A crack of thunder raged out overhead before a flurry of rain beat down on the ground.
Klava was dead, her heart's beat slowly petering out in Rainey's clutch. She held it up high, its blood trickling down her fingers and onto her face, "My heart is more at ease now," she murmured, her expression hard to decipher. She let the rain and the blood soak her face, her lips curling up into a smile, "After so long... we've taken the first step. We're back again."
Jerry found it opportune to lit up yet another cigarette. Jered closed his eyes and patiently waited.
It looked like an important moment, and to Rainey, it deserved a few minutes of silence.
A grunt shifted their attention to Piyeon, whose breathing was on the verge of ceasing.
Jered placed his foot on the man's neck, "This is not personal. It's just my job," he said in a monotone, applying 'Physical Enhancement' to his leg.
Piyeon wheezed, eyes splayed wide open in terror.
Then, Jered exerted pressure on his foot, and his neck snapped.
"You know, he would have died anyway," Jerry said, taking a drag of his cigarette.
"I know, but let's not take chances. With Klava, and her strongest members dead, her Guild will fall in disarray... and there's no doubt that many will look into this accident."
Rainey nodded in approval, "Exactly. We'll show our faces to the world when I recover my original power."
"What if it happens before then?" Jerry blew a puff of smoke, "We can't continue working on the assumption that no one will ever hound down clues about us... and when that happens, someone will be bound to know. Some extremely intelligent Magicians will eventually connect the dots. And then what?"
She chuckled, "That's why we have to be quick, and cover our tracks as much as possible. The only one who knows about us is Ambrose—well, if he is still alive, that is. And even if he is, I doubt he'll go around yapping about us. Most Magicians in Archiland think I'm dead, and that you're hiding somewhere. Not to mention, Klava's Guild is not that important or notorious. We still have time."
"We should still be cautious, though," Jerry countered, and Jered agreed with him.
"You said that the next part of the plan is to infiltrate the Royal Palace, right?"
Another clap of thunder went off in the sky.
Rainey conjured a prismatic polyhedron-shaped jar and inserted Klava's heart inside it, "Yes, Jered. And you'll be the one to do it. You're young, talented, and powerful. They will want you. Oh, and after claiming first place in the Underground Arcane Combat, I'm sure they must have heard of you too. The job will not only come with many perks, but it will keep you off the radar. So, even in the off chance someone finds out about us, you'll be safe."
Jered laughed, "You're giving me so much work to do."
She smiled, "Oh, are you backing out?"
"Not at all. Just complaining for the sake of it. You're turning me into a thief."
"No one will suspect of someone so talented and handsome ~"
Jerry nodded, "Yes. I agree. As an otherworldly handsome man, I whole-heartedly agree with what she says."
Rainey rolled her eyes, "Come on. Let's get out of here."
With that said, they took off to the sky.
A green burst of flames dropped down and covered Klava and Piyeon's corpses, turning them into ashes.
----
It was only a few days later that news about Klava's disappearance spread out like wildfire.
The Magicians in her Guild managed to track her mana wavelength down, but there was nothing in Klayvon Forest. Only destruction, burnt trees, and dried blood. There were no signs of Klava, Piyeon, or the team of Swordmasters that tagged along with them. And that was the last place she had been to, which meant that the possibility of her being dead was very, very high.
"She was no pushover," Calvin—Royal Magician and leader of HollowLight—said with a contemplative hum, "She, and a team of Elder-Tier Swordmasters, vanished in Klayvon Forest."
"I wonder if she offended someone she shouldn't have," Freud, leader of Winter Foxes, continued in a somber tone, "That was no easy team to defeat, and Klava was a quite powerful Royal, even among us."
Someone scoffed. Calvin and Freud stared at Seina, head of the Queens—a female-only Guild—whipped her dark, long hair around, "Klava was the kindest Royal Magician I know of. She was emotional, and willing to love and forgive almost anyone. She's been picking up kids from the street for decades. Who would hate someone like that?"
A stretch of silence ensued.
"Maybe it was one of her rivals? While there was no deep feud between them... Klava's Guild did have sovereignty over 100 acres of land," Calvin offered while stroking his long, black beard, "And it just so happens that there's a Scarlett Mwartz mine included in her land."
Seina didn't seem to agree with him, "So what? Klava can handle anyone!"
"Not if a bunch of Royal Magicians teamed up against her," Freud had a light of keen intellect in his eyes, "What puzzles me is why Klava decided to wander off to Klayvon on her own. Was she not aware that it was a trap? No, perhaps she knew... which begs the question... why did she walk straight into a trap? Without telling the rest of her Guild, no less."
That caught Calvin and Seina's attention.
"You reckon she was forced to?" Calvin wondered.
"Who knows," Freud shrugged, "It wouldn't make sense otherwise."
"The issue here is... will they aim at us next?" Seina had her face tightened into a frown. She was not scared, but going into war with another Guild—or worse, a coalition of Guilds—would just end with large casualties. She'd be prey to the vultures.
Silence.
