"So, have you got anything to share about your girls' findings?" began Venom.
"Quite a bit, but not enough for my standard. Despite sending nearly all of my girls as well as Hades and Reaper, I've yet to even see any one of them report back on what Spring Song looks like. How about you?"
"More bodies, it seems—though with an utter lack of pattern. I'd once thought Spring Song had a taste for the young, fresh blood and flesh, but it appears I was mistaken. Even the locations she chooses to strike are maddeningly arbitrary..."
Venom gestured toward the map of Titania, where red pins were scattered haphazardly across its surface.
"Are you certain her strikes align with where her victims were left? Or is there another pattern we've yet to see?" quizzed the Viceroy.
"Blonde's got a point. The area where you've found the victims might now be the same as where she'd attacked them. But more importantly, your victim reports are totally different than the ones my girls have identified. Not a single one of them is matched..."
The dragoness frowned, her mind replaying the information her snakes had relayed earlier. There was something else, a nagging feeling in the back of her mind, like a puzzle piece just out of reach.
"Nearly thirty pins, yet only five reports? Perhaps you've more intelligence on your end, Lady Shadow?" asked Zenos, raising an eyebrow.
"Only another 5 more bodies. I'm assuming that the rest were taken by Spring Song. But how? Moving around those parts is nearly impossible, even if it's the dead of the night. And from what I've known, Titania has very few underground tunnels to work with..."
"They could have simply carved out their own tunnels, don't you think?" replied Emmett.
"And not wake the citizens? I highly doubt so..."
"If I may be so bold—why not simply make a house call? Stroll in, blend among them, question the locals, and walk right into the enemy's den. It's what I would do, after all." suggested the Viceroy, brushing his away from his front.
"Absolutely not. I've no intention of sacrificing more of my staff. We've tried that approach already, and yet here we are, still without any definitive answers—or a clear picture of our next adversary," protested Venom.
"Then we head to ground zero by ourselves. I can handle it with Matt so you don't have to join us, Venom. And I'm sure that Beast would be alright with this," replied Mavislin, deep in thought.
"And what of me? I did mention my desire to accompany you."
"You can come along but the problem is Titania is not your domain so if the locals see you, they might freak out."
"And you mean to say you wouldn't unsettle the locals? Aren't you yourself the leader of a notorious faction, with countless atrocities to your name—all amassed in such a fleeting span?"
The dragoness shook her head and let out a scoff.
"Unlike you, I don't usually let my true face be seen in my missions. I've switched so many masks that people barely recognize me. Only a select few know I'm Shadow. So, yes, I will have an easy time in Titania. The only place I can't go is Annatolia."
"It would be quite the challenge to haul an overgrown tank across terrain... Perhaps it would be more fitting for you to move only under the cover of night?" suggested Venom.
"I have no objections to that. Is that to your liking, my Lady?" smirked Zenos as his half-lidded eyes met with the dragoness's ruby orbs.
"Please don't call me so familiarly when others are around... But yes, that would be optimal. Now then, where's Spider? I'm sure that it's time to head off to Albion," asked Mavislin, looking away from the blonde.
As her gaze met Emmett's, the dragoness's tail froze, a wave of tension prickling along her spine. His expression, colder than his usual scowl, sent a chill deeper than any monster she had ever faced in her brief life.
"We won't start until lunch. Also, I find it... rather distasteful to discuss the Syndicate's affairs in the presence of an outsider. Particularly him," spat Venom, glaring at the blonde.
"Zenos, go stroll around for a bit. I will send Virgo to fetch you once I'm done," ordered Mavislin, waving the blonde away.
The Viceroy shrugged nonchalantly before stepping outside, his footsteps echoing down the hall as he wandered without a clear direction. The scowls and disdainful glares of passersby barely registered.
However, his attention was caught when the sound of training swords clashing filtered through a red door. Curiosity piqued, he pushed the door open, his eyes narrowing with intrigue.
In the center of the room stood Matt, surrounded by a group of exhausted figures.