Kintovar, Roselle, and Runebelle stood at a safe distance from the medium-sized jail. Guards were statio the gate with attention divided among their duties. Kintovar huddled the trio together to discuss their pn.

  “We ’t use our ht now,” Roselle whispered with worry. “And holy, I’m not too keen on the idea of using them anyway. But without Risebelle’s leadership, sneaking around is going to be really tough.”

  Kintovar spoke up. “Our situation is tricky, but I’ve got some iions to help us. They’re not perfect, but they should give us an edge.”

  She handed a small, sleek device to Roselle. “This is a cloaking field emitter. It creates a temporary invisibility field around us, but it has a limited duration. We’ll o move quickly while it’s active.”

  Roselle took the device, examining it with awe. “Wow, this is amazing! How long does it st?”

  Kintovar checked the device’s settings. “About ten mihat should give us enough time to get close and find ary point. After that, we’ll have to rely oh and quick thinking.”

  Roselle nodded. She was ready to step up and do what was necessary to free Haras and Mystimona. She turo Runebelle with resolve. “Runebelle, let’s stick together and do this. We’ve got Dr.Kintovar’s back, and she’s got ours. We do it.”

  Runebelle gave a rare nod. “We’ll be alright, Roselle. Just like when we faced those mages in the past.”

  With their pn ihey moved into a. Kintovar created her first distra, a bright fsh of light in a distant er of the jailyard. Guards turheir attention towards the sudden burst of illumination, and Kintovar used the opportunity to dash away, her mission to divert the guards successfully underway. Meanwhile, Roselle and Runebelle slipped into the jail.

  Roselle and Runebelle found themselves in a byrinthiwork of corridors. The pce was quiet, with only the distant echo of guards’ footsteps and the occasional sound of keys jingling. The walls of the narrow passages were made of cold, gray stone, and had overhead lights. Thick metal doors lihe walls, each leading to cells of various sizes.

  Roselle gnced around, her eyes sing the area. “This pce is like a maze, Runebelle. We’ll o be careful and navigate it quietly.”

  Runebelle nodded with a serious look. “Let’s stick together and try to find Haras.”

  Roselle and Runebelle crept cautiously through the maze of corridors using their cloaking field emitter to rehem nearly invisible. The cloaking device worked fwlessly, allowing them to slip past the initial group of guards statio various checkpoints. The guards, their attention focused on other tasks, remained oblivious to the intruders.

  Roselle and Runebelle approached a narrow corridor. Roselle recalled earlier that sound dampeners were pced on their feet by Dr.Kintovar, but it was disrupted when Roselle actally bumped into a metal cart, sending a cttering sound eg through the corridor.

  One of the nearby guards immediately turoward the noise. Roselle’s heart raced. She quickly pulled Runebelle to the side, pressing her back against the cold stone wall.

  The guard squinted with his gaze sweeping over the empty space where the noise had inated. “Hello? Is someohere?”

  Roselle and Runebelle held their breath, barely daring to move. The guard tio look around, puzzled. After a tense moment, he shook his head and muttered, “Must be my imagination,” before turning back to his patrol.

  Roselle let out a silent sigh of relief. “That was close. We o be more careful. Let’s keep moving.”

  Roselle took a step forward, but her boots made an audible cck against the stone floor. She froze, her eyes wide with arm. “Uh oh. We’re stuck.”

  Runebelle, her gaze sharp and focused, g Roselle with . “What happened?”

  Roselle bit her lip. “The sound dampener Dr. Kintovar put on my shoes must have stopped w. It was supposed to muffle the noise, but it’s gone kaput.”

  Runebelle looked at the boots with a frown. “It must have been damaged when you bumped into the cart. The impact probably caused it to malfun.”

  Roselle’s shoulders slumped in frustration. “What do we do now? I don’t know how to fix this. What would Risebelle do in this situation?”

  Runebelle sidered this for a moment before responding. “Risebelle would likely find a way to improvise with whatever she had on hand.”

  Roselle, her face lighting up with a sudden idea, swiftly k down and removed her boots. She ied them for a moment before setting them aside, revealing her long socks. With a fident smile, she stood up and wiggled her toes. “Hey, this might actually work. The socks don’t make muoise, so it’s a bit of a workaround.”

  Runebelle tilted her head, following Roselle’s as with curiosity. “You’re right. Socks are much quieter.”

  Roselle grinned. “Sometimes, the simplest solutions are the best. Let’s keep moving before the guards e back.”

  The two sisters tinued down the corridor. They approached a jun where two guards were engaged in versation. Roselle activated the cloaking field emitter, and they attempted to sneak past, but suddenly, the cloaking device began to beep and fsh erratically. Roselle’s eyes widened in panic. “Uh oh, I think the timer is running out!”

  The two guards noticed the fshing light. For a fleeting moment, the cloaking effect faltered, and they caught a glimpse of something moving.

  Roselle quickly shoved Runebelle toward a nearby potted pnt and pressed herself against the wall. “Hide behind the pnt! It’s the only cover we’ve got!”

  The two sisters squeezed behind the pnt. They barely fit with the potted pnt only minimal cealment.

  The guards approached the jun. One of them said, “I could have sworn I saw something… right here.”

  His panion scratched his head and then shrugged. “Maybe it was just a cockroach or something. I doubt it was anything serious.”

