The Wretched Underground Passage
"This wretched, cursed underground passage."
Gude spat out a curse and massaged his lower back before stepping onto the next flight of stairs. Climbing, descending, and climbing yet again.
"Why does it have to be so damn complicated!"
Shouting like a man who didn't understand the very concept of a "secret passage," Gude readjusted his grip on the water bottle cradled in his arms. His legs were far too short and stubby to traverse this endless underground passage.
Even in his exhaustion, he refused to entrust the item in his arms to anyone else. Sweating profusely, he waved his candlestick around to illuminate his narrow field of vision.
"Pant, pant... We're almost there, aren't we?"
Spotting the silhouette of a massive pillar in the dim light ahead, he eagerly urged his subordinates forward.
"Yes, Priest Gude. If we turn right just ahead, we'll reach the stairs!"
The man walking beside him, who had been forced to endure Gude's endless whining, couldn't hide the relief in his voice. Yet, no one looked happier than the man at the very back of the line, carrying a large jar of holy water.
The man whom Gude had specifically ordered to carry the heavy jar filled with blue liquid smiled, completely forgetting they were fleeing from intruders, simply overjoyed that this grueling labor was finally coming to an end.
However, the moment he reached the pillar, his face turned pale again. Stretched out before them was a steep, seemingly endless flight of stairs.
"The exit is at the very top, Priest Gude."
Gude scowled at the reminder of a truth he already knew but hated to hear, and took a step forward. With every single step, his knees and thighs throbbed, and sweat poured down like rain, but he couldn't stop.
One more step. Finally reaching the right corner, Gude fumbled noisily through his pockets.
It was at that exact moment. The candlelight flickered violently, distorting Gude's shadow.
"Argh!"
*Crash!* Following the final gasp of the man carrying the jar at the back, the sharp sound of shattering glass echoed through the passage.
Realizing they only had two candles left, a panicked Gude shrieked.
"What is it? What happened?!"
But that was as far as they got. Before the remaining five men could even draw their swords, a foul, noxious smoke began to billow from beneath their feet.
"Pant, pant... We're almost there, aren't we?"
"Yes, Priest Gude. If we turn right just ahead, we'll reach the stairs!"
Hearing the breathless voice of the manager ahead, Seya looked back.
"I think we're really almost there."
Mir nodded at Seya's words, even though he knew he couldn't be seen in the dark.
Soft sighs of relief escaped from the children behind them. To avoid detection, the children had been walking in near-total darkness, relying solely on Seya and the faint glow of the candles carried by the men ahead. Navigating the pitch-black passage while maintaining absolute silence had been an incredibly exhausting ordeal for them.
"That bastard whined so much I thought we still had miles to go."
Seya, leading the pack, rolled his shoulders as if delighted to finally be rid of the incessant complaining.
"Is it time to run now?"
Nihil, standing somewhere in the middle, asked in a trembling, anxious voice, having overheard Seya's murmur.
"Yeah. So we need to untie this now."
Seya shook the rope tied around his waist. Nihil gripped the rope tightly as he felt the vibration travel to his own waist.
This rope linking them together was the Young Duke's idea. He had suggested it because they might easily lose each other if they only relied on the sound of Seya's footsteps in the dark. Thanks to the rope, the slower children had made it this far without getting left behind, but for the faster ones, it was nothing but a cumbersome shackle. For Nihil, who was on the slower side, untying it felt a bit daunting.
"Can't we just keep it on? We can run with it."
"Of course not. Running is different from walking. If one person trips, we all go down."
Nihil, who had benefited greatly from the rope, asked hesitantly as he began to untie it, but Mir's response was sharp and decisive. Since his logic was flawless, the children who had relied on the rope—including Nihil—could only groan and finish untying themselves.
"Don't worry too much, we'll all make it out. We've done something like this before, remember?"
The Young Duke of Fides, standing third from the front, spoke encouragingly into the darkness.
"I know, but..."
"If you fall, no one's stopping to help you, so just run like your life depends on it. I'm throwing it now."
Nihil, who had been muttering insecurely, glared at Seya for cutting him off yet again. In truth, it was too dark to see anything, but since that applied to Seya as well, Nihil felt free to scowl as fiercely as he wanted.
"Three, two..."
Seya began to count down, tapping his foot against the ground as if to signal there was no time for hesitation.
Right, these guys have always been like this. Nihil bit his lip, once again struck by the sheer, reckless audacity of Mir and Seya.
"One!"
Without a single moment of hesitation, Seya lunged forward. His target was the man carrying the candlestick right in front of the one holding the water bottle.
"Whoa!"
Seya's sudden charge sent the man carrying the heavy water bottle crashing to the ground with an undignified shriek. With a loud crash, blue liquid splattered in every direction.
Before the man could even turn around to see what the commotion was, Seya snatched the candlestick right out of his hand. Mir caught the flame with seamless, practiced precision.
Everything was going perfectly.
