Where are they?

“Hey Dan, are you sure the children are here?”

Felicia asks Dan as they lean against a tree to hide and peek, scanning for guards. The fences in front of the church are made of bars and have pointy, spear-like tips, while the sides and back are a normal stone wall. Some of the bars were intertwined with vines from a garden bush nearby, but mostly see-through.

Ark doesn't know much about religions in this world, even before Ark arrived at the slum, he never went to church. The kingdom of Thellos is far from a theocracy, Ark knows they have big faith in prophecy and fortune-telling, but he has never heard any name of deities. So this one church is being fenced up like this, probably because this is a special thing in Korland.

There are two guards standing at the entrance, and through the fences, they can see a lot more guards patrolling in pairs.

“Yes, but this… is a little bit surprising that they have this many guards. Hahaha, they must have been scared for us to come.”

“So what now? We can’t just barge in, can't we? Do you have a plan, Dan?”

Ark suspects that it's the case— he might already be prepared for everything. That's why he asks that. But to Ark’s surprise, Dan shakes his head.

“No, not really. I certainly didn't expect to see this many guards. You guys have anything in mind?”

“I got nothing, really,” Felicia answers. “I somehow don’t believe you have no plans. After all these near-perfect plans for infiltration, and you don’t have plan B for the last action? Unless this was not your objective?”

“I get it, Miss Felicia. And I won’t blame you for being suspicious. All I will say is, my desire to save the children is not some passing nonsense.”

“And you didn't even deny that this was not your objective. What a cunning man.” Felicia says while giving an emotionless stare.

They are in silence for a couple of seconds. The situation is quite awkward, and Ark doesn't think this is all that matters anymore. There are people back there waiting, trusting them to this part. And more importantly, there are children with uncertain fate awaiting them.

Ark breaks the silence by giving his thoughts. “Why don't we do the same misdirection tactic, just on a smaller scale with us three?”

“That would not work-” Dan stops and looks at the ground, thinking. “-unless I become the bait.”

“No, wait, I was thinking maybe I could be the bait,” Ark says calmly.

It is true that he might not be able to fight against one guard, let alone a bunch of them. But to be bait, he thinks he can just taunt them and run away or cause some scene with fire and then hide away. He can also blend in with other people by just removing his scarf’s knot and covering only the back of his neck, that way, no one will recognise that he is a Ruheist.

“Ark, this is no time to be a hero. And it’s not just about distracting the knights. We need to buy enough time for the others to get the children, set up the second phase of the plan, and activate the spell before they realize it all. That’s it, I will bait them, and you guys should carry on the task of getting the children out of here.”

“But-” Felicia cuts Ark short and says, “Save it, kiddo. We will go with this plan. I hope you can buy us enough time, Dan.”

“My name is Ark, Miss Felicia. I would appreciate it if you could remember it.”

“Whatever, Archy. Dan, please proceed, we have wasted too much time already.”

Ark doesn't appreciate it much being treated like a kid. But he has to suck it up because he knows not to think that everything is about himself. He can also sense that Miss Felicia has run out of patience. While Dan just gives a faint smile and nods.

“I will make sure you know when the right time is.” Dan says, and leaves in the darkness.

“We also need to go, Archy.”

“Understood.”

While Dan gets closer to the entrance, Ark and Felicia flank toward the right side of the church. They are finding the best spot to jump and enter the church enclosure.

Around the back corner, they found the least lit spot. All they need now is Dan making a scene and distracting the guards on patrol.

Felicia takes initiative to peek from above the wall, hanging by her hands, and naturally Ark watches around closer to the corner so he can spot if someone comes from any side.

Before long, their wait has come to an end, a loud sound from the direction of the entrance can be heard. It sounds like some furniture smashed to the ground or something. A couple of seconds later, Felicia turned her back to signal Ark.

“Archy, now!” She called carefully.

Felicia jumped over the wall, then Ark followed. On the other side of the wall, they can see dimly lit hallways from little glow stones alongside the walls.

Footsteps of guards can be heard getting farther away from where they are. The loud sound can be heard once again, causing even more commotion and noise.

Felicia and Ark ignore those noises entirely, and they set their focus on finding the largest room. Dan has said that the children might have been gathered together in a large space, most likely a hall.

With better hearing, Felicia also tries to separate the noises and locate whether any of the children are awake because of the loud sound and the commotion outside. They are ignoring small doors and only taking short peeks at bigger doors.

Along the way, they open some, eavesdropping on others until they stand in front of a big double wooden door. A bright light came out from underneath it, giving them an idea of how well lit the room is.

“Do you think this is it, Miss Felicia?” Ark asks.

“It better be.” Ark, standing slightly behind, can see Felicia clench her hand.

She walks forward and puts her hand on the door. She slowly opens it. As light temporarily blinds them both, they hear someone speak.

“Those stupid youngsters, drawn to the loud sound like a flock of ducklings answering their mother’s call. So, what do you guys think? ‘It’s actually really easy to make trouble here’ or ‘why didn’t we do this sooner? Because Thellos and their defense are jokes.’ Funny, right?” The voice of the man mocks them both.

It's familiar. Ark has heard this voice, and there is no way he will forget it. As soon as they gain their vision back, Ark can see the figure of that man. The man who takes Mala away, the man who sent him flying with a punch. Suddenly, he can feel the pain in his stomach once again.

“Ah, those stares. Am I that much of a joke to both of you? You act strong as if there’s any chance you could walk away from this room, even if any one of those idiot knights can win against the two of you. If only they were a little bit smarter.”

Ark is too focused on the man in front of them, he doesn't realize Felicia has already taken a stance and drawn her weapon.

All five of the rescue team have been given weapons by Dan. Not only does he have all those magic crystals, but also a range of weapons to be used. Felicia has taken two big cleavers, and Ark has taken a short sword.

Eventually, Ark takes a glance at Felicia and draws out his sword too, and assumes a stance.

“WHERE ARE THE CHILDREN!?” Felicia screams at the man and takes a step forward.

“You kid, I remember your ugly face… Ark, was it? You seem to have not learned your lesson yet. But don’t worry, I will make sure you do this time.” The man speaks again, ignoring Felicia.

“You piece of shit! I SAID. WHERE ARE THE CHILDREN!?” Felicia has gotten angrier and screams at the top of her lungs.

“Kid, won’t you do something with this noisy kitty? It’s a bit annoying, I believe you should tame your feral cat first before taking it out for a walk.”

That taunt from the man seems to be the last straw for Felicia. She dashes forward toward the man, jumping as she tries to attack from above with a heavy blow.

In that short moment, the man unsheathes his sword and blocks the attack with one hand while still looking at Ark.

Felicia, suddenly stopping mid-attack and hanging for a second in the air, looks somewhat comical and absurd from Ark's perspective.

In the end, she is dragged by gravity, but before her feet can reach the ground to jump and make space, the man spins ninety degrees and kicks her in the stomach, sending her flying to the wall.