  The guard that spoke first nodded, but still gave a gnce over the area. “Yeah, maybe you’re right. Let’s get back to our patrol.”

  Roselle and Runebelle let out a collective sigh of relief. Roselle whispered, “That was way too close…”

  She g her device, furrowing her brow. “Kintovar said this device would work for ten minutes, but acc to my timer, it’s only been five.”

  Runebelle tilted her head in thought. “Maybe the timing was off or the device malfuned. It’s hard to say.”

  Roselle sighed deeply. “With no more tools left, we have to try and not get caught using some stealth.”

  Runebelle nodded. “Stick to the shadows.”

  Around a er, they heard the distinct footsteps of a guard approag. There was no way to hide, and the corridor was too narrow for them to slip past without being seen.

  Roselle and Runebelle cautiously moved through the prison’s passages. They soon found themselves in a tight spot. They turned a er and came face to face with a guard who was just rounding the same er.

  Their eyes met for a split sed, but Roselle, thinking quickly, lunged forward. In one fluid motion, she pced her hand over the guard’s mouth and used her other arm to pin his arms to his sides.

  The guard’s eyes widened in shock, but Roselle’s grip was firm. She applied just enough pressure to keep him from making a sound while her sister, Runebelle, used a piece of cloth she had iools to bind his hands and gag him.

  With the guard subdued, Roselle and Runebelle carefully id him on the ground. They exged a silent nod of relief.

  After some time, the duo found themselves in an area with barely any lights. It had low-hanging pipes and stacks of crates. They could hear the faint voices of guards in the distance, which put them on high alert.

  When rounding the er, a guard appeared from an adjat hallway. The guard was massive, and his keen eyes caught a glimpse of the two intruders. Before he could raise the arm, Roselle sprang into a again.

  Her small size and agility worked to her advantage. By utilizing her yellow lightning to boost her speed, she darted forward and leaped onto a stack of crates, then onto the guard’s back. Startled, the guard tried to grab her, but she slipped through his fingers. In a fsh, Roselle ed her arms around his neck, using her small but powerful frame to immobilize him.

  Runebelle watched ihe guard struggled to break free, but Roselle’s grip remained firm. He finally lost sciousness, colpsing to the floor.

  Roselle carefully lowered the guard to the ground, making sure he wouldn’t make any noise upon impact. She and Runebelle exged a triumphant look before tinuing on their mission.

  Roselle approached the area where the prisoners were being held. She was careful not to make a sound. She had successfully avoided guards and reached her destination, but her relief was short-lived. Just when she was about to move forward, she stumbled upon a translut blue magical barrier that stretched across the corridor.

  The moment she made tact with the barrier, a high-pitched arm echoed through the prison. Lights fshed, and the otioed the guards to their presence.

  Panig, Roselle quickly stepped back from the barrier, realizing her mistake. The loud arm bred. Runebelle’s sad face mirrored the growing tension in the air. The two sisters huddled together momentarily, but then, to their surprise, they heard the shouted and, “After her,” ing from another dire. fusio in, but they believed that the guards weren’t pursuing them, and the arm was meant for someone else.

  Staring at the magical barrier that blocked their path, Roselle and Runebelle looked at each other. “Now is the perfect time to let Kintovar know!”

  Roselle quickly reached for her unicator and tacted Kintovar. “Kintovar, I’ve found where the prisoners are being held. But there’s a strong magical barrier blog the way. What should I do?”

  Kintovar crackled through the device, “Roselle, this is actually perfect timing. Now we o use force. I mao get past the guards, and from what I’ve sed, that barrier is beyond what we handle quietly. Be prepared, though. Using your on will likely alert uards, but I have as many of them as possible chasio create a diversion. Go ahead, Roselle.”

  Roselle summoned her on fidently and unched off a shot. A blinding fsh of explosive energy surged forth, striking the magical barrier with tremendous force. However, ohe smoke cleared up from the attack, the barrier remained unscathed.

  Ihe barrier, the guards were jolted by the explosion and instantly became alert. They grasped their ons, realizing that something unusual was happening.

  Roselle frowned in frustration. The guards, spotting the intruders with no apparent magical presence, raised their firearms imbued with magical energy.

  “Halt! Who are you? You have no sensible magic signatures. What are you doing here?”

  “We ’t sehem! Could they be robots?!”

  “They definitely aren’t mages. Were ordered to shoot those types down on sight. Everybody fire!!”

  The guards raised their ons and began firing. Each shot released a frosty mist, and the areas where their shots missed started to freeze.

  Roselle attempted to fire back with her massive on, the result was only a violent shaking of the area, with no visible impa the barrier.

  ‘The Guards are able to fire right through the barrier, but my shots only hit against it… How am I gonhrough that?’ Roselle thought, but with no immediate answers, she decided to fooving to a safe area away from the shots.

  Meanwhile, Kintovar was rag through the facility with the cacophony of arms behind her. She suddenly collided with a man who had shreen hair and was dressed in the distinctive biform of the CPU.

  In a low but anding tone, he spoke, “I am Lieutenant of the CPU Daimendo. You’ve caused quite a otion since your arrival to the city… We’ve been on your trail for a while. You ’t escape the grasp of the CPU…. Dr.Kintovar”

  Kintovar curiously looked up at the man while pg two fingers up to her sungsses and l them slightly. “Do you know ‘exactly’ who I am?”