Thanks a lot for your comments, guys! Now it's time for Chapter Forty-Nine! At this point, we're moving even closer to the ending, and it looks like Chapter Fifty-Four might end up being the final chapter. I hope you guys are looking forward to that, and I hope you enjoy this chapter! Please tell me what you think. :3
“So, explain why the two of you snuck into the castle.” Sigal said to me.
“Yeah.” I said. “It has to do with the reason we’re in the Mystic Realm to begin with. Drake appeared in the Physical Realm and kidnapped my friend Regret. In pursuing him, we ended up in this world. We’re trying to rescue Regret from Drake.”
“Demon King Drake kidnapped your friend? Why?” Kurt asked.
“We don’t know. We think he’s being held here in the castle somewhere, so we snuck in.” I said.
“You’d really go against Drake just to save your friend? You’re either crazy or suicidal.” Winston said.
“Yeah, you’re just a human! Drake is a Demon! What can you do against him?” one of the prisoners asked me.
I raised my hand and tried focusing my magic power around it. I still wasn’t very good at drawing it out without using the Lokomo Sword as an amplifier, but I could summon enough for the prisoners to clearly see it. They all looked at me in shock, mouths gaping.
“A human with magic power? Impossible...” Sigal said, dumbfounded.
“It isn’t my own power. I’m the Hero of Spirits. This is the magic power of the Spirits of Light. I can fight against Drake with this.” I said.
“... Even if that’s true, this whole thing sounds completely crazy. What would Drake possibly want with your friend? I mean, he’s a human like you, right?” Kurt said.
“No, Regret isn’t a human. He’s a Demon.” I said.
This came as a shock to everyone, even Naomi. “Regret is a Demon, Alphonse?” Naomi said in surprise.
“Yeah, I’m pretty sure. Remember how I told you I met him during the Gerudo Fighting Festival? During our match, I realized that he was a Demon. I’d fought the Demon Lords Vaati and Ghirahim before, so I could tell by his magic power. Although, when I asked him about his magic later, it seemed like he didn’t even know himself since he’d lost his childhood memories, so I just decided to keep quiet about it.” I explained.
“Oh., I see. But I guess knowing that doesn’t really help us figure out what Drake wants with Regret, huh?” she said.
“Not really.” I agreed.
“Hold on a second!” one of the prisoners said as the two of us started going off on a tangent. “You knew he was a Demon but you still call him your ‘friend’?”
“Of course.” I said. “Regret is my friend. It doesn’t matter to me if he’s a Demon.”
“I just learned he was a Demon myself, but I still think of him as my friend. My opinion of him hasn’t changed.” Naomi added.
The prisoners didn’t seem to understand that. They all looked at the two of us in amazed disbelief. It was like their minds couldn’t process the idea of humans and Demons getting along. This was expressed by what a prisoner said next.
“How come you’re okay with that? How can you be okay with being his friend if he’s a Demon? Even if he doesn’t know he’s a Demon, you still know! You humans hate Demons, right? How can you be friends with him?!” he asked.
“Most humans probably do hate Demons, just like you Demons hate humans. Most, not all of them. Naomi and I are different. And I’m sure there are some Demons out there who are different, too.” I said. “Think about it. This whole hatred between our two races all started hundreds of years ago, and it was just because humans feared Demons because they have magic power and Demons looked down on humans because they don’t have magic power. Don’t you think that’s weird at all?”
When I asked this, all of the prisoners looked around at each other. They appeared to actually be seriously thinking about this. I could see in their eyes and their expressions that they were really questioning the logic of holding on to this old, misguided hatred.
“Now that I’ve seen both the Mystic Realm and the Physical Realm, I can tell you that there’s no basis for that hatred. Humans and Demons live exactly the same way as each other. When I was in St. Versailles yesterday, I couldn’t help but notice that it was exactly like any town in the Physical Realm. You all didn’t even realize that Naomi and I were humans until it was mentioned! Doesn’t that tell you that we’re really not that different after all?” I said.
The prisoners continued to look around at each other. They were beginning to whisper to each other. I heard someone say “Maybe he’s right...”, and someone else said “I never thought about that...”. They only needed a little more pushing to convince them now.
“See? Humans and Demons aren’t that different from each other! But because of petty differences like magic power and life spans, discrimination and hatred rose up. But that should all be ancient history now. That was all a long time ago! How many of you have actually had bad things happen to you by the hand of a human? Sure, there are some bad humans out there, but there are also some good ones! And there are good Demons as well as bad Demons, too!”
