A woman was animatedly jumping around her mouth moving a million miles a minute. Her image was being projected into the air from a small golden ring. Light shining from every angle along the inside. Alverez was rubbing the bridge of his nose and groaning.

  “ Gods damn it. I shouldn't have a headache. I don't have the physical faculty for that.”

  The woman was still talking but Alverez had learned to tone it out…mostly.

  “ Hazel..Hazel!Hazel….Hazel!!!!” Alverez shouted the woman's name, his tone getting more frustrated each time he had to yell. The women eventually stopped the image of her revealing her beauty in its entirety. Hazel was an elf with strawberry blond hair that had been braided into a single long strand and hung over her shoulder hiding one ear and accentuating the other that had an elaborate earring. Her skin looked delicate like porcelain.

  “ Yess?” Hazel asked.

  “ I called you for a reason not so you can talk my ear off.” Alverez said. Hazel frowned but didn't speak.

  “We have an. Issue that we need your help to resolve, the church of judgment is pursuing someone Valder has determined to be of great importance.”

  Hazel's frowned, a thumping could be heard as she presumably was tapping her finger against her desk. She did that often while she was thinking. It was a habit Alverez had always found cute.

  “ Is this you asking for help because Valder is too stubborn to ask or has he asked for me personally?”

  “ He told me to contact you. He wasn't explicit in asking for help but..well you know how he is.”

  “ Wow. This kid must be really important to him. Is it his granddaughter?”

  “ No, it's some kind who grew up in the blocks. He is special. I can't say more over this communication link but I can say the kid has only been eighteen for about half a year maybe.”

  The door to the investigation van burst open and Valder walked in carrying Kenji around the shoulder a dragon pranced inside. Alverez nd Hazel both raised their eyebrows.

  The table in the center of the van was cleared out Alverez pushing anything on it off the table including his ring that still projected Hazel's image. Kenji looked around the spacious van. It was more like an RV than any van he had seen with monitors plastered all around the interior of it. Table and computer consoles spread evenly around. Valder laid Kenji on top of the table.

  “ Alverez do a quick check on him then heal him.” Valder was already picking up the ring.

  “ Hazel, come to Xulun as soon as you can. It's happening.” Valder tone wasn't panicked or rushed maintaining his butler like demeanor.

  The woman frowned but nodded the projection blinking out of existence. Kenji spared a thought for who she was and what Lord Hunst meant by it's happening but his thoughts quickly snapped back to the moment.

  “ Wait, I think there was some form of tracking magic in that explosion, don't heal me yet it might ruin it.”

  Alverez paused and nodded, putting his necklace on the table and moving to fiddle with another of his rings. An image of an inventory screen appeared and Alverez scrolled through it. As dimensional storage went, accessories like rings and bracelets were wildly expensive and hard to craft. Even though Kenji lived on the surface and his family was most definitely more well off then anyone from the blocks, the thought of owning anything like that was baffling . Alverez pulled out some chalk along with a few ritual components, quickly drawing out a ritual circle around Kenji. The circle was complex and not like anything he had seen before. Red sat under the table letting out small chirps letting everyone know about his frustration at being tossed off the table.

  “ How can you be sure?” Alverez asked placing bowls of dust mostly likely refined mana crystals known as quintessence dust. A not too rare but arduous material to create.

  “ I overheard two thugs talking and I just got the impression. The first thing Hunst Academy teaches us is trust our instinct so I am.” Kenji said.

  “ Wise,” Valder said. “ Oftentimes our olfactory sense fails us while our magical sense picks up something we could have missed.”

  “ He doesn't need a lesson. Valder save that for the class room. Kenji when I activate this ritual if there is any tracking magic on you it will manifest as a tangible mass most likely seeping from your body. It will hurt and before you ask, yes there are safer ways that would not injure you but the rituals take a long time and by then if any tracking magic was used on you, it would be gone. Do you understand?”

