The smoke gradually cleared. The figure of Daimendo emerged from the aftermath of the intense csh. His once pristine appearance was marred by injuries—bruises, bloodstains, and exhaustioruggled to catch his breath with his two pistols lying on the ground. The two pistols transformed bato one on.

  Daimendo muttered to himself, “That attack...how they manage something s? Have they been holding back all this time?”

  Daimendo made a valiant effort to rise from his knees, but his battered body betrayed him. He colpsed back down. He used all of his strength to reach for ohe single gun on the ground now.

  Runebelle turned her attention to Roselle, who was on her back with her eyes closed. With deep , Runebelle said, “Roselle, stay awake! We did it, but you ’t close your eyes now.”

  Roselle’s breaths were shallow. She fought to stay scious.

  Runebelle decided that their best course of a was to retreat. With Roselle on her back, she darted towards the stairs, not looking back. Daimendo got up as far as one knee and fired a single shot in haste, but it missed them entirely. “Damn!”

  Runebelle desded the stairs in haste. “I’ll find a safe pce to heal you, Roselle! Hang in there!”

  Runebelle, still carrying the unscious Roselle on her back, arrived ba the first floor. While going further, she heard talking and quickly tried to ceal herself. Peeking out, she observed a group of officers engaged in a discussion. Runebelle straio listen:

  “You heard about that power surge, right? It shook the whole prison. Mystimona’s causing a ruckus.”

  “Mystimona? The amnesiac with the purple aura? What’s he got to do with this?”

  “He’s the one causing it, or at least, that’s what they say. The one who’s been shaking things up around here. We o put him ba his cell. The Problem is, he’s more powerful than we imagined. We didn’t know that when we made the arrest.”

  “No one’s even sure how he got out in the first pce. Someone must’ve REALLY screwed up.”

  The officers, seemingly preoccupied with their discussion walked right past Runebelle without notig her. Runebelle let out a quiet sigh of relief. She khat she o find a safe spot to heal Roselle before making any further decisions.

  Runebelle carefully pced Roselle inside of aor, ensuring there were no guards inside. She then focused her magic, using her healing shots to mend Roselle’s injuries. With remarkable effort, she mao restore Roselle’s dition to 50%, leaving Runebelle with only 22% of her magic power.

  Runebelle looked down at her sister with a sense of relief. Roselle’s breathing had stabilized, and her plexion had improved.

  Runebelle, now carrying the partially healed Roselle, suddenly bumped into Mystimona and Haras who were rushing toward her on the first floor of the facility. Their paths verged, and they met uedly in the midst of their respective escape pns.

  “Runebelle! Roselle!” Haras squealed. She rushed forward, arms outstretched, and enveloped both sisters in a tight, almost suffog hug. Tears streamed down her cheeks. “I’ve missed you both so much!”

  Runebelle awkwardly patted Haras on the back. “Haras, we missed you too, but we o be careful. This pce isn’t safe.”

  Haras nodded vigorously, pulling back just enough to look at both sisters. “I know, I know! But seeing you two here, I couldn’t help myself!” She quickly wiped her tears with the sleeve of her pink b coat. “We’ve got to stick together a out of here!”

  Mystimona looked at Runebelle and Roselle with . He asked, “What happened?”

  Runebelle responded, “We had a rough enter with an oppo named Daimendo. He was extremely powerful. Roselle was injured, and we had to flee.

  Mystimona, still ed, asked, “Where’s the danger now?”

  Runebelle nodded and replied, “We… took care of it. We o find a pce troup and figure out our move. We’ll expihing once Roselle is fully recovered.”

  Mystimona surveyed the battered sisters. “You two held your own against someohat was giving off that much power? That’s impressive,” he said with a smile ing to his face, “but it looks like it cost you a lot.”

  Runebelle nodded. She shifted her gaze briefly to Roselle, who was now breathing more steadily. “It did, but we had no other choice.”

  Mystimona’s face hardened. “From now on, you depend on me. I’ll get us all out of here.”

