The thick patch of trees was thinning along their path, and soon Kiyohara and Kobayashi found themselves at the base of a sloped cliff.
The path ahead ceased, but it did not halt their approach. It almost seemed like they wanted to walk into the walls of the cliff itself.
Then, when they were only a few steps away, she raised her hands to the wall, and the earth rippled as if made of water.
They walked toward it, phasing through the wall and disappearing inside. Izumi and Lloyd saw it all from their hiding place a few meters away.
Then Miyuki called out to them.
"What's going on?" she asked.
"They walked towards a cliff by the end of the forest and phased into its walls," Lloyd replied. "The walls must have been hiding some sort of hidden entrance, but now that they're inside, we can't keep following them."
"It can't be helped," she said. "All we can do now is listen in. Izumi, this is your chance to stabilise the spells."
"I got it," he said before sitting down on the grass with his legs crossed.
He shut his eyes, trying to focus as he held a new interface tag in his hands. A bright light flashed from it, and a septa circle appeared on the ground beneath him.
The two transmissions jumbled into an inaudible frequency ringing in their ears, but with time they both smoothed out until they were clear.
With the transmissions stable, the group all tuned into the trace, listening and trying to get out as much information from this temporary advantage as they could.
The conversation between the two rang clear in their minds.
"What's wrong, Mistress?" Kobayashi asked after he noticed her stretching.
"I'm just tired, is all," she replied. "Suppressing our source energy for weeks on end definitely comes with its toll."
"But were we not to, then the quantity of it would be perceptible even to common humans," he said.
"I'm aware of the necessity, but it doesn't make me like doing it any better," she said.
"Anyway, how are our guests doing?" she continued. "Any progress?"
"None so far," he answered. "They are still refusing to talk."
"I'm sure they will," she said. "We just need to keep up the persuasion. In fact, let's go visit one now."
The two of them manoeuvred across the dark, narrow hallways of the cave, the light of a single lantern guiding their way.
They soon came upon a locked door. From a batch of keys tied to a ring, she pulled out the key to that door's specific lock.
The sound of the door creaking open sent chilling echoes across the cave. Once they stepped in, the light of the lantern danced around the room in search of something until it came upon an emaciated figure curled up in the corner.
He shrank back from the blinding glare of the light, covering his face with his hand.
"Mr Hiroshi Fujikawa, is it?" she asked, the sound of her voice violently piercing into his ears. "How are you feeling today?"
He turned his head away without saying a word.
"What is wrong?" she asked. "Is our hospitality lacking in any way? Just tell us, and your conditions here will be improved."
He turned back to them, but his gaze stayed fixed on what was beyond the door behind them.
Kiyohara noticed this and said, "You always stare out of that door whenever we visit. I assume that you're hoping to catch a glance of the cells of your comrades."
"After four and a half months of confinement, your higher sense has weakened," she continued. "You couldn't tell if they're hale and healthy or already dead."
"Just leave me alone!" he burst out in a frail voice. "You won't get anything out of me, so just leave."
"Why are you all like this?" she asked. "Is being stubborn part of the honor you Ashura samurai have inscribed on your backs?"
"All it takes to save yourself from this hole is the answer to a simple question," she continued. "Where is the Seiiki?"
"Just tell me that, and you and your lot can go free."
"As if I would ever believe you," he said. "If you can't even be transparent about your true nature, how can I believe that what you're saying could be any different?"
"I wouldn't be lying if I said that I'd be inclined to think like you do in such a situation," she said. "But I wouldn't be foolish enough to cast down a chance at freedom."
"You won't fool me," he shot back. "I'd rather die than let the location of the Seiiki be revealed."
She clicked her tongue before saying, "How infuriating. You're like mice."
"Ever since the end of the era of the Black Sun, you pests are all that stand in the way of us conquering this realm."
"I will admit that you are formidable," she continued, "but strength isn't the only thing that's kept you safe from us for hundreds of years."
"Right now, knowledge of the location of the Seiiki is worth as much as a mountain of gold to the empire," she said. "One who reveals this will undoubtedly go down in the annals of history as the one who initiated your demise."
"Novaria, Damestiya, and the lands to the south. Every single front which the Djinn has faced mankind has inevitably fallen," she said as she turned and walked toward the door. "But our victory and the end of the Millennium War have always been out of reach."
The sound of the door slamming shut rang out eerily, and her footsteps as she walked back toward him made him unconsciously jerk himself back against the wall.
She stood a few inches away from him, looking straight down at him.
"Haven't you gotten tired of it? The endless cycle of pain, war, and suffering?" she asked him. "All of it could end here and now."
"We aren't monsters," she continued. "The most we can do to you humans after taking over this realm is just enslaving you, which is a much better fate for you all, in my eyes, than if this drags on any further."
Even as she talked, he wouldn't look at her. The only reason he had to raise his head was shut along with that door.
Seeing this, she took a deep sigh and started pacing around the room.
