Kayson outlined a simple plan. During the festival, the majority of the Sects were given leave to head into the city. As no one expected trouble, they let their disciples loose to curry favor with the Himawari Sect. Anything less was a failure to show proper face.

That gave us less resistance to our approach, even if the problems with the plan stacked up after.

One of our biggest issues was that the Getsu Sect, like most Sects, lived in a gated community. They had a strict in and out. Even with the festival, there was definitely going to be some form of guard. Kayson might be able to slip his Manifested Soul in to locate Bruno, but we still needed to find out own path into the place.

Eve was automatically assigned to that duty. Both her Soul Ability and lockpicking skills made her essential. With Kayson, they’d be able to find and spring him from whatever cell they’d tossed the big guy in.

But the most important problem was how to sneak them past the Soul-Fortified outer sect walls. Even without guards, it’d be impossible to scale them.

I came up with the solution. It spoke a lot about the situation, and perhaps my squad’s trust in me that they accepted the awful idea that came out of my mouth.

I’d approach the guards directly and cause a scene. The plan was pure improv; somehow, I’d do something to catch their attention and draw them far enough away from the gate for Eve and Kayson to get in. They should’ve brushed the idea off, but Kayson slowly nodded his head instead.

Suzaki could fix me up after I inevitably got my shit kicked in. Whatever it took to free Bruno. So long as I didn’t fail.

Something tugged at the back of my mind, and when I asked about it, everyone laughed me off. Would Bruno go along with the plan? They kept telling me that I was out of my mind, that the big guy would, of course, want to be free. But I knew him. This sort of shit is what he lived for—rivals, Sects, and duels over honor?

Since no one else was feeding into it, I let it go, and we drove to the Getsu Sect.

It was a long trip through the west side of New Valentine—this outskirts of the city was a vast swath of land cut out and reserved for the minor sects. From what I understood, way back when, it all used to be marshlands. Formation masters managed to reforge it into something more workable.

Of course, even among the sects, Himawari stood above. They didn’t live out here. Instead, they had their private island off the shore, letting the rest of these minor sects cluster together in the fake countryside.

Their sprawling estates engaged in a perpetual competition to be the king of their small hills. It was almost a comedic effect to see the various Sect raise artificial mountains constantly trying to top the others—like an ancient tradition straight out of the old world. Why not build an immortals-damned skyscraper? But no, no one ever claimed these stuffy Sects were fucking sensible.

As we drove down the long winding eastern roads of the Sect countryside, I felt unreal. Their pristine gated communities—each a different snapshot of the unknown reality. We cut through the artificial forests to meticulously mowed lawns and mile-long stretches of wall. They all had their unique take a presentation to display their Sect’s values and importance.

Eventually, we pulled our motorcycles down the road from the Getsu Sect, parking ourselves behind some bushes. As a squad, we followed the lead of Eve, our resident sneaking expert, and left the poor girl with about a million things to complain about. We paused every five seconds at the start. Usually, they were minor corrections to form and stealth. But at some point, she decided this was as good as we could get and let us follow—relying on her Soul Ability to mute our sounds as we broke branches, kicked rocks, and in general messed with her operation.

At long last, we reached spitting distance from the brick gate of the Getsu Sect.

It had two gates that blocked the driveway in and out with iron-wrought deep black metal in the shape of moons. A small brickwork building separated them in the center. Like a toll booth, though, more luxurious.

I made out two Getsu Sect members in outer disciple robes from our crouched position in the bushes. They’d thrown the window to the booth wide open. The two of them looked bored as hell; it didn’t take much to guess why: they were stuck with a shit job on a national holiday.

More relatable than I’d given them credit for. All the stories painted them as stuffy and arrogant. Like they were self-proclaimed euro-nobility. These two were just shooting the shit like our squad did. Hell… Did that one fork over spirit chips? They were fucking gambling on the job.

Kayson gave me a wary look. He was waiting for me to make a move. So I collected myself and reordered my thoughts. There wasn’t any room for this to go wrong. If I fucked up, Bruno was fucked, Alex was fucked, and I—well, I wouldn’t know what to do with myself.

I rubbed my eyes. This was all about the right approach.

A second later, I threw my persona on. I shoved my hands in my pockets and confidently strode down the road. The two outer disciples quit their game, shoving away marbles and chips. They were only half-alert, mostly curious about the one interruption to their boring day; no doubt they felt safe and secure in their cozy little control room.

