We leave behind the corpses of the metal crabs and enter into a world of polished walls and bright lights. It’s the same diffuse lights that I’ve seen many times before, the same as what Ria repaired in our own little base.

Leaving behind the pair of grunts that has guided us so far, we tread carefully down the clean hallway which the elf had fled through. It’s not long before the walls widen and become cluttered with various odds and ends. The shelving and storage spaces on either side of us seem to be a more recent addition, rather than part of the original ancient design.

The strange collection filling this space is eclectic but organised. Cleaned bones on one end of the hall contrast to the delicately painted artworks on the other end. Furniture, clothes, pots and pans, cutlery, and all sorts of other things fill the space between.

It’s the sort of thing I’d expect from a germaphobe hoarder who can’t throw anything away but has to have everything cleaned and in a sensible order. Or, I suppose, the backroom of a merchant that can’t quite figure out what business they want to run.

Everything here practically radiates mana, it’s the only shared trait that might explain why these things were gathered in the same place. Perhaps there’s some benefit to having mana dense goods stored together rather than spread apart?

I don’t know but should everything go well I’ll have plenty of time to figure that out later.

“This is beautiful.” Nel says, wondering over to the paintings. She’s still on guard, and checking for traps, but it’s clear that she’s taken a keen interest in half the things that fill this hallway. Her eyes flicker over some of the dark wood furniture, and the silver cutlery, but she restrains herself well.

“Depending on how things go, we might just take these as ‘reparation’.” I suggest, “Sounds fair, no?”

“It sounds appropriate, but only so long as we ensure Orsa won’t trouble us any longer.” Nel replies, a fire returning to her gaze as she checks over all her weapons one more time. A habit that I don’t think she’s about to lose anytime soon.

“What are we going to do when we find her?” Vii asks, “She’s probably not even here anymore. We aren’t very sneaky, and she probably ran away if she was even here to begin with.”

“We’ll see what happens.” I say with a shrug, “But we’ll find her and deal with her in any case. I’m not going to wait around for her to attack us again.”

“We might not have a choice.” Adler says cautiously, “I can’t see what you can do to stop her. Not with the rules the way they are.”

“Well, let’s just and go see if she’s even here.” I reply, happy to see that Eshya is watching Adler with appropriate caution. My back should be safe for now.

Quieting our conversation, we leave behind the storage facility heading through a door and into another hall of similar nature. The goods here aren’t nearly so bright or colourful. Their mana glow is significantly weaker, and I can tell that these are the second-rate goods.

It’s still riches that I’d gladly take, but I’m not of a mind to plunder it and fill my pockets. Why simply raid the treasury when you can take the whole castle?

Through one more set of doors, we finally stumble upon the person who is supposedly behind all of this. Orsa sits at a large round table in the centre of the room, the rest of the chairs are filled with an assortment of different people sipping at rich cups that glow with mana.

The dozen of them are all sorts of shapes, sizes, sexes, and species, but I can see the same nature in all of them.

The way they turn to us in surprise, but still manage to hide it behind a blank expression. The haughty attitudes that they exude as they sip at their drinks and look down on us as if to pretend that they’re completely in control of the situation.

A mercantile confidence built around the riches that they wear, and the control over their expressions.

The only being here of a different nature would be the elf that we’ve already met. The one that fled from us before setting the tin can crabs loose. His expression is comparably filled with outright disbelief. He rubs at his eyes and looks at us as if expecting us to disappear.

We don’t.

“Well, hello. I was hoping you’d still be here.” I say sauntering over to their table with my pistol loaded and ready. They may have been caught by surprise, but who knows what sort of traps schemers like these have ready for us. With the dense mana that hangs off of their clothes and jewellery it’s impossible to predict what tricks they might pull from their sleeves.

“And who are you?” Asks one of the creatures sitting at the table. I should probably figure out how much of a threat they are, both today and for the future. The easiest solution would be to just kill them all, and I am quite tempted, but I’d at least like to confirm that they’re not just a band of idiots that are uninvolved with the plots against me.

“Me? I thought you’d know me already.” I reply, taking a step around the table as I watch them, “Someone sitting at this table sent a beast into my little corner of these ruins and got someone killed. I’m hear to clean up after that mess.”

A Skaleed scratches at the sparse scales on its chin as he gazes over me.

“You would blame us for the actions of a beast? Surely you’re already aware of the rules at play down here?” He says calmly, as if word of this incident is new to him. I don’t believe it for a second.