  Haras, still teary-eyed, sniffled and said, “I have something for you two, but I uand we o get out of here first. We have to find Kintovar too don’t we? I’m not sure where she is.”

  Suddenly, the eg sounds of hurried footsteps echoed down the corridor, capturing everyone’s attention. It was Kintovar, on the run. The relentless mace-wielding girl who she fought was very far behind.

  The girl with the mace kept protesting, “This isn’t fair, you little—URGH! Stop running already!”

  Kintovar cpped her hands pyfully as she gnced back at the girl far down the hall. “gratutions! You’re really pushing past your limits. This is fasating. You shouldn’t have any stami by now,” she taunted with a mischievous grin.

  The girl with the mace, Zamina, gred at Kintovar, frustration and anger evident on her face. “Stop making fun of me!” she shouted, raising her ma fury.

  Kintrin widened as she held out her arms, moving with a jolly air. “Oh, dear Zamina, this is where we must part ways,” she said, her voice dripping with mock siy.

  With a flourish, Kintovar pulled out a circur device from her coat. Zamina’s eyes widened in shock. “What is that?” she demaaking a step back.

  Kintovar didn’t answer. She threw the device with a swift motion, and it hit Zamina squarely. Instantly, the device erupted in a thick cloud of smoke and dust, engulfing Zamina.

  When the smoke finally cleared, Zamina stood alone, coughing and covered in dust. She looked down at her soiled clothes and gasped. A look of utter annoyance crossed her face. “Ugh, my clothes,” she shouted while trying to brush off the dust in vain.

  Kintovar, now safely with Runebelle, Roselle, Mystimona, and Haras, smirked at her handiwork.

  “This operatio smoother than anticipated. Now, it’s time to go!” They all hurriedly made their way toward the exit. Ohey moved out of the building, they ran past the bewildered guards who began to give chase.

  Mystimona quickly halted with his purple aura fring upwards. “Don’t even think about moving,” he warhe guards. They froze iracks and began shivering.

  Kintovar’s words came out in a rush. “Let’s keep moving. We’re not out of the woods yet!”

  Kintovar led the group to her waiting hovercraft, and they all hopped in. With Kintovar at the trols, they sped away without any pursuit, leaving the facility and its guards behind. They had successfully escaped the clutches of the CPU.

  Kintovar and Haras shared a war hug in the hovercraft. Haras was uo let go of Kintovar after hugging onto them. “I made otle mistake and look at where it nded me!”

  Kintovar smiled at her and said, “It’s good to have you back, Haras. We’ll make sure to keep you out of trouble from now on. Do you have all of the equipment I told you t with you?”

  Haras nodded. “Of course, Kintovar. I wouldn’t dare leave any teology behind. We have everything we o tinue our work.”

  Kintovar parked the hovercraft near Alden’s . The group then stepped out. Kintovar led the way, approag the and knog on the door.

  Alden, a Mage who had offered her shelter in this peaceful pce, opehe door. He weled Kintovar and her panions inside. After they settled in, Kintan to expiuation to Mystimona and Haras.

  “Thank you, Alden, for allowing us to stay here,” Kintan. ” Haras, this is a safe haven for us. You need not worry about any harm here. Not all Mages hold animosity toward stists. Alden is a kind and uanding exception. He knows that Haras is a stist and not a Mage, and he’s graciously offered his assistand prote.”

  Alden, ohey were all inside, spoke kindly to Mystimona. “Yic potential is remarkable. It’s not every day we enter someoh your level of power. It’s almost enough to challenge someone like Dark Whirlwind.”

  Kintovar chimed in, eborating on Mystimona’s in. “Mystimona hails from the Mystical Isnd, a pmense magical energy, and he has taken in all the magical energy from that pce. That’s only one of the reasons why he’s so unique.”

  Mystimona scratched his head, trying to make sense of it all. “I wish I could remember more, but being here feels right. I’m gd to be with you all.”

