Hell University-Chapter 53 - 52: Battle

Zein’s Point of View

I woke up inside a cell, tied up. I wasn’t alone, there were many of us here. Some stared blankly into space, while others were still sound asleep.

"Z‑Zein..."

I turned my eyes to the side, where Mia was also tied up beside me, clearly still weak.

I felt pity and, at the same time, irritation. I pitied Mia’s situation. Among all of us, I could say she’s the one who loses hope the fastest. I was angry at myself because all the promises I made felt like they had been nailed down, broken and useless.

I promised I would fight, that I would get them out, that I wouldn’t let them get hurt, but what happened? Nothing. I failed them. I felt sorry for myself. Shit! This is not where it all ends.

I won’t give up that easily... I’ll only give up when there’s nothing left worth fighting for, but as long as they’re still here... I won’t give up. Even if I have no chance, I’ll still fight.

I heard muffled sobbing, and I wanted to cover my ears, but I couldn’t, my hands were tied too. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

I don’t want to hear crying.

"Where are the others?" I asked.

Panic crept in when I realized it was only Mia and me here. Where is Vanessa? Matt? Jerome? Dave? Where are my friends?

"I‑I don’t know... Zein. I’m scared."

I shifted a little closer to Mia so I could face her. My chest tightened when I saw tears sliding down her cheeks.

"Sshh. This will end. We’ll get out."

"B‑But how?"

I couldn’t answer, because I didn’t even know myself. I didn’t know what to do. I had no plan, but I also had no plan to give up.

I closed my eyes as she broke down in sobs.

"I‑It’s all my fault..."

I frowned at what she said. Confused, I still tried to comfort her.

"W‑What are you talking about? You didn’t do anything wrong, and even if there is any fault... it’s all of us," I explained, but she shook her head and looked away.

She calmed down before forcing a smile. I don’t know why, but the way she was acting made me nervous.

"Y‑You don’t know how big the mistake I made is..."

"You didn’t do anything wrong," I corrected her, which she only laughed at softly.

Shit!

"None of this was an accident... the map that leads t-"

She suddenly stopped when the door opened, revealing two people wearing surgical masks.

I shot them a glare when their eyes landed on me, but they ignored it and instead approached a woman I had been hearing cry for a while now.

The woman stepped back, extreme fear evident in her eyes. "W‑What do you want?" she asked, her voice trembling.

One of the people wearing surgical masks signaled to their companion, who then removed the woman’s restraints.

The woman screamed and struggled as the two forcibly pulled her up. I winced and clenched my fists when they punched her in the stomach, knocking her unconscious.

Just make sure I don’t get out of here.

I tried to move my hands and feet, but I couldn’t. The restraints around my wrists were painfully tight.

"I’m sorry... I’m sorry... Zein, please forgive me."

I stayed silent. I didn’t want to hear anything else Mia had to say because I was getting scared. Why was she apologizing?

It’s infuriating! She didn’t do anything wrong! ...Did she? Damn!

I closed my eyes and gathered the courage to face Mia, who was now just hanging her head and quietly crying.

"Whatever your mistake is... I don’t care... Mia. You didn’t do anything wrong."

"Thank you..." she said bitterly before lifting her head and meeting my gaze. "Thank you, Zein. At least you can forgive me, because I can no longer forgive myself," she added, her voice still bitter.

"W‑Why?" I asked nervously.

She looked off into the distance. "I‑I didn’t just randomly find the map that leads here," she said flatly.

I didn’t bother responding and just kept my eyes on her.

"I stole it..."

"H‑Huh?"

"I overheard Ate Allison talking to someone... I didn’t mean to hear their conversation, but it was already too late." She looked at me, biting her lower lip as if holding back her emotions. "Hell University is one of Ate Allison’s missions," she added.

Ate Allison is a secret agent. Ever since we were kids, she always told me about her ambitions there. She never failed... My devil sister, who could kill you with just a snap. She’s the most famous female secret agent, and maybe even an assassin, in the whole world. Many people seek her out and scramble to get her. They would pay any amount just to have her services.

I smiled as I remembered how terrified Jerome, Dave, and Matt were of her. Just seeing her made them hide behind me. Even Vanessa would fold under her presence.

Suddenly, I missed my sister. I wonder how she’s doing.

"I heard she rejected the offer for this mission. I was surprised because she said it was extremely dangerous. You know Ate Allison, right? She fears nothing, yet she was scared of this mission."

My chest tightened because it felt like I already knew where this conversation was heading.

"She didn’t know... I secretly took the map that was given to her. The map that leads to this hell."

I closed my eyes as she broke down crying again. Even Ate Allison herself had been afraid to enter this hell.

But then I thought...

