They were now out of the swamp, standing in a small clearing in a thick forest. The only problem was the forest was burning down, the brush-covered ground rapidly being consumed by flames.

Wondering why he didn't smell it, Cash realized he still had his breather in. With the smoke, there was no real point in taking it out either.

Matari's had small noses, so it was no wonder they didn't pick up on it while climbing up the stairs. They heavily relied on touch and eyesight, with their ears being pretty average.

"Run!" Carmen shouted, grabbing Cash's hand by surprise.

Dumbfounded, his feet obeyed the sudden tug, his mind catching up a moment later. Panic overtook him as he became aware Red Order could be anywhere around them.

He briskly placed on his helmet, allowing it to scan the environment as best it could with them sprinting high on adrenaline.

Laser beams scorched the ground around them, a clear sign of red territory. Amidst the chaos, the helmet began to give him a feed of Jack Scatterblade leaping out of the burning trees behind them, trailed by two Matari warriors.

"Where's Carter?" Cash mouthed to the helmet, which in turn relayed the message to Jack.

"Alive, explain later," Jack's reply came in shortly.

A beam hit him square on the head, dragging Carmen down with him. Had it hit anywhere else on his unarmored body, he would have probably been dead.

"Get up!" she screamed, hauling Cash off the ground as another beam landed right beside them.

Just as she attempted to drag his unconscious body to safety, a beam hit her shoulder, knocking her down right on top of him.

Jack soon stood over them, his sword in hand. The two Matari warriors caught up, standing on each side with their wooden shields raised.

Fire crawled around them, the smoke causing their vision to blur.

"You came to pick me up, didn't you deary?" a familiar voice called out, belonging to none other than Shea Heatrike. She was an inferno mage, one of U.W.T.'s most powerful magic users.

She also happened to be the one they were tasked with discreetly extracting. It was difficult to imagine their situation getting any worse.