  Mystimona’s gaze fell upon the makeshift b, where the tanks held Risebelle. filled his eyes as he asked Kintovar, “What happeo her? Why is she in this dition?”

  Kinthed, her tone somber. “Dark Whirlwind happened,” she expined. “She’s the one who attacked a Risebelle in this state.”

  Roselle, who had been listenie her weakeate, mao open one eye and whispered, “Dark Whirlwind... she revealed to me that her face is a copy of mine.. but…. I am me. I ’t question my owy.”

  Kintovar went on to provide a summary of the ret events. “They fought against Dark Whirlwind with everything we had, but we lost. When they woke up, they saw what had happeo Risebelle. It was her intered that led to this situation. Dark Whirlwind was more powerful than we could have imagined, and she revealed some shog truths during the battle. Risebelle pushed herself beyond her magical limits, leading to a rupture that caused severe damage, then Dark whirlwind caused this hole now that we ’t repair.”

  Haras approached Risebelle’s tank, her haly resting on the gss. Memories flooded her mind, eae a preoment she had shared with Risebelle. Despite the pain of the current situation, these memories brought a bittersweet smile to her face.

  “I missed you so much, Risebelle,” Haras whispered softly.“We’ve been through a lot together, and I won’t let this be the end. We’ll find a way t you back.”

  Alden looked at Kintovar with a gre. “You’ve taken quite a risk bringing them here. Should I be worried about the CPU trag us down?”

  Kintovar raised both of her hands with a smile ing to her face. “I’ve been careful, Alden. I made sure to cover our tracks and ehey won’t find us here. You don’t o worry about unwanted guests showing up at your door.”

  Alden took a huge sigh of relif.

  Haras gave them a salute and said, “I’m going to get to wht away! Don’t you worry!”

  Kintovar inquired, “On what, Haras?”

  Haras smiled fidently and replied, “I’m going to fix Risebelle, no matter what. You must have known, Kintovar, that I’m the one who actually do it. You’ve thought of everything in advance, includihat’s how you are, always three steps ahead.” She pyfully sent a loving wink to Kintovar.

  Kintovar smiled warmly and replied, “I missed you too, Haras. I’m gd you’re back where you belong. Let’s work on fixing Risebelle together.”

  As Runebelle pced Roselle iank, Sally, Alden’s 7-year-old daughter, came dowairs. Excitedly, she saw and noticed the new people, but then frowned when she looked at Roselle. “Roselle, are you going to be Okay?”

  Roselle, still rec, offered a smile to the young girl and said, “Yes. I…I promise we’ll py together ter, Sally.”

  Runebelle gently interjected, “But for now, Roselle o rest and recover.”

  Sally nodded in uanding, but her worry came to her eyes. Runebelle, not knowing how to fort the young girl, gently pced one hand on Sally’s head.

  Sally looked up at Runebelle with wide, curious eyes. Runebelle knew she o offer some fort, even if it was just a small gesture.

  She took a deep breath, summoning all her strength to push through her exhaustion, her worry, and the deep sadness she always feels. It felt almost fn to her in this dire situation, but she k was important. Slowly, she let her lips curl into a faint smile, hoping to reassure the young girl.

  “It’ll be alright, Sally,” Runebelle said softly. “Roselle is strong, and she’s going to get better. We’ll make sure of it.”

  Sally’s eyes lit up slightly at Runebelle’s words. She reached out and squeezed Runebelle’s hand with her small fingers.

  Kintgested, “Runebelle, you should rest in your tank as well. Your energy is running low.”

  Haras, however, chimed in, “Wait, I have something to give you all.”

  Kintovar insisted, “It’ll have to wait. Runebelle o rest.”

  Runebelle nodded and agreed, “Kintovar is right. My magic is down to 22%. I should rest.”

  Kintovar turo Haras and Alden. “Let’s get to work. The sooner we start, the sooner we bring everyone back to full strength.”

  Haras rolled up her sleeves with a fident grin. “I’m ready, partner! Let’s get to work!”