– POV General –

The group of five had gotten rid of the first four guards guarding the basement stairs, but that didn't mean that everything was successful. Now the hardest part was to neutralize all the others by blocking the entrances so they could loot and ransack everything. The 15 minutes had just begun and they had to waste no time since in 15 minutes Hestia and the others would enter the mansion. 

"The second exit is just to our right and leads directly into the backstage area where the auction is taking place. And there's one also on our left that leads directly into the garden for I guess when the guards want to get some fresh air from this confined area."

"Let's block all of them except the one that leads to the garden, we'll have to watch it” 

"Luckily it's further away, no one seems to be guarding it, two guards are stationed at the right door leading to the stage and the others are scattered a bit further down the corridors. They are on patrol so by the sounds of their footsteps I'd say we have about 3 minutes before we find ourselves face to face with the first group."

Once again Kali was using her gift connected to her hearing to perceive sounds and even if she didn't master it perfectly, her information was valuable. Objective, free the slaves and exotic animals to create a diversion, steal what they could and take advantage of the chaos to escape. Edward, who had put on the uniform of the one he had just strangled to death, pulled his axe from behind his back before speaking.

"I'll take care of the two remaining guards at the door on the right."

"Make it quick."

"Mmmh."

Without waiting for another signal, the red-bearded young man would crack his neck before beginning his walk down the small hallway to the right. The basement was made up of two large main corridors and two smaller ones leading to the garden and the stage respectively which made the task easier. Luckily even though they were not far, just like the stairs they were quite dark and poorly lit giving Edward the advantage of surprise.

*tap tap TAP TAP*

"Who is there ?"

"Peter is that you ? You finally got my cigarettes, you rat ?"

His footsteps echoed softly and then louder, alerting two men posted in front of a wooden door from which the host's voice echoed. The pirate did not answer, continuing to walk, twirling his axe in his fingers with a murderous gleam in his blue eyes. They were no longer a few feet away and as the two realized it wasn't Peter, a beast was already charging. 

"Who are...!!!"

*SLASH*

"AAARG..."

Brandishing their sword, one didn't have time to finish his sentence that an axe had already been planted in his skull making him explode so much the impact had been powerful. The other was speechless, unable to understand what was happening and what had happened to the guards at the entrance. The attack had been so sudden but as the blood and brains of his comrade splashed on him, he still found the strength to raise his weapon. 

"You !"

He had been for a moment completely stunned by the situation but he wasn't going to let himself be killed so easily without a fight. Yet, to Edward it made no difference and as the man got into position, the pirate pounced on him. Running at full speed, he caught his axe stuck in the remains of the skull as he passed before perfectly dodging the first blow that was intended to cut his arm. 

The sword was only a centimeter away from his skin but not close enough to hurt him so using this opportunity, he threw a violent punch into his ribs. Surprised by the pain, the guard recoiled, spitting blood as his vision blurred. Knowing he had to be quick, Edward spun around to gain speed and power before slitting the throat of the still stunned man.

"Uuuuuaaaarrgg !!!"

The blow had cut all the way through the spine causing blood to gush out on all sides as the guard's head hung back. His eyes bugged out and he stayed alive for a few more seconds before collapsing head first onto the cold stone. Edward watched him bleed to death with a smirk on his face as he finished tearing off his head with his boot. Then, straightening up, he finally turned his head toward the entrance in earnest.

"Okay, now...block the door"

____

"There they are, seven in the left hallway where the slave prisons and the door to the garden are and seven also in the right hallway where the rooms are. Tch, actually they were 18 in all...I still need to get better. "

"No, you and your gift made our job perfectly easy, no matter what happens the information you give us is valuable. Edward is taking care of the guards and blocking the door so it's up to us to fight now." 

"Pfff ! If you think I'm going to stand here with my arms crossed."

Kali had replied to Lucas by taking out her whip with her right hand with a mischievous look in her eyes and her dagger still full of blood with her left hand. He took out his cutlass without his pistol to not make noise, determined to slice with finesse. In turn, the roots of his hair changed from brown to dark purple while his eyes took on a red hue proving that he had just activated his gift. 

"Alright, then let's get rid of these bilge rats, mateys"

"Aye"

With that one word, Joe armed with his fists and Lucas took the left hallway while Mysie armed with her bow and dagger took the right hallway with Kali. They all had the natural energy flowing through their bodies and were determined to get it over with as quickly as possible. They had split up and could only trust their friends to come back within five minutes so that they had about 10 minutes left for the rest of the plan. 

