In Shadow Totem City;
"How are the goods?"
A man wearing a hoodie and a black mask spoke, hiding behind the wall underneath the light of the moon.
"They have been packaged. Where is my reward?" A man wearing a white t-shirt and blue pants spoke. He was inside the house.
Behind him, there was a large bag with the goods inside.
"We have brought it."
The door opened, and three people walked in. One of them took out a fruit and threw it towards the man.
As the light slowly fell, the face of the man was revealed.
It was none other than Khalim.
Holding the fruit in his hand, a large grin appeared on his face
'Hehehe! I finally got this fruit. That bastard refused to give me this despite giving it to those trashes.'
'Now, I don't need to work for him. But…..'
He raised his head and asked.
"Will they keep providing me more of these for those goods?"
Hearing that, one of the men stared at him for a moment and said.
"If you eat it now, that will sense your power immediately. You will have to make a proper excuse."
"Don't worry, that man has left the city. Otherwise, how can I have the guts to kidnap ten young girls?"
Khalim shook his head and explained.
"Besides that, I have already registered myself at the gate. From the perspective of those guards, I have left the city for a week."
"I can just say I encountered one of the fruits on my journey while returning."
The man in a mask paused for a moment and asked.
"Do you know where he will be returning?"
Khalim shook his head and said.
"No, but he has taken every single hunter. Right now, the city is at its most vulnerable state. Hehehe! If you want, I can help you take more people."
"Only…."
He couldn't contain his greedy look as he spoke.
The man in a mask shook his head and said.
"We can only sell the best in the market. And with a sudden change in currency, our operation has been paused."
"Take them! We are leaving." He said while raising his right hand.
Khalim showed a look of pity, but it was soon replaced by excitement as he stared at the fruit.
He couldn't wait any more. He just wanted to devour it.
Just when he was about to do it, a figure flashed in front of him and kicked him in the guts
Bang!
Khalim's body flew like a rag doll and struck against the wall.
"Ahhh!"
Khalim felt the bones in his back breaking. He couldn't help but scream in agony.
On the other hand, three masked individuals jumped away in surprise.
The man in a mask stared at the girl holding the fruit and cursed.
"Damn! Didn't that bastard say all hunters have left the city? Then, why is there a Rank One hunter here?"
Khalim was in agony, but he still heard the man's voice. He struggled to raise his head, and when he saw the girl, his eyes widened.
They turned red as he hoarsely shouted.
"That bastard! Why? Why did he give that fruit to you? That should've belonged to me."
He obviously recognized the girl. She was none other than Alena, who was John's daughter.
He was already jealous of John being a hunter. He never expected his daughter to get the fruit as well.
At this moment, he couldn't suppress his jealousy.
On the other hand, the man in a mask spoke.
"There are three of us. Let's take her down quickly!"
Hearing that, the other two nodded and dashed towards Alena, but suddenly stopped.
At this moment, their body began frantically shaking. Their muscles started vibrating, and their skin started bleeding.
"Sorry, Alena! But you are not ready to face a single Rank One Hunter, much less three of them."
A voice came from afar as a woman walked in.
She was none other than Misaka. One of the hunters gritted his teeth, maintaining a little bit of sanity as he stared at Alena and Misaka.
"F-f-f-fourth rank…."
"Impressive! For a Rank One, you were able to bear one percent of my Aura."
"My Lord will interrogate you later. For now, just sleep!"
She said as she stared at him for a moment.
The next moment, that man fell unconscious on the spot.
She raised her hand and touched the foreheads of the remaining two. Suddenly, a blue rectangular barrier appeared around them.
The next moment, their bodies started vibrating at an astonishing rate. Alena could feel the agony they were suffering.
And while their sound didn't come out of the barrier, she could see just how horribly they were screaming.
Poof! Poof!
The next moment, their bodies turned into meat paste, spreading all over the barrier.
She swept her hand, and the barrier started encasing until it turned into two small cubes. The color of the barrier changed from blue to red.
"That will be an agonizing death for them."
Misaka said.
Then, she turned towards Khalim and said.
"But for you, it will be even worse after my Lord returns."
He saw the entire process of their death. Khalim pissed himself on the spot. He couldn't even stand to see that torture.
Even Alena, who hated these people to the core, had moved her head away after seeing what they were going through.
"No, he will not."
He roared, taking out the dagger from his pocket, trying to stab himself with it.
But before he could, his body froze.
His mind was working, but he couldn't control a single part of his body.
"Do you really think you have a choice in front of me? For a scum like you, my Lord will decide the punishment."
"Until then, you will live. Live with all this hatred and misery. By the way, I have increased your pain receptors."
"Until my Lord returns, you will still face the punishment."
Saying so, she waved her hand, and a barrier appeared around the man. This barrier was made out of nothing but pure Aura.
It could sustain itself for a month without any problem.
On the other hand, Alena rushed towards the large bag and opened it. There were ten girls.
They weren't harmed, but they were still unconscious.
Seeing this, she sighed a breath of relief.
"Fortunately, you were here, Lady Alena. Otherwise, I couldn't imagine the culprit to be this man."
"How could he do something like this? His status in the Security force was only lower than my father's."
Misaka shook her head and said.
"You underestimate the evil of human nature."
Suddenly, she grinned, and a hole appeared in the barrier. At this moment, Khalim could hear what Misaka was saying.
Misaka continued.
"My Lord already knew about him. Almost after the last time he trafficked the girl."
Alena's eyes widened as she asked.
"Then, why didn't he?"
Misaka shook her head and said.
"Capture him? He could. This man is nothing but trash who doesn't have the courage to do good things, but when it comes to evil, he will do anything."
"That's how people are. If it is to do good things, they will hesitate, deny, and even walk away."
"But when it comes to doing bad things, even when they don't have to, as long as they are given a small benefit, they will do it without hesitation."
"Just look at this man. Do you think he will not be found out? Of course, evil can't hide itself for long."
"But when he was given the same rewards, he chose the path of crime. Because he didn't have the courage to do good."
Hearing that, Alena clenched her fist.
"Are all humans like that? But my father…."
Misaka shook her head and said.
"Your father lost important people. He decided to eat the Natural Fruit, knowing that if something happens to him, the Lord will take care of you."
"That's why, despite having so many chances, those nobles rarely become hunters. They would rather let others risk their lives."
"The same goes for this group of trash. They could earn money from hunting monsters, but they see this as an easy route."
"Unfortunately, I just made that a hundred times worse."
When she said that, she couldn't stop her grin.
Alena felt a bit relieved about her father's choice.
"So, why didn't Lord do anything to him?"
"Because we needed a clue, a direction towards the real source of this problem. My Lord didn't arrest him because he wanted to lure this man out."
She said while looking at the man who had fainted next to her.
"Is that so?"
"By the way, don't call me Lady. Just call me Misaka. You and I are equals."
At this moment, a look of horror and despair appeared on the eyes of Khalim as he heard Alena's next words.
"I can't do that. You are a Sixth Rank Hunter, Lady Misaka."