Some days, life hands you lemons. Other days, life throws you a sack of shit.

Today, that sack of shit happened to be flaming. Not an hour since Joe, the [City Defender], had left the church to report the arrival of heretical Mercenaries, he’s on his way to an active crime scene at the Mercenaries’ Guild, the very guild to which a certain newly arrived [Necromancer] was destined.

A chill runs down his spine as he sees a familiar carriage in front of the guild building, including another one a bit further away.

Then his eyes shift to the building across the street from the Mercenary Guild.

Joe chokes as he sees the dangling body, speared to the wall by a spiraled javelin. Its white garments are stained with still flowing blood, slowly dripping onto the cobblestone. [Priest] Jared, the selfsame man Joe confided in merely an hour ago, has his final moment of shock and terror recorded on his face as he eternally stares down at the weapon skewering his chest.

Joe looks back at the carriage, then at the hole in the mercenary guild’s door. A javelin had exited the guild, impaled Jared perfectly through the chest and then carried him to the building across the road where he hangs fifteen feet off the ground. Jared’s death was swift and without warning, most precisely done. A planned attack if he’d ever seen one

“[Guards]!” he bellows, “Surround the area and remove the civilians.”

“Greymon and Reylin, to me.” he [Calls] across the city to the other two [City Defenders]. He prays that the killer isn’t the [Necromancer], that it isn’t one of his companions either; otherwise, the fighting’s going to be bloody.

As he waits for the other two to arrive, the [Guards] evacuate the civilians and set up a perimeter. He can hear the civilians crying, those who have laid their eyes on the victim. Word of Jared's death will spread quickly. The entire city will know within the hour.

With shield and mace ready, Joe waits at the guild entrance, listening, ready to fight any threat. No one is to leave, not until backup arrives. Even after the streets are clear, he still hears crying, but not of adults and not from the guild. No, what he hears is the subdued cries of children.

Frowning, he briefly takes his focus off the guild and looks around. Only [Guards] are present, the civilians have already been removed. He rotates his head experimentally, trying to pinpoint the crying. Gradually, his eyes lock onto Jared’s carriage. Joe frowns.

“You, you,” he inclines his chin at a few nearby [Guards] “check the carriage.”

The [Guards] comply and mount the vehicle. Shortly after, Joe hears them cursing.

“Joe,” one of the [Guards] calls back, “we’ve got children here.”

With a huff, the [Guards] shove the leather roof covering the carriage away, revealing five cages, dog kennels, each occupied by hunched, unclothed boys. Joe feels a lump in his throat and mounting dread. His mind whirls, trying to make sense of everything.

At the same time as the reveal, Greymon and Reylin arrive, their own eyes scanning the scene, attempting to make sense of the situation just like him.

Then the guild door opens and out walks the feared [Necromancer].

“Well, uh… Hi,” he greets the [Guards] as he takes in the scene. “Fuck, there’s a lot of you. So I did kill someone? Ah, that’s not good.”

Then the grinning skull turns to face the open carriage.

The air stills, briefly. So does every [Guard], every child, and every mercenary still in the guild.

An overwhelming aura of malevolence floods the street. Every [Guard] in the surrounding area falls to the ground as death looms over them. Death inescapable, death unavoidable.

Inevitable.

Joe grits his teeth, gathers his own aura, and pushes back against the [Necromancer]’s terrible presence… But he fails. The monster’s aura crushes his and Joe is forced to his knees.

Only after the other two [City Defenders] mix their Auras with his own can they push back the overwhelming pressure. Joe stands back up, nose bleeding under the strain as he glares at Bone. The man is still, not as much as a muscle twitching since he noticed the trapped children. Around him, his shadow writhes menacingly, betraying his barely uncontained fury.

____________________________________________________________

Anger. I like to think I have good control over my anger; good control of most of my emotions, but especially my temper. It’s that feeling, that awful, boiling, vision-clouding feeling that leads me to destruction and suffering. It is hard, now, to make me truly angry. Upset, sure. Annoyed? Often. But anger, I bottle that up. I keep that dark thing away.

Five children. Five boys, no more than ten, caged and chained like unruly dogs. Two are crying, traumatised but still alive. The other three look at the world with dead eyes. Five, who have suffered deplorable acts. Five, who were on their way to suffer more.

And now, the one who inflicted their suffering is dead by my hand.

By luck, by a random act of chance, a colossal mistake, I did this. I’ve killed their keeper, their jailer, the monster which has taken away their childhood. They are free now.

