Sam stared at the young woman coldly, his muscles tensed as his fingers curled, his eyes scanning the infirmary, noticing a scalpel lying on the table.
Amelia's smirk widened as she smacked Diego's head with the revolver slightly. "Now, now... let's not be reckless. It's not like I want to harm you. If my goal was that, you three would have been dead already."
Diego hissed, scratching the back of his head where Amelia had hit, while Sam frowned, his expression growing thoughtful as he pulled his hand back from the scalpel and exhaled.
What's her motive? he thought, pursing his lips. By the looks of it, she figured out our plan. That means she was observing us for some time now. Maybe after Diego almost screwed up with the boilers. Others might have dismissed it, but she grew suspicious and investigated? If she did and acted with caution, then it makes sense.
Guards found Diego acting strange while working, and days later, guards and inmates started exhibiting signs of sleep deprivation and exhaustion. Based on those hints, Amelia pieced things together and figured out that we were trying to escape. Sam thought with narrowed eyes, getting the feeling that his theory was correct.
But still, even if he had figured out how, he remained completely in the dark when it came to why. Amelia should have reported the situation to the Warden, that was the logical thought process, and Sam and his partners in crime should have been caught by now. Instead, Amelia was holding Diego hostage and, by the looks of it… Hmm. She wants to make a deal? No, that's too optimistic. Maybe she's just fucked up in the head and enjoys cornering her opponents like animals.
"I wish to make a deal," Amelia interrupted his train of thought, sighing in an infuriating way.
Sam blinked, his face expressionless as he stared at her. Okay, I take back my words… Maybe I'm being too pessimistic.
"But why?" he asked. "If you expose our plan and capture us, you'll be generously rewarded. Besides, you'd have enough contribution points to advance to Sequence 8. After all, you wouldn't only catch us, you'd also expose flaws in the prison system, which would result in major reforms. There are far too many benefits… So why? Why would you abandon hundreds of gold pounds, the acknowledgment of the Church, and advancement in your Sequence? It's idiotic."
Sam expressed his confusion plainly. He was truly bewildered by her choice. Only a fool would refuse such a reward and instead, from what Sam could understand, endanger herself.
Amelia furrowed her brow, her left eye closing as she observed him coldly. Seeing Sam analyze his own failure, knowing how the Orthodox Church system worked and deducing how Parliament would react if the flaws of the prison were exposed, made her wary.
Who is he... Normal prisoners aren't this educated, and even if they were, they wouldn't understand this much. Is he from a fallen noble family? Maybe he has connections with underworld organizations? I lack information about him.
But that wasn't what bothered her most, it was his words. Benefits, huh? How many times have I heard that word... Are gold pounds and recognition all that matter? They're useful, sure, but... compared to my wish, they're useless. She thought with a shake of her head, feeling distaste as she smiled wryly.
"I want knowledge. That's my wish, to know everything that is hidden and unknown. What's the point of money? What's the point of being acknowledged by ignorant cowards if I'm left hollow and uncertain... I seek to find the key to this mysterious world. The reason I joined Church of the God of Steam and Machinery was in order to learn but... My own God stands against my dream. So I'm leaving Him behind." She answered honestly, knowing time was running out. Then she released Diego, who looked up at her in confusion but remained silent to avoid provoking her.
Meanwhile, Amelia took a step forward, extending her hand as she looked at Sam, her icy blue eyes piercing and burning with ambition. "So what will you say? You'll get my help, but in exchange, you'll help me too. I want to escape as much as you do. I see it, in the depths of your golden eyes... You wish to shatter every restraint that binds you, don't you?"
Sam stared at her for a few seconds, his face expressionless, eyes half-lidded, appearing bleak and inhuman as he exhaled and shook her hand. He didn't have much choice anyway. "Fine then, let's do this."
"Uhmm… Guys, I think the battle is over." Diego muttered nervously, hiding behind Sam and avoiding eye contact with Amelia.
Hearing this, Sam's expression grew displeased as he noticed the cheers and shouts fading.
Amelia cursed under her breath and, without saying another word, ran back, picked up her bag, and pulled out several metal cans quickly.