After a few seconds, Kali and Mysie who had rushed down their hallway stopped as they heard the footsteps of the seven guards getting closer. This time they were not afraid and were ready to fight to get back to the others whatever it took. The young redheaded woman was the first to stop, bracing her bow and placing an arrow against the string as she waited for instructions from her friend. 

"Kali !"

"The first one to arrive, straight ahead of you at 5 meters, 20 seconds ! The second one on the far left, 30 centimeters from the wall at 120 degrees and 7 meters, 37 seconds !"

"Roger that !"

Without thinking and trusting her keen hearing Quartermaster, the young bard closed one eye, took a deep breath and unleashed her arrow straight ahead. Without pausing, she grabbed another arrow from her quiver before turning to the left wall as fast as she could. Following Kali's directions, Mysie would fire her second arrow which also hit its target causing two men to crash to the ground out of seven.

"AAARG !!!"

"AAAAA !!!"

*BAM BAM*

"Kill them !!"

The two pirates didn't have time to breathe though, as the other five were already arriving looking for one thing, to kill them both. Twirling her whip, Kali then threw it to grab a man by the neck and propel him to the ground in one pull. With a flick of her wrist she would bring her weapon back before throwing it again this time to her right to slash the torso of a man who was getting way too close.

"You stupid..."

*STAB*

Another officer was approaching from the left but didn't have time to speak as Kali's dagger lodged in his abdomen when he wasn't expecting it. While she held the other men at bay, the young woman had drawn her weapon to surprise him. The man fell to the ground with a dumb look on his face but as she was about to retrieve her weapon, to her right came a new guard.

"F-Fuck !"

*ssssss*

"ARG !"

Fortunately, just as the man's sword was about to hit the young Quartermaster's shoulder, an arrow came and stuck in his throat killing him instantly. There were only three men left, so without further ado they went after them to finally end the fight. Mysie shot an arrow at the first one who managed to break it with a sword stroke without seeing the dagger that went straight through his ribs.

"Aaaaa"

Falling forward he tripped the second officer while the second took an arrow in the forehead in a split second. All the men were on the ground, one of them still alive, so a young woman with brown hair and dark red roots ran towards him. With a violent kick she crushed his face before withdrawing her weapon planted in the ribs of the one who was immobile and dying.

Without thinking Kali pushed the knife into the throat ending the fight against the seven guards of the right corridor. The two girls were stunned and could not believe that they had succeeded despite the fear they felt inside. Of course the sight of the massacre was still not easy to bear, so Mysie spoke up to lighten the atmosphere that was becoming heavy.

"This time it was me who saved you hahaha~"

"T-Thank you Myse~"

"My pleasure~"

The two young women felt that they were still a little uncomfortable at the sight of all that blood and the smell of death but were going through it together. They were not fighters and still had to get used to the outcome, but neither of them regretted killing. Kali and Mysie had become stronger mentally and despite what they might feel, would never hesitate to take a life to save their own.

_____

"I hope Kali and Mysie make it through"

"Don't doubt them, did you see the look on their faces ? They were not the same as on that damned merchant ship. I bet you they'll even finish before we do so let's not keep those ladies waiting, I hope you're not afraid, kiddo"

"Hahaha~ speak for yourself, grandpa"

Lucas and Joe were both in the left hallway waiting for the group of seven that was about to stumble upon them in just a few seconds. Around them there was no wall as bars were on either side overlooking deep prisons. Many slaves were inside but the two pirates didn't have time to give them a single glance at the moment. 

"There they are !!!"

"F-Fuck but what are the others doing !?"

The seven officers in the hallway were only a few feet away, brandishing their sabers and bayonets furious that the other guards weren't there. Without thinking and knowing they shouldn't waste a minute, Joe and Lucas ran in the direction of their opponents. The fastest despite his size was the First Mate who was already coming up to the first two men yet he was running past them to get to the last ones.

"Huh ?"

The first three officers had swung their weapons without reaching him, causing general confusion making Lucas smile. He was two meters tall and yet none of them had hit him ? Why hadn't he attacked them ? Yet there was a very particular reason since those that the young man with long hair aimed were those who were armed with guns capable of making a noise that could alert the whole Opera.

"I'll leave the first ones to you, Sailing Master !"

"Sure !"

Zigzagging and weaving his way through the blades, Lucas finally reached the level of the last three officers who were ready to shoot to riddle him with bullets. With a quick movement, he pulled two daggers from his back and threw them at the gun barrels of two of the officers, obstructing them. Arriving at the same time on the third, the young man struck his sword with his own, making a noise of iron clashing. 

*CLANG*

"MMH !"

