81 Sewers

"This is so interesting!" Mary says while pointing towards yet another cobweb. I don't know what she finds so fascinating about simple cobwebs, but if it's enough to keep her happy...

For now, let's focus back on the task at hand. It has been close to half an hour since we began searching those damn sewers, and we found nothing. We didn't encounter any other gangs, so the trip has been a bit duller than it could have been. But at least Mary's child-like wonder over everything we come across makes this boring experience somewhat bearable.

However, it's a bit worrying, to say the least. Maybe I should have bought the map from the bartender. I could Rewind back and memorize the contents of the map, but I feel like we must be close by now, and I really don't want to repeat the conversation I had with Mary.

*We must be close, just a few forks left and-*

The sudden groaning of a wooden door takes me out of my thoughts, and I immediately ready my weapon while Mary creates two fireballs over her open palms.

"Where is it coming from?" I ask since my lifeforce detector doesn't show anything.

"I can't tell, the mana feels fuzzy and erratic for some reason!" my companion responds. I grit my teeth and survey the area, the last thing we need is to face one of the bullshit creatures inhabiting this planet. The sound of heavy footsteps trudging through the weird slime covering the ground reaches my ears, it seems to be coming from the nearest fork.

According to my mapping device, the two tunnels join up, so we might be able to use a pincer maneuver on the mysterious apparition.

"I'll take the left; you take the right!" I order, and Mary nods before rushing towards her tunnel.

...Hisako's PoV...

*Those sewers are really something else.*

I rack my brain to find anything else to say, but this expedition has been a bore so far. I know it has only been ten minutes, but I was supposed to be dropped near the disturbance. However, I can't find anything or anyone.

At least I'm a natural when it comes to directions so I shouldn't be lost in the sewers.

But still, I wonder what did cause such a disturbance? According to the Princess, it was a massive amount of World Energy popping up at once, but the only person I can think of that has this capability shouldn't have anything to do in the capital. Not to mention that if it were him, then the disturbances would have kept going until he found what he was looking for...

I clutch the tattered rag affixed to the handle of my sword. "Riko, I'll avenge you." The images of all the villagers who died because of that bastard's action flash before my eyes again. At this point, it's a daily occurrence, but it helps me remember and keeps me focused.

I will not rest until I find and kill him.

But that fateful encounter isn't going to happen today. I'm probably pursuing some petty thief who got his hand on something which is too powerful. It could also be a Spirit, but I sincerely doubt that a Spirit would risk approaching the capital.

Or I could be completely wrong, until now I had no clue about the existence of this ancient sewer system.

However, I don't think that-

The sound of footsteps takes me out of my thoughts, and I ready my weapon. The Princess ordered me to kill anyone I meet down here, so I'll dutifully obey my orders.

After all, it's good to let loose once in a while. Being confined in that castle all day gets boring really quickly, I don't know how the Princess does it.

I lean against the wall and point my weapon forward, with this stance I should be able to get the jump on whoever comes out.

The footsteps are heading towards me, so I take a deep breath and stab the person with all my strength before I can even see it.

"What the?!" a feminine voice echoes and two palm-sized fireballs crash into my chest. The impact is so strong that I crash into the wall at my back. A glance at my singed equipment tells me that this attack was extremely strong.

This confirms that she's the one responsible for the disturbance and that she's a worthy opponent!

"Who dares oppose me!" I shout while slamming the ground with my feet.

The woman, who is wearing a red robe with a hood, doesn't answer and sends another set of fireballs towards my chest. I endure the hit without much of a problem, but I know that I can't keep getting hit like that or I'm going to take severe damage.

"You coward! Too afraid to share your name to the person who will kill you?" I grin before charging towards my opponent.

She barely registers me and takes a deep breath. "Could you just stay still?"

"Of course not!" I roar and stab her. But my blade bounces off an invisible barrier.

*This reminds me of something. But it must be a coincidence, right?*

There can't be two of them.

"You're lucky I can't go all out." The woman mutters before pinning me to the wall with a fireball.

"You can't go all out? Don't bullshit me and fight properly!" I exclaim. I don't believe for a second that this woman is as strong as she claims, so she must be bluffing. I just need to get close and-

A detonation echoes and a massive amount of pain surges in my leg. I grit my teeth as the fibers in my armor do their best to rip out the invading metal chunks from my body, but it looks like they are multiplying way too fast.

