They were the beacons. Their emotions, the whole group of people experiencing distress and hope. It had led Oscar to their hiding spot.

“Take her.” Mila took Isabel in her hands and passed her love to Laura. “I will keep him busy while people get out of the tunnel.” She explained.

With the length and size of the escape path, it was still funnelling people out of the city. There was no place to squeeze past them. They had to be careful upon exiting it, too. They could not draw attention from the city.

It was already dangerous for Oscar to know where they were. If he revealed they had an escape path, it would be the end of them all.

Isabel cramped her hands into Mila’s dirty cloak. She was not letting go. “...can’t…” She pleaded. “...Help…” she offered.

“In your condition?” Mila gently grabbed Isabel’s hand, holding on to her, and freed herself. “When you can’t even keep yourself attached to me like usual?” She gave a rueful smile. “Go. I will follow you soon. Not through here. They must not learn of this tunnel.”

Laura took it as a sign and moved into the tunnel. Mila stoically endured Isabel’s dejected stare until the passage’s darkness finally hid her. Then, the passage collapsed as Laura’s powerful attack tore the walls apart.

The ground shook as the heavy impacts above continued to grow fiercer. Mila feared the hall would collapse as well, but Naran’s people had done a good job in securing this place.

While waiting for Oscar to arrive, Mila masked the destroyed escape path as best as she could. The boy would not be fooled, but she knew she could lure him away.

It was the people who would come after Oscar who worried Mila. She had to buy as much time as possible. Once the boy opened a path inside, she knew the reinforcing Temple’s soldiers would come soon after.

It was a shoddy job, but Mila was out of time. She retreated back to the entrance into the hall and waited. She had to make sure Oscar chased after her. He could not be allowed to follow his senses and open the passage again.

The ceiling exploded. With a roar, Oscar’s dozen tentacles drilled a large hole as he dropped onto the floor. His first reaction was to look at where the passage had been. He sensed the vast amount of emotions gathered that way.

Mila left her unbridled hatred bloom fully, and she blasted the boy with her killing intent.

The sensation made Oscar spin to face Mila. “YOU!” His bloodshot eyes had no reason left in them.

It was a relief. If Oscar had his bearings left, he might have figured out her plan. But as it was, he had no rational thoughts left in his mind.

As Mila began to run, Oscar mindlessly followed his speed even faster than before. His dozen tentacles tore apart everything in his path.

Even as Mila vanished around a corner, Oscar just headed straight for her, ignoring everything. He simply rammed himself into the dirt, using destruction and mindless power to shorten his path.

Mila felt cold sweat run down her back. She had thought to string the boy along, but the display changed her plans. She had lost him in the tunnels before. It would not work a second time.

Even at her full speed, Mila struggled to stay away from the shambles Oscar’s passing made. They shot at her back with great speed - pelting her back.

It hurt. Mila ducked and weaved, avoiding the tentacles, fishing for her figure. More stones reached her as she did.

Mila didn’t have a choice and had to endure. All her attention was on avoiding Oscar’s deadly attacks.

Occasionally, Mila tried to counterattack with well-aimed throws of sharp rocks. Each one of her attempts was swatted away by Oscar’s appendages.

Mila doubted the boy did it consciously. His roars were not what a human would make. Although, sometimes, momentarily, she thought she heard curses being hurled her way along with the rest of the attacks.

Recognising a juncture, Mila turned left. Her target wasn’t far now. She peered into the darkness, jumping over the corpses of a family.

From the wounds, Mila knew Oscar had passed this place before the last time they haunted these tunnels. She occasionally happened upon more remains of the boy’s expression of rage.

Then they stopped as Mila stepped into the more remote parts of the tunnel system - opened today as Naran searched for a way out.

Here, there were just remains of moved supplies. Broken crates dropped belongings, and the occasional foodstuff made for poor obstacles to stopping Oscar.

Mila was close now. She had made a wrong turn a couple of times, almost resulting in Oscar catching her. But now, Mila stepped into a steady stream of water.

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As Mila continued, the water became more present as the small stream turned into a rush. Her steps became unsteady as the ground became treacherous, sticky and slippery.

The stream carried dust, mud, trash and smaller pieces of wood. It made it impossible to see what Mila was stepping into. She lost her shoes several times while wading through the sludge.

Oscar didn’t fare any better. He splashed forward, supporting himself with his tentacles stabbing into walls and propelling him forward. He had better tools to move, but his mind wasn’t there.

Then came the great wave. Mila heard it before feeling it. The loud, rumbling noise as water filled the tunnels sent shivers down her spine.

With the barriers falling, the old escape passage was open. The flooded tunnel was now connected to a nearby lake, and the water sought to fill the empty space beneath.

