Runaway.

[Still Randall's POV]

"You… It's not a good time for your stupid jokes, Llen. Get up," commanded the hooded stranger, who turned around and left the cell.

I attempted to follow her, but this body almost refused to heed my commands.

"Ugh."

In my advance, I found myself colliding with the floor, the wall, the cell bars, and even the stranger herself.

"Tch, watch out."

Leaving the two corpses behind, shivers ran down my spine as she led me around the underground halls. Specks of dust fell on top of us occasionally, but it didn't matter much.

… Whenever a guard appeared in our path, she'd slow down their time flow and stab them with the pen. Though, in one instance, the pen glowed with an irregular, violet glow.

And upon making contact with the bulky, armored guard… 

The attack knocked it away, only for his head to crash with the floor. Quite loudly.

Anyway, this stranger urged me a few times to walk faster, but I couldn't.

Nevermind the fact that this isn't even my own body, I was barely able to move a few muscles throughout the last few days. And there's the demons' liquid, too… Whose effect partially vanished, but that's it.

Partially.

In the end, she gave up and decided to carry me on her back.

"I can't believe I'm doing this for you, out of anyone I've ever met…"

Only her footsteps shattered the silence in this labyrinth, given that no more guards appeared.

'Approximately… 7 of them, counting the two near my cell? They all looked fairly strong, too… But where did the other kid go?'

As I mused to myself, we managed to reach the last door. The opening to the outside world.

"Hey," whispered the stranger.

"Hm?"

"Can you walk now?"

"I don't think so."

She sighed. As her hand reached out to the doorknob, I stopped her. Turning her head, I received a fairly fierce glare concealed by the mask.

"Isn't it unsafe to leave? What if there are other guards-"

Again, an already tired sigh left her mouth.

She opened the door, revealing the moonlit, grassy fields filled with orange vegetation. Gusts of wind passed by my cheeks, reminding me of a strange feeling I hadn't felt in a while.

The touch of nature.

The trees' shape, crowned with orange leaves, almost resembled that of a single autumn leaf. In the distance, something resembling a mountain range towered far above the land.

"No one on sight. Now, we leave."

The stranger dashed away from this place, deep into the warm-coloured forest with a severe sense of urgency. Strange, considering her words.

'Then again, if I were to break out with someone from Alcatraz or something, I'd probably be running like this.'

So, I suppose it's fair enough.

Minutes passed by, her pace did not slow down. Not even a bit. So I took the liberty of looking around…

'... Holy shit.'

The silhouette of a flying dragon contrasted with the moon itself. And like that flying lizard, dozens of them plagued the skies. 

'No, wait…'

There were a couple humans with wings, too.

'Is that Ego?'

… Man, if I knew it was possible to create wings instead of weapons with Ego, I'd have done it. Such a wasted opportunity.

"Looks like they caught on."

"No shit, really?"

Geez… I guess I'll keep quiet.

'Kind of deserved, honestly.'

Suddenly, the stranger stopped dead in her tracks. 

"Wha-"

"Off."

She crouched and tiptoed towards a nearby bush, only to drop me there while also hiding herself.

Not too long after, multiple footsteps vaguely reached my own ears. A tad far away, but it might be close enough for our standing silhouettes to be spottable. Fortunately, we hugged the dirt just early enough…

A tap on my shoulder almost jolted my thoughts to life. Naturally, it came from the stranger that broke me out of that hell.

She pointed towards a certain direction– which I couldn't identify, and started crawling. 

With not much choice but to follow her, I did just that.

While doing so, I couldn't help but wonder… Where is this stranger leading me to? I don't think I've ever met someone like this, haven't I?

'Wait… No, I think I have.'

The wedding. Someone with a similar mask was present that day, in the crowd. Though, she didn't have a cloak that day.

'Lavender-like skin… A demon, perhaps?'

Probably… Now, what type of demon is she?

It has to be one of the three "subspecies" of demons, to begin with. 

Titans, naturally bulky demons whose skin can harden to an extreme degree, thus making them beasts at taking damage… And dishing it back.

Considering her body shape, I can discard her being a Titan. She's too small for that.

'Perhaps a Spectre then?... No, not possible either. Those can't have light purple skin, or the skin tone of the other demons.'

Meaning, the only option remaining is that she's a Fiend… The winged ones, often as tall as the average earthling.

"We're near the edge, be ready."

Huh?

"For what?"

"To run."

"… Run? Won't we get spotted by the flying dragons?"

"Not if we head towards the caves. There's an underground network that should allow us to slip away."

Well, isn't that convenient? 

"I see… Though, I'm not sure if I can really run in my current condition."

We approached the edge, and she looked up.

Following her gaze, none of the dragons we saw previously roaming the sky appeared to be patrolling… Actually scratch that, there's one.

Though, it seems to be heading back…?

"Good, they must have found Charles' body."

"Charles? The red haired guard?"

"Yes. He was a noble in one of the Schools I used to work with… That is, until the entire school fell out of the public's grace."

"Why?"

"A few issues, and the occasional scandal. Mostly about their Apostles scheming in the shadows to backstab their High Apostle, and the Heralds being nothing but an annoyance to both Apprentices and Journeymen alike, causing the school's influence to dwindle."

"Interesting…"

"Anyway, Charles didn't have much to lose, so I suppose it's fine to ditch him."

"Won't he try to get revenge?"

After I asked that, the masked one turned to face me.

"I'd be surprised if he can even remember something, honestly…" she muttered, looking at me strangely.

"Is there an issue?"

"No. Also, brace yourself," spoke the stranger, who took my hand and held it a bit too tightly.

'Wait, what?'

A pair of dark wings, similar to the ones I had during the failed wedding, appeared on her back. A single flap was all it took for her to lead her away from the orange-dyed forest, and into the abyss-like cave system of those looming mountains.

'And I'm definitely not dangling in the air, like a scarf's loose end.'