More attacks.
More enemies.

Finde took them down, one by one.

At last, only the giant remained.

Bleeding.
Staggering.
But still standing.

He charged at him.

His weapon sliced wildly through the air,
driven by nothing but pure hatred.

Finde dodged.

His enemy snarled in a blind rage.

Finde circled around him.

A strike to the knee.
To the throat.
To the temple.

The giant staggered.
Wavered.
Then collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

Silence.

Only rubble,
distant screams...
and Finde's heavy breathing.

He stepped out of the devastated room and returned to the circular area lined with empty cells.
He walked to the railing.

The abyss beneath him seemed endless.

How deep does this damned shaft go?
I have to get down there...

"You aren't thinking of jumping into the void, are you?"

Finde turned around.

It was the guy in the kimono.

"I have to find the Ghost of Nefextus.
I need to get my sword back."

"She's on the deepest level...
I'll take you there.
Follow me."

Finde studied him.
Wary.

"You trusted Javier, but you don't trust me?"
the kimono-clad man asked, sounding offended.

"You could've warned me about Javier"
Finde muttered.

"I was chained to that table, kid!
And I had no idea what your intentions were."

"What do you gain by helping me?"
Finde's gaze was still doubtful.

"My freedom...
And the satisfaction of seeing those bastards get what's coming to them."

"Why the mask?
And why... that kimono?"
Finde didn't want to offend him by pointing out how ridiculous it was.

"Because I like it....
Never heard of style?"

Finde kept staring at him in silence.

"If you don't want your sword to be shipped away...
we'd better hurry."

Finde let out a sigh.
"Fine. But if you betray me, I'll tear your head off."

They ran along the circular corridor.
The empty cells rushed past on their right.
The man in the kimono stopped before a section of wall that looked smoother than the rest.

He pulled out a keycard.
Slid it into an almost invisible slot.

A hidden passage opened.

They stepped into a small empty room.
A row of buttons lit up.

The man in the kimono pressed the very last one.

The wall began to vibrate.

"What's happening?"
Finde asked.

"Gravity lift.
We're going down."

Silence fell again.

Finde looked at him more carefully.
That pink kimono.
Bare legs.
Wooden geta sandals.

It was impossible to take him seriously.

"How did you get that keycard?"

"I stole it from that mountain of muscles
when he passed out."

Finde clenched his teeth.
"You said my sword could be shipped away.
What does that mean?"

The man in the kimono sighed.
"You really have no idea what this place is, do you?"

Finde shook his head.

The man in the kimono stared at him through the mask.
"I thought so..."

A pause.

Then, in a grave voice...
"This isn't actually a prison."