Lucas towered over him with his size and even though he wasn't as powerful as Hestia and Edward, in a fight like this it gave him an advantage. It could also have been a disadvantage because he was easier to aim but the young man knew perfectly how to fill this. Indeed, despite his physique he was without doubt one of the most agile of the Hysterics, always taking his opponents by surprise.

While one of the men with the broken bayonet had slipped into his back to hit him, he dodged by suddenly turning around with his feet on the right. With a precise blow he sliced the chest of the man before sending his foot on the second one propelling him against the bars. Without stopping, Lucas whirled his cutlass around still dodging attacks before thrusting it into the third man's throat killing him instantly.

"Just one more."

Running a hand through his now blood-stained hair, the young pirate approached the one whose ribs he had broken against the bars. Without thinking, he sliced the head of the one who was about to beg splashing more blood on his clothes. Lucas had finally come to the end of the three officers with a bayonet. With a quick movement towards the ground with his sword, he removed the blood from his blade before turning to Joe.

As always the Sailing Master with the now blond roots fought with as little movement as possible, always taking care not to get dirty. When Lucas had red eyes, he was a bit stronger although it was still within the human norm but Joe was different. Indeed, only his intelligence and his already incredible speed of thinking increased allowing him to calculate almost all the possibilities helped by simulations. 

So Joe was always very fast in his fights, especially if he was only facing four opponents, the less people there were, the faster it was. The blades were coming at him but he was calm, using his feet and the speed of their charge to always dodge with precision. Backing up and grabbing the heads of two men coming from his right and left, he slammed them together like two coconuts.

*BAM*

The two officers crashed instantly on the ground making the dust fly but not on Joe who had already jumped a few meters away. It wasn't over because there were still two other men left, but that wasn't a problem at all and it would be over very quickly anyway. The Sailing Master with his back to the bars dodged another one of the last ones whose blade would briefly get stuck in the bars behind him.

*CROCK*

Taking advantage of this moment, Joe had seized the man's head before twisting his neck in a violent way, making a dry and hoarse cracking sound echo in the corridor. There was only one man left, but as he prepared to kill him, like a bull, someone came running up and tackled him head-on. It was Edward, he had propelled the man against the ground breaking all the ribs so much the impact and the reception had been violent.

"N-No...p-please...*cough cough*...I..."

Without saying a word or looking at his two friends, Edward would stand over the pleading officer before striking his face with his fists. He was striking again and again making his teeth explode, breaking his nose and poking his eyes out and yet Edward wasnt stopping. He would only do so after very long seconds when the man's face was an unrecognizable mush spread on the cold floor of the Opera House basement.

"Well, I guess you manage to block the door leading to the stage."

"Mmmh, blades blocking the handle, barrel and body parts. Easy."

"W-Wow pffff~"

"Hahaha~"

Lucas and Joe couldn't help but chuckle at the thought of imagining the people at the Opera House discovering a door sealed with severed limbs. It was crazy, but it sure sounded like their friend, who also cracked a smile as the scene played out in his mind. As the three boys turned their heads towards a huge iron door, the one that led to the garden, two female voices were heard behind them.

"We're finishing up !"

"Basement cleanup complete, Captain Hestia~"

"Mysie you idiot, she's not even here !"

"Ah...yes that's right...teehee~" 

The group had finally managed to get rid of all the soldiers here in record time but that didn't mean they were out of the woods. Other guards would be coming soon, so until then they had to free the slaves, the animals, steal a few lots and set fire. For now the pirates probably had 5 minutes before someone arrived and 8 minutes before they had to run.

Gathering in the middle of the corridor, the five companions finally looked around and discovered behind the bars the slaves that were to be sold. They were beaten, skinny and trembling despite their clothes which were luxurious to embellish them for their presentation. Signs with numbers hung from their necks and chains rather thin for some and thick went around their wrists and ankles. 

"These are the slaves then, there must be about forty here, that's perfect"

"Yes and in the other hallway we took a quick look, it is indeed the rooms that store the precious items."

As she stated what she had seen with Mysie in their hallway earlier, Kali's eyes fell on a huge wooden box a little further into the prison. She could hear faint breaths inside as she read on a sign in red "exotic animals do not open". With a smile reaching her ears, the young Quartermaster spoke up to confirm the plan.

"It's all there, we have 8 minutes left so let's do it as planned !"

"Aye !"

They only had 8 minutes left before Hestia entered the mansion as planned so they had to be quick and always stay focused. The crew now knew the location of the items, animals and slaves which made the moment easier and advantageous. So it was with determination that the five pirates moved on to phase two of their plan, with the Opera House ignoring their machinations.