The last two masked guards finally accepted what had been obvious from the start—Lola wasn't going to spare them. There would be no retreat, no mercy, and certainly no bargaining.
They raised their wands in unison, words of incantation already crackling at the edge of their tongues.
But Ralia Amia was faster.
With a swift flick of her fingers, the Orb of Memories pulsed violently in her palm, its soft glow turning into a sudden blinding flare. A wave of psychic energy exploded outward—silent, invisible, but bone-deep.
The guards staggered.
Confusion bloomed behind their masks, their emotional balance thrown into chaos. Ralia didn't just tap into their feelings—she hijacked them.
The taller of the two, Kruik, suddenly clenched his fists, rage boiling in his veins like magma. Without warning, he turned and slugged his companion in the face with such force that blood sprayed out from behind the mask like a fine mist.
"Ow—Kruik?! What the actual fuck—" the other guard sputtered, dazed.
But Kruik wasn't done. Still under Ralia's emotional grip, he roared, charging forward and hammering his partner with a second blow—this one so powerful it sent the man crashing into the stone wall like a rag doll flung by an angry child.
The downed guard, Erkel, stumbled to his feet, his fury matching Kruik's.
This time, the victim mage was prepared. The victim mage by the name— Erkel shot forward like an arrow that have left the bow-string, and came face to face with Kruik.
"You wanna go there?! Fine! Let's GO!"
"Golden Light: Thorn Barrage!"
Erkel shouted with his magic activated on full throttle.
A vicious ring of glowing sigils encircled Erkel. From each one, razor-thin thorns burst forth, homing in on Kruik with surgical precision. They slammed into his body—piercing skin, cloth, and bone. He screamed, a ghastly noise that made even Lola raise a brow.
And this slowed down the momentum of Kruik who was in an unbearable amount of pain.
"Damn," she muttered, nudging Ralia with a smirk. "Remind me never to piss you off. Like, ever." Lola said with a smile as she watched these two enemy masked mages tear each other to pieces under Ralia Amia's manipulative control.
Ralia remained silent, her orb still glowing faintly in her hand.
Kruik, howling in agony, stumbled back. But even in his pain, he wasn't done. He threw his hand to the floor and chanted:
"Golden Light: Swamp Maw."
The ground beneath Erkel gave way. With a wet squelch, a pool of dark swamp water twisted into a spinning whirlpool. Erkel barely had time to scream before he was dragged under, swallowed by the summoned quicksand.
His last words died in bubbling silence.
Kruik came to his senses, by now he noticed he was bleeding profusely from the thorn attacks that Erkel had used on him. Thorns were shooting out of different parts of his body as blood drained out slowly.
Kruik, panting, bleeding from dozens of thorn wounds, swayed where he stood. His vision blurred. His balance faltered.
Before Kruik could come to terms with reality, Suddenly came the whip... Lola's whip...
It cracked through the air like thunder.
Before Kruik could even blink, Lola's weapon coiled around his throat with viper-like precision. She activated the surge. A jolt of lightning tore through the man's body, lifting him off his feet as if struck by a divine hammer.
Then, with a savage twist of her wrist, Lola yanked.
Snap.
The head separated cleanly, the body collapsing like a puppet cut from its strings.
All five guards were dead.
Lola and Ralia shared a quick look—no words needed. Then they pushed forward, their boots slapping against the damp stone floor as they entered the tunnel the guards had been protecting.
At the end of the dim corridor, they found them.
The real prisoners.
Dozens of cages lined the curved walls, each one jammed with gaunt faces—men, women, and far too many children. Fear coated the air like rot. Some backed away at the sight of the masked intruders, certain they were there to deal more pain.
The women and children had been the most taken from the cages, this caused those here under that bracket to be even more frightened than the men. They recoiled from the cage and moved further inwards.
"Ralia..." Lola called, asked her to use her powers to affect their emotions.
She stepped forward, raising the Orb of Memories. Her eyes glowed a haunting violet as the magic spread across the cells in a silent wave. It was subtle at first—then unmistakable.
It affected their emotions straightaway. Fear turned to courage. Panic gave way to hope.
One by one, the prisoners blinked as if waking from a long nightmare. Some wept. Some stood with trembling strength. Some clutched the bars, whispering, "Is it over?"
Lola moved fast, breaking locks and flinging open cell doors.
> "You're free now," she said gently, guiding a child forward. "You're safe."
One by one, they stepped out.
Some collapsed into the arms of friends and family who hadn't yet been sacrificed. With joy they reunited with their friends or families that they could find.
Others looked around for siblings or lovers, and upon finding none, dropped to their knees in quiet mourning.
But all of them—every single one—were alive.
And thanks to Lola and Ralia, they were going to stay that way.
As Lola and Ralia Amia stepped out from the dark corridor, leading the newly freed prisoners like a tide of vengeance, they came to a halt.
Ten feet ahead, standing like a black stain on the pathway, was the masked gateman—the same one who had eyed Lola with suspicion back at the entrance.
This time, his wand was unsheathed. His stance rigid. His breath heavy.
He had followed her through the chaos, weaving silently through the shadows, not to join the fray or stop the rebellion—but to uncover a truth that had obsessed him since the moment he saw her.
Now he had it.
And he hated it.
She wasn't just suspicious. She was an intruder. A defiler. A traitor.
And worse than all… she was a woman—a beautiful one, hidden beneath a mask, and completely out of his reach.
His voice came out like gravel soaked in bile.
> "When I first saw you… I knew something was off. That walk—too graceful. That shape—too tempting. I thought maybe you were just a man cursed with a woman's build. But no…"
His grip on the wand tightened as he took a step forward.
> "You're her. You're the one at the gate who attacked the other mage who had correctly identified you... using your clever tactics, you snuck past me. Then within the chaos, you freed the children. Slit the guards like cattle. You even fooled me."
He hissed the last part like a wounded predator, shamed by its prey.
Lola didn't flinch. She took a lazy step forward, her masked face tilted slightly. The voice modulator distorted her words into a gravelly purr.
> "Aww… poor thing. Is that what's really hurting you? That you got played by a woman?"
The gateman stiffened. Fury surged into his eyes.
> "Oh, I'm going to enjoy tearing off that mask—slowly. And if you turn out to be what I think you are… I'll make you wish I had just killed you."
He licked his lips like a man starving for control.
Lola chuckled darkly, leaning into the taunt.
> "When was the last time you touched a woman who wanted you back, hmm?"
> "That tension… That frustration you've been dragging between your legs—I can feel it from here. No wonder you're desperate."
The voice was still male, deep and gruff, but the words dripped with wicked femininity. It twisted his thoughts like a poisoned blade.
His rage began to crack beneath the weight of his perversion and pride.
The crowd of prisoners behind Lola didn't cower—they stood tall, as if her confidence were infectious. Even the children stared the gateman down with burning eyes. Ralia Amia's power was incredible.
The gateman's breath faltered.
This wasn't going how he expected.
And Lola saw it.
"Don't worry," she added, stepping to the side with a flourish as her high-grade whip unfurled at her hip. "I'll make it quick… and very, very educational."
The whip hissed once in the air, catching the wind like a serpent eager to strike.
Ralia Amia raised her Orb of Memories, the glow spreading outward as she slowly stepped beside Lola, eyes locked on the crumbling man in front of them.
The gateman shuddered.
For the first time since this entire rebellion began…
He realized—he was the one outnumbered.
And worse than that…
He was being laughed at.