Despite everyone having heard the word, general knowledge about chainlings remained almost non-existent. Everyone had heard the name of the monster, those who travelled in the wilderness, even were aware of how vicious they were. Other than that, though, the creature’s true nature remained a secret known only to the Order of the Seven Moons, and possibly the Imperial family.

As Dallion stood in the plaza, waves of fear passing through him, barely anyone in the crowd reacted. Dallion’s music skills, heightened by his new perception levels, let him know exactly what emotions their emotions were: interest, slight excitement mixed with concern, a fear of pick-pocketing… For them this was nothing more than a normal fight, a thief trying to take advantage during the time of the festival facing who was cornered by the city guard. The domain controlled by the lord mayor had surrounded them with such a sense of security that they couldn’t even imagine a creature of this nature walking around. Dallion could, though.

The more he evaded the human chainling, the more aggressive the creature became. The alarming thing was that it continued to be focused on him. Neither Euryale, nor the three members of the city guard who had arrived at the scene were able to change that. While engaging with them, the chainling kept heading towards Dallion.

A circle formed in the crowd as people moved back from a safe distance away. Then, suddenly, three quarters of the people simultaneously fainted, falling to the ground. Only awakened remained, though even they felt the effect of an invisible force pressing against them.

The chainling felt it as well, for it stopped its attacks, looking around like a cornered animal. Fight or flight instincts had kicked in. This would have been the perfect opportunity for Eury and the city guards to take it down, but none of them did anything of the sort. Instead, they quickly dashed back.

“Quick!” Eury said, grabbing Dallion’s hand.

Dallion had no choice but to trust her, using his acrobatic skills to leap to the edge of the plaza. Moments later, more people started fainting, this time awakened. Musicians, acrobats, and performers dropped in groups, crashing to the ground with a thump. Their improved bodies were likely going to protect them from any lasting harm, although some visits to a city healer were likely. Within moments, only the chainling remained.

“What’s happening?” Dallion asked.

“She’s here,” Eury whispered back.

A second later, no further questions were necessary—a new figure had emerged on the scene, the same one that had called Dallion for a talk not too long ago.

The Overseer? Dallion asked.

Who did you expect? Nil asked. The lord mayor himself? The Overseer handles such things. Why do you think the city guard reports to her?

Dallion had no answer. What he knew was that he was experiencing a new wave of fear, stronger than that coming from the chainling. Even at such a distance, it took all his effort to remain standing.

Out in the daylight, the Overseer seemed far different from she had before. The veil that had covered her face was gone, revealing a woman in her mid-twenties with pitch black hair. Slowly, she made her way to the center of the plaza, where the chainling stood. As far as anyone could tell, the woman wasn’t carrying a single weapon; she didn’t need to. If anything, at present she was the most terrifying creature at the plaza, more terrifying than anything Dallion had seen, with the possible exception of the chainling he had helped hunt in the wilderness.

“Don’t look,” Eury whispered. Half of her snakes were curled away from the plaza. Dallion could tell that she, too, felt discomfort, if not outright fear. Even so, he couldn’t keep himself from staring on.

You really should take her advice, dear boy. You’ll have one heck of a headache once this is over.

Why? What’s going to happen?

At the pace the Overseer was moving, one would have expected it would take half a minute at least for her to reach the chainling. In truth, it took less than an instant. One moment she was over a hundred feet away, and the next she was in immediate vicinity, thrusting her hand through the chainling’s chest.

What? Dallion blinked, as his mind rejected what he had just seen.

That’s the practical effect of high-level reaction, Nil explained. It’s so fast that your perception can’t keep up.

Just like in anime, Dallion thought. In his late teens, he’d often ridicule the disappearing effect that was so popular. Now that he’d witnessed it with his own eyes, he wanted to take everything back. The Overseer’s stats weren’t just slightly higher than his own, they were probably in the hundreds.

The chainling wasn’t going to let itself be killed without a struggle. Black ooze covered the clothes of its human host, transforming them into thick scales. A tail with razorblade spikes emerged, slashing towards the Overseer.

“Look out!” Dallion instinctively shouted, but it was already too late. Before he could finish speaking, the tail had hit the woman’s shoulder, sinking in.

Dallion’s initial thoughts were to help the Overseer. It was only a few instants later that he noticed the obvious: despite the strength of the attack, the woman hadn’t moved by a single inch. It was at that point that the reason for his unexplained fear became apparent.

“The Overseer’s a chainling?” Dallion uttered.

“I told you not to look,” Eury said. “Not all monsters are in the wilderness.”

Dallion felt tears roll down from both corners of his eyes as he stared on. His improved perception helped him see both chaining figures as if he were standing a few feet away. But there was more, he could see the invisible cracks that emerged from them. To the standard onlooker, the battle was merely an exchange of blows with the blood and gore that came with it. Dallion, though, could see thousands of minuscule tendrils spreading from each “person” in an attempt to devour the other. Like roots of void, they dug in, devouring anything they came in contact with. It was a dark and grotesque process and the Overseer was winning. The tendrils from her arm were spreading through the chainling’s body twice as fast as its own were advancing through her shoulder. A smile emerged on the woman’s face. For a single moment, she turned her head and looked in Dallion’s direction, as if pleased he was witnessing her power.