Then she took out some kind of chemicals? Sam and Diego couldn't quite understand what they were. But Sam had a vague feeling they were used for making weapons, everything that could kill or cause harm was a weapon in Sam's mind.
Walking over to her, Sam glanced at the materials and asked impatiently, not understanding why they were wasting time making weapons instead of escaping: "What are you doing? We need to leave."
"Not yet. I have to orchestrate my death." Amelia replied, looking at him with a grin.
"Are you insane? We'll get caught at this rate." Diego whispered, his heart pounding wildly as sweat poured from his forehead.
"Don't be a pussy now." Amelia spat, mixing chemical elements and compounds as she coughed, a wide grin spreading across her face. "Now… let's mix metal oxide and aluminum foil and grind them to dust. Mix it at a 3:1 ratio and that's it." She talked to herself while grinding them into dust in a bowl, then poured the mixture into the cans, closed them, used a scalpel to create a small hole, and inserted a fuse encased in paper.
"Five… should be enough. We don't have time to make more." she sighed, throwing one can each to Sam and Diego.
"What's this?" Diego asked, confused.
"Bombs." Sam answered plainly, putting them in his bag as Diego's eyes widened. He had no idea what was happening or what the two of them were talking about.
"Correct, they are." Amelia said. "Now it's time to go." She packed her things with a sigh while tossing the revolver to Sam, who caught it and glanced at her with a questioning look.
"A criminal is better suited to wield a weapon than a Savant." she said expressionlessly, dragging the corpse of a young nurse and throwing it toward Diego, who flinched and dropped it.
"Shit, you crazy woman! What did you do to this poor nurse?"
"That poor nurse was paid a lot of times to remove liabilities for criminal organizations. Now pick it up and let's go," she said, walking ahead.
Sam nodded, a hint of confusion flashing in his eyes. "How did you…"
"You instantly recognized thermite, that's how. Only a criminal is capable of identifying and using every weapon, no matter how complicated," she replied, pushing her glasses up with a faint smile. "So watch what you say or do, Mister."
Sam nodded, accepting the holster from her and attaching it to his belt, sliding the revolver inside. He could draw it quickly if needed. Right now, they needed to move fast.
"My office is over there," Amelia stated, running ahead and turning left. At the end of the corridor in the administrative area, her office was located.
Opening the door, they burst into the empty office. Without missing a beat, Sam hoisted the corpse by the armpits and dumped it heavily into the chair, letting the limp body slump forward like a broken marionette.
They sprinted back down the corridor as Amelia struck a match with a sharp flick of her wrist, the tiny flame dancing briefly before she touched it to the fuses and hurled them through the doorway.
BOOOOM!
A blinding white-hot fire erupted as the two makeshift bombs detonated in unison, molten flames spread outward in a searing wave. Amelia slammed the heavy door shut just as the hellish heat slammed against it, rattling the frame. Even through the wood, Sam felt the blistering temperature clawing at his back, sweat instantly soaking his stolen uniform.
"When ignited, thermite burns at over 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit," Amelia explained calmly, wiping sweat from her forehead. "Twice as hot as lava. Nothing in there survives."
She cracked the door open again. Inside, the office had become an inferno of white fire. The corpse was unrecognizable, reduced to a blackened, melted skeleton, the skull falling down, and soon what remained would turn into a ash too.
Furniture, papers and walls, everything had liquefied or turned to ash like bones in seconds, the air shimmering with residual heat.
But they didn't wait to watch. They immediately left, running toward the southern side of the prison where Yuri was waiting for them.
"Damn…" Diego panted, swiping sweat from his brow, stealing wide-eyed glances at Amelia as he struggled to keep pace.
At the same time, Sam's face darkened, his half-lidded eyes filled with irritation. "Are you an imbecile? That was way too loud. The whole damn prison knows something's wrong now."
"They already do, trust me," Amelia shot back, raking her black hair away from her face and yanking it into a tight ponytail. "Fights are finished. Every injured fighter is being dragged to the infirmary right this second… What do you think happens when they open that door and find a morgue instead of patients?"
Sam groaned, pulling his hair back from frustration, understanding the logic behind her words. "Fuck… Fine, let's hurry. Yuri's already-"
His words were cut off, drowned by a sound that made all three of them pale, the color draining from their faces.
