I, the slave boy, awaken with the most potent seed!!

The second guard's footsteps echoed through the corridor as he rounded the corner, his hand resting casually on his weapon. His eyes fell immediately on Marcus's slumped form in the chair, wine bottle dangling precariously from limp fingers.

"For heaven's sake, Marcus," he sighed, shaking his head. "Not again."

What he couldn't see, from his angle, was the thin film of translucent slime supporting Marcus's arm, or the way Cassandra and Sakura had wedged themselves into the shadows behind a support beam, barely daring to breathe.

Marcus's hand raised in a lazy wave, the movement controlled by Cassandra's careful manipulation of her slime. "'uhm fine," she growled in a passable imitation of Marcus's gravelly voice, keeping the words slurred and brief.

The guard crossed his arms, clearly unimpressed. "You know, one of these days Raxus is going to catch you like this. That'll be the end of your cushy posting here. Probably the end of your career, too, if you're lucky."

Cassandra grunt and made Marcus give a clumsy thumbs up, praying it would be enough to send the guard on his way.

"Unbelievable," the guard muttered, turning to leave. "Just... try to stay awake, will you? And for gods' sake, put that bottle away."

They waited until his footsteps had completely faded before allowing themselves to breathe again. Sakura's shoulders sagged with relief as Cassandra carefully withdrew her slime from Marcus's unconscious form.

"That," Sakura whispered, "was too close."

"Come on," Cassandra responded, already moving deeper into the dungeon. "We need to move before someone else decides to check on him."

They crept forward, keeping to the shadows, expecting to hear the sounds of other prisoners—whispers, movements, anything. But as they progressed, an unsettling reality became clear: the cells were empty. Every single one.

Sakura grabbed Cassandra's arm, her fingers digging in with sudden fear. "Where is she?" Her voice trembled slightly. "You don't think they..."

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"No," Cassandra cut her off firmly, though her own heart had clenched at the possibility. "They need her alive. Raxus needs to find Zafron, and Matilda's his best lead." She paused, thinking quickly. "She has to be somewhere else in the mansion."

"We should split up," Sakura suggested, but Cassandra was already shaking her head.

"Too risky. We don't know what kind of security they have up there. If either of us runs into serious resistance..." She left the sentence hanging. "No, we stick together."

They retraced their steps, moving past Marcus's still-unconscious form and up the stairs. The mansion's interior was eerily quiet, their footsteps muffled by thick carpets. Ornate wallpaper and expensive artwork lined the walls.

Cassandra held up a hand as voices drifted from around a corner. They pressed themselves against the wall, listening as two guards passed by, deep in conversation about shift changes and dinner plans. Normal, mundane talk that made the whole situation feel somehow more surreal.

"You were right," Sakura breathed once the guards had passed. "There aren't many of them here."

They moved methodically through the mansion, checking every room they could safely access. Each empty room increased their tension, the fear that they might be too late, or worse, that they were walking into a trap.

Finally, peering through an ornate keyhole, Sakura's breath caught. "There," she whispered urgently. "Corner of the room."

Cassandra looked. Matilda sat huddled in the corner of what appeared to be a study, her usual confident posture replaced by something more defensive. But she was alive, and apparently unharmed. Discover exclusive content at empire

Slime began to form around Cassandra's fingers as she examined the lock. With careful concentration, she shaped it into the necessary form, creating a perfect key. The lock clicked open with agonizing slowness.

They slipped inside, and Matilda's head snapped up, her eyes widening in disbelief. Before she could speak, Cassandra pressed a finger to her lips in warning.

"Not a sound," she breathed, barely audible. "We're getting you out of here."

Matilda nodded, but her expression was tense. "The governor's here," she whispered back. "Raxus and some official I didn't recognize. They're all in the building."

"Then we move fast," Sakura replied, already checking the hallway. "Stay close."

With that, they left the room and retraced their steps down the hallway. Suddenly, they froze and quickly ducked into a hiding spot when a shout echoed from behind them.

"Guard down in the dungeon! Marcus is unconscious!"

Another voice, closer: "The prisoner! Check the prisoner!"

"She's no where to be found!"

"Lockdown!" The word echoed through the halls, followed by the ominous sound of heavy doors slamming shut. "No one leaves! Governor's orders!"

Heavy footsteps were approaching from both directions. The shift in guard patterns was immediate and obvious—they were searching systematically, room by room.

"They know we are here," Cassandra whispered urgently, guiding them behind a heavy curtain that concealed a shallow alcove.

They pressed themselves into the space, barely breathing, as guards rushed past their hiding place.

"Seal every exit!" A commanding voice rang out—Xylar. "I want every guard recalled! Zafron's here, I know it. He's come for her himself. No one leaves this building except to bring in reinforcements. Do you understand? No one!"

The minutes crawled by like hours as they huddled in their hiding place. Every few seconds, guards would pass by, their footsteps heavy and purposeful. The slightest movement risked discovery, the smallest sound could give them away.

Cassandra's mind raced, calculating angles, counting footsteps, trying to find a pattern they could exploit. But the guard movements were too frequent, too random. They were trapped.

"We can't stay here," Sakura breathed, her lips barely moving. "They'll find us eventually."

"If we move, we'll be seen," Matilda countered, her voice equally soft.

"And if we don't move, we'll be found," Sakura insisted. "Listen to how they're searching. They're being thorough. It's only a matter of time."

Cassandra closed her eyes, thinking. Every option seemed to end in capture. Every route led to discovery. Unless...

"Sakura's right," she whispered. "We need to move. But not to escape—not yet."

"What do you mean?" Matilda asked, tension evident in her voice.

"They're expecting us to try to get out. Every exit will be heavily guarded. But they're also expecting Zafron to be here." A plan was forming in her mind, desperate but possible. "We need to use that."

"How?" Sakura's question was barely audible over the sound of another group of guards passing.

"We make them think we're somewhere else. Create enough chaos to thin out their numbers. Then..." She paused as heavy footsteps approached, then faded again. "Then we fight our way out."

"Fight?" Matilda's eyes widened. "There must be dozens of them by now."

"Exactly," Sakura nodded, understanding dawning in her expression. "Too many to coordinate effectively. If we can create enough confusion..."

"We might have a chance," Cassandra finished. "But we'll only get one shot at this. If we fail..."

They all knew what failure meant. Capture, at best. Death, at worst. And either way, the end of any hope for their resistance.

"I won't go back into that room," Matilda said firmly, her voice carrying the weight of hours spent in captivity. "I won't be their bait again."

"Then we fight," Sakura decided, her hand moving to a concealed weapon. "Better to fall trying than surrender."

Cassandra nodded, feeling her slime responding to her rising determination. "We fight," she agreed. "But we do it smart. We do it together." She looked at each of her companions in turn, reading the same resolve in their eyes. "And we make every shot count."

Outside their hiding place, guards continued their search, unaware that their quarry was not just cornered, but preparing to strike back. The night was far from over, and the real battle was about to begin.