The Laughing Swordsman

Apollo scratched the side of his head.

"Hmm... can we get this over with quickly?"

The overly tight clothes made Apollo feel quite uncomfortable. It should be known that most of Apollo's clothing had torn off by now. His only real clothing was just some bandages. However, that kind of appearance was simply too conspicuous.

Not to say that someone being constricted in super tight clothes wasn't conspicuous, but it was definitely better.

Layla pouted.

"Agh! Can we go already?"

She hopped over to the empire wall, or what was left of it.

Willow sighed.

"Wait! We can't enter through that way. Someone will see us, blowing our cover!"

Layla turned around and pouted.

"Mm... then the entrance over there?"

She pointed to a far off gate. It was the typical entrance and exit of the empire.

Willow shook her head.

"We can't go that way either. I doubt the guards will let anyone in after what just transpired."

Apollo pouted.

"Then... how do we get in the empire?"

Willow smiled.

"Just follow me and stay silent."

Blackie peeked up from the bandages Hex was wrapped in. It stared at Willow curiously. As for Willow, she blinked a few times.

"You will have to remain unseen for most of the time. Sorry for the inconvenience."

Blackie gave a nod before disappearing into Hex's shadow.

Layla and Apollo got next to Willow, though they did so reluctantly. Willow flashed a bitter smile before gathering some black mist.

In a few moments, a thin veil of black mist covered them.

Willow walked towards the wall, far from the massive breach that Layla had created.

Apollo scratched the side of his head.

"Why don't we just walk that way?"

He pointed towards the breach in the wall. As for Willow, she let out a dry chuckle.

"...Unfortunately, there are too many sharp jagged edges in the rubble. This spell is quite fragile, meaning a tiny cut can dispel it."

Apollo blinked a few times.

"...But there are only so many ways to get in, right?"

Willow nodded.

"Yes, but that doesn't mean we have to go that way."

Apollo raised an eyebrow, but didn't question it. The group continued walking until they reached a section where the empire's wall was intact.

Willow abruptly stopped, making Apollo and Layla collide with her back. Layla's furry ears twitched.

"Is this the entrance? I don't see one though!"

Willow closed her eyes.

"When there is no entrance, make one yourself."

She placed one foot on the wall.

...Then the other foot.

It was as though Willow was magnetized to the wall. She began walking up effortlessly, as though she was walking on flat ground.

Apollo's eyebrow twitched.

"...I don't know how to do that!"

Willow froze.

"Ah, I forgot."

Layla giggled.

"Don't worry, I can do it!"

She proceeded to stick her fingers into the wall, directly causing a few shattered stones to spill out.

Then, Layla wrapped one arm around Apollo's waist. This made Apollo instinctively feel a strong sense of fear, induced by his past trauma.

His breathing became heavy, but he was able to more or less calm down.

Willow's eyebrow twitched when she watched Layla's... out of the box way of climbing upwards.

She sighed.

"Just make sure you don't hit the edge of the black mist screen. If you do, it will burst and reveal us."

Layla giggled.

"Ok!"

With that, Willow began walking up while Layla launched herself and Apollo up.

"Hup!"

Layla stuck her hand into the wall once more, catching herself. A small thought began to bubble in her mind.

She grinned cheekily, then threw herself up once again.

But... did so with more force.

Several cracks spread from where Layla's hand just was. As for Layla, she shot upwards like a rocket.

Apollo held onto Layla's arm a little more tightly.

"Ah!"

Beads of sweat formed on Willow's forehead. She quickly twisted the black mist screen to just barely contain Layla. With any more tension, it would burst.

A panicked frown appeared on Willow's face.

"Layla! Not that fast, or you will break the mist screen!"

Layla pouted.

"Hm... ok"

Willow sighed.

"I will speed up a little, so that you can go a bit faster too, ok?"

As promised, she began to jog upwards.

Layla waited a few moments for Willow to catch up before throwing herself upwards once again.

Apollo curiously looked to the left and right, despite there not being much to see. He was simply enjoying the new experience.

With that, they climbed thirty meters up the wall with no problem.

...However, Layla was getting a little excited. She was unconsciously raising her pace as she went.

Willow frowned when she noticed that.

"Not too fast!"

Layla did not slow down. Instead, she pouted.

"This isn't fast!"

Layla shot upwards, once again forcing Willow to distort the black mist screen. Willow opened her mouth, but no words came out.

She was honestly a little afraid of Layla. So instead of chastising Layla, she sped up to match her speed.

The only problem was Layla's movements were sudden. She would stay still after getting a hold in the wall, then suddenly shoot upwards. This made it really difficult for Willow as the black mist screen would break if she went too fast, but also if she went too slow.

As if that wasn't bad enough, Layla was speeding up.

Even more cold sweat appeared on Willow's forehead. She cursed under her breath.

On the other hand, Layla had a bright smile on her face. It seemed she forgot the discomfort of the clothes after getting a little excited.

"Yay!~"

A small smile even spread out on Apollo's face.

"Woah!"

Compared to being in what Layla referred to as 'fluffy land', it was quite relaxing. It was like going from a rollercoaster that nobody sane would ever go on, to riding up an escalator.

Willow's lip twitched.

These kids were having fun while she had to deal with all the stress.

....Figures.