  “ Do it.” Kenji said through gritted teeth the adrenaline from earlier was wearing off and his leg was starting to flare up in pain. Alverez gave a silent nod and began his chant. Typically the words of command were a guttural language one that scratched at a deep sense in the back of your mind with no real congruency or sentence structure but to Kenji the chant came out in common. Alverez’s voice only came out in a low and deep growl.

  “ foresee the ones who mean us harm and bring them out from the holes they hide in.”

  The chalk began to glow with blue and green light, a jolt of energy shot into Kenji. He could feel the energy swimming around and eventually finding its way back out to hover in an orb of light above him. A red blood like substance began to seep out of every pore swirling around the orb. It felt like thousands of tiny needles working their way out of his skin and Kenji screamed in pain.

  “ Valder.” Alverez said his tone was authoritative.

  “ I'm on it.” Valder said and as if prompted by their actions the orb absorbed the red blood-like substance and shot off vanishing through the walls of the investigation van Valdar in a blur speed took off after it.

  General Higgins was placed in charge of the investigation on the latest terrorist attack, he was not happy about some adventurer administration thugs coming in and commandeering investigation van three-two-three-zero-zero-five, General Higgins knew if those two men wanted too they could easily dismantle his entire police force and it was easier to capitulate to their demands, there were laws and social niceties that prevent people like them from throwing their weight around however the simple fact that a family member was involved changed things. General Higgins was standing outside the investigation van a few feet from the front door he was mentally preparing himself to talk with the men inside and was looking around at the nicely manicured lawn of the park they had chosen to use, the season where changing and all the trees had started there transition there green foliage turning to pleasant shades of amber, tan, and honey colored the hedges which were magically encapsulated to maintain there perfect green tones where perfectly trimmed. Higgins frowned at the ruts their trucks had made.

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

  “Such a shame to ruin such good grass.” He said to no one in particular. His thoughts wandered to his own lawn a small patch of grass that he took pride in maintaining. With his resolve steeled Higgins moved forward to the door only stopping as his gut told him to. Moments later the door flew open and a gust of wind knocked Higgins off his feet, a second gust caused him to roll into the ruts of mud.

  Even with the map he had gotten of the complex it was still labyrinthine in design. Rin had managed to avoid a few deadends thanks to it as each deadend turned into a fight with people Rin had started to call papermen. They were so surprisingly easy to kill that he barely gave them a second thought. Rin thought that there had to be a reason he was separated from everyone else. Every bone in his body was screaming at him, the similarity to what happened in the astral dungeon when the demon king Edric or whatever the hell he was calling himself now had kidnapped everyone and forced him to find them. Rin stopped at a corner as he heard voices around it.

  “ Geoff, tell me again. Why did we sign up for this shift?”

  A nasally voice said.

  “ Because Jeff, the day shift is typically easy. No one commits crime while the sun is out.” a second still nasally but with a bit more gritty tone said.

  “ I thought we were on the night shift?” The first man said

  “ Nah it only feels like that cause we don't see any sun around here.” The second man said.

  “ You think the boss is having fun with those two girls? He don locked himself in ain't no one been all.”

  Rin was about to jump around the corner but their words froze him. It had to be Liliandra and Sophia. He assumed. He continued to listen.

  “ Only fun he’s having is torture. You see that big guy? Ain't no way the boss ain't laying into him with a knife.”

  Douge? Rin thought, his brow creasing in anger, the thought of his friends being kidnapped and tortured filled him with rage, more rage than even the thought of them being killed. He appeared around the corner like a wraith, his hand wrapping around the first man he saw. He was a slightly puggy man with dog-like facial features and loose skin around his jowls. Brown fir covered his body.Rin's fingers dug into the man's neck as his fingers didn't wrap fully around the beastkin neck.

  “ GEOFFRY!” The other man yelled but his reactions were slow. This man was an elf with clipped ears. His skin was dark and tight to his body like a living corpse. A quick jab with Rin's free hand saw the man to the ground.

  “ These people!” Rin yelled in anger. “ Two humans and one beastkin?”

