*Present*
"Lily!" their teacher called out.
"Yes, teach?" Lily responded.
"What is the full chant of *Caltious A Spada*? You were spacing out, looking out the window, hm?" their teacher questioned.
As Lily stood up from her seat, she could feel the gazes of her classmates. She chanted, "Oh hail chaos god, may you create me a sword out of thin air, create a matter, create a spell, create me a weapon, and fuse them all together to give me the ultimate weapon."
"Caltious A Spada," Lily cast, summoning a dark sword out of thin air. Illuminated by the sun, it created a dark aura. Lily flicked her finger, making it disappear.
"Was that good, teach?" Lily exclaimed, maintaining her calm expression and demeanor.
"O-of course, just as I expected of you, Lily," their teacher commented.
Claps from students filled the room instantly, praises spilling out passionately. They were fascinated by her magical knowledge despite her apparent lack of attention during lectures.
As Lily took her seat again, she shifted her gaze back to the window, recalling her past.
*Flashback*
Lily was nine, and she had finally come up with the perfect plan to escape the hell she was living in. Her mother watched, all smiles and positivity.
"Yes, yes, yes! It's finally just right!" Lily commented positively in her cell with her mother.
"What got you so up today, dear?" Elara asked with curiosity.
"Mom, I promise you, I will help us escape this terror we are currently living in," Lily exclaimed.
"What do you mean?" Elara pressed calmly as their cell was opened.
"Slave number three hundred sixty-seven, come out!" The human who opened their cell ordered.
"Oh look, Mom, that's me. Don't worry, I'll eventually fix this," Lily stated as she left her cell.
She was chained with four other slaves: Ava, Kaela, Minoru, and Ashley. The five of them were then thrown into another cell.
"Guys, I have finally completed it," Lily exclaimed to them as the human who threw them inside went his way to group other slaves to start working in the mines.
"What do you mean, Lily?" Ava questioned.
"The perfect plan to escape," Lily stated.
"That's amazing! Then I'm actually going to be one of the elves who will be able to escape!" Ashley commented.
"Lower your voice, goddammit!" Lily remarked.
"Oh, right. Sorry..." Ashley replied.
"Anyways, so Lily, does that mean we will be part of the heroes who will train after we escape and eventually come back to save our people?" Minoru questioned logically.
"Yes, though if someone decides to betray us, one of us probably wouldn't be able to succeed in escaping," Lily exclaimed.
"This will probably be our only chance," Kaela commented calmly, maintaining her expressionless appearance.
"That's right. So, you guys ready to hear it?" Lily replied.
"Yes!" The four responded.
As the five were escorted to the mines, midway to the cave the human leading them was drunk. He fell to the ground, losing consciousness.
Minoru picked up the key from the human's pocket and immediately unlocked Lily. Lily then ran towards a rock, moving it to reveal a hole big enough for her to fit inside. She then went inside this hole and nodded to the others to come after.
This hole was created by an earthworm back when Lily was three years old and the base was attacked. When Lily and the four others were chained together, a human escorting them to the mine ran when over twenty earthworms the size of a child crawled out of the caves. But they didn't attack Lily and the four others.
The five children quickly covered one of the holes with a big rock, keeping its existence a secret from the humans who owned them. When the earthworms attacked the base, they failed to take over, and the humans filled most of the earthworm holes, except for the one hidden by Lily and the others.
This hidden hole led nowhere, essentially a dead end, but now it served a crucial purpose.
The four others followed Lily inside the hole, unlocking themselves from their chains. Before they went in, they screamed at the top of their lungs, attracting the attention of nearby humans.
The group escorting the other slaves came and laughed at their drunk comrade, calling for more guards to handle the situation. This diversion allowed the five children to sneak out of the earthworm hole and head toward the cave exit.
All the attention on the drunk comrade gave the five children a clear path to escape the first stage of the cave. They emerged outside the mines, unchained and free for the first time.
As they moved through the empty cells, since the children elves are still inside the cave mining, Lily spoke up. "Guys, we're in the children's cell grounds. If we keep going straight and then turn right at the three-path junction ahead, we'll probably find the emergency exit."