The prisoners who were people we saw in St. Versailles yesterday recognized those last few words of mine, the same words I said to them yesterday. They all saw me save the life of Arin, Sigal’s daughter. That alone started to put a dent in their ideas that all humans were bad. My words reinforced this. I could tell that they were finally starting to be convinced.
“I get that it can be hard to just forget about all of that prejudice and start over. But if we don’t try, things will never get better between our two races. Even if it seems easier, we can’t just go on hating each other forever, especially if that hatred is unreasonable! Do you all agree?” I said.
The prisoners were no longer looking back and forth between each other. They were all staring at me now. The look in their eyes told me they each reached a conclusion.
Sigal stepped forward. “I never imagined a human like you would exist. You’re definitely different. Maybe... Maybe you’re right. Maybe we’ve all been holding to to this hatred because it’s what we grew up with.”
When he said that, it seemed to resonate with the other prisoners, as if some of them could identify with that feeling.
“What you said earlier, when you asked us if we’ve even had bad things done to us by humans..." Kurt began. "I don’t know about everyone else, but I’ve never been hurt by a human before. I just hated them because I was taught they were bad, just like Sigal said...” Then he turned to Naomi. “I... I’m sorry I tried to grab you yesterday in town. It was wrong of me.” he said to her.
The prisoners were shocked by this action. A Demon apologizing to a human was probably an insane concept to them, but Kurt still had the guts to do it.
- This is good! They’re finally starting to understand!
“When you said that we didn’t even realize you were humans until it was mentioned...” Winston began, “... You were absolutely right. I would have never known if you hadn’t said anything. I’ve never really thought about it before now, but... If I can’t even tell the difference between a human and a Demon, then it really is pretty crazy of me to hate them.”
The other prisoners began saying things to Naomi and I like “I’m sorry for yelling at you like that.”. They were all finally convinced.
“I’m glad you all understand now.” I said. “I hope this means you guys can trust me now.”
“Yeah. We’ll give you a chance. You said you’d help us escape and return us to our families. I believe that you’ll get me back to my daughter.” Sigal said.
“But how are we going to escape?” Kurt asked.
“Well, our original plan was for me to leave Naomi in here while I search for Regret in disguise. Then, once I found him, I would come back here to get Naomi, and then the three of us would leave. But now that we’re helping all of you escape as well, it’ll be much harder to leave the castle.” I said.
“Wait a second. There’s no way they won’t notice that all of the prisoners have escaped. Even if we all do get out, we can’t just go back to our normal lives. They’d just come after us again!” one of the prisoners said.
“Yeah, that’s also a problem.” I said.
“Damn it! What are we supposed to do? We wouldn’t be in this mess if it weren’t for that damned Drake!” one of the prisoners complained.
“‘Damned’? Do you guys not like him?” I asked.
“Are you kidding?!” Kurt said. “That guy’s a freakin’ dictator! He places all these strict laws and harsh penalties and just expects us to follow them! He’s also the boss of the military, so they’re forced to uphold his crazy laws. But even then, some of the guys in the military are corrupt like him. You saw them arrest us just for participating in that riot, right?”
“Yeah. Even when I was running away back then, I thought that was pretty unfair.” I said.
“Unfair is a major understatement! Guess when we’re getting released?” Winston said.
“When?” I asked.
“The twelfth of NEVER!” he replied.
“Wait, they’re imprisoning all of you for life?! Just for participating in a riot?!” I exclaimed.
“We’re all imprisoned for life! That’s how Drake rules!” Sigal said. “Once you commit a crime, you’re considered a threat to the stability of his territory. So, you get imprisoned for life to ensure that you can’t threaten that stability ever again! Even worse, when the prisons start to get full, he'll round up a handful of prisoners and execute them on the spot just to make room!"
“Once you’re locked inside these cells, you never set foot outside again.” a prisoner said.
“That’s awful...” I said.
- That would have blown our cover for sure if I had gone back to let Naomi out like we’d planned... I guess, in a way, it was fortunate that things turned out like this.
“As long as Drake is ruling us with that iron fist of his, we’re never gonna be free.” Winston said.
I took some time to seriously consider this. I desperately wanted to help these people. In fact, it was my duty to help people as the Hero of Spirits. However, just like Byrne had said, that duty is to the Physical Realm and its people, not to the Mystic Realm. I had no place as the Hero of Spirits to help these people.
Even so, I still wanted to help. I couldn’t ignore people suffering from injustices right before my eyes. Even if it meant risking my life going against a Demon King, I wanted to do it. This was the same risk I was taking in trying to rescue Regret. So even if I chose to rescue all of these people as well, it wasn't like I would be taking any bigger of a risk. It would be going against Drake all the same.
