Sam carried Amelia over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes as he slid down the demolished building, boots finding purchase on crumbling masonry. He leaped forward, landing on solid ground with a hard thud, then surveyed their surroundings with wary eyes. The prison had transformed into a raging inferno, flames consuming everything in their path like a tidal wave.
Bodies lay scattered everywhere, some scorched to death, their blackened skeletons still smoking, while others had been reduced to nothing but ash.
Sam dropped Amelia unceremoniously. She hit the ground with a groan, cursing his ancestors in creative detail, but Sam paid her no mind. Instead, he stared at the vibrant yet horrifying scene before him, his face expressionless.
"Why did you bother orchestrating your death if you were planning to burn the prison anyway?" His voice was calm and lazy as always. "No one will find anything here. The flames devoured it all. So what was the point?"
Amelia dusted off her lap, her sea-green hair now gray with ash and dirt. "What do you think? The moment the fight ended and the Warden learned you were trying to escape, he would've called me for support. I'm the only other Beyonder in this prison besides him, after all. When he couldn't find me, he would've grown suspicious and figured out I was helping you. Which means the other guards would've learned about it too." She stood, brushing dirt from her clothes. "In other words, even if I burn the prison, there's no guarantee every guard dies. And when the Church investigates, they'll interrogate survivors, who'll tell them I became a deserter."
Sam nodded, understanding her reasoning. "Mmm... Makes sense. Let's go, then."
They resumed running, heading straight for the eastern wing where Yuri was waiting.
As they ran, Sam couldn't help but marvel at Amelia's intelligence once more, smiling wryly to himself. If she were as much a lady as she is genius, things would be easier. Then again, no proper lady could accomplish what she just did.
Shaking his head, Sam vaulted onto a pile of debris and extended his hand. Amelia followed, gripping his arm as he pulled her up, and they continued their sprint.
Along the way, they encountered survivors. But as Amelia had said, they needed to reduce the number of guards to improve their odds, and eliminate any witnesses.
A battered, injured guard spotted them and charged forward, screaming ferociously as he swung his baton. Sam sidestepped in one fluid motion, seized an iron rod from the rubble, and spun it around. He ducked beneath another wild strike, then drove the rod upward, straight through the guard's eye socket. The man collapsed instantly, dead before he hit the ground.
Without giving the other guards time to breathe, Sam ripped the rod from the dead man's skull and hurled it at another target. The makeshift spear punched through bone, nailing the guard to a pile of debris.
Sam surged forward, rolling left as guards squeezed their triggers, bullets kicking up dust and sparks around him. Amelia dove behind a fallen column for cover.
Click!
Click!
Click!
Sam's lips curved into a malicious smile. There were four guards, all carrying standard six-shot revolvers.
Click!
He counted the final bullet, then leaped onto the debris and charged. The guards fumbled to reload, but the moment they realized they wouldn't make it in time, they abandoned their guns and drew batons instead.
The middle-aged man leading the charge had his head snap backward as Sam's boot connected with his face, launching him off his feet. He sailed through the air and landed on a jutting iron rod protruding from the rubble. His eyes went wide with horror as he looked down at the metal spike impaling his chest.
In the same fluid motion, Sam snatched a falling baton from the air and swung it in a vicious arc, connecting with another guard's jaw. The sickening crack echoed as teeth scattered and blood sprayed from the man's destroyed mouth.
Sam dropped into a crouch, letting a baton whistle harmlessly over his head where his neck had been a moment before. He pivoted, seizing the attacker by chest and arm while sweeping his leg behind the man's knee. As the guard fell, Sam's devastating kick connected with his skull, snapping his head a full one-eighty degrees with a sickening crunch.
Leaping backward, Sam evaded another strike and countered with a precise blow to his opponent's radial nerve. The guard hissed, sharp pain lancing through his arm as his wrist and fingers went sluggish and numb. Sam immediately grabbed a fistful of hair, yanking the man's head down as his knee rocketed upward. The guard's head snapped back, nose shatteriy in a fountain of blood. Before he could recover, Sam seized his arm, spun, and wrenched it backward until bone splintered with an audible snap.
