Meliradal and Golden slipped through several houses, thanks to Golden's supernatural speed, which made them practically undetectable. Finally, they reached the dungeon—the same place where Paltio and his friends had been before, though on that occasion, Paltio hadn't managed to save anyone.
"This is the place," Golden murmured, observing from the shadows. "Wow, they've got way more guards than last time. Looks like they've upped the number of fools." An arrogant smile crossed his face as he flexed his claws, ready for action.
"Well then, let's go in through the front," said Golden, preparing to dash toward the entrance.
But Meliradal stopped him with a firm gesture.
"Hold on, kitty. You may be fast, but the people inside aren't, and they could die in the process of being saved." Her tone was calm but authoritative, reminding him of the fragility of those trapped inside.
Golden huffed, crossing his arms.
"Alright then, what's your plan, Miss Bird?" he asked, raising an eyebrow sarcastically.
Meliradal smiled slightly, as if she'd already anticipated that reaction.
"Well, how about this: I create a fog curtain, and we sneak in from above? Cats can climb, right?" she challenged, looking at Golden with a mischievous expression.
Golden nodded, reluctantly impressed.
"So you want to sneak in from above without being noticed… Fine," he replied, accepting the plan.
With an elegant motion of her hands, Meliradal summoned her magic, creating a thick blanket of fog that quickly spread throughout the area. The guards, disoriented, tried to navigate through the dense smoke that completely obscured their vision.
Using the fog as literal cover, Golden hoisted Meliradal onto his back and, with dizzying speed, scaled the dungeon wall in seconds.
Upon entering, they were met with a heart-wrenching scene: dozens of cages lined up, each occupied by prisoners connected to machines that slowly drained their magical energy. Some tried to resist, conjuring small sparks of magic to survive, while others, defeated, sat silently, resigned to their fate. However, all wore electrified collars that kept them under control, shocking them if they stopped using their magic.
"And now, how are we going to free all these people?" asked Golden, surveying the chaos with concern.
Meliradal, ever practical, responded without hesitation:
"First, we need to free them. There must be some kind of switch around here to deactivate everything."
With her hawk-like vision, Meliradal began scanning every corner until she finally pointed to a central machine filled with cables and blinking lights.
"It's over there," she indicated, pointing toward the machine.
Golden needed no further motivation. With a contained roar, he lunged at the machine and, with a single energy-charged punch, destroyed it completely. Sparks flew in all directions, and the lights in the place abruptly went out. The cells opened with a metallic screech, and the prisoners began to emerge, confused and disoriented, while outside, the thick fog continued to shroud the area.
One of the guards, alarmed, shouted from the entrance:
"Sir, something's happened! The power went out in the cells!"
Milok, the leader of the guards, frowned in irritation.
"And we can't see anything through this fog? Quickly, use the fog-clearing machines!" he ordered.
Immediately, the guards pulled out strange devices that resembled giant vacuum cleaners, beginning to rapidly drain the smoke.
Meliradal watched the scene with frustration.
"Oh no… There goes the element of surprise," she muttered, crossing her arms.
Milok, now visible thanks to the dissipating fog, smiled cruelly.
"Fools. Did you really think you could save your companions? These collars keep them under my control!" he exclaimed, pressing a button on a device in his hand.
Immediately, the prisoners collapsed to the ground, writhing in pain as the collars emitted unbearable electric shocks. Their screams echoed throughout the area, filling the air with despair.
"You won't leave here without taking this from me," Milok declared, his voice dripping with malice.
"You should've said that from the start!" Golden exclaimed in frustration, snatching the control from Milok's hands and knocking him out with a single precise blow.
At that moment, the remaining soldiers burst into the room, armed with swords and bows, ready to attack.
"Oh dear," Meliradal said calmly, raising her hand as her freezing magic instantly froze the soldiers in place, leaving them immobile like ice statues.
An alarm began to blare loudly. Apparently, one of the soldiers outside had activated the alert system.
"It's time to leave," Meliradal announced, helping Golden gather all the unconscious prisoners. With a powerful motion of her hands, she caused the earth to open up and swallow them, transporting them away from the scene.
"I wonder how the others are doing," Meliradal murmured as they disappeared underground, leaving behind the chaos they had caused.
Meanwhile, Chiro was about to reveal something when the alarm began to sound. A nervous smile appeared on his face as he tried to regain some confidence.
"I think you're all in serious trouble," he said, though his voice still trembled slightly.
