Step. Step. Step.


    Edir, with Ka''s hand on his shoulder, slowly stepped forward. His body was covered with numerous wounds, and his blood seemed to have drained so much that he shouldn''t have a drop left.


    However, there was a bright fire in his eyes and a satisfied smirk on his face. Ka was in a simr situation, only she was even more exhausted.


    "Not a bad fight, right?" Edir smiled, walking over to Adam.


    *Cough*


    Adam coughed a few times, clots of blood flying out.


    Then, he turned around and nodded with a bitter smile.


    "Yeah... I can''t say it was the best fight I''ve ever had, but it was definitely my best team fight." Adam uttered, rising slowly.


    Edir threw his head back.


    "Best because it''s the only one?"


    "Hah, you''re probably right, but I''m sure that''s not the only reason. Alright, we''re free now, aren''t we?" Adam asked, ncing at Edir and Ka.


    Ka sighed in relief, "Sure... Before we do that, we should get our Nexuses and stuff... we don''t want to leave without them at all."


    "Right... We need to head back down to the F-Zone, though..."


    Crackle.


    At the same moment, a drone flew out of the ceiling, but not with a box, but with a simple note. Itnded right in Adam''s hand.


    [Go to the prison exit. There''s no point in going back.]


    "Oh, apparently, one of the employees is watching us. Well, that''s good. It''s not that I can''t walk, but in our current state, even standing straight is pretty difficult." Edir shook his head.


    "Hey, don''t you have the strength to hold me up?" Ka smirked, yfully pressing herself against him, clearly with a note of mockery.


    Edir looked at her strangely, then dropped her hand from his and moved on.


    Bam.


    Caught off guard, Ka fell to the ground, hitting herself hard.


    "What the fuck are you doing!" Ka shouted irritably.


    Edir looked at her with a serious look and poked himself in the chest with his thumb, "I have a girlfriend, you know?"


    Ka''s jaw dropped, she didn''t know how to react to such words from Edir.


    "Guys!"


    Suddenly, L ran up to them, she was in such a big hurry as though, if she dyed for a second they would be vaporized. It was obvious how worried she was about them.


    Bam.


    L crashed right into Adam, who despite his weakness, easily held her back. After all, L was just a normal person, and on the physical side quite weak and light.


    "Hey, did you enjoy the show?" Adam smiled, stroking L''s hair.


    "You okay?!" L asked quickly.


    Adam looked over to Edir and Ka, then nodded slightly.


    "Sure, we''re hurt, but alive. I assure you, we''ve gotten used to this kind of condition by now, and I don''t even know if it''s good or bad. However, one thing I do know for sure is that we need to get out of here." Adam said, heading towards the door.


    Edir, Ka, and L followed him.


    It seemed that this was an opportunity for the other prisoners to gain their freedom. Not just from the S-Zone, but from all the other zones, because Prago was unconscious and no one could stop them.


    No one was moving. They all realized that it wasn''t that simple, and if they escaped now, the best they could hope for was persecution from Azure Lotus, and it was unlikely that Dark Order or Crimson Path would stand up for him.


    There was another reason - a trivial respect for Adam, Edir, and Ka.


    What they had done was an achievement that a minimal percentage of all Phantoms were capable of.


    Prago couldn''t bepared to monsters, after all, he was a Phantom, but he was a being at a higher power level, but... he still lost.


    This victory did note easily to them. Adam, Edir, and Ka were each on the edge, if they had been a little weaker, or if they had made a few more mistakes, it would have ended differently.


    Crackle.


    The usual door opened, leading to a simple service staircase. Climbing it, they reach the top floor of the Fall Hill Prison.


    The first thing Adam and the others heard was the usual city noise, especially from cars passing nearby, for they had juste out of the ground level.


    p.


    Suddenly, there was a quiet, confident p, drawing their attention.


    Strangely enough, it was v - the man who took Adam into prison, taking custody of his Nexus, NEP, and belongings. Other prisoners were going through the exact same procedure.


    "Congrattions, you were able to do what thousands of other prisoners are not capable of. I say this sincerely, as I was in awe of yourbat and teamwork. You did everything perfectly." v said seriously, looking at them intently.


    Edir waved his hand.


    "Come on, enough of this ttery. There are plenty of things we could have done better, but considering our team is one day old, we did really well."


    Ka nodded.


    "Agreed. Let''s get to the point. Where''s our stuff and especially the Nexuses?" Ka frowned.


    v sighed understandingly, fixed his sses with his finger, and pointed to the side, "Here. I''ve already got it all set up."


    They looked to the side, and happy smiles appeared on their faces.


    On the table were three ck cases of different sizes, with two sets of clothes each, NEPs, and some documents.


    "What are these clothes?" Ka asked, examining it.


    v shook his hand, "It''s simple. One set is the clothes you came here with, the other is an updated and clean version of what you''re wearing now."


    Adam slowly lowered his head, casting a nce at his torso. His clothes were tattered and shredded, he needed an update.


    ''Well, I''ve been satisfied on both the style andfort side, so worth picking up a new set.'' Adam muttered internally, with a slight nod.


    Crackle.


    Edir opened his case, pulling out his Nexus.


    "Oh yeah, baby! I missed you so much!" Edir eximed vigorously, swinging the axe with a single straight de and a rather long handle.


    His Nexus was something between an axe and a spear, suitable for an active and aggressive fighting style, with the ability to adjust to different situations.


    "Not bad, not bad at all." Adam uttered, nodding approvingly.


    "My turn!" Ka stepped out in front of opening her case.


    Inside was a long staff covered in thorny vines, there was almost no safe ce on it, but Ka knew how to use her weapon to keep from damaging herself.


    "What about you?" Edir asked, pointing at Adam.


    Adam sighed, opened the case, and put on his gloves.


    Edir and Ka looked over at him. They had expected Adam to have some unusual weapon, given his abilities, but it turned out to be much simpler than that.


    "Gloves, right? Not bad, not bad at all." Edir said, putting on and adjusting his NEP. Adam and Ka were doing the same.


    Then, they reached the documents.


    "What''s this?" Adam raised an eyebrow in confusion, turning to v.


    v smiled slyly.


    "This is the most interesting part. It''s your punishment, including your sentence." v continued, "As you know, by reaching S-Zone, your sentence is reduced to one week."


    Adam, Edir, and Ka nodded.


    "By defeating Prago, you gain your freedom right now, but not only that. Your punishment is canceled."


    Adam''s eyes went wide.


    "In other words, fines, some sort of restriction, or perhaps disciplinarybor - anything that was included in your punishment is now null and void. Even the fact that you were in this prison will be removed from all registers and records."