Cornered and Isolated

Sebastian held his breath. A couple of guards walked past him and immediately after he left their possible peripheral vision, he got out of the shadows and ran past them. He had used his abilities in a variety of ways when he infiltrated.

He traveled in his shadows, he teleported long distances, and he silently knocked out guards and other hindrances in the way of his goal. But, that didn't mean that Sebastian was overly reliant on his abilities.

On the contrary, he was using his abilities a lot less than someone in the same position as him would do.

He didn't have any footwear on and he ran as silently as a rat. The guards, despite being mere meters away from him couldn't detect his presence at all.

Floor after floor, patrol after patrol, none of them could hinder Sebastian's progress in the least. While he was spotted by some of the prisoners, it didn't matter to him. There was a reason he had a dagger in his hands after all.

In the worst case scenario, Sebastian could kill his way out.

After sneaking past another patrol, Sebastian suddenly stopped. He looked to the side and peeked into a room.

"Found you."

Sebastian looked down at the lock and took out the wire that Liz had given him before. He twisted until it became the shape he needed and inserted it into the keyhole. Then, he took out the dagger and thrust it inside.

There was a click, he then moved the wire and dagger before hearing another. It took him half a minute to unlock the door and then he slowly opened it. The doors had hinges, and that meant that just opening them normally would alert everyone of his presence.

He sneaked into the room and shut the door behind him before walking up to the prisoner tied in chains.

"Wake up."

"Huh…?"

The prisoner slowly opened his eyes. In this darkness, he couldn't possibly make out Sebastian's face.

"You… you're not a guard, how did you get in here?"

"That's not important right now."

Sebastian tried rousing his energy but still wasn't able release it outside of his body. He clicked his tongue then looked at the tied up old man.

"Do you want a chance to get out of here?"

The old man looked up. Sebastian could see the lingering hope in his eyes, along with a hint of helplessness and despair. He had lost hope of getting out a long time ago.

"What do you want?"

The old man asked with a hoarse voice. If he believed that Sebastian would just let him out without any strings attached, he'd be a fool.

"Your ability, tell me about how it works and when I let you out, show me."

The old man looked at Sebastian strangely.

"What do you intend to do with a power as useless as mine…?"

"You asking about my purpose isn't part of the deal."

The old man flinched after feeling Sebastian's threatening aura and began talking. He was watching Sebastian's various expressions and whenever he saw it sour, he would begin to explain a little better and even threw in various ideas about his ability and spirits.

All in all, it took only around ten minutes for Sebastian to get everything he said. After he finished, he stood up and walked to the door.

"I'll be back in a few days."

"I'm not asking for much."

Sebastian stopped his steps and turned back.

"I just… I just want to see the outside for a little bit before I die. I've been in this prison for decades, I don't even know how old I am anymore but I was barely an adult when I was sent to this place. I can't even remember the last time I saw the sun. And… I can feel it. I've already reached the end of my life. If you had come to me a month later, you'd have seen a corpse instead of a dying old man."

After giving him a look, Sebastian slowly opened the door and slipped out. The old man didn't know if he listened to the ramblings, but it was the first time he'd gotten a proper conversation with someone in ages, albeit it was more of a coercive type of conversation.

…

"The countermeasures are all still in place."

Deimos looked at the person in front of her covering their face with a cloak and disguising their voice by speaking in an ambiguous tone. However they couldn't feel Deimos' eyes. It was an effeminate man, maybe it was because of that quality, his voice was neither deep nor high. It was just the right blend that could be taken both ways.

"To think that your organization is able to block both Blue Rose and Aurora's royal family's advances… The power of the oldest assassin organization isn't just for show."

The effeminate man chuckled.

"I hope you understand the losses we've faced doing something so daring. Us organizations normally don't interfere with other organizations and royalty but just because of the price you've offered, we're willing to go this far."

"That thing is really that important to your people? To us, it's just rare junk."

