The bandit gulped as the blade pricked his throat. A bead of sweat trickled down the side of his head.

“Well?” Yuki asked, digging the blade slightly further in.

“We didn’t even ask him anything yet,” Red said as he placed his hand on her blade. She blinked and sighed.

“What’s your name?” Yuki said.

“What’s it to ya?” he asked.

“Name. Now.” She pressed the blade into his skin, drawing blood.

“A- Albert.” He gulped, feeling a small amount of blood trickle down his skin.

“Where are you guys holed up?” Yuki asked.

“Even if you point that thing at me, I won’t talk, you furry ass bitch!” he spat in her face, causing Yuki’s eye to twitch.

“Furry?” she said in a low tone. Her eyes glowed as she raised her blade and brought it down.

The bandit shrieked and closed his eyes, waiting for the inevitable pain to come. But it never did. He opened his eyes and saw the sword embedded in the tree behind him.

“Gross,” Embla said. She looked down at his pants and saw a massive wet stain.

“Can’t you hold back a little?” Red crossed his arms and looked at her. Yuki bit her lip and sighed. She let out a breath and calmed down a little.

“I’m sorry. I lost my temper there for a second. I really don’t like it when people call me a furry.” Yuki leaned in with a strained smile on her face. She stomped her foot on his knee and caused him to scream.

“Damn, I know you guys are called Memento Mori but damn,” Embla whispered.

“Yuki’s always like this whenever someone calls her a furry. Some people are just like that to Alfheimers,” Cal said.

“Still… we don’t want the guy to pass out again before we can find out where they are,” Embla said. She crossed her arms and watched as Yuki twisted her foot on his broken knee.

“Are you gonna talk now?” Yuki asked. She took her foot off his knee and looked down at his pained form.

“I-... eeep!” his eyes widened when he saw an ice spear inches away from his eye. Yuki had an impassive look on her face that captured her now tranquil fury.

“Well?”

“I, um… if I tell you, the boss is going to kill me,” the bandit said.

“I’d be more worried about me than your boss right now because trust me, I can make your life a living hell.” Her red eyes glowed ominously as she leveled her sword at his throat again. She slowly traced the tip down his tunic before resting it above his round belly.

“Okay okay! I’ll tell you! I’ll tell you!” he said.

“Wait.” Red placed his hand on her sword. “You’re not going to tell us. Better yet, you’re going to show us where it is. That way, we know you’re not lying.”

“That’s a good idea, Red.” Yuki pulled her blade away and sheathed it. She looked down at the bandit with a smile. “Well Mister Bandit! Looks like we’re going on a field trip!”

“H -Hey! If you bring me back, they’re going to shoot us all up!” the bandit protested.

“Pandora, bind his arms with something,” Red said.

Pandora nodded and held her hand out. The minute Red cut the ropes, Pandora cast a binding spell around his hands. She nodded and Red pulled him to his feet.

“It’s fine. We can use barrier magic to keep us from getting turned into swiss cheese so you have absolutely nothing to worry about, Mister Albert!” Embla gave him a thumbs up. The bandit’s face fell at that and mumbled about being doomed.

“No! Not even barriers will work!” Albert said.

The party froze at that.

“What do you mean barriers won’t work? Even if they use a manacaster, we can still block them with barriers.” Embla crossed her arms and focused her gaze on the man’s face.

“They don’t just have manacasters. We… We also have a Gusisnautar!” Albert said.

“What?” Yuki’s mouth dropped open in shock.

“What’s a Gusisnautar?” Embla asked.

“You don’t know what it is?” Cal asked.

“I’ve been out of contact with civilization for almost seven years. I’ve only gone into towns and cities for supplies,” Embla said.

“You know how skills and bursts work right?” he replied.

“Yeah. Skills and Bursts that are classified as magic use energy called Mana, which is generated by our souls. Physical ones use an energy called Prana, which is generated by our cells.”

“A Gusisnautar is a cannon that focuses mana into a highly condensed beam of energy and fires it at once. It has enough power to destroy a large area as large as an entire district in Yggdrasil.” Cal closed his eyes.

“What the hell is a bandit group doing with one then?” Embla asked.

“We managed to get one after…” he trailed off. Albert didn’t want to say how they got it. It would get him killed most likely. Not that he had any other options. Albert could lead these people into a trap and get killed or get killed now and have them walk in blind.

“After?” Cal pressed. He didn’t like the way the man just suddenly clammed up.

