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「So basically you're saying...」

Rysef stroked his chin and gathered his thoughts.

「We should make ourselves known as this city's heroes?」

And Seyna finished his question.

I solemnly nodded and briefed them on my idea.

「You especially Rysef. You've already made a name for yourself. Everyone has heard of your exploits throughout Velatya. But the problem lies in your association with crime. Rebranding yourself as a vigilante willing to protect the city is the only way to smooth over your prior infractions. The same goes for all of you. Your reputations precede you!」

Seyna leaned over to her accompanying retinues and whispered to them. Everyone, to some extent, was understandably skeptical about my proposal.

But then, an unexpected voice came through for me.

「Z-Z-Zozo is right!」

The thief girl's grassy green ponytail bounced as she shot up from her chair. All eyes were pinned on her now.

M-Mel..?

「I'm not well-versed in... um... running a district but...」

She placed her hand on my shoulder and squeezed. Her nervousness was never more pronounced.

But I believed in her. She was ultimately my partner.

「I vouch for Zozo's idea!」

It didn't do much to strengthen my appeal but... she was trying.

「Time after time, Rysef's authority would get called into question. The city slum dwellers never appreciate the amount of work that goes into maintaining law and order in that corrupt town.」

「Mel...」

Rysef gazed up at his young apprentice. Her unwavering admiration was put on full display for the whole chamber to see.

Though my relationship with the Ashen Thief was strained, she still hung around me like she always did. Compartmentalization was a frightening thing.

「But with Zozo's solution, we'll be able to provide for dwellers and avoid conflict with the Church. Being nice is the perfect panacea, as it turns out! A-as the gentleman butler Joffrey says in the eighth volume of the series... heh...」

The murmurs and whispers girding the round table died down as Rysef shook his head and gave a great chortle.

「Hahaha! Mel, you've definitely changed being around that kid. I almost didn't recognize you when you were speaking.」

The thief girl blushed and quickly sat down.

「And it looks like you've learned to trust her now, eh Lorenzo?」

「Shut up you oaf... Let's not get sidetracked...」

It'd been a while since I'd heard the Ashen Thief's signature guffaws. I almost missed how he'd giggle over nothing.

And once Rysef calmed down from his lengthy bout of laughter, he assumed a serious stance and stared at the Silver Saint across from him.

Kayn was levels above Rysef when it came to stubbornness.

「As you can see Kayn, my apprentices have given their pieces. What kind of a master would I be if I refused the requests of my cute little underlings?」

「W-wait Rysef... that means...」

「Yes. I'm on board with your proposal Lorenzo. You've cracked the code.」

I was ecstatic but chary of celebrating too early. This meeting was far from over. I needed an overwhelming majority to agree with me.

Next to approve of my plan was...

「Don't look at me with those puppy eyes, boy. If the obstinate Rysef is on board with these major reforms, then it's a major win for us who want change. It may be a logistical nightmare, but that's why Nabal is here. I'm not good with paperwork after all! Hahaha!」

「You certainly are a slave driver, Seyna. But, I agree. An' with th' district system abolished, Feriss and I won't have t' stress over cases o' trespassing. Ya've thought this through well, Lorenzo.」

The Silent Illusionist happily inclined and clapped through her over-long sleeves.

It appeared everyone had come to accept my plan. The speech was a resounding success.

But on the other side of the table stood a grumpy old geezer who just couldn't go along with it.

He sat back down, undefeated by this blow to his outdated ways, and gazed into the ceiling.

「Vel forgive us for our impertinence...」

「It's over Master Kayn. Lorenzo is right. The slum dweller tenets, while they've had their uses, proved to be debilitating to our cause. We're not only here to protect the slum dwellers, we're also here to guide them. Babying them has only made them weaker. It's high time for them to be functioning members of society.」

「Rysef... This boy... this, outsider... Do you genuinely believe him?」

Rysef earnestly bobbed his head, marking the death of the slum dweller tenets as we knew it.

「So be it. Sullying with remembrances of the dead seldom ends well. I hope you keep that in mind when the spirits inevitably punish us for our insolence..」

His ominous warning triggered a hidden dread I thought I'd repressed. I wasn't daunted by his veiled threat, nor was I unnerved by his intense expression.

I was frightened by the fact that I'd heard this before verbatim.

