder if they’re actually ghouls.

Behind me? I say in my mind. I suddenly I feel a grip tighten as she buries her face in my back.

“Come on. Didn’t you want to meet them again also? Stop hiding behind me Suyeon.” The moment I said her name, they all looked at me with surprise.

“S-Suyeon?! Suyeon is that you?!” The foreigner says and I can feel Suyeon nodding in my back.

"If you nod behind me they won't see it," I say suddenly stepping sideways exposing her. I can see her face is wet from crying.

Sniff*

“L-l-lisaaaaa!” Suyeon cried as she hugs her with the cage bars between them.

“Suyeon! Suyeon! I’m glad you’re alive!” Lisa started crying as one guy came close to help her sit down as she overexerted herself. I see Kana grabbing Suyeon’s hands as she also cries with a smile on her face. Her skinny arms extended out and hugged Suyeon and I just let them have their reunion as I look for Daikichi. Suddenly I hear noises coming from outside making me grip my sword waiting if any bandit will come charging right in but nothing. Tsk, we took too much time.

“Daikichi let's open the door and get out of here," I say as I was about to strike the bars.

“Wait! Don’t!” Kana shouted making me suddenly stop right before I hit the cage bars with my sword. “I-if you destroy it without using the key, the runes under the cage will explode and kill all of us. It’s to prevent us from destroying it ourselves. You need to find the key.”

“Who has the key?” I asked and they all brought their head down.

"T-the auctioneer." One guy says. He looks like a teacher but he's as skinny as everyone.

“Shit. That fucker is dead. Dammit, we need to find his body.” I look at Suyeon who’s wiping her tears as she nods at me.

“W-wait, dead?” Daikichi asked me and I can see a worried look on his face. “Did you-“

"No, a demon killed him in front of my eyes. Fucking bastard. Either way, he’s better off dead knowing what he did to all of you guys.” I say remembering Unum and the other overlords. “Daikichi stay here with everyone. Suyeon let's go.”

“Wait, where are you going?” Kana says towards me with a worried look.

"I'm going to look for the auctioneer's corpse and see if I can find a key," I tell her as I turn around.

“Wait! Take Daikichi with you!” Kana says and I look back at Daikchi who also looks thin.

“I’m sorry Kana bu, Dakichi will just get in my way if he goes with me. Sorry man, if I go with Suyeon instead, I can move swiftly.” I tell him and he looked a bit down but gave me a nod.

"B-be careful," Kana says towards me and I nod.

I called out my item bag and took out all the potions and food along with some clothes and water for them. “Daikichi, help them drink this and eat. You all will need energy for us to get out of here. It's quite a way towards the elevator."

“Ok, I'm on it.” He says as he grabs the bottle and opens it. He needs to help them drink since the bottle doesn’t fit through the spaces in the bars of their cage and their barely hanging on so holding one of the bottles will be a task for them.

“Everyone, don’t worry. I’ll get you all out of here one way or another. Just hang on a bit longer.” I tell them and they all nod. I quickly turned around and ran back towards the stage. I moved the box back to where it was and the hidden door closed back up. If I keep them hidden in there, they won’t look as long as they know we’re running around outside. This will at least keep them safe until I find a key.

“Let's go check all the doors around the auction room. If you see any bandit, kick him but don't use your 3-step combo skill. We don't want this place crashing on top of us.” I tell Suyeon and she gave me a nod. I quickly ran out the stage and to my surprise, there were no people or any bandit at all. I expected for Bandits to flood the area but nothing.

"Huh, I thought there would be people," I whisper as I sneak around towards the first door with Suyeon following behind me. The minute I open it, I was introduced to a kitchen. I ran back out towards another door but nothing, just a storage room. I checked another room but nothing. Each end every room is either storage or another kitchen.

“Shit, where can they have stored his body?” I whisper as I stand near the entrance of the last door.

“Find him quick!” I hear a voice shout and the bandits entered the auction room through the dark entrance. Right behind them is the man I sent flying earlier with my punch. It seems like he survived flying into the distance.

