The First Captive

"Guys, good to see you're done. A little help here, please?"

Dylan spoke in a sort of playful manner, yet there was urgency conveyed on it.

CLANG!

The loud noise echoed as Dylan blocked the strike from the creature's maw with his jaw. It was the black dog beast they had seen wandering the halls, yet, the multicolored aura around it had dissipated just a bit. Now, the aura was not as bright as before.

It jumped back, prepared to take another strike when it saw the green hourglass in Henrietta's grasp.

Green light shot out from the artifact, and for a moment, the beast howled and shrieked. Its voice sounded like it came from the abyss itself, the pure torture it felt conveyed from the echo of its growls. The multicolored light that covered it like a veil had partially shattered, all hints of green disappearing into the air as only green and blue remained.

Another quick check at the creature's strength rating, and Charles' suspicion was confirmed.

"Dylan, no need to engage it!" he shouted in warning, "It's made to be impossible as of now. Just run!"

Nora conjured a few ice spears in the air and rained it down onto the ground, creating a makeshift barrier. As the beast was caught unaware, it slammed head first onto the ice wall, stunning it for a few seconds.

"Alright!" Dylan said, while jumping to avoid the stray pieces of ice covering the ground. The attack was the last one Nora unleashed before the wings-like aura behind her faded entirely. She looked a bit tired, but she was still able to stand, even respond with a wry smile as Henrietta jumped around the obstacles in a way similar to an acrobat performer.

As they managed to lose their pursuer, they were able to hear pained groaning from inside a room, accompanied with what sounded like barks mixed with laughter. They looked around, trying to find the source, and stopped in front of a wooden door.

Unlike the room before, the wooden door seemed to be relatively intact. There was no way for them to anticipate what was inside.

"Let me go first, then," Charles said, while he prepared to kick down the door.

"Stop, there is no need for that," Dylan interrupted. "Let me try something. Mind holding the door?"

"Sure, why not?" Charles answered and held the doorknob.

Dylan shoved his greatsword into the crack that connected the door and the hinges. The tip of the sword was now inside the upper side of the crack.

[Earthshatter Slash]

As the notification appeared, Dylan made a quick downward slashing motion, his hand stopping just shy before the greatsword was slammed onto the ground. Caught off-guard, Charles almost let go of the wooden door, only for Henrietta to hold him in a steadying manner, pressing her chest against his back for a little bit.

They stood there for a few seconds, until Dylan interrupted.

"In case you forget, you should move the door to the side," Dylan said with a slight snicker.

"Dylan, you could have warned me for that, at least." Charles sighed and steadied the door, moving it to the side of the hall as quietly as he could. Then, he looked inside. There was not much in there, except for the glint of wires and cables, along with the greenish lights blinking like thousands of eyes.

Cold air was seeping out of the room in the form of white mist. It was like standing in front of a massive refrigerator.

"Well, are you all ready?"

"As ever,"

"Sure,"

"I am as ready as I could,"

With weapons at the ready, the four of them took steps into the room. As their eyes adjusted at the darkness, they were able to see hundreds of machines, all interlinked by thick, gleaming wires and cables. Some kind of energy pulsed within pipes all connected to the center of the room. It led to a tube filled with glowing blue liquid.

Inside the tube, there was an unconscious woman. Breathing devices were attached to her nose and mouth, while chains tied to the bottom of the tube kept her wrists bound and her body submerged. From her expression, she looked like she was sleeping in a bad dream, occasional flinching and struggling were the only hints that she was still alive.

Her physique suggested that she was strong, the lean muscles of her exposed arms and legs a testament. Her hair was dyed in a bright electric blue that faded into black at the roots.

"Marie!" Nora exclaimed. She seemed relieved as she looked at the tube, along with the mechanisms around it, "Please, we need to free her!"

"Stay calm, Nora," Charles reminded her. "I'm glad she's alive at least, but there are a lot of things here. I am worried that pushing random things would just make the situation worse," he added.

Charles glanced around the best he could, and indeed, there were hundreds of buttons, all scattered in control panels attached to different machines. There was no panel attached to the tube directly, fueling his suspicion that the tube would not release the captive woman easily.

Kyak!

Hearing the familiar voice of a kobold nearby, they turned around at the door they came from, each pointing their weapons towards the threat.

Mo! Yak, marak sa! Lest raku!

The kobold wore some kind of mouthpiece that covered half of its face, causing its voice to sound a bit muffled. Unexpectedly, a notification appeared in front of their eyes.

This time, the notification was stained in a red color unlike the usual blue. One sentence could be seen in the middle of it, and the three was stunned upon reading it.

[No! Want to, make a deal! No attack!]