Kilibur frowned, visibly frustrated.
"What do we do? We were just supposed to come for that information, and now… what do we do?"
They heard footsteps approaching quickly. Several boots echoed down the hallway, signaling that more soldiers were entering the area.
"Help!" Chiro shouted, unintentionally alerting the incoming soldiers.
Silver acted without hesitation, lunging at them and striking before they could react.
"Hey, leave some for me!" Krasper protested, conjuring several daggers that flew directly at the remaining enemies, embedding themselves with deadly precision.
One of the nearby soldiers shouted:
"There's trouble over here too!"
"Well, it's time to go," Kilibur declared, transforming into an imposing beast that roared fiercely, scaring off the soldiers trying to approach.
The three fled the scene, taking Chiro as their hostage, while Kilibur's illusion fought the remaining guards, distracting them long enough to ensure their escape.
They leaped across rooftops, leaving strategically placed traps of arrows and daggers courtesy of Krasper to slow down any pursuers.
Finally, upon reaching the outskirts of the kingdom, they reunited with Golden's team.
"Wow, that was insane!" Krasper commented, wiping sweat from his forehead with a mischievous grin.
Meliradal let out a light laugh.
"I haven't had this much fun in a long time."
Golden, ever practical, got straight to the point.
"So, did you find Meloc?" he asked, crossing his arms.
"No," Krasper replied, pointing at Chiro, "but we found this kid who knows the answer. Maybe you can persuade him with your psychic powers."
Golden prepared to use his ability, but after a few seconds, he frowned, visibly frustrated.
"Damn it… They used some kind of blocker. Those shadow people are smart."
Krasper couldn't resist teasing him.
"Wow, kitty, you're useless even for that."
"Hey, it doesn't matter. I can get it out of him by force," Silver interjected, shrugging as he gave Chiro a friendly yet threatening smile.
Kilibur, upon seeing the crowd of freed people behind Meliradal, raised an eyebrow in surprise.
"And… who are all these?" he asked, gesturing toward the battered group of prisoners.
Meliradal smiled proudly.
"Well, they're all the people we saved from a dungeon in this place."
Chiro looked on in horror at the battered individuals, some barely able to stand.
"I didn't know they treated people like this…" he murmured, genuinely shaken.
Golden glared at him, his fury evident.
"You and your damn shadows did this!"
Kilibur quickly stepped between Golden and Chiro, raising a hand to calm the situation.
"Easy now. I think he'll tell us the truth if we give him a chance."
Golden looked at him incredulously.
"And why would he do that?"
Kilibur smiled confidently.
"Because I can see his soul, and it shows no trace of malice."
Meliradal nodded, backing up Kilibur's statement.
"If you're basing it on that, Kilibur, then this boy will tell us the truth about where Avocios is."
"Well," Chiro began, his voice trembling but resolute, "if I tell you where he is, I'll be treated as a traitor. But if I don't, you'll probably kill me too. I'm afraid of Tejod and his men… but you all look pretty threatening too."
Meliradal smiled calmly, taking a step closer to him.
"Come on, lad, it's for a good cause. Don't you want peace to reign again instead of war? For the skies to turn white once more?" she asked, her tone filled with hope and determination.
Chiro lowered his gaze, deep in thought. After a few seconds, he let out a deep sigh.
"Well, yes… The truth is, I never wanted to be here in the first place, but I got carried away by some colleagues. I do long for the days of peace and happiness, when there was nothing to worry about." He lifted his eyes, filled with nostalgia. "One question… Can you really make that happen?"
Golden answered without hesitation, his characteristic confidence shining through.
"Of course. Our lord Avocios can do it."
Krasper, ever pragmatic, quickly interjected with a practical suggestion.
"Look, if you want, we'll protect you. If you decide to leave this place, you can say we kidnapped you or something. That way, you'd save your skin."
Chiro shook his head, still hesitant.
"But what if I go back and you free your leader? They'll still punish me either way."
He fell silent for a moment, wrestling with his thoughts internally. Finally, something in his mind seemed to resolve. Meliradal's words echoed in him, along with images of how things used to be before. He realized that the actions he had been taking weren't entirely right, and now felt it was time to change that.
"I've made my decision," Chiro said, his voice firm though still weak. He looked at the guardians one by one, searching for reassurance in their faces. Then, swallowing hard, he continued:
"I'll tell you where he is… Avocios, he's in…"