"Thanks for being such morons! Once you two and Hana are executed, I will rise to number 5!"
Kenji, with a crazed look on his face, transformed into a bear and lunged at them with full speed.
Rina and Ayumi created space by dashing away from Kenji. The water that had been leaking this entire time, in addition to the water they could manifest at will, made this matchup heavily favored by them. Kenji, while transformed, could hardly move around in the prison because it was built so narrowly.
All he could do was to headlessly rush at them.
They could easily strike, and so they did. Water, with enough pressure to break bones, shot up from the ground beneath Kenji and forcefully slammed him into the ceiling. He had no room or time to strike again after this attack.
It was at this moment that Hana realized what was happening outside of her cell. Her eyes widened and hope ignited inside of her, but it was quickly replaced with despair as she remembered it.
"They're… coming to save me? Shit! They can't know it yet, I need to warn them!"
She thought to herself as she started to struggle against her bounds fiercely while shouting, hoping to warn her disciples.
"Rina, Ayumi! Don't fall for the trap! Kenji is not…"
Her words were toned out by the constant attacks, and were too distant for anyone to hear.
Water struck from all sides at all times, and Kenji could not resist being knocked down by each attack. The onslaught of attacks lasted for about five minutes. After these minutes, Kenji could no longer fight, and he had barely any essence left, forcing him to transform back.
"H-hey, you two stop it already! W-we've always been good friends and stuff, am I right? So why don't y'all just lemme go real quick?"
He pleaded, all of his previous malice and confidence replaced with submission and fear.
"Shut your mouth, pig."
Rina and Ayumi responded without hesitation as they started kicking Kenji's face to the point that he lost a few teeth, just as they had promised. He fell unconscious immediately.
They ran to the cell that Hana was kept in, and before their attempt at freeing her could be fruitful, they finally understood what she was saying.
"Look out! Kenji was a distraction!"
Their gazes shifted just in time to notice Hisashi standing around 10 meters away from them, with a menacing look on his face.
"Knocking out my disciple like this, and trying to free Hana… it seems you two need to be taught a lesson!"
Silence was their response to his words. They were not in the mood for talking trash anymore. Before they could strike him down, thousands of vines appeared all around them, covering the walls, ceiling and the floor of the prison. These vines grew rapidly and all over the place, attempting to grow on Rina and Ayumi to immobilize them.
Evading them proved difficult for the twins, and they struggled greatly, but in the end they succeeded and pushed forward through the vines, and came closer to Hisashi.
"Oh? That's unexpected. But you will still lose this battle without a doubt."
Hisashi spoke gently and with confidence in his tone, certain that this battle had already been won.
As they kept on coming closer and closer, he stopped being gentle and stopped trying to immobilize them. He began to actively try and harm them.
The vines didn't just grow anymore, they became hardened and sharp, and developed rose-like spikes. Hisashi started to use them similar to harpoons, shooting them out and trying to stab the siblings without any care for their wellbeing or survival.
Aside from a few mild scratches, neither received any wounds from this onslaught of attacks. They had already exited this field of vines and stood on each side of Hisashi.
"Our turn, old timer."
They didn't even utilize their element, and knocked him out swiftly with just a few strikes. Nothing more was needed for this old man.
All the vines disappeared in an instant as Hisashi collapsed to the ground, unconscious.
Without these in their way, Rina and Ayumi could safely return to Hana's cell, and finally free her.
For a second, as the door opened, her gaze was worried to no end, thinking that her disciples had been defeated and would be thrown into the cell with her. A look of relief was plastered on her face as she realized that both of them survived the ordeal unharmed.
At the same time, the twins were further enraged by the sight of Hana, tied up in such a disgusting cell, looking tired and miserable, but they were also relieved and happy to see that she was alive, and that their plan was unfolding perfectly.
"You really came for me, huh?"
She spoke happily, as she was untied by them swiftly.
"Of course we did. Did you expect anything else?"
Instead of responding, Hana healed their small and insignificant wounds for them as soon as she could move around freely again.
"I'm just happy to see you two. Thank you. There must be a next step now, right? You surely thought further than that, right?"
She wanted to take them both in her arms, and hold them there forever. The time she was imprisoned must have been as awful for them as it was for her. But she knew that it wasn't the time for it just yet.
"Yes, we did. Don't worry, we'll get you out of here, and we'll be safe together. Just the three of us. Let's flee from this fucked up place, Hana."
They smiled at her invitingly and almost excitedly. Neither of them wished to spend another minute in the first stronghold. All they wanted was to leave this place forever.
"Leave this place? I…"
She hesitated for a moment or two, thinking their words through carefully.
"Yes, I'm in. No matter where, anywhere is better than here."
The twins flashed a smile before practically dragging Hana out of the cell, and out of the prison hastily, trying to waste no time.
"Woah! Do you have any city in mind that we could join or go to yet? Which gate should we even exit through?"
"No. We don't know any city that would take us in either way. We will just have to wander and see. The north gate should be the least protected, so we'll exit there."
Hana's gaze turned worried for the future, but she didn't know any better either, so she didn't object.
As they exited the prison, Rina and Ayumi quickly knocked out the guard who had previously let them inside. It was now or never. Hana was out of the prison, and anyone who would see them would know what they were doing, and either fight or alarm others to get in their way and stop them from successfully fleeing with Hana.
They ran away, out of the central building, and through the empty streets towards the north gate.
Little to no sadness was felt by any of them. Their lives could never be the same again, yet they wanted this. They needed a fresh start.
The guards at the North Gate stood no chance against them, and were knocked out within seconds.
Only one last hurdle revealed itself soon after. Noboru, who was taking a walk at night, came across them as they unlocked the gate to exit the city.
His face was cold and indifferent as he paused to analyze the three quietly.
Hana's, Rina's and Ayumi's faces turned surprised, and then fierce as they stared back at him in silence. A fight was imminent, or so they thought.
To their surprise, Noboru simply turned around, and walked away as if nothing had happened.
Unbeknownst to them, he acted out of the will to preserve himself, not out of compassion, kindness or mercy. If a confrontation had occurred, he would surely have lost.
This moment won't be forgotten by them easily nor anytime soon. If Noboru would ever meet them again, he would surely have them as allies.
They managed to unlock the gate and left the first stronghold. Never in their lives would they return to this place, unless they wished to wreak havoc and destruction. Nobody knew where they went, or if they were even still alive, but if they were, the first stronghold's days were numbered.