I stared at my brother for a moment.

“Emmerich?” I said. “What are you doing here?”

He scowled at me.

“Rescuing you, of course.” He said, before raising an eyebrow at me. “Though, it appears you freed yourself without our aid. How did you manage that? I heard that the dungeons down here were powerful enough to contain Aura Masters and Grand Sages.”

“Divine power.” I answered.

Emmerich’s eyes lit up with understanding.

“Ah, I see.” He said. “I almost forgot that you’re the heir to House Kaltbrand.”

I nodded.

“Where are we?” I asked. “And how did you know to find me here?”

Emmerich’s expression turned serious.

“It’s a bit of a story,” he said, “And we don’t have much time. All I can say is that this is Blackhold, a prison built to contain criminals who break the Tower of Magic’s laws, as well as enemies of the Tower.”

The Tower of Magic had its own prison? I hadn’t heard of that. Then again, I supposed that the Tower of Magic wouldn’t want people to know about it.

“We should hurry,” one of Emmerich’s companions said. He sounded like a man. “The guards won’t be distracted for long.”

I gave Emmerich a questioning look.

“A force comprised of knights from both the Order of the Golden Rose and the Order of the Coldsteel Blade are keeping most of the prison guards occupied.” He explained. “However, it won’t be long before they send someone down to check on this place.”

I let out a derisive snort.

“Let them come.” I said. “I’m in the mood for violence.”

Emmerich’s other companion, the one who hadn’t spoken yet, shook their head.

“You may be an Aura Master, but you’re in no condition to fight.” He said, also in a man’s voice. “It’s only a matter of time before Tower Master Katarina arrives. We’re better off fleeing before that happens.”

I hesitated, before nodding. He was right. I couldn’t let my emotions get the better of me. My mana reserves were low, and I was tired from using my coldfire. While I could hold my own against weaker foes, I wasn’t a match for Tower Master Katarina in my current condition.

“Lead the way then.” I said, gesturing to the trio. “You know this place better than I do.”

“Excellent.” Emmerich said. “Follow me.” He turned towards the exit, but then stopped. “Oh, before I forget. Let me get introductions out of the way.” He gestured to the figure on my right. “This is my master, Gerolf. It’s thanks to him that we even made it this far.”

I gave Gerolf a bow.

“Thank you,” I said, “I will never forget this.”

Gerolf grunted and jerked a thumb towards Emmerich.

“Think nothing of it.” He said in a gruff voice. “I only helped because this one begged me to.”

Despite his demeanor, I heard affection in Gerolf’s voice. It appeared that he treasured Emmerich, though he pretended otherwise.

“This is my friend, Lord Christian Lehr of House Lehr.” Emmerich said, gesturing to the figure on my left.

“I’m here because Emmerich promised me my weight in mana crystals.” Lord Christian said.

I nodded at him.

“And you shall have them.” I said.

Most of the mana crystals within the Reichwald Empire came from the Barrens, so finding enough of them to pay Lord Christian wouldn’t be difficult.

“I’ll hold you to that.” Lord Christian said.

Gerolf gestured to the exit.

“Now that we’re done with all the introductions,” he said, “Let us get out of here.”

We all nodded and followed Emmerich, who took the lead. Along the way, Lord Christian explained to me that Blackhold was an underground prison that consisted of four levels. Each level was connected to the others by a central staircase that led to the surface.

The lowest level was reserved for the most powerful of the Tower of Magic’s enemies, as well as those who had committed the most heinous crimes. The upper levels were for lesser enemies, or those whose crimes weren’t as serious. I, of course, had been imprisoned in the bottom level.

As we ascended the staircase, I expected us to go all the way to the top. However, contrary to my expectations, we stopped at the entrance to the second level. I gave Emmerich a questioning look.

“There is a hidden entrance in one of the cells that leads to a secret passageway out of Blackhold,” he explained. “It was built in case the Tower of Magic ever lost control of the prison and needed to retake it.”

I blinked at him in surprise.

“Is it all right to reveal such a thing to an outsider like me?” I asked. “Or to use it to break a prisoner out of this place?”