He might not be a pushover like the rest of the bandits around here. I say in my mind as I get behind the wall trying not to be seen.

“He killed the auctioneer! He needs to die! Whoever brings me his head will be rewarded handsomely!” He shouted again and everyone cheered as they all scatter in all direction.

"Maybe, I can ask him," I whisper as I ran out towards the bandits. "Heaven’s Slice!"

I swung my swords towards the bandits and my skill went through them like butter while some who actually are adventurers dodge my attack. I plowed through their cut corpses and I feel blood rain on me. Without waiting to get ganged up on, I activated my seismic step skill and closed the distance between me and the bandit eliminating them one by one. Seeing that there’s an endless wave of bandits, I jumped up towards the ceiling and looked at where Suyeon is at.

“Hey! Suyeon! Run away!" I shout at her as I ready to activate my knockout skill. I see her kick one of the bandits that are going for her and he came flying across the room taking out some bandits on the way. She ran towards one of the doors and I punch the ground as I descend creating a giant rune. In an instant, all the bandits standing inside it fell to the ground unconscious while the big boss got on his knees as he tries to catch his breath. I approach him and stepped on his hand making him wince in pain.

“You bastard. Who are you? Why are you destroying our place.” He says as he stayed kneeling in front of me.

“Me, I’m nobody. I’m just a passerby. Would have left if you didn’t try to behead my friend you ugly fuck bag. How's does it feel to be a superhero? You flew to a building so fast~” I taunt him but he couldn't do anything as my skill took effect on his body.

“You impudent bastard. Friend? That slave? Your friend? Fine take him and go. But be warned, we will meet again and when we do, I will make sure to lodge a sword in your throat.” He tells me smiling and it made me twist my foot on top his hand crushing his bones. He shouted in pain but he couldn't move as my skill paralyzed his whole body.

“You sure you in a position to threaten me?” I say as stomp on his hand breaking it apart. He screams as loud as he can but Suyeon caught up to me and muffled his mouth. "Say, tell me, where did you put the auctioneer body? You see, I need to free some of my buddies you trapped in here."

Suyeon slowly releaser her hand from his mouth for him to speak. “H-he should be in the basement of this place. So, you killed him you fucking bastard? Who are you?”

"Basement huh, thanks," I say letting go of his hand and in a quick motion, I slashed his face from one he towards his lips and he fell forward screaming. He couldn't move as he bled out on the ground. I picked him up from his throat and I can see the fear in his eyes as I stared into his. "Say, let's go for round two, Mr. superhero~"

I punched him in the gut causing his body to fly up. As soon as he descends, His body hit the ground hard like a ragdoll. He’s stopped moving as the impact of him landing probably jogged his brain knocking him out.

"Ha, leader of this place and yet you're weak as a fucking boar. Well, hope you die a slow painful death. Suyeon. Let's go back towards the stage." I tell her and she nods. We ran back up the stage and looked for another hidden door in the back. We moved all the boxes until one moved another wall. It leads to stairs going down probably to the basement of the whole place. We quickly ran down and there he was. The auctioneer was laid on a table with a white cloth over his corpse.

“Suyeon quick, help me find a key," I tell her and we started searching the auctioneer. We checked each and every pocket but nothing. "Tsk, let's remove all his clothes, he might be hiding it somewhere."

Using a dagger, I found lying around, I used it to rip open his shirt and pants but nothing. Suyeon worked on removing his shoe and the minute she got the left shoe out, something fell to the floor making a clanking sound.

“Oh, I found it!” Suyeon says as she picks up the key and shows it to me.

"Obvious place to put it. Great, let’s go." We both ran back up towards the hidden room where all the slaves are. After opening the hidden door, we were greeted by Daikichi who had a surprised look the minute he saw us.

“B-b-blood?” He says and when I look down, I was covered in blood due to me slicing up the bandits around me earlier and Suyeon had bloodstains on her clothes and her hands are covered with blood from searching the auctioneer's body.

