Chapter 17- Smoke, alcohol and fire

"Holy baholy, this place fucking stinks!"

"Merc, it is shit. It's supposed to stink."

"But why does it stink so bad?! Couldn't humans figure out some way to make our assholes smell better so that it doesn't reek? We are supposed to be at the top of the food chain after all, aren't we?"

"I think I liked it a lot better when you just kept wanting to burn things and didn't ask me so many goddamn questions."

The three were now in the sewers, trying to keep as close to the walls as they possibly could without touching them. Ball could walk, though it was more akin to a drunkard who had too much than they could handle.

"Hey! You guys made it!"

Mantis sat nearby, keeping his legs away from the filthy sewage water. He outstretched his arms, waiting to receive a hug as Gemini rushed towards him.

The detective had the living daylights punched out of him, falling into the sludge of the sewage flowing nearby.

If Gemini's punch had drawn blood, he couldn't taste it through all the sewage in his mouth.

"Y'know Mantis, I've seen you do a lot of scummy shit in the past few years, but abandoning your team during a heist probably takes the cake." Gemini spat.

"That's rich, coming from a conman. But, you're right. I should've told you, except we kinda had an unexpected giant hound that screwed the pooch with our plans. Escaping during the mission was the last resort for me." Mantis said, dripping with sewage water from his face and arms.

"So you could run away and leave us to die?"

Mantis scoffed. "Quit being so dramatic. With Merc's new invention, I'm pretty sure you could've taken on the entire town by yourself. The reason that I had to run away is that I still need to get paid by them."

Gemini was about to argue, until Merc cleared his throat, glancing at Ball.

"Did they buy it?" Mantis asked.

"I think they did. We weren't followed down here. Escape plan went off without a hitch." Merc answered while Gemini sulked in silence.

Mantis smiled as he remembered planning for the escape. They knew that they would never be able to outrun the Assassins or the Mafia, even on carriage or horseback. The best option was to go off-radar. Completely.

So, they decided to fake their own deaths.

Merc had rigged an explosive to blow and opened the small trapdoor below the carriage, sliding into the sewage system through the manhole positioned underneath for them to escape.

Their pursuers would investigate the remains of the carriage whilst the group escaped scot-free.

"Now that you're all officially dead, here's your cut."

Mantis handed them the agreed-upon sum of Bitma. They accepted the money, not really bothering to argue for a bigger payment. Most of the group ended up getting something more valuable during the heist anyway.

The group walked in silence for a while, their footsteps echoing through the dark and damp tunnels until they reached another manhole exit nearby.

"Sorry about earlier," Gemini said.

"It's fine. To be honest, after about half an hour I was genuinely considering leaving you behind and finishing up my case." Mantis chuckled.

Gemini smiled. "Oh yeah? What made you stick around? Was it the power of friendship?"

Mantis snorted. The sound echoed through the tunnels and spooked Merc.

"No. I kinda forgot that you would have all the copies of the archives during the escape." Mantis said, sheepishly.

"Didn't have a contingency plan for that?"

"Hey, I'm a detective, not an oracle." Mantis shrugged.

Merc dropped down from the manhole. "It's clear."

The group left the sewers, emerging a few feet away from a town sign nearby.

"Seems we're right next to Spiti." Gemini pointed out.

"Yeah. I'm going to tie up all the loose ends and close this case. What about you guys?" Mantis asked, taking his copy of the records from the archives from Gemini.

"Now that I'm finally off-radar, it's back to prison for me. Plus, this whole experience has given me a few more tricks up my sleeve." Ball said, before bending over and throwing up.

"You ok?" Gemini asked, patting his back.

"Yeah. Paralysis is one hell of a bluuuugh…"

As Ball projectile vomited all over the floor, Merc cleared his throat.

"I'm thinking I should start making stuff. That was a lot of fun when we created the Boomstick."

"The Boomstick? Is that what you called it?" Gemini asked.

"Yup. Could you imagine how many more people would join me in burning shit if I made it more fun with all those gadgets?" Merc said.

"You'd certainly give Ball more company during his prison visits." Mantis pointed out.

"No thank you. The company in prison is not quite as fun as you might think. The last cellmate I had was terrible." Ball sighed.

