Dreng wakes up, groggy, in a dimly lit room. He attempts to stand up, only to realize that his entire body is bound by a steel chain connected to the ceiling. Struggling to get a better look at his surroundings, a sudden burst of yellow light illuminates the scene. Amara sits in front of him, her gaze fixed upon him while she sits on a wooden chair.
Rage rising, Dreng tries to break free from the chains, but Amara simply leaves the room. After a few moments, Kemuri storms into the room accompanied by Dearen and Amara. "Listen up, bucko. Where the hell did you take Lana?" Kemuri demands.
Dreng glares at Amara, refusing to answer. "I don't answer to you," he huffs, "especially after what you did to my arm... you witch. What have you done?" Dreng checks his arm and realizes it's still intact, despite remembering it being severed. The pain in his shoulder blade lingers, causing his breathing to become heavy. He continues to struggle against the steel chains. "Tell me what you did!" Ignoring Kemuri's presence, Dreng receives a powerful punch to the face.
"If you wanna have a chat with her, then you gotta...". Dreng completely ignores Kemuri's threats and casually says, "Alright, I'll spill the beans on where your white-haired buddy is." Kemuri stands tall, thinking her threats have worked. "But there are 3 conditions."
Kemuri was about to agree to the conditions when Dearen nudges her foot. They exchange a glance, and then she allows Dreng to continue. "First, let me go. Show me the way to your third sensor, and in 3 days, the witch and I will fight in the Capital City of Thraw." Kemuri and Dearen wonder, Huh.
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. Amara simply burst into laughter. "What's so funny?" Dren snapped at Amara. "Nothing, really." She unsheathes her rapier and points it at Dreng. "I hope you'll have more fun next time." She dismantles the chains a few swift cuts. Once again, the two astonished individuals both ponder, huh.
"This wasn't part of the plan," Dearen complains, avoiding eye contact with Amara. "We have everything we need," she remarks. "But if you let him go, they'll find out where we are," Kemuri adds. "I say we finish him off." Amara simply leans back in her chair and stares at Dreng.
"What are you still doing here? Leave." The words hit Dreng a slap. He held back the anger bubbling inside him and instead, punched a hole through the wall. "It's 10 km to your right," Amara clarifies. Dreng shoots one last furious look at Amara before storming out.
Why?" Kemuri and Dearen ask in unison. "He figured out that we know where Lana is. That's why he didn't stick around.". "But why let him go?" Kemuri argues.
"We don't have a vehicle to cover 20 km, so we were planning to take him with us." Amara stands up. "That's too many hours of keeping an eye on an enemy like that."
Kemuri confronts Amara. "You just don't get it. We had the chance to eliminate him and use his corpse as leverage. Not just let him escape so easily."
Amara's reaction to Kemuri's comment is a mix of disappointment and nostalgia. "When you talk like that, not even death can protect you."
Kemuri's anger intensifies as she responds to Amara. "Fine, let's go then," she says, storming out through the new hole-in-the-wall. She aggressively pounds on the walls and mutters in frustration.
"Will you too be able to forgive me, Lana?"