Yay.

But is it enough?

The man who did this is dead. He was killed painlessly. Instantly.

What a fucking joke.

He won’t get to experience even a portion of the agony he’s brought to those children.

I don’t get to do a single fucking thing.

No. No. I am calm. I am calm. I release the breath I’m holding and look away from the children. They are alive. They will be fine.

Fine, for the moment.

The [Guards] have all passed out, leaving only Joe and his friends standing. Being a [King] on top of having a level over three hundred means my aura is potent enough to outright knock those weak willed out. The whole guild is probably unconscious as well.

Mmmm. Yup, this is quite a situation I’ve gotten myself into.

It’s time to de-escalate. I pull back my aura and watch the [City Defenders] relax a little.

I scratch the side of my neck. “So,” I begin, “this has gotten a bit complicated, um… I don't suppose we could avoid a fight?”

Joe doesn't frown or smile. His eyes stare steadily into mine, despite the mask. The glare off his head almost makes me squint.

That really makes me want to annoy him. I don’t know why, but bald people… there’s just something about them that makes me want to troll them. I, however, am in control of myself. I am a [Gentleman], and a [Gentleman] is professional and does not make the situation worse by antagonizing people.

…

“Joe, there’s a time and place for sexual advances, and I dont think a crime scene is one of them.”

Joe frowns, puzzled. The look he gives me now feels like he’s just egging me on.

“Or is that what you’re into? Do you get off leering at people when there's a dead body around? Look Joe, we talked about this earlier today. What you ar-.”

“Oh Eir, what did you do?” Jess interrupts by running outside, pausing to see the grisly scene.

____________________________________________

Joe’s frown turns into a full scowl as the [Necromancer]’s ally arrives. He uses [Analyzing eye] on the girl. He feels a pressure attempting to halt his skill, to block it. An enchantment or aura? It matters little. With a bit of focus, he pushes through and obtains access to her level and class.

Jessica

Level 218 [Abbess]

Joe freezes, his hand tightening harder around his mace. Three [City Defenders] borrowing the strength of the city to fight an Adamantine rank is a difficult but possible battle to win, but adding an [Abbess] to the mix? Those odds don’t look so even anymore.

“It's complicated,” Bone begins and points at the carriage filled with children, “I accidentally killed a guy, but he was a child trafficker, so…” he shrugs, “I consider this a net positive.”

Jessica groans and points at Joe. “And them? Why do they look like they're ready to fight you?”

Bone shrugs again. “No idea.”

She shakes her head and faces Joe. “Why do you want to fight him?” she asks.

“He’s under arrest for murder,” Joe answers.

“Okay,” she nods her head, as though pondering this, “so why aren't you arresting him?”

Joe opens his mouth to answer… and stops. He’s not sure. Most people of immense power don’t come quietly. He’s expecting a fight. A mercenary of that power just letting themself get arrested seems too good to be true.

His face betrays his embarrassment as he lowers his mace and shield. He glances back at the other two. “Stand down,” he orders.

“Are you sure?” Reylin asks.

“Yeah,” Joe says, “and grab me the mana-disruption gauntlets.”

__________________________________________________________

Sorting everything out took a good hour, most of which involved waking up the unconscious [Guards]. If Joe had released his aura sooner and blanketed the [Guards], they wouldn't have been so heavily affected and wouldn't have been knocked unconscious.

Thankfully, it all seemed to have worked out in the end… mostly. He looks beside him, glancing at the [Necromancer] who sits without a mask while wearing chained gauntlets. The gauntlet is made with adamantine and has an enchantment that disrupts mana, making it impossible for a normal [Mage] to cast spells. Granted, a second tier class could still cast spells, but it would be difficult.

Unfortunately, he doubts an Adamantine rank mercenary would find the gauntlet much of a hindrance. Still, Bone has been very cooperative, which makes Joe's job much simpler. All he needs to do now is wait for the [Baroness] to arrive, which should not take much longer.

“Sir!” A [Guard] rushes up to him. The man's eyes shift to Joe's scalp, then to his mustache before he remembers why he rushed to him. “Ethan has arrived, demanding entrance.”

Joe’s mustache twitches. “Is the [Baroness] with him?”

The [Guard] shakes his head. “No, it’s only the [Archpriest]. He wants to speak with you.”

Joe frowns, but eventually relents. “Alright, let him in.”

