"This is unacceptable! We can't let this happen! W-we need to do something, or she'll die!"
"I know! B-but what are we even supposed to do now?! It's been decided! She'll get executed! No matter what we do, or who we try to persuade, she will be murdered tomorrow!"
Rina and Ayumi shouted back and forth, distressed and terrified to no end. They walked around their apartment anxiously and aimlessly, hoping that moving around would help soothe them somehow, but it did not.
"We could try to break into the prison, and break her out! W-we could hide her here in our apartment!"
Rina's eyes lit up in hope. Deep inside she knew that this plan would never work, but she needed to pretend that it could, to keep herself from breaking down and sobbing in despair.
"Absolutely no way that'd ever work, and you know it! We would be punished and executed for a thousand different offenses if we did just that."
Ayumi spoke with the distress in her voice easily detectable, shutting Rina's hope down, but she reignited it soon after.
"But… breaking in doesn't seem like such a bad idea at all now that I think about it! During the night, we would meet a few guards at most while breaking Hana out. We could easily handle just a few of them. Fighting without causing a scene would be possible too, since the prison is so far below the central building that nobody can ever hear what's going on inside."
She continued speaking after a short break, thinking her plan through further.
"Hana is the only person in the first stronghold that we truly like. There is no reason for us to stay once we broke her out. Why don't we just make a run for it with her?"
Both of their hearts filled up with hope, but Rina wasn't convinced just yet.
"But we would have nothing. We would lose everything and plenty of cities would be on our tails if we fled with her! We will be hunted down and killed eventually…"
Rina spoke with doubt in her voice, yet temptation was present in it as well. She wanted it, but she was scared of the consequences.
"You don't have anything better in mind yourself, do you? It's our only chance at saving Hana, and living a peaceful life with her eventually. Together and happy. Of course, it will be hard initially, but I'm sure the three of us could persevere through the hard times."
Ayumi spoke confidently, and with certainty. Her words managed to convince Rina, killing her doubt.
"Okay. Let's do it. We will break her out, and flee from this fucked up place."
"Yeah!"
Their faces lit up with determination, and their fear vanished. Anger and bitterness filled them up again, replacing the fear and uncertainty.
—————————————————————————————————————————————
The day neared its end and the night began. In the minds of Rina and Ayumi, time flew by quickly.
They had spent the entire day preparing themselves, meditating and cultivating. Neither were close to a breakthrough which allowed them to cultivate without the fear of breaking their souls, and getting into a predicament just like Hana did before the fight in the jade palace.
"Are you ready, Rina?"
"Yes, of course."
They went out of their apartment, feeling hate, but also unwavering determination.
Their apartment was high up in the central building, meaning they had to climb down many stairs with slow and steady steps to avoid waking anyone up or getting the attention of anyone.
As soon as they reached the lowest level of the central building, checking to see if anyone was nearby in the process, they approached the gate to the stairs that would lead them down into the prison.
It was barely even guarded at all, which was odd. Normally, the entry to the prison would be guarded by 2 to 5 Enlightened guards at once, but only one weak-looking Enlightened currently stood guard.
They approached with an innocent gaze, trying to raise no suspicion just yet.
"Hello. We would like to enter the prison to see our master. Could we please be let inside?"
"Yes, yin and yang!"
The guard moved without hesitation and opened the door for them, which was surprising. It wasn't unusual for guards to refuse entry to everyone, even members of the ten strongest.
They would surely have to knock him out later when they returned from prison with Hana, but there was no reason to knock the guard out for now.
As they entered through the door, which was shut after them by the guard, stairs and walls so old that fearing their collapse was reasonable, filled their sights.
"From here on out, anyone we see, we knock out."
Ayumi spoke quietly, with certainty and determination.
"My fingers were itching to knock out the guard just now, so I don't have a problem with that."
Rina spoke up coldly and quietly as they descended the old and dusty stairs.
After minutes had passed, and they had descended plenty of stairs, their destination was reached.
The prison was cold, silent, dirty, and the ground was wet too. Water dropped from the ceiling constantly. There must be some water underground right above the prison.
These conditions seemed inhumane to the two girls, yet they did not care. Most of the prisoners here very much deserved to suffer like this. Only one, Hana, was undeserving of this.
They felt anger boil up inside them as they realized how terribly she must have been treated the entire time she was there. She most likely thought that nobody would help her, and that she would be executed too. What a terrible fate.
Passing the cells of other death row prisoners, they all cowered and gazed at the twins fearfully, thinking they were here to execute them.
As Rina and Ayumi finally reached Hana's cell, they were horrified and enraged to see the scrawny beast there, mocking Hana, and kicking the metal wall to wake her up whenever she tried to fall asleep.
"Hey, scum, no sleeping for you yet, got it? I ain't gonna let you enjoy your last minutes you trash. You're gonna suffer. It's what a demonic cultivator like you deserves!"
He smirked at her mockingly before his gaze turned towards the siblings, indifferent at the sight of Rina and Ayumi.
"The hell are you two here for, huh?"
"Get the fuck away from our master. Now!"
They shook with hatred and rage as Kenji simply chuckled. Both got ready for a fight.
"It was smart of Yuna to position me here for the night. It was to be expected that you two little idiots would try to pull some shit. Just hold still so I can capture you real quick. Yuna will give you the same treatment your master will receive, hehe."
He spoke cockily, and with confidence, thinking that he could easily take them both on at the same time.
"You're lucky we don't have time to kill you, and will just knock a few of your fucking teeth out!"
It became impossible to contain their rage anymore. The way Kenji spoke, Hana's unjust imprisonment, and the way their master was treated became too much to bear.
The reason why barely any guards were present was not because of carelessness, but because Yuna had positioned one of the ten strongest here. Someone stronger than any Enlightened guard in the first stronghold. That must also be the reason why the guard let them pass through without hesitation.