The Author's POV

Chapter 838 Ryan’s Mind [4]

Boom—! Boom—!

It was the sound of two massive explosions that reverberated from two opposite ends that startled the commander out of his mood as his head immediately snapped upwards.

"What happened?"

He had just left the premises to go inspect the other areas when, all of a sudden, two massive explosions happened.

The commander was able to deduce from the degree to which the environment was shaken that the explosions were not something to be taken lightly, and his expression changed to one of grave concern.

[Commander! Commander! There's an emergency!]

A panicked voice reached his ears. Trying his best to remain calm, the commander spoke.

"Report to me what's going on."

[Two explosions happened. One in the lower quarter, where the lower end prisoners are trapped, and one in the higher quarter. Star Unit 5.]

"Star Unit 5…?"

[Make the demons check the room.]

Overhearing the exact location of where the explosions had occurred, the commander's frown deepened, and all of a sudden, his face stiffened.

"It can't be…"

Pinching his chin, his foot unknowingly began to tap against the ground, and he quickly tried to contact the soldiers that were in charge of carrying the two prisoners.

"Star Unit 5 – Delta Squad, please communicate with me."

[…]

"Star Unit 5 – Delta Squad, please communicate with me. One quick word is enough. I need confirmation of your vitality status."

[…]

"Star Unit 5 – Delta Squad, please communicate with me…"

[…]

It was much to his disappointment that none of them answered, and the commander knew that something was wrong.

"Communicating with all available squads within Star Unit 5... Communicating with all available squads within Star Unit 5… Communicating with all available squads within Star Unit 5..."

.

[Star Unit 5 – Alpha squad reporting...]

.

[Star Unit 5 – Beta squad reporting...]

.

[Star Unit 5 – Gamma squad reporting...]

.

[Star Unit 5 – Delta squad reporting...]

.

Repeating the same command three times, he received several replies back, and he quickly issued an order.

"The targets are the two human prisoners from before. Go chase after them. I will be assisting y—"

"There's no need for that."

All of a sudden, a gentle voice rang in his ears, and the commander's body stiffened. When he turned his head, the commander was shocked to see someone he was all too familiar with, and he immediately felt terrified.

"Y… Your Highness!"

Thump!

Without wasting a single second, he flopped to the ground and lowered his head. He didn't dare look up. Afraid of the impending consequences.

"Mhhh, stand up."

Prince Solbaken gestured with his hand, and the commander felt a force envelope his body, lifting his body up from the ground. Throughout the entire time, the commander couldn't move a single muscle in his body.

"Tell me…"

Prince Solbaken looked him straight in the eyes.

"…What exactly is going on at the moment?"

***

"Hey… hey… where are we going? That's the wrong way!"

"No, it's not."

Ryan shouted, running forward with everything that he had.

'The explosions have just gone off, and there shouldn't be many that survived them. Even if they did, they're probably injured or stunned by what happened… this is a good opportunity.'

Ryan's plan didn't just consist of setting up two explosions. If that were really the case, then it was a terrible plan.

Sure, he'd be able to take some of the focus away from him for a short moment, but once everything settled down, a hunt would ensue, and he was sure he'd be caught in an instant.

He knew this from the get-go and thus knew that such a simple plan wasn't feasible.

If he wanted to escape with Leopold, he had to think of another plan.

Thankfully, he was prepared.

"Over there!"

Returning to the spot where Leopold was previously held, Ryan's attention focused on the many doors around him. Just like he predicted, there were barely any demons around, and with Leopold behind him, Ryan wasn't worried about his safety just yet.

Cl… Click!

Arriving before one of the doors, Ryan placed the spider-like gadget over the door and activated it.

"Wooom!" A tiny red circle materialized on the door, and with a light tap, a gap appeared on the door where he could insert his hand and open the door.

Entering the cell, Ryan immediately spotted a figure on the floor, and he rushed toward them.

Without wasting a single second, he located the bracelet that was on their wrist and tore it apart. Shortly after that, he took out a potion and placed it on the ground.