"Pedophile?" Gemini asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Pedophile." Ball nodded.

The group groaned in disgust and annoyance.

"What about you, conman?" Merc asked.

"Well, this was my last big score. I'm going to go enjoy what I got out of it now."

"And that would be?" Merc asked him.

"After I find some buyers, money. Lots of money. Besides, it isn't easy getting info on the Assassins operations. I suspect a lot of filthy rich Elite Nobelists would pay me an entire mansion to get their grubby paws on this." Gemini said, patting the sack filled with the copy of the records.

"Nice. Seems like you got that figured out."

"Yeah."

The group stood awkwardly in the middle of the night, just outside the town of Spiti. A carriage was passing by, so Gemini stopped it.

"I guess it'll be a while before we see each other again. Y'know, with most of us being off-radar and whatnot." Gemini said.

"Yup. I guess so. But, you never know. The next time I've got to break into another fortress, I might call you guys again." Mantis said with a smirk.

The detective's three friends laughed.

"Yeah, right. If you can find us, then maybe we'll consider risking our asses to help you out." Ball wiped a tear from his eye.

"I'm heading back to my shop. I've got a new section of goods to re-organize." Gemini said, climbing into the carriage.

"I'll come with you! Prisons are probably on full alert right now, so I'll break into another one tomorrow morning." Ball said, hopping into the carriage with Gemini.

"You coming, arsonist?" Gemini asked.

"Nah. I've got some business here in Spiti. I'll leave for the Bounty Hunter's guild tomorrow morning." Merc said, shaking his head.

"Cool. See you around, pyromaniac."

"See you around, scam artist."

Gemini smirked and closed the door as the carriage rode off into the distance. Eventually, the sound of horses trotting and squeaky wheels faded away.

Merc turned to leave, before being stopped by Mantis.

"You want to grab a drink before you leave? There's a bar nearby, an old friend of mine runs the place." Mantis said.

"Sure. I could use some booze in my system after today."

As Merc walked towards the bar, Mantis looked at the stars above, glimmering in the night sky. The moon was still not out yet, but it still shone with brilliant radiance behind the dark clouds.

He would have admired and truly appreciated the view if it wasn't for a large crack on one of his lenses. Taking off his glasses, he sighed and cleaned them on the sleeve of his shirt.

Wonder how much Ted's changed up the place since I was last here.

________________________________________________________________

The man squirmed in his seat. He tried to break free of the ropes tying his hands. But, no matter how much he pulled and tugged, the rope wouldn't snap.

"Hello?" The man called out, unsure if anyone could hear him.

His eyes were open, but all he could see was darkness.

Suddenly, the black cloth covering his eyes vanished. He was seated at a lonely steel table that reflected the harsh white light of the bulb hanging overhead. The bulb flickered on and off momentarily as he heard footsteps. Turning his head around, he tried to see if anyone was lurking in the darkness of the room.

The man tried to find a door to escape. If there was one, his best chance would be to run right behind him, since he couldn't make out any boundaries of the room that he was trapped in.

"Mr. Joseph Anderson."

The man looked in front of him as he heard his name. He was so anxious that he hadn't even noticed the other chair on the opposite end of the table.

"Who are you? What do you want?" Joseph asked, trying in vain to loosen the knots on the ropes around his wrists.

"If you don't mind, I'll be asking the questions now. And I wouldn't try that, Mr. Anderson. Struggling against those ropes will just chafe your skin, so try not to be so…you know…squirmy." The voice said before Joseph saw a figure near the chair.

The figure slammed a yellow file onto the table, filled with documents and various other notes and papers. The sudden noise made Joe nearly topple his chair over. Joe heard the figure use a retractable pen. The clicking sound of the pen echoed through the empty room. With each click, Joseph could feel his heart thump.

A thin, tall man with circle framed glasses sat down. His eyes were worn and wrinkled as he looked at Joe and opened his file.

"So, Mr. Anderson. You don't mind if I call you Joe, do you? I hope we don't have to be so formal while I ask you these questions. It'll be quick. I promise." The man said to Joseph, absent-mindedly clicking his pen.

"But w…what do you want from m…me?" Joseph asked him.

