Two weeks pass in the blink of an eye, and here we are.

"Are you guys ready…?" I turn to my sides—both right and left—and cast my gaze on the eight people that occupy my line of sight.

"Yeah. Let's do this already…" Ruthina, the Midnight Diviner, looks especially upset.

I'm not surprised.

She's actually a Half-Fae'lkyn, and she has experienced the horror of Slave Pits before.

Unlike pure-blooded Fae'lkyn, she has blond, slightly long hair that flows and paints the night with its beauty. Her ears are slightly pointy, too. Also, it seems she inherited a youthful appearance from her Fae'lkyn mother.

"If I didn't awaken as a Diviner… I would have probably died in that Slave Pit. I can't let these people suffer such mindless slaughter." She grits her teeth, fierce hatred flashing in her eyes.

I nod in understanding.

Honestly, it's a miracle that Ruthina doesn't despise other humans—especially the Nowe'arns—since we are largely responsible for the subjugation of others.

Even though she is partly Nowe'arn, that kind of anger doesn't just go away.

But, according to her, she recognizes that not all Fae'lkyn are good, and not all Nowe'arns are bad.

In the end, she chooses to judge based on the actions of people.

And I believe that's fair.

Thanks to Ruthina's mystical power, we've been able to plan ahead of tonight, so we know what the security procedure will be on this occasion. The power of future sight that Diviners have is truly phenomenal.

However, it comes at a price, and right now… Ruthina is suffering from it.

"I won't be much help in the fight due to my condition, but I'll do my best with reconnaissance."

I stare at her with some measure of concern, opening my mouth to say something.

However, before my voice emerges—

"Are you sure you'll be fine?" Dahlia, who stands right next to her, asks with a more skeptical than worried demeanor.

She isn't merely asking out of concern, but also because she doesn't want to depend on an unreliable colleague. Indeed, Dahlia is also present in this mission.

I initially thought I would never work with her again, but she's a formidable colleague, and one of the few who made the greatest impression on me. I decided to give it a shot and invite her, but I was more surprised that she accepted.

I didn't even tell her all the details regarding the mission, but she showed up anyway.

Perhaps I misunderstood her a little…

"Don't worry. I've already taken a Potion, so I should be fine for tonight. After, I'll probably have to rest for a few days…"

Divining takes a huge toll on the body, and even the most skilled Diviners need a lot of rest after just one session. The more details one experiences as a Diviner, the more intense the drawback is.

In Ruthina's case, she can only see future events that occur at night, and she must be present in those future events for her to see them. She also requires some Special Resources and an entire ritual for her to peer into the future.

It isn't a very convenient power, but it proves useful in so many ways.

For example… in this situation.

We've seen the enemy's plans ahead of time, so we have made all the preparations and we're ready for them.

"Alright…" Dahlia's expression softens a little as she nods. "I'll trust you."

I sigh, then look at the others.

Esther, the Great Alchemist—she specializes in Potions, making her one of the most powerful members of the team, since she has a lot of them at her disposal.

Austin, the Fallen Knight—a former Mid-Rank Knight who was cast out of his household after bringing disgrace to them. I don't know the details myself, but it seems his actions went against the chivalric code of honor.

He doesn't like talking about his past, though, so I never asked him.

Regardless, he has a D Grade Armament, and he's also exceptional in combat—the most proficient besides me.

Fernand, the Black Shaman, and Nathania, the White Shaman—a duo that works together almost as though they're twins. Actually, they're a married couple, and they studied the Shamanic Arts since they were little.

Both of them use Special Resources to conjure Spells that prove immensely effective in battle.

Fernand specializes in offensive Spells, and Nathania handles defense.

They're a well-balanced team.

With them on our side, we don't have to worry about long-range attacks, and we can also be guaranteed of sufficient defense from external attacks.

Then, there's Rupert—a Fabricant.

Fabricants specialize in forging Armaments, the same way Alchemists brew Potions.