“Rules…Rules…” I say the word, sounding it out over my tongue playfully. The council of idiots seem to have relaxed a little, or at least I think they have, they are quite talented with their bluffs.

“You think rules will protect you?” I ask, looking between them.

“Kyra,” Adler says in a warning tone.

I ignore her, trusting that the others will keep her in check.

Orsa snorts derisively at me, before shifting in her stone throne to sit more comfortably. She turns to the nervous elf that’s staying far away from me.

“Salke, did you fail to close the door behind you?” She asks him, clearly peeved that we’ve come here. Her confidence seems less of a bluff than the others. It’s as if she knows that her life is not on the line.

What is it that fuels that confidence? Is there a trap? Are her clothes enchanted against attacks? Is it just arrogance?

“I did…” the elf stutters a little before continuing, “I closed the door and released the keepers. Perhaps they broke through the door and escaped?”

“Perhaps…” Orsa grumbles unhappily.

“Why did you do it?” I ask her, genuinely curious. The cold rage inside is patient, and her fate is already set, traps or not.

“Why what?” She asks, smiling deeply. I could almost swear that it’s her with the weapon in hand, for all her confidence. She doesn’t reach for any mana dense tools, though she’s covered in them, and she doesn’t do a thing to stop me.

I just don’t get it.

“Why did you make such an effort to make me your enemy?” I ask.

“You think you’re important enough to be considered my enemy?” She asks, laughing loudly before gulping from the massive golden goblet on the table.

“You are nothing,” She continues, “You’re a fool who doesn’t even know the rules of the games we play down here. That you come with a welfare officer following you shows that more clearly than anything else. I did nothing but show you that you don’t belong down here.”

“Why?” I insist, trying to figure out her trick. The reason for her confidence.

“You’re dangerous. To everyone.” She replies firmly, “I knew that the moment you answered my question, when we first met. You think that the rules are beneath you, that all you need to do is grow strong enough and you can do as you please. You’re a fool.”

What a strange thing to say.

When someone grows powerful enough, of course they can break whatever rules they please, because they need not fear the consequences. It’s a simple, ugly truth of reality that the strongest people are only policed by their own conscience.

A good person would still follow good rules, but it’s simple common sense to know that Godzilla isn’t going to follow traffic rules as he wrecks Tokyo.

Orsa has grown up in an environment where the rules are enforced by a group so powerful that she can’t even conceive the possibility of breaking them. Instead, she’s sneaking through loopholes and she’s convinced that that’s the only way to live.

Is there really nothing more protecting her than that?

Her belief that I cannot break the rules?

“Why are you laughing?” she asks me, as I start breaking out into laughter. Amused both by her confidence and my earlier worries.

There’s no traps? No tricks?

“Who else here knew of the attack on my people?” I ask the other gathered fools, still cautious but I no longer think that they’re hiding guns under the table.

“You think I need to seek council with others for such things?” She asks, clearly growing bored as she swirls the contents of her goblet.

“If none of you have anything to say, then I’ll have to assume that you’re all involved.” I say but still none of them react. That said, they do grow rather quiet, their nervous gazes flicking between me and Orsa as they think.

“Eshya, can you watch my back?” I ask my elven friend, glancing at Adler. She nods, her expression something stuck between excited and grim determination.

“There’s an old form of justice where I come from.” I say, “An eye for an eye. It suggests that if someone takes your eye, that you should take theirs in return.”

“Barbaric.” Says a warped, suit-wearing tree. “To think that people still think like that.”

“Oh, I don’t. If someone takes your eye, you should ensure that they can’t ever take the other.” The pistol feels so light and pleasant in my hand.

“You intend to have us collared?” Asks another. This one a lithe figure with soft butterfly wings. She looks almost like a fairy but she lacks the mystical beauty.

“I’m afraid I didn’t bring any with me.” I turn to Adler, who’s watching me closely, she stands stiff her mouth closed, “What defines submission?”

“When a beast is completely under your power.” She replies, “You can do with them as you will, and they cannot escape you. It allows you for a chance to calm your mind and spirit before choosing what you are to do with them.”

I take a long deep breath, calming my spirit and mind. Though, nothing can stop the dreadful excitement building inside my guts now that the moment is here.

“If you’re going to talk training, then run off somewhere else and take your pet welfare officer with you.” Orsa says, showing no hint of fear.

