Act 3: Empire's Stand - Chapter 497: Riot

Act 3: Empire's Stand - Chapter 497: Riot

Life wasn't good in a prison, especially for prisoners of war. Day after day, he underwent tortures in great variety, the torturers ever gleeful in changing the process and experimenting with new techniques. His lack of agonizing screams behind his clenched teeth only spurred his captors to try harder; their cruelty heightened and focused on him. Oscar never relented even a yelp, not once, even as cold daggers plunged into his sides.

After the torture, he ate the foul slop that tasted like rotten eggs and bit into the sour fruit, flavors so foul he could not get used to them. The only comfort was the extra piece of smoked, tough chicken jerky, a reward for winning yesterday's battle. Once he finished his first meal of the day, he went to work on his daily assignments. He cleaned the floors, stairs, and the rooms of the isolated, the dirtiest and most foul of all, drenched in human waste and blood. On other days, he did the laundry for the guards and polished their armor. During these monotonous times, the horrid words echoed through the prison, telling him to denounce his home.

Then, he would fight after resting for three hours. He and his cellmates reigned as kings in the steel cage fights, winning every match and keeping their rewards. Alec's lack of involvement in these battles bothered him, but Oscar let it be since it didn't mean anything to his escape plan. Then, every time at night, he waited by the cell doors and watched the Sweeper trod with heavy steps, meeting its hollow gaze every night while it bared its sharp teeth.

After half a month of cleaning the floors and listening to the guards' idle conversations, Oscar, Fred, and Emily put together a general outline of the prison. The long elevator shaft ran through the entire prison from top to bottom. A set of stairs on the edges allowed the guards to move from floor to floor. He relayed everything to Erden, who told the details to the Pavilion Master and Elder Saul.

Then, finally, the day had arrived. At the break of morning, after the terrifying Sweeper retreated away into wherever it came from, the lights in the Rurin Gaols flickered on, showering every cell in its brightness, not a place, edge, and corner shrouded in shadow. Exhaling, Oscar woke up on schedule, clenching his fists under his blanket. He rose from bed, rubbed his chin, and ran his fingers through the overgrown beard. If Avril saw him now, she would definitely laugh at his expense. Oscar smiled fondly at his memories of Avril, still as clear as the bright light above him, unaffected by a month of Maia's persistent seduction spells at the end of tortures.

'One more time.' Oscar palmed his face as if he was washing it despite the absence of water and brushed his slightly long hair back, letting him see fine without annoying bangs in the way. The guard came on time and banged his weapon on the open cell door, and the entire cell stood at attention, raising their hands as per protocol.

"Get a move on, you degenerates! Anyone falling behind will lose their free hour!" The guard shouted, banging his weapon on the wall.

Oscar stepped outside the cell, his feet instantly cuffed and linked to the next person who exited, Alec. In well-coordinated steps and equal strides, Oscar and the others marched down the halls under the somewhat lazy eyes of the guards, some not paying attention at all as they were too engrossed in their conversations. Their lack of enthusiasm and alertness was exactly what he needed. Whether it was pride or the belief nothing could happen inside the Rurin Gaols, the guards continued their folly under Oscar's expectant gaze.

'I can feel you, Erden. How much farther are you?' Oscar sent a mental transmission.

'Slipping through was hard enough. We're just in time to make it midway through your lunch. Are you sure Maia Claude won't be on level three?' Erden transmitted back.

'Fred saw her exiting through the side doors, turning toward downstairs at the end of the six hours. I can start the distraction in time, but we don't know what measures they might have in place. You need to come quick.' Oscar coughed and rubbed his nose, the thick smell of blood, new and old, choking his nostrils. His feet squelched on the wet and dry blood until he arrived at the torture chamber. The rusted door scraped open, and Oscar breathed deeply and told himself this was the last one.

The five hours of torture commenced, and the captors were too happy to receive him again. Unlike the others with one torturer, he faced two of them and stared defiantly into the eyeholes of their strange, unsettling masks. They circled him, clicking their tongues and cackling in high-pitched tunes, hollering at him with their long, gloved fingers wriggling around.

"We're breaking out, and I need everyone onboard." Oscar threw a flaming spear at a guard, creating a blazing trail as the guard was forced back. For the first time in the month he had known him, Oscar saw Alec smiling widely, a complete difference from the casual smile he wore like a mask. This smile contained the resolve and drive Alec lacked earlier.

"How nice. Fine! Alright, you bastards, let's go!" Alec shouted, summoning his stingray anima. He raised his hands, fingers trembling from exertion as tides rose, separating the enemy. Louis and Rolan pounced, Louis attacking using his towering figure and Rolan sweeping in from below.

Oscar let them be and dashed through the crowd, maintaining his communication with Erden. 'How much longer?'

'Three minutes. We hear the bells tolling already.' Erden replied.

'Three minutes....I got it.' Oscar punched the door and rushed down the stairs, turning a corner to enter a short, wide corridor, plain white all over. At the end was an open doorway, the side route to level four, the prison of the Marshal Exalts and his master.

Halting his steps, Oscar roused his Eirin, surging it to the fullest. He felt the ominous presence coming from below, approaching his set of halls. Red eyes shone in the darkness beyond the doorway as small, quiet steps tapped forward. Maia Claude strode into the light, her white hair swaying to her waist, clear annoyance evident in her pursed red lips and knitted brow.

"Is your purpose the Marshal Exalts below?" Maia's eyes shone, her seduction spell already well underway.

Oscar could sense her insidious intent worming its way into his mind, but he no longer allowed them the freedom to infect his thoughts. He switched with Demon while Erden sent forth a stream of Ein to help Oscar break the spell.

"That won't work anymore. It never will." Oscar reassumed control.

"Impossible." Maia sounded surprised. "Who are you?"

'Two minutes....' Oscar heard Erden call out. He relaxed and forcibly canceled the transfiguration elixir. His joints cracked and popped, his arms and legs extended out, his shirt ripped apart and fell in tatters, and his hair and eyes returned to their obsidian black. Cracking his shoulders, he smiled at the wide-eyed Maia. "It's been a while, Maia Claude. How's your face?"

Her face darkened as a red flush of anger overwhelmed her pretty countenance. In a trembling voice of disbelief and hate, she said in a vicious tone, her words coming to a screech, "Oscar Terr!"