"That is hard to say. I do suggest forming a coalition ourselves," Calvin suggested, hoping that Freud and Seina would put their pride down and agree with him, "In case any of us is under attack. At least until we know what's really going on here."
Freud and Seina looked at each other. Neither of them was stupid enough to think they'd survive the siege of multiple Royal Magicians. Naturally, they couldn't trust each other either, but it was better than being a sitting duck, not knowing when the attack would come, and where it would come from.
A few seconds later, all of them shook hands.
----
The capital city of Autrathen, Autra, was imposing, to say the least. Of course, it couldn't compare to metropolises in the human plane, but Autra had a feeling that none of those metropolises had. And it was power. That was most likely a by-product of the combined presence of many powerhouses; trained guards, Swordmasters, and powerful Magicians. A tall, sturdy wall made of stone and what looked like magical minerals, surrounded Autra.
Atop the walls, sentries clothed in silver armor paced back and forth at a set of intervals. A few more robed figures denoted that Magicians were chosen for the job too. A handful of Neophyte Tiers, along with an Adept-Tier as the leader. Beyond the wall, Autra stretched as far as the eye could see, in all of its majestic glory. And that was especially true for the palace in the middle of the city, which vastly towered over the other buildings. It was immensely big, with a gothic flair, but it had a mysterious golden sheen to its walls. As if it had been carved from gold.
"That's the place you'll be working at for the foreseeable future," Rainey said with a small smile.
They were floating high up in the sky, way beyond the guards' line of sight.
"How do you even know they'll accept me?" Jered was not as enthusiastic as she was.
"This is not the human world, Jered. There'll be no job interview. They're very straightforward. As long as you have a clean background and power... they'll welcome you with open arms."
Jerry chipped in with a laugh, "Come on. I'm jealous of you! You'll get the chance to be close to one of the princesses ~ they're all beautiful, curvy... they're rare, unplucked flowers!"
"Wooing the princesses is not part of the plan," Jered rolled his eyes.
"Well, it could be! Maybe one of them will help you access the treasury? Besides, you need them to trust you, Jered. And there's no deeper trust than the one that comes with blind love. Remember, we need Royal blood."
"From the youngest ones," Rainey corrected with a nod, "An examination for the role of Royal Guard will come up soon. You'll take part in it."
"Aye aye," Jered shrugged, "Infiltrate. Gain trust. And kidnap."
"And if you can, the treasury," Jerry added, arms crossed, "They have lots of ancient stuff, weaponry, tomes, and artifacts."
"I get it, I get it..."
Rainey flew behind him and looped her arms around his midsection, her chin nestled in the crook of his neck, "You're my little gem, you know that, don't you?"
He laughed, "As long as you don't sell me..."
She mock gasped, "I would never. I will treasure you, take care of you, and shower you with affection."
"A second mom, basically."
"Yes, and you can use this mommy any way you want it," she purred into his ear.
Jerry, who was watching from the side, gagged melodramatically, "God, that's... that's... freaky!"
She ignored him, and sneakily pinched Jered's butt, "Your dedication won't go unrewarded."
----
A hundred burly men and women gathered in front of the Royal Palace. Some of them were clothed in armor, while others in silky robes and coats. It was a clear distinction between Swordmasters and Magicians. Jered had forsaken his cloak; he was now sporting a white shirt, a waistcoat, and a double-breasted coat over that. It was the kind of expensive garb only nobles would flaunt around. Naturally, that was bound to attract attention. Then again, that was inevitable, regardless of his apparel.
Someone as young as he, and with such an aura of power, was seldom seen. Even in Autra.
Eventually, a finely dressed man walked out of the gate. And the moment he did, silence descended upon the crowd.
Each step carried innate confidence—the kind that denoted that there was hardly anyone in Autra that could match him. His presence was rather heavy, and that was coming from Jered's viewpoint. Almost instinctively, he imagined a fight breaking out between them, and Jered was not confident he could survive. An Arch-Magus. A step below the peak of what humanity could achieve. The man's eyes swept over the crowd, its intensity making many quake in primal fear.
And, as if pulled in by an unseen, magnetic force, his eyes locked onto Jered's.
A flash of surprise flashed past those purple orbs. Following that, a smile marred the man's face.
"Welcome to the Royal Palace!" he didn't need to amplify his voice with any spell; the sound spread far and wide, "I'm Ravenn, Head of the Royal Guards. Today is the examination day, which means a couple of you will be lucky enough to be part of the Royal Guards. We're very selective when it comes to our members. This is a very important yet rewarding position—since it concerns the welfare of the Royal Family. If you don't get chosen today, do not worry. As long as you cultivate your strength, one day you will surely be selected."
The crowd broke out in a low murmur.
The man clapped his hand, restoring silence, "Listen carefully. I know you're excited... but allow me to explain the rules. Oh, I almost forgot. First things first, let's get rid of the unworthy."
Jered tilted one eyebrow up at that, as did many others.
"If you're below the Elder-Tier, you might fancy going back home. The show is over for you."