After a brief exchange, the team packed up and moved out.
They climbed the inner slope of the old moat, their boots grinding against loose dirt and cracked stone as they ascended in groups, then climbed up the worn-down steps that had been carved into the wall. One after another, they entered the tunnel in the Old Wall and surged forward, heading straight for the southern slums.
Not long after, the two lookouts from the gang crouched outside the tunnel, only to find a large group of people running past without paying, and before they could even react—
Whoosh!
More than forty guardsmen swept past in a single wave, their uniforms blurring together as they cut through the streets like a sudden and unstoppable gale! The two men froze, their eyes wide, watching the living tide of authority flood past them without slowing down in the slightest.
They shared a strange look, wondering where so many guards had come from!
As the guards advanced, they drew more and more attention, causing many people to wonder why so many people had become active. Some speculated that something big had happened, others began to worry, and those who had already heard the news began to explain the situation.
Civilians turned their heads while many vendors paused what they were doing. Conversations died as people instinctively stepped aside, pressing themselves against walls to avoid being swept up in whatever was happening.
Block by block, the city scene began to change! The old roads narrowed, the buildings lowered and twisted, stone gave way to patched wood buildings, repairs were rampant, and uneven brick was used to build everything! Structures leaned against each other like they were sharing the surrounding buildings' burdens, and laundry lines crisscrossed overhead, swaying slightly in the wind. Smoke drifted across the streets, carrying the smell of oil, damp timber, and something faintly metallic. The surrounding people became more downcast, and everything was filled with a sense of decay.
By the time Elena arrived at the edge of the slums, the sounds of conflict had already begun to fade.
A final crash echoed through the narrow lanes ahead, and she turned towards the source of the sound.
She exchanged a brief glance with her team, then they ran towards the chaos.
Turning through a series of tight alleys, they soon reached the source of the disturbance.
The scene was already decided, and everything was wrapping up.
It wasn't their target, no, it was a simple cleanup.
Three guards slammed a spiked-club-wielding thug into a vegetable stall with such great force that it scattered onions across the gutter. Nearby, another man was pinned face-first against the ground while two officers forced his arms behind his back. Across the street, several more 'uncouth-looking' men lay groaning on the ground, clutching broken ribs or bloodied faces. In total, there were over two hundred people who were either restrained or unconscious, and only about sixty guards. From this, one could see the difference in strength between ordinary people and the mortal levels of the City Guard.
This local gang had been completely crushed, but…
Remel slowed her steps, scanning the scene with some interest.
"We missed the fun part," she muttered, clicking her tongue in disappointment as she almost skipped through the battlefield.
Ahead, Appal continued forward, heading straight for the man in charge, and Elena followed as her gaze moved across the battlefield, taking in the details.
After a moment to deduce, something felt off.
The captain directing the scene stood near the center. He was a large man with a bald head, breathing heavily, with a torn sleeve and blood smeared across one cheek. He looked like a man who had just been dragged through something unnecessarily troublesome, and indeed, he was currently feeling extremely wronged!
When he saw Elena approach, he straightened immediately.
"Lady Elena!" He saluted, his face nearly giving off light.
She returned a small nod.
"…What happened?" Appal asked with a frown.
His eyes drifted over the restrained gang members, as if confirming that what he was seeing matched what he was hearing. How did the search for a fugitive end up starting a small gang war between these nobodies and the City Guard?
The captain sighed sharply.
He looked unusually tired.
"We spotted the target two streets over. She was a thin figure, extremely emaciated, and wrapped in a red cloak. At the time, she was moving across rooftops like a ghost, so it was difficult to determine if she was the person we were looking for, but…" There seemed to be something that he didn't want to say… "In the end, we pursued her, but..."
His expression darkened.
"Then things got… strange."
Remel tilted her head. "Strange how?" She asked with an innocent expression.
The captain gestured vaguely toward the injured gang members.
"She passed through this area, and somehow provoked the Red Root Gang. Next thing we knew, they were all screaming bloody murder, acting as if we murdered their families."
Remel blinked.
"…What?" What did that mean?
What could she have done to trigger such a response in such a short period of time?
"They charged at us," the captain said flatly, his voice slightly hoarse. "It wasn't a coordinated attack, it was just your average street brawl. There was no strategy or skill, it was just… pure madness! Some of them were crying while swinging bricks, and one even tried to bite through one of my men's gauntlets! I have no idea what caused them to go mad! Damn it! It still irks me just thinking about it!"
A nearby officer raised his hand weakly.
"…He did bite me! He really did!"
Remel gave him a strange look, then ignored this unimportant background character with green hair.
The captain continued.
"We had to subdue them before continuing the pursuit, so by the time we regained control…" He clenched his jaw. "…the target was gone, obviously."
Elena's expression didn't change.
The situation was obvious, but she herself was a bit interested in how the people were taunted.
One had to know that after a full investigation, even these defeated gang members didn't know what had happened. In their own words, 'they had just lost their minds in a moment of heated forever.'
She had expected as much, but Elena still didn't know how that girl had done it.
From what she remembered, she didn't have that kind of ability, at least, not in her past life.
'How odd,' Elena thought to herself.
She played with a corner of a piece of paper that was sticking out of her pocket, lost in thought.
She turned, then asked, "Did you get the direction?"
"She went deeper into the slums," he replied with a strange expression. "That's all we have, but we don't know why she wants to run herself into a corner. Perhaps there's a secret entrance to the old tunnels in the slums? I've never heard about it, but it's possible!"
Elena nodded.
She was positive that there wasn't! She had looked for it in one of her past lives, so she was particularly familiar with the old tunnels beneath the capital.