Five minutes later, Joe hops off the wagon he was sitting on and saunter's to the arriving carriage. The carriage stops and the doors open. Two [Priests] exit first, followed by Ethan himself. The tall but plump man takes in the scene with a critical eye.

“Ethan Boner, you requested an entrance. Did you need something?” Joe asks, a bit wary of the man. The [Archpriest] is a powerful political figure in Shul and is a man not to be disrespected.

“Yes, I’ve heard that a [Priest] was killed,” Ethan says slowly as he walks to Joe. The two [Priests] trailing at his sides.

Joe affirms this by gesturing to the body laying on a blanket with a twisted spear of bone beside it. “Jared was speared by a javelin, but it is likely to have been accidental.”

Ethan scowls. “I can’t possibly see how spearing a man through the heart could be accidental, Joe,” he stresses the name. “Shouldn't you have used your skills to see that already?”

Joe shakes his head. “I doubt my skills would be effective against the perpetrator. He has a high level.”

Ethan perks up and glances at the cart where a man lazily sits. Bone, noticing Ethan’s gaze, waves his free, un-gauntleted hand at him.

“Why is he not chained?” Ethan spits derisively.

Joe glances back at Bone and rolls his eyes. “He keeps taking it off every time I look away. I’ve yet to figure out how he does it.”

Ethan frowns but decides it’s not important. “Hm. Well then, I will be taking custody of Jared's body. A fellow [Priest] must be buried by his own.”

Joe shakes his head, his mustache wiggles with his movement. “I cannot allow that.”

Ethan raises an eyebrow, “And why is that?”

“Upon Jared’s death, we discovered that his carriage contained several cages holding naked children. The [Baroness] may wish to burn his body.”

“Children?” Ethan asks curiously. “Are you sure about that? Where are these children?”

Joe points behind Bone. “They're in the cart, sleeping.”

“Show me,” Ethan orders, already walking to the cart before Joe has time to answer.

Shaking his head, he follows the [Archpriest] who stops at the cart.

“Move aside,” Ethan orders Bone, but the [Necromancer] only snorts.

“Who the fuck are you?”

Ethan turns serious. “I am [Archpriest] Ethan Boner, Loyal servant to Odin. Now stand aside.”

“An [Archpriest], eh?” Bone gets off the cart and steps forward so that he is inches away from Ethan. “Are you sure about that? I don't see no little timmy glued to your crotch.”

Joe watches as Ethan's face turns red. The [Archpriest] releases his aura, “Insult me again and I will make sure your life is miserable.”

Then Joe feels Bone’s own aura make itself known, the man revealing a chilling smile. “Oh, I bet you say that to all your little boys,” Bone counters.

“Stop!” Joe orders, his own aura joins the fray. The [City Defender] looks at Bone. “Mr. Bone, did you not promise to behave?”

Bone glares at the [Archpriest] for a moment more before clicking his mouth and retracting his aura. He then steps to the side, giving the [Archpriest] a clear view of the sleeping children.

Ethan retracts his own aura and then takes a look at the children. He nods and looks at Joe. “The church of Odin will take these children into custody. They will be fed and cared for.”

“Wow,” Bone mirthlessly chuckles, “that is the most blatantly pedophilc thing I’ve heard in awhile. Dude’s not even trying to hide his intentions.”

“Bone!” Joe yells.

“What?” Bone raises his arms. “The guy’s a child-fucking [Archpriest] with the last name Boner. Like, you can't get any more pedophilic than that.”

Ethans gaze shifts, his face turning beat red from anger as he glares at Bone, aura unleashed. “You disrespectful, blasphemous worm!” he shouts, air trembling. “If you want to die, then continue flapping your tongue like a panting dog.”

Bone's aura oozes across the room as he steps forward, glowing violet eyes meeting Ethan’s mere inches from each other. “If you want to go on with this dick measuring contest, whip it out; I’ll win. Only small men like you need little boys to feel big.”

Panic of an imminent fight wars within Joe as he reaches for his mace and begins to call up his aura. He now regrets sending the other [City Defenders] away. He also regrets asking Bone's team to remove themselves from the premises; the [Abbess] seemed like she had better control over him.

Mistakes were made, so now all he can do is get ready for the imminent violence…

Violence that never comes as a mighty roar thunders down from the sky.

All eyes gaze upward, watching as a massive Griffin glides down to land in the street. The noble beast kneels down. The [Baroness] hops off her mount, her robe and long blond hair fluttering with the wind.

And Bone freezes at the sight of the woman who looks almost exactly like Jessica.