The question was... where..?

Was it from Rysef..? No. Was it from before I died..? No.

There was one last possibility I refused to acknowledge. It straddled the fine line between delusional and laughably absurd. And in a fantasy world that was saying a lot.

Still, the premonition that something was going to happen grew from within my mind and clawed its way into my heart.

This internalized fear could've only come from my...

Slam!

Suddenly, two Sentinels burst in with petrified countenances.

One of them I recognized.

「Klon, what is the meaning of this?! This is a classified meeting!」

「M-master... Rysef... there's...」

And to add to the abrupt chaos...

「AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGHHHHH!!!」

Master Feriss fell to the ground and writhed in excruciating agony. It was the first time I'd heard her voice.

Nabal rushed to her aid, as Seyna joined Rysef in confronting the two Sentinels by the door. It was hard following these simultaneous turn of events.

「Rysef, you know this Sentinel?!」

「Yeah, it's Klon. He's a seasoned member of the guards' division back home. You know the woman next to him?」

「She's a high-ranking officer in Hlanu's guard division. Something's definitely up.」

Both leather-clad Sentinels were out of breath and likely parched. It was an hour's walk from here back to the Lakua Village—they must've run a marathon.

The Ashen Thief plucked the waterskin hanging off his girdle and tossed it to the woman first. She hastily drank her fill and handed it to the man beside her.

From there, the two Sentinels took a few more breaths before imparting their news to us.

「The districts..! And the village! They're all under attack!」

「What?!」

BOOM!

As Rysef mouthed his exclamation of shock, an explosion went off behind the Silver Saint, destroying one of the five pillars supporting the ceiling of the undercroft.

And we watched in horror as the stone plafond caved in, burying most of the chamber under a mound of rubble.

Instinctively, I closed my eyes and covered my head as the roof collapsed. It all happened a mile a minute. Only thing I could do was hope I didn't wake up in God's bedroom again.

As the plume of debris dispersed though, I found myself wrapped in a pair of strong arms.

Arms that were twice my height.

「H-huh..? Wait, Rysef?!」

The Ashen Thief was ginormous. Three meters was my estimate. Slightly larger than he was during the fight with Seyna. He used the breadth of his back to stabilize the crumbling ceiling.

Melyn was also safely situated in his arms. I don't even recall the moment he grabbed both of us.

His speed was just that mind-numbing.

Directly below us was Seyna, her few escorts, and Nabal holding an unconscious Feriss. A line of sanguine coursed down the side of the Silent Illusionist's head.

Everyone in the room had taken shelter under the Ashen Thief's towering physique.

「Oi, oi, Rysef. Didn't ya say ya'd avoid takin' that form at all costs?」

「I had... no other choice... Nabal..! Now get t' th' door! I can only keep th' ceiling up fer so long!」

He loosened his grip, allowing me and Melyn to flee to the exit, where the two Sentinels had taken cover.

Once everyone had escaped, the Ashen Thief lifted the entire roof and propelled it into the afternoon sky. It disappeared from our sights completely.

What the hell is with that strength?!

「Wait... where's Master Kayn?」

Rysef got on his knees and cast around for his old friend. He scooped through the piles of rubble like an excavator.

「Don't bother Rysef. The geezer got away in time. A small explosion like that wouldn't get the better of him.」

「I sure hope that's the case, Seyna. His district needs him.」

The Viridescent Queen shifted her attention to the female Sentinel who had been standing by throughout the ordeal.

「Nari, what's the situation?」

「A-ah right! Um... multiple guards confirmed that the whole outer ring of Yarzon is in pandemonium. We haven't identified the group behind this yet.」

「What in Vel's name?! And how are the guards faring?!」

「We were... almost wiped out... The enemy set several houses ablaze and ambushed us while we attempted to rescue the slum dwellers inside. The other district's Sentinels are still fighting though.」

Seyna grit her teeth and pivoted on her heel towards her district.

「Nabal, while Feriss recovers, I want you to take care of her district.」

「Ya needn't tell me.」

「And Rysef, I'll take care of the city Lakua dwellers. You go save your hamlet. I'll also be handling Kayn's district if he doesn't show up.」

「Woah, woah, Seyna. Don't bite off more than ya can chew. That's a third of th' city. Takin' on an army is just madness!」

「An army couldn't stop me, Nabal! Everyone with the Hlanu District, follow me!」

There was a slight quaver in her tone. Her amber eyes resembled young flames on the brink of wildfire.

