Phantom tilted his head to avoid Hera’s Iron fist and used Hera’s arm to launch himself in the air, avoiding Gelly’s sweeping kick. He spun, caught the falling knives from his pocket, and threw them to five random enemies. “Weak,” he chuckled.

Whilst in the air, a blazing icicle empowered by wind magic was sure to collide with him. He widened his eyes… and smirked afterward. The icicle went through his body. However, Phantom disappeared with only traces of smoke left.

“Nice teamwork,” Phantom muttered behind the three prisoners who cooperated in the attack and stabbed them. “...However, it wasn’t fun. Was this a high-profile prison? What’s with the rusty hands?” Phantom danced with the breeze, avoiding all projectiles and parrying all physical attacks.

Gelly hardened her body and followed up a body tackle to Phantom. “How long have you been here? I’ve recorded decades since we last used our abilities.”

Phantom stepped over Gelly, flipped in the air, and kicked Gelly’s nape. “Skill Issue,” Phantom boasted. Gelly flew forward with additive speed and hit a wall head first. Phantom murmured, “Eight more extras. A single strong primate stood, and another bumped the walls. Are you just going to stare at me?”

The remaining prisoners stepped back as they knew the power difference. At any second, Phantom can slit the back of their necks. “I told you, there’s no retreating,” Phantom announced. “You should be brave enough to label yourself as strong. That’s no fun, so disappointing.”

“Can’t you just let us go? If you’re looking for fun, this is no circus,” Hera shouted.

“I never found the most satisfying place filled with clowns up until now,” Phantom said as he effortlessly murdered the other eight prisoners with only teleporting thrice. “Why do criminals live? They already had their last job done.”

“I have something to ask you,” Hera, fully wounded, halted with a stance, “How are you and Guinelle related?”

Phantom flinched and pinched his chin. “What did she tell you?”

“I wished she said something. I can only trust my falcon eyes to conclude that you’re all behind this.”

“I see,” Phantom laughed. “A pea-brained muscle like you can never understand the bigger picture. It all lies within subjectivity, like how an artist paints his masterpiece. As for the Veiled Paradox, this is only an art in progress.”

“Do you think splattering away blood makes you a painter? And you didn’t answer my question yet.”

“Who am I to answer you? After all, you’re only—”

An impulse made Phantom turn back, only knowing that Gelly launched herself from his blind spot. Hera also dug his foot below the ground and jumped towards him with lightning speed. Phantom smirked, knowing that he could escape his way out.

He teleported himself in the air. However, he didn’t expect that the two archenemies would team up. Gelly clasped her hand like she intended to catch Hera. As Hera stepped on Gelly’s palm, Gelly threw her towards the Phantom.

Hera gripped Phantom's neck as they collided with the ceiling and fell to the ground. Cornering Phantom with her body, Hera clenched her fiery fists and muttered, “I only have three seconds.”

In those three seconds, Hera showered Phantom’s face with hundreds of heavy punches. Phantom groaned with a smile on his swelling face. In the last millisecond, Hera held his mask and slammed his head on the ground. An impact happened, however, Phantom already teleported to the second floor, sitting in the railings. Hera still grabbed his mask while revealing Phantom's handsome face in his early adult years.

“Tsk! How dare a musclehead figure it out,” Phantom growled, gritting his teeth. He pressed a button on his ear and spoke.

“Lunatic, aren’t you fond of leaks? … Somebody told me that I’m related to you. Aren’t you blowing covers? … Never mind, patch me up. I tripped myself… No, I’m not… Thanks for being kind. I’m glad Virtual Pigeon didn’t see my face… Shit… Just so you know, I’m not indebted to you. This is only a scratch…”

The call dropped. Both Hera and Gelly tilted their heads, identifying who he was talking to. Phantom’s body glowed green, and his wounds were patched up like no incident happened. His face appeared to be in his 20s, contrasting the fighting experience that he showed.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

“Who are you talking to? Are you an idiot?” Gelly asked.

“Is that Guinelle?” Hera asked.

“Unfortunately, she didn’t mention any of you gorillas. I never expected the power of your friendship. I’m setting away now and hoping that I’ll encounter you two soon.” Phantom flicked his fingers and vanished with the shadows.

“Wait!” Hera shouted. Flooded with questions, she bowed her head. When she gazed at Gelly, she asked, “Do you still wanna fight?”

“Tsk! You’re weak,” Gelly replied. “I’m going to catch up to that arrogant stickman instead. I still need to get even.” She reverted her skin to normal and walked towards the exit.

