Ulagan returned to the group just as Kallik was finished treating the last of them. He looked down at the young herbalist girl lying down in front of Kallik and frowned. Other than Zolzaya and Ganbaatar, the other four survivors, Yutu included, were all still unconscious. Ulagan frowned and asked the Grassreader,

“How are they?”

Kallik shook her head.

“Not great, but they’ll live. Whatever Yutu, or maybe the Elemental, did, it took the brunt of the Lord Protector’s attack. The backlash of it, at least. We need to get them to the village as soon as possible. Yutu, in particular, needs better treatment than we can provide here. How… how did it look? Outside, I mean….”

Ulagan turned to look at the Lord Protector, whose body was slowly returning to its former shape.

“It should be safe. I doubt anything in the surrounding area survived. Even if they did, only a fool wouldn’t turn and run after seeing something like… that.”

Kallik nodded, though Ganbaatar spoke next, having wandered over after noticing Ulagan’s return.

“And Kusanagi?”

The group hadn’t seen the Beast Lord, but they’d heard it when he finally showed himself after Yutu’s surprise attack. Ulagan paused before answering.

“… Dead. There’s no way he survived that kind of blow.”

As one, the group let out a sigh of relief. They shared a moment of silence in remembrance of those they’d lost before Kallik spoke.

“Even so, we need to report this as soon as possible. The Wandering Cities, and the Akh’lut, need to know what has happened here today.”

Ganaa tilled his head and asked,

“But why? The Beast Lord is dead. This is the end, isn’t it? Why the rush?”

Zolzaya was the one to answer, though she never turned to face them.

“Because the Beast Lord wasn’t working alone, was he?”

Ulagan and Ganaa turned to Zolzaya, their eyes wide. Ganaa stuttered as he spoke.

“But.. That, that doesn’t make — ”

“It makes perfect sense!”

Zolzaya cut him off with her voice raised. She turned to face him and continued.

“Think about it; how did Kusanagi gather so many Grassbreakers with no one noticing? How did he take down an entire Akh’lut party? Why did he even know where they would be…”

With a softer voice, she turned and looked at the still form of Yutu.

“… where did he get the poison?”

Ganaa tried to respond, but no answers can to his mind.

After a moment of silence, Ulagan spoke.

“Gather what supplies can be salvaged. I’ll speak to the Lord Protector. Hopefully, with his help, we’ll make it to the Earth Shrine before whatever allies the Beast Lord have learned of his fate.”

The group nodded, but before they could move, a loud ruckus began. Fearing another attack, the group moved closer and turned. Instead of a new enemy, they found the Lord Protector, who had returned to his original form, franticly unturning and digging through the rubble.

Ganaa frowned as he asked.

“What is he — ”

Zolzaya cut him off, though, her voice low.

“Guys…”

The other three turned to face her, noticing she’d gone white as snow. In almost a whisper, she continued.

“… when was the last time any of you saw the Akh’lut pup?”

All three human’s eyes went wide. Ganaa and Ulagan rushed to the Lord Protector’s side and started clearing what rubble they could reach, while Kallik sighed, rubbing her temple.

Zolzaya watched the two men and the large spirit beast clearing the debris at a rapid pace, but something in her gut told her they wouldn’t find anything.

“Well… Shi — ”

The glare from her mentor snapped her mouth shut before she could finish the thought.

========

Archimedes popped from the group, coughing up a pool of blood. His entire body convulsed, and he felt like he was on fire, despite the cold sweat pouring off him.

What the hell was that? What the hell had that been?! There had been nothing about that… that thing mentioned in the report! He’d been told it was a simple job! Slip in while no one was looking, nab the child, and make a break for it. No one had told him something like that would be there. Were the people who hired him psychotic?! How in the nine hells did they expect this to end well for them?! More importantly, would he be dragged into this mess?

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His eyes drifted to the still struggling bundle of cloth beside him. For what felt like the hundredth time that hour, he contemplated dumping the cursed child in a ditch somewhere and making a break for it. The mission be damned.

But… he knew he couldn’t do it. The Camp… was not forgiving of deserters. More so when their clients had such backing. If he abandoned the job, his name would be next on the list. Yet, some part of him questioned if it was worth it all. Why so much trouble for a single pup?

He threw several medical pills into his mouth and bit down, washing them down with a swig from his canteen. He shivered as the powerful medicine took effect. Most adventurers might have considered the Camp a “Dark” guild, but they took care of their people at least. He could never afford such pills on his own. Then again, it wasn’t really the Camp paying for them, anyway. They always passed on the cost of “supplies” for a mission to the customer.

Hey, that’s the price you paid when you needed something more… dirty done.

Archimedes rolled his shoulders and picked up the wiggling bundle. Whether you need a mercenary team that wouldn’t ask questions or a group of bandits to target a rival’s caravan, the Camp would have what you need. Kidnappings happened to be Archimedes specialty. There was just something so satisfying about snatching some poor unsuspecting sob right out from under someone’s nose.

