– POV General –

< 7 minutes left >

*BANG*

"That was the last one !"

Edward had straightened up with his axe in his hand after breaking 38 chains, taking great care not to touch them. Of the 38 slaves, only 15 were actually gift users, recognizable by their dark purple and red chains, the hallmark of Astrionite. For obvious reasons the pirate had broken them without touching them, freeing the gift users who were far too weak to defend themselves.

The prison was now open and the slaves were free to move, but none of them dared to move because they were too weak and too scared. Mostly terrified because they had all seen the power of the pirates at work when they had killed the officers before their eyes. These men and women could not understand why such dangerous people were coming to their rescue and could not help but be afraid.

"Come on out, you are free ! Go out into the hallway and wait for the iron door to be opened so you can leave."

Lucas, who didn't want to waste a minute had indicated with an irritated tone that they could leave the prison, making them tremble even more. The sight of these frightened people, all huddled at the back against the cold walls did not soften him and even tended to piss him off. Edward, Joe and Kali had gone to retrieve what they could from the hallway leaving him with Mysie watching the scene leaning against the open door.

"Mmmh~ I think they're broken."

"Tch...we don't have time for this"

The young woman had a big smile on her face despite the atmosphere they were in making her as scary as the others to the slaves. She was a pure beauty but her calm and cheerfulness was a sign of danger because it proved that the situation and the blood did not unsettle her despite her innocent look. Straightening up, Mysie was suddenly taking a deep breath before starting to hum a tune.

"Mmmmh~~"

Her voice then filled the entire prison and hallway bouncing against the walls giving the impression that it was coming from everywhere at once. It was melodious, divine and beautiful especially since the Cerberus bard had activated her gift directly connected to her voice. Mysie couldn't control people with her voice, but she could soothe, stun, and sometimes even with concentration, hypnotize for a few seconds. 

So the moment the 38 slaves heard the sweet melody, their bodies relaxed, their tremors faded and their fear diminished. Soon Mysie's voice had soothed them while Lucas smiled as he watched his friend concentrate on what she was doing. After a few seconds, they all got up and walked towards the exit and into the hallway while the young woman stopped to wink at Lucas.

"I am the shepherd and this is my herd of goats hahaha~"

"Pfff~ indeed."

Thanks to Mysie's intervention, the slaves were now outside waiting to be given directions for the next step, still on guard. This stage was over, all that was left was to wait for the others who would soon return, free the animals and leave. Always keeping an eye on the men and women, Lucas and his friend then turned to the huge box reaching the ceiling.

"More than those famous animals...if they're loose you can be sure the attention won't be on us when we escape."

"That's for sure."

______

< 5 minutes left >

"It's good for us, we got the loot hehe~"

Two minutes later, Joe, Edward and Kali appeared again with canvas bags on their backs filled with whatever they could find in the rooms. They hadn't had much time so they had packed mostly coins, jewelry and small gold things that could be resold or traded. However, that was good enough as their faces beamed at the thought of having such a booty that remained far more than the merchant ship.

"Well done, rapscallions. As far as we're concerned we've freed the slaves and all that's left is to open this box."

"Not bad either, scallywags."

Lucas had congratulated the group of three before receiving a rare compliment from his friend Edward who was feeling in a joyous mood after the massacre. Everyone then gathered in front of their final objective not knowing what they would find inside. Without saying a word, they all slashed their blades at the four corners of the box to open it. The five of them formed a door that soon crashed to the ground revealing the contents. 

*BOOM*

"Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the exotic animals pfff~"

In the huge crate in front of them, as their eyes got used to the darkness inside, they could finally discover the so rare animals of the auction. There were not five but six of them and they were all of different species ranging from felines, to birds and even canines. The five pirates were almost speechless in front of these magnificent animals, all of them also wearing a numbered sign with the name of their breed.

On the left, there was a Eurasian lynx with pastel red eyes but with a coat that was damaged and especially cut all over for its softness and beauty. Next to it was a cute little monkey, but curled up on itself, terrified, with a red and gold tail. On the right, a gray and black fox with purple eyes rolled up in a ball and spitting with fear had two horns on his little head which was shaking as much.

Finally, sitting at the far right, a blond-haired orangutan with various scars on its body seemed to be waiting to be released. Next to its legs was a golden-furred poodle trembling and on its head was a beautiful black eagle with red eyes and missing feathers on its wings. Six so-called exotic and undoubtedly abused animals had just been freed from their box but the chain that bound them all still had to be broken.

"Come on, let's hurry, we have less than five minutes left !"

