Volume II: Unforgiving Kingdom
Chapter XXVI: Lost Child
Location: Underneath Goldenia
After escaping the demonic forces in the large cavern, Albert and Grena were running through the caverns that they came through in order to head back to the sinkhole.
"Well that was a disaster!" Albert said. "Where do we go from here?"
"Anywhere but back!" Grena answered. "We've gotta get out of here before that giant horde of demons can catch up to us!"
"How are we gonna get out of here?! And then what?! You know that they're planning on attacking Goldenia!"
"Yeah, I know! If we can get out of here, we can warn everyone and get everybody together to put a stop to them!"
"That's an IF we get out here! We were hoping Mina and the others would be able to rescue us but we don't know if they've come up with a plan! They'll follow us straight to the sinkhole and we'll be stuck there with no choice but to fight head on!"
"Then what do you think we do!?"
"I'd hate to admit it, but we have to stay and put a stop to them ourselves."
Grena and Albert both halted to a stop.
"Are you crazy?!" Grena exclaimed.
"Please, hear me out." Albert started to explain. "If they get to the sinkhole then they'll be able to reach the surface easily. There's no telling what they'd do to the people if they catch them by surprise, and we can't reach them easily in time. Without help, we're the only one that can put a stop to a demonic invasion. And we can use these caverns and tunnels to do it."
"Alright fine, I'm listening." Grena folded her arms. "Where would he start?"
"We'll use their own homes against them and defeat them here, ourselves. If the two of us spend our time not only running away, but also taking the time to search around this place and find a way to turn their underground base into a living trap in which will let us stop these demons from invading the surface. We need to search anywhere and everywhere and take whatever we find to be useful with us. We're not gonna be pushed around."
-x-
Inside the main cavern, the remains of the demonic forces were all gathered up. A good portion of them seemed to have actually been wiped out by Grena's surprise attack. However, their numbers were still far too great for Albert and Grena to hope to take on in a head on fight. All of them seemed to be grabbing onto both weapons and whatever remaining explosives they had on them, planning to use them against Albert and Grena if they have to. The others were rallying those who were intimidated by Albert earlier into fighting, saying whatever encouraging statements that they had to in order to get everyone on the same page and ready to fight. As this was going on, the young mage demon was still standing around, the little puppy she had with her sitting on the ground next to her feet. Noticing the puppy nuzzling up against her leg, she squatted down and patted him on the head.
"Don't worry, Tau." She said to the puppy. "I'm not gonna let anything happen to you. Even if that wasn't a bluff, I'll make sure that we get out of here alive." The girl smiled as the pup named Tau barked happily. "Still..." she looked off towards the exit to the large cavern. "I wonder what the real deal is with those two. I only know about humans through Mom and Dad's stories. I've never gotten to actually meet one."
Location: Feena's House, 1st Floor, Goldenia
Meanwhile on the surface, three hours were up. During this time, the group had chosen to rest up for as much as they can. Monika and Feena were both lying down. Ragna had been leaning against the wall inside, resting as well. Reina was curled up into a ball and asleep on the ground, her pen in her hand. Chat Noir had chosen to rest somewhere else nearby, just in case Mina and Mona had woken up. The two sisters in question had been asleep the longest, both of them being allowed to use Feena's bed for the time being. As the three hours were up, the first person awake in the house was Monika. Rubbing her eyes, she saw that the others weren't awake as well. She quickly went over to Feena, Ragna, and lastly Reina, waking up the three of them.
"Three hours already...?" Reina yawned.
"Man..." Feena groaned and stretched. "That felt good."
"How are the other two?" Ragna asked.
Monika looked back in Feena's room to see Mina and Mona still asleep. "They're still out cold so that's a good thing." she answered. "Guess now is a good a time as ever to start planning out our next actions."
"Indeed." Reina agreed. "Where shall we start?"
Chat Noir soon walked in, yawning.
"Evening, everyone." the phantom thief greeted. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything."
"We were just getting started." Ragna answered. "We're trying to figure out what do we do next."
"Ah right. So. What's the first step?"
"Firstly, I wanna address another big elephant in the room." Monika spoke up. "What are we going to do about Albert and Grena's situation? We can't just leave them down there."
"I know that." Ragna said. "But, I've seen firsthand how tough Grena is. And I'm pretty positive if Albert stepped in between a fight she was in, he's gotta be strong as hell too. If anything, those two are safe for now if they stick together. Goblin Mage on the other hand..."
"He's right." Reina added. "Two very strong fighters together have a better chance at survival than a lone child at the hands of a military force that wants her kind dead."
"So right now, we'll focus on our plan to get back Goblin Mage." Feena says. "And then we'll come back here after we've rescued her and rescue Albert and Grena.'
"That would be the smartest option for now." Chat Noir spoke up. "As for rescuing the girl in question, that's going to be a hard task in itself. The Imperial Army aren't a pushover and there's a large amount of soldiers on both the seventh floor and the eighth floor. They have one of the lifts fully guarded on the eighth floor waiting for you to come back up. My suggestion, we use a lift that will take us to the opposite side of the eighth floor and we'll sneak up on them from there."
"How will we know what lift to take?" Reina asked.
"If we're going opposite to them, then maybe the one that's the furthest away from the one we came down on?" Ragna suggested.
"That would be a simple way to go about it, and that's what I like about your plan." Chat Noir responded. "If anything, they're expecting us to try and come up with some elaborate plan to evade them. If so, the last thing that they'll expect from us is to take the simplest plan imaginable and use the far side of the eighth floor to sneak up on them."
"That's to say that they aren't monitoring lift activity." Monika cuts in. "There are areas higher up that will allow them to do that. If they are and they have a way to communicate with the other floors which they most likely do, then they'll be aware of what lift we've chosen and they might rush there."
"Hm... that could pose a problem."
"I've got it!" Feena exclaimed. "There should be a total of four lifts down here, right?"
"There are." Reina answered her.
"We'll split up into groups, and trick them into thinking that we're coming up from other lifts instead of just one other lift. If we start heading up at different times, we can make them doubt which one is us, and especially which one Ragna will go on."
"That would be a good plan but after counting everyone here, there's a total of seven of us. If we go by this plan then we'll have three other lifts to choose from. Seven divided by three equals two with a remainder of one, so how would we balance the teams out and choose which one will have three people instead of two?"
"Simple." Chat Noir said. "What is seven divided by four?"
"Excuse me?"
"One and three quarters to be precise. We'll use all four lifts to the advantage of all seven of us. The rest of you will break into teams of two and choose one of the other lifts away from the obvious trap one. In the meantime, I'll board the trapped one and sneak through the Imperial Army in order to spy and determine how Goblin Mage is doing. I'll even attempt a rescue if I deem it possible."
"You make it sound like that they won't have enough forces to just take us out when we're divided." Ragna said.
"He has a point." Feena added. "If the seven of us work together then it's bound to be a piece of cake, but it's just that we would have more fighting to do... And yet, that would jeopardize Goblin Mage's safety... Then again, all of this does anyway."
"It's a risky strategy, that's for sure..." Monika said. "But if we can truly trick them like this then we might be able to create a situation to easily rescue Goblin Mage."
"Well you're right about that." Ragna sighed. "Not like I could come up with anything better. Alright, fine. With go with Chat's idea."
"Very well then." Reina spoke up. "Then if we're dividing teams; Monika, I would like for you to partner up with Mina for this mission. Feena, you shall have Mona accompany you. You're the two who will most likely react the fastest if those two turn against us. And that shall leave me with Ragna. Since myself and Chat Noir know how to operate a lift easily, and Mina and Mona being soldiers as well as Monika being a former soldier must mean they know the same, then that is why we will divide this way. In order to cover for the rest of us who know how to operate a lift and to split up the two sisters."
"Just a moment." Monika begins to speak again. "How exactly are we going to go about moving the lifts around? Are we going to move them up as soon as we reach them or-"
"I believe Reina can help with that." Chat Noir said.
"She can?"
Reina clicks her pen and beckons for Ragna, Monika, and Feena to step forward. In a swift motion she quickly wrote out a spell using the phrase"心の読者" on the sides of their heads. She then proceeded to do the same to herself and Chat Noir.