The man took out a lighter and a pack of cigarettes. Holding a cigarette with one hand, he brought it up to his lips before flicking on the lighter.

"You smoke, Joe?" The man asked, offering the pack to him.

Joe shook his head. "Good man. They're terrible things." said the man, adjusting his glasses as he blew out a puff of smoke.

Joe looked at the man like he was a nutcase. Maybe he really was.

"If you know it's bad for you, then why do you do it?" Joe asked like he was speaking to a moron.

The man smiled. "I do like a curious person. Although the next time you want to ask me a question without permission, I can't say I'll excuse it since you are wasting my precious time."

Joe grew tight-lipped as the man opened the yellow file and set his cigarette aside. The smoke made Joe cough slightly. The man seemed to notice it and put the cigarette out.

"This is a question I like to ask most people when they first meet me. What would you do if you knew how you were going to die?" The man asked.

Joe gritted his teeth in fear. The man was definitely a nutcase.

"I don't know. Maybe avoid whatever it is that kills me? Try to be careful wherever I go?" Joe asked, unsure of where this conversation was going.

Mantis tapped his teeth with the pen before clicking it. "The usual answer. Shame. I was hoping that you would provide some more insight."

"Insight? Into what?" Joe asked, sweating nervously as the man scribbled something down.

"Some insight into what I'm supposed to do."

Joe raised an eyebrow in confusion but then felt his heart skip a beat as he realized what the man was implying. The man noticed Joe's face and smiled.

"Figured it out already? Perhaps I should hire you. You see, I have quite a peculiar ability. By simply meeting someone, I'm able to know exactly how they die in the future."

Joe laughed nervously. "You're delusional."

"Maybe I am. But here's my second question. Would you like to find out how you die?"

Joe looked at the man as he ripped apart a piece of paper. "Why…what the hell is this?! You still haven't told me why I'm here…or…or who you are!"

The man began clicking his pen rhythmically once again.

"Apologies. My name is Mantis. Mantis Captio. The reason I've…persuaded you to come here is so that I can have some assistance with my latest assignment." Mantis said, holding his hand out for Joe to shake.

Joe looked at Mantis with an annoyed glare. Mantis remembered that he had tied up Joe and withdrew his hand awkwardly before clearing his throat.

"I was assigned to track down a murderer for a very important client. They usually kill any people they interrogate."

Joe began breathing heavily as Mantis grew quiet. He also emitted slight involuntary whimpers when he saw Mantis smiling. The man's dark skin tone glistened with sweat as he took off his glasses to clean them.

"But don't worry. I'll let you off with a slap on the wrist. All I want is details and information. And since you're a trader in Spiti, it should be pretty easy for you." Mantis said.

"Anything. Just please let me go. I have a wife and daughter…" Joe whimpered.

Mantis groaned in annoyance. "Never tell an interrogator that you have family, you dumb, sodding tic-tac! Do you want me to interrogate them too?"

"No! No, please." Joe immediately said.

Mantis sighed as he opened a notepad. "How long have you been in Spiti?"

"Just yesterday. I've mostly been managing my wares. Haven't sold anything yet." Joe said, forcing himself to calm down.

Mantis nodded. "Have you heard of a merchant by the name of Enteico?"

"Yes! Yes, I know him. He runs a shop called the Moonlighter, near the town square where the Champion of Spiti and his Platoon has their headquarters." Joe said, desperately.

Mantis jotted down something in his notepad. "Is he the only one running the establishment?"

Stolen novel; please report.

Joe shook his head. "No, he has an employee, though I've heard recently that he managed to get a blacksmith as well."

"There are three of them?"

"Yes, as per what I've heard. Although I imagine it'll be slightly difficult to find him now."

"How so?" Mantis asked, scribbling on his notepad.

"I was near the town square earlier today. I saw that his shop was destroyed in the recent attack by the Assassins. I think it was the Alysides clan." Joe said.

Mantis stopped scribbling. He clicked his pen once.

"The pieces add up."

Joe watched as Mantis put the notebook down onto the table, stood up and began pacing around the room. To Joe's surprise, Mantis was not writing notes. It appeared that Mantis had doodled a very flaccid and very hairy penis, complete with individual strands of hair around the base.