After a few seconds of watching the creatures in the box with more compassion than they had for the slaves, the five friends decided to act. Careful not to get hurt, they had to free them so they could escape with the men and women. Their plan was almost complete but in a minute someone would realize that something was wrong, they had to act quickly and not let up.

_____

< 3 minutes left >

*BOOM BOOM BOOM*

"EH OH ! OPEN THAT DOOR WE NEED THE FIRST LOT !!!"

As Kali had indicated at the beginning, the men running the auction had begun to realize that no guards were in the basement. Edward had indeed blocked the door, but it was only a matter of time before they decided to destroy it. The pirates, on the other hand, were standing in front of the large iron gate leading to the garden, to which they unfortunately didn't have a key as the pounding sound echoed.

"Can you do it ?"

"Sure."

They all stood behind Edward who had closed his eyes to concentrate and control the natural energy that was in his body. The red roots of his hair were turning blonde as veins appeared on his arms, legs and neck. Originally the young man with the red beard had a gift that took time to activate, giving him strength as he fought.

However, after training for a few days, he discovered that his physical boost could also come if he contracted his entire muscles by kneading the energy. Indeed, if his strength increased as he fought, it was thanks to the pressure to which his muscles were subjected. Therefore, to submit them to the same pressure was possible although constraining because he had to remain motionless and contract his whole body.

*BOOM BOOM BOOM*

No one spoke, the drumming on the door was more and more insistent and made the hearts beat wildly. Everyone was staring at Edward, the slaves and even the animals who were all huddled together in a corner still far from the humans. Then suddenly the young man with the red beard would open his eyes again before rushing to the door screaming before hitting it with a single punch.

"AAAAAA !!!"

*BANG*

With a deafening noise and shaking the basement walls, the door came off its hinges even tearing off a few pieces of stone in the process. Edward had struck right in the center, at a single point, with all the strength he had accumulated through natural energy. With a single blow, a powerful current of air invaded the corridor, sweeping away the smell of blood, gunpowder and other unbearable prison odors.

In front of them was the large garden of the Opera House, large enough to allow everyone to escape to keep the many guards in the building busy. As Joe and Lucas scattered what appeared to be oil mixed with grease on the ground, all of a sudden the six animals that had been silent until then rushed out. As if called by their desire for freedom, they hadn't waited a second before running out of that horrible basement.

"EH !"

"It's okay it was planned anyway ! Now it's your turn to leave ! In a minute all the officers are going to come down here and weak as you are I don't give a damn if we catch you !"

Kali who knew that there was only about two minutes left had shouted these words waking up the slaves stunned by the strength of Edward. But, without even understanding what was happening to them, they obeyed and ran for the exit that had just been opened. Their plan had worked well, and with all those valuable batches suddenly on the run, it would be all the easier for the Hysterics disguised as officers.

"The bait is out, it's time for hellfire"

____

< 1 minute left >

"LIEUTENANT COMMANDER ! SEVERAL ROOMS HAVE BEEN FORCED !!!"

"THE PRISONERS HAVE ESCAPED, THE ANIMALS HAVE ESCAPED TOO, AND A DOZEN SOLDIERS ARE DEAD AND LYING ALL OVER THE BASEMENT !!!"

After a minute, the men who were in the process of breaking down the two doors leading to the basement had managed to get inside and had inspected the place. Officers were running around pointing out to the chief in charge of security the damage they had seen to his chagrin. It was a disaster, the auction was undoubtedly ruined and it had to be announced to the guests and especially to Lord Hamilton.

"SEND SOME GUARDS TO THE GARDEN SO THAT THEY CAN SEARCH IT FROM TOP TO BOTTOM AND FIND THIS GARBAGE FOR ME!"

The man who had shouted was tall, imposing, bald with a big black mustache under his nose and a Lieutenant Commander's coat. His name was Billy Black and he had been charged with keeping the party going, which he had failed to do. Slamming his fist on one of the bars in frustration, he saw a young redheaded woman wearing a uniform who had obviously been stabbed.

"She's pretty small to be an officer. Poor thing...I don't know what she needed to pay back with the party money, but she won't be going home to her family tonight."

Despite his anger, he thought of his men who died here without anyone noticing that such a massacre had taken place in the Opera House basement. It was frustrating, he was angry, and most of all he was angry at himself for not paying enough attention, too busy watching over the most important guests. Turning on his heels as dozens of soldiers exited to the garden, very quickly he joined his men at the intersection before freezing.

"Wait a minute...I'm the one who did the testing for this party and I've never seen a redheaded girl come through !"

