Chapter 42: Strangely
The constant noise of the cafeteria seemed to fade into the distance.
Metal trays scraped across tables.
CLISHH!
Prisoners shouted insults at one another from opposite ends of the hall while guards barked orders from the elevated walkways overhead.
CLANG!
"Keep moving!"
"No fighting!"
The sounds became little more than background noise.
Around Daito's table, however, complete silence had settled.
Every member of the group leaned in as Wasabi lowered her voice, making certain that no curious ears could overhear what she was about to reveal.
"You remember what I was doing before we got captured?"
She glanced at Daito.
"I told you I was searching government archives for information on Monday Valhalla."
Daito gave a slight nod.
"You were looking for anything that could tell us where he was being held."
"Exactly."
Wasabi tapped the side of her tray thoughtfully.
"But while I was searching..."
"...I got curious."
A faint grin crossed her lips.
"So I searched Director Cassian Vanderbi instead."
Champagne snorted.
"That sounds like you."
"I know."
She shrugged.
"I figured that if we were going to infiltrate Iron Bastion, I might as well learn something about the man running it."
Her expression gradually became more serious.
"At first everything looked normal."
"There was a personnel file."
"A military record."
"A promotion history."
"But then..."
She paused.
"...the system began acting strangely."
Wei-Wan folded his arms.
"Strangely?"
Wasabi nodded.
"The database froze."
"The security level suddenly increased."
"Entire folders disappeared while I was reading them."
She looked around the table before continuing.
"It wasn't ordinary encryption."
"It was as though someone had reached into the archives and erased entire pieces of history."
The smile had completely vanished from her face.
"I managed to recover fragments before the system locked me out."
Daito remained silent.
"What did you find?"
Wasabi inhaled slowly.
"Years ago..."
"...Cassian wasn't a prison director."
"He served as a field commander."
No one looked particularly surprised.
Daito had already guessed as much after their encounter on the bridge.
"What shocked me..."
Wasabi continued quietly.
"...were the missions assigned to him."
She looked directly into Daito's eyes.
"Every operation ended the same way."
Champagne frowned.
"Meaning?"
"No survivors."
Silence.
"The enemy died."
She raised one finger.
"The civilians died."
A second finger.
"Sometimes..."
She hesitated.
"...even the soldiers fighting alongside him died."
The table froze.
Brandon slowly lowered the spoon he had been absent-mindedly turning between his fingers.
"...That's impossible."
"That's exactly what I thought."
Wasabi nodded.
"But the reports all matched."
"Every battlefield he entered became a graveyard."
Fah-jin rested her chin on her folded hands.
"That sounds less like military strategy..."
"...and more like a massacre."
"It does."
Wasabi's voice remained steady.
"And that's the strange part."
"Most of those reports no longer officially exist."
Wei-Wan's eyes narrowed.
"They were erased."
"Or buried so deeply that no ordinary person could ever find them."
She gave a slow nod.
"The government covered everything up."
No one argued.
After everything they had witnessed since arriving in Gregor Naught, the idea no longer seemed impossible.
"But..."
Wasabi continued.
"...that isn't even the strangest thing."
Daito's attention sharpened.
"What else?"
She leaned closer.
"...Nobody actually knows what Cassian's Savage ability is."
Champagne blinked.
"Wait."
"What?"
She nodded.
"There are rumours."
"There are eyewitness accounts."
"There are survivor testimonies."
She laughed bitterly.
"And every single one contradicts the others."
Zachia frowned.
"What kind of contradictions?"
Wasabi began counting them one by one.
"Some witnesses insist he manipulates gravity."
Daito immediately remembered the crushing force that had dragged him helplessly across the bridge.
The pressure.
The helplessness.
The feeling that the entire world itself had become unbearably heavy.
"Others claim he bends space."
Wei-Wan quietly absorbed every word.
"And a few reports say attacks simply..."
She searched for the right phrase.
"...cease to exist."
Daito's fingers slowly tightened beneath the table.
His sword...
He had felt the blade connect.