Mantis held out the notebook for Joe to get a closer look. "It's pretty good. Sometimes I think I should quit my job as a private investigator and start pursuing my artistic talents. Wouldn't you agree?"

Joe forced a smile. "Definitely."

Good god, no.

"What about his employees?" Mantis asked.

"Well, I've heard that the blacksmith joined them to settle off a debt to the Champion's brother, who runs his own shop. As for his other employee, no one really knows much about him. He showed up with Enteico one day and the two of them have run the shop together since then. I believe his name is Keith."

Mantis sat back down, looking at Joe directly in the eyes before closing his file. "One more thing, before I let you go."

Joe let out a sigh of relief. "Sure. Go ahead."

"Take off your clothes."

Joe looked at Mantis, who appeared to be dead serious.

"What?"

________________________________________________________________

Mantis adjusted his trousers. They were a little too short for him and he felt uncomfortable in his nether regions.

Still, it was worth it to get the job done.

He propped up a sign next to a small tree near the town square. A few people passed by and purchased some supplies from the bags he had taken from Joe. A man approached him and asked for some sugar. He thanked Mantis and gave him a small amount of Bitma before going on his usual routine.

Mantis saw him walk near the edge of town, unaware of the bandits roaming the area. The men leered near him with their weapons in hand.

The men stabbed him and took whatever belongings he was carrying. They hastily covered the body before lying in wait for their next victim to approach.

"Excuse me?"

Mantis snapped back to reality. "Yeah. Sorry, had my head in the clouds."

The man shook his head. "It's fine. We all have our problems. I hope business is going well today."

Mantis nodded. "It is. I received a big order from some important clients recently. Almost done with it as well."

The man checked his inventory and pulled out some Bitma. "That's good to hear."

"What was it you wanted again?" Mantis asked.

"Oh. Just a packet of sugar, please."

Mantis stopped before he handed over the packet. He felt the small individual grains inside it slowly crumble out of his grasp as he stood completely motionless.

"Is there something wrong? Has the price for sugar increased again these days?" The man asked, opening up his inventory again.

Mantis forced a smile at the man and handed him the packet.

"It costs the same as it always has."

The man gave his thanks and hummed a little lullaby he sung for his daughter every night for her bedtime. The sugar was the last thing he needed to make her favorite strawberry pudding. The smile on her face was going to be the highlight of his day. He walked towards the edge of town as the wind howled briefly.

Mantis leant against the sign he had next to the tree and took out a cigarette.

"Hi. Could I have some baking flour and some cheese?"

Mantis kept his unlit cigarette in his mouth and looked at the young man in front of him. "Sure. That'll be 250 Bitma."

The man rummaged through the pockets of his trenchcoat and his inventory. "Not really very fluid on funds right now. All I got is a 100." He said apologetically.

Mantis stared at him curiously. "It's fine, I'll take it. What's your name?"

"Enteico. It's nice to meet you."

"Aren't you the merchant who runs the Moonlighter shop nearby?" Mantis asked.

Enteico winced. "Ran. Past tense. The shop's kinda in…shambles."

"Right. Forgot about that. Sorry."

"No, it's cool. What about you? New in town?" Enteico asked, handing over the Bitma to Mantis.

"Yeah. Passing through on the way to the Central Kingdom."

Enteico whistled. "That's almost three days away on horseback. Do you need me to set you up with someone who can lend you a horse?"

"No, I plan to stay here for a bit."

The two didn't say anything. Mantis clutched his fists as he stared at Enteico, who was picking up a few other ingredients that Mantis was selling and observed them.

"I heard that the Assassins were here recently. Was anyone hurt?" Mantis asked.

"No, not really. The Alysides Clan attacked to find something in Spiti, apparently."

Mantis realized that Enteico appeared to be uncomfortable and tried to change the subject, trying to hide a smile since he could easily tell the merchant was hiding something.

I'm willing to bet my left nutsack that you know exactly what they were looking for.

"What about your family? Friends? Colleagues?"

"My employees were…amidst the chaos. They survived, but the attack has brought up a lot of…trauma…for lack of a better word."

"I see. Well, it was nice talking to you. If you ever want to talk again, be it business or just a few drinks, I'm sure I can spare a few minutes. So, don't be shy."

