The second female lead Dual Cultivates

"He's playing with us. He knows we're here for sure. What should we do now?" Maria asked her voice tense as she came out of her hiding spot. She could spot the knowledge about what she had said in Kagemori's eyes as well. The other female recognized the danger they were in as well.

"Yes, he does. He's trying to lure us out" Kagemori agreed with her. Trisha had an understanding face as well, her eyes flashing in an uncomfortable way. Out of everyone here, she was the one most at risk. Even if they did manage to escape, whether or not Trisha would be let go was still up for debate.

But they all knew they had to escape. Staying here any longer was not an option for any one of them. Not with the threat of danger looming over their heads. If they did manage to get caught, it would be all over for them.

"I know a way we can get out. Now is the chance since Rosewell would not see it coming. But we'll need to do something about the guards" Trisha knew this place inside-out so it was not difficult to believe that she knew a way out.

However, it was Kagemori that stopped them from following Trisha. Her expression had a worried look to it and her eyes did not face her companion's head-on. Maria knew it had something to do with her capture and her feeling proved to be right.

"You'll need to go alone. Rosewell made darn sure I won't be able to leave this place without compromising my rescue party. I'm chipped with technology far beyond what you've seen before" Kagemori sounded remorseful about the face.

Maria frowned at the explanation, her expression darkening. These complicated things but maybe not as much as Rosewell was thinking it would. Maria knew she was not advanced enough to remove the chip but her system should be able to dull it enough.

'Run a scan. See what you can find out about the chip' her system chipped with an annoying sound but it started the scan.

"We're not leaving you behind. Who knows what they'll do to you. Maria, tell her we're not leaving her behind. Maria?" Trisha asked, annoyed that she did not have Maria's full attention. But Maria was busy watching her system work.

The chip was advanced, as Maria had thought it to be. But it was not impossible to hack. Her system was doing a good job of disabling it. It was also decoding the information inside the chip to know where it was from.

[Scanning completed. The disabling process begins. Chip code: Albest-08-CXI-D2]

The shock Maroa felt should not have been that bad. But it could no longer be a coincidence that this chip was from Albest. That kingdom was everywhere and Maria felt like she had no idea where to even begin.

"-can't leave. The alarms would ring and bring in all the guards" Kagemori explained but Maria had toned her out in favor of focusing on her system. It did not need her help but sometimes it did command her to direct her actions manually.

[Deactivating Microchip Albest-08-CXI-D2. ETA: 5…4…3…2…1…deactivated]

Maria breathed a sigh of relief as the process finished successfully. Not that she had been worried or had doubted her system. Not even a single bit. But she had been worried about something going bad.

Luckily, she had managed to successfully pull off the hacking.

"We're all free to go. I've disabled your chip for now but we need to leave now. We don't have time" Maria explained as she took Kagemori's hand on her own and began dragging her. The other's shock and Maria's strength were the only things that made it possible to achieve.

However, Kagemori began to struggle as soon as she snapped out of the shock. Her body tried to get free but it was obvious that she was not putting her everything into it.

The poor girl wanted to be free but had no idea how to go about it. It made Maria feel sad for her.

"Let me go. I should not leave this room-" Maria felt Kagemori's tense body and her recoil as she was dragged out of the room. Even Maria held her breath in case of an alarm.

Not that she did not trust her system, she really did. But still, a layer of caution went a long way in making sure things were alright. Trisha was the last one to exit, her body acting as a barrier between Kagemori and the door.

"I-It did not ring" Kagemori exclaimed in a relieved voice and suddenly her body went boneless in Maria's arms. The stress just bled out of her and the strength she showed just a second ago was gone.

Trisha made a hasty moment to catch her but backed off as soon as Maria got there first. Between them, they managed to howl Kagemori off and get her to safety. Maria also made sure to keep an eye on her map to make sure they would not be spotted.

Time was running out after all and they only had a couple of hours left before the appointed time of the apocalypse.

"Hurry, this way. The door should be right around the corner" Maria took the rear as Trisha led them to the secret passage only her family knew about. It was their only hope since the guards were heading to Kagemori's cell. Her escape would be noticed anytime now.

But Maria was not worried. They had a head start and they were about to get out of her as well.

"It's locked. What should we do?" Trisha asked and Maria pushed her to the side. She used all her strength to burst the door down. It didn't matter that the noise would bring everyone else here as well.

"Let's go. We only have this one chance" Maria cried out as she went in first. The passage was old and covered in dirt. It did look like it had not been used for a long time and Maria felt reassured of their safety as she moved through the tunnel.

And she finally saw it, the end of the tunnel was in sight once again. If they ran, they would reach it in under a minute. And that was what Maria intended to do.

Until a shadow blocked their way and looked back at the group with a sinister smile. It was a familiar face as well, one Maria had not expected to see after what had happened earlier.

"Did you think you could get away from me? I'll make sure you all get killed right here and now" Lucas Rosewell stood in their path, his eyes flashing red.

(Had the worst possible day imaginable. Thankfully, writing helps me escape.)