The urgency and gravity of the situation had tangled his mind for several minutes but now that the shock was over he was more lucid. He saw the officers lying on the stone again and everything suddenly came back to his mind in a new shock that he would have done well without. The man had not tested a young girl or a redheaded muscular man, nor a man with long hair, a woman with half-short hair or a man with gray hair.

"D-Don't tell me that...FUCK !"

"Lieutenant Commander, what is going on ???"

Turning on his heels hurriedly, he ran back to the garden gate while his soldiers did not understand what was happening to him. His face was flushed, his fists were even tighter than before at the thought of having been fooled so easily. His thick mustache twitched with anger and Billy Black replied hoping he was wrong as a liquid splashed down his pants in his run. 

"THOSE BASTARDS ARE STILL HERE, THEY NEVER LEFT !! THEY FOOLED US !!"

In a few seconds he was almost at the end of the hallway spotting five figures standing in front of the door with a big smile. The next moment one of them threw his cigarette on the floor causing a chain explosion and huge flames in all the corridors. The liquid on the floor was not water and blood but grease and oil mixed together to create a highly flammable liquid.  

"Too late~"

*BOOOOOM*

"FUCK !!"

All the Lieutenant Commander could hear was a mocking voice as the five disappeared behind that glowing wall. He didn't have time to chase them or look further as he had to take cover to avoid being burned alive. Billy Black remembered their hair color and as he jumped into a cell with the right side of his coat on fire, he couldn't help but scream.

"I-I...I'll find you AAAARGG !"

______

"Well it’s quite successful our Hellfire, isn't it ? Captain, this one is for you hahaha~"

Perched high in a tree overlooking the Opera House garden, Mysie giggled softly as she watched the flames gain ground in the building. They were huge and rose high into the sky having taken everyone by surprise after starting in the basement. Thanks to the oil and grease, the explosion, driven by the wind from the garden, had spread to the many wooden structures on the second floor.

The fire then attacked the curtains, the carpets and anything combustible that could be found, quickly invading the entire Opera House. It was a mess, dozens of soldiers were running in all directions shouting, chasing the slowest slaves and especially cursing the intruders. Lucas, Kali, Edward and Joe, on the other hand, were all perched on the same tree as Mysie on various huge branches watching the chaos.

"It's a good thing you found something to set the hallway on fire and what an explosion ! It's a good thing we got out and stood in front of the door against the wind or we would have been burned. Do you think the big bald guy got roasted ?"

"Pfffhahaha~ I don't know but if not we must have given him a painful memory."

All giggled softly, taking care not to alert the world below who were far too busy with the mess to look up in their direction. Always discreetly, they then advanced on their branch which exceeded the large wall at the end of the garden in order to pass over. They had succeeded, despite the unforeseen events of the evening, in infiltrating the Opera House, stealing some of the booty and creating a diversion for their Captain.  

They were all proud but exhausted, covered in blood and soot, loaded like mules and smiling as they jumped behind the wall. To achieve their goal, they had used slaves as bait and released exotic animals without any remorse. Some thought they would have regrets but were surprised to discover that this was not the case at all, on the contrary. 

Rather than regret or guilt, the five pirates felt adrenaline pumping through their bodies and an immense sense of satisfaction. For the first time they had completed a mission by any means and the feeling they had was incredible. Knowing that they were running away in the shadows of the night responsible for this bonfire without anyone knowing they existed was beyond divine. 

"Head for the Cerberus ! Let's all hide what we have and get the ship ready to sail as soon as the Captain and the two deckhands are back !"

"Yes Quartermaster !"

"Captain, it's your move"

Filing through the city in the small streets, the Hysterics were heading away from the Opera House towards the South where the dock and their ship were located. In the euphoria, they didn't see the masked man perched on the wall they had just passed watching them get further and further away with a big smile. He was dressed in black from head to toe and had the particularity of having a tattoo of crow's feet on the right side of his collar bone. 

"Very interesting~..."

The five pirates returning to their ship had also not seen the six shadows that were quietly following them in the night from a good distance. Indeed, if the attention of the citizens in the streets was not focused on the Opera House, they would have seen something very special. In the darkest streets of Belfort City, a lynx, a small monkey, a fox, an eagle and an orangutan carrying a poodle followed five pirates escaping from the scene.

For Mysie, Edward, Lucas, Kali and Joe the game was over and all they had to do was wait patiently for their Captain and trust her. They left with their arms full of treasure and even the broken remains of the Astrionite chains to experiment on and all this in 15 minutes. Everything now rested on the shoulders of Hestia Hellfire and the two brothers who were about to infiltrate the Kokosnuss mansion.

< 0 minutes left >