Enteico smiled. "Sure. Maybe next time I can give you a full tour of the town as well. It's not much, but Spiti's a nice place if you know where to go."

Mantis nodded. "Thank you, Enteico. I hope I see you again soon."

Enteico shook his hand. "Likewise."

Mantis took the cigarette out of his mouth. For the first time in his life, he didn't light a cigarette once he had taken it out of the pack.

Every time he met someone, the first thing he learned about them was the way they would die. He didn't have a choice.

Every time he met someone; all he saw was death. As a result, he seldom cared about other people's lives, choosing to satiate his curiosity instead of wasting his time feigning empathy.

But Enteico was different.

Because Mantis couldn't see anything when he met him.

Unable to hold back his smile, Mantis threw the pack of cigarettes into the trashcan nearby.

This might just be the biggest case of my career. And I'm about to crack it wide open.

________________________________________________________________

Mantis came in through the bar entrance. This was where Enteico had asked to meet him to discuss the terms of a business deal that Mantis had planned to meet the other employees who ran the shop and gain more intel on Keith.

With all the information he had gathered from conversations with Enteico and the townspeople, Mantis was able to confirm that Keith was indeed not in town and had been sent on an errand to Kleise, where Sagi was last seen.

"Ughh, remind me why I have to be the one as your escort?"

"Because it's actually easier for me to find a girlfriend than to find Felix."

"Ah, right. Maybe he's hooking up with your sister."

Enteico and Keith greeted Mantis as the two of them sat in their usual seats. Mantis observed the two men. Enteico's trenchcoat was a little worn down, but for the most part, the merchant was dressed neatly as usual.

"This is Keith. He's my business partner." Enteico said.

"Hey. Don't mind me, I'll be trying not to fall asleep over here." Keith said, ordering a cup of coffee.

Keith reeked of alcohol. His breath was so repulsive that the bartender considered asking him to wear a facemask so he wouldn't chase away the other customers.

Or maybe a hazmat suit would have suited him better.

The bartender smirked at the thought and left the three men to go clean up the other tables.

Enteico took away Keith's drink so that he could speak with him. The white-haired man had been gulping down bottle after bottle with disinterest in the world around him.

"This might actually be the most you've drunk in one day," Enteico said, with concern in his voice.

Keith rolled his eyes as if he was offended by the statement. "This is nothing. It's just been helping me out a lot with…stuff recently."

"Yokubo?"

Keith stared at the merchant like he had grown a third head. "What?! Nooo. That's stupid. She didn't want to talk to me and that's her choice. I should just accept that is all."

"Girl troubles?" Mantis smirked.

"Look, I don't have any girl troubles! It's not like I come crying the next day at work because the girl I liked is a manipulative, deceptive ass wipe that likes to hand out with golden armored dickheads." Keith grumbled.

"Hey, come on man. Not cool." Enteico whined.

"It's not an opinion, it's just facts."

"Yeah, but that was a low blow. Even for you."

"It'll be fine. Women come and go, there's nothing we can do about it." Mantis said.

"Yeah. No point in getting wrapped up in the past." Keith said, ordering another glass of Moon Juice.

Enteico paled. "Dude, you've had nearly 20 glasses so far. Knock it off."

"You go on with your business deal or whatever. I'm just going to turn off my systems for a while." Keith said.

"Actually, I'll pay for it. Another round, please." Mantis nodded.

The bartender appeared to be slightly hesitant, but then nodded and poured Keith another glass of Moon Juice.

"Thanks." Keith burped.

"It's fine. We all need to run away from our problems every once in a while, right?" Mantis asked.

Keith looked at Mantis with a frown. "Yeah."

As Mantis and Enteico discussed their prices and the number of goods that Mantis would sell to them, he paid close attention to the white-haired man next to him. Keith's movements were lazy, carefree and lacked all rationale.

Keith began mumbling something about dead grandfathers and how stupid marriage was.

"So, if we set up a route through Kleise, we might be able to establish a proper trading route from Spiti to the Central Kingdom, without having to cut through the forest to get to the Kingdom. Although, we would still need to sort out any bandit raids along the way…" Enteico explained.

