Chapter 2 - Capture

“Stop! Do not approach or I will open fire!”

Renji barked the warning at the approaching four armoured figures. He raised his carbine and set his sights on the nearest one.

The swordsmen ignored him and continued their advance.

Renji shifted his aim and squeezed the trigger. A loud crack came from the wall behind them, sending dust and stone flying. The swordsmen paused for a beat and glanced at each other. Then they shouted in a foreign language, pointing their swords at him.

What are they saying? What language is that?

Renji was no stranger to killing or combat. He had engaged enemy combatants and terrorists during his JSDF career. But something about this whole situation felt wrong.

“Final warning! I will open fire!” Renji’s tone was firm. The swordsmen continued their advance towards him.

“Screw this. Not the time to hesitate.”

He exhaled and squeezed the trigger in a quick double tap. The first man staggered as the rounds punched through his breastplate, gurgling blood before collapsing.

The remaining three froze, eyes wide as they stared at their fallen comrade.

“Final warning!” Renji barked, carbine steady.

Chaotic yelling among the robed figures continued to fill the chamber. Most of the noise came from a tall woman with dark skin and pointed ears—a dark elf. Her silver hair was tied in a high ponytail, and her robes were more elaborate than the others. She barked something at a blonde woman kneeling before her. Then she struck the blonde across the face with the back of her hand.

What is going on here? Renji thought.

“Do any of you speak English?” he asked in English, noting that the faces he could see were Caucasian.

The robed figures turned their attention to Renji. His eyes caught the gaze of the blonde woman—with long hair, maybe twenty. Her hand was on the cheek that had just been struck.

Her expression was hard to read. Was it fear? Was it pity? Renji cast those thoughts aside, dismissing her as an immediate threat.

Because of the sound-suppressed carbine, the robed figures hadn’t realised what happened until they saw the bodies lying in pools of blood. The dark elf’s eyes narrowed. She raised a jewelled staff and muttered an incantation.

A bolt of lightning slammed into Renji’s chest. Agony ripped through his body. Every muscle spasmed at once.

Renji dropped to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut, and his world went black.

***

Self-Defence Academy / Bōei Daigaku, just outside Tokyo, Japan – eight years ago.

“Cadet Takeda reporting as ordered, Sir.”

Renji stood at attention, saluting his commanding officer at the military academy. The Colonel sat behind his desk, skimming through a file.

“At ease, Lieutenant.”

“Thank you, Sir.” Renji shifted his feet slightly and placed his hands behind his back.

“You scored highly on your physical evaluations. But your intellectual aptitude results are more… interesting. They are exceptionally high.”

“Thank you, Sir.”

Near-genius-level acuity, the Colonel thought.

“I understand you are to be assigned to a Combat Engineer Battalion when you graduate next year.” The Colonel flipped a page. “That said, with your scores, Special Forces Group has taken an interest in you.”

“Special Forces Group, Sir?”

The Colonel closed the folder. “Yes. They would like to speak with you. I believe they have an interesting proposition.”

He leaned forward, elbows on the table, fingers laced together beneath his chin.

“Are you interested, Cadet Takeda?”

***

“Oi! Oi!”

Renji heard a female voice call out to him. He blinked his eyes open. His vision was blurry, and his head throbbed like a drumbeat.

Was I dreaming? Renji thought.

He ran a quick audit of his body, checking for injuries.

Good, nothing broken, nothing bleeding.

Damn it… my wrists and ankles are shackled.

He was still in his combat fatigues, but his weapons and tactical vest were gone.

He scanned his surroundings.

Some kind of prison cell. Stone walls. The metal gate looked rusted and old.

“Oi!” the voice called out again.

Renji turned to see the same blonde woman from the chamber—the one who’d been struck. Her cheek was bruised, and her hair matted with sweat and dust. She wore a worn dark blue robe, torn and dirty. Her hands and feet were shackled, a collar around her neck chained to the wall.

She stared at him with bright blue eyes and spoke in a language he didn’t understand. Renji shook his head and gestured as such.

She extended her hands, palms up, and bent her elbows slightly a few times—beckoning him to come closer.

I can overpower her easily if she tries anything, he thought, approaching cautiously.

When he got close, she reached out and grabbed his face. Renji flinched, jerking back, eyes narrowing in suspicion.

She gestured again, calm and unthreatening.

Why is she trying to grab my face? I don’t sense hostility…

This time, he let her. She touched his face, leaned forward, and muttered something. Their foreheads touched.

A soft glow flared between their foreheads.

“There, finally,” she said with relief.

“What just happened?” Renji replied, still somewhat confused. “Wait… I can understand you now?!”

“Yes. I linked our minds. Think of it as magical translation.”

“You can do that? Wait—where am I?”

“I’ll explain later. For now, just know that we’re imprisoned by Duke Thorval. We need to escape if we want to live.”

“Want to live? What are you talking about?”

“You killed four of the Duke’s personal guard and caused an explosion in his mansion. We’re both scheduled for execution. I don’t know when… but soon. Anyway, explanations will have to wait. I’m Alina.”

“Renji.”

“Alright, Renji, we need to get out.”

“Do you have a plan?”

“First, we need to get this collar off. It suppresses most of my magic.”

“Magic? Never mind… I’ll ask again later.”

Magic... no way…

Renji stood and checked the pockets of his fatigues. Nothing.

He glanced at Alina. Something caught his eye.

“What?” she asked.

Renji reached for her hair.

She flinched. “What are you doing?”

“Hold still.”

Renji gently pulled a hairpin from her hair. It was a simple piece adorned with two red flowers.

“I’m surprised they didn’t take this.”

“What are you going to do with it?”

Renji knelt and picked the shackles at his hands and feet. The locks clicked open.

“You can do that?”

“Yeah. These locks are primitive.” He rubbed his wrists. “Your turn.”

He leaned close to reach the collar lock. Alina flushed slightly, but Renji stayed focused. The lock snapped free.

“All done.” He offered her a hand.

“Thanks.” She took it shyly and stood, clearing her throat. “Alright, I should be able to blast the gate open.”

“Wait.” Renji pushed her hands down. “We don’t want to start a ruckus.”

He crouched by the gate lock, working with the pin.

After a moment he sighed. “Not working.”

“Sorry for what?” Alina asked.

Renji snapped the hairpin in two. “This.” He now had a pair of lockpicking pins.

“Don’t worry. It’s just a hairpin.”

He picked the lock again.

“By the way, how are we able to understand each other?” Renji asked.

“I linked our minds. You don’t understand the words, but the meaning passes between us.”

“Got it.”

The lock clicked open.

“You did it!” Alina’s eyes lit up.

Renji pocketed the pins and eased the gate open.

“Do you know your way around this place?” he whispered.

“Yes. There should be stairs to the right.” She led the way.

They moved quietly through the corridor.

Just as they reached the stairwell, a voice called out behind them—

“Hey, you!”