“Relax, it’s not ours. We found the key." I tell him as I ran back towards where Kana and the rest of them are. I see they drank the potion and are able to move around except for one guy who stayed unconscious. They changed their clothes to the one I gave them, which is similar to what I’m wearing making all of us look uniform.

“Yasu! You’re bleeding!” Kana shouts grabbing the bars of the cage. Her face was plastered with a worried look. I tried to tell her it's not me but she points towards my left arm, and I felt blood trickling down towards my wrist. I look and I see a deep cut on my deltoid area.

"Oh, what the hell," I say as I finally feel the sting. "Forget about that. Do you guys know where we can use the key?” I say looking at the cage and there’s no place for me to insert the key.

“Oh, we’ve seen the auctioneer go up that side and use a control to open certain doors.” A guy inside the cage says and I nod towards him. I see they finished eating the food I gave them but I’m wondering if they will gain the amount of body weight they lost in a short amount of time. It was the same for Suyeon and me but for these guys might be different. Based on what I remember from what Suyeon told me, they didn’t pick any of the legendary class like the ones we have.

I told Suyeon to stay with them since the Lisa girl grabbed Suyeon from the other side of the cage when she got close and hugged her with the bars in-between them. I went towards where they told me the Auctioneer usual goes even when kana protested that I should get my arm healed first. I quickly climbed the ladder and as soon as I got on the top, I spot what seems to be a controller for the cages. Now that I get a good look over all the cages at a high viewpoint, I notice wires coming out of the controller and it runs along the ceiling to only drop down towards the cages.

"This probably controls all the doors," I say inspecting the controller where I can insert a key but nothing. I notice a cover near the edge of the controller and upon playing with it, it came right off exposing the keyhole. "Bingo."

I placed the key inside, and I turned it clockwise until it clicked in place. Two pins came out of a controller and in a few seconds, it projected what seems to be a menu. I see red boxes in the hologram and when I tried to touch one of them, it turned green. I look back down and I see one of the cage doors on the far side opened up. The people inside looked confused but the minute they gained their senses, they bolted out the cage towards the exit.

“Huh, what if I do this…” I whisper as I ran my hand through the hologram turning every box green and next thing I know, each and every cage door opened. All the captured or kidnapped people were still disoriented but when they see the first group to run out, they all followed scampering towards the exit pushing each other out of the way. Since the controller is near the exit, I notice most of them turn my way before leaving their jail cell. I see Kana and the others got out of their cage and the Lisa girl kept hugging Suyeon jumping up and down while Kana hugs Daikichi.

About time those two get that close.I say in my mind and I can’t help myself from smiling.

One guy who looks to be older than all of us carried the unconscious kid and everyone started making their way towards me. I started climbing down and the minute I got at the bottom, I feel a weight suddenly on me. When I turned around, I see Kana hugging me tightly. She is so skinny that I practically can move around while she hugs me. But I didn't, I just stood there and let her cry as she says ‘thank you’ over and over again. I see all of them crying and I somehow know the feeling. Freedom.

Something I felt when I got out of the first dungeon. The minute she calmed down, most of the slaves are gone while I see some stayed in their cage not moving. I look at the group that’s with Kana and Daikichi and inspect all of them.

Two adults, the rest seems to be high school kids. I say in my mind as I see one male adult, one female adult, one guy, a girl, and another guy that’s unconscious, and then there’s Kana and Daikichi. In total, eight people.

"Ok, everyone. Let's skip introduction until we get out of here. I knocked out most of the bandits that were outside including the so-called big boss. Let's head for the exit while they're sleeping." I tell them and they all gave me a weak nod.

“Y-you knocked them out?” Lisa asked surprised.

"Yes. Now let's move. We can't stay here any longer. This whole town probably wants to kill me after punching their great leader in front of a crowd. Outside the auction house is full of bandits so be on your toes. Are you all good to run?” I’m still worried about their condition since they’re really skinny but I see them all nod and give me a look of determination. "Alright, those who can fight, raise your hand?"

I see most of them raised a hand except the old man that’s carrying the unconscious kid.