At that moment, another shout echoed from a distant street.
A second team arrived from a neighboring district, followed shortly by a third that had come pushing in from the marketplace. Within moments, the scattered forces gathered together, forming a temporary command node around an overturned crate. Including the original, Elenas, and the two newcomers, that was over half of the original seven teams that had scattered throughout the southern district.
Together, they had over four hundred people!
Someone scratched out a rough map of the slums, then let the leaders lean in to look.
Voices overlapped as a subtle order was formed.
"…Seal this route and block this…"
"Cut off the roofs in this range and send a few centuries to…."
"Block the drainage ditches, and seal off the entrances in and out of the sewers…"
"We can't leave any blind spots, so close the gaps here, here, and here…"
Instructions spread outward like ripples on a lake.
Those familiar with the City Guard would be shocked to see this level of cohesion!
Soon, the sweep began.
Like fingers closing into a fist, the City Guard spread through the slums from every direction.
Slowly, relentlessly, the circle began to shrink...
* * *
As the encirclement began to close, from above, the slums had already begun to resemble a sealed cage, and within that shrinking space, a handful of elites were dispatched ahead of time…
Elena and Remel were among these elites, while Appal stayed behind to coordinate.
She stood at the end of a crooked street, her gaze resting on a dilapidated building in the distance.
It was three stories tall, but calling it that felt a bit generous…
The structure leaned slightly to one side, its outer frame warped, and its thick walls cracked open in long, jagged lines filled with flora. Parts of the roof had already caved in, exposing the dark interior to the open air, and a series of broken windows hung down like hollow eyes, giving the entire place a quiet, abandoned stillness that felt out of place even within the silent slums.
Remel stood beside Elena, hands on her hips.
She almost seemed to be radiating a bright light of naivety, as she scanned the house of horrors ahead.
"…This place is?" she asked, tilting her head.
Elena didn't answer immediately.
This building was indeed a unique existence in the slums. If the target were to hide, it would definitely be within or around this building.
Her eyes lingered for a long moment, then she stepped forward.
"…Let's take a look." She muttered, advancing towards the broken door.
Soon, they entered...
The first floor was dim and stale, the air thick with dust and the faint scent of rot. Broken furniture lay scattered across the room, and the floor creaked beneath even the lightest of their steps. The whole place had an almost eerie atmosphere about it, occasionally filling with a faint chill.
Remel kicked aside a loose plank as she walked ahead.
Although this place was still creepy, it was nothing compared to the lower levels of the Central Prison.
"Hm, it doesn't look like anyone's been here in years," she muttered while searching around.
The dust had settled, and there were no signs of footprints.
Elena moved slowly through the first floor, her gaze drifting along the walls and windows. If one observed her more closely, one would find her gaze was a bit off. She didn't seem to be looking for a person, instead, she was scanning each object one by one, seemingly searching for something…
Her eyes flickered, and after a long moment, she had a plan.
"…No," she said softly. "Someone has been here, it's just that they didn't enter through the front door."
Elena then pointed towards the stairs leading to the second floor.
Remel paused.
"Hm?"
Remel frowned faintly, turning her head slightly as if listening to something that wasn't there.
After a long pause, she blinked, then looked around again.
After finally understanding that Elena wanted her to go check the second floor, she nodded, then ran up the stairs in a gust of wind.
After a short pause, Elena turned toward the staircase as well and followed her up.
"Let's go up." She said in a flat tone…
Compared to the first floor, the second floor was much worse.
The boards were thinner, warped from age and many years of moisture, and several sections of the floor had already begun to collapse. Light filtered in unevenly through broken gaps in the weakening walls, casting long, uneven shadows across the strange space.
Remel stepped more carefully this time, but her expression remained as casual as ever.
"So," she said, stretching slightly between steps, "you think she came here to stay? But why can't I see any signs of people? Are you sure that someone really lived here?" It was a reasonable question, because even the dust had not been disturbed. If a person had really stayed here, then their abilities should have far exceeded those of their targets.
At least, that was what Remel felt right now…
"Maybe," Elena replied dismissively. "Or maybe she just passed through..."
Remel hummed, not quite understanding what Elena was looking at. "It would be kind of dumb to hide in a place like this," she added with a strange look in her eyes.
"…Would it?" Elena glanced at her.
Remel shrugged.
"I mean, if it collapses, you might not even need to fight."
She took another step—
Crack.
"…Hm?"
The sound came from beneath her foot, causing Remel to look down.
The wood dipped, then cracked, then—
"…Ah?"
Then—
CRASH!
The floor gave out completely beneath the little feet of the vice captain of the City Guard!
"Wah—!?"
Remel dropped straight through, crashing past the first floor with a loud series of bangs, before disappearing entirely into the darkness.
A second later—
Thud!
Silence followed…
Elena stepped forward, looking down through the jagged hole that had been suddenly opened up.
There was a strange smile in her eyes.
Below, Remel lay sprawled out on the basement floor, rubbing her butt with a pained expression.
"…Ow-ow-ow! Damn it!" She sat up slowly, blinking in distress.
"I-I'm fine...!" She muttered in an almost angry voice, clearly restraining her pain! She looked around aggressively, trying to figure out where she had landed.
From far above, Elena watched her for a moment.
"…I can see that!" She chuckled, her voice carrying all the way down.
There was a pause.
"…You fell through two floors," Elena added calmly, causing Remel to puff out her cheeks slightly.
"…The floor was just too weak! It has nothing to do with me!"
"…Obviously." Elena agreed, her eyes showing a sly smile.
-