Getting closer provided more details about them. There was a boy who looked barely older than Suzaki. Which I suppose is how it went with outer disciples. They shoved you at the lowest rank, and your job was to prove that you were worth more than that; unless you were some old monster’s kid.

As I intended, their attention was one hundred percent on me. Time to start the show. I spat on the ground and saw their face of disgust and a flinch. Good. I needed them a bit on edge. My throat made an annoying noise as I cleared it. I saw what I wanted in their eyes, that bit of indecision of whether to clear me out or entertain whatever bullshit was about to spew from my lips.

Curiosity won. “Lemme in your sect,” I threw out my line, tossing my head back and staring them down. I made myself believe that getting in was what I wanted more than anything else, that this was the solution to all of my problems. If I were in their Sect, I could get Bruno out and bring down their might on Tristan’s head. I let the fantasy swell in my head.

“Oh? What’s this?” The bald boy muttered. Although, bald was a bit of a disservice to the complete shaved nature of his head. I swear to the divine I saw the sun’s reflection off that scalp, which was clearly an intentional choice on his part for whatever reason. Maybe it was stylish in that little closed community. I dropped my nitpicks, leaned in, and narrowed my eyes. I got as close to his face as I could with this window in my way.

“Didja hear me? I want in. Think I aint got the balls? Bet mine are bigger than yours, especially since ya aint dropped’em yet.”

“He—“ the bald boy raised a finger, his voice cracking.

“Oh Otsu—” the girl next to him giggled, unable to help herself at her companion’s perplexed and angry expression. She was about my age.

“Ya heard her, Otsu, your friend thinks ya are a joke. What’s a kid like you doing in there? Guess this Sect is needy if they’re accepting children who aint able to grow a full head of hair. Which Sect is this again? Taiyo-no-eiko?” I threw out the name of their biggest rival to piss them off. It brought me an unhealthy amount of joy when the kid’s face recoiled with revulsion at the name. “If they let a boy like you in there, I’m sure they’ll want an actual man like me.”

I didn’t know much about the Sects. Just the bits an average New Valentine dweller picked up. Things like the more powerful Sect—which ones pissed the others off. Typical mortal gossip bullshit. I never imagined those special news reports would ever come in handy until now.

“This is certainly not Taiyo-no-eiko, as if the magnificent Getsu sect could ever be compared to that—“

“Ehhh? Aint the Getsu Sect that the one with that guy going around taking advantage of girls in the Lantern District, y’know I heard a couple of stories—“

“You dare badmouth our exemplary Sect?! Leave here at once!” the kid even puffed his chest out. Adorable.

“Oh, Otsu. Come off it. This is the most fun I’ve had all day.” The girl sighed. “Just what are your qualifications for ‘joining’ the Getsu sect, outsider?” she leaned a little bit out the window, smirking.

“Elder Sister Fukui! Don’t entertain this scoundrel!”

“Well, if ya have to ask, I am more qualified than that bald kid ya got there. Been through more fights than he’s probably read about; I aint just sitting around in a booth all the fucking time. I have lots of shit constantly flying at me,” I jabbed a finger towards baldy. “Bet ya couldn’t even beat me in a fight. Dumbass Sect sorts like duels, right? I challenge your prepubescent ass to a fight. If I win, I get your spot.”

“We do not admit outsiders based on simple duels! Besides, I would certainly crush you in a fight. I have the teachings of the inner lecturers of the Getsu sect—I’ve attended plenty of lessons regarding the secrets of the path of Cultivation.”

“All I hear is a lotta hot air,” I spat on the ground. It was time to turn the screws. I looked at Fukui; her eyes were lit up. I’d noticed the way the bald boy kept glancing at her for approval after every other sentence, so his reluctance stemmed from self-doubt. He didn’t wanna make a fool of himself in front of her, and he wasn’t sure how he’d do against me. Ideal fuel to start a fire.

I threw more charm into my eyes, pressing closer to the glass, catching Fukui by surprise. Perfect. “Well, if I aint able to get in from taking this loser’s spot, how about ya and I get hitched. Beautiful eyes, gorgeous hair, great sense of humor—“ Fukui blinked at the sudden shift in my direction.

“You court death!” The boy screamed from the side, crawling out of the window. Beautiful, it worked like a charm.

“C’mon, gorgeous, come see how a real man fights!“ I broke out into a jog, past the bushes that my friends hid in. I glanced over my shoulder and was relieved to see the girl pop open the door and follow behind. Good. She’d lept on the chance for any entertainment, and just like the dumb kid, she’d bought the bait.