"Grant us the power to see into each other's hearts and souls, if only temporarily." Reina chanted. "Reaper's Judgement: 心の読者 (Mind Reader)."
The spell disappeared on all five of them as Reina finished her chant. Though they all stood around for a bit, nothing seemed to happen.
"What the hell did you do?" Ragna asked.
"Simple. I gave you the power to read our minds temporarily."
"What the hell?!"
Ragna was in shock as out of nowhere, he heard Reina's voice echoing in the back of his head. Looking at the maid mercenary in question, Reina was standing there with her hands to her side, eyes closed, and a bright smile. Her lips didn't move at all. She didn't speak, but Ragna heard her voice.
"How did you...?" Ragna questioned.
"Ragna?" Monika asked. "What's wrong?"
"It's simple really." Reina's inner thoughts rang through the heads of all four, shocking them all except for Chat Noir. "Using the power of the Grim Reaper, I was able to write the ability to read each others' minds in our heads. Unfortunately this ability only works between people who are under the effect of the Reaper's Judgement, so don't go around expecting to be able to just read the minds of everyone you meet. Think of it like limited telepathy, if that makes any sense to you three."
"So, you're telling me that we can all hear each others' inner thoughts?!" Monika questioned.
"Precisely." Chat Noir answered.
"This will be how we will communicate with each other for the mission." Reina continued her internal explanation. "Our thoughts are ours alone. If we communicate to each other from within our heads then this means that our two possible enemies along with anyone else won't be able to read our movements. This also allows us to communicate across the lengthy distances between the four lifts."
"I see." Monika thought. "So if this will be how we'll communicate when it's time, then we'll definitely have no problems. Alright! I don't see any other reasons why this plan shouldn't be a success. We're strong enough to hold our own, and we can coordinate with each other with ease.
"That does bring up our last concern." Feena said aloud, gesturing to the two sisters asleep in the other room. "What do we do about the two of them? Do we let them in on this plan or not?"
That part is something that the entire group still wasn't sure on. If on the slight chance that Mina and Mona would indeed be trustworthy in this situation, then it would be wrong for them to not be aware of their plans to rescue Goblin Mage. On the other hand however, if the two turn out to betray them in the end and they're aware of the plan, then everything could go wrong almost immediately. The five of them all sat there for a moment, completely unsure as to exactly how they should proceed here. They had every part of their plan figured out except for this one crucial piece. Their train of thought however was interrupted at the sounds of a knock coming from the inside wall. Looking over, the group saw Mina peeking her head in, her and Mona having woken up when they weren't paying attention.
"Am I..." Mina started to ask. "...interrupting something?
Everyone was quiet. Even Chat Noir didn't have enough time to get out of sight. Everyone was stuck in an awkward situation of whether or not to tell Mina about their plans. And if they don't, how do they explain Reina and Chat Noir's sudden appearance?
"Oh, Mina..." Monika said. "We-"
"-Have many things we need to discuss and such a short little time to do so!" Reina suddenly interrupts Monika. "You two come in quickly, we need to explain this right away!"
"But, Reina-"
"Listen up." The other four could suddenly hear Reina's inner thoughts. "I have an idea, but it's risky. I say we let both Mina and Mona in on our plan and explain the situation with Goblin Mage's capture to them. The only catch is, we don't mention the part where I gave you all the ability to speak telepathically."
"So we're letting them in on it, but we're still keeping them in the dark." Ragna thought. "Not bad for a last minute plan."
"Sounds good to me." Feena thought. "So how do we explain you two?"
"Leave that to me." Reina thought, smiling in reality.
"Unfortunately that worries me..." Chat Noir thought, obviously not looking forward to whatever Reina can come up with.
"Something to discuss?" Mina said, Mona also popping her head into the room.
"Yes, yes. Very important." Reina said, walking over and pulling the two in by their arms. "And for this we'll need the two of you to cooperate with us."
"H-Hey! Wait a minute!" Mina responded as she yanked her arm back.
"Who even are you?" Mona asked, then points towards Chat Noir. "Him too!"
"Ah, yes. Forgive me for my rudeness. My name is Reina." Reina then gestures to Chat Noir. "The fancy dressed gentlemen over there is a friend of mine. His name is Carl."
Chat Noir frowned at the name Reina chose. "Couldn't you have chosen something a little bit cooler sounding?"
"I don't know." Ragna thought, having a smirk on his face. "I think the name suits you."
"Why must I be mocked so...?"
"Um... It's a pleasure to meet you two." Mina said. "We're-"
"Mina and Mona correct?" Reina cuts Mina off.
"How do you know who we are?" Mona asked surprised.
"We already went ahead and introduced the two of you while you were sleep." Feena answered. "Mina, Mona. Reina and... Carl here..." Feena could feel Chat Noir's silent disapproval at the name Reina gave him. Hell she understood his disapproval. "...they're gonna be helping us out with something extremely important. And we need you two to cooperate with us."
"We're not forcing you to. But if you wish to help, then we'll inform you of what happened." Monika spoke up.
"...By the look on your face, it must be something serious." Mina said. "Worse than the situation Albert and Grena are in, I take it. Alright. I'm listening."
-Later. . .-
Monika finally finished explained everything that the group had been discussing, omitting everything that could lead to this plan falling as well as being smart enough to omit the fact Goblin Mage is a goblin, addressing her as "Mage". Mona was doing her best to suppress any reactions that would lead to her cover being blown. Mina on the other hand look both genuinely shocked at this and angry.
"This can't be...!" Mina exclaimed. "The Imperial Army would go as far as to hire a woman formerly imprisoned to lure you out? And go as far as to kidnap a defenseless child nonetheless!"
"I know. It's the last thing we'd expect." Monika said. "But Reina and Carl here are our witnesses. They've managed to catch her fleeing back up to a higher level, the eighth floor we believe. So we're heading there to take back Mage."
"Then, I'll help you any way I can. I may be an Imperial Soldier, but I could never let such an underhanded tactic slide. I'll help you get back this Mage child and I'll suffer the consequences later. Right Mona?"
"...!" Mona quickly looked back up, now paying attention. "R-Right!"
"Did you all catch that?" Chat Noir asked internally.
"I did." Ragna responded in thought.
"Mina's reaction is genuine concern and anger for Goblin Mage's safety." Reina thought. "There's no way someone like her would be trying to lure us into this trap. On the other hand, Mona's clearly trying to hide her feelings by agreeing with her sister, even though it's most likely she doesn't want to. I think we can put our trust in the older sibling for now."
"That makes things easier for you Monika. Feena, you'd better keep your eyes open in case Mona tries something."
"Gotcha." Feena responds to Ragna.
"Mina, Mona, I can't thank the two of you enough for this." Feena then speaks to the two out loud. "Mage means so much to me, I don't know what I would do if anything happened to her."
"I understand." Mina said with a smile. "We'll help you with all your plans."
"Glad to hear it." Monika replied. "Then we leave immediately. We've rested up enough."
"Right!"
It wasn't long after this that the two sisters now knew everything they needed to know about this plan. The group of seven all exited the house and were prepared to make their way to their designated targets. As they were leaving, Monika also decided to move Grena's motorcycle inside Feena's house.
"Monika? What are you doing?" Feena asked.
"Since Grena isn't here, there's no need to leave her motorcycle out in the open where someone could easily find it and steal it." Monika explained. "I figured that it would be best for her if I hid it in the house. I'll be sure to give it back to her later."
"Heh. That's awfully nice of you."
"The two of you are falling behind." Reina said internally to the two. "Please pick up the pace, we can't have you being late when we consider who your partners are for this mission."
"Oh. Right! We're coming!" Feena and Monika both thought in response.
Both girls quickly ran off and caught up with their respective groups, Monika catching up to Mina to lead her while Feena does the same with Mona. Speaking of Mona, the girl in question appeared to be lost in thought.