“Not everyone in the Tower of Magic agrees with Tower Master Katarina’s actions.” Gerolf said, shaking his head. “There is a reason why the Tower of Magic prefers to remain neutral when it comes to politics. It causes nothing but headaches, and distracts us from our true purpose. The last thing we need is to make enemies of House Kaltbrand and House Guld.” He glanced at me. “Of course, I hope that you’ll keep the existence and the location of the secret passage to yourself.”

I nodded.

“I won’t tell a soul.” I promised.

Gerolf let out a grunt, before turning away from me. Emmerich threw open the entrance to the second level. It led to a guard station similar to the one at the bottom level. Inside were two tower magicians, who I presumed were the guards for the second level. They must not have known what was going on, because they were both slow to react. By the time they realized what was going on, it was already too late. Emmerich, Gerolf, and Lord Christian subdued them before they even had a chance to fight back. I didn’t have to do anything.

After subduing the guards and knocking them out, Emmerich rummaged around in their robes and found a ring of keys in one of their pockets.

“I’m surprised that a prison owned by the Tower of Magic uses such mundane methods.” I said. “Why not use magic for everything?”

“That’s because most of the prisoners here are magicians.” Emmerich said with a chuckle. “Ironically, this means it’s easier to keep them contained using mundane means rather than magical ones. Most magicians know how to break magical locks and restraints. Few know how to deal with mundane ones.”

I mulled it over for a bit, before nodding. That made a certain amount of sense.

The layout of the second level was identical to that of the bottom level. Emmerich took one of the keys from the ring, and opened the thick wooden door which led to the prison cells. The four of us went through the door and down the stairs, ending up in a hallway lined with metal doors.

Emmerich’s master, Gerolf, took the lead at this point. He brought us to one of the metal doors at the end of the hallway. Emmerich opened it using one of the keys he pilfered off the guards. On the other side was a prison cell similar to the one I had been in: a stone chamber lit up by a single mana crystal lamp with a magic circle carved into the floor. However, the magic circle here was far less complex than the one for my cell.

Stolen novel; please report.

Gerolf rushed to the far wall of the prison cell and examined it.

“Where is… Ah! Here it is!”

Gerolf pressed a spot on the wall, which I realized was a concealed button. It had been so well hidden, I hadn’t noticed it even with my enhanced senses. The moment Gerolf pushed the button, a grinding sound filled the prison cell and a part of the wall swung inward to reveal the secret passage: a stone tunnel leading off into the distance.

“Inside,” Gerolf said, “Hurry!”

We all entered the secret passage. The moment everyone was inside, Gerolf closed the door behind us. It was a little disorienting at first, since it was pitch dark inside the secret passage, but Emmerich conjured a ball of light to illuminate our path.

The journey through the secret passage was uneventful. Despite this, or maybe because of it, my nerves grew taut with tension. We had almost escaped from Blackhold, but we weren’t in the clear yet. There were a number of things that could still go wrong, so it was too early to relax and grow complacent. I remained alert, just in case.

After traveling for an indeterminable amount of time, the secret passage led to a narrow spiral staircase leading up. At the top of a staircase was a wooden trapdoor. Emmerich tried to open the trap door. However, he couldn’t. No matter how hard he strained, the trap door refused to budge. He turned towards me with an embarrassed expression on his face.

“The trap door is hidden by a thick layer of earth,” he explained. “However, as you can see, I’m too weak to open it. Wulfram, would you mind?”

I gave my brother an amused smile, before I pushed the trap door open with ease. Emmerich sighed and slumped his shoulders at that. I went through first, before I helped the others up.

The trap door led to a small clearing within a dark and misty forest. Perhaps it was because we were in the midst of an escape, but the trees appeared dark and sinister to my eyes. The smell of wet earth and vegetation filled the air. It was warm outside. After the cool and even temperature of Blackhold, I found it a little unpleasant.

“All right,” Emmerich said. “We’re almost there. We just need to regroup with the others at the meeting point and we’ll be set. Not even Tower Master Katarina would attack a group of knights.” He grinned at me. “Not with an Aura Master at our side.”

