Shin and Laverna moved swiftly, unlocking the cages one by one. The prisoners, weak and trembling, barely believed what was happening. Some hesitated, eyes wide with fear, while others grasped the bars as if clinging to hope for the first time in years.
The air was thick with tension. The scent of blood and filth clung to the damp walls, mingling with the metallic tang of fear. Shin remained on guard, ears tuned to the slightest disturbance beyond the doorway. He could feel it—trouble was coming.
Heavy boots pounded against the stone floors. Voices barked orders, cutting through the eerie silence of the prisoner chambers. The sharp clank of armor signaled their approach. A squad of guards, armed and ready, turned the corner and immediately spotted them.
"Intruders! Kill them!"
Shin tensed, his hand gripping the hilt of Yoshimatsu. He was ready to charge, to cut them down before they could harm the prisoners. Every muscle in his body coiled, his mind calculating the angles of attack.
But before he could move, Laverna sprang forward like a streak of shadow. She moved on instinct, her body reacting before her mind could process it. A snarl ripped from her throat as she lunged into the fray, her speed catching the guards off guard.
Her first strike was wild yet deadly, her blade slicing through the nearest guard's throat. The gurgling man fell back, clutching his wound as blood sprayed in a gruesome arc. The others barely had time to react before she was upon them, moving with a reckless yet terrifying grace.
Shin hesitated for half a breath, watching her. It was pure instinct, raw and unchained, yet somehow it synchronized perfectly with his own precision. He saw no hesitation in her movements, no fear—only the drive to survive, to destroy those who had wronged her.
The moment passed, and he moved. With a calculated step, he intercepted an incoming strike, his katana flashing as it met steel. Sparks flew, and in the next instant, he twisted his blade, severing the guard's arm before driving the weapon through his chest. The man slumped forward with a dying gasp, but Shin had already moved on to the next target.
Laverna danced through the chaos, her movements erratic yet deliberate. She ducked beneath a swinging axe, using her smaller frame to slip under the guard's reach before raking her blade across his gut. Blood sprayed, but she was already moving again, her sharp eyes locked onto the next enemy.
Shin adjusted his stance, falling in beside her. Without a word, they moved together, an unspoken rhythm forming between them. The battle became a dance—one of precision and raw instinct, flowing as if they had trained together for years.
A guard aimed a crossbow at Laverna, his fingers tightening around the trigger. Shin was already there, slicing the bolt in midair before closing the distance and running the archer through. He twisted his blade free just as another enemy charged from behind.
Laverna moved before he could react. With a guttural snarl, she pounced, wrapping an arm around the guard's neck while driving her dagger into his side.
She didn't kill him immediately. Instead, she let him struggle, twisting the blade deeper, savoring the terror in his widening eyes before she finished him with a brutal slice across the throat.
More guards stormed in, their expressions hardened with grim determination. One wielded a heavy mace, swinging it toward Shin with bone-crushing force.
He sidestepped, letting the weapon crash into the ground before slashing upward, severing the man's wrist. The guard howled, but his pain was short-lived as Laverna drove her blade into his ribs from behind, then yanked it free in a shower of crimson.
A swordsman lunged at her from the side, and she spun, catching his wrist with her dagger. Instead of going for the kill immediately, she wrenched his arm back and slammed her forehead into his nose. The crunch of breaking bone was drowned by his scream. With a savage grin, she drove her dagger into his eye socket, twisting as he collapsed, convulsing.
Another guard attempted to flank Shin, but Laverna leaped onto his back, her blade flashing as she slashed open his throat. She landed beside Shin, breathless, her golden eyes gleaming with battle-born exhilaration.
Shin, meanwhile, moved with lethal efficiency. Yoshimatsu cut through armor as if it were paper, the high-frequency vibrations of the blade humming through the air. A guard raised his shield to block an incoming strike, but Shin adjusted his grip, slicing downward with pinpoint accuracy. The blade cleaved through the wooden shield, then through the steel beneath, splitting the man's chest open in a single, fluid stroke.
Laverna ducked beneath another swing, then rolled between an enemy's legs, slashing his Achilles tendons on her way through. He collapsed with a pained wail, and before he could react, she was already on him, her dagger plunging into his spine with a final, merciless thrust.
A hulking brute wielding a halberd swung at Shin, forcing him back. Laverna saw the opening and darted forward, raking her dagger along the back of the brute's exposed knee. He stumbled, just as Shin moved in, his katana flashing as he severed the man's head in a single motion. It hit the ground with a sickening thud.
For a brief moment, the world narrowed. The sounds of battle faded. It was just the two of them, standing amidst the fallen, their breathing heavy, their hearts pounding in unison.
Their eyes met. Neither spoke, but something unspoken passed between them. It was as if they had fought together for years, their movements blending seamlessly.
Precision met instinct. Discipline met raw fury. And together, they were unstoppable.
Shin exhaled, his grip tightening around his sword. Laverna flicked the blood from her dagger, her chest rising and falling with steady breaths.
Footsteps echoed from down the hall. Reinforcements.
The moment of stillness shattered, replaced by the urgency of the mission. Shin turned back to the prisoners, some of whom stared at them in awe. They didn't have time for hesitation.
"We keep moving," he said, his voice firm.
Laverna nodded, a smirk tugging at her lips. "Then let's finish this."
They didn't know it yet, but they had just become something more than two warriors thrown together by chance.
They had become a force to be reckoned with.
Shin, eager to finish this, sheathed his blade and concentrated. He could feel his blade vibrating, channeling the Ki gathering in the sharp edge.
He sighed, and it felt as if time had slowed as he closed his eyes. Whispering, he uttered, "Soma Sword Art Form One: Shin Getsu (New Moon)."
To the naked eye, it seemed that Shin disappeared, only to reappear at the end of the reinforcements coming from the prison hall. In reality, it was a series of very fast draws and strikes, where the blade appeared and vanished, the wave of guards having no time to react.
In a seamless motion, he turned the sword, guiding it back into its sheath with practiced grace. The metallic whisper of the blade locking into place was the only sound that followed.
As soon as he sheathed his blade, the reinforcements collapsed to the ground, some in pieces, some still squirming to live, while others had detached limbs, all writhing in their own blood as their life ebbed away.
Laverna flicked the blood from her dagger, stepping over a twitching corpse. She raised an eyebrow, amber eyes narrowing as she watched the devastation Shin had left behind. "Show-off," she muttered, rolling her shoulders. "Could've left some for me."
She glanced back at the prisoners, some of whom huddled together in shock, eyes darting between her and Shin. The reality of their rescue had yet to sink in.
Laverna sighed, then turned toward him, tilting her head. "Is everyone alright?" he asked. She echoed, though her tone carried something else—perhaps curiosity, perhaps something more unreadable.
"Yeah, they're shaken, but they're alive." Her smirk widened slightly as she looked at him. He smiled, glancing over her shoulder as she too finished her side of things. "Now that we're not disturbed, let's continue freeing the people."
Laverna smirked, twirling her dagger between her fingers. "Yeah, yeah. Let's get this over with before more of your friends show up." She strode past him, her voice lighter than before, but her fingers still clenched around the hilt of her weapon.
Without another word, she strode toward the next set of cages, voice firm yet reassuring. "Get up. Move if you can. We're getting you out of here."
A part of her still burned with the rush of battle, the exhilaration of moving in sync with someone for the first time in her life. But she pushed it down. There was still work to do.