We'll Make Our Escape! (4)

After finishing our "farming"—which was really just straight-up theft—in the treasure vault, we panted our way up the stairs toward Danae's Castle.

Surveillance cameras dotted the walls, but with the Invisibility Cloak artifacts we'd swiped from the vault draped over us, we climbed without a care. That cat monster was probably waking up by now.

"This castle only has one entrance—the big front door on the first floor. If you try to escape through a window, there's an invisible barrier blocking the way."

That meant security grew tighter the lower we went. Pressure-plate alarm traps that would announce our presence the moment we stepped on them made fleeing downward anything but easy.

Even the ultra-perfect-great-marvelous map I'd obtained through my own efforts only marked this section as Trap Zone (Do Not Approach!). No matter how hard I looked, there was no route that avoided it.

Factoring in the regular patrols, this was going to be rough.

So Clara had chosen the opposite direction—upward.

If we couldn't go down, we'd go up instead.

Man, what a Copernican shift in thinking. I almost applauded, but then the obvious question hit me: how were we supposed to actually escape?

After all, the only exit was on the first floor.

"The map you got also showed a secret passage, Kei-unni."

"Really?!"

"...You received the map yourself, yet you didn't check it?"

"No, it just looked like a picture with some black lines and nothing else readable..."

The text had been written in the monsters' language to begin with, so of course I couldn't read it. The monsters got Earth's language packs installed as data, but seriously—what a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠rip-off.

"Language packs are available in the Point Shop, so you should buy one."

"Really?!"

"......Unni, if I may be blunt... what exactly do you know?"

"Augh... I mean... it could happen to anyone..."

Even timid little Clara was making a disgusted face. My pride stung, so I opened the Point Shop anyway.

Let's see... language pack, language pack...

Hmm. It really existed.

Oh. Magic Land's language was available too.

Both had surprisingly low point costs. Felt like a service feature.

Whoa, Earth's languages could be installed too! Did that mean I could finally master English?

......Seriously, what the hell.

So much for getting it for free.

And the higher the score, the more disgustingly expensive the points became. Just English alone sent the price skyrocketing into the stratosphere.

Still, it wasn't impossible to save up for. If I could just get back the points Danae stole from me...

"......."

I slammed the Point Shop shut. I should've just left it alone.

"It seems we've arrived."

Just as Clara said, the stairs ended. We'd reached the top floor.

"Hey, Clara. You said the only exit is the front door on the first floor, right?"

"Yeah, Er."

"Then what about after that? To get down to the ground from a floating castle, we'd still need stairs. Don't we have to stop by the control room?"

"It's fine. We have a plan. Er, remember what I told you to bring earlier? The one I gave to Danbi-unni too."

"This?" "Hmm?"

Er turned to look at the carpet slung across her back. Danbi likewise glanced down at the strange orb in her hands.

"The Flying Carpet, and a Mekrak-made Gravity Control Device for emergencies. With these, we won't need stairs. The barrier means the only way out is through that deep, deep pit in front of the main gate, but once we get past it, we can just zip away with these items!"

Clara's overflowing enthusiasm practically dripped from her words as she fumbled with a statue in the corner of the hallway.

A moment later came a dull clunk.

"Whoa...!"

The statue slid aside, revealing a staircase leading downward.

"It's an emergency secret passage. It runs straight from the top floor to the front gate on the first floor. If we just go down this, we can finally escape this wretched castle."

We didn't look back as we slipped into the gaping hole.

The secret passage was meant for emergencies, but it had no closing mechanism from the inside. It was automatic—once opened, it would shut on its own after ten minutes.

That meant Kei and the others had no choice but to leave it open behind them. Still, the top floor saw no patrols and was quite remote, so they figured the risk of discovery was low.

Tap.

Under normal circumstances, that would have been true.

"Hmm~ I see~ So this is where you ran ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠off to~."

Danae smiled in satisfaction as she peered down into the open secret passage.

Dim lights glowed inside, yet it still looked dark. A chilling draft blew out from within, and even Danae—who wasn't particularly sensitive to cold—found herself rubbing her arms.

'It feels damp... and like bugs might crawl out... I'd rather not go in myself~.'

She never expected the monster cat in the CCTV room to be dealt with so easily. She'd deliberately assigned a strict, diligent veteran monster precisely because she suspected an escape attempt today.

'Hmm~ Cat's had a hard time too~ I suppose I can let this slide~.'

The fluffy, considerate cat who looked out for his subordinates and cared about Danae was one of the few monsters in the castle who brought her any sense of healing. She had no intention of tormenting him over something this minor.

"Lady Danae. Shall we pursue them?"

The dog-headed monster at her side asked. Even though it was after hours, he'd rushed over the moment Danae gave the order.

"Yes~ That's why I brought you all along~."

"Understood. Hey, move out!"

The heavily armed dog-headed monsters filed into the passage one by one. The narrow corridor clearly hindered them—they couldn't move at full speed.

Even though they were smaller than most monsters, the secret passage was so cramped that even an average adult male would have to hunch over to pass through. For the sturdier monsters, it would be quite uncomfortable.

They didn't know what lay deeper inside, but just from what they could see, traversing it would be a struggle.

'Well then, I'll head down ahead of them.'

She already knew where the passage's exit was.

Of course, blocking the only exit at the front gate would make ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠stopping the escape easy, but if they spotted the crowd from afar, they might flee elsewhere. More importantly, it wouldn't be any fun.

'Hehe, after finally thinking they've escaped, what kind of face will they make when they see me waiting at the exit?'