I opened my mouth to respond, but another voice spoke out before I could. A chill ran down my spine when I realized that it belonged to Tower Master Katarina.

“Indeed.” She called out. “Which is why I plan on dealing with you all right here and now.”

Acting without thinking, I pushed Gerolf and Lord Christian aside before tackling Emmerich to the ground. Moments later, several spears made from silver light flew through the air where we had been. Afterwards, I jumped to my feet and summoned my Aura, before facing the direction where the silver spears had come from. Tower Master Katarina hovered in the air above the clearing.

“I see that you’ve decided to go right for the kill.” I said, no longer bothering with honorifics.

Tower Master Katarina snorted.

“Oh, don’t be so dramatic, Lord Wulfe.” She said. “None of those would have killed you or your rescuers. At worst, they would have crippled you.”

I narrowed my eyes at her.

“That isn’t much better.” I said.

The others pushed themselves to their feet and stood beside me.

“Gerolf,” Tower Master Katarina said, “I should have known you were behind this. You always spoiled your disciple.”

“I don’t think you’re in any position to criticize me for that, Tower Master.” Gerolf said in a wry voice. “Not when your excuse for starting this whole mess was your own disciple.”

Tower Master Katarina nodded after a moment.

“Fair enough.” She said, before turning towards Lord Christian. “However, I am surprised to see you here, Lord Christian; surprised, and disappointed. I expected better of you.”

Lord Christian shrugged.

“I am surprisingly susceptible to bribes.” He said in a nonchalant tone. “Besides, I like Emmerich. Interesting things keep happening around him.”

Tower Master Katarina let out an annoyed sigh.

“Enough chit chat.” She said. “I’ll keep this short. Surrender. The four of you are not powerful enough to beat me, not with Lord Wulfe in his current condition. Even a blind man would see that he is on his last legs. However, you are all strong enough that I can’t afford to hold back. I can’t guarantee your safety. You may even die. So, make the smart choice and surrender. You can’t win, so why take the risk?”

“Or you could let us go, Tower Master Katarina,. Emmerich pointed out. “There is no reason to make an enemy of both House Kaltbrand and House Guld. I’m sure Wulfram and I can convince our parents to forgive you, after receiving some suitable compensation, of course. We don’t need to fight.”

Tower Master Katarina narrowed her eyes at my brother.

“I don’t want to hear that from you.” she said. “None of this would have happened if you had just stayed put, like I wanted you to.”

Emmerich let out an exaggerated sigh.

“Well,” he said, “I tried.”

The moment the words left his mouth, Tower Master Katarina reared back and let out a pained grunt. Meanwhile, Emmerich stared at her with a look of intense concentration on his face. It took me a moment to realize that my brother had attacked her. Unlike most magicians, Emmerich specialized in mental magic. That meant his attacks were also mental in nature.

“You little-!” Tower Master Katarina roared. However, she reared back again and let out another pained grunt.

I looked over to see Gerolf also staring at Tower Master Katarina with a look of intense concentration on his face. I decided to take advantage of this opportunity and leapt up to attack Tower Master Katarina with my sword, utilizing my limited amount of mana to enhance my strength. At the same time, Lord Christian summoned several balls of fire and launched them at her.

Tower Master Katarina snarled and summoned several silver spears. She sent half of them to deal with Lord Christian’s fireballs, while she launched the other half at me. Despite the situation, a part of me admired Tower Master Katarina’s mental fortitude. Facing mental attacks from two Sages, while also fending off two other attackers, was no easy task, even for a Grand Sage.

Tower Master Katarina’s silver spears tore through Lord Christian’s fireballs, before speeding towards Lord Christian himself. He summoned a magical barrier to block them, though it was clear this strained him. Meanwhile, I used my coldfire to create footholds for myself and dodged most of the silver spears heading towards me. I parried and deflected the rest using my sword, before rushing towards Tower Master Katarina. However, just as I reached her and swung my sword, she summoned a magical barrier around her entire body.