That, dear boy, is the true purpose of an Overseer, Nil said. All major cities have them, some have even more than one. In the capital there’s one who’s said to be thousand years old. Their role is to observe, maintain order, and devour anyone who gets too big for their britches.

A distinct squishing sound echoes throughout the plaza. Instead of a splat, however, the chainling simply disappeared, entirely consumed by the woman. Nothing but a few clothing fragments remained.

“It’s over,” the Overseer said in a calm, clear voice. “You can join me.”

After a momentary hesitation, several city guards made their way through the sea of collapsed people to the spot where the Overseer stood.

“You too, Eury,” the Overseer added. “And bring Dal with you.”

The gorgon hissed. She didn’t like being bossed around, but the more powerful emotion Dallion could feel from her was a deep protectiveness of him. A cluster of snakes turned in his direction.

“Just don’t step on too many people,” the gorgon said, then without explanation, went forward, leaving Dallion behind.

Why is she upset with me? Dallion wondered. Or rather, he was wondering why she was upset at him over that, considering the things he did without letting her know.

“Nothing special about the clothes,” a city guard said, as he picked them up from the ground. He had a lieutenant’s insignia. “Locally made. Could have been bought anywhere.”

“You’ll have to do better than that,” the Overseer said.

“Is that what’s been killing awakened?” Dallion asked.

There was a noticeable moment of silence.

You don’t get to ask questions, Nil reminded. Only the Overseer does. You get to answer.

“Unlikely,” the woman replied, to everyone’s relief. “At least not all of them. Although, given this abomination kept hidden for so long, it’s not out of the question.”

“Blocker ring,” another guard said, lifting it in the air. “Looks pretty standard. I’ll have the forgers give it a look.”

“Any thoughts on the matter, Eury?” The Overseer turned to the gorgon.

“Nothing I’ve heard. Although I doubt it’s from an artifact. It’s too clean to have happened by accident. I fear you might have a cell.”

Nil? Dallion asked.

Star cultists, the echo replied with disgust. Similar to Arthurows, before he surrendered his very being. No matter what you do there’s always someone who’s looking for a shortcut to power and success. Some even go as far as claiming that the only way to achieve it is through the power of the Star, because that has worked so well throughout history.

“I guess I have you to thank, Dal.” Despite her words, the Overseer didn’t seem overly happy. At moments like these, Dallion really wanted to be able to see her emotions. “If you weren’t obsessed with your copyette hunting folly, we wouldn’t have found this.”

If you think it's folly, why did you have me watched? Dallion wanted to say. It was obvious to everyone that he was used as bait. Even so, that wasn’t something the Overseer would admit to.

“I suggest you take a short break, say a few days, before continuing.”

“You want me to keep searching for the copyette?” Dallion was unsure if he had heard correctly.

“If there’s one abomination, it’s likely there are more. Clearly, they have kept themselves hidden from me… and the mirror pool. Thanks to your contraption—” she glanced at the kaleidervisto box Dallion was holding. The device had suffered a bit of damage after being used as a weapon “—we have a way to get them to reveal themselves. Find as many as you can,” she said to one of the city guards. “I’ll have a word with the lord Mayor to have the city borrow them, until the end of the festival, at least.”

Dallion bit his tongue. Even after all this, they were still going to use him as bait.

What did you expect, dear boy? It’s you that has drawn attention to yourself.

I didn’t expect it’ll come to this.

People rarely do. That’s why I kept telling you to think things through. Oh, and in case you start having any ideas. No, you won’t get any benefits of special treatment. Well, other than being on their good side.

So, it’s just like a different version of the mirror pool?

That’s one way of putting it. I wouldn’t say that out loud, though. Nobles can be a bit touchy on that topic.

“Anything else, you want to ask?” The Overseer was clearly being sarcastic—a reminder that she was the one asking the questions. Dallion, however, decided to take advantage.

“Is there any connection between this and the copyette business?”

Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at Dallion, expecting the Overseer’s reaction. Half of Eury’s snakes had turned his way. Dallion could feel her desperate attempts to protect him from the Overseer, along with the realization that she couldn’t.

“Highly unlikely. Personally, I’m not convinced we have a cult either. Most likely, this is a result of the influx of artefacts that has flooded the city recently. That’s usually what happens after a new set of ruins are discovered. But, please, by all means, continue with your search. If you succeed, I’ll be more than grateful.”

With that, the Overseer left the plaza, along with some of the higher-ranking city guards. Only the common one remained, starting the thankless job of waking up people and checking if they were alright.

“Let’s get out of here,” Eury said.

“Sure. Where to?”

“Outside. I need to be away from people for a while.”