Although my duty wasn’t to these people, I wasn’t going to let that stop me. When I faced Acnologia in the Desert Realm, I was ready and willing to throw away my title, as long as I could protect Naomi. If I was willing to do that for the sake of someone else, I was sure as hell ready to ignore my duty for the sake of others, too. And so, I made up my mind.
“If that’s the case, then I’ll defeat Drake.” I said.
Instantly, everyone stared at me in shock. This was the most shocked they’d ever been at me so far, and that was really saying something.
“D-defeat...” Sigal stuttered.
“B-boy... Do you even know what you just said?” Kurt stammered.
“Of course.” I said. “Drake may be a powerful Demon King, but so is Malladus. If I can’t beat Drake, then there’s no way I can defeat Malladus as the Hero of Spirits like I’m supposed to. And I’m going to defeat Malladus. So, I’m going to defeat Drake.”
“... I-I see... I su-suppose you could look at it that way...” Kurt said, looking incredibly dumbfounded.
I heard someone say “This kid is insane...”.
That kind of reaction was understandable. To them, I probably sounded like some crazy overconfident kid.
“Don’t worry. If anyone can do it, it’s Alphonse.” Naomi said.
The prisoners looked around at each other with eyes and faces full of uncertainty, but at last they sighed.
“I guess we don’t have a choice but to trust him.” one of them said.
“There’s still the matter of how we’re going to get out of here.” Winston said. “Does anyone have any ideas?”
"Can't you break out using magic?" I asked.
"Don't you think we would have done that already if we could? You see how we're all still handcuffed, right? These handcuffs are made with a special property that negates magic power. As long as these are on our wrists, we can't summon any magic power." Sigal explained.
"Oh..." I said.
- So those handcuffs are just like Danyel and Vino's swords.
Sensing the silence as an opportunity to shine, Naomi spoke up. "I have an idea!” she said with enthusiasm.
“You’ve got an idea already?” I said.
“I was thinking about it while you guys were talking.” she replied.
“Okay, then. What’s your idea?” I asked.
“Okay. Here’s the plan: Alphonse will go look for that soldier who helped him bring me here, and ask him to lend him the keys to the cells because he’s under orders from Rinz to interrogate me. If he questions that, he can tell him that Rinz said it’s a chance for him to prove himself since he’s the one who brought me in. Then Alphonse will come back here with the keys and unlock all the cells. The prisoners will start a riot, and Alphonse will use that confusion to look for Regret. Then the two of them can join the fight, and then we simply keep going until we defeat Drake.” she explained.
All of us stared at her in amazement. “How do you come up with this stuff?” I asked her, bewildered.
“Give me some credit! I said I wanted to try to be as helpful as I can despite not being a fighter! This is the best way I can help, so I’m giving it my all!” she said.
I smiled at her. “Yeah, that’s right.” I said.
I was tempted to reject her idea because having the prisoners fight with the soldiers while she’s here would put her in danger. But her determination told me that any resistance I put up wouldn’t stand a chance.
“Well, that plan is all well and good,” Sigal said, “But where are we gonna get weapons to fight the soldiers? We can’t rely on just our magic power alone.”
“There’s lots of weapons that have been confiscated. They’re all in that closet over there. The other cell blocks are sure to have lots of confiscated weapons, too.” one of the prisoners said.
"I bet we could find the castle's armory, too!" said another.
“Then that settles that.” I said. “Is there anything we’re leaving out?”
“What about our handcuffs?” Winston asked.
“I still have the key to Naomi’s handcuffs. Maybe the same key will work for all of yours, too.” I said.
“Yeah, maybe. We’ll have to take that chance. We can’t exactly have you ask for handcuff keys, after all.” Sigal said.
“That’s right. That’d definitely be way too suspicious.” Kurt said.
“Okay. Is that everything, then?” I asked.
“There’s still just one problem.” Naomi said. “You can’t fight at full strength without the Lokomo Sword, so you’ll have to be really careful not to get discovered.”
“Can’t I just bring it with me?” I said.
“No, that soldier told you to put it with the other confiscated items! If he sees you carrying it around, he’ll get suspicious!” she said.
“Oh, yeah, that’s right...” I said, realizing I was still holding onto it. “I’ll put it in that closet before I go, then.”
“Good. Now, that takes care of everything.” Naomi said.
“Great! Then let’s get this plan started!” Kurt said excitedly.
The prisoners all started cheering. “Yeah! Let’s do this!” they said.
“Alright. We’re getting you all out of here! Just leave it to me!” I said.
