Escape (1)

"Get in here!" One of the escorts guiding the three shoved into a room. After being kidnapped, they were dragged into a facility. Because of the hoods on their heads, they couldn't tell where they were.

However, Shivan did have some ideas on how to get out due to his enhanced senses.

One of the things he realised when he had the hood on and blindfolded, his other senses which were already much better than a regular human's, had improved massively.

If he concentrated on someone, he could even pick up on their whispers from a decent distance away. 

After being thrown into the facility, their hoods were ripped off, revealing a run-down laboratory. The ceramic tiles laid the floor and the beige paint on the wall was peeling off.

In front of them was a long steel table with several rusted equipment on the side. The chemicals were haphazardly placed with labels on them.

The heavy door was locked shut and they were trapped in a room with guards who had weapons that could kill them instantly. The guards were lined up on the back wall, standing up straight. Despite being criminals, they were as disciplined as soldiers.

Shivan looked around the room and found a security camera watching their every move as well as a mana detector. There were no exits anywhere. He gave up trying to look for an escape.

On the side, there was a plastic crate filled with dried luminescent leaves that emitted a magical aura. 

"How much Lunimafern was smuggled into this city?" Chloe muttered to herself as she analysed the equipment. "Hah... whatever. What happens is not my problem. I won't have to worry about the consequences if I die here."

After saying that, Chloe started barking out orders telling Shivan and Alexia to gather the specific equipment required.

The two followed her instructions meticulously as they tried to help her as much as possible. Shivan hoped if they made the drug, the criminals would spare them.

After collecting the equipment, Shivan and Alexia watched from the side as Chloe started the refinement process. Though Shivan's knowledge of the creation of drugs was limited, he could somewhat understand what processes she was doing.

It was the process of extracting and refining the Lunimafern, into a liquid.

"Do you know what Lumicidence Boost is?" Shivan whispered to Alexia as they watched Chloe.

"Oh yeah... you wouldn't know... you're not a part of a military family. Lumicidence Boost is a potent drug that temporarily enhances your mana output, though it comes with a powerful recoil afterwards."

Alexia spoke so softly, that not even Chloe, who was close to her, had heard it, not to mention the other men or the audio recorders. Only Shivan could.

"Then why did they force Chloe specifically to make it?" 

"The more concentrated and the more pure the Boost is, the more potent the effects are. I don't know the specifics, but to create high-quality Boosts, you need expensive specialised equipment." Alexia explained.

"Since most criminals don't have access to that equipment nor the professionals needed to operate that equipment, they're stuck with low-quality Boosts.

However, Chloe's gift allows her to bypass that, allowing her to create high-quality Boosts, even higher than those made with the equipment.

The high-quality Boosts provide a more significant strength increase, though their recoil is much worse, most times resulting in death."

With Alexia's explanation, Shivan got a basic understanding of how Lumicidence Boosts worked and what kind of drug they were.

***

After about two hours of waiting, with Shivan and Alexia occasionally helping, Chloe managed to produce a vial containing a yellowish liquid.

"Done. I've got a sample. Of course, it's not fully completed as it still needs to be boiled with some other chemicals, but you don't need my help with that. The essential part is already completed."

Chloe explained out loud, showing the vial to the security cameras.

Soon after that, a short man came in and took the vial to another room. Two minutes later he returned, the vial half full.

"This sample is acceptable. If you create enough Boosts using all the Luminaferns over there, you may be set free."

Despite his short stature, he a had surprisingly deep voice. He soon left right after giving his commands, leaving the half-empty vial with Chloe.

After the door was locked again, Shivan felt Alexia's demeanour change. It wasn't noticeable, but something felt off.

Shivan had spent nearly two weeks with her and could feel subtle changes in her behaviour. She kept up this demeanour for nearly an hour.

Then, suddenly Shivan heard, "On my signal, use your shockwave to knock all the men on your side out." It was quieter than a whisper, but he heard it loud and clear.

After waiting a minute, she went next to Chloe where she started chopping some plants. She then 'accidentally' cut her hand giving an exaggerated "OUCH!".

As blood was dripping from her hands, she went next to the cupboard, getting a bandage from inside.

However, within an instant, a blood knife was created and pierced the throat of a guard standing nearby, hitting the wall behind him.

Suprised at the murder of their comrade, they reacted slowly and tried to pull their guns out of the holsters.

Realising that was the signal, Shivan created a powerful shockwave before they could even aim. 

The shockwave crashed into the men at high speeds, slamming their heads into the wall and leaving a dent. Blood was starting to spill from their foreheads as they flickered in and out of consciousness.

'That'll probably result in concussion.' Shivan mused.

But that distraction was a fatal mistake. A guard had escaped his attack and their gun was pointed at his body.

At that moment a single thought ran through Shivan's mind. 'I'm going to die.' He wasn't upset about it. It was just a fact for him.

But before he could fire, Chloe threw a beaker at him. Seeing the flying projectile, the man deflected the attack with his gun.

With that distraction, Shivan napped out his thoughts and rushed him at a speed much faster than a regular human.

Before the guard could aim his firearm again, Shivan had arrived in striking distance.

He propelled his fist forward, simultaneously launching his technique... "{Core Rupture Wave}".

The strike left a mark on the guard's chest and Shivan felt his ribs crack and his heart collapse easily.

On the other side, Alexia had killed everyone else, including ensuring that the guys Shivan knocked back were dead. All that was left was the three of them in this room.

During this time, Shivan became aware of a siren blaring, knowing it occurred because they tripped the mana detector when they killed everyone.

Shivan discarded the noise out of his mind and Alexia destroyed the security cameras and audio recorders.

While Alexia and Chloe were collecting the guards' weapons, Shivan was frozen still, staring at his shaking hand.

'This hand killed another human being.' Shivan was surprised how little effort it took to kill another human being. How fragile regular humans actually were.

"Huh, I just killed someone..."