"What am I going to do?" She thought to herself. "Everyone's expecting me to lead them straight to them for them to be captured but instead I'm being forced into this elaborate scheme to trick the Imperial Army... And to make it worse, Mina's genuinely helping them... How am I going to save her? How am I going to get the two of us out of this mess?!"
Location: Underneath Goldenia
Albert and Grena had been continuing to wander around the underground caverns, looking around and exploring for whatever they can use as a plan to eliminate the demonic forces looking to invade the surface. So far however, they've come up empty handed in looking for anything useful.
"Dammit, there's nothing here..." Albert said with a sigh. "There has to be something that they left behind that could be of use for us."
"This is getting us nowhere, isn't it?" Grena asked in a demoralizing tone. We're not finding anything at all and there's a horde of demons on our goddamn asses. It's only a matter of time before they catch up to us, and then who knows what horrible things they'll do to us?!" Grena balled up her fist. "I say we go down fighting! I'm not about to become some demon's play toy!"
In anger, Grena punches the nearby wall on her right, Albert sighing as the woman let out her frustration. However Grena was suddenly stopped as a large amount of water suddenly started to pour out, splashing Grena right in the face as she could be heard spitting out water and trying to get out of the way, collapsing to the ground in the process. Albert turned around to see what happened and was surprised.
"Water?" He said, beginning to think.
"The hell?!" Grena exclaimed, her voice being gargled by the way heading straight in her face. "Stop this shit!"
Albert put his hand over the hole that Grena made, stopping the water from flowing and allowing the chain wielding mercenary to get back to her feet.
"Yeah... Yeah this could work out in our favor." Albert suddenly says. "I have an idea."
"What is it?" Grena asked.
"Punch some more holes in the same side of the wall that's pouring water."
"And get sprayed again?!"
"Punch low if you have to so that it doesn't spray in your face." Albert took his hand off the wall, Grena moving away just in time as water started pouring again. We're going to let this water work in our favor."
"Alright, fine."
Grena started punching more and more holes in the wall, more water started flowing out of these holes and into the tunnel ending that Albert and Grena were currently in, flowing all throughout the rest of the tunnel and beyond.
"Good." Albert said. "Now head to the end and bring down part of the roof of the tunnel so that the water can build up in this area."
Grena obliged, and started bringing down the tunnel walls at the back part of where they came from. Part of the roof came down, creating a small blockade made entirely of rubble that blocked the majority of water into the small opening where the two were. The water managed to build up to just about their ankles before it continued overflowing.
"Alright, that takes care of that." Albert looked around and noticed the highest hole that water was pouring out from no longer had water rushing out. "Seems like whatever water was here is starting to run out."
"What's with all of this water?"
"This has got to be a sign! The humans must be this way!
"Let's go! This place is a dead end!"
"Crap, they're here!" Grena said. "What next?"
"Here, I'll help." Albert said, grabbing hold of Grena.
"Huh?! What the hell do you think you're doing?!"
"You don't have a high immunity to electricity I can tell." Albert explained, turning Grena to face the hole where no water was running. "I'm gonna lift you up into that hole to get you out of the way so that you don't get hurt. I'll push you up and you pull yourself up. After I'm done here, help me get in the hole as well. It should be big enough for us to fit through."
Grena cracked her knuckles and punched the area again, widening the hole.
"Now it's an easier fit." Grena said. "Alright let's go."
Grena jumped up and grabbed the cliff end of the wide hole, pulling herself up. Albert grabbed hold of the woman's upper thighs and started to push her up.
"H-Hey!" She exclaimed with a blush. "Watch where you're grabbing!"
"I'll apologize later! Hurry and go!" Albert commanded.
Grena groaned and pulled herself through the hole, beginning to craw to the other side. Around that time, Albert heard the sounds of rapid footsteps approaching him quickly. Suddenly, a large amount of demons suddenly poured into the area, a good chunk of them hopping over the blockade of rubble while others stood around, the majority of them all in the water.
"Looks like you got separated from your friend!" One of the demons said.
"We'll get her after we're done with you." Another demon said. "If you wanna try praying to the Gods then good luck! Ain't no way that any of them are gonna help you out of this!"
"You're the ones who should be praying to the Gods." Albert boasted.
The demons all laughed at this.
"Oh yeah?" A third demon taunted. "You and what army?"
"Just me. Myself." Albert held up his right hand, to which electricity and lightning could seen forming in it. "And a blast of electricity!"
The demon all suddenly realized; They got lured into an electric trap as they were all inside water. They quickly tried to turn around and try and get away, some climbing on top of other demons. However it was too late for them. Albert put his hand in the water, causing a large electric current to run into it, sending a very large electric shock that electrocuted the demons that were all standing in any of the water that had flown out. All the way from the small blockade, to the beginnings of the tunnels. Demons could be heard crying out in pain and dropping dead as they were shocked. By the time Albert was done, a good portion of demons had all been taken out, most of them dead as well. Seeing this, he quickly grabbed onto the wide hole and started puling himself up. Soon, he felt Grena's hands start yanking him up as well.
"I see you made yourself a way to turn around as expected." Albert said.
"Yeah." Grena replied. "That and you need to have a look at what's back here. It's awesome."
"Awesome?"
"I was impressed when I first saw it."
Grena managed to turn around in the hole and started crawling forward. Albert crawled after her, keeping his face pointed down in order to avoid straight at Grena's behind. Soon the two arrive at the end, where Grena and Albert came out of the hole. Looking around, Albert was also surprised to see the sight before him. It was a beautiful underground spring, with water seeming to drain out through the holes that Grena made. Thankfully where the two were standing, they were on dry area and did not get caught up in the water.
"An underground spring...?" Albert said in surprise. "I wasn't expecting to find something like this under here."
"Beautiful to look at, ain't it?" Grena asked. "And the best part; Look up there."
Looking where Grena pointed at, they could see a small point of light in that area. It wasn't a torch however. While the light was dark and dim like everything else, it was enough that illuminated the cave differently than if it were lit by torches. The dark light area was also different from the regular darkness they suffered. The two figured it out. That was moonlight shining in there.
"Is that..." Albert started to say.
"Yep!" Grena answered. "I think we might have just found our way back to the sinkhole with ease. Who knew that it was actually so close?"
"So we can reach the sinkhole before the demons if we hurry and get up there. Then we can set up traps and hold our ground at the very place they all want to go to. This might be our only chance to put a stop to the demons trying to invade Goldenia with great ease."
"Am I hearing that we're going to have to put up a head on fight?"
"Only as a last resort." Albert started walking around. "Come on. We can talk more as we walk towards the moonlight."
Grena nodded and proceeded to follow after Albert to the moonlight.
-x-
Meanwhile further back in the tunnels, the remaining demon army had shrunken greatly due to Albert's recent strategy. While they were originally large in numbers, they didn't bother to think that two humans could easily outsmart them like this. As such, the demons lost another part of their forces due to the amount of water that spread about, and what was left was attempting to rally together and come up with something.
"What do you mean they've dropped dead!?" The red demon shouted out.
"I mean our forces have all nearly dropped dead!" another demon reported. "They used some kind of... of water trap and then everyone just started dying and now their all dead!"
"What are we supposed to do now?" a skeleton in armor questioned. "Those were some of our best fighters out there!"
"They're just toying with us as long as we stay together!" The red demon concluded. "We've gotta split up! Search everywhere for either them, or that sinkhole. Whichever comes first! We gotta at least keep together enough of our forces evade the surface, don't we?"
"Precisely! These old pile of bones didn't climb out of the grave just to get stuck in another one!"
"Then get moving!"
"Yes, sir!"
The demonic forces that remained didn't hesitate to all split up, basically going their own separate ways.
"Hmm..."
At the same time, the mage demon seemed to have been walking around behind the rest of the demonic forces, watching them all as they went off in different directions. After they were out of her sight she started walking towards the area where the demons fell victim to Albert's electric trap. Her companion Tau was riding on her shoulders as she walked above the water and the dead bodies of demons via small glyphs forming underneath her feet.
"Following them might not be such a bad idea." The girl said to herself, rubbing her companion's head. "They seem a lot smarter than the band of demons I'm following now. They did manage to lead them into a trap after all."