Regret dashed through the valley, looking for a place to hide. He’d already had to duck out of the sight of some soldiers out searching for him twice already. He needed to find a safe spot he could stay at for a while while he figured out what to do next.
Currently, he was running through a thicket of bushes. The branches scratched at his clothes and his cheeks, but he ignored it as he pushed on through them. Suddenly, he heard rustling nearby. He stopped and listened. The rustling grew closer to him.
Damn it! Have they found me?
Suddenly, a figure burst out from the brush and lunged at Regret. He jumped back and out of the bushes onto the dirt path next to them, prepared to fight against this foe. The figure left the bushes as well, and stood before Regret. Once he saw who it was, Regret gasped.
“You’re the guy I fought in Hyleigh City’s ruins!” Regret said.
“You’re Alphonse’s friend!” Byrne said. Regret prepared to fight him. “Wait, I’m not your enemy!”
“Don’t lie to me!” Regret yelled. “You just attacked me!”
“I thought you were a soldier!” Byrne said defensively.
“Oh, right, I’m still wearing this disguise...” Regret said, looking over himself.
“Disguise? So that’s how Alphonse and Naomi got you out of the castle...” Byrne said.
“What?! What are you talking about?” Regret asked.
“... You mean they didn’t get you out?” Byrne said in surprise.
“No, I escaped by myself last night. I didn’t even know they were here in the Mystic Realm!” Regret said.
Byrne’s expression became full of horror. “Then that means... Those two went to the castle without realizing you’ve already escaped! This is bad! They could be in serious danger!” he said.
“What’d you say?! Alphonse and Naomi are at the castle?!” Regret gasped.
“Most likely.” Byrne said. “They went there to try to rescue you. We’ve got to get there, now!” Byrne said.
“Hold on a second! I can’t trust you! You’re Alphonse’s enemy, aren’t you?” Regret said.
“Look, I’m not asking you to trust me. But I need your help. Please.” Byrne said, begging Regret.
Regret stared at Byrne. His face didn’t show any signs of lying, but Regret still didn’t think he should trust him. But when he thought about Alphonse, he realized that sneaking into the castle of a powerful Demon King was something that crazy fool would definitely do.
“I won’t trust you right away.” Regret said. “But I do trust Alphonse. And the Alphonse I know would probably do something like that if it meant helping someone. So I’m going back. I’ll go back to help my friends!”
“Excuse me! Berrigan!” I said as I ran up top the soldier who helped me escort Naomi to the prison earlier.
I saluted him as he turned around to face me. “Ah, Rookie!” he said, saluting me back. “You need something from me?”
“Yes, sir. Captain Rinz asked me to get the jail cell keys from you so I could interrogate that girl I brought in.” I said.
“He asked you to do it? That’s odd, you’re still just a rookie.” Berrigan said.
“Captain Rinz told me it was a chance to prove myself, since I’m the one who caught the girl.” I said.
“I see. Then in that case, here you go.” Berrigan said as he began to hand me the keys.
- It worked! Naomi is a genius.
“Hold it!” a voice shouted.
Berrigan and I turned to see where this familiar voice had come from. It was Rinz. He stood further down from us in the hall with his sword drawn.
“That boy is an imposter and a human!” he shouted.
- Damn it! He did know after all!
As I began to panic, Berrigan freaked. He quickly retracted the hand he held out the keys to me with and drew his sword. I drew the officer’s sword I stole and parried Berrigan’s attack. Then I jumped back to avoid the swipe of Rinz’s sword.
“As a human who has committed a crime in the Mystic Realm, you have been sentenced to death! I shall execute you at once!” Rinz bellowed.
- If he knows I’m a human, then he probably knows Naomi is a human, too! She’s in danger!
“You think Alphonse will be okay?” Sigal asked Naomi as they stood in the cell.
“Yes. He’ll definitely be okay. He’s the guy I love, after all!” she said cheerfully.
“Oh, so you two are an item, eh? I was kinda getting that vibe from the two of you!” Kurt said.
As the prisoners engaged in light-hearted conversation like that, the door to the cell block burst open. A soldier, who Naomi recognized as one of the two who showed up with Rinz in the entrance hall, barged in. He looked around the cells, and when he spotted Naomi, he approached the cell.
“There you are, filthy human!” he said.
Oh, no! They’ve figured us out!
As Naomi thought that, the prisoners all looked around at each other in dismay. The soldier drew his sword with one hand and reached into his pocket with the other. He removed the cell keys from them.
“As a human who has committed a crime in the Mystic Realm, you have been sentenced to death! I shall execute you at once!” he shouted at Naomi.
Naomi backed up in fear as the soldier went to unlock the cell door.