Hera turned back, and muttered with her eyebrows withdrawing, “Quimora…”

****

Quimora thought,

A creature born into a cruel existence… From the moment I drew my first breath, the world despised me. Memories of my childhood are lost in the mists of oblivion, my fifth year marking the awakening of my consciousness. I was thrust into a world where I was the daughter of a noble family on the brink of losing its status. Political machinations had brought our business to ruin, leaving us on the precipice of bankruptcy.

Driven by a desperate desire to save my family, I made a decision that would forever alter the course of my life. I volunteered to become the bride of the empire's prince, a decision I made without the knowledge or consent of my parents, who would have undoubtedly objected. This was the only way to appease our hunger, which had tormented us for countless weeks.

I stepped foot into the castle as a bride candidate in disguise, only to find myself earning bruises every day. I lived as a servant, with soup as my only sustenance. My meager earnings were not enough to save my family. The desire to escape gnawed at me, but the fear of betraying the empire held me captive.

Even until the incident five years ago served as a constant reminder of my helplessness. I stood paralyzed with trembling legs, watching as events unfolded beyond my control. Guilt consumed me, leading me to believe that I did not deserve to live and that escape was nothing more than an illusion. Hope became an intangible concept, and beliefs seemed pointless in the face of my inability to shape my future.

I shouldn’t be living. I deserve this. Escape is just an illusion. Hope is imaginary. What about Entropy? Beliefs are pointless. I can’t even control my own future.

Back to the present, Quimora didn’t move an inch from Macy since there’s no point. The moment the man attacked Quimora, clangs of metal repeatedly echoed around her. Slowly, she gazed at the thick transparent yellow glass that deflected every flail’s attack. The man hissed and retreated. “What sorcery did you do!?”

“A saint’s purpose is to protect,” a voice of a familiar girl replied. Quimora turned back and saw the face of a friend that saved her once. She held a broom upside down, and its soft ends glowed like fire. She still wears her prisoner shirt, however, her wounds vanished.

“Guinelle…” Quimora muttered.

“A saint’s liability is to stabilize the balance of morals,” Guinelle declared and pointed her broom toward the man. “Damietta, an impure monster of torture, you throw off the balance. You shall be punished.”

“Am I that famous now, even the Wicked Luna of the infamous Veiled Paradox appeared to me with a broom and without a mask?” Damietta replied. “You guys need to pay the price for putting me here, especially that manipulative prankster, Nebula!”

Guinelle approached Macy and tapped her broom to Macy’s wounds. Macy glowed green as the hole in her chest regenerated.

Guinelle muttered, “The right way is not always the popular and the easy way… It was the morals. The dull concept of evil has always been an endless pitfall. Those who drowned too deep don't need to come up to breathe. Instead, they should stay glued underneath. It was the wish of the souls you tormented.”

Damietta spun his flail targeting Guinelle. The moment he threw an attack, a circular barrier surrounded him. The collision from the barrier launched the flail back to Damietta’s hand. Blood splattered as his elbow lost connection to his body. Numbness before pain, he didn’t realize what happened until he raised his arm.

“AARGHH!!! How dare you!” Damietta screamed in pain. “You’re not a saint! This isn’t what you’re supposed to do! You should–”

“You talk too much,” Guinelle flicked her finger, and in a blink of an eye, the barrier surrounding Damietta shrank to an egg-sized ball. The ball pulsed in pressure until Guinelle released the barrier. A fountain in red painted the walls and even the outer covering of the barrier protecting Quimora. “... That’s immoral.”

“Guinelle…” Quimora stuttered, trembling in fear of being crushed after seeing Guinelle’s power. However, Guinelle didn’t emit any malice as she approached her.

“You’re chickening again. If that kind of person approaches, you should fight!” Guinelle scolded. “You can’t trust anyone in this world, and you only have yourself to protect you.”

“I… I have no power… to stop this chaos… I don’t know why I’m here…” Quimora cried.

“Nothing will change if you let cowardice eat you. It will only bring you disaster. There’s nothing else you should believe other than my words for you.”

A groan alarmed Quimora in front of her. Macy struggled to open her eyes after the feeling of sudden pain vanished. “Quimora…”

“Macy!” Quimora hugged her and wailed. “I’m glad you’re fine. I don’t know what else to do.”

Macy smiled, embraced her back, and rubbed her back. She gazed at Guinelle and asked, “Is this your doing?”

“Good deeds are blessings that should be repaid,” Guinelle replied.

“I’m glad that you’re here… but why? You didn’t return to the cell after the activities.”

Guinelle extended her hand to Macy. “We don’t have time, I need you two to cooperate with me. We need something to retrieve before we set away.”