The mage demon looked up and found the hole that Albert and Grena crawled through in order to escape. Floating upward, she let Tau go through first before she started crawling through herself. The two ended up in the same spring area that Grena and Albert did.
"Now where to go from here?" She asks herself.
Location: 1st Floor, Goldenia
"Looking at your thoughts, I take it that everyone is currently in position?"
On the first floor, the group of seven had split up into their separate teams and gone to the lifts that they chose to go to, with Chat Noir heading to the one that would obviously lead straight into the Imperial Army's trap. As of now everyone was at their designated areas waiting. Chat Noir was leaning against the outside of the lift as it was lowered down and ready for use at any time, spinning his cane around as he waited to hear from Reina and the others that it was time.
"I'm ready anytime Reina." He thought.
"You know, maybe you should wait somewhere else so that you aren't just out in the open." Reina thought, clearly able to read what Chat Noir is doing while waiting. "You're a thief aren't you? Shouldn't you be more worried about the fact that you'd easily stick out like a sore thumb on the first floor?"
"I'm not worried. Besides if anyone comes by, there's plenty of shade to hide in."
Reina sighed internally. "It's your livelihood and profession at risk."
On another side, Monika and Mina had also arrived at the platform as well. Though, the lift they needed wasn't exactly on the first floor, so the two were waiting for it to return down. The two were standing at a nearby wall as to be out of the way but close enough so that they'll know exactly when the lift arrives.
"We're still waiting on ours..." Monika sighed internally. "I forget how long it can take if they're high up all of a sudden. It doesn't help that this one was originally going up so now we have to wait for it to go up AND come down."
"Let me know immediately when it is about to arrive, please." Reina thought.
"Will do."
"Hey, so..." Mina started to say, getting Monika's attention. "If we're trying to use all four lifts as our strategy, then won't they find it suspicious on how all the lifts are heading down to the same floor at once? Won't they know that we're planning something?"
"If they had the capability to see whether or not the lift was empty then they'd have the same capability to put a stop to the amount of thieves and nighttime criminals there are in Goldenia." Monika explained. "Yes they can tell when the lifts are moving and where to. But they don't know who will be on the lifts. At best, they'll assume that it's just normal citizens using the lifts for the time being till our plan gets in action."
"I see..."
Meanwhile with Mona and Feena, the two were almost in the same situation as Monika and Feena, except the lift they need to use was just about down. The two were able to wait around out in the open with ease, as the area this lift was located on was directly on the side of the first floor that was abandoned. Feena was waiting around with her hands behind her head while Mona was sitting on the ground, thinking.
"Shouldn't be much longer for the two of us." Feena thought. "We'll be on standby when it gets here, so just tell us when."
"Don't worry I will." Reina thought. "Just make sure that you keep your senses sharp. If Mona were to try anything and-"
"Oh please, look who you're talking to. I'm used to people stabbing me in the back by now. If she tries anything, I'll be able to take her down before she can even land a blow on me."
"Um..." Mona started to say.
"Sorry, we'll talk later. Mona's saying something."
"What's up?" Feena questioned.
"...No, it's nothing." Mona said, looking away.
"Aw come on, don't be like that. If you got something to say you'd better say it. Once we start this, there's no going back till we get Mage."
"R... Right..."
"So what's on your mind? Come on, you can tell me."
Mona remained silent for a moment, then suddenly turns away from Feena. "It's not important. I shouldn't be causing distractions. I just need to focus on the mission at hand."
Feena didn't respond to Mona after she said that, and went back to observing the lift as it was approaching. She didn't show it but her internal thoughts would have shown that she was feeling very suspicious that Mona would turn against her.
With Reina and Ragna, their lift had already shown up. The two were waiting inside the lift for the time being, Ragna leaned against the back of the lift with his hands to his sides, while Reina was near the lift entrance, still communicating telepathically with the others.
"Ragna and I are in position." She thought. "We'll be ready to move out once the rest of you are. Once everything's ready, I'll give the signal for this to start."
"Gotcha." Feena responded internally.
"Alright." Monika also said in her thoughts.
"Ready when you are." Chat Noir also responded.
"Excellent." Reina says internally to the three.
The maid mercenary sighed and started walking over to the back of the lift where Ragna was. She then sat down on the ground and continued to wait.
"Well then, it seems we have a little bit of time to kill before everyone else is fully ready." Reina said.
"Yeah, I heard." Ragna replied.
"You seem awfully quiet. Don't tell me, are you nervous?"
"No, it's not that. You know how you can like read our minds right now right?"
"If you're worried about me seeing any thoughts that you would not like for me to see then don't worry. I may be experienced enough to see those, but I'm only going as far as to hear your immediate thoughts, as in just enough to communicate. That's the easiest thing to do in telepathic communication after all."
"I'm not worried about all that. If anything... I'm curious."
"Pardon?"
"If you did look deeper into my mind, what could you see? What part of my mind would you be able to see?"
"I'm... I'm not sure if I'm understanding what you're asking. Based on what you're saying, it would seem like you're asking me if I could see every part of your mind, including your past thoughts and whatnot."
"I am."
"I could do that. Why do you ask?"
"Could you use it to find and tell me about my memories?"
"What?"
"When I first woke up in Riverbrandt, I couldn't remember a damn thing. My entire life felt like a blank, as if it had just started at that moment. I had my name and basically nothing else. It's been a slow process but I'm starting to remember my past more and more. If you could see the memories that I can't, then I'm hoping that you could help me remember them faster."
"I... never knew that about you." Reina stood back up. "I'm sorry to hear that, and I'm also sorry to say that I'm not entirely sure if that is possible. Sure, I could look through your head to try and find them, but the chances are if you don't remember them yourself, then I may not be able to find them. Despite my skills with the multitude of the Reaper's Judgements, I don't know how to use them all to their full potential. It may be possible for me to force you to remember yourself, but I highly doubt that I could do it. I'm willing to try if you like."
"No. There's no need to try and force yourself to do that. It's fine, I was just wondering."
Reina looked away from Ragna as he said that. She couldn't help but feel awful over not being able to help out with such a problem, even after considering her powers and abilities she didn't believe that she could help.
"And stop feeling sorry for yourself, will you?" Ragna asked suddenly. "I said it's alright."
Reina momentarily had a look of surprise on her face. "How did you-" She stopped mid-sentence as she remembered. "Ah, yes. That's right, you can read my mind as well."
The two remained quiet for a while, until Reina decided to break the silence again.
"What if you not remembering things was a good thing?" She asked.
"How the hell would that be a good thing?" Ragna questioned.
"Perhaps wherever you came from is a place that you're better off not remembering. It may have been a life that isn't worth the trouble of wanting to go back. What if this is a gift from the Gods? A chance for you to have a new life? What if this incident here is nothing but a challenge they set up to see if you're worthy of a new, better life?"
"Yeah right. That's way too fantastical for it to be true. You've got one hell of an imagination, Reina."
Reina sweatdropped. "I've... been told that before... many times..."
"It's almost here, Reina." Monika suddenly chimed in.
"Oh! It's time!" Reina thought.
Ragna sighed. "Alright. Let's go."
"Right." Reina said.
"Chat Noir, you move up first. We'll make them think we're coming straight towards them first and foremost."
"Righty-o."
Chat Noir spun his cane around and tossed it into the air. As he started walking towards the lift, the cane fell into his shadow and disappeared. Stepping onto the lift, Chat Noir activated and began heading up towards the eighth floor.
Location: 8th Floor, Goldenia
Meanwhile on the eighth floor, everything that they were hoping for was indeed set in place. The lift that everyone suspected and that Chat Noir was at was exactly where the Imperial Army was expecting Mona to lead the others to. Several imperial soldiers were standing guard on the area all around the area where the lift would arrive, their weapons in hand while in a relaxed position. Predator was also back on the floor after her part of the mission. The assassin was laying on top of building looking up at the moon. Iska was sitting on a well somewhere behind everyone else. The woman wasn't far away to the point where everyone wouldn't hear her however. She held her staff in her hands and was tapping the bottom of it against her feet.
