After what felt like an hour of driving, I finally made it to the location. According to the information given to me by Lisa, the meetup with this group will be happening around this time. But why is it all the way out here?
Looking around me, I'm quite close to the sea, with many warehouses lined up. I guess this is where people store equipment and other things for when they go out to sea? Then again, it does look quite run down, so maybe it's not used anymore, I don't know.
"Hmm?"
While I was staking out from afar, I noticed three cars slowly pull up to one of the warehouses. Silently, I move positions, making sure to stay out of sight, making sure to keep my mana in check just in case they notice. Once I got behind one of the sheds that was decently close to the cars, I kept my cool and remained exactly where I am, waiting for something to happen. I do wish I could've brought Shiro with me as this is a lot different than the previous jobs, but I can also imagine her exposing us right about now, hehe.
Suddenly, I hear the engines to the cars turn off, followed by the sound of car doors opening and closing. It's quite dark now, but it's still bright enough to where people might be able to see me, so I choose not to expose myself to much and instead rely mostly on my hearing.
"Is this the right place?" A man's voice... Hearing them finally begin to speak, I heighten my hearing, listening in to their conversation.
"Yes."
"Haaaah! Then where are they? They said 7:45, right?"
"It's fine, we can wait a bit." A woman's voice...
"What if this is just a setup? The cops got one of us the other day, right?"
"I said it's fine. I'm not sensing anyone out here other than us."
From the sounds of it, there's four people speaking, but I sense about twelve- no, maybe fifteen people. I guess these four are the leaders? Also thankfully I did lower down my mana output as that woman seems to be able to use mana-sense. It's a skill that takes a lot of control over one's mana, and only about 5% of people manage to get that far. Personally I can't do it as I choose to rely on smell instead. But to think that they have someone skilled with them... They're not Furor, but I should still be careful.
"Ah, looks like they've woken up."
"It's alright, let them out."
Once I hear a car door open, I begin to hear muffled noises, almost as if a few people have their mouths are gagged by something. I end up taking a small peek around the corner as I soon see four people being escorted by two men. Just like I figured, their heads are covered in some sort of bag, blocking their vision, but they're also restrained as well. What the hell's happening here?
But in the next instant, the woman looks my way as I manage to keep behind cover just in time. I don't think she's seen me, so I just have to make sure that I stay calm.
"Tie them up just over there."
"Yes, sir."
This feels like a deal of some kind... Are these people selling off these people to Furor perhaps? If so, then I have to wait for Furor to arrive. As much as I want to just rush over there and rescue those people, my job right now is to get info. And so, thinking that enough time has passed, I peek out once more, looking over the scene once more.
All these people are wearing suits, almost like they're some sort of professionals. But the four that were talking before so seem to be more higher up in terms of rank, especially that woman. It's not a fact that only powerful people can use mana-sense, as even weak people are able to use it. But it's more generally given that the stronger the person is, the more control they have over their mana, so I shouldn't jump to conclusions yet.
However, after waiting for thirty minutes now, nothing seems to be happening, and looking at the group in front of me, they're also not looking too happy.
"Where the fuck are they!" One of the grunts seems to have had enough.
"Keep your voice down."
"We've waited long enough! Let's just-"
In an instant, the man's head is cut clean off by one of the men that seemed to be on par with that woman. It all happened so fast, but what was even more disturbing was that the blood that was supposed to squirt all over the place was instead being hovered in the air, as one big ball of blood. Don't tell me that man's a vampire? And one that can use blood magic...
"Dispose of him."
"Yes ma'am!"
I watch as the others drag the body back into one of the cars as the woman stores the blood into a bag of some kind. Is it enchanted? If so, then these people aren't to be looked down upon.
"You didn't need to go that far."
"We need to set an example."
"Still. You're frightening the new recruits..."
"So? That's what the example's about is it not? Now they know not to raise their voice at us."
The woman definitely does feel like she's above everyone else. But new recruits... I wonder if they operate in a similar way as Furor? But from the looks of it, it seems like the 'new recruits' chose to be there.
"Okay, let's go. I've had enough waiting here." One of the three men speaks up amongst the four of them. "We'll take them back with us."
"Yes!"
Everyone soon begins to move, bringing the captives back into the boot of the cars before they all drive away.