"I don't know what to say to you, Mr. Fujikawa," she said. "Your conviction is clearly not so easily broken."
"It takes me back to when we left the empire to finally fulfill this purpose and uncover your burrow," she continued. "We didn't even know where to start or how we would achieve this goal. Conviction was all we had."
"You could imagine how lucky we felt when we came across this town," she continued while still pacing about.
"The system here was unlike anything we'd seen before in other human settlements in the region," she said. "Though they feigned order and control through their council of merchants, anyone could see that the true power lay in the faith."
"I wouldn't blame them. What power is more compelling than one from on high?" she continued. "Though they couldn't rise up and claim themselves as lords, their decisions and actions were as good as law."
"This law was only used to benefit a few, as is the nature of you humans. Lying and scurrying around in the dark instead of trying to claim power through strength."
"But we are grateful for your cowardice. It was thanks to it that we were able to take over the shrine and replace their coveted spiritual leader. From then on, we have used the institution and law to our own ends."
He finally turned to her, his face expressionless as he said, "Why are you telling me all of this?"
She squatted down in front of him and replied, "Well, you see, my good friend, we are at a conundrum."
"No matter how long we searched, we couldn't find any trace of the Seiiki, and though useful, this town's institutions can't hold out for our operations indefinitely," she continued.
"And worst of all, word came to us from the empire demanding tangible results."
She turned her head down, staring at the filthy ground beneath her as she said, "We were at our wits' end, to the point that we were thinking of abandoning the operation completely."
Her gaze turned back toward him and, with a faint smile, she said, "Then, as if by a miracle, straight into the palm of our hands walked a lone detachment of Ashura Samurai."
"Instead of moving along quickly and avoiding any contact with the town, you foolishly staked it, trying to uncover its secrets."
"That mistake led us to capturing you all and confining you to this cave."
"So are you gloating or something?" he asked.
She lifted his bony chin up with her right hand and said, "On the contrary, it's imperative that you understand our situation and why telling us what we want to know would benefit you."
"Did you really think your sob story of struggles and miracles would convince me?" he said as he weakly pushed her hand aside.
"I'm sure it will because you still don't get the full picture," she said as she rose back up to her feet.
"You see, termination of an operation this sensitive can't come without consequences, and the one ray of hope we clung to is wilting away thanks to your stubbornness."
"Look, I'm going to be frank with you," she said, her tone growing sharper. "Many of your comrades have died, and those that remain are no better."
"We are now forced to turn to a new plan," she continued. "If we can force our way in, we will have to draw them out with something so loud that they can't ignore it."
"You couldn't mean...?" he said, his face pale.
"Yes. We would erase this entire town and all its inhabitants in one violent bloodbath," she replied, her tone indifferent.
"The news of it will surely send them rushing towards us, which would allow us to trace their path back to the sanctuary."
"Isn't it enough to just keep us hostage and hope that they will send a detachment to come find us?!"
"We've run out of time," she replied. "Waiting for something that isn't guaranteed is no longer an option."
"But doing that would get you all killed!" he shot back.
"It is a small price to pay for the future of our race," she said before a long pause.
"You are right that we don't want to throw our lives away," she said. "That is why we will wait."
"If by the end of this year, which is a month and a half away, you still haven't answered us, then we will act," she continued, her tone sharp. "And the second night of the New Year's festival will be this town's last."
"If before then you do answer us, then we will leave this town and its inhabitants unharmed."
"The fate of their lives hangs in the balance, so what will it be?" she asked. "Will you save them or watch as this place turns into a hellhole because of your choices?"
She turned to leave, saying, "Take your time and decide."
She started to walk away, and Kobayashi followed close behind.
Before they were out of the room, she said, "In the meantime, let's get a new one ready to take the place of that girl I killed."
He replied, saying, "I'll make the necessary preparations."
The sounds of their voices muffled into echoes until all there was to hear was silence between them.
"The transmission timer ran out," Izumi found himself saying unconsciously.
"Are you sure it wasn't faulty to begin with?" Yuriko mumbled. "Because there is no way that could be true, right?"
"It was working just fine," Miyuki said blankly. "Everything we heard was true."
"Then on the second night of the festival they're really going to butcher everyone," Takae said.
"There's no way that we can let that happen!" Lloyd shot back. "We have to strike before they can!"
"We still have a month and a half to analyse what we know and prepare to confront them," he continued. "All hope isn't lost."
"You're right," Izumi said. "Now that we know their plans, we'll be ready!"
"But can we beat them?" Takae asked. "Just the five of us."
"We have no other choice," Miyuki answered. "We are the only ones who can."
"We will save them," Yuriko shot back. "We won't watch as they tear apart their homes just like they did to ours."
"It's decided then," Lloyd said. "We still have time."
"We have to make it count."
Izumi and Lloyd rose back up to their feet and started walking away. In just a few steps, their frames were consumed in the shadows of the night.
Vanishing as if they were never there in the first place.