Chapter Fifty-Three
- THE PRISON -
- THE PRISON -
“So, explain why the two of you snuck into the castle.” Sigal said to me.
“Yeah.” I said. “It has to do with the reason we’re in the Mystic Realm to begin with. Drake appeared in the Physical Realm and kidnapped my friend Regret. In pursuing him, we ended up in this world. We’re trying to rescue Regret from Drake.”
“Demon King Drake kidnapped your friend? Why?” Kurt asked.
“We don’t know. We think he’s being held here in the castle somewhere, so we snuck in.” I said.
“You’d really go against Drake just to save your friend? You’re either crazy or suicidal.” Winston said.
“Yeah, you’re just a human! Drake is a Demon! What can you do against him?” one of the prisoners asked me.
I raised my hand and tried focusing my magic power around it. I still wasn’t very good at drawing it out without using the Lokomo Sword as an amplifier, but I could summon enough for the prisoners to clearly see it. They all looked at me in shock, mouths gaping.
“A human with magic power? Impossible...” Sigal said, dumbfounded.
“It isn’t my own power. I’m the Hero of Spirits. This is the magic power of the Spirits of Light. I can fight against Drake with this.” I said.
“... Even if that’s true, this whole thing sounds completely crazy. What would Drake possibly want with your friend? I mean, he’s a human like you, right?” Kurt said.
“No, Regret isn’t a human. He’s a Demon.” I said.
This came as a shock to everyone, even Naomi. “Regret is a Demon, Alphonse?” Naomi said in surprise.
“Yeah, I’m pretty sure. Remember how I told you I met him during the Gerudo Fighting Festival? During our match, I realized that he was a Demon. I’d fought the Demon Lords Vaati and Ghirahim before, so I could tell by his magic power. Although, when I asked him about his magic later, it seemed like he didn’t even know himself since he’d lost his childhood memories, so I just decided to keep quiet about it.” I explained.
“Oh., I see. But I guess knowing that doesn’t really help us figure out what Drake wants with Regret, huh?” she said.
“Not really.” I agreed.
“Hold on a second!” one of the prisoners said as the two of us started going off on a tangent. “You knew he was a Demon but you still call him your ‘friend’?”
“Of course.” I said. “Regret is my friend. It doesn’t matter to me if he’s a Demon.”
“I just learned he was a Demon myself, but I still think of him as my friend. My opinion of him hasn’t changed.” Naomi added.
The prisoners didn’t seem to understand that. They all looked at the two of us in amazed disbelief. It was like their minds couldn’t process the idea of humans and Demons getting along. This was expressed by what a prisoner said next.
“How come you’re okay with that? How can you be okay with being his friend if he’s a Demon? Even if he doesn’t know he’s a Demon, you still know! You humans hate Demons, right? How can you be friends with him?!” he asked.
“Most humans probably do hate Demons, just like you Demons hate humans. Most, not all of them. Naomi and I are different. And I’m sure there are some Demons out there who are different, too.” I said. “Think about it. This whole hatred between our two races all started hundreds of years ago, and it was just because humans feared Demons because they have magic power and Demons looked down on humans because they don’t have magic power. Don’t you think that’s weird at all?”
When I asked this, all of the prisoners looked around at each other. They appeared to actually be seriously thinking about this. I could see in their eyes and their expressions that they were really questioning the logic of holding on to this old, misguided hatred.
“Now that I’ve seen both the Mystic Realm and the Physical Realm, I can tell you that there’s no basis for that hatred. Humans and Demons live exactly the same way as each other. When I was in St. Versailles yesterday, I couldn’t help but notice that it was exactly like any town in the Physical Realm. You all didn’t even realize that Naomi and I were humans until it was mentioned! Doesn’t that tell you that we’re really not that different after all?” I said.
The prisoners continued to look around at each other. They were beginning to whisper to each other. I heard someone say “Maybe he’s right...”, and someone else said “I never thought about that...”. They only needed a little more pushing to convince them now.
“See? Humans and Demons aren’t that different from each other! But because of petty differences like magic power and life spans, discrimination and hatred rose up. But that should all be ancient history now. That was all a long time ago! How many of you have actually had bad things happen to you by the hand of a human? Sure, there are some bad humans out there, but there are also some good ones! And there are good Demons as well as bad Demons, too!”
The prisoners who were people we saw in St. Versailles yesterday recognized those last few words of mine, the same words I said to them yesterday. They all saw me save the life of Arin, Sigal’s daughter. That alone started to put a dent in their ideas that all humans were bad. My words reinforced this. I could tell that they were finally starting to be convinced.