"Wait… don't tell me…"

Right when he turned around, he found a baffled Leopold standing behind him.

Ryan grinned at him.

"It's exactly what you're thinking."

He reassured him.

Tearing his eyes away from Leopold, Ryan rushed toward the door and moved to the next door beside them.

Continuing in this manner, he repeated the same process, which resulted in the gradual and steady release of an increasing number of prisoners who had been confined within the cave system.

***

"Hmm…"

All she could see was darkness, and it enveloped every part of her vision.

Moving her body, she found that it was extremely heavy. Blinking her eyes a couple of times, she tried to move but found herself unable to.

Whatever was binding her body, it made it impossible for her to move.

Thump!

She didn't struggle for long and soon leaned back against the hard ground.

Her mind was an utter mess. She began to experience flashbacks of images and memories, and the more she recalled, the more disorganized her thoughts became.

"Ah."

For some reason, the memories that flooded her mind didn't seem to merge within her. She could see that the memories and images seemed to belong to her, but at the same time… didn't.

It was hard to explain, but to her, it was more like she was seeing someone else's memories.

Someone that seemed to be her.

Relieving moments and events that she couldn't remember properly. It felt rather uncomfortable, but with time, some memories started to merge with her.

"K..kevin…"

She was eventually able to mutter a single name, but once she did, she found an inexplicable pain piercing right at her chest, and her eyes became moist

'Who is he… why does he keep appearing in my memories… and why… why do I miss him so much?'

Emma was on the verge of losing it. The more she thought about him, the more her chest would tighten.

She wanted it to stop but couldn't.

One after another, memories started to resurface in his mind, and her chest clenched even more tightly.

She didn't like the feeling at all.

"Ugh."

Letting out a groan, she moved her body to the side, but just as she did, she suddenly felt a sudden tremor on the ground.

Rumble—

It was faint and almost imperceptible, and the only reason she even felt it was because she was quite highly ranked herself.

Had it been someone else, they would've probably not noticed it.

Her mind, which was previously a mess, started to clear up a little as she finally managed to find something to distract her.

Extending her hand, she placed it against the ground and tried to feel for another tremor. She didn't have to wait for very long.

Rumble—

'Something's happening outside.'

Once again feeling a slight tremor on the ground, Emma realized that something was happening somewhere outside of where she was confined.

'Are the demons fighting against the alliance?'

That was the only explanation she could think of. Although her mind was messed up due to the memories that continued to flood her mind, she was still able to think properly, and she soon also recalled how she had ended up here.

'It… it was a fake…'

She also recalled what had happened moments prior to appearing over here, and her expression once again became complicated.

'Kevin…'

For some reason, this name seemed to trigger something within her.

Even before she was abducted, someone who called themselves Kevin and resembled the person in her memories appeared in front of her and messed up her emotions.

Whatever the unbearable feeling she was experiencing, Emma understood one thing.

That was… so long as she understood who Kevin was, everything would stop.

Why did he appear in those memories, and why did his face evoke such emotions in her?

So long as she understood that, her mind would once again become clear, and she would return to normal.

At first, she wanted to avoid finding out the answers to the questions. Run away from it.

But with time, she understood that she couldn't run away from it. Regardless of what she did, it would keep haunting her from behind and keep chasing her, clawing at whatever sanity she had left.

For her own sake, she needed to find the answer.

Boom—!

"Hm?"

The muffled sound of an explosion in the distance awoke Emma from her thoughts, and when she turned her head, she noticed that the explosions were becoming more and more frequent, quietly moving in her direction.

BANG—! She didn't have to wait long for the explosions to reach her side; shortly thereafter, a loud explosion rang out in the area she was in, and light immediately began to penetrate into the area she was in.

The sudden burst of light made her squint in pain, but despite the pain, she was able to catch a glimpse of a particular figure, and her eyes opened slightly.

"You…"

She called out with her voice, and the figure stopped before her. Though she couldn't see well, she could tell that their eyes had met, and that was when Emma got a better look at the figure.

Surprisingly, she seemed to have seen them before, and her mouth parted open.

"…aren't you…?"