Prison Break [1]: Traitor's Plan

"Finaally doneee... FREEDOM"

Craig rejoiced right before Dave knocked his head

"It was only two days of all nighters, stop talking like you soloed a desolate world or something"

"Two and a half!"

In addition to suppressing oni forces and other missions for the cradle, they also had to handle the processing of prisoners of war, handing them to the kingdom of Baldur, negotiate exclusive contracts for healing potions, logistics, paperwork and several other miscellaneous jobs—It was pretty much two and a half days of living hell for the somewhat lazy Craig Ryder.

"Still... You didn't skip out this time so a reward is in order...."

Dave grinned as he continued

"... I talked to a few guys, they agreed to get us into the mines"

"REALLY?!"

"Keep your voice down, idiot!.... Geez, I stuck my neck out for this so you better make sure you erase your two mistakes this time"

"Thanks, buddy"

Craig said, jumping on the guy

"Hey, personal space! Things like that are why ladies avoid you like the plague. Get some rest, we're leaving tonight"

That reward lit a fire in Craig's soul as it gave him a chance to save his promotion by rectifying the two errors that just so happened to be in the same place— the boy who he was ordered to eliminate at all costs but was somehow still alive, and the girl, who was the only oni to ever injure him in battle— although it was mostly a careless mistake on his part, she still managed to get a hit off of him and even worse, escape.

Every now and then, he has nightmares of the hand that drove itself into his body, coated in lightning....

"....White lightning"

He muttered to himself, touching the scar that had already healed after almost two months.

"Thank you for your hardwork boys"

"PRINCESS?!"

Craig replied, blushing as Princess Selene approached them with three of her personal knights— Oberon, Carla and Saya. She was there overseeing the work between the hunters and Baldur

As there was a beautiful girl right before him, there was only one thing for him to do

"Uhm... Princess, i-if you don't mind, w-would you like to join us for some—"

He was interrupted by a messenger who whispered something in her ear which upon hearing, her expression turned cold.

She turned around and started moving in a hurry

"Oberon, Carla, Saya, ready the warp gate.... We're heading to the mines"

And like the passing cold, Craig felt rejected again. Dave however, sensed something was up and the fact the mines were mentioned could spell trouble.

"Craig, you're going to have to forget about that nap, we're heading to the mines too!"

The mines—5 minutes before the Scheduled Maintenance

"Bad News!...."

Alfred screamed, running towards the onis

"..... Arc was taken away by the guards"

"Huh? Why?" Yuki asked

"I-I don't know, but it looks bad, I don't think he'll make it for the escape"

"Where did they take him?!"

Rei asked upon hearing the commotion. Yuki quickly grabbed her

"Don't even, we need you on the expedition tea—"

"I'M NOT LEAVING WITHOUT HIM!"

Her loud proclamation sent a chill down everyone's spines. They all feel silent, frozen by the strength of her resolve.

Yuki looked into her azure eyes, burning with such fury and passion, he knew he couldn't get through to her whenever she's like this.

"Sigh— fine. I'll come with you as well"

"Really?!"

"We'll have to revise our formation to compensate but I can make it work somehow"

"You're the best!"

She proclaimed, jumping on and hugging Yuki with a bright smile and improved mood. Yuki smiled softly in return, happy to see her happy.

"You're usually so cold and uptight, but when the little lady asks you to do something, you roll over like a little puppy, huh, boy?"

Tetsuro said, walking towards them with smirk.

"I'll go with the expedition team. Go bring our boy back"

"YES"

They both answered at the same time before following Alfred to save Arc— Alfred, who was snickering deep within himself that his plan...his trap was going so well.

The mines torture room— 1 minute till Maintenance

Arc woke up feeling weird and woozy, the cause of which he figured out after scanning his surroundings. He was chained inside some kind of cage with equipments hooked up to it— equipments he was familiar with from the cradle.

They were used in the cradle for holding beasts, the equipment messes with the target's focus and brainwaves, making it difficult for them to move let alone attack or use ygg.

[In your case where you don't make use of ygg, this is the best weapon to contain you. Without adequate focus, commanding your beasts or enslaving any will prove difficult]

Arc's face sank. Not because of the equipments though, he was very much aware of his current predicament upon seeing the equipments.

What troubled him was the realization that he had been betrayed.....again.

"Mr Stark.....Why?"