He knew it had.
Yet Cassian's neck had remained completely unharmed, as though the strike itself had never happened.
"What about the craziest rumour?" Brandon asked.
Wasabi hesitated.
For the first time since beginning her explanation, genuine uncertainty crossed her face.
"The oldest reports..."
She swallowed.
"...claim Cassian doesn't simply fight battles."
She lowered her voice until it became barely audible.
"They say..."
"...he controls the outcome of the battle itself."
Silence.
No one laughed.
No one questioned her.
The words hung over the table like a dark cloud.
Wei-Wan finally spoke.
"If even half of those rumours are true..."
"...escaping this prison will be far more difficult than we imagined."
Daito remained quiet.
His thoughts raced through everything he had experienced since arriving at Iron Bastion.
The impossible pressure.
The effortless defence.
Cassian's complete confidence.
None of it felt like coincidence anymore.
After several long moments, he finally looked up.
"We're not escaping."
The others stared at him in confusion.
Zachia frowned.
"...What?"
"Our objective hasn't changed."
Daito's voice was calm.
"We didn't come to Gregor Naught to break out of prison."
"We came here for Monday Valhalla."
Wasabi sighed.
"About that..."
She rested her chin on her hand.
"He's gone."
The words landed heavily.
"They transferred him during all the chaos."
"Where?"
Daito asked immediately.
Wei-Wan answered.
"Gregor's Peak."
Champagne groaned and leaned back in his chair.
"So let me get this straight."
"We infiltrated the city."
"We fought half the Defence Force."
"We got ourselves captured."
"And the person we came here to rescue..."
"...isn't even here."
A faint laugh escaped Fah-jin.
"When you say it like that..."
"...it does sound pretty ridiculous."
Even Brandon chuckled.
Only Daito remained quiet.
A slow smile began spreading across his face.
Wei-Wan noticed first.
"You've thought of something."
Daito nodded.
"I have."
Everyone leaned in once more.
His gaze drifted across the cafeteria.
He watched the guards.
The prisoners.
The rotating patrols.
The surveillance drones lazily circling overhead.
The prison wasn't careless.
It was confident.
There was a difference.
"This prison..."
He spoke softly.
"...feels easy to escape for a reason."
Wei-Wan nodded in understanding.
"Because Cassian believes no one can."
"Exactly."
Daito's smile widened.
"And that's his greatest weakness."
Zachia's eyes lit up.
"So..."
"...what's the plan?"
Daito slowly stood from his chair.
The legs scraped against the floor.
SKRRRRT...
Several nearby prisoners glanced in his direction before quickly looking away again.
He lifted his eyes toward the towering administration building that overlooked Iron Bastion.
Somewhere behind those reinforced windows...
Director Cassian Vanderbi was undoubtedly watching.
"We're not escaping quietly."
A grin spread across Champagne's face.
"I like where this is going."
Daito looked back at his companions.
His crimson eyes burned with quiet determination.
"We're going to escape..."
He paused.
"...loud enough to shake this entire prison."
A fierce smile spread around the table.
For the first time since their capture, hope returned to the group.
Not reckless hope.
Purpose.
Direction.
Their mission had changed.
Their destination had changed.
But the war was far from over.
Daito turned his eyes toward the distant mountains beyond Iron Bastion's walls, where Gregor's Peak rose into the clouds like a silent monument waiting for them.
If Monday Valhalla was there...
Then that was where they would go.
No matter what stood in their way.
Even if that obstacle was the monster known as Director Cassian Vanderbi.
Because before they could reach Gregor's Peak...
Before they could complete the mission...
Before they could uncover the truth behind Gregor Naught...
They would first have to survive the man who ruled Iron Bastion.
A man whose authority seemed to extend beyond power itself.
A man whose very presence had turned an entire prison into an unbreakable cage.
Outside, thunder split the heavens.
KRAAAAAK!!
Rain continued to pour over Iron Bastion.
And somewhere high above the prison yard...
A pair of unseen eyes continued to watch.
To Be Continued...