The Laughing Swordsman

The leader of the people wearing rabbit masks walked up to the cage Apollo was being held in. He called out.

"Angel! We have come to free you. I apologize that you were captured by some of our kind, but I can assure you that we are different from those people."

There was no response. Unless flipping the page to a book qualifies as one.

For a few moments, the person wearing a rabbit mask was at a loss. He coughed awkwardly.

"We have come to retrieve you, angel. The people who have detained you are from the council. However, we are the force against the council."

Apollo remained silent. He continued looking at the page of his book, not even noticing the presence of someone else.

The person wearing a rabbit mask took a deep breath.

"Angel, if I am bothering you, then I will take my leave."

Other than tapping his foot, Apollo didn't do anything.

The person wearing a rabbit mask let out a soft sigh.

"I apologize, we will take our leave."

He turned to the side, but at that moment Apollo stretched his arms high into the air and yawned. Apollo then looked around and noticed that there were several people with rabbit masks outside his cell.

An innocent smile formed on his face.

"Ah, are you the group of people that are supposed to free me?"

The leader of the rabbit people froze. Although only his eyes were visible because of the mask, he was still visibly stunned.

"Someone told you that we were coming?"

Apollo nodded.

"Yeah!"

The leader took a deep breath, calming himself.

"May I know who that person is, angel?"

Apollo tilted his head to the side.

"His name is Mark. Do you guys not know him?"

The leader took a moment to respond.

"No..."

He shook his head, deciding it was better to think about it later.

"Regardless, do you wish to come with us? The council has arrested you, but please know that not all of us wish to be represented by them."

Apollo shrugged his shoulders.

"Ok."

The leader internally let out a sigh of relief.

"I will free you right now."

The gates were locked by a key. He placed his hand on the keylock, trying to judge if it was possible to brute force open.

But to the leader's surprise, the door made way once he laid his hands on it. In other words, it was never locked in the first place. This set off multiple warning bells in the leader's head.

He immediately turned around, trying to see if this entire thing was an ambush. Then, he turned back to Apollo, wondering if he was a bait.

...But nothing happened.

The leader mumbled to the people behind him.

"Keep watch on the entire area for enemies."

The rabbit people made a circular formation while each person looked down in a specific direction. The leader walked into the cell, but did so slowly and with his sword at the ready.

"...Would you like to go now?"

Apollo swung his feet up and down.

"Mm... after I finish reading this."

The leader did not like the sound of that. From his perspective, that meant he was trying to buy time for the guards to show up. However, the leader also wasn't completely sure.

Thus, he asked a subtly probing question.

"May I know what is so interesting for an angel to read?"

Apollo giggled.

"It's very boring! But there was nothing else to do. The only good thing about the book is it helps me figure out something I am thinking of!"

The leader raised an eyebrow, still suspicious.

"May I have a look?"

Apollo nodded.

"Sure!"

He lowered his hand, giving an angle for him to see the book. The leader could barely make out ink at first, thus knew that there was writing on the page. However, as more of the page was visible to him, so was a white light coming from the pages.

It all happened too fast. 

The leader saw an unbelievably blinding white light.

He dropped his sword, covered his eyes with his hands, and stumbled backwards.

"Ah!"

After falling and landing on his rear, the leader gradually calmed down, taking heavy breaths. The other rabbit people looked over and showed concern, but did not say anything.

The leader stood back up and gave a deep bow.

"My apologies for distrusting you, angel."

He then picked up his sword.

"I now understand you have brought down the holy book for us to change our ways. However, since the holy book is too much for us mortals, you have personally descended in order to spread its truths."

Although the other people wearing rabbit masks did not say anything, the faint sounds of their breathing could be heard. They were excited.

As for Apollo, he wasn't even paying attention to what they were saying, instead of focusing on the book.

For a few minutes, there was only the sound of faint breathing.

Then, Apollo stood up and put away the book.

The leader perked up.

"Are you ready to go, angel?"

Apollo nodded.

"Yeah, but let's go this way."

He turned to the wall of the cell, confusing those that saw him. Then, Apollo pulled back his free hand.

Right when the leader was about to ask what he meant, Apollo's hand flashed.

At first, there was only a soft swish.

Then, a thundering explosion rang out.

The entire wall was blown away. In fact, even the attached walls and ceiling were implicated, partially damaged.

All of the rabbit people, including the leader, froze up.

Apollo then walked out of the doorway he just created. His footsteps lightly tapped against the ground, but they were louder than thunderclaps to the others.

Then, Apollo stopped after he had walked a few steps.

"Um, I don't know the way forward."

The leader snapped out of his stupor.

"Ah, yes! Apologies for my incompetence."

With that, he hurriedly ran up.

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