“Goro-sensei, give me Mamoru-kun. Please help these children fight. Me and Lisa will carry him.” The only adult female in the group says as she takes him off his hands.

So this guy’s name is Goro and that unconscious kid is Mamoru…somehow, that face seems familiar.I say in my mind as I stare at the face of the unconscious kid.

"Item bag," I whisper for my bag and the noise it made hitting the metal floor startled all of them. I took out swords and handed them to the people that can actually fight.

“Ok, guys, the only thing I can give you is swords. The reason is that’s the only weapon I'm limited to carrying including axe and hammers. The sword is the lightest weapon so it's easier to swing it around without losing stamina. I know Daikichi is dual so he has skills that can be used with his weapon but reserve your skills until we really get into deep trouble. All we need to focus is running towards the elevator that leads outside. The problem is the trek to go there since it's on the other side of this bandit town. Everyone ready?" I asked them and they all nod gripping their weapon.

“How about them?” Kana points at the dead bodies inside the cages and I can see her face full of sadness.

"I'm sorry Kana but it's too late for them. There's nothing we can do." I tell her and she turns around to follow me. She sees my arm still bleeding and she tried to heal it. I grabbed her hand startling her and I can see any sudden movement scares them. I felt something prick my heart as I see similar experience I got while I was being tortured a year ago.

“W-what?” She says looking at me with a worried look.

“It’s ok Kana, just reserve your energy. I have ways to heal myself. You’re going to need your energy.” I tell her as I give her a smile and she nods.

Her body looks really skinny and weak. I’m afraid if they use their skill, they’ll pass out. I know for a fact that using our skills uses some magic power but it seems to me and Suyeon are gifted with unlimited magic power, as we’re able to use our skills over and over again. I'll need to ask them later on if they get tired using their skills over and over again to make sure.

“Ok, everyone, let's go! It's a sprint from here! Try to keep up!" I shout over and they all seem determined to get out of here as we get out towards the stage. Thinking I’ll see all the bandits I knocked out earlier, my eyes are set automatically towards where I left them. But to my surprise, they’re nowhere to be seen. Even the big boss is gone.

“Fuck, they disappeared. Everyone! Keep your eyes peeled! These fuckers like to surprise attack!” I shout over and my voice resonated throughout the auditorium. Due to my haste, I forgot to eat something to heal the wound in my left deltoid and it’s now stinging so much it feels like someone shoves an opened lemon inside the wound and squeezed it.

I winced in pain every time I move my arm, but I couldn't stop now since we're so close to getting out of here. Finding them has lifted the heaviness I felt throughout this whole time. We ran towards the dark entrance and using a stalactite I have in my bag, I lead the way while illuminating our path. I thought of bandits hiding in the dark but we went through that area easily and soon enough, we were outside the auction house. I readied myself due to the crowd that I thought was going to be waiting for us but the minute I got out, the whole area is empty. Not one bandit in sight.

“What the hell…” I whisper as I look around, but I don't see anyone. "Well, whatever. Guys! Keep your eyes peeled! They might be hiding waiting to ambush us!" I shout out loud as I kept running not waiting for a response. I started walking back trying to retrace my steps and since Dorang’s not here, it’s going to be easier for us to get lost in the alleyways.

We slowly walked towards the market plaza but like the guillotine area, this whole place is empty. The stalls, the houses, everything. The only sound I hear is from the distance which is probably the kidnapped people that I released. Their voices sound like it's coming from the elevator and somehow, I feel nervous making me want to get there quick.

"Guys, we have to run. Let's go!" I started running and everyone followed behind me. I didn't activate my skill and slowed down my pace since I see them having a hard time keeping up except Suyeon who matched my pace perfectly.

We got through the market quickly without any worries. I was thinking about arrows flying out of the windows but nothing. Everything feels empty and it's not making me feel any better.

Something feels off. Every bandit suddenly disappeared. Are they attacking the escapees? Or did they flee?I say in my mind.