“After we sold the people we got…” Albert looked down, waiting for his head to get chopped off by one of them.

“Sold? Wait… I thought you guys were bandits,” Pandora said.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought too.” Embla placed her hands on her hips. This quest just suddenly became more high stakes. If they were dealing with human traffickers instead of bandits, then this quest was more than just a simple clean-up. “Looks like you were right, Blondie. What rank was this quest by the way?”

Cal frowned at the new nickname but said nothing. He sighed. “This quest was initially just a C-Rank Quest. But with human trafficking involved, this could be a B or even A. We are dealing with a large-scale operation here. The fact that he said that they have a Gusisnautar is proof enough.”

Albert’s eyes lit up. He smiled internally. It sounded like they were considering giving up and going back. It seemed like the Gods smiled on him that day. “Yes, yes! You should go back! You guys can’t handle us by ourselves! Like pointy ears over there said, we have a Gusisnautar!”

“I don’t see how that’s a problem. We can just not get hit and disable it,” Embla said.

“The problem would be getting past all the bandits that are guarding it,” Red said. “And they might have more than one. We can’t be too sure.”

“Still, we came all the way here. I’m not going to back out now and return to Yggdrasil with my tail between my legs,” Yuki said.

“So what do we do?” Pandora asked.

“Hmmm…” Yuki placed her hand on her chin. She closed her eyes and racked her head with ways on how to take out the Gusisnautar without getting blown to pieces.

“Well, we can’t just walk in there. We’ll get blown to pieces,” Red said.

“I know that… we need to see what the fortress looks like first before we can come up with any plan. Which still means we have some use for you other than being our hostage,” Yuki said.

“E- Eh?” Albert took a step back.

“If you run, I can guarantee you won’t get far. Cal’s a pretty good shot,” Red said.

“That’s right so why don’t you stay awhile?” Cal said, wrapping his arm around the man’s shoulder.

Albert gulped when he saw Cal pull an arrow from his quiver. He had no choice. Either he went with these people and died or betrayed these people and died. There was no winning for him. At least, if he was going to lead them there, the boss might spare him. Albert hoped that much at least. After all, he was a very loyal subordinate.

“Come on. Show us where your base is,” Yuki said.

The fortress that they had been told about by the townsfolk wasn’t just a fortress. The structure was an entire castle. The large stone walls stood like massive sentinels in front of a massive castle. The towers extended far above the treeline, allowing whoever was at the top to see in every direction for miles. Vines crept up the walls, giving it a more run-down look than it already had.

People moved in and out. A patrol of four bandits exited the castle door, heading down the path into the forest. On the walls, there were dozens of bandits wielding bows and manacasters patrolled the perimeter.

With a structure well built and now well defended, it was understandable how this building had stood the test of time.

“Woah…” Pandora looked up and down the massive tower that stood over them like a silent giant. Her eyes scanned the walls as her brother and Embla finished counting to themselves.

“There are… 30 people on there,” Cal said.

“I count 30 too and that’s just the front,” Embla said. She looked down at the entrance where two guards were stationed.

“Okay, I don’t think even human trafficking rings are this well guarded. What the hell is happening here?” Yuki wondered.

“I don’t see the Gusisnautar,” Red said. He put his binoculars down.

“Of course it’s not there,” Albert said. He jutted his head towards the main building. “It’s in there. We only roll the thing out when we have to deal with something big like a dragon. The boss thinks that if we left it out in the open, someone would break it or accidentally fire it off.”

“Your boss is smart. A weapon that gathers raw prana and mana from leylines isn’t something you should leave to a bunch of lackeys. And this place, this place just happens to have a leyline running through it so this cannon would have a good amount of power,” Yuki said. She leaned against the trunk of the tree and sighed. “Do you guys see a way in?”

Cal remained silent as his eyes glowed.

“I don’t see anything yet,” Embla said.

“Do you know a way we can get in without being noticed?” Pandora poked Albert with her staff.

“How would I know? I didn’t spend all my time in there,” Albert growled.

“How about we use him to get in there?” Cal said. The glow in his eye disappeared.

“You suggesting that we use that man to pull off some scenario you saw in a mover means that you found nothing, even with you using Farcast,” Embla said. “I got nothing either.”

“So you agree that we should do it?” he asked.

“We don’t have a choice. We need someone who won’t draw attention though,” she said.

“Why not all of us at once?” Pandora asked.