  The pug man Geoffry gargled but nodded. He squeaked as he tried to speak

  “ Where are they?” Rin said.

  More gargled speech the elf man groaned but he spoke.

  “ The boss has em, just put Geoff down so we can talk.” By now the pug man Geoff's eyes were turning red, his lips changing in a few shades. Rin let go and he fell to the floor collapsing in a heap coughing as he tried to breathe.

  “ I'm okay Jeff. I'm okay.”

  Rin lifted his eyebrow. “ You're both named Jeff?”

  “ Yes, but no, but also yes “ the elf man stammered around his words. “ You see I'm Jeff spelled with a J and E while he is.” Rin cut the man off

  “ Geoff spelled with a G and E that's..” He paused for a moment. “ Know what I don't care. Tell me where I can find my friends.”

  Jeff nodded. “ Okay. But umm. Arnt Cha just gonna kill us when you're done?”

  “ Probably.”

  “ Could we ask for a concession? We can take you to the boss. We mostly just walk around and collect a pay check so we know this place pretty well isn't that right Geoff?”

  Geoff nodded and let out a strained yes.

  “ And in return?”

  “ You let us live.” Jeff said it more as a question and less a statement. “ You got your stuff you wanna do so it wouldn't hurt to just let us run after we lead you to the boss.”

  Rin didn't really need to think about his answer, the choice was clear and it cost him nothing.

  “ Sure. But you two need to quit and leave, go find a new job because if I see you again and you're not selling me a kabab, drink, or anything of legal value I will kill you.”

  Both men looked at each other and nodded.

  Douge was barely conscious, his jaw broken and multiple stab wounds and cuts placed all around his body. He watched as this man examined the monitors. Rin was talking with two men but there was no audio.The robed man was holding a head seat up to ears with a devilish grin.

  “Good news, Our honored guest will be arriving here shortly.” The man walked in front of all of them slowly panning his gaze. Douge looked to Sophia her head was hung low, her hair obstructing her face yet Douge could still see the defiance in her eyes l. She was biting her tongue as they all had discovered they would suffer more if they talked back. The man had avoided ripping and tearing clothes allowing for modesty to remain however the now ragged and blood stained cloths revealed how much abuse and torture they had all endured. Liliandra had suffered the most, her face had been filled with despair not too long ago but now that was gone, replaced with one of spite and hate Douge tried to speak to tell her no, don't ,please. His broken jaw stopped that.

  “ Rin will save us. Nothing you have planned will defeat him.” Liliandra said venom in her voice. “ He is indomitable and won't give up till he sees us free, he has already defied your god once and he will do it again. Even faces with…” Liliandra yelped as the man slapped her across the face, grabbing it and turning her eyes towards his.

  “ Rin is trash, he is a pawn in my lord's plan and he must pay for his insolence. This is just a taste of what is planned for him.once I kill him his soul will go to my Lord and the real pain will begin. But if you want to be free I can oblige.” The man in a blur of speed severed both of Liliandra's feet at the ankles freeing her from her binding of only partially.

  “ If I'm to be completely honest I'm tired of this talk of Rin and it's starting to feel like an unhealthy relationship of co- dependence. I'm honestly doing you all a favor by killing all of you. Even the Lord seems obsessed but Rin is just a boy and a na?ve one at that.”

  Liliandra didn't whimper or make a noise; her gaze was still filled with a fierce determination. Douge watched his gaze never leaving Liliandra. Something had changed or perhaps more accurately something inside her snapped. She was the first to feel this man's wrath and she had retreated into herself to help deal with the pain but now she seemed like a different woman. The whole area was inundated with the smell of copper yet somehow the scent became stronger. Liliandra looked past the man at the screens and she smiled.

  “ You can beat me, you can try and break me, but I know nothing you can do to me will be worse than what he will do to you once he gets his hands on you.”

  The man spit on the floor. Yet he showed no rage as he calmly unlocked the shackles around her wrist, dropping her to the floor. The man turned towards a single door and waited for it to open.