“I get that it can be hard to just forget about all of that prejudice and start over. But if we don’t try, things will never get better between our two races. Even if it seems easier, we can’t just go on hating each other forever, especially if that hatred is unreasonable! Do you all agree?” I said.
The prisoners were no longer looking back and forth between each other. They were all staring at me now. The look in their eyes told me they each reached a conclusion.
Sigal stepped forward. “I never imagined a human like you would exist. You’re definitely different. Maybe... Maybe you’re right. Maybe we’ve all been holding to to this hatred because it’s what we grew up with.”
When he said that, it seemed to resonate with the other prisoners, as if some of them could identify with that feeling.
“What you said earlier, when you asked us if we’ve even had bad things done to us by humans..." Kurt began. "I don’t know about everyone else, but I’ve never been hurt by a human before. I just hated them because I was taught they were bad, just like Sigal said...” Then he turned to Naomi. “I... I’m sorry I tried to grab you yesterday in town. It was wrong of me.” he said to her.
The prisoners were shocked by this action. A Demon apologizing to a human was probably an insane concept to them, but Kurt still had the guts to do it.
- This is good! They’re finally starting to understand!
“When you said that we didn’t even realize you were humans until it was mentioned...” Winston began, “... You were absolutely right. I would have never known if you hadn’t said anything. I’ve never really thought about it before now, but... If I can’t even tell the difference between a human and a Demon, then it really is pretty crazy of me to hate them.”
The other prisoners began saying things to Naomi and I like “I’m sorry for yelling at you like that.”. They were all finally convinced.
“I’m glad you all understand now.” I said. “I hope this means you guys can trust me now.”
“Yeah. We’ll give you a chance. You said you’d help us escape and return us to our families. I believe that you’ll get me back to my daughter.” Sigal said.
“But how are we going to escape?” Kurt asked.
“Well, our original plan was for me to leave Naomi in here while I search for Regret in disguise. Then, once I found him, I would come back here to get Naomi, and then the three of us would leave. But now that we’re helping all of you escape as well, it’ll be much harder to leave the castle.” I said.
“Wait a second. There’s no way they won’t notice that all of the prisoners have escaped. Even if we all do get out, we can’t just go back to our normal lives. They’d just come after us again!” one of the prisoners said.
“Yeah, that’s also a problem.” I said.
“Damn it! What are we supposed to do? We wouldn’t be in this mess if it weren’t for that damned Drake!” one of the prisoners complained.
“‘Damned’? Do you guys not like him?” I asked.
“Are you kidding?!” Kurt said. “That guy’s a freakin’ dictator! He places all these strict laws and harsh penalties and just expects us to follow them! He’s also the boss of the military, so they’re forced to uphold his crazy laws. But even then, some of the guys in the military are corrupt like him. You saw them arrest us just for participating in that riot, right?”
“Yeah. Even when I was running away back then, I thought that was pretty unfair.” I said.
“Unfair is a major understatement! Guess when we’re getting released?” Winston said.
“When?” I asked.
“The twelfth of NEVER!” he replied.
“Wait, they’re imprisoning all of you for life?! Just for participating in a riot?!” I exclaimed.
“We’re all imprisoned for life! That’s how Drake rules!” Sigal said. “Once you commit a crime, you’re considered a threat to the stability of his territory. So, you get imprisoned for life to ensure that you can’t threaten that stability ever again! Even worse, when the prisons start to get full, he'll round up a handful of prisoners and execute them on the spot just to make room!"
“Once you’re locked inside these cells, you never set foot outside again.” a prisoner said.
“That’s awful...” I said.
- That would have blown our cover for sure if I had gone back to let Naomi out like we’d planned... I guess, in a way, it was fortunate that things turned out like this.
“As long as Drake is ruling us with that iron fist of his, we’re never gonna be free.” Winston said.
I took some time to seriously consider this. I desperately wanted to help these people. In fact, it was my duty to help people as the Hero of Spirits. However, just like Byrne had said, that duty is to the Physical Realm and its people, not to the Mystic Realm. I had no place as the Hero of Spirits to help these people.
Even so, I still wanted to help. I couldn’t ignore people suffering from injustices right before my eyes. Even if it meant risking my life going against a Demon King, I wanted to do it. This was the same risk I was taking in trying to rescue Regret. So even if I chose to rescue all of these people as well, it wasn't like I would be taking any bigger of a risk. It would be going against Drake all the same.
Although my duty wasn’t to these people, I wasn’t going to let that stop me. When I faced Acnologia in the Desert Realm, I was ready and willing to throw away my title, as long as I could protect Naomi. If I was willing to do that for the sake of someone else, I was sure as hell ready to ignore my duty for the sake of others, too. And so, I made up my mind.