While he also works as a Mercenary, Rupert is an expert in creating, maintaining, mending, and disabling Armaments. Naturally, he also possesses a lot of Armaments—though they're mostly E and F Grade.

Finally… we have Brad.

He has peach-colored hair, and he's a tall, muscular man at over seven feet in height.

Brad… doesn't talk a lot.

Due to this, even I don't know a lot about him. However, he's very proficient in fighting, particularly evasion and capture. Even with my three Armaments, I still don't think I could beat him in a fight.

He's very agile and slippery despite his broad physique.

All nine of us have banded together to attack this Underground Arena and put an end to the disgusting game of Living Chess being perpetrated. I've already sent my report to the Kingdom, but before any of these distinguished Elites find out what's happening… it'll be too late.

After all, we plan to take down this place tonight!

"Since everyone is set… let us begin!"

Everyone nods, and we chug down our potions before rapidly charging towards the Holy Cathedral with expert motion.

As I would expect from elite Mercenaries, all of them follow protocol and do not have a single misstep. Not even Ruthina, despite her exhaustion, makes a single mistake in the operation, and we end up taking out all the external guards and patrol officers, infiltrating the interior of the church with no problem.

Ruthina's task is to guard the underground entrance and prevent anyone from venturing in while we're invading. In the case where she isn't able to handle them on her own, she'll send a signal to inform us of any intruders.

Thanks to Rupert, we possess an Armament pair—one will be with her, and the other will be with us—which allows us to communicate despite long distances.

The range is limited, but since our operation is restricted to this building, we'll have no issues.

Well… unless the enemy has a corresponding Armament that ends up jamming our communication. But this is a risk we've accounted for with Ruthina, and we have confirmed that they do not, in fact, have such a weapon.

Ruthina's scout job is very vital to our success, so I can understand Dahlia's earlier skepticism.

But, I trust in her effectiveness.

After all, none of these Mercenaries are lower than me in terms of skill.

They're all incredibly proficient, each having specialties that especially shine when working together as a team.

Once we re-establish our roles, eight of us venture into the underground tunnel, leaving Ruthina outside to keep watch. She has defensive Armaments to protect her, and she has also taken a Potion to keep her undetected for the most part.

The darkness also helps in concealing her traces, so her presence will be largely obscured in the case of an intruder.

Am I concerned about leaving her by herself? Well…

Ruthina is known as the Midnight Diviner because most of her operations take place at night, and as someone who has seen her in action before, I can guarantee that she is invincible at such an hour.

So, no.

I'm not worried at all!

The rest of us quickly advance into the underground theater, and once again, the loud roars of cheers and boos echo from within its vast interior.

On our way to the main hall, we make sure to eliminate all the patrolling guards and also block all potential escape routes, so our targets can be confined in this box of their creation, like the pigs that they are.

We also set a lot of traps with Esther's Potions.

This ensures that only bad things will happen to those who try to escape or anyone who manages to sneak past Ruthina and try to attack us from behind.

Hehe… indeed, we are quite thorough.

Once all preparations have been made, and we are confident in our advantage, we loudly barge into the hall and raise our voice in a loud announcement.

"In the name of the Randalorion Kingdom and its laws, as well as the Treaty of the Nine Races, we will be putting a stop to these activities and meting out justice!" All of us raise our blades as we finish this declaration, resolve flashing in our eyes.

Yes, we know that this place is hosted by the Kingdom's elite, even holding Aristocrats from other Kingdoms. We are well aware of their influence and the corruption that has seeped deep into the Randalorion Kingdom.

But… so what? We have all decided to fight against these people.

All of us!

"Let's go!" Without hesitation, we march forward and commence the slaughter, taking the lives of all the swine in our vicinity.

Just as predicted, most of them try to escape, but are only met with severe misfortune.

The ones who attempt to fight are killed with even more ferocity, ensuring they barely have any room to launch a single attack. Thanks to Fernand and Nathania's Spells, we are able to get rid of the most dangerous people first.

