George's voice broke through the ringing echoes of battle behind them. "Harian… why do you know so much?" Everyone turned.Harian hesitated. "I'll explain," he said quietly. "When the time comes. But not now. We need to leave first."
George exhaled sharply then raised his sword and pointed the tip at Harian's throat. The entire group froze. "What are you doing, boy!?" Muliad shouted, nearly stumbling forward.
George didn't answer immediately. His hands were trembling.His eyes were mixed with fear… and doubt.
"Harian," he said softly, "I don't care about… whatever secrets you're hiding. I don't care how strong you are now, or how you knew all those things."His voice cracked. "I just need to know if you're still the same friend I've had all these years. And if I should trust you."
Harian looked down at the blade touching his neck. Then he looked at George.
That same George whose mangled corpse he once held in his arms crying, broken, and alone.....that same George who was supposed to die just days after escaping the prison in his previous life.
Not this time. Never again.
A slow smile spread across Harian's face.
"You tin head," Harian said. "I'm the same Harian who stole mangoes with you and got caught because you fell out of the tree."
George blinked. Then, slowly, finally… he lowered the sword.
"I see," he murmured. "Good."
Relief washed over the group. Except for Muliad, who stared at Harian like a man who'd aged ten years in ten seconds. He clearly had a thousand questions but this wasn't the time.
"What was that thing you told the red-hair earlier?" Muliad asked.
"A message only he understands. And our ticket out of here."
Vex grumbled in his head:
[YOU ALMOST FORGOT THE CODE, YOU ABSOLUTE BUFFOON. IF I DIDN'T REMIND YOU, YOU WOULD HAVE SAID SOMETHING STUPID.]
Harian coughed, pretending he didn't hear that.
Muliad asked again, "What now?"
"Simple," Harian said, turning toward the exit."We run. And we run as fast as we can."
Behind them an explosion occurred. A massive shockwave that ripped through the corridors. The Reaper and Leon were clashing like titans light and moon essence detonating with every strike their weapons infused with essence energy. Sparks burst through the dust. Blades blurred.The ground itself cracked.
The prisoners flinched from the sheer force. Even a knight would be lucky to survive standing between those two. Muliad whispered, almost breathless, "I've rarely seen Grand Knights fight… but this… this is extraordinary."
Harian looked back at the chaos for a brief moment. Then he smirked.
"They're holding back."
The old man blinked at the sight of the battlefield behind them and muttered, "It… doesn't really look like they're holding back." Harian didn't even turn around. His smile sharpened.
"If they were serious," he said, voice low and deadly, "we'd all be vaporized already. Now move. Before they accidentally kill us while warming up."
And they ran all of them straight through the front door of the blasted prison.
"What about the guards!?" Muliad shouted while sprinting. Harian jerked a thumb behind him toward the demolished control center.
"Handled."
Muliad glanced back saw the collapsed structure and nodded stiffly. Right. That explained that. "Grab every weapon and armor you can carry," Harian ordered. "We're not leaving here empty-handed."
As the prisoners scrambled to loot whatever they could, the skinny prisoner the same loudmouth who kept provoking Leon ran up to Harian.
"Wait....what about us?" he said, voice trembling. "Earlier you told that knight you had nothing to do with us but… if we stay here, we're dead."
Harian turned. Behind the man… dozens more emerged from the ruined cells. All of them skinny. Bruised. Hopeless. Faces hollowed by starvation and despair. Harian frowned. Taking them along would slow him down, endanger him and complicate every plan he had.
He knew it. George stepped beside him and placed a hand on Harian's shoulder.
"If we leave them," George said quietly, "I'll live with that guilt forever."
Harian clicked his tongue. Of course George would say something stupidly noble like that. Vex… what do I do?
[YOU HAVE OTHER PRIORITIES. ESCORTING EXTRA PEOPLE LOWERS THE PROBABILITY OF SURVIVAL BY 63%.]
Harian sighed. That's what he expected ,but Vex wasn't done.
[HOWEVER… IT DOES NOT MATTER. I TRUST YOUR JUDGMENTS, MASTER. WHATEVER YOU CHOOSE, I WILL OPTIMIZE THE OUTCOME TO ITS HIGHEST POSSIBILITY.]
Harian blinked then smirked. Even if Vex complained constantly, it was still the most reliable partner he had.
[IT IS STILL A STUPID DECISION, THOUGH.]
"There it is," Harian muttered. He stepped forward and raised his voice at the crowd.
"Listen well. I'm not a hero. I'm nowhere near it. If we get out of here, you'll owe me and you'll do exactly what I tell you. No exceptions."
Silence fell. Muliad let out a long sigh. "A criminal to the end, huh."
Then he looked back at the prisoners. "Your decision, everyone." No one spoke. No one moved. Harian eyed the skinny prisoner. "You. What's your name?"
"…Luvak."
"What was your crime?"
"I got into an argument with a noble's son. He wanted my sister as a concubine."
"So they threw you in Thax and sentenced you to death for that."
Luvak nodded bitterly. "And it's the same for most of us." Harian looked at them every broken, trembling soul. He sighed deeply. "Fine."
Luvak closed his eyes and clenched his fists so hard his knuckles turned white. He didn't know what to say but another prisoner stepped forward and said it for him.
"Harian doesn't look like he'd kill us on the spot," the man said. "And hell anyone who gets us out of this place… We'll owe him. I'm ready. Just lead the way."
Another prisoner chimed in immediately.
"Same for me. I'd rather take my chances out there than die in here like a dog."
Then another and another. Until the entire crowd was murmuring the same sentiment fear mixed with desperation, but also… hope. Finally, Luvak swallowed hard and lifted his head.
"All I want," he said quietly, voice trembling with emotion, "is to get my sister back. If following you can make that happen… then I'll follow even the devil himself."
Silence.
Harian stared at him for a long second. Then smirked. "Save the gratitude for when we actually get out of here."
Behind them, the ground shook violently a shockwave from Leon and the Reaper's clash ruptured the air like a thunderstorm. Dust cascaded from the ceiling while Metal creaked and another explosion shook the floor under their feet.
Harian turned toward the prisoners, eyes sharp.
"MOVE! NOW!"
And like a wave crashing forward, they all ran. Muliad led the front with George beside him, shouting at others to keep formation. The old man carried the red-haired kid's empty shackles as proof he wasn't insane after all. The prisoners sprinted through the broken hallways, through smoke and falling debris.
And Harian was walking at the back, sword in hand, essence low but determination highgrinned. They dashed toward the destroyed front entrance of Thax Prison.
Behind them, the battle of two monsters raged on.