"One man's trash could be another man's treasure. Sometimes, the true value of things can only appear in the hands of the right person in the right situations."

Deimos raised a brow before taking out a bag.

"I'm sure you can look the other way when it comes to packing this. It hasn't been exactly taken out with the right authority."

The effeminate man took the bag and looked inside. His eyes sparkled as a smirk crept up on his face.

"Not at all! It's been a great pleasure doing business with you. If you want us to do more of this work, do contact us again."

Before even waiting for Deimos to answer, the effeminate man began picking up his things and left in a hurry.

As Deimos watched him leave, she began muttering to herself.

"Could they have been the ones in charge of the weapon smuggling?"

A power that could defy both Blue Rose and Aurora's royal family, there were only a handful of entities independent from the Sages that could accomplish such a feat.

After contemplating by her lonesome for a few minutes, Deimos stepped out of the store and began to head back to the House of Luna but on the way, she felt eyes staring at her. At first, she had just thought they were curious bystanders or lechers planning to cop a feel but when they were still on her after she turned the corner, she put her guard up.

She hurried her footsteps but the ones pursuing her were close behind. As a Caster, there were very little instances where she could face danger. Anyone except vagrants, thugs, and idiots would hesitate to attack her with her identity.

However, if they do know about her identity and attack nonetheless then it only showed the enemy's confidence in their abilities.

In the end, she was cornered in an isolated street. There were many of them gathering around and whichever direction she fled to, she was blocked. They were leading her like a shepherd uses a dog to herd their sheep.

"Deimos Luna."

After hearing her name, she was certain. Her opponents this time knew about her being a Caster yet still continued to ambush her anyway.

She bit her lip in frustration.

'Mistress… I might be a little late…'

While apologizing to Amy in her mind, she roused her energy and swung her arm. An invisible force distorted the air and headed towards the attackers. It was the same force that managed to defeat Sebastian before he could even know what was happening.

Just a blow would flatten a regular person into a pancake.

However, contrary to her expectations, the enemies made no move to block her attack and simply took it with their bare bodies. Specifically, a man slightly taller than the average height with strikingly golden eyes. His hair was thick but cut short, and it bore the same vivid color as his eyes. His face was as stoic as it could get.

Just looking at his eyes gave Deimos a chill. She couldn't afford to waste any more time. She clenched her other fist and punched in the direction of the golden haired man but as if punching a wall, she wasn't able to do anything. He wasn't even pushed back an inch.

"That's quite an interesting power you have."

She heard a whistle. Another man with eyes with long slits, nearly like that of a snake's, sat by a balcony. There was a smirk on his face and he was wearing a strange vest-like clothing with the entire front portion revealed. From his neck to his stomach, she could see his bare skin.

Deimos moved to attack him as well but before she could even move her arm, she felt someone grab her shoulder.

"You should stop struggling already, you're obviously outmatched."

A woman with hair stopping right around her nape. She wore tight clothes that accented her figure and only served to boost her charm.

'When did she get behind me…?!'

Deimos felt alarm bells ringing in her head. The three people surrounding her all looked strange but their presence was overwhelming her—a Caster. She wanted to attack the woman who had grabbed her shoulder but she already had a blade held up to her throat. While she, herself wasn't afraid of death, she didn't want to complicate things for Amy.

Staying alive was her goal.

"...Who are you people?"

"Ehe… We're the seniors of a guy you've put into prison."

Deimos frowned at the snake-like man's words. They looked like ruffians but if they were talking about seniority, then they had an organization?

"Unfortunately, we were told to bring him back safely."

The stoic golden-haired man added.

"You see, that cute little junior of ours is pretty innocent. It wouldn't do if he were to have to spend the rest of his life—if there is any—in prison."

The woman then chimed in.

"And? What do you want me to do about it?"

"That's simple. All you have to do… is nothing!"

The snake-like man raised his hands and said gleefully.