Back at the auction site, Elara's target, the muscular woman, jumped onto a magic carpet with her other comrades, the magic carpet then going up high in the air and flying off, giving them a nice view of Valoria from above.

  "You got whatcha needed, Gabrielle?" Brittany asked Gabrielle, the muscular woman in question.

  Gabrielle nodded, holding the gloves close to her busty frame as she observed the other Imago Cabal members present. "They're mine. Cassie and I made sure of that.”

  Brittany, Vilho, Chisaru, Lotte, Danemon, Courtney, and Chelsea were also present, who were riding with Malika as well on her magic carpet. The air around them remained mostly silent, the only sounds they could hear was the wind, the quiet hum of the magic carpet under them, the sound of their breathing, and some occasional murmurs.

  Finally, Brittany broke the silence after some time, her voice laced with curiosity. "So, what're we gonna do now that we got what we wanted?"

  Vilho, a former military member, chimed into the conversation, his voice flat. "Well, now that we have the goods, we just need the next step in our plan: finding that damn World Core.”

  Malika replied to Vilho, her voice firm. "Finding the World Core is indeed the next step, but we should stay on the lookout down below. I'm pretty sure the Black Snake mob aren't gonna be so excited that we ruined their little playground.”

  Gabrielle nodded in agreement. "Malika's right. I'm confident in our abilities as a team, but as Nyx says, there's always someone stronger. Well, unless you're one of us, of course.”

  Brittany snickered at Gabrielle's comment, a grin forming on her face. "Yeah, we're pretty damn strong, that's for sure."

  Lotte warned, her tone clinical, "But knowing Nyx's warning, we should still be on guard. We may be powerful, but who knows what kind of opponents we may face. The Black Snake mob are connected to powerful people, and they might have some tricks up their sleeves."

  Danemon nodded in agreement, his arms folded across his chest as he too agreed with Lotte's words. "Lotte has a point. We should never underestimate our enemy. Who knows what kind of allies they may have or resources at their disposal. We can't get cocky."

  Malika added, her voice laced with determination, "That's why it's vital we stay vigilant and plan out our next move. We have to stay one step ahead, or we could be the ones getting hunted down.”

  The others gave a nod of agreement to Malika's comment, but the silence resumed afterward. The group was thoughtful, contemplating their next move.

  Courtney looked ahead at the view of Valoria, a distant and faraway look in her eyes. It remained unclear what she was thinking in her silent yet stoic manner.

  Finally, it was Vilho who spoke up again, breaking the quiet. "Any ideas for where we should start looking for the World Core?" he asked, his voice practical.

  Everyone pondered in silence at Vilho's question, each contemplating the options. Brittany crossed her arms across her chest, her lips pursed in thought, while Lotte looked thoughtful as well.

  Eventually, Malika spoke up, her voice confident. "Well, the World Core is located in the palace of the Valorian Royal Family. Considering the prince and the king got killed moments ago, I'm sure security there is haywire."

  She glanced at the others, gauging their reactions.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  Brittany and Vilho both nodded in agreement with Malika's statement, acknowledging the validity of her point. The others, including Courtney, listened with keen interest, processing the information.

  Chelsea then chimed in, her voice laced with humor. "So, it's the perfect opportunity to sneak in then. They're probably too focused on who killed their beloved king to be focusing on much else, which works in our favor, yeah?”

  Malika grinned at Chelsea's remark, appreciating her perspective. "You're right, Chelsea. It's most likely chaotic at the palace now, and with everyone else focused on finding out who did the deed, sneaking in will probably be a lot easier than usual."

  Lotte also chimed in, her voice practical. "But of course, we can't let our guard down. There are still guards and other security measures to take into account. They won't just let us waltz right in, even in their distracted state.”

  Danemon nodded in agreement, adding to Lotte's point. "That's true. The security surrounding the palace will still be high. Just because the king and the prince are dead doesn't mean the guards and other defenses are just gonna disappear. We have to take that into consideration."

  Gabrielle chimed in as well, her voice steady as she flexed her muscles. "But we can handle it. We've dealt with far more difficult obstacles and situations before and come out on top without a scratch.”

  Brittany grinned smugly, confidence radiating from her. She spoke up, her voice playful yet full of assurance. "We've got this. Dealing with palace guards and some security measures is child's play compared to the obstacles we've faced before. We're the Imago Cabal, after all. We're like a well-oiled, unstoppable machine, right?"

  The others chuckled, amused by Brittany's confident and somewhat arrogant attitude. Even the stoic Courtney couldn't help but crack a slight smirk at the comment.

  Chelsea, continuing her own antics, nudged Chisaru with her gear. "You've been a little quiet here. Any ideas, buddy ol' pal?"

  "You know Chisaru's deaf, right?" Malika asked with a raised brow.

  "What?! When was this?" Chelsea asked.

  Malika rolled her eyes at Chelsea's question, shaking her head. "You're just finding this out now? Chisaru's deaf. He can't hear any of this conversation."

  Chisaru nodded in confirmation, not realizing the conversation he wasn't a part of.

  Brittany, clearly amused, couldn't resist taking the opportunity to tease Chelsea a bit. "Damn, you really are a few brain cells short, aren't ya?" she quipped with a chuckle. "You've been chatting with him for a while now and didn't notice he can't hear a single thing?”

  Chelsea, realizing her mistake, facepalmed herself in embarrassment. "Dammit, I totally didn't even notice. I dunno any sign language.”

  Danemon grinned at Chelsea's realization, the other members of the group sharing chuckles among themselves, thoroughly amused by the moment. Chelsea was known for her scatter-brained and somewhat goofy nature.

  Lotte, trying to be helpful, suggested, "Maybe you could learn some basic sign language so you can actually communicate with him."

  Courtney, the silent assassin, smirked quietly, seemingly finding humor in the exchange.

  Brittany snickered at Lotte's suggestion, clearly finding it entertaining. "You're really suggesting she learn sign language? That's like asking a duck to ride a bicycle. It's not gonna happen. I doubt she has enough brain capacity, her brain is made up of nothing but memes," she remarked with a lighthearted jab.

  Chelsea shot a playful glare at Brittany, annoyed by her constant jabs. "Hey! I'll have you know I have plenty of brain power! I'm not just a meme-loving airhead, thank you very much. I could totally learn sign language if I wanted to."

  Malika, acting as the rare voice of reason, interjected, "All right, let's stop with the back-and-forth, 'kay? We have more important things to focus on than Chel's meme addiction. Though, it is kind of amusing to watch," she added with a slight smirk.

  Brittany snickered, amused by Chelsea's defense, but she agreed with Malika, knowing they had to get back on track. "Alright, alright, I'll leave poor ol' meme-brain alone. Malika's right; we've got bigger fish to fry, and making fun of her isn't going to get us any closer to the World Core."

  Danemon, ever the practical one, chimed in, trying to steer the conversation back on course. "Back to the topic at hand, we should come up with a plan for infiltrating the palace.”

  Malika nodded, appreciating Danemon's intervention and refocusing on the situation at hand. She continued where Danemon left off, her voice determined and tactical: "Right, the palace. Our next step is to come up with a plan to infiltrate it and find the World Core. The security there is likely to be tight, especially now after the killings of the king and the prince. But we can't let that deter us. We're capable and skilled enough to handle anything that's thrown at us. We just need to be smart about it.”

  The others in the group nodded in agreement, the atmosphere shifting from light-hearted to more focused as they continued riding Malika's magic carpet through the night.