Plunged into sudden darkness, Gude's chubby hands clawed frantically at the empty air. Even though he had dropped his keys immediately, he displayed a sickening level of tenacity by refusing to let go of the water bottle tucked securely under his other arm.
Thud! But as Nihil came charging right behind, he slammed into Gude, sending the precious bottle slipping from the priest's grasp. A sharp shatter echoed from a distance as the thin glass bottle broke.
"Noooo!!!!"
His desperate, gut-wrenching scream reverberated up the stairs. Ignoring the drama, Seya swiftly scooped up the keys rolling near Gude's feet and yelled,
"Run!"
The men whipped their heads around in confusion at the sound of a child's voice, but blinded and choking on the noxious gas, they could do nothing but flail their arms helplessly.
Mir ran toward the direction of Seya's voice. Though the darkness was suffocating, they didn't dare light a single spark for fear of being caught. They had no choice but to run, relying entirely on the sound of each other's footsteps.
The sound of the men retching violently behind them confirmed that the plan had been a resounding success. Mir ran and ran, determined not to lose sight of Seya ahead.
Before long, a heavy thud of someone bumping into something was followed by a metallic clack. It was undoubtedly the sound of Mir, who had arrived first, unlocking the door. A thrill of triumph rushed through his veins.
If only it hadn't been for that ominous sound from behind.
"Ugh... *sob*..."
As if to prove that bad premonitions are never wrong, the faint, tearful whimper that followed made it clear that the sound wasn't just his imagination. It had to be one of the kids who had fallen behind. He felt bad for whoever it was, but they had to keep moving. He had never expected everyone to escape in the first place.
Saving a stranger was a luxury reserved only for those whose own survival was guaranteed. Himself and his few friends from the streets—that was the extent of Seya and Mir's small world. A tiny, fragile world that they, who had nothing, had barely managed to gather in their arms.
Mir squeezed his eyes shut as he heard the footsteps right in front of him begin to slow down. But it seemed his best friend was already planning to step out into a slightly larger world.
"Mir."
Seya, who had come to a halt, called out to him in a low voice.
"Just keep going."
"Mir."
"They're strangers anyway. You said it yourself—if anyone falls, we leave them behind."
"I heard a set of footsteps heading back."
Seya whispered, as if trying to calm the breathless Mir.
"We both know who it is."
Yes, it was obvious. Mir bit his lip as only one face came to mind. He had known it from the moment that annoying face had smiled instead of getting angry. No, maybe he had sensed it from the very first time they met. That the naive young master would cause a massive ripple in their tiny world, that Seya was the kind of boy who would willingly dive right into it, and that he, in turn, would have no choice but to follow his friend.
"Take this and go. I'll be right behind you."
Fumbling in the dark for Mir's unresponsive hand, Seya pressed the keys he had stolen from Gude into his palm. Giving Mir's hand a firm squeeze, the boy turned around and dashed back the way they had come.
Seya ran back into the dimming light of the fading flashbang. The sound of his footsteps faltered occasionally, likely as he bumped into the other children running toward the exit. But he didn't turn back. Mir stared blankly into the darkness where the footsteps were fading.
"Argh! Has he lost his mind? Where is he going? And what about you? Why are you just standing here?"
Nihil, who had just bumped shoulders with Seya, collided with the stationary Mir and asked in irritation. Mir looked toward Nihil in the dark and quietly grabbed his hand.
"What the hell? Why are you grabbing my hand? That's creepy. Wait, what's this?"
Nihil tried to shake him off, but froze when he felt the slightly warm, damp metal of the keys pressed into his palm.
"If you keep going straight, you'll hit the door. Once you're out, do whatever you want with those."
"What? Hey! Where are you going?!"
Leaving the ring of keys in Nihil's hand, Mir plunged back into the deep darkness.
"You wretched little brats! *Ugh!* I'll kill you all! I'll slaughter every single one of you if I catch you!"
Still suffering from the effects of the vomit bomb, Gude shrieked between violent dry heaves. Even though some of his men were starting to regain their senses, they couldn't move easily now that the candles illuminating their path had been completely extinguished.
"What are you all doing?! Catch them and kill them!"
Frustrated by his own body's refusal to cooperate, he barked endless orders to his subordinates to slaughter the children. But his men didn't possess stomachs strong enough to withstand the overwhelming nausea either.
Still, they'll recover soon.
The Young Duke of Fides thought, carefully stepping forward to avoid making any sound.
"I-I'm sorry..."
The child on his back whispered in a tearful voice.
"It's alright. You're not as heavy as I thought."
Despite his reassuring words, the Young Duke's back was drenched in sweat, prompting the child to quietly clutch the hem of his clothes. Rather than the weight of the skeletal child, what truly weighed heavily on Flynn's mind was how the child's raspy voice was growing fainter by the second, and how the blood dripping from the child's foot was beginning to soak his own legs.
Being exceptionally frail even among the group, the child had struggled to run in the dark and had ended up tumbling down the stairs. If Flynn hadn't rushed down to catch them, the child would have rolled all the way to the bottom. The Young Duke grimaced at the thought of the horrific scenario that had been narrowly avoided.
