Panting, Lance went back to the place where they were supposed to et. It was at a large tree just at the frontier of the forest.
After Sayu's attack on the citizen's secret base, Lance hid in the shadows and went outside of the city without being seen. He didn't know how Sayu could've figured out where he was when he hid his aura completely. Even in the hands of very strong Adventurers, Lance would look invisible.
After a couple of minutes more of runnint, he reached the spot and looked around to make sure he was being followed.
"Hello?" Lance called out. "I'm back."
He waited for a few minutes but no one had responded. Anyone that would look at Lance would wonder why he wasn't panicking. That was because he told his friends to wait for a couple of minutes before they co out in case soone was following him.
Five minutes later, Elliot and the rest of their team stepped out from the darkness. They hopped off the trunks of the trees and into where Lance was.
"Did you get the map?" Elliot asked.
"I have terrible news." Lance soghed and had a sad smile on his face, "Everything was just Sayu's illusion. There was no bright and joyful city."
Elliot's eyebrows t in confusion, "Lance, what do you an?"
"Everything in that city was fake," Lance explained. "The music, the people, the bright colors. It was just an illusion put up by Sayu to deceive us. Their people were actually suffering from hunger and poverty. I t their true emperor, Seitan and he said Yamato was just his assistant before."
"So, Sayu was indeed a General of the Diamond Emperor?" Elloot asked.
"Yes," Lance nodded. "She offered the Yamato to choose between his life and the kingdom. Yamato chose the kingdom, but it didn't stop Sayu from taking over still. Yamato is now her puppet that she controls in her own fingertips."
"That's ssed up," Connor gasped. "But then again, I don't think sothing like that is a rare occurrence in this place. We're talking about Malice here. We know what she's capable of."
"That's right," Elliot added. "But the big question is, Lance, did you get the map?"
Lance pursed his lips and raised a scroll. His actions garnered a collective sigh of relief from his friends, but the look in Elliot's face made them worry.
That look he held was a burning passion to do what's right. They already knew what the man had in his mind and they weren't a fan of his decision. It was the typical Elliot they knew of. Selfless, stupid, yet passionate to do what's right.
"No," Lance imdiately shut the idea down before it could even be offered on the table. "We've been friends long enough for to know that look in your face."
"Listen to ," Elliot said. "If those people are suffering, we need to help them."
"What's the use, Elliot?" Lance asked. "If we get caught in the middle of helping them, then all of their efforts to survive would go down the drain. We need to beco smart in dealing with this and not just ram ourselves right into the action."
"I'm not saying" Elliot was cut off by a sudden siren that rang so loud, it reached the forest and made so birds fly away in panic. "What was that?"
"Westerners," a loud voice spoke from the city. It was Sayu. She was using so sort of device to enhance the loudness of her voice so she could reach them. "We know you're still in the vicinity. After you saw the conditions the people in here were in, I don't think you'll have the guts to go back."
"This b*tch," Connor grit his teeth in anger. "I wanna slither throat and offer her remains to the dogs."
"Calm down," Lance said. "Let's listen first."
"We will give you a choice to surrender yourselves in exchange for the people here," Sayu said. "We have gathered them in the city centre, and we will wait for you to co. You have an hour. If the hour would pass and we don't see any Westerner, we will kill everyone. n, won, children, innocent blood will be spilled if you don't co. We'll be waiting."
"Those *ssholes!" Ed yelled. "They're so vile. How disgusting can they be?"
"Calm down," Lance said. "I have a plan. But this involves us dividing."
"We can't do that," Elliot disagreed. "If there's anything, we need to be close to each other and always stick with each other. Splitting up ans we will weaken our numbers."
"We have no other choice, Elliot," Lance groaned. "Listen for one minute"
"We only have to sacrifice ourselves first," Elliot cut off. "After that, we can plan our escape. We have fought Sayu before and we handled her just fine. We only have to release the people first."
"She's not going to do that even when she finishes mincing us to pieces," Lance said with a sigh. "I had a glimpse of the despair clouding around the city and it wasn't pretty. The state of despair they were in clearly reflected how little Sayu cared for the people.
"Even if we surrendered ourselves, they will only release the people, but they will still continue to live with their miserable lives," Lance continued. "That is, if she actually releases them. Those people had been in hiding for years. Now that Sayu had caught them, I highly doubt she'll let go of them."
"You're right," Elliot whispered. He lowered his head in sha after he was proven wrong. "And I'm sorry for losing my temper. I know what I had in mind was stupid, but I still easily get swayed by emotions."
"That is why you need us in every stepb of the way," Lance said. "We can be your light in this path of darkness, Elliot. All of us."
Elliot smiled and nodded, "Thank you."
"So, what do you suggest on doing then?" Connor asked. "I assu you have a plan."
"I do," Lance smirked. "But it involves a divide and conquer strategy. Everyone must play their role in this strategy for us to win. Is that okay?"
"Even us?" Florencia asked. "We're just kids, Lance."
"Don't worry," Lance gave her a comforting smile. "You have a very small role to play."
Florencia gulped as she looked at Lance, "Why do I have the feeling that I do not like this plan?"
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