Meanwhile, the armed men originally guarding the prison interior rushed out one after another upon hearing the huge commotion outside.

  Staring at the chaotic scene before them, they were all stunned.

  "What’s going on?! ""What do you mean ‘what’s going on’—we’re under attack!""They’re here——!!!"

  Ahead, in the now-clear passage where obstacles had been swept away, a somewhat petite figure was slowly approaching.

  As she drew near, she raised her wand, and the tip glowed with a scarlet light.

  "Watch out! Dodge quickly——"

  In the next moment, a scorching wave of flame assaulted the armed men.

  "Ah——!"

  In an instant, several men who couldn’t dodge in time fell to the ground, their bodies engulfed in flames.

  "Dammit——! How dare this person break in alone!!! "

  Hulim’s actions completely enraged them. Glimmers of magic lit up in the underground space.

  Boom! Boom! Boom......

  Countless explosions rang out, shaking the entire underground.

  Yet Hulim dodged all the attacks with agile movements.

  But seemingly overwhelmed by the dense barrages, she "had to" retreat.

  "Don’t let her get away! Chase her——!!!"

  In an instant, most of the armed men stationed here chased after her, leaving only three or four guards behind.

  As the sounds of battle faded into the distance, peace returned to the area around the prison cells.

  At that moment, a man wearing a robe similar to the armed men approached.

  "Hmm? ""Why are you back?"

  The remaining guards, thinking he was a comrade, asked in confusion.

  "Ah...... I got seriously injured by that person accidentally. I can’t keep chasing."

  Arthur explained casually.

  "Really? "

  The guards looked skeptical—Arthur didn’t seem seriously injured at all.

  "Wait, I don’t think I’ve heard your voice before?"

  One of them finally sensed something was wrong.

  But by then, Arthur had already drawn close.

  He lifted his head.

  "Of course you haven’t—we’re meeting for the first time! Flame Sword——!!!"

  "Bad! ""This guy’s also an intruder!"

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  The guards were shocked, but it was too late to react......

  ......

  Inside the prison cell.

  "Ugh......"

  Miko, lying on the ground, slowly opened her eyes.

  "Where is this......"

  As her consciousness returned, she suddenly recalled what had happened before she fainted.

  "Wait, I remember being attacked by someone extremely dangerous!"

  Miko tried to stand up immediately, but as soon as she exerted force, she realized her hands and feet were tied.

  "——Troublesome!"

  She channeled her magic, trying to cast a spell.

  But the moment the magic flowed, it hit an obstacle and failed completely.

  "Dammit! What’s going on!"

  Miko strained her neck to look at the restraints.

  "It’s an anti-magic bracelet......"

  Realizing there was no way to break free, Miko temporarily gave up struggling and surveyed her surroundings.

  "......Where exactly is this place?"

  It looked like a prison, but there were no windows—only faint light emanating from magic lamps on the walls. Looking around, she saw other cells holding people in Manacos student uniforms, all unconscious.

  "Sister Miko, Sister Miko......"

  A voice came from behind her.

  "Hmm? That voice......"

  Miko twisted her body forcefully, rolling over to face the other direction.

  She saw Alice and Clea, who were also in the same cell.

  Like her, both were tied up—but Alice and Clea weren’t wearing anti-magic bracelets, and only Alice’s hands were bound.

  Alice had already woken up, while Clea was still unconscious.

  "It’s you two! Are you okay?"

  Alice shook her head.

  "Sister Miko, Aunt Clea and I are fine."

  "That’s a relief. At least those guys didn’t feed us sleeping pills or anything......"

  From the unnatural unconsciousness of the other Manacos students in nearby cells, it was clear they had been drugged.

  Whether lucky or unlucky, though she’d been knocked out by someone who seemed like the leader, he hadn’t bothered to drug the three of them.

  Was he so confident we couldn’t escape......

  "Ugh......"

  Just then, Clea slowly woke up.

  "Where is this...... Right! Alice! Alice——!"

  As soon as she regained consciousness, Clea shouted in panic.

  "Aunt Clea, I’m here."

  Seeing Alice beside her, Clea let out a sigh of relief.

  "Thank goodness you’re okay......"

  "Glad you’re awake, Clea, but the situation isn’t exactly good right now."

  "......You’re right!"

  Reminded by Miko, Clea finally realized their predicament.

  "What do we do now? Where are we? Can we escape? I wonder if anyone will come to save us......"

  Clea worriedly pondered these questions.

  Miko shifted her body slightly on the ground.

  "Instead of thinking about unrealistic things, we should focus on saving ourselves. Dammit...... If only I didn’t have this bracelet!"

  "I’m sorry, Sister Miko. If my legs could move, I could at least help you......"

  Alice said apologetically.

  "It’s not your fault, Alice. Besides, even if your feet could move, your hands are tied behind your back—what could you do?"

  "I can try to untie your ropes!"

  Clea spoke up.

  "Even though our hands are tied behind us, our fingers can still move. With a little effort, I should be able to untie the knots."

  Miko thought for a moment, then shook her head.

  "No. The main problem is the anti-magic bracelet—it has a lock, and we can’t open it now. Even if we untie the ropes, we can’t break through the cell door. If we get caught, we’ll probably get into trouble."

  That’s right—even if untying the ropes made movement easier, without any combat power, the three of them couldn’t escape from prison.

  If those criminals came to patrol and saw them scurrying around in the cell, one could only imagine what would happen.

  Getting beaten up would be the least of their worries......

  But with that, the three of them had no ideas left. They could only sit idly in the cell.

  They didn’t know how much time had passed.

  Boom——!

  A loud noise suddenly came from outside.

  "Hmm? That sound——!"

  Miko pricked up her ears and listened carefully.

  Then she heard the shouts of a large group of people, followed by successive booms—as if a fierce battle was taking place.

  "M-Ms. Miko, what’s happening outside?"

  Clea asked anxiously, shifting her body to shield Alice behind her.

  "......It sounds like there’s a battle outside.""Maybe someone’s breaking in!"

  "A battle?"

  Clea’s eyes lit up.

  "Could it be that someone’s come to save us!""Really, Aunt Clea? Is it Brother Arthur coming to rescue us?"

  "Wait...... The sound of the battle seems to be getting farther away."

  Silence fell over the cell, and the three of their hearts rose to their throats.

  Could it be that they weren’t here to save them? Or had the attack failed......

  Before long, the sound of battle disappeared completely.

  A sense of disappointment gradually crept into their hearts.

  "Did it...... fail?"

  Just as Miko thought this.

  Boom——!

  An explosion suddenly sounded from nearby.