Blade of the Goddess
Chapter 66 - Escape Plan

Chapter 66: Chapter 66 - Escape Plan

[A week and a half after being captured]

"Stephen, Lucas, and Ivy never came back. They’re probably dead or turned into some monster!" Jackson shouted, biting his nails.

It had been a week since they all had been captured, and so far, three of them had been taken. Every day, they heard screams of horror, cries of pain, and those being experimented on pleading for their lives.

The worst part wasn’t knowing who would be next, or even the screams of horror echoing through the dark. It was when the screams stopped. As long as someone cried out, they were still alive. But silence—sudden and absolute—invited the unknown. And the unknown let their minds spiral, conjuring horrors far worse than reality could contain.

"We’re gonna die! We’re gonna fucking die!" Aaron yelled, clutching his head. Dark circles formed under his eyes as he hadn’t slept well at all. His eyes were bloodshot, and who knows what was going on in his slightly broken mind.

"I’m not fucking dying! I’m way too pretty to die here! Do you know how many men want me? Fuck!" Michelle started casting a spell.

"What are you doing?" Jackson asked

"Engraving a rune on my body. I don’t know why, but they haven’t destroyed our mana paths, allowing us to use our abilities. So, the next time those sons of bitches come here, I’m busting out."

"What are you thinking about?" Alice asked Lidia quietly

"Five people. There are only five people in this place. The woman who took Michele, the one who ran away to fight that stronger power, the one with glasses, the little boy, and the one who took me."

"Wouldn’t there be six people? There was the guy who took me as well." Alice corrected

"No, I don’t think so. Over the past week, I’ve been listening to the voices of those who were coming and going. The one who always talks about strength gives us our food. The petite one always comes to take us. The big-breasted one does checkups to make sure we aren’t harming ourselves. The glasses one is always talking about who is compatible with whatever he’s talking about, and the short one is always there, doing whatever. Five voices, five people. I have never heard a sixth voice."

"Now that you put it that way, I don’t see any guards either! Maybe, just maybe, there is a chance for us to escape." Alice got excited, thinking Lidia had a plan to escape. "So what do we do?"

"Don’t know. I’ve never been in a situation like this." She looked at Michelle. "But I’m sure I can figure out a way to distract that woman long enough for us to make a break for it."

"Ha! I’m done!" Michelle shouted with glee as her shaking hands wiped the sweat from her forehead. "Now, once that bitch activates the hex, I should be okay."

"Do that to me, too!"

"And me!" Aaron and Jackson demanded, eager to leave this place.

"I only have the strength to engrave the rune on one more person, so pick between you two." It was as if she wanted them to fight among themselves.

"I can engrave runes as well." Lidia chimed in, not wanting things to escalate.

"C-Can you engrave one on me?!" Arron asked, his voice cracking.

"Yeah, come here. It might hurt a bit, though."

For the next 15 minutes, Michelle and Lidia engraved runes on everyone’s bodies. After they were done, Michelle noticed that Lidia’s runes were slightly different than her own. Given how they were engraving the same rune, it should look and feel the same.

"Why is your’s so different from mine?" She asked suspiciously

"Because I added a bit extra to ensure we actually make it out of here alive."

Not convinced, Michelle checked the rune on Aaron’s chest, indeed confirming that it was more powerful than the one she had engraved on Jackson’s chest.

"Hmph." She folded her arms in defeat.

Lidia then gave everyone the rundown of her plan. "Now, here’s the plan. Once the woman comes and activates the hex, we’ll act like we’re being hurt, then once she enters the cell, we’ll jump her at all angles. I’ve added the runes of strength, abundance, amplification, and power to the protection rune on your chest. Once you use your mana to fight, everything about you will be enhanced."

"You were able to stack that many runes together? Even advanced ones?" Michelle asked in awe

"Want me to do it for you as well?" Lidia offered

She hesitated for a bit but then agreed. If she were able to increase her chances of survival, she would take it.

Lidia also enhanced the rune on Jackson since Michelle was the one to engrave it on him.

"Save your strength and don’t do anything that will give away our plan. We only have one shot at this, so let’s make it count."

---

[Three days later. A few hours after Zion killed Buck and Curtis]

In a room deep underground where light barely shone, three people were sitting at a round table.

"Buck has been killed," Adam said with a straight face.

"Hmmmm. The Royal Army has been on our case for the past two weeks, hunting down many demonic humans. Now that Buck is killed, it won’t be long until they connect Flint Larson to him." Chuck said, pushing up his glasses.

Adam then corrected Chuck, "It wasn’t the Royal Army that attacked Buck."

"Huh? How do you know that?" Kristy asked

"Because Curtis Larson was killed as well. It makes sense that Buck would die if he revealed himself, but Curtis had no involvement with us whatsoever. A third party has entered the fray."

"Could it be the dragons? They despise demons." Chuck asked

"No, the dragons won’t get involved unless their land and people are threatened. My guess is Zion Zagan." Adam didn’t even need to guess, he was sure it was Zion.

"Zion again, huh?" Chuck pulled out his notes

"Well, we did kidnap his girl, and he hates Curtis, so he would make the most sense." Kristy nodded

"Don’t take my words as fact. It was just an assumption. I’ve already sent Blair and Carl to investigate the situation. How far are you on your experiments, Kristy?"

"Three of them have already completed the Mana transitioning stage and are currently undergoing the metamorphosis stage. There have been no setbacks or problems while experimenting on them. I guess the only problem is that production is slow, but given how delicate these experiments are, it’s not unexpected."

Adam nodded, "Good. Chuck, prep the three that are undergoing metamorphosis and take them to another location. There is a chance this lab could get compromised, and it’s better to be safe than sorry."

Chuck bowed and left the room.

"Kristy, continue your experiments and wait for my word if anything happens. We should be safe for the time being, but if not, at least we salvaged three test subjects. But the more we have, the better, so keep up production."

"What about you?"

"I’ll keep the Church and Royal Army off our backs for now and make things easier for our people to move around."

Kristy nodded and then headed back to her lab.