[Volume 5.5: Interlude – The Betrayed Beast]
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Llynun, New Day—
Deep within the sprawling capital city of Llynun, where the wide stone roads of the Noble District gave way to the filth and desperation of the southern slums, there stood an oppressive and militaristic place both sides preferred to ignore.
It rose from the city like a buried wound, or a forgotten and ignored land of exile...
This was a black fortress of iron bars and old brick, wedged into the boundary between wealth and ruin, its walls engraved with countless purple runes that flowed faintly through the night. Some glowed steadily, while others flickered in slow, uneven patterns, as if breathing. The air around the structure was colder than the rest of the city, and even the nearby streets remained strangely quiet.
This was the 'Central Prison of Llynun', the largest prison in the capital!
This was the place where nobles sent scandals to disappear, where gangs lost their leaders, where treacherous officials were forgotten, and where certain 'special prisoners' were kept so far from sunlight that even their names began to fade from the minds of the city.
It was a place of both good and evil, but it was a necessity for the capital!
Past the outer gates, beyond dozens of layers of guards, magic locks, steel walls, and descending staircases, the prison continued downward into the oldest foundation of the city itself! The deeper one went, the older the stone became, and smooth masonry gave way to rough, carved walls, ancient supports, and chambers built long before Llynun had taken its current form as a capital city.
It was here that the first prisoners of the Cross Continent were imprisoned!
Somewhere in the depths, located in its deepest levels, hidden behind three sealed doors and a corridor lined with an uncountable number of sealing runes, stood a row of isolated cells reserved for prisoners too dangerous, too valuable, or 'too strange' to place anywhere else.
The camera pans.
Inside one of the cells sat a lone figure.
She was slumped against the wall in silence and wrapped in chains etched with dim restraints. Her clothes were torn and filthy, her hair disordered, and several crimson strands hung across a gaunt face shadowed in neglect.
At first glance, she looked broken, forgotten, like just another soul left to rot beneath the city…
Water dripped somewhere in the dark.
The lantern lights outside the bars weakly crackled and swayed in the weakening wind.
Then, the figure moved…
Slowly, she lifted her head, her messy dark red hair slid back just enough to reveal her small dirt-smeared face. A sharp, mischievous smile crept onto her lips, and her hollow eyes seemed to reignite, making her suddenly appear out of place amid the gloom.
In the darkness, two crimson lights flashed as her phoenix eyes narrowed into slits.
For a single instant, the entire cell seemed to glow red.
Then, with a faint flicker of scarlet light that slipped through the chains like smoke, she smirked. Someone looking from outside might have mistaken it for madness, but to those who knew her—
They would have recognized it as a deep, uncontrollable anticipation!
* * *
Morning—
Under the bright sun, the streets of Llynun were as lively as ever.
The wind moved through the streets, swaying the surroundings.
Merchants called out from beneath colorful flags, hawking fresh food, cheap tools, colorful cloth, and steaming trays of soup. Carriages rolled across the wide roads while children darted through the crowds like fish through a river. The scent of grilled seafood, fresh flowers, and the city blended together beneath the clear, cloudless sky.
Amid this ordinary street, Elena leisurely walked forward.
She wore a long beige overcoat that fell to around her knees, its front lined with large circular black buttons. Both hands rested casually in her coat pockets, giving her a strange confidence that naturally drew the eye of many people. Beneath her coat was a loose white top, which was simple and clean, contrasting with the bright green fantasy-style accessories she liked to wear.
On her feet were black boots with white laces and dark green soles, and a thick black scarf wrapped around her neck, framing her stunning face and giving her appearance a slightly modern aesthetic compared to the surrounding city and its people.
Her long blond hair swayed gently with each step, rising and falling in the breeze, while her vibrant green eyes reflected the morning sunlight like polished gemstones.
Walking beside her was a young man with a slightly shorter stature who was wearing the official uniform of the Llynun City Guard! His armor was light, his silver badge was displayed, and his expression carried the nervous stiffness of someone deeply aware of who he was instructed to accompany.
He led Elena through the city with careful steps, glancing at her every so often as if worried he might somehow lose her in broad daylight, but internally, he was screaming, wondering how he was tasked with guiding one of the five heroes!
They moved with the current, blending into the lively flow of the city.
After a while, Elena slightly turned her head.
"So the person mentioned in the letter is the one I'm looking for, you're sure?" She asked with a slightly distracted tone. "You're certain the description matches everything I sent?"
The young guardsman straightened his back.
"Positive! A-absolutely positive! At least ninety percent similar!" he said with a bit too much enthusiasm. "It should definitely be the person you're looking for!"
Elena gave a small hum of acknowledgment.
A few streets later, she abruptly changed direction and stopped at a roadside food stall. Without ceRemelony, she purchased several skewers of grilled seafood, then resumed walking.
The guardsman hurried after her, now holding two more skewers himself.
Nom-nom-nom!
Elena bit into a grilled octopus skewer, chewed thoughtfully, then asked, "How did you catch her?"
The young man blinked.
"From what I know," Elena continued before he could answer, "'that person' shouldn't be easy to capture. How did you do it?" It was a simple question, but Elena knew that the city guard shouldn't have the ability to catch the person she was looking for. Originally, she only intended to have them keep an eye out, but after knowing that she was caught, Elena decided to take a look herself.
The guardsman answered while still chewing a piece of spicy garlic-seasoned octopus.
"Actually, she wasn't particularly difficult to catch once we found her! Finding her was the hard part..." He swallowed as he talked. "After finding her, we mostly just had to wait for her to."
