"Please let me tend to the horses, my lord." Rea held the leashes of Red and her horse.

Siderius nodded.

"Please allow me, my lady." The young man tried to take the leashes away from her but she moved them away.

"My lord is very particular about tending to his horse. You can lead me to the stable." Rea said.

"If you say so, my lady." The young man scratched his head.

Siderius nudged the boy. "You can go with her. I already know my way to this city."

"Yes, my lord."

The boy and Rea led the horses away, leaving Siderius walking along on the dirty streets of Blacklungs.

He arrived at what was supposed to be a new headquarters for the guild of Xander.

Previously, Shadow Blade Guild took control of the docks in Blacklungs. Their main business was the House of Ale and their headquarters was the House of God, a branched church of the Outsider.

Siderius asked around and quickly learned that the House of God was being refurnished after the witch battle.

Once again, Siderius arrived at the House of God. It was much quieter last time.

He opened the door and walked inside. All the assassins of Shadow Blade were no more. Instead, there were only nuns and priests dedicated their lives to the Outsider.

A bald priest approached Siderius.

"How may I help you, my son?" The priest bowed gently.

"I'm looking for Teddy."

"Ah. He did say that someone might be looking for him. Please follow me."

The priest led Siderius to the back of the church and down to a secret underground tunnel.

"Very hidden." Siderius commented.

The priest nodded. "Teddy did inform us that secrecy is the most important thing to conduct his 'business'."

The priest opened up a trap door. "After you."

Siderius jumped inside. The priest followed right after him. He picked up a burning torch on the wall of the tunnel.

They kept going until the wall of dirt quickly turned into cobblestones. The tunnel grew larger and taller until they entered a vat hall underground.

There, Teddy sat at a table with a few men around.

They all looked at Siderius when he arrived.

The priest stepped forward. "He's looking for you, Teddy."

"Thank you, priest. You can leave."

The priest nodded and went away.

All the members stared at Siderius and the approaching Teddy. They were all wondering who this masked man was.

Teddy went down to his knees. "Welcome back, my lord."

Siderius looked around. The other members froze but quickly fell to their knees also.

"Welcome back, my lord." They spoke in unison.

"You have gathered quite a number of members, I see."

Teddy nodded. "Yes, my lord. Some were my former associates in Shadow Blade. Some were capable men in Blacklungs. There were only fifteen of them. I did as you say and only recruited trustworthy men.

I know it is not that much of a number, but..."

"Relax, Teddy." Siderius placed a hand on his shoulder. "Growing an organization takes years. Fifteen men are a lot. Summon everyone back. I want to conduct an interview with everyone."

"Yes, my lord."

The guild of Xander was still a small guild in Blacklungs. No one really knew about its existence except for its members.

Teddy summoned the fifteen men back to the underground hall.

In the meantime, Siderius walked around and examined the place. This hall wasn't built by Teddy. Instead, it was an ancient structure left behind by the believers of the Outsider. This underground structure was an extension of the place above ground.

Soon, all members showed up, including the young man that greeted Siderius at the entrance.

Siderius gathered everyone into a line as he slowly scanned every single member. He spoke to some of them in case he wanted to check something.

Most of them were fine. Siderius wouldn't rank them as entirely trustworthy but them being foot soldiers would be more than fine.

Then he came face to face with that young man from before again.

"Do I know you?" Siderius said.

The boy nodded. "You didn't have a mask last time, my lord. But you did tell me to leave the Harbor Boys."

"Oh... You are that boy."

Siderius blinked his eyes a few times. He switched between Mana Detection and Karmic Readings, checking the boy. His karma was much more positive than before and he had no trace of magic inside him.

"You did the right thing. What is your name?"

"Tarr, my lord."

"Welcome to Xander, Tarr." Siderius patted the boy's shoulder.

Then he looked to the next one. It was a young girl around Tarr's age.

"This is Belle, my lord. She is new to Blacklungs but she is very capable." Tarr said.

Siderius raised a hand to tell the boy to stop speaking. His eyes switched between colors as he scanned the girl.

The girl looked directly at him.

"You know... The Royal Court prohibited unregistered guilds from existing." Belle said.

"Morphomancy? Very rare magic." Siderius said.

Everyone slowly stepped backwards, creating a distance between Belle and Siderius.

Teddy sweated profusely. All the other members looked at each other in a panic.

"You are very knowledgeable for a new witch..." Belle said.

"You know who I am?"

"Of course. Only you have that hair of snow, White Witch. Your name has been the talk of the kingdom lately. You have pissed off Count Rufus. Do you know that?"

Siderius pressed a button on his mask. It released and fell off his face. He placed it on the table gently.

"Are you here on his behalf?" Siderius said.

"No. I am here on behalf of the Grove Burier. She wants to speak with you."

"Then she must come here herself and invite me."

The tension in the air grew thicker. Teddy's members grabbed their weapons.

"You may have killed a mere Unawaken Witch, a few soldiers and knights. But facing a full Witchling will be very different." Belle licked her lips. "It would be a pity if something were to happen to that face of yours."

Siderius unbuckled the sword strap and put them on the table also.

"What? Are you giving up already?" Belle laughed.

"No. For a weakling like you. My fists are enough."

"You arrogant wicca."

Belle's body grew bigger. Four other hands emerged from her ribs as they shot toward Siderius.

The hunter turned into a blur. His body moved like an arrow, rendering Belle's reaction completely vulnerable.

She only realized it in the middle of her attack. But she couldn't react fast enough to do anything about it.

Siderius clenched his fist tight. His gloves tensed up.

The hunter punched the witch's face so fast and so hard that her entire body was sent flying.

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