I already guessed the identity of the owner of this weapon, and I can't refrain from flinging insults towards him as his figure emerges from the dark.

"You bastard!" I shout while blood splatters out of my mouth. "What are you doing here?!"

The person I hate the most in this life, John Thomson, approaches me.

...John's PoV...

Of all the people I could meet in a sewer, Hisako was probably the least likely one. What is she even doing here in the first place? It's just impossible that she followed me here, so she must have some business in the capital. Ideally, she also entered from somewhere, so I need to extract the information from her. But, right now, she is about to die. Her rough and bestial armor wasn't enough to protect her from an EGB. Not that I would expect it to, but I feel like I saw this armor before...

I shake my head, now is not the time for that. First of all, I Rewind to before I shot her and ordered Mary to stand down. Hisako reacts very well and flings a torrent of insults towards me. I ignore her babbling and approach her. "Listen very carefully. I don't care about you or your feud, so if you want to live then tell me where you came from, and where's the nearest entrance to the Noble District."

"Like I would tell you anything! You'll regret ever-" I shoot her in the head and Rewind. I think this hour is going to be a long one.

It's the twenty-fourth retry, and I still can't get anything out of Hisako. I tried gentle persuasion, and it didn't work. I then ordered Mary to be 'creative,' and it didn't lead anywhere. I don't know what I should do next. Maybe I could-

The idea then hits me. I could just Rewind and trace Hisako's route until I find the entrance she used. It wouldn't matter if we used our portals since I'll erase the timeline. I nod to myself and put my plan into action. It takes a bit of time to find the first point of contact, but it's smooth sailing after that.

I Rewind and teleport onto Hisako's last known position before looking around. She doesn't move that fast so I can usually spot her with my eyes, so I memorize her coordinates and Rewind before restarting again, this time at an earlier moment.

It doesn't take long before I find her point of entrance, an old stone panel that blends with the rest of the wall. I then Rewind one last time and make sure that Hisako is far from us before I take her entrance. The tunnel is far better-looking than the one I took, and the spiraling staircases soon leads us into what looks to be a basement.

*Did we luck out?*

It would be nice if we arrived at the Noble District, but I wouldn't bet any money on it. Now, let's see how we are going to get out of here.

*Maybe we could just walk out like everything is fine?*

I shrug, I might as well try it out. We head towards the stairs and arrive in an empty room. The building is clearly maintained, but there is no furniture or people in the vicinity.

*So it looks like this place is only used as a cover for the access to the sewers.*

I hold my breath as I open the door, and the scene that greets me is precisely what I thought a "Noble District" would look like. The roads are well-made and maintained. There is not even a sign of littering since all the streets are spotless.

But what worries me is the large number of guards. Squads of armored guards are at every street corner, and they scan the passersby with a vigilance that seems to never waver.

Maybe they won't realize that we don't belong here. If they do, then they'll cause a commotion, and things will get messy really quickly. I grab Mary's forearm to make sure that she doesn't run away and look for the area where the information broker is hiding.

"This is very different from the rest of the city..." I mumble while I wade through the crowd of well-dressed people. Our bright red robes don't stick out too much compared to the overly-colorful clothes that certain people are wearing. The roads are well organized, and the carriages are all decorated beyond reason, but I guess that's what's expected in this world.

However, what might bring us trouble is the fact that I'm wearing armor. If a guard spots me, then there's no telling how he'll react. So I need to find the information broker as soon as possible. Luckily for me, I see the wall surrounding the district, and I soon reach the designated area.

I take a deep breath and whisper in the ear of my companion, "We're going inside, be ready for anything." She nods, licks her lips, and we step into the building.

...Sarah's PoV...

I close my eyes and open them again, the momentary daze I get from parsing through all the memories of a person is quickly disappearing. The collection of information on the Stonecrusher Empire is going well, and the Portal Station makes all my deployments easier than ever. So far, I gathered information from low-level grunts and people who are not high on the food chain, but it still allows us to understand our foe better.

And they are mighty.

The Stonecrusher Empire has a massive, well-organized army that is better than anything the Enforcers can put out. It's also hard to admit, but the Order in its current form has no chance against them. But that's my opinion, I might be wrong, and we could have some sort of super secret hidden weapon. Nevertheless, I need to complete my assignments, so I close my eyes and scan the mind of another person.

I hope that I'm doing something useful and that we'll win this war.