-Callia-

  I already knew where everyone in the room was before I broke open the door, but I also made sure to control my kick enough that it wouldn’t sound particularly loud. After entering the room, it took barely a moment to identify the twelve men in the room. Ten of them were locked in cages, but the last two were on the far side of the room. One man in a mask and another strapped onto a chair screaming as a brand is stabbed into his leg.

  I flash over, delivering a ‘gentle’ high kick to the man’s chin. He flies backward unconscious. Together we move from cage to cage void shifting the locks. There were no runes or any kind of skill reinforcing the cages, just plain mundane metal. Honestly, these kinds of cages couldn’t hold anyone except children. The victims refusing to leave the cage even with the locks removed only served to confirm my suspicion that there was something else at work keeping the victims in line.

  I moved back to the hallway to watch for anyone else while Callen focused on finding what our holdup was. It didn’t take long for Callen to share his findings. They brand some kind of runic punishment mechanism, but without the half that was the control mechanism, freeing these people would take dedicated time and effort that we didn’t have while inside the facility.

  Neither of us knew how far we could go or how legal the operation was. Obviously the operation was well funded, but the collaboration with the guard to streamline acquiring new slaves from foreign visitors reeked of corruption. In the end what mattered most was the perspective of whoever was wielding the hammer of law. Still, since we started, I didn’t want to meekly give up just because they had money and tech.

  I gave Callen a couple minutes to try a few rudimentary attempts at a crack to break the rune or its connections. As he worked, a hooded man entered the hallway. I flashed behind the hooded man, swinging my arm around their throat, intending to choke them out. However, to my surprise, the man ducked in time, slipping free before I could clap down.

  “Woah, woah, woah, calm down, Miss!” I pulled my knife out, dipping into a fighting stance. If he could keep up with my movements, that meant he was a potential threat, but I held back just a moment to hear what he had to say.

  “You’re a northerner, so they abducted and brought you here without an official word, right? That means we’re on the same side!” He kept his voice low while he spoke, but I didn’t lower my guard. Despite his effort to limit the sound of his voice, it still disturbed someone in a nearby room. I alerted Callen while pointing the man into our room. He complied quickly, and we left the hallway right before a door lazily swung open.

  In the room I positioned myself so that I could watch both him and the door. Callen had also taken up a fighting stance while we confronted the man. Instead of explaining with words, the man pulled down his hood. A refined and smooth jawline with blond hair and grey eyes that shone like he had found some kind of treasure. I felt my face heating up as the refined and clean features of his face stood out. He was, inconveniently, exactly my type. Curse my beating heart, why is he getting such a reaction out of me! It has to be a skill!

  “I’m the vice captain of the imperial guard.” I try to focus on the conversation to distract myself. Even if I’m interested, it will have to wait!

  -Callen-

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  I don’t even need to reach out to Sis to feel her distraction. I try to radiate a calm composure back over to her while she’s having some kind of internal meltdown. I accept that I’ll have to be the wary and rational one for now. Sis leaves the talking to me often enough anyway.

  “Recent reports suggest citizens, particularly people from the neighboring duchies, are being taken from the streets. My investigation has led me here. Considering Miss’s speed, it seems the circumstances might be more concerning than I had anticipated.” Right, if we were locals, we would understand when and how we could resist. Likely he now considered the threat of this slave ring a notch higher if it could abduct someone like Sis. I speak up to correct the misunderstanding that I think is happening.

  “We were detained by guards at the city’s gate. We are here visiting the king to pledge allegiance and transfer authority of Port Town from Mayor Hew to me. We didn’t want to make the wrong impression by resisting the local guards under what was a misunderstanding, but they brought us here without any detours or hearings.” The man nods firmly and smiles.

  “I’m sorry that your visit to our city has already run into such a complication. Seeing how capable Miss is, I would like to invite you to assist in my investigation.” Before I could negotiate it, Sis responded.

  “YES,” loudly and clearly echoing throughout the building. I drop my palm to my face as I accept that Callia is malfunctioning. The sound of feet moving towards us from the hallway removed any chance of bartering, as we were now stuck in the thick of it. Sis wasted no time getting into action, eagerly flashing down the hallway. Short cries of distress and loud thumps confirmed each person she took down.

  “It seems she’s quite eager.” He flashed an amused, if slightly confused, smile as he followed Sis into the hallway. I just look at the bodies strewn about the floor and accept that with Callia rampaging so eagerly, I won’t be needed immediately. At least we got confirmation that someone was against this organization, and hopefully he wasn’t lying about his role in this imperial guard organization.

  I took a moment to get back to the branded runes on the slaves. Callia probably hadn’t thought about the issue, but if we encountered whoever had the trigger, it was likely the man would use the slaves as hostages. I needed to figure out a way to block the trigger mechanism before that issue came up. Now that Sis had abandoned all pretense of stealth other than the leave-no-witnesses aspect, I needed to figure out this rune.

  -Callia-

  I jumped into the hallway half to try clearing the butterflies I was feeling and half because I was thrilled that Mr. Hot was on our team. The moment I burst out, I knew that I messed up, so now I was trying to make up for the outburst the best way I knew how, with a body count.

  I swept through the goons with ease, and even with all the men in front to delay me, the men in the back didn’t have time to call my actions out. A quick check of each room confirmed all those that remained were branded slaves. With the witnesses removed, I moved to the one door that hadn’t been opened. I tried to open it only to have my hand caught by another's.

  I almost felt my heart freeze as he smiled point-blank at me. That’s not fair! He pulled out a thin sword and swept it through the crack of the door and pulled at the edge instead of the handle, perfectly silently handling his entry. On the inside of the door, I noticed an alarm mechanism built into the handle. In my haste I had completely ignored my instinctual warnings for this kind of trap. I went flush with embarrassment. Nixie would laugh at me mercilessly if she ever heard about this. I swallowed down my embarrassment as I followed the guy up a staircase leading to the upper floors.

  Eland Talia

  Eland Talia contemplated his status as he moved under the cover of his cloak towards an illegal slaver facility. He had been born as one of the latest members of the royal family from the king's newest wife. Eland had no idea how many siblings he had, both those with the royal name and those without. The king was a promiscuous man who, even after 300 years, still enjoyed himself. The crown had ruined someone who was once considered a legendary warrior, or at least that's how Eland felt. He had no illusions or intentions of challenging his older brothers, many of whom already had grand and great-grandchildren.

  No, instead he intended to use his influence to establish a new city in the south; his uncle already supported the plan, but only if he held the position of captain of the imperial guard for 10 years. Which was to get both leadership experience and combat experience that were necessary for rural bordering territories. Thus, Eland eagerly started seeking merits to push his ascension to captain above any rivals. With the silent swing of his blade, he opened the throats of the men guarding the door to the target location.

  Quiet and clean, he entered the building and began wandering the halls searching for the boss. Then his mind blared with danger, and with all the years of training, he ducked, narrowly escaping the attack. Without time to breathe, he identified his assailant as a northern traveler by their distinct style of clothing and bearing. Internally he sighed in relief; the first grab attempt had been terrifyingly fast. He held no illusions of being in any way superior to this girl in a fight.

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  he sees their every step.

  There is no deep shadow, no utter darkness,

  where evildoers can hide.