The man collapsed, raw screams of agony tearing from his throat. Sam loomed over him and raised his boot, then stomped down with merciless force. The guard's jaw shattered, teeth fragmenting like porcelain. He gasped reflexively, tears streaming down his face as he tried to inhale, only to swallow his own broken teeth. His eyes bulged as he choked, convulsing until he finally went still.
Sam breathed heavily, chest heaving as he surveyed the carnage. To be certain, he moved methodically through the bodies, snapping each neck with practiced efficiency, eliminating any chance someone was playing dead.
Amelia clapped from behind her cover, cheering as she laughed. "That was amazing! Are you sure you're a Criminal? Not a Warrior or Hunter?"
Sam shook his head, wiping blood from his forehead. "Just a Criminal."
Amelia shrugged and began looting the corpses. The reason they hadn't fired during the fight was simple, their ammunition had run dry, forcing Sam into close-quarters combat.
She tossed several bullets to Sam, who reloaded his revolver, clicking rounds into the cylinder as Amelia mirrored his actions.
"Still, what was that technique? I saw you using four different fighting styles, mixing them in ways that complemented each other." Her lips curled upward with genuine curiosity.
"Mixed martial arts," Sam replied calmly.
"Teach me when we're out of here." Amelia nodded enthusiastically, eyes gleaming with anticipation as she imagined herself slaughtering people like Sam. She laughed at the thought.
Sam blinked in bewilderment but decided to leave her alone. Aren't you a Savant? What a weirdo...
After finishing their looting, they resumed running, rushing toward Yuri. He spotted them and waved, but the moment he noticed Amelia, his expression shifted, wary and cautious as he watched her nearly cough up her lungs, hands braced on her knees while she gasped for air.
"Who's that?" Yuri asked, his grip tightening on his baton as his eyes narrowed in suspicion, muscles tensing.
Sam's lips curled into a smile, waving dismissively. "She's with us."
"What about Diego?" Yuri inquired, tilting his head curiously as he eyed Sam and the young woman he didn't recognize.
Sam's expression sobered, his golden eyes dimming as he remembered Diego's sacrifice. He sighed and shook his head. While he wasn't sad since he hadn't really known the man, he wasn't completely indifferent either. Deep down, Sam admired Diego's courage. "He's out."
Yuri exhaled softly, lowering his head for a moment as he stared at the destruction. After a few seconds, he gave a faint nod, his expression revealing no particular emotion.
Meanwhile, Amelia had regained her stamina, her breathing stabilizing as she straightened and placed her hands on her hips. "What now?"
Yuri's gaze sharpened. He glanced back at the destroyed restroom, where the toilet had been shattered to pieces. Five long, thick nails pierced the floor in a circular pattern. Clearly, while Sam had been adventuring with Amelia, Yuri had been working.
Taking a hammer in hand, he raised it high and brought it down hard on the center of the circle. The floor shattered, nails and stone tumbling directly into the sewers below.
Amelia grimaced at the stench rising from below and bent over, nearly vomiting. Meanwhile, Yuri glanced at Sam with a tentative smile, trying to hide his shock as he scanned the destruction that had devoured the entire prison. "Did you two cause this...?"
Sam nodded, patting Amelia's back as she struggled not to retch. "She did everything. I just protected her."
Yuri nodded, surprise flashing briefly in his eyes before he quickly composed himself. Instead of questioning further, he opened his bag and pulled out a dark, obsidian-black book with a golden cross emblazoned at its center.
Below the cross, words were inscribed in an unknown language, one that only a handful of individuals throughout history could read. An ancient tongue used by the Ancient Sun God Himself.
Sam was one of those rare individuals. For some inexplicable reason, knowledge of this language felt implanted in his mind, as natural as breathing.