The soldiers Juri, Jack, and Harper are also on the floor as well, being among the soldiers up front. Juri remained silent and stood up straight, his sword sheathed and pointed down towards the ground as his hands on the pommel of his blade. Jick was facing around behind the rest of the soldiers, not wanting to stand still. His axe was in his hand and rest on his left shoulder. Harper sat on the ground with his rifle by his side, pointed up to the sky for safety concerns.
Farthest away from the lift area was where Alexiel, Aglovale, and Vira were positioned. Along with them was Goblin Mage, who Predator successfully brought up to the eighth floor. The mood between the three of them was surprisingly quite low. Alexiel and Aglovale were both quiet as the group of three were all standing in close distance to each other. In the meantime Vira was busy next to Goblin Mage, looking at the young child quite interested as she tried to be nice and talk with her. Unfortunately, Goblin Mage wasn't budging, and remained quiet.
"Come on, you adorable little child you!" Vira said in a kindly tone. "I'm not trying to hurt you, so why don't we just get along, huh? How about we have a chat for a bit? You must be bored too just sitting here!"
No matter how much Vira tried, Goblin Mage continued to remain silent.
"Vira, give it a rest." Alexiel said to her. "She has no intentions on saying anything to either of us."
"Aw, there's no need to be such a downer, Alexiel." Vira responded, rubbing Goblin Mage's head. "You just have to know how to handle kids is all. If you know how to talk to them then I'm sure that you can get along very, very easily-Ow!"
Goblin Mage jumped up slightly and bit Vira's hand, causing the woman to yank her hand back from rubbing the goblin girl's head.
"She bit me!" Vira whined as she rubbed her hand.
"I tried to warn you." Alexiel commented as she rolled her eyes.
"Oh shut it!" Vira turned around to face Alexiel and Aglovale. "Anyway what's up with you two? Don't tell me you're still down about all of this. You've been like that ever since she got here."
"It's not easy to shake off this feeling."
"Planning out this mission didn't seem like such a big deal at first." Aglovale stated. "However, when we've actually gone through with it..."
"Yeah, yeah, it makes you have second thoughts." Vira interrupted. "Yes, I know. We're horrible for going along with the plan to kidnap a child to use as bait. Think about why we're doing this in order to understand why this was necessary."
"You're saying all of that Vira, but you feel just as bad as the two of us do." Alexiel replied. "That's why you're trying to be friends with the poor girl. You're hoping it'll ease your guilt if she thinks you're a good person."
Vira looked away from Alexiel. "That's-"
"There's no other way to view this. Even if it is to bring him here, this is such a sinful act that I can never forgive myself for doing. I want to go back and try and find another way now, but I know I can't. I have no other choice but to stand here and try to accept this crime."
Vira wanted to refute, but ultimately she knew Alexiel was right. Seeing the kidnapped Goblin Mage in person put on them a feeling that they were not expecting.
"At least, she is unarmed." Aglovale commented.
"Yeah, that's a good thing!" Vira replied, trying to stay positive. "There's still at least one good thing through this..." At the end, she sighed. "Oh who am I kidding... I feel just like the two of you, and she won't talk to me. I just want all this to be over with already."
"I have to admire the kid's bravery though..." Alexiel said, looking over at Goblin Mage who was staring back with a face showing she wasn't afraid. "She isn't scared at all. If I was her age and I was in this situation, I would've been scared out of my mind."
"So would I."
"The same goes for me as well." Aglovale comments also.
The three went back to being silent as Goblin Mage also kept herself silent as well. It wasn't long before an ice crystal formed in front of Aglovale. Holding his hand out below it, it grew and floated right above his hand. A silhouette of Iska could be seen within the ice crystal.
"My liege, they're approaching us." Iska reported.
"Very well. We're coming back up." Aglovale said, the crystal disappearing as he turned to the others. "Looks like this will be over sooner than expected.
"Thank goodness." Vira sighed, grabbing Goblin Mage. "I was hoping we'd get to end this-Ow!" Vira yelped as Goblin Mage bit her again.
"Let's get this over with." Alexiel responded.
Meanwhile with Iska as she was walking back towards the front, she had another crystal in her hand that seemed to be connected to another one that was somewhere else, possibly on a different floor. She was using this one to communicate to another soldier.
"Are you sure that it's this one?" Iska asked.
"Yes ma'am." The soldier reported, obviously having access somewhere to view the lift movement. "The lift heading upwards is the one you asked about. Judging by its speed, it'll arrive straight at the eighth floor."
"Good to hear. If they make any stops on another floor, alert me immediately."
"Understood, ma'am."
Soon, Iska found herself at the front, where the remaining soldiers, Juri, Jick, and Harper, along with Predator were all located. The soldiers turned to face the retainer while the assassin continued to lay on the building that she was on, still close enough that she could hear what was going on down below her. Soon Aglovale, Alexiel, and Vira walked up behind her as well.
"Is it finally time?" Jick asked.
"Yes, yes it is." she answered. "The lift on the first floor has been activated and it's set course is most likely the eighth floor. Our targets will walk right into our trap we've laid and we'll finally have what we've been chasing down for a while."
"And the girl?" Alexiel asks, gesturing to Goblin Mage in Vira's arms. "What do we intend to do when they ask for her back?"
"She'll be given her freedom, must to all of your enjoyment I'm sure. Granted, our prisoners won't be allowed to take her back, we have no need to imprison or kill an innocent child. I'm sure we'll find somebody to take care of her. We'll have to leave her somewhere safe either way."
"How can you be so calm about all this Iska?" Aglovale asked. "You're talking about leaving a child with nobody to take care of is something easy. I don't recall you being so heartless when I made you my retainer."
"I practically raised myself, my liege. My parents were always away due to business, so the little time I spent with them was learning how to take care of myself. Eventually I grew used to it and I've raised myself pretty well on my own. I learned so much being by myself as a kid and it made me into your retainer today. If I can do it, then so can she."
"Not every child is made the same." Alexiel responded.
"Being kidnapped and then left alone to fend for herself is too cruel a fate." Vira said. "We may have taken part in such a shameful act, but I'll be damned before I let you just abandon her. If all else fails, I'll take care of her myself if need be."
"She doesn't seem to like to you though." Iska commented, as Goblin Mage did not look happy while in Vira's arms.
"Either way, leaving her alone is out of the question." Aglovale said.
"What do you suppose, my liege? I'm trying to be nice and not have her thrown in prison with her friends. You've already forced me to change my mind at the last minute and keep her here instead of at the castle. This plan is going to work, my liege. I just need you to leave everything to me.
"Not when you're thinking up cruel ideas like this. If we're going to capture them, she deserves to see her loved ones before that happens. And to then rip her away is just cruel. If anything, what we need to do is cooperate with the others once the demon has been taken captive. We'll negotiate something with them that will be to our benefit, their benefit, and to this child's."
"You're too kind, my liege."
"Ma'am. The lift has stopped." Iska was halted from her conversation with the others due to the soldier on another floor responding via her crystal. "It... actually made a stop at the seventh floor instead of the eighth. It just arrived."
"Hm... Then perhaps my suspicions were correct. There's a chance that the seventh floor might be where they're trying to go for help first. If so, that's most likely the floor where the mercenaries who joined the guild have been hiding. With the Crimson Chain with them they're bound to be connected with each other. Our soldiers down there will be able to apprehend-"
"Wait... Wait a minute. Ma'am, it appears all of the lifts are also heading upward at the same time!"
"Excuse me?"
"Taking a look, The three other lifts were all on the first floor at the time of the arrival of the one you're tracking to the seventh floor. However the moment it reached the seventh floor the other lifts are beginning to move up. The one farthest right is moving at an alarming rate!"
"What?!"
"What is it?" Alexiel asked.
"They're trying to trick us, it seems."
-x-
"At this speed, we'll probably be there before they can spot us. And we'll be long gone!"
The lift on the far right was the one that Feena and Mona were on and using. With Mona being more experienced in understanding and controlling lifts, Feena had her tamper with the one that they were using to make it go faster than the other ones, hoping to cause some confusion higher up.