"Speaking of Kleise, did you see the Monarch Tournament this year?" Mantis asked, pretending like he was making small talk.

"No, unfortunately. I heard that this year it had some amazing competitors. I think Keith was able to catch the final match in action. Didn't you?" Enteico asked Keith.

"Yeah. I did. But I didn't stay there for long. Y'know, had a lot of business to take care of." Keith said.

"Well, it's a good thing you left. Apparently, there was a murder in that area." Mantis said, looking at Keith for a split second.

"What?" Enteico asked, immediately turning to Keith.

"Wouldn't know anything about it. Didn't see anything about a dead body in the recent papers, though. You would think Kleise would issue a warning about a killer on the loose recently." Keith said, briefly glaring at Mantis.

"Well, there were the reports of that platoon of bodyguards killed recently. The Elite Nobelists are pissed. Can't imagine the killer could stay in hiding for much longer." Mantis said, forcing his cheeks to form a smile.

"You know, for a trader, you sure seem to know a lot about these murders," Keith said, unknowingly gripping his bottle tighter.

"Word gets around. And I think you should probably lay off on the drinks. You're about to break that bottle." Mantis pointed out.

Keith didn't even notice the cracks forming on the bottle where he was clutching it. His palm had turned white.

"Heheh. I know things have been intense around here, but I assure you my friend is just having some personal problems." Enteico said, kicking Keith under the counter discreetly.

"Sorry, I just thought you might've seen something. After all, you did say you were there on the day of the tournament. That was apparently the day the murder was committed." Mantis said to Keith, apologetically.

"I was. That doesn't mean I was out killing people."

Mantis chuckled. "I'm just curious. I didn't mean any offense."

Enteico laughed forcibly. "Yeah, sorry. Everyone's a little on edge since the attack. Except for Keith, he's always been this way."

The three sat in silence for a while. The bar was unusually quiet. Enteico could hear the bartender clean the mugs and glasses of the customers with his cloth, the fabric making a squeaking sound that pierced the air.

Keith lifted the glass bottle to his lips. It was almost empty. The bartender went around, pulling and dragging tables around to accommodate the other customers.

"I apologize if I came off as hostile. I'm just concerned with the safety of my future clients. After all, you've been through enough with the Assassins attacking your town. I heard you two put up quite a fight." Mantis said.

Keith gritted his teeth. "Yeah."

"I certainly hope they won't attack again. Your town still seems to be recovering from the assault. Though, I imagine there's nothing special about a town like Spiti for them to come back a second time." Mantis said, sipping on a glass of champagne.

Keith set down his bottle with a thud, making Enteico jump in his seat.

"You seem to be very interested in the Assassins."

"As I said; I'm simply a curious man." Mantis shrugged.

"Anyway, now that we've gone over the plans, I'll make the necessary arrangements for you to send the materials over," Enteico spoke a little louder than he usually did. He didn't want this conversation to escalate.

Keith stared at Mantis momentarily before he stood up.

"It was a delight to meet you officially. I'm looking forward to working with you in the future." Mantis said, holding out his hand for Keith to shake.

Keith looked at Mantis and briefly glanced at Enteico. Keith stood up and looked at Mantis in the eyes. The white-haired reflection of the glasses stared back at Keith.

"Sure. Though I will warn you, I don't tend to like it when people ruin deals out of nowhere." Keith said, with a hidden warning flashing in his eyes as he looked at Mantis.

Mantis nodded. "Neither do I. That's why I only work with people who intrigue me. Rest assured; I always have a contingency plan in case things go wrong."

"Do they always work?" Keith asked.

"Most of the time. People are very predictable."

Mantis thanked the two of them, telling them that he needed some time to take care of a previous order before he could start working with them and walked out of the bar.

The detective sighed. Keith was certainly connected with Sagi's death.

The fact that Mantis was being followed by Keith certainly confirmed that.

As the sky turned dark and the sun vanished from the horizon, Mantis was all too aware of the trees dancing in the wind around him. The detective walked further into the forest. The Assassins had asked him to deliver his finished report to a hidden camp located deep within the forests of Spiti.