Seeing the book, Sam's eyes widened in pleasant surprise. His unbothered, nonchalant expression cracked as a joyful smile bloomed across his face. Taking the book gently, he used his sleeve to wipe away the dust, reading the words only he could decipher. His expression softening.
[God Loves The World]
Amelia blinked, staring at him in bewilderment as Sam suddenly began praying, clasping his hands together. Wait, aren't you a devil? What a weirdo...
She shook her head as Sam finished his prayer, making the sign of the cross on his chest. He kissed the holy bible, his expression serious, before tucking it safely into his bag. Yuri smiled wryly, ruffling Sam's hair and shaking his head in amusement.
"Now... it's time we leave this shithole." Yuri looked down at the sewers with a faint smile.
Sam and Amelia nodded, preparing to leave as well, checking their bags and making sure they weren't forgetting anything. Well, mostly Sam. Amelia knew she had everything, she was just making sure nothing had fallen out while they were running.
After doing so, they looked up at Yuri and nodded with smiles. "We're ready to-"
"Not so easily!" A hoarse scream filled with hatred and pain interrupted them.
All three froze. Amelia blinked in surprise, pleasant one, actually as she looked back with a twisted grin splitting her face. There, dragging his broken body forward, was a pitiful man.
Half his body was scorched, covered in ash and dirt, his uniform burned to tatters. His shoulder throbbed with burns from the explosion, skin peeling away in sheets. His left cheek had completely melted, flesh hanging around his neck like wax, exposing teeth and bone beneath. The man's dull blue eyes burned with loathing and rage as he stared at them with eo much hatred he looked more like an evil spirit than a man.
"Oh, Warden~! What a pleasant surprise. You look positively wretched~." Amelia gasped, covering her mouth with her hand like an innocent maiden, her eyes filled with mocking glee.
"You... Youuuu... Damned traitor! How dare... Ugrrhhh!" He screamed, falling to his knees, his breathing ragged and tortured.
"You pathetic beasts... You killed nobles today, destroyed the prison... and killed hundreds!... All of you... All of you are dead!" He spat with venom, his expression twisted into a sneer, eyes burning with cold, righteous fury.
Yuri sighed, covering his face with a groan as he picked up his bag. Meanwhile, Sam's mouth twitched while Amelia clutched her own face, their shoulders trembling.
Sam remembered all the shit he'd endured: the beatings, being forced to handle problematic inmates, being made to fight even when injured.
Amelia recalled how the Warden used to order her around as if she were his slave, just because the Church had sent her here as punishment.
Slowly, their bodies shook, and then-
"Ha... Hahahahahahahhaha!"
"Bahahahahahaha!"
Both burst into laughter, pointing fingers at him while slapping their thighs. Amelia threw her head back, letting out deranged cackles while Sam's face twisted into a malicious, gleeful grin.
The Warden's fierce expression cracked as he realized the situation he was in. There was no one left. Almost everyone was dead. The only reason he'd survived was because he was a Folk of Rage. And even then, he'd been lucky not to be caught by the thermite bombs.
How would anyone punish them... if there was no one left to tell what had even happened?
As this realization dawned on him, his expression completely crumbled, despair replacing hatred.
Meanwhile, Sam and Amelia stepped forward, both holding iron rods.
The Warden looked down, his eyes growing even duller as the first rod slammed into his face. Then another. And another. And another. And another until his body was shattered and mutilated, beaten to death in the rubble.
Amelia spat on the corpse, throwing her rod away while Sam hummed, waiting for the Beyonder characteristic to form. When it did, Amelia picked it up, taking out a box and storing it inside.
Since Savants were best when it came to handling mystical items, Sam let her keep it, and the two returned to Yuri.
"Now... we can really leave," Sam said to Yuri, who was watching them with crossed arms and a smile.
The three of them looked at each other, then nodded and jumped into the hole, disappearing into darkness.
***
[A/N: I'm too drunk to yap, so just enjoy it, guys.]
***