"Shouldn't we slow it down now?" Mona asked. "What if we go past the eighth floor?"
"I'm keeping count as we past each floor." Feena said. "We're only past the third one. Full speed ahead! Get us up there as fast as you can!"
"I'm not trying to break the lift!"
Meanwhile with Reina and Ragna, the former was the one controlling their lift as they headed upwards as well. She was keeping an eye on the thoughts of her allies during this as well.
"Feena, you and Mona need to be prepared to take off as soon as you hit the eighth floor." Reina thought.
"Trust me, I'm ready." Feena responded internally.
"Monika, for about thirty seconds I want you to put a halt into the lift that you and Mina are on once you pass the third floor. We'll trick them up even further by making them think that's the one we're definitely messing with."
"I'm on it." Monika said in her thoughts.
"Chat, I hope you're not too bad now that you have to wait on the seventh floor."
With the phantom thief in question, the lift he used was stopped on the seventh floor as planned. As expected, Iska did have imperial soldiers waiting around that area. Some of them were investigating the lift upon seeing that nobody was there. Others were searching the rest of the floor, seeing if the group had somehow immediately slipped into an area that they couldn't see, and were on the run. Chat Noir was hidden within the shadows of the lift, completely out of sight of the imperial soldiers.
"It is quite entertaining watching them panic as they look for us." Chat Noir mocked in his head.
"You must be enjoying yourself then I take it." Reina giggled internally.
"And you?"
"Ragna and I will be passing the third floor shortly. The same goes for Monika and Mina as well. Feena and Mona are still way ahead of us. But I'm sure if you've been paying attention, you already know this of course."
"I was not. I've been too busy laughing at the soldiers here."
"Of course you were."
"We're passing the third floor, Reina." Monika chimed into their conversation again. "I'll stop it now."
With Monika and Mina, the former was the one mainly operating the lift. Though the two of them had roughly the same amount of experience, Monika was the one they chose to let move the lift. Mina was surprised when all of a sudden, Monika started to tamper with the lift in order to slow it down to the point where it would stop in between the third and fourth floor.
"Monika?" Mina questioned. "What are you doing?"
"I'm... trying to see if we can confuse them up on the eighth floor." Monika answered. "If they're watching us then they might think we're playing games with them by stopping this one instead."
-x-
"Now the one on the middle left has stopped moving!"
Iska was still being informed of the situation.
"It's not at any floor though." The soldier reported to her. "It's just right in between the third and fourth floor. The lifts shouldn't be able to do that on their own. Someone must be tampering with it."
"And the other lifts?"
"The middle right is still on the seventh floor. The far left is moving at the correct speed while the far right is coming up faster than expected. It's already gone past the fifth floor and will be arriving shortly."
"If all four of them are heading up, how are we supposed to be sure that they're coming to this one?" Juri asked.
"Mona was supposed to lure her to this one wasn't she?" Vira questioned. "Do you think something happened to her? Or could she have decided to turn and join with our foes?"
"If that's the case then I have no way of predicting where they could be." Iska answered. "Of course, the rest of the demon's little friends must be trying to toy with me. They're trying to make us confused as to where could he be!"
"You sound like you're positive that the demon himself will show up on this exact lift!" Alexiel responded. "What if they are playing with us and he's on another lift instead? He could go into hiding and we'll have wasted our time here!"
Iska wanted to respond but knew Alexiel was right.
"The far right one is about to pass the seventh floor." The soldier reports suddenly.
"We have no choice." Iska said. "Lady Alexiel's right. This is obviously a trick but if we don't split up we might miss our chance. Juri! You, Jick, Harper, and a few soldiers will rush over to the lift on the far right. Hurry! Cut them off before they can try and run!"
"Yes ma'am!" Juri saluted, himself, Jick, Harper, and a few others heading off.
"Lady Vira, I would like for you to leave the child here and get ready to head over towards the lift on the far left. With a few members of the royal guard with you, you should have no problem in apprehending them if they turn out to be who we're looking for."
"Very well." Vira said, handing Goblin Mage over to Iska.
"Lady Alexiel please get ready head to the middle left, the one that has stopped between floors. That one is more suspicious than the other two. Once it gets closer head there."
"I'll handle it." Alexiel said.
"The rest of us shall stay here and await whatever is lurking on the seventh floor below."
-x-
Reina and Ragna continued to wait as their lift went up normally, now passing the fourth floor.
"If I had to make a prediction, I would say now that they've most likely begun to split up and cover more ground." Reina said aloud, turning her head towards Ragna. "Ours is the most normal behaving one right now so we could have two possible options. A; We could face the worst of it due to us behaving so calmly, which could be suspicious to many. Or B; We may have the least troubles due to the way the other three lifts are behaving. They might suspect us as normal civilians and that we split up into groups of three instead of four."
"Just be prepared for whatever." Ragna replied. "We're playing a huge gamble here, you know."
"Yes, yes. I'm well aware."
"Alright, a few more seconds and Mona and I will be on the eighth floor!" Feena said in her head.
"Excellent." Reina thought. "Good luck to you Feena. I hope that you manage to avoid any troubles. From the forces awaiting you on the eighth floor and from the woman inside of the lift with you right now."
"I'll be alright!"
"I believe in your confidence. Monika, you and Mina may begin moving once again. Normal speed, please."
"Alright." Monika thought.
Monika soon went back to tampering with the lift once again.
"Is now a good time for us to move again?" Mina asked.
"I'm sure we've caused some confusion if they're watching us." Monika responded. "We should get moving before we attract too much attention."
"That is a good idea."
"Chat Noir, now's your cue." Reina continued think. "Is your lift clear or are soldiers still there?"
"Inside, it's all me." Chat Noir responds internally. "Right outside, I've got two of them standing guard in case someone comes back. I bet they won't be expected for it to start moving all of a sudden."
"Are you sure you're clear to move it?"
"Relax. I won't even need to come out of the shadows. Is it time for me to head up?"
"It is."
"Then I'll do just that."
With Chat Noir, the shadowy cat that he has with him appears on the lift via any shadows on said lift. Walking over to where it could be controlled, the cat messed with a few things like it was playing with a cat toy. Soon, it was able to mess around enough to the point where the lift started moving upward. As it did so, the two soldiers were alerted to this and turned around, surprised to see that the lift was apparently moving on its own as the cat disappeared.
"It... It's gone..." The first soldier said.
"How is that possible?" The second one questioned.
As it started to head for the eighth floor, Chat Noir momentarily appeared from the shadows on the lift.
"And just like that, I'm heading up." He thought.
"Being a thief, pulling stunts like that must be second nature to you huh?" Ragna asked internally.
"Precisely."
"Alright, go time!" Feena exclaimed in her head. "Good luck everybody!"
"You too." Monika responded.
"Don't let yourself get caught." Ragna said.
"I'll be there shortly." Chat Noir comments.
-x-
Back on the eighth floor, Iska was still trying to get a grasp on the situation, repeatedly communicating with the upper floor that can keep an eye on the lift.
"It's on the move again?" Iska questioned.
"Yes ma'am!" The soldier reports once again. "Middle right is heading up right now. It'll arrive shortly. The far right has arrived at the eighth floor while the left lifts are moving at normal speeds. Their arrival isn't expected yet."
"Right." Iska turns to the others. "Our target lift is about to arrive. If they're truly here then get ready to capture them. If not, be ready for any surprises. Expect anything and everything."
The rest of the army all steeled themselves as the lift started to approach them. Hearing the sounds of a lift rising, they knew that is was right there and was about to stop on the eighth floor. The lift proceeded to do just that. When it arrived however, everyone looked in surprise as they saw nobody aboard it, causing everyone to have a confused look on their faces.
"There's nobody there." Aglovale said.
"That can't be." Iska said. "There must be someone hiding there."
Two soldiers walked over to the lift that just showed up. Walking around and looking in every part of the lift. They quickly came up empty-handed, not finding any clues or seeing any person attempting to hide.
"Nobody's here." One of the soldiers responded.
"It must have come up on its own." Another one said.
"That's impossible..." Alexiel stated. "Unless someone higher up is controlling them, then it shouldn't be able to come up on its own."