The detective heard some rustling in the trees nearby. Shadows flitted through the darkness out of the corner of his eye. Before long, he reached the Assassin camp. The Assassins posted at the gate forced him to halt and checked Mantis to see if he was carrying any weapons. A bush nearby shook slowly from the wind.

He's certainly good at tailing people, I'll give him that.

"He's clear, let him in. He has a report for the commander."

Mantis entered the central camp, led inside by two Assassins. It seemed most of the people here were the survivors of the attack on Spiti recently. Most of them had retreated to lick their wounds and to live another day.

The detective saw a man with scrapes and cuts all around his face. Another woman had a broken arm. A man next to her seemed to be unconscious, his head wrapped in three layers of cloth that were bloody and damp.

"Wow, you guys are really beat up. Must've been one hell of an army defending Spiti, huh?" Mantis snickered.

The Assassin escorting Mantis gave him the stink eye as a tall man with almost three layers of eyeliner entered the camp, barking out orders. The Assassins waited for the man to finish speaking with a scout before speaking with him.

"Commander, may we discuss something in private?" One Assassin asked.

"What is it? Between having that Halloween cosplayer deserting us during the attack and having to suddenly clean all your shitstains because you couldn't do your jobs properly, I'm a little more than busy at the moment." The man growled.

The Assassins shrunk slightly. "Yes sir, but this is the private investigator we hired."

The commander looked at Mantis for a while. "I don't recall having spent such valuable time on recruiting a slouching smoker."

Mantis looked behind him as if he wasn't the subject of their conversation and randomly yelled at an Assassin passing by. "You heard him, you slouching smoker! Stop slouching and smoking!"

"Of course, it had to be a smartass as well." The commander grunted.

"He's the one who was investigating the death of Sagi." An Assassin whispered.

The commander looked at the Assassin, with a look of blatant indifference.

"Sagi's dead? Huh, didn't know that. That's the one who cooks chicken teriyaki every Sunday back at HQ, right?" The commander scratched his head.

"No, sir. That would be Gordon. Sagi was assigned to train the…asset." The Assassin said, lowering his voice.

The camp began to speak in murmurs and hushed whispers. The commander tapped his chin and nodded.

"Ah. My sympathies are with those close to him. Fret not, for his death was for the greater good."

The Assassins in the camp nodded in agreement.

The commander looked at Mantis. "Why are you still here?"

The detective's left eye twitched slightly. "There is the small matter of my payment. I'm not a fucking charity case here. Investigating your case made quite a dent in my wallet."

"We don't need your report. If that's all, then please leave. I've got better things to do and I'm sure there's a housewife out there looking for your services on her husband's secret affair with his maid."

Mantis scowled, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it. The Assassin next to him glared at the detective as he puffed out a small cloud of smoke.

The commander squeezed the bridge of his nose with his fingers. If anything, it seemed like the detective actually annoyed him.

Sheesh. I'm pretty sure prostitutes get their pay with less reluctance from their customers than this.

"I'll need the 1000 Bitma payment. I'm a busy man and the world's a busy place." Mantis asked, holding out his hand.

"Does it seem like I'm satisfied with your service?" The commander asked.

"Satisfaction is not what I offer. It's the truth, plain and simple."

The commander grinned. "And the truth is, we're not satisfied, plain and simple. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have other things to be taking care of."

The commander motioned for the Assassin next to Mantis to escort him outside the camp forcefully. As they held the detective at knifepoint, the commander tossed the detective's report into the small bag full of trash nearby.

The Assassin stood next to the commander. "What do we do with him?"

The commander waved her aside. "The usual. The protocol still applies in this situation. No witnesses. We can't take any chances if he knows about Sagi's mission."

The Assassin looked at the other two Assassins outside and signalled for them to execute Mantis once he left the camp. The commander didn't want his camp to get stained with any more blood.

The carpets would take forever to get cleaned.

As Mantis walked outside the camp, the Assassin pushed him forward.

"Keep walking. And get rid of that cigarette."

"That's heartwarming. You're going to kill me, yet you're concerned about my health. I beginning to think the world just misunderstands Assassins."

The Assassins looked at each other, slightly surprised that Mantis was so nonchalant even though he was fully aware of their plan to execute him.