“If that’s the case, then I’ll defeat Drake.” I said.
Instantly, everyone stared at me in shock. This was the most shocked they’d ever been at me so far, and that was really saying something.
“D-defeat...” Sigal stuttered.
“B-boy... Do you even know what you just said?” Kurt stammered.
“Of course.” I said. “Drake may be a powerful Demon King, but so is Malladus. If I can’t beat Drake, then there’s no way I can defeat Malladus as the Hero of Spirits like I’m supposed to. And I’m going to defeat Malladus. So, I’m going to defeat Drake.”
“... I-I see... I su-suppose you could look at it that way...” Kurt said, looking incredibly dumbfounded.
I heard someone say “This kid is insane...”.
That kind of reaction was understandable. To them, I probably sounded like some crazy overconfident kid.
“Don’t worry. If anyone can do it, it’s Alphonse.” Naomi said.
The prisoners looked around at each other with eyes and faces full of uncertainty, but at last they sighed.
“I guess we don’t have a choice but to trust him.” one of them said.
“There’s still the matter of how we’re going to get out of here.” Winston said. “Does anyone have any ideas?”
"Can't you break out using magic?" I asked.
"Don't you think we would have done that already if we could? You see how we're all still handcuffed, right? These handcuffs are made with a special property that negates magic power. As long as these are on our wrists, we can't summon any magic power." Sigal explained.
"Oh..." I said.
- So those handcuffs are just like Danyel and Vino's swords.
Sensing the silence as an opportunity to shine, Naomi spoke up. "I have an idea!” she said with enthusiasm.
“You’ve got an idea already?” I said.
“I was thinking about it while you guys were talking.” she replied.
“Okay, then. What’s your idea?” I asked.
“Okay. Here’s the plan: Alphonse will go look for that soldier who helped him bring me here, and ask him to lend him the keys to the cells because he’s under orders from Rinz to interrogate me. If he questions that, he can tell him that Rinz said it’s a chance for him to prove himself since he’s the one who brought me in. Then Alphonse will come back here with the keys and unlock all the cells. The prisoners will start a riot, and Alphonse will use that confusion to look for Regret. Then the two of them can join the fight, and then we simply keep going until we defeat Drake.” she explained.
All of us stared at her in amazement. “How do you come up with this stuff?” I asked her, bewildered.
“Give me some credit! I said I wanted to try to be as helpful as I can despite not being a fighter! This is the best way I can help, so I’m giving it my all!” she said.
I smiled at her. “Yeah, that’s right.” I said.
I was tempted to reject her idea because having the prisoners fight with the soldiers while she’s here would put her in danger. But her determination told me that any resistance I put up wouldn’t stand a chance.
“Well, that plan is all well and good,” Sigal said, “But where are we gonna get weapons to fight the soldiers? We can’t rely on just our magic power alone.”
“There’s lots of weapons that have been confiscated. They’re all in that closet over there. The other cell blocks are sure to have lots of confiscated weapons, too.” one of the prisoners said.
"I bet we could find the castle's armory, too!" said another.
“Then that settles that.” I said. “Is there anything we’re leaving out?”
“What about our handcuffs?” Winston asked.
“I still have the key to Naomi’s handcuffs. Maybe the same key will work for all of yours, too.” I said.
“Yeah, maybe. We’ll have to take that chance. We can’t exactly have you ask for handcuff keys, after all.” Sigal said.
“That’s right. That’d definitely be way too suspicious.” Kurt said.
“Okay. Is that everything, then?” I asked.
“There’s still just one problem.” Naomi said. “You can’t fight at full strength without the Lokomo Sword, so you’ll have to be really careful not to get discovered.”
“Can’t I just bring it with me?” I said.
“No, that soldier told you to put it with the other confiscated items! If he sees you carrying it around, he’ll get suspicious!” she said.
“Oh, yeah, that’s right...” I said, realizing I was still holding onto it. “I’ll put it in that closet before I go, then.”
“Good. Now, that takes care of everything.” Naomi said.
“Great! Then let’s get this plan started!” Kurt said excitedly.
The prisoners all started cheering. “Yeah! Let’s do this!” they said.
“Alright. We’re getting you all out of here! Just leave it to me!” I said.
- THE VALLEY -
Regret dashed through the valley, looking for a place to hide. He’d already had to duck out of the sight of some soldiers out searching for him twice already. He needed to find a safe spot he could stay at for a while while he figured out what to do next.