"So, where does this emergency exit actually lead?" Minoru asked.
"If I'm correct, it'll take us outside this building, which these humans constructed around what used to be our eldertree," Lily responded.
"So, if we use that exit, does it mean we escape this entire hell?" Kaela asked.
"Not exactly. The emergency exit might lead us outside immediately, but we'll still be within the humans' walls," Lily explained.
"There are walls?" Ashley replied, surprised.
"Yes, and there are also Magic Viewers set up at the sides and corners of this building," Lily commented.
"What are those?" Ava asked.
"They're magical devices that look at limited places and are monitored by some like security," Lily replied.
"Oh, you mean like security cameras?" Ava responded.
"What are those?" Lily asked.
"Never mind. So, how are we going to get past those?" Ava changed the subject.
"Well, today, the one guarding the Magic Viewers is Halter," Lily remarked.
"So?" Ava prompted.
"Halter has sleeping issues and sometimes sleeps at random times. Plus, today is August nineteenth, which is important because—" Lily started.
"HEY, WHY ARE YOU FIVE NOT CHAINED!?" a human yelled from behind them.
"Run!" Lily blurted out.
The five immediately sprinted toward the emergency exit, passing not just one Magic Viewer but eleven. They reached the front of the emergency exit.
"Shit, shit, shit! Lily, he's going to call for backup. How are we going to maneuver our way out of this one!?" Ava blurted out.
"I don't think that'll be the case, since that human is filled with pride and envy," Minoru remarked.
As the five attempted to open the emergency door, fear flowed through their bodies, weighing heavily on their chests. Luckily, the door opened easily and wasn't locked. They entered, and the door locked behind them. Ahead, they saw a staircase.
"Guys, let's continue!" Lily urged as they resumed their sprint down the stairs.
"Just trust me, guys," Lily said.
"Don't worry, Lily. I wouldn't doubt you," Kaela exclaimed calmly, maintaining her expressionless appearance caused by the loss of her brother.
"Thanks," Lily responded.
"Anyways, Lily, will there be guards waiting at the exit?" Ava asked.
"The chances are fairly low today since it's Zereth's birthday," Lily exclaimed.
"Zereth? You mean the leader of this entire hell and your father?" Ashley asked.
"Yes..." Lily confirmed.
"So, how does that change the guards' positions?" Ashley pressed.
"Zereth calls for all his people to gather in the center of the base around nightfall, and none of them can leave until the next day," Minoru explained.
"Why?" Ashley asked.
"Because there's going to be a birthday party there, and it's about time for nighttime," Lily replied.
Sirens blared throughout the base camp as all the guards walked toward the center. Lily and the others finally reached the bottom and escaped the building, stepping into the night air.
"We're finally out," Ava commented.
"The fresh air, oh my," Ashley replied.
"It's been a long time since I saw the moon and stars," Minoru exclaimed.
"It's still not time for a celebration, guys," Lily said.
The four turned their gaze to Lily and nodded.
"We are still inside the walls of the base. I suggest I sprint to the guard house and flip the lever to open the gate," Lily continued. "The four of you wait at the gate, and once it opens, sprint with all your strength out of this hell."
"H-how about you?" Ava asked.
"Don't worry about me. Did you forget? All the guards are in the center of the town. I'll have no trouble sprinting my way out of the gate after you guys," Lily explained.
"Lily, isn't the guard house at the very south of the base, and the gate is at the very north? If you run all the way back from south to north, you'll just fall unconscious from exhaustion, since north to south is like five miles" Minoru exclaimed.
Lily lowered her head. "Well, it's not like there's any other way, right? It's not like any of you are willing to do the riskiest part of this plan, right?"
Minoru felt pity for her as he looked at the other three. They also seemed unwilling to take on the riskiest part of the plan.
"Lily, come back safely, okay?" Minoru said, hugging Lily. Lily hugged him back, feeling her eyes water.
"I'm very sorry, but I have to keep my eyes on these other three, since I'm probably the wisest one out of this group after you," Minoru said.
As they stopped hugging, Lily replied, "Let's do this, guys."
"Understood," the four responded.
Lily smiled. "Let's all get out of this hell together."