Bursts of flames and flashes of lightning burst from Fernand's fingertips as he mixes all manner of Special Resources to generate an astounding effect.

It's almost like a natural brew of Potions, having an effect in real-time.

Instead of influencing the physiology of the consumer, the environment itself is affected, causing mystical and supernatural phenomena to occur. As a result, these Spells cause all manner of reactions and decimate our opponents.

Nathania's Spells take on a different form, giving each of us a white-colored membrane of light that protects us from long-range attacks while we focus on defending against short-range ones.

Because of the high level of security in the hall, there are naturally a lot of guards on standby, but their strength is no match for our level of skill and coordination. It isn't an easy fight by any means, even with all eight of us, but we are the eventual victors.

This has made it more certain to me that I could not have faced so many foes on my own.

Once we finish off all the dangerous ones, the powerless Nobles can only resort to empty threats and promises, hoping to use their status as a shield.

Useless…

We kill them all regardless, not caring for their social standing in the slightest.

Some beg for mercy.

Others plead clemency.

A few fools even try to appeal to our humanity.

Such stupidity… what arrogance.

Their disregard for human life has put them in this situation, yet they're brazen enough to seek the understanding of fellow people.

It sickens me whenever I think of these people.

What level of hypocrisy is this?!

"Please… mercy!"

"T-this is my first time, I swear! I'll never do it again! I won't mention anything that happened here either, I promise."

"D-do you know who my father is? Are you looking to start a war with the Sarvosia Kingdom?!"

My response to all of these remains the same.

"I don't care…" I tell them plainly. "I am simply following the Kingdom's laws and natural justice, which states that all of you deserve death."

And so, I act as the grim reaper and deliver their demise without remorse.

They deserve it.

People aren't mindless creatures or animals who can be slaughtered out of boredom or as a means of entertainment. No… There are consequences for unjustly taking the life of another.

Regardless of race or social status, everyone is still human.

So who are you to play with the life of your fellow man—making bets with the lives of others at stake? No one has the right to do such to anyone.

Humans… aren't horses.

****************

The whole thing takes a few hours, bleeding into early morning.

Afterward, we free all the kidnapped people, and I do my best to look for Hassan's sister, but I don't find her. Several times, I stare at the crumpled paper he gave me, focusing my gaze on the woman drawn on it.

She has pale skin, is dressed in a pitch-black wedding gown, and has a veil that slightly reveals her angelic face. Her black lips appear lustrous, and she exemplifies an otherworldly beauty that is difficult to describe.

Hassan is dark-skinned, so I assume they're adopted due to the difference in their complexion.

But that doesn't make this any more difficult.

It's likely that the woman in the drawing, whoever she is, is already dead.

After the slaughter, I sought out Hassan to tell him the news, but I never found him. Even after countless investigations, I didn't find a single trace of the boy.

To date, weeks after the incident, as I leave Lerois, I haven't seen him even once.

It's almost like he disappeared.

Weird…

Did I imagine the whole thing? Hassan, his sister, it's as though they weren't real to begin with.

Truly… It's rather strange.

**************

"Just as we agreed, Miss Evernight… I led him to the goal."

A calm, mature voice echoes in the night.

Standing on the edge of a cliff, watching the entirety of Lerois, is a dark-skin boy whose appearance is barely that of a teenager. However, in the blink of an eye, a flash of brilliance envelops him, and his body rapidly matures.

He turns into a man in his twenties, with a youthful glow etched in his green eyes.

His light brown hair dances with the night breeze, as his bare chest is exposed to the darkness of the night. A white robe covers his lower body, and what appears to be a white turban, with a gold crown on his head.

Golden jewelry glimmer all across his ebony skin, from his gold-colored boots to his bracelets, and his heavy-plated necklace.

All of them shine with luxurious gold of the highest level of purity.

The man—Hassan—smiles.

Then, a dark gaze appears on his handsome face, almost like that of worry and deep fear.

"So, please keep your end of the deal and help me with my Grand Apotheosis."

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