As she hurried away with her entourage, Nabal carefully placed Feriss on the floor and sighed deeply.

「Rysef, if they managed t' find th' village and plant a bomb in our meetin' room, that could only mean th' Warrens have been compromised. Nowhere is safe for us once this is over.」

「Now's not the time to be thinking about the future, Nabal.」

「Heh. Ye're th' last person I want t' hear that from.」

Vwoom! Vwoom! Vwoom!

The Shadow Blade touched the ground and conjured up three creatures, as black as pitch, out of thin air. The spectacle clued me in on his powers.

He's a summoner! Those two masked men from the last meeting were specters brought to life by his ani magic!

They walked back into the chamber in ruins and started digging through the piles of stone pieces and loam.

「Don't worry, the Shades'll search for Kayn underneath the rubble. And uh... ya don't have t' talk t' me through th' door ya know...」

「Haha! It is getting pretty annoying! Alright everyone stand back, I'm tearing down this wall!」

With that, the Ashen Thief pried open the door, creating a hole for himself to crawl through.

Reaching the spacious tunnel system on the other side where we were, he got up and stretched his unbelievably long arms.

Nabal looked at him through half-closed eyes and arms akimbo.

「Oi Rysef. Wouldn't it have been easier t' shrink down and walk through th' door?」

「Ya know how much of a pain it is to shrink....」

「That I don't. Well, whatever. Don't die out there... Ashen Thief.」

「Right back at ya, Shadow Blade~! Haha!」

Rysef then turned to the Sentinel, who gawked at his massive form.

「Klon. Lead the way!」

「U-uh... yeah..! Got it Master Rysef!」

「Kids let's make haste. We can't exactly enact the proposal if there are no slum dwellers waiting for us back home!」

His macabre remark only worsened the trepidation in the pit of my stomach.

As we made our way through the Warrens, I couldn't help but think to myself.

My dreams... Have they truly come to fruition..?

I clenched the handkerchief in my pocket and hoped I wasn't too late.

We sprinted through the barely-lit stone halls without rest. The brick walls were a blur as we quickened our paces. It hardly made a dent on my stamina though.

There was a point where we ground to a screeching though. Not out of exhaustion, but out of wariness at the situation before us.

「Shit... Nabal wasn't joking when he said the Warrens were compromised...」

「Right you are, Lorenzo. This is worse than I thought.」

The Ashen Thief readied himself as a score of ax-wielding fighters charged him.

The enemy had swarmed the tunnel leading to the training chamber. They may have donned military-grade equipment, but their sloppy bearings didn't fool us.

We were simply dealing with a band of well-armed idiots.

Bam!

And in a swift blow, Rysef took care of them, leaving a scattered mass of unconscious warriors in his wake.

Melyn, Klon, and I didn't have to move a single muscle.

「Well? Let's keep moving then!」

Undaunted by the dangers ahead, the Ashen Thief blasted ahead. The three of us could barely keep pace with his long strides.

His blistering strikes dispatched of any foes along the way. All we had to do was focus on getting to the village in time.

Ysolva, Thonvir, Oleena... please be safe...

「Rysef! Judging by your calm visage, I can only assume you've anticipated this!」

「Yes and no, Mel! I knew there was going to be an assault, but I didn't know when! I'm confident though, that the contingencies I set will keep casualties to a minimum!」

「Contingencies?!」

We arrived at the training chamber before he could finish explaining his "contingencies" to the thief girl. As usual, a horde of thugs greeted us.

Thwack! Thwoop! Thwump!

We made quick work of them and rushed up the slope leading to the surface. On the way, I noticed the dorms were empty. The children weren't around.

「Rysef, the kids..!」

「Don't worry Lorenzo, they're safe! I've taken precautions that render any invasion manageable, we just need to—」

Finally, we reached the backyard of Rysef's manor. Rising smoke from the village tinted the blue skies a grim gray. I looked to Rysef as he did to me.

The twitch in his eyes told me something was amiss.

And when we dashed around to the front manor, the true gravity of the ordeal became deathly apparent.

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