Elena slowed down slightly.
"Collapse?" she repeated with a strange look in her eyes. "Why…?" One had to know that the phrase 'unwilling to collapse' was synonymous with the person she was looking for. In fact, even if the world were destroyed, Elena felt like that person would still be standing.
The young man frowned, then hummed.
He rolled his head back and forth, mumbled, then, after a moment, he simply said—
"…Hunger!"
He looked a bit embarrassed saying it aloud...
"From the investigation, we learned she's an orphan, has no source of income, and hadn't eaten properly in days. By the time we found her, she was basically a starving beggar on the streets. She didn't seem willing to rob anyone, but this was also her downfall." He turned his head, his curious eyes sparkling at the big-breasted big sister. "How did such a righteous person end up on your radar?"
Elena nodded slowly, taking another bite to hide her embarrassment.
"Is that all?" she asked, not answering.
"Even in a weakened state, she shouldn't have been that simple to subdue."
The guardsman grimaced, remembering something unpleasant.
"Yes-yes-yes! You're right! Even half-dead, she was dangerous beyond belief!" He rubbed the back of his neck. "I heard several veteran guards were injured just trying to restrain her. The amount of power in that woman's little body is ridiculous!"
He laughed awkwardly.
"I can't imagine what she'd be like at full strength."
Nibble-nibble-nibble! Elena took another bite from the skewer.
Unlike most people, she knew exactly what that person was capable of, and in some ways, it could be said no one in this world understood her better than Elena did!
Although they had technically never met, a starving beast was still a beast after all. If anything, cornering her only made her more dangerous. The fact that they had managed to catch her at all was surprising enough that Elena had chosen to personally investigate the matter.
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Some time later, the street widened into a broad plaza.
The camera seemed to tilt upwards…
A massive building stood ahead, built from white stone and reinforced with black iron. Wide stairs led to two towering front doors that were marked with the insignia of crossed spears over a city wall. Guards moved while messengers hurried in and out.
This was the headquarters of the Llynun Capital City Guard!
* * *
The scene shifts!
Within the second floor of the Headquarters of the City Guard, behind layers of security and guarded halls, was the large private office of the Guard Captain. It was a broad chamber with a floor formed from dark wood and carved stone, with a large desk filled with maps of Llynun, patrol routes, criminal registries, and sealed reports stacked in tall towers. Sunlight poured through the window, though the atmosphere inside still remained heavy and professional, only with a slightly refreshing note.
Behind the massive desk sat a tall, muscular man whose presence made the room feel suffocating. His broad shoulders strained against the dark officer's coat that was draped over him, and the stern lines of his large face suggested that he was someone who had spent many years solving other people's problems. He was tall like a tank, but his aura seemed to possess an innate sense of sharpness, making it difficult to discern his profession. If not for his kind face, many people would be too terrified to even approach him under normal circumstances.
This was the 'Guard Captain' of the City Guard in Llynun!
Standing before him were two high-ranking officers.
The first was a towering man built like a bear, with thick arms, a square jaw, and the kind of posture that suggested he preferred breaking through problems rather than talking about them.
His name was Appal!
Beside him stood a much smaller figure. At first glance, she looked like a child, but the sharp maturity in her eyes instantly ruined that illusion. She had a compact body, an overconfident stance, and the expression of someone permanently prepared to argue, even if she was in the wrong.
This was Remel!
The Guard Captain lowered the report in his hand and frowned deeply.
He looked toward Appal first.
"What do you think?"
Appal crossed his arms. "Although unconventional, handing over a criminal to someone of 'her status' is not without precedent," he said bluntly. "The accused committed 'serious' crimes, yes, but nothing irreconcilable, so I think we can consider it."
Remel immediately planted her hands on her hips, swayed her tiny waist, and puffed out her completely unimpressive chest! "Nothing irreconcilable? Heh!" she snapped. "Bah! Bah-bah-bah! She injured three nobles! Since when is that a minor crime?"
Appal didn't even glance down at her.
"You wouldn't be saying that if the dead were commoners, would you?"
"Hmph! Of course not," Remel shot back. "People are different! Each person's value is different! What are you going to do about it? How can they be the same! Damn bear!"
Appal's jaw twitched.
"Little brat, you need to—"
"Who are you calling a brat, you damn oaf! Don't make me come up there!"
Appal: "(¬_¬)"
Remel: "!!"
Bang! "Enough!" The Guard Captain slammed a hand on the desk.
Both officers froze like children.
"Stop! Just, just stop talking!" He rubbed the bridge of his nose.
Appal and Remel snorted in unison, then turned towards him like scolded children who refused to admit defeat. They almost appeared to be ready to attack the teacher next!
The captain exhaled slowly through his nose.
He knew these two too well!
Remel judged the world through worth. Status, strength, wealth, bloodline, talent, usefulness! To her, equality was a fantasy told to children. This was not a perfect world, so things needed to be adjusted.
Appal was the exact opposite, and brutally so! In his eyes, all lives were equal, and anyone claiming otherwise usually needed to be punched! If a noble took candy from a child on the streets, and the child's parent attacked the noble, then Appal would beat the noble, and then the parent!
Separately, they were competent, but together, they were exhausting.
The captain rubbed the bridge of his nose even harder.
"Now. Both of you shut up and answer the matter I assigned from before!"
His booming voice erased all the remaining playfulness.
Remel straightened her back, then began first—
"Reporting!"