To make matters worse, the child had been cut by a shard of the shattered water bottle during the fall. Whether the bleeding wouldn't stop because of the child's poor health or because the wound was too deep, Flynn had no way of knowing, which only fueled his growing anxiety. He needed to get the child out and treated immediately.
He wanted to climb up before the men fully recovered, but the problem was that by heading down to rescue the child, their positions had been reversed. The men were now between them and the exit.
Should I just force my way through?
A reckless plan crossed his mind, only to be instantly dismissed. The risk of charging past those furious men while carrying a child on his back was simply too high.
"Squeak."
"Ah. You're here too."
Catching his breath with a furrowed brow, the Young Duke let out a faint smile at the sound of his tiny friend from inside his shirt.
"Huh? I've been here the whole time."
The child on his back spoke up, sounding terrified, thinking the Young Duke had lost his mind from sheer exhaustion and was talking to himself. Come to think of it, the children here didn't seem to talk to animals much. One particularly gluttonous kid had even started drooling at the sight of it. Recalling a certain face that had repeatedly made excuses about how cool the squirrel looked, the Young Duke suppressed a chuckle.
"Well, anyway, it's best if you go ahead for now."
The Young Duke spoke to the tiny creature hidden in the darkness. The highly intelligent creature must have understood his words. The warmth that had been resting against him vanished in an instant, leaving behind a chill that felt far larger than the space the creature had occupied.
Though he felt a bit lonely, Flynn decided it was better than putting his friend in danger. But just as he took a step forward—
*Thud!*
A heavy, unmistakable impact echoed from above, where Gude and his men were.
"Argh! What is that?!"
Along with a sudden shriek, the Young Duke felt something heavy tumbling down the stairs toward them. Only when a large, adult figure brushed past him did he realize that the rolling object was one of Gude's men.
"Damn it, over here! Someone pushed me from this side!"
"He said over there, you idiots! Go catch them, quick!"
The scattered voices of the men began to converge toward the far left. For the Young Duke, this was a golden opportunity. Taking advantage of the chaos, he ran with every ounce of strength he had left.
"No, not me! It's that guy over there!"
"Aaargh! That's my arm!"
Leaving behind the sounds of the men grabbing each other's limbs and brawling in the dark, the Young Duke sprinted. He almost tripped when he felt something scurrying up his leg, but then, a familiar warmth settled on his shoulder, and a soft, bushy tail brushed against his cheek.
"Darami, is that you?"
The tiny animal on his shoulder seemed to stiffen slightly at the sound of his delighted voice, but since it usually reacted this way whenever he called its name, the Young Duke couldn't help but smile.
"You didn't leave. You're the bravest squirrel I know."
"Squeak."
Answering with a short squeak, the tiny friend looked down at the men on the stairs from the shoulder of his slightly larger friend. Its eyes seemed capable of piercing through the deepest darkness.
Only when the shouting of the men faded into the distance did Flynn finally stop his legs, which felt as though the muscles were about to burst.
"Are you alright?"
Unable to give a simple "I'm fine" this time, the Young Duke collapsed onto the stairs. No matter how skeletal the child was, carrying them while sprinting was no easy feat. Sweat poured off him like rain.
"Can you go on alone? It should only be a little further."
The Young Duke figured they had probably made it past the halfway mark.
"B-But what about you, Young Master?"
"I'm just going to rest for a bit before I follow. Don't worry."
"Just a bit?"
The child looked terrified, as if the "bit" the Young Duke spoke of might turn into an eternity.
"P-Please, let's go together. I'll try carrying you this time."
It wasn't just empty talk; the child actually slipped their hands under Flynn's armpits and tried to lift him. But with the child's frail strength, Flynn didn't budge an inch, let alone get lifted. At this rate, the child would only lose more blood. Fearing that all their efforts would go to waste, the Young Duke gently pried the small hands away.
"I'm really fine. Go on ahead. Even if they catch me, they won't be able to kill me right away."
Thinking about it that way actually brought him a sliver of peace. Yes, if I reveal the name of the Fidus family, I should be able to buy myself some time. Once his mind relaxed, a wave of exhaustion crashed over him all at once.
"But if... if you make it out... go to the Fidus mansion... and bring help."
The moment the Young Duke closed his heavy eyelids after squeezing out those halting words, a pair of hands slid under his armpits once again. This time, with a rough, overwhelming strength that couldn't even be compared to before.
The sheer force, which practically forced his eyelids open, hoisted the Young Duke straight up. Wait, can someone suddenly get this strong just from a brief rest?
"Are you quite finished playing with your wretched last words?"
As the Young Duke was making such foolish, incoherent assumptions in his dazed state, a politely rude voice drifted down from above his head.
"Oops. By 'wretched,' he meant 'ominous,' Young Master. Mir tends to choose his words poorly sometimes."
Seya's absurd defense of his friend was thrown in as an afterthought.