Arc muttered as mixed thoughts flowed through his mind. Was he a fool for trusting him? Was he the only one who thought they were friends? Perhaps Silvers was right

Perhaps it's just better to watch the world burn..... I'm tired....

At that moment, the images of two people flashed through his head, pulling him out of his dark thought— Amy and Rei.

"You really are something, aren't you, kid?"

He looked up to see Warden Rose looking down on him with disgust.

"To think you can still tame beasts with that collar on, if Lord Stark hadn't said so himself, I wouldn't have believed it"

"Let me out of here"

"Hahaha, Did you really think I'll just let you out if you just.....asked?"

She smirked

"The Princess will be here soon, once she's here, we'll decide what to do with you"

"M-Ms Selene?"

He broke into a cold sweat. Ever since he was placed in the mines, he'd been tortured and humiliated by Selene in several different ways that he had developed PTSD

He was afraid of her.... and for good reason

[Hey! Calm down, you're going to be fi—]

*BOOM

The blast through the wall drew his attention. Through the debris, he saw...

"Rei!"

She was carrying Yuki, assuming a defensive stance against Alfred.

"To think you dodged that without ygg enhancements, impressive!"

"You weasel!"

Apparently, as they were arriving at their location, Alfred fired off a beam of ygg from behind to take them both out, but Rei noticed it and pulled Yuki to her, then dodged by a hairs breadth.

"You're betraying us, Alfred?"

Yuki asked, cool and composed as ever

"Well, technically I was never one of you to begin with. Allow me to reintroduce myself.."

He said, taking a slight bow.

"I am the warden of this here establishment and one of Princess Selene's personal knights. Second Sword, Milo Stark"

"W-Warden?"

Rei reiterated, shocked

"Yes, well you see.... I have a little hobby of mingling with my fellow prisoners to ensure things go smoothly....."

His aura suddenly became cold and malicious

"..... And uproot any form of rebellion or break outs"

In all this, Yuki was unfazed, keeping his cool

"Milo, huh? So Alfred was a fake name?"

"Naturally"

He pointed his finger at Yuki prepared to finish him off with a blast

"The princess tasked me with watching over her "treasure" and the girl who seemed to be the leader of you lot. To think, the most dangerous one of the bunch was you, Yuki Hyomimaru!"

Yuki was a little shocked by his assessment but didn't let it show on his face

"Your level headed decision making and talent for formulating plans and strategies make you more dangerous than anyone else here. Even now, you're calmly assessing your situation, thinking of a way out and attempting to probe into my plans"

"My.... You read me quite well for a human. So, care to indulge a curious Oni?"

"Since you're about to die I might as well crush your hopes as well. Your plan was a good one, but easy for me to exploit...."

He smirked as he began explaining to both how exactly their escape plan was destined to fall apart

"... I knew it'll be in Rei's nature to try saving the boy if he was in trouble and that you'll allow her—like Tetsuro said, you get passive when she's involved....."

Rei's eyes widened in despair, feeling responsible for Yuki and her situation right now as Stark continued explaining his plot

"...Once that happens, Tetsuro will naturally take her place on the expedition team, separating him from most of his other onis, it's easier to take him out without any of his followers to get in the way"

"M-Melissa is in on it too?"

"Ofcourse, Rei. With Tetsuro and you guys out of the picture, the other ingredients can be suppressed with sheer numbers. Well? You feel that? It's a little thing we like to call despair"

Stark let out a huge burst of laughter after seeing Rei's azure eyes gradually lose it's light.... That said, Yuki wasn't having this crap.

"DON'T YOU DARE GIVE UP NOW, REI!!!"

Yuki screamed as he manifested his horn and charged at Stark

"And here I thought you were smart...sigh, fool"

He fired off black flames at incredible speeds to put Yuki down for good.... but right at the moment of impact, a smile formed at the corner of his lips.

"Exactly as planned, isn't that right?"

These words were muttered by two people at the same time—Yuki and Arc.

Right at the moment of impact, the blast vanished as though it was sucked in by some black hole.... it's exit location.....

"When plans A,B and C fail, I can always count on D.... Bet on Rei Izanagi!"

...Was right out of Rei's collar.

"Oni clan martial arts, Rai Izanagi original...."

As the collar fell, her powers returned and she knew instinctively what to do next. Her body was envolped in lightning which started changing color as she used that technique

".....INDRA!"

The lightning oni, Rei Izanagi was enveloped in purple lightning, ready to turn the tables.