Mila tried to calm her heartbeat and draw in as much air into her lungs as possible. She jumped forward, reaching a corner just as the water arrived.

At that moment, Mila rammed her dagger into the wall and stuck her other hand into an opening, securing herself.

The heavy impact nearly tore Mila’s hand off. The water was like a hammer slamming into her and trying to mould her into a thin line as it streamed past.

One of Oscar’s tentacles nearly reached Mila before being pulled back along with the boy. The vengeful maniac continued to scream while being washed away.

Not for long. Mila still felt Oscar’s mana nearby. He had managed to stick around as she had expected. His tentacles did an excellent job of holding him in place.

And a moment later, Oscar began to crawl forward. His mana signature moved slowly but surely towards his target.

Mila didn’t wait. She freed her hand and dagger, then began using her weapon to drag herself past the corner. The dirty water made it impossible to see anything.

If it had been dark before, now it was as if Mila was looking at a liquid wall. Not that there were many paths. She simply had to fight against the stream, and she would eventually be out.

Without her new body, Mila would have never attempted this. It was too taxing. But she could carry on for long with less oxygen now. It wasn’t that her lungs were bigger. She simply was more efficient with what she inhaled.

Oscar was still there. As Mila inched forward, he launched a couple attacks her way. They didn’t quite reach, being pushed back by the stream.

It was curious. Mila didn’t understand how Oscar’s appendages worked. They seemed to be made of emotions and consciousness yet had physical properties. But also, they could impact someone's spirit.

This time, these contradicting properties worked in Mila’s favour. Despite gaining on her, Oscar was unable to properly attack.

Mila felt the water pressure normalise. The rush was still there but more manageable. She used her strengthened limbs to make small leaps forward.

It was hard. Mila wished she could at least see something. All she had was her sense of touch and direction. Not just once, she slipped, barely holding on.

And the more time passed, the closer Oscar got. He was almost nearby enough to cut her legs off Mila’s body.

That was until suddenly, Oscar stopped. Mila’s mana sense accurately noticed the change. This was what she had accounted for.

Oscar was better equipped to deal with the hazardous environment. Hell, he was also a much more dangerous fighter and could easily kill Mila if she as much as made the smallest mistake.

But the boy was stupid and wasteful. Oscar couldn’t hold his breath for nearly as long as Mila could. Despite his struggles, his body had caught up to him, dragging him back.

After another moment, Mila felt Oscar being dragged away. She felt a wave of weakness as her enemy vanished from her inner radar, but she squashed it down.

Now, Mila was able to pay full attention to her advancement. Her arms and legs scraped against the ground, only sometimes finding purchase. But her black dagger always did.

The trusty tool brought Mila forward. Soon, she reached the hall from where Naran had hoped to launch the escape.

There, Mila swam upwards, finding a pocket of air right below the ceiling. She greedily drank in the air. It stunk and was wet, but it did its job.

Mila dove. She moved towards where she felt the flow coming from. It was the hardest section of her planned escape.

Everything worked against Mila. She felt numbness settle in her body. Despite her newfound prowess, she was getting tired.

The relentless torrent was hard to resist. But Mila did. She steadily worked her way forward, never stopping. Her thoughts wandered as her body slaved. She wondered if her cloak would be cleaner or dirtier by the time she got out.

At the least, Mila hoped all the blood would be removed from it. Then again, this piece of clothing had to be burned anyway. Everything but the dagger on her was tainted by the blood of the sacrifices.

Then, Mila’s mind turned to Isabel. To be fair, she hadn’t forgotten about her girl even for a moment, always keeping her at the back of her thoughts.

Mila pondered on how to heal Isabel, pulling on her rather vast but lacking pool of knowledge. She didn’t have an answer.

Prodding the sluggish ghost also didn’t help. Mila focused back on her monotonous movements. She dug her fingers into the dirt, scraping against what was once the stone floor.

The cold water sapped Mila’s strength, making it harder and harder to push ahead. The water flow seemingly increased in strength.

And…

There.

Mila felt the flow shift and began crawling up, using the wall. She had found the hole the guards had used to flood the tunnels.

The large opening was the last obstacle. Mila’s lungs burnt as she pushed against the water. Here, she could dig her hands into the muddy bed of the lake.

If Mila was lucky, she found a root or a rock to use to pull herself forward. And soon, she was free.

The lake still tried to pull Mila downwards, but she endured and swam up as her clothes clung to her body.

Mila was running out of the air. She kicked her feet and, after what seemed an hour, surfaced. She greedily sucked in the air, holding down a cough.

The night greeted Mila. Not far off, the screams and fire reminded her of the purge. She didn’t look that way.

After making sure no one saw her, Mila swam towards where Isabel was.