Boom! Boom!

The battle in the training ground intensified. The Aerithrans, despite their initial successes, were starting to falter. The guards and Sand Devils, reinforced by fresh troops, pressed their attack with renewed vigour.

"We can't hold out much longer," one of the Aerithrans gasped, his breath ragged from exertion. "We're outnumbered and outmatched."

"And we can't summon our Titan Avatars," another added, filled with despair. "We're too malnourished to generate enough Aether Steam."

"This is all Sorah's fault," a third Aerithran spat, his words laced with bitterness. "He led us into this trap. He promised us freedom, but he delivered us to our deaths."

A murmur of agreement rippled through the group. Their initial hope and determination were fading, replaced by a sense of hopelessness and resentment.

"Silence, you fools!" Elara's voice cut through their despair. "Mister Sorah is our only hope. We must trust him."

But her words fell on deaf ears. The Aerithrans were too focused on their own survival, too consumed by their fear and anger to listen to reason.

Clap!

Just then, a thunderous roar shook the ground beneath their feet, and a swirling cloud of dust erupted in the centre of the courtyard.

"What the..." one of the Aerithrans stammered, shielding his eyes from the debris.

“You scums!”

Warden Poahf emerged from the dust cloud, letting her anger known. She surveyed the scene with a look of fury as she counted the dead bodies.

"Don't kill them!" She knew Duke Theodore had come from the Capital specifically for the Aerithrans, and allowing her subordinates to continue slaughtering them would only worsen her situation.

"I'm going to put a stop to this futile escape right now!" she yelled, raising her Aether Sabre whip high. "Okami - Condense!"

Whoosh!

The air around her crackled with energy as patches of Aether Steam materialized, twisting and condensing into swirling vortexes. Chunks of earth and stone were drawn into the vortexes, their forms shifting and merging as they were imbued with Poahf's TerraFlow Kana.

Moments later, seven metallic wolves, each the size of a horse, emerged from the swirling mist. Their bodies were sculpted from iron and stone, their eyes glowed with an eerie pink light, and their breath exhaled steaming vapours.

The Sand Devils and Pyro Warriors gasped in awe as they witnessed the manifestation of Warden Poahf's Vayrukumer - the Okami pack. They had heard tales of these fearsome creatures, of their strength and ferocity, and they knew that the Aerithrans stood no chance against them.

"The Okami!" one guard whispered reverently. "The Warden has unleashed her true power."

The Aerithrans, on the other hand, were filled with terror. They had never seen anything like these metallic beasts before, and their instincts screamed at them to flee.

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"What are those things?" one prisoner trembled until he could no longer stand straight..

"They're... they're monsters!" another cried.

Poahf smirked, relishing in their fear. She raised her hand, and the wolves turned their attention to the Aerithrans, eyeing them with a predatory hunger.

"Okami - Howl!" she commanded.

“HAAHOOOOOO!”

The wolves let out a chorus of earsplitting roars that shook the very foundations of the prison. The ground trembled, and the walls vibrated as if they were about to collapse.

Rumble!

Atop Sector E, Duke Theodore stepped out onto the balcony of his guest quarters, drawn by the commotion. He watched in astonishment as a wave of earth and stone rose from the ground around the perimeter of the prison, forming a colossal dome that enclosed the entire facility. The earthen wall then hardened and transformed into a seven-meter-thick layer of impenetrable steel.

Nathor Prison Camp was now truly inescapable.

"Well, well, well," Duke Theodore muttered with a hint of amusement in his voice. "It seems Warden Poahf has a few tricks up her… naughty sleeve after all."

He turned and re-entered his quarters, satisfied that the Aerithran prisoners were now securely contained.

…

“Grrr.”

Poahf whose fury was still simmering, glared at the bewildered Aerithrans who had lost all hope of escape. She gestured for her men to capture them swiftly and bring them before her.

"Line up, you scum!" she barked, sounding just like her howling Vayrukumer.

The Aerithrans, their spirits broken and their bodies trembling with fear, shuffled into a ragged line before the Warden.

"Now," Poahf began while scanning the faces of the prisoners. "Which one of you orchestrated this little... rebellion?"

These individuals before her were too incompetent to have planned and executed such a daring escape on their own. Someone else was behind this, someone with more cunning and audacity.

"It was me!" Daichi suddenly stepped forward, covered in mess accumulated from his little crawl in the drain. He was ringing with false bravado. "I'm the mastermind behind this whole operation! I'm a genius!"

Poahf stared at him with a mixture of amusement and disdain. "You? A genius?" she scoffed. "You're an idiot. Your escape plan failed miserably."

She knew this pipsqueak wasn't the one she was looking for. It had to be someone with more experience, someone with a deeper understanding of the prison's inner workings and the power to manipulate the elements.

Her gaze swept across the line of prisoners once more, and then she noticed it. Sorah wasn't among them.

"Where is he?" she demanded suspiciously. "Where is the old Aerithran?"

Just as she spoke, a powerful gust of wind swept through the courtyard, kicking up a swirling cloud of dust that momentarily obscured everyone's vision. The Aerithran prisoners shielded their eyes, coughing and sputtering as the wind whipped around them.

When the dust settled, they gasped in astonishment. Standing before them, his tattered yellow uniform billowing in the wind, was Sorah. Beside him stood Brokk and the other villagers.

"I am the one you're looking for," Sorah declared, steady and unwavering as he met Warden Poahf's gaze. "And we will be leaving this prison. If you try to stop us, don't blame me for not holding back."

Poahf's eyes narrowed, and a surge of anger washed over her. How dare this old man speak to her with such arrogance? He was a prisoner, a defeated foe, and yet he stood there, defying her authority, and challenging her power.

"Who do you think you are, old man?" she spat. "Look around you. You're surrounded. The favour is in my court!"

She gestured towards the towering steel walls that enclosed the prison, an ironclad reminder of her absolute control. "This is Nathor Prison Camp. No one escapes."

Sorah chuckled dryly and remarked, "Walls and bars cannot contain the wind, Warden Poahf. And they certainly cannot contain the will of a man determined to protect those he cares about."

“Yeah, you show her, Master Sorah!” Shouted Daichi while hopping up and down like an excited bunny.

Sorah ignored his disciple and raised his hand. Next, a Aether Sabre, which had been lying discarded nearby, levitated from the ground and flew into his grasp. The Sabre pulsed with a faint amber glow as Sorah channelled the Sage Curse's energy coupled with his ZenFlow Kana.

Whoosh!

A formidable yellow blade, seared with moving glyphs, condensed and extended from the handle. Sorah pointed the tip at Warden Poahf and said, "Prepare yourselves." His words carried the weight of a gathering storm.