"What do you mean Danzan freed the prisoners? Are we going to die?" an engineer asked, his hands trembling slightly.
On each of the engineers face dread and fear drew. Each of them, including the officer who followed after Donsentos, had strange faces.
They weren't as scared as the engineers, but it was clear they were affected too. Unlike the others Donsebtis was calm with a knowing smile.
' he knew it ' Kairo sais
Locked into the middle of water with all this dangerous criminals will have triggered a stronger reaction no matter the individual.
This raised several questions in Kairo's heart. Why would they do something like this? Was it the change in plan they were talking about.
Glancing at Nyx—whom he was currently holding by the shoulder—Kairo felt unease.
In her state, fighting was not even an option until she was healed.
"How many prisoners do we have?" she asked in a frail voice.
For security reasons, the number of prisoners had been kept secret. Only the captains were aware of that, including Camilla.
Kairo was certain it was because if the officers knew the number, it could have affected their mental state—which would have been bad for the mission.
"Stop moving and stay quiet," Kairo said with a frown.
"I want to know," she added. Staying still was not like her at all. Even if she could not move, she was never going to stop.
At this point, there was nothing more to hide, and Donsentos didn't hesitate.
"On the first level, we have a hundred grade-two criminals. On the second level, where we are, there are well fifty grade-three criminals. And on the last level below us, we have fifteen grade-four criminals."
"That's… how many already?" an engineer asked.
Any other day his question would have been reason for days of mockery but not today.
Not that he couldn't do some simple math, but at the moment, their brains were like on pause.
They were in a sinking submarine—with prisoners now free, roaming all over the place. It was to be noted they were Card Mage officers; they had contributed to these prisoners being arrested and detained. They could just imagine what would happen to them if they got caught in between.
"165 to be exact," Kairo said, releasing his worry in a deep breath. Snow-like white air escaped his mouth.
"The submarine's damage level has reached the 38% mark. What do we do, Donsentos? Should we attempt to repair it? If we don't, the prisoners will all die—with us included," an engineer asked.
This was actually the most pressing issue at hand. If it wasn't dealt with, it didn't matter whether they were prisoners or Card Mage officers—they would all sink here. Kairo too was waiting for an answer, when Donsentos simply smiled.
"I must admit I didn't trust Danzan at first. He felt too chaotic and careless for me," Donsentos said, his voice carrying something like a hint of admiration. "But he is good. Really good. We will let the submarine sink. That's actually our best bet. This is because we have a special chamber equipped with reinforced rooms in which we can all hide until the reinforcements from above come to take us."
After listening to his words, Kairo's mind illuminated. Everything became clear now.
"If my guesses are correct, all the prisoner cells will be equipped with the same sort of chamber. Releasing the prisoners now makes all the sense," Kairo said.
''The prisoner for which Rellion and his card master are here is already with Danzan, going for the safe chamber. My job is to regroup all the latecomers and cause as much damage to the submarine as we can to accelerate its sinking. Get ready, mushrooms—we need to smash this metallic coffin into pieces.''
Kairo was left speechless when he analyzed what all of this meant.
The engineers behind the submarine were not fools. They had envisaged the submarine could sink if something went wrong.
Thus, these chambers had probably been included in the prisoner cells.The reasoning behind Danzan's plan played in releasing the prisoners after the sinking of the submarine.
When Kairo and the others would hide in their own chamber, the prisoners would be forced into two choices: either sink to death with the submarine or willingly return to their golden cages.
Kairo figured out that releasing the prisoners also served another purpose—it was to stall for time while he escorted the target of the enemy to their own safe chamber. This way, all the prisoners stayed with him and Rellion, and his people would leave empty-handed.
Actually, Danzan had felt something was off from the very beginning when the murders had started. Thus, he had envisaged what could be the worst-case scenario. One didn't need to be a genius to know it was the submarine sinking and the prisoners getting freed. From there, he devised a plan just in case. This is how things ended up being this way.
''The safe chamber... I thought they had abandoned the project, feeling it was too risky,'' Camilla asked, doubt evident in her voice. But too excited about their possible way out, no one noticed.
''Well, get your cards ready. It is not impossible we meet some resistance on the way. Frankly speaking, it would be ideal. I feel my muscles a little sore and frustration is killing me,'' Donsentos said. Unlike Kairo or Nyx, he had only been in a fight with Danzan, and that was not even a full fight since he was still under mind control. All he wanted at the moment was to beat the first person he saw.
''Take this healing booster. It should help—at least long enough for us to reach the safe pod,'' Kairo said. He took out the little bottle from his belt pocket and handed it to her. Nyx didn't stand on ceremony and took it without fear. She trusted him, her eyes seemed to say.
Holding Nyx by the shoulder, Kairo and the others moved rapidly.
''Smash... smash... smash everything!'' Donsentos was like a madman.
After activating the Inquisitor Staff card, he wielded a blinding arc of light in his hand with terrifying ease. Each time they advanced, he would send a swing into the cuirass of the submarine walls, deepening the damage and increasing the water infiltration.
The other offices joined the fray. Another officer summoned a card called Plasma Blast. Each time he waved it out, the water would condense into a beam of light that traveled at the speed of light. The submarine walls would bend upon every impact. It wasn't enough to shatter it like Donsentos did, but it created enough damage.
Another officer flipped two cards in his hand and communicated with the circuitry of the void. From his left side, from within his fingers, a sword of flames was created. And on the right was a little flame dagger instead. Each time he used the sword, the flames would shoot out in a wide arc, landing squarely into the submarine walls. But the strangest thing was, he didn't have to reposition himself or whatsoever—just by switching arms, the little dagger transformed into the massive sword, while the sword turned into the dagger, and he repeated the strike. This way, he could continuously strike.
''Complementary cards. Sword Cry and Dagger Cry,'' Nyx commented in a weak voice.
Kairo smiled in amazement. It was the first time Kairo saw so many offensive cards in action.
He wasn't clueless about complementary cards. Like their name implied, these were cards that functioned in tandem. These cards had distinct effects alone, but had a combined effect when used together—making them an unstoppable force in tandem rather than alone.
''Keep up the good work. We are well past the 45% damage level,'' Camilla said from behind.
It wasn't a coincidence most of the officers on board had offensive-type cards, Kairo thought. Fabian had warned him they might have needed firepower—probably for such cases. Kairo couldn't take part in the 'smashing' of the submarine since he still needed to take care of Nyx and his own wounds.
The water kept rising with each passing second. When Kairo and his group reached the third floor, it was already at the level of their knees, making it harder and harder for them to progress in it.