“Sis, none of them will buy the fact that Mister Pees Myself would’ve taken us all down by himself,” Cal said.

“Hey fuck you, man! You just caught me at a bad time!” Albert said.

“Shut up,” Red hissed.

“Sure. Why not.” Yuki straightened her back and tails and stood on the branch. “So which one of us is going in?”

“Wait. Hold on, we need to think this through,” Red said.

“You’re right. Cal, you suggested this. How will we know this guy won’t just stab our backs once one of us gets in?” she asked. Her gaze rested on Cal, who looked deep in thought.

“How about this?” Pandora asked. She walked over and held her hand out to Albert. A small orb appeared in front of her hand and shot into Albert, sinking harmlessly into his skin.

“What was that?” Albert asked.

“I put a bomb in your chest,” she answered.

“W- Wait what?”

The others were shocked at this development as well. That was way too far.

“Hold on. Pandora! What do you think you’re doing!?” Yuki grabbed her hand and put it down. Pandora looked at her with a catlike expression.

“H- Hold on! I swear I won’t turn on you! J- Just get this bomb outta me!” Albert pleaded.

“Shut up or I’ll blow it up,” Pandora said.

“Hold on. Just sit there. We need to talk,” Yuki said. She grabbed Pandora by the arm and walked to the other end of the branch. The others followed and the four surrounded the poor half-elf.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Red said.

“Guys…” Pandora held her hand to her mouth and tried to shush them.

“Yeah, what the fuck!? You put a bomb in his chest!” Cal said.

“Woah! Woah! Calm the fuck down!” Pandora hissed. She looked down and sighed when the patrol didn’t hear a word of their yelling. Pandora looked back at them and smiled.

“What’s with that smile?” Embla asked.

“There is no bomb. I just made him think there was one so he wouldn’t do anything,” Pandora said quietly.

“What?” they were dumbfounded.

“Did you guys actually think that I would stick a live bomb inside someone else?” Pandora crossed her arms and pouted. It hurt a little to think that they thought she would go that far.

“Er…” The others looked away.

“Come on. Let’s get back to our guest,” Pandora said. She walked past them without another word. Cal sighed and walked after his sister, placing a hand on her shoulder.

“Look. Pan, we’re sorry for freaking out,” he said.

“Thanks, Cal,” Pandora said. She gave him a small smile.

“So who’s going in?” Embla asked.

“Let’s pull sticks,” Yuki said. She held her hand out and created a few small ice needles. “Shortest one gets to go in.”

“Really? Sticks?” Red asked.

“Got a better idea?” Yuki gave him a look and he sighed. He reached in and pulled an ice stick out, followed by Cal, then Pandora, then Embla. She looked at her stick then looked at everyone else’s.

“Ah, fuck…” Yuki’s ice stick was the shortest one. The others looked at her then at each other.

“Want to trade. I can go in instead.” Embla offered her ice stick.

“No. I’ll go. Besides, it would look more convincing with me anyway. If anything, beast people like me would be the most likely to be put in a trafficking ring.” Yuki unstrapped her weapon’s belt and handed it to Red.

“What about his knee? We had to carry him up here?” Cal asked.

“Pandora. Heal his leg,” Yuki said.

Pandora nodded and held her hand out. A soft glow emanated from her hand as she cast a healing spell. Albert felt something pop back into place as he felt the pain subside. He looked down and flexed his leg.

“Undo his bindings,” Yuki ordered.

Pandora snapped her fingers and the chains dispersed into harmless particles of golden light. She nodded and Yuki walked over to him.

“If you try to screw us over, I’ll give Pandora a signal to blow you into a bloody mist. Got it?” Yuki asked. That was a bluff. There was no bomb. Pandora was psyching the man out. It was sort of too far for her usual persona but considering their situation, Pandora probably saw this as their best option.

Albert gulped and nodded.

“I got some rope,” Embla said.

“Good. Now bind my wrists in a way that’s easy for me to break but hard enough for them to think I’m trapped,” Yuki replied.

“You gotta act the part of a prisoner too,” Embla said as she bound her hands together. She left enough room for Yuki to be able to easily break out without having to resort to her skills.

“That’s gonna be hard for her,” Cal said.

“How hard can it be? It’ll be like playing Knights and Bandits.” They all looked at her like she was an idiot. Yuki tilted her head in confusion. “What?”

