Meanwhile...
As Lola revealed herself and the other cage caught fire, Himari flinched at the sudden turn of events. Everything was happening so fast that it was impossible to fully follow. Perhaps it was her age, or that the turn of events was just too fast.
Her eyes trembled as they moved to the center stage where Haji had previously been held.
The moment she saw him standing, a look of relief settled on her face.
"He’s fine," she whispered in relief, her eyes softening. However, her attention was quickly drawn to the other cage that was now engulfed in flames.
When she averted her gaze, a shallow breath escaped her. There, she caught sight of a massive man helping Haji’s friends out of the burning cage. Seeing that he managed to get one out and then went in to get the others, eased her heart.
"Now, I am fully at ease," she murmured. "I’m glad he brought more of them."
Turning her head, she was no longer worried about her grandson and his friends; she watched as the chaos unfolded. Some people were running, while others stayed behind, watching Lola make her way toward Gehran to fulfill a "promise."
"That young woman," she whispered, unsure whether she should be worried or not. "She’s becoming more unstable every time we meet."
Lola had already been fearless when they first met, but this time, she had taken it to another level. Back then, she would never have dared to reveal herself in a situation like this. But Himari understood now, when Lola and Haji were here before, they had no one to help them.
There were only two of them, compared to now.
Now, it seemed Lola and Haji had friends. People who could support them in situations like this.
Just as Himari felt at ease knowing that someone was helping Lola and Haji, she heard a faint clacking sound from the corner of her cage. Turning her head, her eyes dropped to the floor.
Clack!
Another crack followed, and a portion of the wooden floor beneath her popped upward. Himari knitted her brows until a filthy man suddenly pushed his head through the small square hole beneath the surface.
"Grandma!" the boss—one of Lola’s reluctant hostages—called out. "Come on!"
Himari frowned, unable to recognize him. His face was completely smeared with charcoal.
"You are..."
"Who I am isn’t important right now!" the boss hissed, darting a glance toward the chaos above to make sure no one had noticed. When he saw everyone’s attention fixed on Lola, he turned back to Himari.
"Let’s just go!" he snapped. "Do you think that spotlight’s going to stay on her forever?! She’s buying us time! Don’t waste it!"
Even without further explanation, Himari immediately understood. She nodded and hurried toward him, taking his hand as he helped her down into the hole he had been painstakingly carving for a long time.
To everyone else, Lola had simply been provoked by Gehran’s words—or perhaps she was flaunting her arrogance. But in truth, this plan had been laid out long before the chaos erupted.
Thanks to Izu and Pika, who had managed to sneak into the main city ahead of time, they were able to relay the layout of the square.
That intelligence helped everyone—especially Lola—formulate the rescue.
The otherwise useless Bellemonte men, who had at least managed to bail out one of their own, followed Izu’s instructions on how to infiltrate the city. Being the closest group, they arrived quickly, adhering to his directions.
Then, Lola briefed them on the plan.
It was simple.
Priority targets were Himari, Haji, and the rest of his squad. The boss would handle extracting Himari from beneath the stage, while Baby would secure the others.
While that happened, Lola would act as the bait.
She was the most effective distraction, drawing all attention to herself to buy them time.
Meanwhile, Tomie would focus on knocking on doors in residential areas, informing people of the situation. His goal was to evacuate as many civilians as possible, reducing casualties once the fighting escalated.
The rest of the group would remain on standby, covering Lola and ensuring her safety while all eyes were on her.
Once the rescue succeeded, the boss would escort Himari to Tomie, who would then guide her out of the main city and into the Five District.
Atlas had a different role, arguably the most important one.
First, he would seize control of the city’s power plants and critical resources. Then, he would ignite full-scale war, throwing the entire city into chaos.
And just as promised, Atlas arrived right on time after his men seized control of different important points of the region.
"Who is that?" Himari paused as she followed the boss through the underground passage, crouched low while the sound of rotors and Atlas’s voice echoed above.
The boss glanced back at her and hissed, "Don’t mind what’s going on up there."
Himari ignored him and listened anyway. Atlas’s voice was faint, but his declaration rang clear.
Her brows slowly lifted, her mouth parting in shock.
"Staking a claim on the entire Ravah?" she murmured, staring up at the wooden ceiling. "Haha’s friend wants..."
The boss grimaced. That declaration was bold—no, bold didn’t even begin to cover it. At this point, though, he had learned better than to question anything involving Lola.
Everyone around her was insane.
It was easier to accept that.
"Granny, just let the young ones go crazy," he grumbled. "You know that lunatic psycho—whatever you call her, she’s the worst! And if I don’t get you out of here, she’ll skin me alive!"
Lola had made that very clear before assigning him this task.
Himari glanced at the boss. She had never seen him before, but his accent and tone told her he was from this region.
She exhaled slowly, listening briefly to the rest of Atlas’s announcement overhead. She didn’t finish hearing it, though.
Instead, she turned to the boss and nodded.
And with that, the boss successfully escorted Himari along the designated path—leading her to Tomie and his group, where other rescued residents were already waiting.