I have no regrets. I don’t regret us coming here. I wouldn’t be who I am now if not for this hell. I wouldn’t have met him if we hadn’t ended up here.

"Thank you..."

She frowned when she heard what I said. I smiled at her.

"Thank you for bringing us here. You have nothing to regret, but this isn’t where everything ends..." I smirked and raised an eyebrow. "This is just the beginning," I whispered.

She smiled at me and rested her head on my shoulder. Silence settled around us.

There’s no regret. I laughed quietly, thinking about Mia’s courage. She thought everything was her fault, yet she impressed me with her bravery. She knew how extreme this place was, but she still brought us along. It wasn’t just curiosity.

I jolted when I heard the door open. Two more people in surgical masks entered.

I straightened in my seat, and Mia startled as well.

We watched as they brought back the woman they had taken earlier, who was still fast asleep.

"This is going to be difficult..."

"It’s really rare... Even if we eliminate all of them, they might not be among them," one of them said.

I didn’t understand exactly what they were talking about, but I knew it had to do with the secret formula. Psh.

I panicked when they approached Mia, who was now clinging tightly to me. Fear surged through me too, but I didn’t show it.

Mia didn’t struggle as they began to remove her restraints. She glanced at me with a bitter smile.

"Z‑Zein-"

"Take me with her too..."

The two men froze when they heard me. Even Mia frowned.

"Are you sure?" one of them asked, laughing.

"Yes."

The two of them exchanged a glance, seemingly communicating silently, before one nodded and began removing my restraints.

I grinned as they untied me. In just one swift motion, I stood up and punched the man who had freed me.

I went after the other one. With all my strength, I slammed his head against the metal, and he lost consciousness.

"Zein..."

"Sshhh..."

I held her trembling hand. "W‑Where are we going?" she asked nervously.

I didn’t know either. I had no idea where we were, I just knew we had to escape and find the others.

"Wait-" she stopped me just as we were about to leave. "A‑Aren’t we going to help them?" she asked, referring to the others.

I looked at the people staring at us. "We’ll come back for them... I promise," I said, because if we stayed any longer, we might get caught.

If we got caught, we’d lose our chance, and it would only make it harder to help them.

I frowned when Mia struggled against my grip. "M‑Mia," I said anxiously.

"W‑We can’t leave them behind..."

"We’re not leaving them behind... We’re going to save all of them. We just need to find the others so we can build our strength."

I winced when Mia went back inside and started removing the restraints of the others. Shit! Why can’t she understand me?! We’re not abandoning them!

I closed my eyes before following her. We were in the middle of freeing the rest when we heard voices outside.

Mia and I looked at each other.

I grabbed her hand, and those who had already been freed stayed right behind us. We quickly slipped out of that cell.

"Someone escaped!"

We turned left when guards appeared on the right. I held tightly onto Mia’s hand, with several of the people we freed trailing behind us.

Shit!

"Zein... We can’t outrun them!" Mia said.

I glanced back at those behind us. Shit! They’re fast. There’s no way we can escape, unless-

"Mia... Listen. Get them out of here," I said, referring to the others still in the cell who were now escaping with us.

"H‑Huh? What are you saying?!"

"Someone has to stay behind to hold them off! Damn! We don’t have time!"

I loosened my grip on her hand, but now she grabbed mine instead.

"I‑I won’t. I won’t let you-"

"Damn! We don’t have time!" I shouted, because they were closing in fast.

I smiled when I saw the exit. "Mia... I’ll come back. Please." I begged.

"Z‑Zei-"

"Promise."

I quickly let go of her hand and stopped running. I could only smile as I watched tears fall from her eyes.

"Mia... be careful."

I turned to look at the ones chasing us. I could only laugh at how many of them there were. I couldn’t fight them all, but I had to stop them.

I ran toward them anyway. I managed to take down some of them until I felt someone inject something into me.

I grimaced, but I still managed to knock that person down. I felt my knees weaken as my stomach clenched.

I dropped to my knees, blood spilling from my mouth. That hurt, damn it.

I smirked and tried to stand again. I hadn’t even fully gotten up when I felt an extremely strong surge of electricity hit my back.

I collapsed to the floor, my vision blurring. My whole body trembled from the force of the electricity, so intense that even my breathing became tight.

"You’re really brave... you’re just like Samantha too," Madame Violet said with a smirk.

"F-fuck you."

I screamed as I felt electricity strike my back again. My vision was blurring, but I still managed to turn my gaze toward the exit, the path Mia had taken.

I’m sorry...

Someone’s Point of View

I could only smile as I stared at her photograph. "We’ll be together again," I said bitterly before slipping her photo back into my pocket.

I looked at the people running out of the building where everyone had been imprisoned...

"Let the battle begin, and the victory will be mine..."