The prison was dark and chilly. There were no windows or crevices for a stray shaft of sunlight to slip inside. The only source of light was a few flickering candles, and the damp air carried the lingering smell of rust and dust through its halls. That was the state of the cell where a girl was chained to its wall.
Thump. She heard the faint echo of a footstep.
“Who’s there?” She jumped up reflexively from her prison bed.
She shouldn’t have been able to hear footsteps. There weren’t any guards around. It was an unmanned prison, after all. Of course, there were reasons for that.
First, three layers of video surveillance systems monitored every square inch of the facility.
Second, this prison housed undesirables, or those labeled as “witches” and “sorcerers.” This girl was no exception. Even when caged, witches were considered far too dangerous. No one could guarantee the safety of any guards who would have been staffed there—hence, it was left unmanned.
Then why do I hear footsteps?
Who was approaching her? And for what reason?
“…”
The girl who silently readied herself had been born with the inexplicable energy called “astral power,” meaning she was one of the fearsome witches. She couldn’t fathom anyone creeping up on her with good news.
Maybe they were coming to exact some personal revenge. Or to inform her of her execution.
As the steps drew closer, she did her best to contain her fear and anticipation.
“Shhh, keep quiet.”
“What?”
The moment they saw each other, he said something that made her eyes go wide.
“I’m gonna let you out right now.”
It was a boy. He was a teenager with messy locks of dark-chestnut hair, wearing the battle uniform of the Imperial army. A pair of swords hung from the belt at his hip—one in a black sheath and the other in white.
…Let out? Who are you talking about?
She was the only one in the cell, but it still took her a little while to understand what he was trying to say.
“Don’t move. And don’t get too close to the bars.”
A sword flashed before her. That was all she could make out: a momentary flash of light in front of her eyes.
With one swift move, he’d broken through the prison bars. She finally realized what had happened when the remnants of the bars crashed to the floor and rolled down the quiet hallway.
“…No way.”
Even with her astral power, she wouldn’t have been able to break those bars, which were wrought from a metal alloy of steel and iron. They would have required heavy machinery to rip apart. And yet, this boy had sliced through them with ease. Using a single sword, no less.
However, the most confusing thing wasn’t this incredible feat but his decision to break her out in the first place.
“…Why?” she asked.
“Why? Well, I can’t get you out without hacking through these bars.”
“…Why are you…letting me escape…?”
The hole was just large enough for a single person to slip through. She rapidly blinked in confusion.
“Aren’t you an Imperial swordsman? Plus, that left armband means you’re a Saint Disciple… Why would someone from the Empire’s ultimate military force be here?”
“You sure are well-informed.” As he slid his sword back in its sheath, the boy nodded in a way that could be described only as carefree. “Who would have thought that a Nebulis mage would be familiar with the inner workings of our military hierarchy?”
“…Well.” She cast her face down to avert her troubled eyes, which were filled with uncertainty. “We’re enemies. It makes sense that we’d study things about the enemy country… Why are you letting me go?” She peered up at him once again.
His answer: “You’re about thirteen or fourteen, right? Or are you younger?”
“…What?”
“If you’re twelve, that’d make you three years younger than me. Oh, I guess almost four now.”
Their respective homelands had been engaged in an ongoing war for over a century. In the Empire, witches were mercilessly captured and treated as prisoners of war regardless of their gender or age—and yet, here they were.
“I happened to see you get captured, and you caught my eye.”
“…?”
“I’ve got a thing or two to say about the Empire’s policy of rounding up all the astral mages, especially someone like you. You’re still a kid. Plus, you don’t even have that much power.”
“…That’s just the way your country does things.”
“True. All I can do is sneak you out. This is the first time I’m doing this, but if it works, I’m gonna help other kids escape, too.”
He beckoned to her from outside the cell.
“Hurry. I stopped the surveillance system, but it’ll probably come back online in a few minutes.”
“Ah…” She involuntarily yipped when he took her hand.
Wasn’t he afraid to touch her? After all, her very existence as a witch was despised. Even if he wasn’t scared, didn’t he feel disgusted?
“Quick. We’re gonna book it all the way down that hall.”
His warm hand continued to grip hers as they darted through the deserted passageway. Following his lead, she scurried along the halls with him until they found themselves in front of the emergency exit.
“Go out from here. It’ll take you to the outskirts of the Imperial capital. Follow the flow of people heading downtown. From there, use the directories on the electronic message boards to figure out your next move. I think it’ll be best for you to hop on a loop bus and head to a city in neutral territory. Here, take this. I’m sorry it’s not much.”
He pressed a few silver Imperial coins into her hand along with hardtack, which had been given to him as emergency rations for the troops.
She didn’t even thank him.
It seemed too good to be true. That was exactly why she’d started to suspect that this was all a trap. She’d never heard of an Imperial soldier willing to help a prisoner make a break for it, much less hand them money and a meal.
“Now go.”
“…”
She was skeptical of his motivations, but she eventually scampered off, propelled forward by her instinct to escape the prison—running all the way out of the emergency exit and far beyond the prison walls.
At the gates around the Imperial capital, she hopped on a bus to take her to lands beyond Imperial jurisdiction. From there, she headed to an encampment where others like her gathered before she returned to her home country, the Nebulis Sovereignty.
She needed to check for herself and breathe in the familiar air of her own home before she accepted the truth.
“…He wasn’t lying.” She finally realized his words and actions weren’t a part of some grand scheme to get her.
By the very next day, word of the unprecedented incident in the Empire had reached the ears of those in the distant land of Nebulis.
“Iska, the Youngest Saint Disciple in History.
“Imprisoned for treason against the nation and aiding the escape of a witch. Given a life sentence.”
“No way…” The girl clutched the news magazine in her hands and trembled ever so slightly.
Why? Why would he do that for me, an enemy?
What had driven him to act? She stood absentmindedly in place, grasping at straws.