133 Chapter 133: A Lie and a Trap (1/2)
The personnel inside the cave didn't know what hit them.
I had posted a few Corvus outside to keep watch on them, and thanks to that, we were able to strike after I confirmed that their guard was down. Using their keen sight and magical senses, my Corvus crows were able to keep track of what was inside the cave, and who were where. Before they realized what had happened, Troy collapsed the interior of the cave with gravity, raining boulders and rock down on the stunned criminal mages.
”What's going on?!”
”A cave in?! Impossible! There shouldn't be any tectonic instability here…!”
”Out! Evacuate the cave!”
Kureha was concerned about her sister being caught up in the attack, but using my Corvus, I could assure her that she wasn't in the frontal area. Troy also selected his target, listening to my descriptions and directions, and avoided crushing the back. We focused on the greatest concentrations of the enemy wiping out the majority of them before they could even begin to fight back.
Then, as the survivors rushed out, still reeling from the shock of having their base collapse on top of them, Troy and Kureha struck.
Troy's attacks were brutal and merciless. His fists hammered into the faces of mages, breaking bone and obliterating skulls. Earth spikes rose about him, piercing any foe who was somehow able to whirl around to face this new intrusion. Gravity spells flickered to life, cruelly bringing opponents down to their hands and knees, unable to stand under the tremendous pressure. Without even looking at them, Troy kicked them or had earth spikes impale them from below, moving on to the next enemy without any hesitation.
In contrast, Kureha's strikes were elegant and graceful, each stroke landing with unparalleled precision and control. Her sword darted in quickly and penetrated through defenses. She weaved through the crowd of enemies almost as if she was dancing, her sword flashing up and slicing them apart in an almost artful manner. Several mages rallied and succeeded in casting ranged spells to fling at her, but she spun around daintily on her feet and cut through them, her blade pressure hurtling through the air to cleave them apart along with their futile spells.
While the two were annihilating what remained of the enemy, I dove into the cave, unseen by anyone except my teammates. Troy had called off his spells, and the cave was no longer trembling violently and collapsing on itself. There weren't any survivors left, the majority having been crushed by our surprise attack.
”Where's Kurenai?”
That worried me. I was pretty sure that my Corvus informed me that there was no sign of her in this area. Yet, there was nothing else other than ruined equipment and corpses. I studied the corpses, but was relieved to see that Kurenai was not among her.
Then where was she?
Frowning, I raised my head and glanced deeper into the cave. There was another tunnel leading off to some other section, and I proceeded with caution. Eventually I came toward a huge metallic gate, which was closed and sealed off from the corridor I had just come from.
No wonder my Corvus didn't spot it earlier. It was so deep inside the cave that it was out of their visual range. Never mind the walls and corridors blocking their sight.
”Is Kurenai here?”
Kureha and Troy had finally caught up with me, having followed the signs I left behind for them when I began my reconnaissance of the cave.
”Seems like it.” Troy had knelt down to observe the earth. ”Her trail leads here…or to be more accurate, the trail of her kidnappers.”
”I'll break the door open,” I offered, having already finished casting my spell while waiting for my comrades to arrive. Raising Sagittarius, I fired off an Alnasl and demolished the heavy-duty doors in one shot. The resulting explosion sent tremors across the interior of the cave, causing stone and dust to rain down about us.
”Hey! Be careful, bro!” Troy complained. I ignored him and proceeded inside the chamber.
”You…! Who are you!?”
Behind the ruined doors, there was a much larger group of mages coughing and flailing about inside, probably caught off guard by the sudden explosion.
”I am Death, Destroyer of Worlds,” I replied, and they gaped at me, stunned. Then they caught sight of Kureha as she followed suit.
”You…! The Sword Saint!”
”The daughter of the Franklin family! What is she doing here?!”
”How did she find us?!”
”That's not important,” Kureha replied coldly as she pointed her sword at them. ”Where is my sister? Return her to me immediately!”
”Your sister?” one of the mages grinned wickedly. ”We already told you. If you want her returned safely, then you have to take your own life.”
”I won't ask twice,” Kureha snapped. ”Where is my sister? Return her!”
”Oh, well…” the guy shook his head. ”If you insist on being so stubborn, then we have no choice.”
”Unless I see my sister, you have no room to negotiate with me. I'll destroy you and find her myself.” Kureha brandished her sword. ”Since I already know she's here, there is no use in sparing your lives anyway.”
”She's at the back,” Troy informed her as he joined us. He had bent down to press his palm against the ground. ”That's what the signs tell me.”
”I see.” Kureha swung her sword, an immense blast of blade pressure washing across the interior of the chamber and cutting apart several of the stunned mages in the room. The majority of them managed to dive away in time to avoid being slaughtered. After having cleared a path, Kureha strode inward, intent on locating her sister.
Then she dropped to her knees all of a sudden, her sword clattering beside her as she raised her hands to her mouth in horror.
”No…impossible…”
It took me a second or so before I saw what she had seen. Further inside the chamber was the corpse of her sister.
Kurenai wasn't just dead. Before her death, she had been ravaged and violated. Naked, bloodied and battered, the poor girl was staring lifelessly up at the ceiling, her eyes hollow and blank. Her bruised chest was no longer rising, her yet to fully mature breasts showing signs of rough molestation. Blood had pooled between her legs and spread to a circle around her hips and thighs. One arm rested at an unnatural angle, most likely broken when she tried to fight back.
”Whoops…you found her.” the spokesman from before chuckled as he rose to his feet with an indifferent shrug.
”Bastards!” Troy roared, fury building up in his voice.
”You never intended to take her hostage…” I whispered, my eyes riveted to the horrifying sight in disbelief. We were too late…no, the signs of damage…her death didn't seem all too recent. She was dead long before we arrived. ”Didn't you say you'll return her safely if Kureha killed herself? How do you intend to do that if she really carried out her part of the deal?”
”We didn't,” the man responded sinisterly. ”Who cares about honoring a deal with a dead person? We lied.” He laughed. ”She made such a cute plaything for us that we couldn't resist. Broke her earlier than we expected, which is a shame, but we haven't had much opportunity to enjoy women for quite a while now.”