It had been a week since Seira had mysteriously walked out on him. Ever since then, life had been a little off. Rynn had mysteriously disappeared, leaving his harvest group wildly inefficient, and the summer’s heat had somehow gotten even worse than it had already was. To top it all off, Supervisor Meng was still nowhere to be found, meaning that most days were filled with endless torment.

“You useless piece of filth!”

Supervisor Ba launched another blow, forcing him onto his knees.

He knew better than to say anything at this point, and simply hunghis head, accepting the strikes. No matter what, she would find something to blame on him, be it his lack of strength, his worn-down scissors, or even the pollen in the air. He hadn’t had an adequate rest since his conversation with Seira, largely due to the Supervisor’s constant demands that he work extra to ‘earn forgiveness.’

“To make up for your betrayal, I expect you to contribute with your earnings. Ten spirit stones each time!”

He looked at her, eyes wide in shock. There was an audible gasp amongst the Suns, but a glare from the supervisor silenced them. Had this happened to any other rank, it would have been pronounced robbery, and an Elder would have personally come to convict the criminal. However, the Suns knew their place in life. Nobody said a word.

He slowly reached for his bag, pulling out the shimmering blue shards. He mentally sighed. Nearly two weeks’ earnings, gone just like that.

Supervisor Ba harrumphed, eyes flashing.

“That includes the previous times, traitor. And if I have counted right,this makes at least a hundred.”

Another gasp went through the crowd. She had hardly even supervised them a hundred times! But, once more, a look from the Supervisor stopped them. She stalked forward, open palm extended. He clenched his jaw. A thousand stones was the vast majority of his savings. If he gave this up, he likely wouldn’t be able to buy his own home for another decade.

“No,” he said through gritted teeth.

“What did you say to me, boy?”

“No!” he shouted, standing up.

“I will not give you my hard earned spirit stones just because my mother happened to wrong you! If you wish to confront her over whatever it is she did to you, you’d best go to the Warrior’s district and say it to her face, rather than taking your anger out on me. I am not my mother, nor am I connected to her in any way. That she has made abundantly clear.”

The Suns collectively took a step back, warily eyeing the furious supervisor.

Her fists clenched, and he could’ve sworn he felt a slight pressure forming around him. Was that her aura? She raised a fist, and suddenly a spear of flame formed within it.

“That was your last traitorous word, Sun.”

He stared her down, heart pounding. Throughout his entire career as a Sun, he had only ever seen the Supervisors use the mystical arts twice. Both times, the victim had walked away on the brink of death, and the resulting time spent recuperating had ruined them financially. This could be the end of everything he held dear, and yet he didn’t regret his decision.

Unlike those other Suns, he was an alchemist. Whatever injuries Hong Ba Shou would inflict upon him, he could heal, so long as he had an inch of life left within him. And he would live. Not even the supervisor would be foolish enough to kill the son of Warriors. More than that, though, her reign would finally be over. Permanently injuring a source of labor was considered an imprisonable offense.

He stepped forward, fists raised in a rudimentary fighting stance. This was it. She raised her spear, and he met her eyes with a vicious stare. He would not let her control his life any longer! He readied himself for the strike, his blood boiling past the point of caution. Defiance raged in his eyes, and suddenly he felt a cold, murderous presence envelop his very being.

Supervisor Ba stared at him, eyes wide in shock. Her aura seemed to put even more pressure on him, as if even her spirit was terrified of what he could do. Was this his mana? Had it somehow awoken? Clenching his fist, he tried to call it out, urging it to manifest. If he could use mana, then perhaps this battle wasn’t so hopeless after all. If he, a Sun, managed to defeat a the supervisor in open battle, who knew what-

“This humble Torch greets the honored Brave.”

The supervisor fell to her knees, prostrating herself before him. He turned, confused. Seira, fireball in hand, calmly came between them. Her clothes were torn and her hair matted, but the glowing mark on her left hand left no question of her noble status. Suddenly, the pressure weighing down on him increased once more, and he realized that it wasn’t emanating from the supervisor, but rather from her. The rest of the Suns fell to their knees, not daring to even look at the Brave.

“Well, it seems as if you were attempting to strike down my brother, Torch. What do you have to say for yourself?”

For once, the supervisor didn’t say a word.

“I will be reporting this to your superiors, Hong Ba Shou. Your many verbal taunts, even those shaming my bloodline, those could have been forgiven. However, attempting to rob a worker, and then assaulting him when he didn’t comply? That, my friend, is another story. Expect swift retribution.”

She turned to Kiro, giving him a wink.

“I’ll meet you at the estate, K?”

“Sounds great.”