Bang!
Bang!
Gunshots pierced the air. Sam's eyes widened in disbelief as he looked back, instinctively shielding himself and raising his arm to prevent a bullet from piercing his chest.
But Diego wasn't fast enough.
He was shot in the chest; his expression shifted from confused to pained as he gritted bis teeth together so hard his jaw trembled, he clamped a hand over the wound as rivulets of bright arterial blood started flowing from his wound.
Meanwhile, Amelia's eyes dimmed. She looked back with a calculated gaze, and without hesitation, she pulled out her last thermite bomb, lit the fuse, and hurled it forward.
BOOM!
The explosion painted the corridor in blinding white. Guards shrieked as their uniforms ignited, skin blistering and blackening in seconds. The stench of burning hair and flesh filling the air while Sam withdrew the revolver from his holster, aimed, and fired.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Three shots were fired, each penetrating the skulls of the other three guards with chilling precision.
"Move!" Amelia shouted in panic.
She spun on her heel and sprinted right, boots slamming against stone. Sam hooked an arm around Diego's waist, helping the bleeding man as they followed, crimson streaks painting the corridor behind them.
Shit... They were faster than I thought. Sam's face was pale and anxious as he felt the urge to turn around and slaughter them, but he continued moving, refusing to give in to his demonic desires and choosing rationality instead.
If every criminal had followed their instincts, they wouldn't be criminals but sacrificial lambs.
Glancing at Diego, he gritted his teeth and kept moving, but Diego stopped, coughing as blood drooled from his mouth. His eyes grew unfocused and glassy. "Leave me here."
"Okay." Amelia nodded instantly, turning around without hesitation.
Sam and Diego watched, dumbfounded.
"Stop, asshole!" Diego shouted, spitting blood as he coughed.
Amelia groaned, looking back and waiting impatiently. But all three knew that Diego couldn't make it. He would die soon from blood loss. Besides, it wasn't like they were close. They worked together because they had no choice.
Diego knew he couldn't make it. So instead of slowing them down, he just collapsed on the floor, leaning back with a groan. His breathing was uneven and ragged, his eyes dimming. "Sam..."
He took out a letter with a wry smile and handed it to Sam, who took it and hid it in his pocket.
"Send it to a girl named Letícia Lima in Backlund... I only ask you this, okay?" He smiled, wiping blood from his mouth.
Sam sighed, saying prayers in his mind as he nodded. "I will."
"Not even sad, huh? What cruel bastards." Diego snorted, shivering, his entire body drenched in blood.
"Well, we only knew each other for a few days... I've buried too many people to get emotional." Sam shrugged, rubbing his eyes. Death was quite common in the Abyss. You saw corpses every day and things far worse than that as well.
"I see... Fuck, I'm not good at this." Diego exhaled in annoyance and just pushed Sam back. "Don't waste time. Just go."
Sam nodded, finishing the prayers in his mind and forming a cross over his chest. "Try to buy us some time... And I'm sorry. May you rest in peace."
Saying this, Sam nodded at Amelia and dashed forward, leaving Diego behind.
Staring at their fading forms, Diego pursed his lips, unimpressed. "Insane kid... He doesn't even know how to properly comfort a person." He shook his head with a bitter smile, taking out a match and lighting it as the guards closed the distance.
The sound of their footsteps grew louder, echoing through the corridor like a death march. Diego could see their shadows stretching toward him.
Grinning through the pain, Diego lit the fuse and glanced at the approaching guards. He raised his middle finger with the last of his strength and spat with venom. "Surprise motherfuckers."
The explosion was deafening.
The blast tore through the corridor, drowning it in blazing flames, swallowing everything in its path. The walls shook, debris rained down, and smoke billowed outward like the breath of some ancient beast.
By the time the dust settled, there was nothing left but scorched stone and silence.
Diego was gone.
But he'd bought them time.
Hearing the explosion, Sam closed his eyes solemnly as he continued praying for Diego's soul, his face remaining expressionless.
***
[A/N: Watch me squeeze every drop of potential from the Paragon Pathway, XDDDD.
Eh, Diego's offed too. Is this how Gege feels? It's oddly satisfying. Enjoy the meal, bruzzahs.]
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