"Is this your doing?" Iska asked the soldier she was communicating with.
"No ma'am." He responded. "I'm not controlling the lifts whatsoever. I'm just keeping an eye out."
"If you're not doing it then who could be?"
"Allow me to answer your questions."
Everyone snapped to the moment they heard someone's voice speak to them from the lift. Appearing from the shadows and walking out in front of them all was Chat Noir, who was holding a black ball with tiny ears poking out of it. Predator tensed up as she recognized the object in his hand, quickly covering her eyes using her right arm. Goblin Mage looked up and noticed Predator doing this, figuring that something must be up. She proceeded to do the same.
"Who the hell are you?" One of the soldiers asked.
"Let me introduce myself." Chat Noir stated. "Hello." He then flicked the black ball forward, towards the army in front of him. "And goodbye."
The ball exploded in a flash of light, that blinded everybody who laid eyes on it.
"M-My eyes!" Iska panicked, letting go of Goblin Mage.
"The hell did you do to us?!" Alexiel exclaimed, dropping her zweihander as she rubbed her eyes.
Chat Noir didn't say anything to the blinded opponents. He walked between them and made his way over to Goblin Mage. The girl uncovered her eyes as she felt him kneel down and tap on her shoulder.
"Don't worry. I'm an associate of Feena's." Chat Noir said. "I'm here to take you back to her."
"Really?" Goblin Mage asked. "Where is she? Is she alright?"
"She's fine." The phantom thief extended a hand out to the little goblin girl. "Come on. Let's go and meet up with-"
The two were interrupted as out of nowhere, Predator and came in and kicked Chat Noir square in the chest, knocking the phantom thief a good distances away from Goblin Mage. The assassin grabbed the girl and then hopped back towards the building she was on. As Chat Noir got up, he saw where Predator was and that she had Goblin Mage with her. While he wanted to see if he could help, he knew if he stuck around longer that everyone would recover from his surprise attack, and that they would be able to get a good look at him. He sighed, and vanished into the shadows.
"Wait! Don't go!" Goblin Mage called out before Predator covered her mouth.
"I think my vision's starting to return..." Vira said as she started to feel around for the sword she dropped. "What happened? What's going on?"
"Where is that kid?!" Iska questioned, able to see decently again. "Did he-"
Predator jumps and leaps down in front of Iska with Goblin Mage in her hands.
"He got away, and he almost managed to take her with him." Predator answered. "Take her to the eighteenth floor. If he managed to get this close to capturing her, then she needs to not be here less the rest of her friends return to take her back."
"But without me down here!" Iska exclaimed. "You need somebody to guide you!"
"We'll be find on our own. We just have to surround them once they're on this floor and capture them that way. We don't need to rely on you the entire time. We're all capable warriors."
"Tch... Alright, fine."
Iska takes Goblin Mage away from Predator, the little girl trying to break free as Iska walked to the lift. While keeping a tight grip on the goblin girl, Iska used the lift and headed upward towards the eighteenth floor, planning to wait at the castle for the time being. Knowing that they would have to spread out now, everyone split up, going along with Iska's previous plan and heading out to those positions.
Meanwhile near another lift, Juri, Jick, Harper, and other soldiers had arrived at the one that came up too quickly. When they got there however, they did not see anybody on the lift. Looking around, there was no one suspicious nearby.
"Dammit, we were too late!" Jick exclaimed.
"They couldn't have gotten far." Juri said. "Harper, keep an eye out here in case they try and come back."
"I'm on it." Harper responded.
"Fan out, the rest of you. They're here somewhere!"
The soldiers all head out and start investigating the rest of the floor.
-x-
Meanwhile, Feena and Mona had ran somewhere into the populated areas of the floor. The two were moving through the streets while trying to not make eye contact in fear somebody will notice them.
"Why's she taking me into the streets of the eighth floor?" Mona thought as she followed after Feena. "Of course... If we're in a populated area then I can't try and take her by force or else I'll look like the villain. I-I know as a soldier I would have the right to, but..."
"Hey. Mona." Feena said, getting her attention. "See anyone looking for us?"
"N-No! Not at all!"
"Phew. That's good. Now we just gotta figure out how do we get over to where they're waiting for us originally and-"
"Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but I have some bad news." Chat Noir said internally.
"Eh?" Feena questions.
"What happened?" Monika asked.
With Chat Noir, the phantom thief was hiding between two buildings. Looking around, he saw several imperial soldiers all over the area searching for him. On the building directly above him, he could see Predator perched and looking around as well.
"I tried to see if I could rescue her on my own." Chat Noir explained. "I almost managed to get her away, but Predator saw me coming. Now they're all aware that I"m here and I can't check on where she is anymore. Especially with Predator watching me. I have a feeling she knows exactly where I am now too."
"You're pinned down already?" Ragna asked.
"Not exactly pinned down. But trying to make an escape right now would be quite difficult. I'm not saying it can't be done."
"Please just sit tight for the time being." Reina thought. "Don't let them catch you, but don't do anything to draw attention to yourselves. We'll see what we can do when we get there."
Ragna and Reina's lift was closing in on the eighth floor, the two ready to get going as soon as the lift stopped.
"I didn't count on Predator being so vigilant." Reina sighed, leaning against the side of the lift. "This might not go so smoothly as I thought it would."
"Then be prepared to fight as soon as this thing stops." Ragna said.
"Hm..."
Reina spun her pen around and turned it into her scythe. She then suddenly placed her hand on the blade of Ragna's large sword, gripping it to the point where it cut her hand, blood leaking down over Ragna's sword.
"Hey, the hell are you doing?" Ragna asked, surprised.
"Oh nothing." Reina answered, using her blood to write a spell on the head of her scythe. "I just needed some ink to write with. Now do me a favor and stand behind me once we get up here."
On the eighth floor where the far left lift would arrive, Vira was waiting around the area with a total of three royal guard soldiers with her. They were mostly lax for the most part as they waited to see what was coming up from the lift. Hearing the sounds of the lift approaching them, they all hopped to attention and quickly surrounded the area. As the lift came up, the soldiers were greeted to the sight of Ragna and Reina on the lift, the latter holding her scythe and standing there with a big smile on her face.
"I should've known." Vira said. "Of course I run into you."
"It's him!" One of the royal guards said. "That's the demon!"
"And... a maid?" The second one questioned.
"Hello there." Reina greeted. "Please. Be a sweetheart and move out of our way."
"You think a maid can order around the royal guard?" The third royal guard soldier mocked Reina. "Drop your weapons and come quietly."
Ragna was prepared to strike if need be but was held off by Reina gesturing to him to let her handle this. The maid mercenary tilted her head slightly to the side innocently and answered.
"Very well." She responded, her innocent smile turning into a creepy, mischievous smirk. "If you insist."
Reina removed her hand from the top of the scythe, letting it fall towards the ground blade first. As it fell, the phrase "ソニックブーム" (Sonic Boom) could been on the head of the scythe, written in Reina's blood. As the scythe's blade hit the ground, in front of Reina was a large sonic boom. A loud blast went through the area directly in front of her, knocking the soldiers and Vira back away from herself and Ragna. Soon, she and Ragna stepped off of the lift, the spell on her scythe disappearing afterwards.
"Shall we see if we can find our friends?" Reina asked with a giggle.
"Right." Ragna answered.
Meanwhile around that same time, the lift on the far left had also arrived, Monika and Mina being greeted to Alexiel and a total of five soldiers.
"It's been a while." Alexiel said, specifically towards Monika.
"Can't say I'm pleased to see you." Monika responded.
"Prime Minister!" Mina spoke up. "Is it true what they've told me? About how the imperial army went as far as to kidnap a child in order to lure them all up here?"
"I wish it weren't. But it's true." Alexiel sighed.
"...I see." Mina nodded. "Then I apologize in advance for this."