I wanted to run faster, but I’ll end up leaving them behind. It took a while but we finally reached the elevator entrance and it’s teeming with people around it. There are people blocking the entrance of the hallway that leads to the elevator and it’s making it harder for us to even squeeze in.

“Shit, the fuc-“

“Heeeeeey!” I hear a voice suddenly shout from a distance and when I look towards the left, I see Dorang waving at me. The mother and son that I paid one diamond arise standing beside him and they bow the minute they see me approach.

“What are you still doing here? Didn’t you escape?” I asked him.

"Well, after you went fist blazing on the big boss, I ran for the elevator thinking you'll get your friend and run there. It will be better to get the elevator on the bottom floor when you get there so we don't get stuck waiting for it. Well, you never came and I didn't think you had these many friends…" He says as he points towards the group of people waiting around trying to escape.

“Uh, no. They came from the auction house. The people behind me are my group. What’s going on? Why is no one moving and standing around here?” I asked him.

“Well, after a while, the bandits were going crazy looking for you and me. I had to hide somewhere along with these two and luckily, they didn't find me. But when I got out of my hiding spot, suddenly all of the bandits or I should say every single person in this place is gone except these guys you freed and us. Which comes to no surprise. There are people in the task of creating a portal just in case the town get overrun or we all need to flee. The big boss created what we call, abort protocol. It's when those who specialize in making portals create one big portal for the whole town to escape and that's what they did probably. Well better for us, no need to worry about anyone trying to chop our heads off."

He sat on a box with a worried look as he continued talking, “But, I think they did something to the elevator while I was hiding and it’s not working. Even turning the wheel in the middle doesn’t bring it up. It just turns. Some of the slaves who worked with maintaining this elevator is repairing it as we speak.”

"Shit," I whisper looking around just in case the bandits are herding us to get a clear shot.

“What’s going on? Is everything alright?” Daikichi walks up to me and I shake my head as he got close.

“No. The elevator that can bring us back up the surface is not working.” I reply to him.

“Wait, we’re underground?” He asked me and I gave him a confused look.

“You didn’t know? This place is underground. We got here by going through a hidden entrance way from the surface in the middle of the forest.”

“Oh." He says and I watch his face as different emotions run through it. I see tears well up his eyes as he slumps down the ground. “Finally…. we’re getting out.”

I couldn’t help it but just let him cry as today is the day he probably felt really safe. Kana approached us as he sees Daikichi crying on the ground and they all have tears running down their cheeks with a smile on their face.

“Kana…we’re safe. We, we can get out of here.” Daikichi whispers to Kana as he hugs her crying on her thin arms.

"It's fixed! Everyone! Let's go!" A man shouts covered in oil as he tries to squeeze back in the hallway. Everyone followed behind him and slowly but surely, the packed people in the hallway started moving until we were able to be in it. I don't know how fast they moving the wheel to bring the elevator up but with that many people inside the elevator, it means they have a lot of hands to turn the wheel.

We got halfway when all of a sudden, the whole place started shaking. Everyone held onto each other while some hugged the walls and all of our eyes are fixed on the ceiling that looks like it can collapse anytime. As soon as the earthquake stopped, we waited for it to happen again just in case it will come back but all that replaced the tremors are everyone's breathing in the dark cramped hallway. Then I suddenly hear something that sounds like a toilet flushing. I look back and walk out the exit since I decided to be behind everyone just in case bandits come and try to stop us. The minute I got out; I froze in place as I see something worse than a bandit. Runes appeared out of nowhere in the far right and it's big enough to reach the top of the cave up to the bottom floor. But what came out of the circular rune is what made me freeze in place.

“Yasu, what's wrong?” Daikichi asked me as he walks by my side and stopped as he stares what I’m staring at. “E-e-everyone! Move quick!”

We forced people to move faster than usual trying to get a distance from the door. I can sense the fear in his movement, but I couldn’t blame him. What I’m staring at is water. Not just water but a giant wave.

"So they planned this all along," I whisper to myself as the giant wave was swallowing everything in its path, and it’s headed straight for us.