"Quite hot outside, isn't it? I hope you have enough water at your camp, river nearby's probably all dried up." The detective said, squinting as he looked up at the bright cloudless sky.

An Assassin punched him in the gut, making Mantis bend forward and groan in pain.

"Get moving. You're wasting our time."

"Hmph. Alright then." Mantis said.

He flicked the cigarette away and blew his final cloud of smoke at the Assassin loathingly. The Assassins escorted him to the edge of the camp and forced him to kneel down.

"I'll give you credit where credit's due, you don't kick and scream as much as other people. I respect someone who accepts their death with dignity." One of the Assassins said, unsheathing a dadao sword.

Mantis grinned.

"I know when I'm going to die. And it's not today."

The Assassin noticed his partner was missing. He turned around before he felt the cold steel of a blade cut through his neck. The world tumbled upside down.

The last thing the man could register before his head was decapitated was a black jacket and blood-stained gauntlets.

Keith looked at Mantis, who was kneeling on the ground.

"Why are you still down there?" Keith asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Look, I've been travelling all the way from Kleise to the Elite Nobelist headquarters, to Spiti, to this godforsaken dump on foot. I don't have the hormones to do this shit anymore, so cut me some slack." Mantis groaned.

Keith shrugged, but he still pointed the Blades of Alysides at Mantis.

"You with the Assassins?" Keith asked.

Mantis stretched his legs. "Nope. They didn't pay me for my services, so I don't have anything to do with them anymore."

Keith retracted his blades. "Wai…soooo…I don't have to fight you?"

Mantis shrugged. "You're welcome to. I'm not going to die here anyway."

"You sure are confident, especially considering they nearly killed you. Plus, they are Assassins after all. I don't think that's something people take lightly." Keith said.

"People are overrated. Just like these wannabe cultists. But I guess I should thank you. You did follow me and save my life." Mantis said as he took out another cigarette and flicked on his lighter. No flame appeared from it.

Keith was about to accept the detective's gratitude when he realized something.

"You knew I was following you."

Mantis held the lighter and tapped it lightly. "I knew you were sharper than the others."

"So, what was your contingency plan if the Assassins actually paid you?" Keith asked quickly, without turning back to look at Mantis.

"Hmm. Whatever it was, I probably would have ended up with a bonus. Anyway, I'm going back to my office. Try taking the roads this time without hopping around the trees like a monkey." Mantis said.

A bonus? What on earth is he…

The realization hit Keith like a lightning bolt punctuated by the flick of the detective's lighter. Mantis went to a camp full of Assassins and Keith followed him. If Keith was the contingency plan against the Assassins, then the Assassins would've been the alternate contingency if he did actually get paid.

Keith no longer saw the detective in the same light as when he first met. The man had manipulated a powerful group of Assassins and Keith like it was child's play.

His cunning and tenacity were his true weapons. Going up against him unprepared was not a mistake Keith wanted to commit anytime soon.

Keith ran to catch up with Mantis. "Hold on! Geez, you scurry around like a grasshopper."

"You got something to say to me, kid?" Mantis asked.

"I'm the same age as you are. Think you might need new glasses."

Mantis turned around to walk away.

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding," Keith said.

Keith cleared his throat. "So, was I right earlier? Are you an investigator?"

Mantis sighed. "No, I'm the mascot for Charlie's Chonkers."

Keith paused. "Really?"

Mantis bonked Keith on the head. "No, you nitwit. Could you tell me what you want so that I can say no already and go back to my office?"

"I want to hire you on a job," Keith said, rubbing his head.

"Tempting, but I think I'll pass."

"I need your help to protect Enteico. There's a blacksmith by the name of Felix. I… I don't trust him. I need you to find out more about him. " Keith said, quickly.

Mantis stopped. "And you'll pay me?"

Keith scoffed. "Yeah. I mean, technically Enteico'll be paying you. Without his knowledge, of course."

An Assassin spotted the two outside the camp. He ran back to the camp and yelled, alerting the camp and the Assassins within.

Keith pulled out a small canister of Moon Juice and took a long swig from it.

Mantis flicked on his lighter as the small flame flickered around in the darkness.

The two looked back and forth between the lighter and the small canister of alcohol with a grin on their faces before turning back to the camp.