It was like a puzzle, figuring out when and where to strike and, more importantly, how to get away unnoticed. He’d even had specially designed [Sealing Cloth] made! It would not only seal a target’s spirit energy but block out any external tracking attempts! It didn’t matter what the enemy used; sound, scent, spirit, or soul markers; the cloth would block them all.

While it wasn’t his only tool, it had been a major factor in his success as one of the best kidnappers on the Skybreaker continent. It was also why his latest client had approached him for this job.

Though he had to admit, this was the first time he’d ever been asked to retrieve a kidnapping victim. That had been an interesting twist, though Archimedes had been disappointed by his peers. He’d been impressed when they told him someone had actually kidnapped an Akh’lut pup. That wasn’t a simple job in the slightest.

But the reality of the situation had been stranger than he expected. They didn’t even have the pup tied up! It was just running around without a care in the world. Hell, he wasn’t fully convinced the stupid thing hadn’t just been tricked into following them with some meat or something.

The sudden attack by the army of Grassbreakers had been a lucky break, even if the timing was suspicious, but Archimedes thought little of it and bided his time.

Then the world went to the nine hells.

Archimedes didn’t know what that attack the strange metal spirit beast had used was, but it had shaken him to his core and nearly killed him outright. He’d even wasted a defensive tool! He’d sure as hell have the client replace that too! Thankfully, though, that tool gave him the chance he needed. While the others were reeling from the backlash of the attack, Archimedes pounced, snatching up the pup and making his escape.

That had been several hours now, and with no sign of pursuit, it looked like he was in the home stretch. Now, he had to return to the meeting location with the pup and collect his payment. Then it was off to Halirosa for a well-deserved vacation.

Archimedes checked his [Positioning Jade] and then turned in the direction he needed to go but froze. Only a dozen meters away, a large Grassbreaker Penguin stared up at him, still half buried in the ground. Archimedes narrowed his eyes and tilted his head. It was a big one, too, likely a flock leader. Was it a penguin that had escaped the blast?

He figured it didn’t really matter. A Grassbreaker core would fetch a pittance, even a flock leader’s, but it would be some pocket change to play around with later. The man slid his bundle to the ground and slowly approached the penguin, limping slightly, his blade hidden behind his back. Flock leaders were smarter than most, but they were still dumb birds. If he approached too aggressively, it would flee, but if he pretended to be hurt, it would take the chance for an easy meal, giving him the opening he needed to kill it in a single swipe.

However, when Archimedes drew within a few meters, something flashed across his vision. He froze, a sudden pinching in his chest making him furrow his brow. His vision wavered slightly as he looked down to find a wrist-thick barbed tentacle sticking out of his chest. The tentacle twitched and retracted… back into the open mouth of the Grassbreaker. Archimedes stared at the gaping hole where his heart should be, then collapsed to his knees before toppling to his side.

As the darknesses crept over his vision, Archimedes saw Grassbreaker strolling past him toward the wiggling bundle behind him. As it did, its form twisted and shifted from a large flock leader to an elegantly dressed older human man.

The penguin-turned-man, dressed in a fine suit, stared down at the small bundle and stroked his thick, black and white peppered beard. His eyes narrowed, and he pulled out a small black amulet from his coat pocket. He let the amulet hang loose in the air, then channeled some spirit energy through it. It swung wildly for a moment before snapping into place, pointing directly at the cloth-wrapped bundle.

The old man sighed and returned the amulet to his pocket before mumbling to himself.

“So… It seems the young Master was correct. Who would have thought even you could be so cruel, Metis? No matter.”

With that, he picked the bundle up and walked away.

As he did so, Archimedes reached out with a bloodstained hand and grabbed the man’s ankle. The old man looked down at the dying kidnapper and tsked, kicking himself free from the man’s weak grip before walking a few more meters and sinking into the ground.

Once the man was gone, Archimedes coughed a bloody laugh and pulled out a small ring. With the last of his strength, he smeared his blood on the ring’s surface and crushed his [Positioning Jade].

Archimedes gave a blood-smeared smile and mumbled.

“Bloody fool…”

Then the light fled his eyes.

========

An hour later, a masked figure materialized from the wind beside Archimedes’ stiff body. Silently, the figure pushed the stiff body over and examined the wound before doing the same to the rest of the field. Finding nothing more, they pulled out a large string of bright red beads and performed several hand seals, channeling spirit energy through them.

The air wavered, and a thick mist formed in the area. Inside the mist, figures moved. Though no details or sound could be seen, they perfectly mimicked the events of an hour past. The masked figure watched with interest, making notes as needed. A short while later, the mists dissipated, and the masked figure returned to Archimedes’ body, stripping it of several items and collecting the bloody ring.

The figure channeled more spirit energy into the ring and smiled under their mask at the results. Archimedes had never been the most talented or even smartest of them.

But one thing could be said for sure.

He had definitely been the pettiest.

A gust of wind blew through the clearing, and like a drawing in the dust, the masked figure vanished.