What Needs To Be Done

Babu looked at the Leader and asked, "Why don't you save them when you know where they are?"

"Unfortunately, it's not that easy. I've tried many times to get my people out of that disgusting dump but I couldn't. They have a lot of power and protect almost everywhere. It's not hard to get in from the outside but it's almost impossible to get out again with so many people. The worst part is that they're being watched by a creature with a guard. There's a rather troublesome creature and a guardian," explained Sumaru.

"The First Epic put a very powerful guard there named Izzar who is almost as strong as the first elite soldier. He can make hundreds of copies of himself. I've never seen such a thing in any lineage," continued Sumaru.

Hiroshi scratched his head and asked, "And how long can he use these clones?"

"He can hold fifty copies for an hour. Maybe more than I think. I don't know, I only have rumors," replied Sumaru.

"What about the creature you're talking about?" asked Hiroshi.

"It's like a big dog with pointed teeth and is more aggressive than any other. It can easily smell blood from ten kilometers away," explained Sumaru.

Lezlie asked, "Are there other difficult enemies besides them?"

"No, there are only ordinary soldiers but that's not all the problems. There's a warning system there. If we attack directly, reinforcements will arrive as soon as we attack. If we make a fuss we might have to face an Elite soldier or even an Epic. If they arrive, we can't do anything," warned Sumaru.

An idea suddenly came to my mind and I asked, "What happens if we try to sneak in?"

"And how do you plan to do this?" asked Sumaru.

"One of us who will volunteer can camouflage by wearing prisoner's clothes," I suggested.

"We can't do that, kid. Even if you go in there as a prisoner, the soldiers will recognize you. After all, we're wanted, if we're recognized, they'll be all over us. I'm sure of it," warned Hiroshi.

He was right and we had to make another plan. I thought I wasn't going to find any ideas but then I remembered something and said, "What if Babu enters there?"

Babu looked at me confused and asked, "Me? Why?"

"Because my fluffy friend, they don't know you're with us and you're not wanted. I'm sure no one will suspect you," I explained.

"Well, what do I do when I go in?" asked Babu.

"If you can disarm the alarm from the inside, no help will arrive and that means we can easily attack," I replied.

The leader looked at us and said, "He can't do it alone from the inside. The alarm system is where the guard is staying and at the entrance to where he's staying, that creature is standing."

"Yes, the leader is absolutely right. I can't do this alone. I don't know what exactly I should do," agreed Babu.

After some thinking, the leader looked at Babu and said, "But you can help."

Babu looked confused once more and asked, "What do you mean?"

"There are pipes under the mines. Ryuu and the others can get from outside to inside using these pipes. If you open the entrance to the pipes from the inside, they can easily enter," explained Sumaru.

"But what are we supposed to do after that?" asked Babu.

"After that, you definitely need to do two things: turn off the alarm and free my people from the chains. The chains are magical. When my people are free from the chains, they will regain their power. So they can fight again," replied Sumaru.

This time, Lezlie was confused and asked the leader, "Are your people normal humans with regular powers, Leader?"

"No, we're not, young lady. We are a bloodline with the power to change our skin. We can change it for warmth in the cold, for cooling in the heat, and for many different reasons. We can also make sure that our skin doesn't show up to other people, even for a short time. You can call this being 'invisible.'"

"Like a chameleon," Lezlie said.

"Yes, you could say that too. My people are bound by magic chains, so they can't use their power. If you can release them, their power will return. I am sure."

"So, all we have to do is secretly turn off the alarm when we go in, free the people of your bloodline from the magical handcuffs, and try to escape as easily as possible," I said.

"Can you really accomplish this mission?" the Leader asked.

Hiroshi continued to puff on his cigar, and said, "We are going to try."

"As I said, if you try to attack, you will risk your life. Try to be as discreet as possible," the Leader cautioned.

Lezlie suggested, "Maybe if you use the king certificate, The King of the First Kingdom will help you. After all, kings don't like epics."

"It used to be like that, but no one cares about the king certificate anymore, not even the kings," the Leader replied.

"What is the King Certificate?" I asked.

"According to my mother, it used to be called the system of two kings, but this was before the epics came. King Einar made a deal with the people at the head of the lineages to bring peace to the kingdom. According to the agreement, whatever the problems of the lineage, King Einar will help solve the problems. And he did just that. In return, they put an end to the lineage wars by doing what the King wanted. Thanks to this Constitution, peace and happiness continued in the five kingdoms."

"This continued until the King died and the epics came. The epics changed the Constitution, using their power to perpetuate their chaos. Yet, without the full permission of the kings, the people do not listen to their orders. They considered themselves kings, calling themselves 'Epics.' No one knows where the epics came from, or who they took orders from."

"What you say is true, but we are no longer considered kings. After the certificate, this law was adopted in this precise form. We are known only as 'leaders' who govern our lineage."

"Can't Kings really do anything?" I asked.

The Leader looked at me and replied, "No, even Kings don't know what epics can do. That's why they're afraid of them. If chaos takes over as before, this time every lineage, every human being is going to die."

"Then there's no point in wasting time, is there?" Hiroshi said.

The Leader said, "Be careful on your mission."

Babu asked, "How far is the mine from here?"

"Not much, I can order my men to take you there. But I can't go with you; I have to keep my people safe."

"Thank you again for your help."

"You don't need to thank me. Just bring my people back, and together we can tie up some loose ends."