Unlike most magical barriers, which were purely defensive in nature, this one consisted of countless tiny blades made from silver light. They blocked my sword, before they shot out towards me. I scrambled back to avoid them, which wasn’t easy since I needed to create footholds using my coldfire in order to remain in the air.

Tower Master Katarina took advantage of this opening to launch her own attack. She summoned a ball of silver light and shot it towards me. I dodged it. However, just as I thought the silver ball would pass by me, it exploded into even more tiny blades that peppered my Aura. None of them broke through, though the attack drained my mana even further.

At this rate, it would be just a matter of time before I ran out. After that, we would lose. I wasn’t strong enough to face Tower Master Katarina with my physical strength alone, and I didn’t think the others were strong enough to face her without me. We needed to end this fight soon.

Tower Master Katarina harried and harassed me by summoning dozens of silver spears and exploding silver balls. I dodged them all, while waiting for an opportunity to make my own move. I planned on taking a gamble and ending things with one attack. Risky, yes. However, it wasn’t as if we had much choice.

Lord Christian tried to attack Tower Master Katarina, but she fended him off with ease, even while keeping most of her attention on me. Once again, I found myself impressed by the woman.

“Emmerich,” I called out, after I barely managed to dodge a silver spear, “I need an opening.”

“Understood.” My brother replied.

He let out a roar and Tower Master Katarina screamed, clutching her head. Blood dripped down her nose. I didn’t know what Emmerich did, but it clearly had an effect. However, it must have taken a toll on my brother, since he fell to the ground right after. Still, it gave me the opening I needed.

I rushed towards Tower Master Katarina. Both Gerolf and Lord Christian intensified their own attacks, also taking advantage of the opening that Emmerich made. I didn’t bother swinging my sword. Instead, I wielded my coldfire, pouring all of my remaining strength into one final attack.

The moment my coldfire came into contact with Tower Master Katarina’s barrier, it started freezing the latter. She gave me a stunned look, as if she couldn’t believe what was going on. After a moment, she regained her composure and tried to break away. However, before she could do anything, Gerolf let out a roar of his own.

Tower Master Katarina screamed again and more blood gushed from her nose. I took advantage of this to completely freeze her magic barrier, imprisoning her inside it. This must have affected her ability to fly, since she fell towards the ground. A moment later, I started falling as well. I had no more strength left, which meant I couldn’t maintain the footholds that allowed me to remain airborne.

I plummeted to the ground face first. However, I felt neither fear nor panic. While I didn’t have the strength to move, I still had mana and my Aura still protected me. Even if I fell from a greater height, I would be fine. However, a strong breeze hit me from below and slowed my fall. Moments later, I landed on the ground without issue. I tried to move, but my body refused to listen to me, even when I used mana.

I heard footsteps approaching, before someone rolled me onto my back. Lord Christian stared down at me with a worried expression on his face.

“Oh good, you’re still alive.” He said, relieved. “If something had happened to you, Emmerich would have killed me.”

I forced my lips to move, though it took tremendous effort on my part.

“Thank… you.” I said, my voice just a whisper.

I would have been fine even without his aid, but there was no reason to tell him that.

“Just double my payment,” Lord Christian said, grinning, “And I’ll consider us even.”

I gave him the slightest of nods. It wasn’t as if the Barrens suffered from a shortage of mana crystals.

“Tower… Master?” I asked.

Lord Christian grimaced and shook his head.

“She’s gone.” He said. “She used a warp scroll just before she hit the ground.” He chuckled. “For some reason, she brought her frozen barrier with her.” His mirth faded away. “However, we should get out of here. It’s just a matter of time before she returns with reinforcements, and none of us are in any condition to fight. Can you move?”

I shook my head. Lord Christian sighed.

“In that case, I’ll have to carry everyone to the meeting point. Even with magic, that will be difficult.” He snorted. “I changed my mind. I want triple.”

Lord Christian’s mercenary attitude amused me.

“Very… well.”

Lord Christian said something in response, but I started to fade from consciousness and I didn’t him. Moments later, I fell into darkness.