*gulp* gulp* *gulp*

It was almost sunset already. Yet, this was the first time since this morning she was given any water. The cage was boiling from the sun, since they were moved out from under the shade of the trees. She passed the jug around. The soldiers seemed a bit frolick, but things seemed normal. The ones who left yesterday were yet to return, the main group.

'I hope they died.' She cursed them inside her mind as she stared at Koan, who was yet to make any sound since yesterday morning.

"You think she'll come back anytime soon?" One of the former maids asked her after drinking some of the water. Koan just stared blankly into the distance, completely broken.

"I hope so... But I highly doubt it." During her times at the war, she had seen many things. And broken people were one of them. Considering what the future reserved them all, it was not that hard of a guess to say that she'd never go back to what she was... In the best of cases, many still wouldn't, let alone after becoming a slave... She had little hope about the future, both about Koan's and her own.

"Well... At least the princess is not coming back."

"How can you be so sure?" She was very confused from the Maid's response, it was almost as if she knew something she herself didn't.

"Ah... It's just a hunch but... They haven't come back yet, have they. Rather... Not even one of them came. While you were asleep earlier, they were gossiping."

"Oh, I see... Well, I hope they died gruesomely, but that's asking a little too much..."

"kukuku"

"kikiki"

"kukuku"

The other girls, together with the maid, started laughing reservedly. However, it was not enough to avoid them being overheard.

*CLANG*

"The fuck you laughing about? Don't you see your place?" One of the guards hit the cage hard with a piece of metal, making a loud noise.

"Come on, man. They are hurting nobody, nor trying to escape, leave them alone." A soft voice could be heard behind him, away in the distance.

"Shut up, Kyle. Why are you this soft with them? They are slaves, for fuck's sake." The man yelled towards the back, before turning around to speak with them once more. "No matter what you think or who you think is coming to help you. When Gahan comes back with that little bitch who managed to escape, you're gonna see why he's feared the way he is. What he did with that little whore there is just child's play." Before going, he spat on the floor near Koan's feet, making Haya's blood boil.

She clenched her fists, unable to say anything back to the disgusting mercenary, whose back was pointed towards her as he walked back to his peers. She cursed him in her thoughts, unaware of the fact he was doing this to hide his own fear over the lack of answers from the main group.

'I hope they come back soon... The food is almost over already...' He thought, sulling over his own hunger.

He sat down near his colleagues, including Kyle.

"The fuck is up, Kyle? You were never the one to be kind to slaves."

"You are clueless, aren't you?"

"The hell?"

"Barkus, do you know where I'm from?"

"Huh? What kind of question is that? You're from Kaimon of course."

"Yes, do you know who these people are?"

"Err... No!? Why would I care?" After him answering, one of his colleagues clicked his tongue, while another shook his head side to side.

"You are clueless aren't you?" The one who clicked his tongue asked.

Barkus was a fairly old member of the mercenary group. Rather, when Kyle joined, he was already here for a while. A sturdy looking man in his early 20s was a solid addition to this group roughly thirty years ago. But now, in his 50s, he was still the same bulky meathead as back then. Always ready to fight and work hard, but never good with details.

"Huh?! Clueless?! The hell you mean with that? We are just carrying goods to Herclaw."

"You..." Kyle was disappointed but not surprised. "Do you even realize who those people are?"

"No... Why would I?"

"See that woman with a hood over there?"

"Yeah?"

"She's the Queen of Kaimon."

"Ah..."

"And that girl by her?"

"The one Gahan played with?"

"Yeah, that's the 2nd princess."

"Oh, shit..."

"Yeah, right."

"Are you telling me we became human traffickers?"

"... Not that. More like Slave Traders."

"What the fuck is Gahan even doing?"

"Who knows..."

---------------------------------------------------------

"Come fucking on! Why the fuck did I sign up for this?!"

"Shut the hell up, Garth!" Garth kept complaining while crawling through the narrow and small corridor. After almost half an hour hearing him voice his complaints, Gahan was at his wit's end.

"We're almost there! I can see the end!" Lancer's words were filled with joy as he increased his pace. Gahan looked ahead, seeing him grow further and further away from him and Garth... This really didn't suit his personality at all.

'Something's fishy...' He stared into the distance again, paying attention to Lancer, only to see small grooves on the ground under his feet and above his head.

"LANCER! CAREFUL!"

"What?" He turned his head around without stopping, allowing Gahan to see a glazed expression on his eyes before his words were matched by a mechanical sound.

*click*

"Fuck." Gahan thought out loud, before bolts started shooting from the gaps in the stone.

"GAAAHAAAAH!"

Lancer screamed as a dozen bolts shot across his body. The bolts were steadily firing closer to Gahan, from the front to the back, almost as if this very positioning was expected. In a split second, they fired through the whole crack and were reaching him. The groove below ran much further than the one above, and it took a moment for Gahan to realize it… A moment he didn't have.

As soon as he looked down to check for it, his eyes met the sharp glow of a steel tip.