Chapter 218: Brushing Past a Prince

After observing how the scroll functioned, the process of sending the captives away became more efficient. Within five minutes, everyone on the bottom floor—the third underground prison—had been dispatched.

However, just as Arianne returned to the second floor, preparing to repeat the same procedure she had used earlier…

[Woah! That was crazy!]

“Hahaha! What a blast~!”

Navi and Mimir appeared by Arianne’s side, but their behavior was unusual.

Navi appeared a bit pale and jumpy, while Mimir was laughing uncontrollably, almost as if she had forgotten to breathe. Their states piqued Arianne’s curiosity about what had happened.

“You two, did you finish your search?” she asked. “Well, not that it matters anymore since I already sent the vampires to the safe house.”

[Ah! Right!]

Navi whooshed over to Arianne’s face and spoke as if it was the end of the world.

[We need to hurry and escape! The guards should be coming to check down here soon!

“…What?”

Arianne was flabbergasted.

The two were spirits; there was no way they could be discovered by anyone except the System Holders—or someone with spirit sight. But the odds of that happening were less than one in a million.

“What on earth did you two do?” she wondered, quickly coming to the obvious conclusion.

Navi and Mimir must have done something that alerted the Empire’s army!

“We grabbed their communication artifact!” Mimir exclaimed, her tone almost proud. “The look on their faces, shouting, ’ghost, ghost!’ was priceless… Hahaha!”

To illustrate her point, she pulled a glowing orb from her inventory and let it drop into Arianne’s hands. The moment it was out, Arianne could hear reports streaming in from various relay towers.

Her face paled.

“T-Then we need to hurry!” she growled. “Help me send everyone out! Come, distribute the return scrolls with me!”

Arianne, Navi, and Mimir worked together—Arianne explaining they were there to save everyone while the two spirits distributed the scrolls to each cell after demonstrating how to use them.

They wrapped up in under two minutes.

It felt rushed, though, and they could only pray that no “traffic” would occur at their landing spot. If a mishap had happened there, a mountain of bodies would have formed by now.

Arianne moved to the first floor, planning to finalize their efforts; however…

“Down here! Check on the prisoners!”

A voice echoed loudly from the entrance, followed moments later by the sound of hurried, heavy footsteps.

“Damn! We’re still too late…!” Arianne cursed.

She didn’t blame Mimir or Navi, even if it was technically their fault. Blame wouldn’t lead them anywhere, after all. Instead, she jumped forward—kicking hard enough that the floor tiles cracked beneath her feet.

In an instant, she reached the bottom of the stairs.

Ahead, she could already see the shadows of a few soldiers descending.

They were close!

“But not fast enough!”

Without hesitation, Arianne extended her hand forward.

Then, she withdrew a liquid—a substance that smelled overwhelmingly strong yet oddly aromatic, reminiscent of what Axel used in his Humvee—gasoline!

She splashed a couple of gallons over the steps before casting a fire arrow, targeting one of the soldiers.

BOOM!

Instantly, flames erupted, accompanied by a powerful explosion.

The soldiers, nearly at the turning point, were blasted away. The flames raged on, forming a “barricade” that no one would dare to cross easily.

“Damn it!” one soldier growled in pain. “Someone’s down there! Someone set the prison on fire!”

At the same time, the explosion shocked the prisoners, causing them to clamor in panic.

They were famished, practically skin and bones, but they hadn’t given up on life. Burning to death wasn’t on anyone’s bucket list either!

Before the panic could escalate further, Arianne clapped her hands so loudly that it made everyone’s ears ring.

“Everyone, listen up!” she roared.

“I’m here to save you, but I don’t have time to explain. I’ll pass you teleportation scrolls, one for each cell. Use it by tearing the paper while everyone is touching each other, and you’ll be sent to a safe place!”

Her explanation was rushed, and she could see the confusion in their eyes.

However, seeing is believing.

With one scroll, she rushed to the cage containing the beastmen and asked them to hold hands. After forming a circle, she instructed the two closest to hold either side of the scroll, then—

“Pull forcefully! Then run toward the soldiers waiting for you over there!” she commanded.

The two, shocked by her words, followed her instructions. As soon as the paper was torn, a bright flash of light enveloped them, and they disappeared from their cell.

“No way… It’s real…!”

Of course, even with a live demonstration, some remained skeptical, while others were already convinced. Arianne didn’t have time to address their doubts.

She distributed the Return Scrolls one by one, urging, “Use it if you want to live!”

Given the raging flames nearby, her statement was persuasive enough to prompt immediate action.

Within a minute, everyone had successfully escaped. Other than herself, no other life was left underground.

“You there! Who are you?”

Just then, someone leaped over the flames and reached the prison zone.

Arianne turned to see a soldier standing before her, sword drawn. His red cape still smoldered from rushing through the wet, burning gasoline.

He didn’t appear to be an ordinary soldier; he felt closer to Sophia or Tiffany in category.

“A prince?” she asked, intrigued.

The man’s brow twitched as he stepped forward cautiously. “It seems you know who I am. Indeed, I am Hajid, the third prince of the Alcott Empire!” he shouted. “Now, identify yourself, woman!”

Arianne sighed and scratched her head.

“A prince, huh…” she muttered, not an ounce of intent to name herself. “Doesn’t act or look like one.” she sneered in response.

“You…!”

Taking the insult to heart, the prince lunged at her.

His blade swung down with mechanical precision, aiming for Arianne’s head.

“Too slow.”

Arianne effortlessly caught the blade, twisting it and breaking it in half. Her hand remained unscathed despite catching the edge barehanded!

The prince recoiled, staring at his shattered sword in disbelief.

“No way…” he whimpered. “M-Monster…!”

Without hesitation, he turned and fled toward the flaming stairs. Arianne smiled, watching him escape with his tail between his legs.

She chose not to pursue him.

It wasn’t the right moment for the other princes and princesses to meet their end just yet.

They needed to survive for a few hours longer, at least.

But their time would soon run out.

Arianne pulled out a scroll and instructed Navi and Mimir, “Inform the others that we’ve saved the targets. Tell them to retreat as well.”

Then she tore the scroll and left the burning prison behind.

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