“Jeez. And I thought not knowing what that magic cannon was made me stupid…” Embla looked at Yuki with a deadpan expression on her face.

“Yuki. Children’s games and real-life aren’t the same,” Red said.

“I- I knew that! Now! You! Take me to your leader!” Yuki huffed with a flushed expression on her face. She knew that. Yuki absolutely knew the difference between fantasy and reality.

Embla and Cal sat at the edge of the branch, both using Farcast to increase their viewing distance and image quality processed by their brains. The two tracked Yuki and Albert like a hawk, watching as Albert talked to the guards at the gate. Yuki put up a mock struggle but was quickly subdued by Albert.

“Looks like she’s getting in…” Embla’s eyes lost their glow as she dismissed the skill. She looked to Cal, who still had the skill active.

“Yeah. So far. After this, we need to figure out our own way to keep an eye on her,” Cal said.

“It’s fine. I got it.” Pandora held out her hand and a small circle filled with arcane symbols manifested itself in front of them. The symbols spun until Yuki and Albert were visible. “That ball I sent into Albert was more than just a dud. It’s the Crystal Orb Skill. As long as that thing remains intact, we can keep an eye on them for as long as I have the mana to maintain the connection.”

“You’re a priestess yet you know this many magical skills?” Embla looked at her oddly.

“Priests and mages are basically the same things. It’s just that Priests devote their time to a god and learn healing-based skills. Most of the time. I’m a Priestess because our family owned a small shrine to the God Odin back in our hometown,” she said as she kept an eye on Yuki. “She made it in. She’s walking down the square…”

The four watched the magical screen with apt interest.

“Woah… those don’t look like they’re from the village. They look like…” Pandora covered her mouth as she struggled not to throw up. The streets were lined with cages on top of cages. Cages not even big enough to properly contain all the people inside. People of all races were trapped inside, be it a human or even a dragonkin. Cal clenched his fist as he watched one of the bandits shove the butt-end of a baton in the face of a young child that reached their arm past the bars.

“What? Why? This...this is making me.” Embla looked away from the screen while the others continued to watch. Pandora patted her back, sharing the same feelings.

“Come on… Yuki. Find the canon and disable it.” Red clenched his fist as he watched the screen.

Yuki held herself from annihilating the people around her. The disgust on her face was evident as Albert followed one of the guards. Some of these people were barely even past the age of seven. Frost and flames licked the tips of her fingers as she watched them abuse the prisoners. A child reached his arm past the bars and was immediately beaten into submission with the butt-end of a baton.

Her red eyes roamed the streets and noticed that all the cages had one thing in common. They all had numbers accompanied by a symbol she didn’t recognize. The symbol was a circle with a dragon, surrounded by numerous snakes.

“Stop looking and keep moving.” Albert pushed her along. She sent him a small glare and mouthed boom back to him. He paled a little and nodded. Yuki felt a little guilty for going along with Pandora’s plan of instilling mortal dread into this man but it helped them get in. Much easier than scaling the castle walls anyway.

“Where are we taking this one?” Albert asked.

“Boss said we’re organizing them by date. The most recent ones are located in the abandoned barracks with the other new arrivals,” the guard said.

“I see.” Albert nodded as they crossed into a pavilion with large aging buildings. Despite the impressive way this building withstood the test of time, Yuki saw that the roof was nearly gone due to nature, eaten away by rot and the weather.

“Well?” the guard said.

Albert nodded and walked into one of the buildings. The guard at the door nodded and opened the door, letting Albert in. The minute he was in, he led Yuki to one of the cages and nodded to her.

“I did my part. Now when you see her, tell your psycho friend to disarm this thing,” Albert said.

She nodded and undid her bindings. Without missing a beat, she whirled around with surprising speed. She punched Albert in the face, knocking him out as soon as her fist made contact with his jaw. Before he could drop and make any noise, she caught him.

Dragging him away and hiding him behind one of the boxes, Yuki walked back out from behind the crates and saw all the captives staring at her. She smiled and placed a finger in front of her lips, telling them to be quiet.

“We’ll get you out. Don’t worry,” Yuki whispered. She noticed that the door was now closed. They must’ve thought that Albert was doing something else with her, causing a wave of disgust to run through her. Banishing that thought from her mind, Yuki slinked into the shadows.

Her eyes roamed up to the ceiling where she saw a massive hole in the roof. A way out. With a smile, she jumped on top of one of the cages and leaped through the hole out onto the roof.