Chapter 51: Treasure (2)

Perseus POV

"Why do we have to go through here?"

"Bring back memories?" Lind asked

Memories from my days of slavery flooded my mind like a torrential downpour. And that was just me doing actual slavery here for 1 year while the rest was at the lab. I remembered the suffocating sense of confinement...

To think that even though the security around here is lax now, this place is still up and running, it's the best time to destroy the lab and this whole place once and for all while the whole kingdom is still in a chaotic mess.

And even if the security is good enough to prevent people and other foreign spies from coming in, but not coming out, so that's why we're going through this route, it'll lead us to the treasury's secret tunnel, so that we can enter it safely.

"Now, the rite of passage." Lind said as the others then tensed up, "It's short and simple, you'll be bait."

"Bait...? We can just sneak out past the gates."

"Well, that won't be fun, besides, Bob said that there's more security than expected, so we'll lure them all to you, and maybe an hour after we escape, we'll come back to save you."

"So, you're saying that I've escaped one hell to another."

"Oh, big time, call them boys!"

They all then took out an alarm and alerted the guards.

"And just when we thought that there'd be some sort of peace." Elpis shook her head, "Let's just take out as many people as we can."

Guards poured in from all directions, their footsteps reverberating against the cold, stone walls. Without hesitation, I turned and sprinted down the mine's entrance, my heart pounding in my chest.

I ducked into a side tunnel, pressing myself against the rough, uneven walls as the sound of approaching footsteps grew louder from inside the mine itself, there were some people still inside.

I peered around the corner just in time to see a group of miners, with a quick cast, I summoned a bolt of lightning from the palm of my hand, sending it crackling through the air toward them.

The guards cried out in surprise as the lightning arced towards them, striking with deadly precision and sending them sprawling to the ground. Taking advantage of the momentary distraction, I dashed past them and continued deeper into the mines.

As I ran, I could hear the sound of more guards converging on my position, their shouts echoing off the walls of the tunnel. I knew I couldn't keep this up forever, eventually, they would overwhelm me with their sheer numbers. So I need to narrow their path, it's easier to take them down.

I'll take out a good number and I'll run into hiding for a bit. I then summoned forth a swirling vortex of fire, sending it hurtling toward my pursuers with all the force of a raging inferno. The flames engulfed the guards in a blaze of searing heat, their screams echoing through the tunnel as they were consumed by the fire.

I then created a thin layer of air to engulf me, there's a lot of smoke inside here, and eventually, I ran out of the tunnel and ran into another one as all the guards ran after me. The guards were relentless, their numbers seemingly endless as they continued to pour into the mines in pursuit of me.

I then ran into a very unstable part of the mines. As I sprinted through the crumbling mines, I unleashed a barrage of spells at the guards in hot pursuit, most missed, but they hit the mines themselves. I could feel the ground beneath my feet beginning to tremble.

The structural integrity of the mines was rapidly deteriorating under the strain of the chaos unfolding within their depths, especially with the guards also shooting their spells at me. Rocks and debris rained down from above, adding to the chaos and confusion as I struggled to navigate through the collapsing tunnels.

I pressed on, dodging falling debris and leaping over gaping chasms as I raced towards the exit. The guards were relentless in their pursuit, their shouts echoing off the walls of the tunnel as they closed in on me from all sides.

But I refused to let them catch me. With a burst of speed, I dashed forward, weaving through the chaos as spells continued to fly from my fingertips, striking down any guards foolish enough to stand in my way, while also just hoping that the debris bury them alive.

Elpis flashed them from time to time, it was dark, so a sudden flash would blind them greatly, stopping them in their tracks or disorienting them enough to have the mines collapse on them.

And then, at last, I burst out into the open air, leaving the chaos and destruction of the mines behind me. But even as I ran, I knew that the danger was far from over. The guards were still hot on my heels, their shouts growing louder with each passing moment as they closed in on me.

With a final burst of speed, I sprinted away from the mines, leaving behind the collapsing tunnels, but I was surrounded by a wave of guards, I then applied magic to my fingers, and snapped a sonic boom, disorienting them again.

I then jumped on them and ran away as they shot their spells at me, but I couldn't be elusive forever, because an icicle penetrated my waist and a lightning bolt hit my back, this wasn't one of those small hits, but a strong effective one.

I crashed on the ground and despite the eye of hours healing me, I was caught, I fought him off and several others off, but I lost my strength eventually.

"Worst rite of passage ever."

[A: It really is, even by my standards.]

"What are you talking about?" asked the guard who had me by the neck 

"Say, I've done my time, would you mind letting me go?"

"Let a dog like you go?"

"Yeah, just throw a bone and I'll chase after it."

"Oh no, we'll kill you."

"That's abuse, dipshit."