Alexiel and the others all tensed up for whatever Mina was about to do. With a sudden movement, Mina flung several bottles of water into the air and sliced them open with her sabre. She then controlled the water, sending it forth as a large blast that knocked back the soldiers in front of them. Alexiel managed to stand her ground but was backed to a wall by the sudden attack. After the water died down she tried to move again, but found herself unable to. Looking down, Alexiel saw that there was a small amount of ice around her feet, frozen to the building behind her and to her legs. She was temporarily frozen as Mina and Monika ran past her and the other soldiers.
"You there! Stop!" One of the soldiers called out to Mina. "You're an imperial soldier! The hell do you think you're doing?!"
"Consider this my resignation!" Mina responded. "I refuse to be part of an army that would pull such a tactic! Especially on those who were considered the citizens that we're supposed to protect!"
"Back on your feet men!" Another soldier exclaimed, getting up as the water that knocked them down was drawn back to Mina. "Free the Prime Minister, and chase after those two immediately!"
"Yes, sir!"
Three of the five soldiers quickly took off after Monika and Mina in an attempt to catch up to them. The remaining to soldiers got to work trying to break the ice holding Alexiel still. While they were doing this, the redhead was left to her own thoughts.
"I..." She thought to herself. "No. This is all to defeat him... I have to remember that..."
-x-
"They're over here, come on!"
Meanwhile within the city, Juri, Jick, and Harper managed to finally locate where Feena and Mona had run off to. As the two in question dove into the city, the soldiers were forced to chase after them. This of course, caused a disturbance among the people, which made it that much harder for them to catch up to them.
"People, please! Clear the streets!" Juri tried to order around the people nicely.
"Come on! Move it!" Jick used more force to try and push himself through. Though he kept his weapon on his shoulder, away from the civilians.
"I said clear a path!" Harper fired his rifle into the air, getting some of the people to move out of his way as he proceeded through the crowds of people.
Feena and Mona continued to run through the crowds, pushing their way through as they try to shake off the three soldiers. It didn't help that at the same time, other soldiers were starting to close in on them as well. As she dragged Mona along by her hand, Feena looked right and left as she was looking for a safe route in order to escape.
"Well, I'm not making any progress!" Feena thought. "What about you guys?"
"I'm laying low." Chat Noir responded.
"We've got them distracted after the two of us." Monika said internally. "But there' s no way for us to separate and try to see if we can find where Goblin Mage was moved too."
"We're in no position to change tactics as well." Reina added.
"So much for our plan." Ragna sighed. "Think we should try and get out of here?"
"No dice." Chat Noir answered. "They've blocked off my lift. Chances are they've done the same to all of the others. If anything, our best scenario would be to find somewhere we can regroup."
"Where would that be?" Feena asked. "Everywhere I turn there's another soldier waiting for us. And moving through the crowds of people isn't exactly as fun as getting out of here in one piece."
"Maybe we can use that however..." Reina thought. "That's it! Feena, let us know your exact location. Signals, signs, anyway possible. Let us know where you and Mona are exactly-"
Without hesitation, Feena let go of Mona's hand and skid to a stop, causing the latter mentioned girl to fall over in surprise and hit the ground. She held her crossbow upward and fired up into the sky with one of her explosive arrows. The arrow went off, creating a signal in the air of the city that everyone could see, be they friend or foe.
"Everyone and their dog probably saw that and they'll be on top of me any second now." Feena said internally. What next?"
"Keep running." Reina answered. "I have a general idea of where you are. Stay somewhere within at least twenty meters of that explosion. The rest of you head in that area as well. I should be able to help us all rendezvous from there."
"I can read your mind, but I can't tell what you're planning Reina." Monika thought.
"I'm afraid that there is no plan this time. I'm going to have to improvise as we run away from our pursuers."
"That's reassuring..."
Location: Underneath Goldenia
BAM
BAM
BAM
CRASH
Back underground, Albert and Grena had followed the new pathway they found for quite sometime. Soon they managed to find an area where through a small hole, they could see light shining down from above, which after investigating proved to be where the sinkhole is. Though, they also took note that the light was coming from far away as well, indicating that the area they were in wasn't high enough for them to get up. Breaking through several layers of rock, Grena managed to cut a path fully to the sinkhole. She and Albert both arrived at an area that was higher than where they started, but still wasn't high enough for them to fully get out.
"Well this is just wonderful." Grena said sarcastically. "We're doing a little better than when we first got here."
"It's better than nothing." Albert said, looking around. "From the looks of it, we managed to beat that horde of demons here as well."
"So this is what comes down to huh?" Grena cracks her knuckles with a smirk on her face. "At the end of the day, we've gotta have a showdown. You, me, and hundreds of demons trying to rush to the surface."
"I was hoping to find a way to stop them without having to come to this. But at the very least, the two traps that we pulled are bound to have weakened their numbers by a great amount. Maybe there's a chance that we can actual do this. The two of us might actually be able to save Goldenia from below."
"And if we aren't?"
"Well..." Albert sweatdropped. "Let's... try not to think like that shall we?"
"Yeah, sure." Grena smirked. "Point is. We're gonna stay here and not let a single thing get past us."
"It's all we can do. Maybe if we can take out enough of them, we can intimidate the remainder of them into surrendering, and get them to fly us back to safety."
"Yeah, that's if we can do this. And then that's if we don't kill every last one of them that can fly. Otherwise, we're screwed out of that plan."
Albert sighed. "You're right about that. Maybe after all this is over you can dig us a tunnel to the top? You're strong enough to break through these rocks easily you know."
"You're crazy, you know that? Do you know how long it would take for me to dig a pathway that would lead all the way to the top. If anything we'll die of starvation before I can really get started."
"Well, you don't seem to have any ideas."
"That's... because I can't think of any way to actually get out of here on our own. I'd like to. I wouldn't want to put my trust in intimidating enemies or anything. Heh. If only we could cooperate right now. Who knows. If we work together we might come up with a solution."
"You might be right..." Albert turns to face Grena and holds out his hand. "Then how about we turn this into a competition to help motivate us to win?"
"Competition?"
"Whichever one of us can defeat the most demons will be the winner. If I win, I want you to try and be more trusting of people, starting with me. We'll start by working together once we've cleared them all out."
"...Alright fine." Grena held out her hand too. "If I win, then you become a mercenary with me. The two of us managed to survive this long working together. If we went into business together, we'd make one hell of a profit."
"Don't I still win in that case?"
"That all depends on whether or not I split the earnings fifty-fifty with you."
Albert smiled as the two shook hands, confirming their wager. They were promptly interrupted all of a sudden as the sounds of somebody clapping could be heard. Looking behind them in the way they came, they saw the mage demon walking out from the pathway that Grena created, her companion following right behind her, walking beside her once they emerged from the narrow pathway. Albert had his hand on his sword while Grena held her fists up as the girl approached them. The mage demon didn't say anything to them at first. She looked upward as the moonlight from above was casting down into the sinkhole below, illuminating the area.
"So that's the surface world up there..." She said in awe. "It looks amazing. Even from down here I'm at a loss for words. What about you, Tau?"
Her companion Tau was also staring up, not making any noises in response.
"A... kid...?" Grena said, slightly confused.
The mage demon then turned to face Albert and Grena.
"Hey!" She called out. "You two are humans right?"
"Yeah?" Albert responded.
"Mind taking me up there? I wanna see the surface world."
"We can't even get back up there ourselves." Grena responded. "And even then, why the hell would be bring a demon along when all of you are trying to invade Goldenia?"
"Ah, I could care less about that." The mage demon shrugged. "I'm just tired of being trapped underground. I wanted to see the surface world. I wanted to see what humans and Gods were all about." She then holds her staff out in front of her. "Oh well. Excuse me. I can let myself up."
The mage demon was interrupted by a fireball cutting across her eyes, courtesy of Grena.
"Didn't you just hear me?" The chained mercenary asked. "I'm not letting any demons reach the top of this sinkhole. You're gonna have to get through us, and frankly, I'd prefer not to pick a fight with a little kid you know.
The mage demon blinked as she looked at the two of them. She then sighed, and looked up with a serious expression. Holding her staff towards the two, she tilted her hat. Albert and Grena were both ready for the moment she tried anything, while Tau was growling at the pair of humans.
"Alright, alright." She said. "If you insist."