Currently, he was running through a thicket of bushes. The branches scratched at his clothes and his cheeks, but he ignored it as he pushed on through them. Suddenly, he heard rustling nearby. He stopped and listened. The rustling grew closer to him.
Damn it! Have they found me?
Suddenly, a figure burst out from the brush and lunged at Regret. He jumped back and out of the bushes onto the dirt path next to them, prepared to fight against this foe. The figure left the bushes as well, and stood before Regret. Once he saw who it was, Regret gasped.
“You’re the guy I fought in Hyleigh City’s ruins!” Regret said.
“You’re Alphonse’s friend!” Byrne said. Regret prepared to fight him. “Wait, I’m not your enemy!”
“Don’t lie to me!” Regret yelled. “You just attacked me!”
“I thought you were a soldier!” Byrne said defensively.
“Oh, right, I’m still wearing this disguise...” Regret said, looking over himself.
“Disguise? So that’s how Alphonse and Naomi got you out of the castle...” Byrne said.
“What?! What are you talking about?” Regret asked.
“... You mean they didn’t get you out?” Byrne said in surprise.
“No, I escaped by myself last night. I didn’t even know they were here in the Mystic Realm!” Regret said.
Byrne’s expression became full of horror. “Then that means... Those two went to the castle without realizing you’ve already escaped! This is bad! They could be in serious danger!” he said.
“What’d you say?! Alphonse and Naomi are at the castle?!” Regret gasped.
“Most likely.” Byrne said. “They went there to try to rescue you. We’ve got to get there, now!” Byrne said.
“Hold on a second! I can’t trust you! You’re Alphonse’s enemy, aren’t you?” Regret said.
“Look, I’m not asking you to trust me. But I need your help. Please.” Byrne said, begging Regret.
Regret stared at Byrne. His face didn’t show any signs of lying, but Regret still didn’t think he should trust him. But when he thought about Alphonse, he realized that sneaking into the castle of a powerful Demon King was something that crazy fool would definitely do.
“I won’t trust you right away.” Regret said. “But I do trust Alphonse. And the Alphonse I know would probably do something like that if it meant helping someone. So I’m going back. I’ll go back to help my friends!”
- DRAKE’S CASTLE -
“Excuse me! Berrigan!” I said as I ran up top the soldier who helped me escort Naomi to the prison earlier.
I saluted him as he turned around to face me. “Ah, Rookie!” he said, saluting me back. “You need something from me?”
“Yes, sir. Captain Rinz asked me to get the jail cell keys from you so I could interrogate that girl I brought in.” I said.
“He asked you to do it? That’s odd, you’re still just a rookie.” Berrigan said.
“Captain Rinz told me it was a chance to prove myself, since I’m the one who caught the girl.” I said.
“I see. Then in that case, here you go.” Berrigan said as he began to hand me the keys.
- It worked! Naomi is a genius.
“Hold it!” a voice shouted.
Berrigan and I turned to see where this familiar voice had come from. It was Rinz. He stood further down from us in the hall with his sword drawn.
“That boy is an imposter and a human!” he shouted.
- Damn it! He did know after all!
As I began to panic, Berrigan freaked. He quickly retracted the hand he held out the keys to me with and drew his sword. I drew the officer’s sword I stole and parried Berrigan’s attack. Then I jumped back to avoid the swipe of Rinz’s sword.
“As a human who has committed a crime in the Mystic Realm, you have been sentenced to death! I shall execute you at once!” Rinz bellowed.
- If he knows I’m a human, then he probably knows Naomi is a human, too! She’s in danger!
- THE PRISON -
“You think Alphonse will be okay?” Sigal asked Naomi as they stood in the cell.
“Yes. He’ll definitely be okay. He’s the guy I love, after all!” she said cheerfully.
“Oh, so you two are an item, eh? I was kinda getting that vibe from the two of you!” Kurt said.
As the prisoners engaged in light-hearted conversation like that, the door to the cell block burst open. A soldier, who Naomi recognized as one of the two who showed up with Rinz in the entrance hall, barged in. He looked around the cells, and when he spotted Naomi, he approached the cell.
“There you are, filthy human!” he said.
Oh, no! They’ve figured us out!
As Naomi thought that, the prisoners all looked around at each other in dismay. The soldier drew his sword with one hand and reached into his pocket with the other. He removed the cell keys from them.
“As a human who has committed a crime in the Mystic Realm, you have been sentenced to death! I shall execute you at once!” he shouted at Naomi.
Naomi backed up in fear as the soldier went to unlock the cell door.
Last edited:
You meanie 
I wanna know what happens next. All beautiful plans didn't work out poor Naomi!