I level my pistol at her face, and see her expression change for the briefest moment before the bullet hits. I’ve had enough practice to know how much mana needed to be spent on the shot, and after penetrating her skull the bullet bounces around inside her head like an ADD kid in a bouncing castle. Her surprised expression is sprayed all over the room a moment later when her head explodes.

Small chunks of flesh and skull scatter, covering everyone here and half of everything in the room. The rest of her body slumps into the throne where she still sits. Every second the gaping wound where her head used to be gushes with another spray of blood.

A wheezing sound escapes from her wet oesophagus, as her lungs empty themselves.

“…Kyra?” Adler asks, her eyes wide open as her voice turns strict. She goes to say something more, but Eshya rushes her from behind, wrapping an arm around her neck and pulling tight enough to choke off any words. An impressive move considering the difference in their mana forms.

“Kyra,” Eshya says, looking over at the corpse, “Good job.”

“Not really. Unlike the other beasts we’ve faced, this one was rather pitiful.”

I load the gun and kill another of the beasts frozen in fear and confusion. Vii shoots another, the shot not doing as much damage, but she follows up with some magic. The slaughter properly begins as they begin to panic trying and failing to flee as Ria has already quietly broken the switches on the doors.

They’ve planned and schemed, but none are ready for an actual fight. It doesn’t take very long for the slaughter to end.

One of the last living beasts kneels before Nel, pleading and begging to be spared. She reloads her pistol without looking away from his eyes.

“You killed people.” She says, “You set that beast upon us. I thought I was going to die.”

He begs, lowering himself to the ground at her feet, staining himself in the blood of his co-conspirators. She shoots the back of his head. The explosion isn’t enough to pop his skull open, but the liquid remains of his brains leak out of the entry wound as his body convulses with false life.

Her hands tremble a moment, the only sign that she’s troubled by the killing.

Vii uses her talons to tear apart the body of the living tree. Apparently, it’s not so easily destroyed by simple bullets. Her eyes are wide, her face pale, and she’s hyperventilating, but she presses on even as her dark wings are now covered in blood and sap.

Ria sings a loud, discordant tune as she reloads and shoots at the corpse of another of the creatures. There’s a strange beauty in the song that fits this moment perfectly. It’s a song that I’d like to record and hear again later, but I don’t think that she has the same affection for it.

Eshya looks between the others the same as I am. She seems upset, but not by the corpses and killing.

“Perhaps we should leave the others out of things like this in the future.” She says, “They’re not… quite like us.”

“Yeah…” I say, wiping the blood from my face. “I… shit, I didn’t think this would be an issue.”

I grind my teeth and put aside the self-recriminations for now. I need to settle matters quickly if I want to help the others. That means disarming Adler.

I lean down to meet her eyes and she meets mine, looking sadly back at me. She seems, for a moment, unaffected by the violence, but a shudder passes through her as blood splatters over her face. She seems disappointed in me.

Well, I suppose I’m disappointed in me too, but for different reasons. I should have known everyone well enough, not to have brought them here. I was too focused on bringing things to an end.

“As you just saw, I have ensured that the beasts were in a form of submission. We executed them with clear and calm mind.” I say firmly as if to make it true, placing my hand around her neck. The moment she goes to cast a spell I’ll tear her collar out, “I chose to execute the dangerous beasts, that is all.”

Blood scatters over the room, and over us, but even though she flinches, neither of us look away from the other.

“Let her speak.” I tell Eshya, who loosens her grip slightly.

“Kyra…” Adler says, her voice firm.

“Stop.” She commands.

My body freezes. I can’t move, I can’t talk.

“Everyone, stop. Eshya, release me.”

Eshya’s arms struggle against the order only a moment before she lets go.

“I held back… I hoped you wouldn’t…” She whispers down at me, her voice filled with misery, “You gave me no choice…”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Skills & Stats

~Mana Form:

Current mana density: 702 units

~Mana distribution:

Catagory Current Max. Skin 24% 24% Muscle 12% 12% Mind 22% 30% Cardiovascular 11% 11% Misc. 10% 10% Efficiency 79% 79%

~Skills:

~Mana sense

~Mana drain touch

~Mana skin

~Mana shield.

~Mana surge strike

~Mana surge kick

~Grapple

~Flame burst

~Fireball

~Infused delayed casting

~Harsh petting

~Chaos dance

~Multi-mind messenger