Kei? Er? Danbi?

......Aah!

She couldn't stand it! Just imagining it made her wet!

That taste of despair! The look on their faces when they realized everything belonged to her and they could never escape!

Danae licked her lips seductively and recalled their faces.

The bespectacled girl who pretended to be timid but possessed an unyielding will, the clever child who had crumbled so easily—she pictured her once more.

'Aah... I'll have to dote on her even more.'

She would take everything she wanted.

Everything was hers!

Her face flushed with desire as Danae slowly descended the stairs.

The first to notice something was wrong was Danbi.

"Hey! I think someone's chasing us from behind?!"

"What?"

I stopped and listened along with her. ...Sure enough, faint footsteps echoed from far away.

The enclosed passage made sounds carry and reverberate.

Had the secret passage been discovered?

Strange... there shouldn't have been any patrols on the top floor at this hour.

Maybe they'd changed the schedule on a whim. Either way, we had to face reality. Pursuers were coming after us, so we had to do something.

"What now? Should we wait and fight?"

That was my suggestion from the front.

"How about hiding with the invisibility cloaks?"

That was Er's idea from right behind me.

"Or we could just run down as fast as possible?"

That was Danbi's suggestion from the very back.

Clara, positioned third, pondered for a moment before choosing Danbi's plan.

"Let's hurry and escape. Since it's Danbi-unni's idea!"

"Biased call! I demand a review from the referee! Give us a fair judgment!"

At my protest, Clara cleared her throat awkwardly.

"The passage is narrow, so the monsters won't be able to follow quickly. But we're slim, so our speed won't drop much."

"Slim...."

"Er, I wasn't talking about your cute chest, so don't get hurt."

"I-I wasn't thinking that!"

"And fighting in this narrow stairwell would be too disadvantageous. In an open space it might be different, but with our magic sealed, it'll just turn into a contest of raw power."

She had a point.

Even with my magic sealed, I'd only been able to fight monsters thanks to my skill-granted martial arts.

But in such a cramped space, it would likely devolve into a simple grappling match. Unless you were some supreme master who didn't rely on space like in wuxia novels.

...Part of me really wanted to blow up the entire castle. Just thinking about it made my teeth grind.

How was I supposed to get revenge on that bitch Danae later?

"What about hiding with the cloaks?"

"Er, what if they have detection-specialized monsters? They could track by scent or ultrasound."

"Oh, right! Okay! Let's just run! Unni! Move faster!"

"Uwah, ack, hey! Stop pushing!"

But after descending quite a ways, we all went pale at the sight before us.

It wasn't an ambush by Danae's subordinates.

What appeared was a wide corridor unlike anything we'd seen so far. Instead of stairs, a gently sloping marble path stretched downward.

It seemed to spiral around the entire castle. In any case, it was long. And wide.

"We're almost there...!"

"They'll catch up before that."

Despite the narrow passage, the monsters had steadily closed the distance. We could feel them getting much closer.

Now that this wide space had opened up...

With their superhuman physical abilities, they'd definitely catch us while our magic was sealed. The pursuers chasing us wouldn't be slow.

"At this rate, they'll catch us... If we're caught here, it's really over. We won't even have time to make another escape plan, and they won't let us go either."

Clara's expression was unusually tense.

"K-Klara...! W-what do we do?! Should we just run for it?! Before the monsters get here?!"

Er urged us forward in a panic, but Danbi grabbed her by the scruff of the neck.

"I've got a good idea."

Danbi grinned.

Haaah... ah...!

In the basement of some building.

Alpha was bound in a squatting position with her legs spread, moaning continuously as the dildos inserted into her anus and vagina stimulated her.

Her eyes were blindfolded, but she could clearly feel the gazes surrounding her ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠on her skin.

"Kekeke, she's quite the sight."

"Hey, can't we fuck her yet?"

"Wait, wait. Let's wait until the others arrive. And the bosses said to time the video right."

"Let's see... it's been 43 minutes now? They said to make it two hours."

"Hey, more importantly, I'm about to cum just from this bitch's smell."

"What do you want me to do about it?! The bosses said to time it!"

"If it's those bosses, then there's nothing we can do...."

Hiiik...!

While the men around her chuckled and chatted, Alpha couldn't endure the vibrations of the dildos relentlessly stimulating her vagina and anus and sprayed fluids that smelled sweet.

The space was already filled with the lewd scent of Alpha's sweat and bodily fluids, but mixed in was a refreshing peach-like fragrance. It was the scent of a magical girl's magic power faintly leaking out, blended with pheromones.

Thanks to that, even this cruel space of Alpha's violation didn't feel merely depraved and sticky—it gave off a strange sense of elevation, as if one were in the presence of a celestial maiden.

The men each endured while watching her. Some couldn't hold back and masturbated with their hands.

"Ah, it's about time to apply the cream."

"D-don't...!"

"It's the bosses' orders, so I can't help it. You like it too~."

Grinning lewdly, the man smeared the sticky aphrodisiac gel all over Alpha's body with sinister movements. Her already hypersensitive body began to heat up even more under the drug's influence.

Aaah... hwaaaaaah... hauk...!

"Hey, so where did the bosses go?"

"Hmm... they said some woman named Danae called for them. Something about capturing a magical girl."

The man who'd stepped away from Alpha began whispering with the others nearby.

Alpha's consciousness was hazy, but she could roughly guess which magical girl they were talking about.

'Ke...i...! Kuuuugh...!'

Hyauk...!

Unable to endure, Alpha climaxed again, dripping love juices.

By now, escape seemed impossible.