"Should... Be safe..." I weakly comment as I start to push away the ice that had sealed me in. However, I couldn't tell if it was colder inside the cave or out of it. Not that it really mattered. I'd freeze to death if I spent any longer in this snow-belt.

A more embarrassing end to my life then anything Jhurack could do... I would have died out here nowhere near my goal. At least, up there, I could die trying to save her! Larishazza...

"Just a bit more..." I say in an effort to keep myself awake. Whatever drove me to climb through this place before, it must have not been here. Or I had simply lost the strength... In retrospect, neither reality made sense.

The woman I loved, the one who meant the world to me was being held hostage. A blade was held above her and it could end her life at any moment. So why could I not draw on my fury as I did before? I know I had to hype myself up for this!

"DAMMIT! MOVE! MOVE!" I started to roar at myself as my claws smashed into the ice again and again. To my growing, fearful disappointment, however... I was losing my way. Every attempt felt harder and harder until ice just could not be pierced.

I did not cry, though, I just stared at how cold even my breath had become. Flinching often as bits of sharp snow shot about my eyes. But, as I went motionless, moving only in my mind. I started to feel for my magic.

And I slowly moved one chilling arm behind and under. Desperately, I thought of something that could just shoot me out of this ice. And, with a boom, something came out. I rolled along the grass soon after but nearly rolled off again.

"No... No!" I said to myself as I panted underneath the warm light. Rubbing and rolling across all the grass I could to brush off the snow before I slowly got up. At first, I held onto a tree, gently squeezing it as my blood flowed once again. Then, I started to walk once more.

I stopped initially once I saw Suhurlodst, but I shook my head and turned to the other place. I stared at that city for a good few moments before I started move again. I hobbled at first, still shivering from the cold. Yet, finally, my body started to loosen up and I began to run.

Stumbling and falling often as my weakened body was forced to endure this leech-like city. To my surprise as well, the patrol craft that caught me and Rose before... They ignored me, they just flew on by. Not even to just watch me...

That was fine by me and welcomed wholeheartedly. The less things and people that got in my way the better. Lari needed saving... I needed to save her...

Now that I was done surviving, my strength could go towards her. I would be her hero and pay her back... The debt that she was too kind to call in... I would have it resolved and I would have her back!

"Wait for me..." I gasp as I started to feel tired and more importantly, hungry. There was nothing but grass, though, so what would I eat? I was too weak to hunt and that fishing spot was nowhere in sight... My eyes did catch something better, though.

There was a small gate into the city, the guard who was near it just ran off elsewhere. I could get in through there! Steal some money or a snack and try to plan it out! I personally preferred that some food was sighted quickly...

Yet, where guards did not see me come through, others did...

"Hey! Hey!" someone called out before I stumbled into an alleyway. Eating was all that I could think about. I was desperate for food... Enough to even steal it from a child...

Somehow, I withheld the urge to steal a sandwich from a child. I just watched pathetically as others walked about with their snacks. And, like a helpless child myself, I stared into what seemed to be a restaurant with a familiar man inside...? But, seeing no opportunity to eat, I walked away.

"You look hungry." that familiar man said as the bell by the door ringed.

"I couldn't pay anyway..." I tell him as I continued to stumble away. Yet, before I fell again, he caught me and set me down on a table.

"I think I can spare something for you." he kindly tells me as he knocks some fingers against my various bloody marks.

"Thank you..." I struggle to get out as I started to take off my hat and mask. I didn't care if anyone could see my face. All I cared for was that messy compilation that was suddenly put before me. Bits here and there from other meals.

Meat that was shredded instantly off the bone. Some of which were crushed in my jaw while vegetables were lapped up. Any bread or dry stuff I had cleaned the plate completely of sauce too. And, by the end, I was gnawing on the few stubborn bits of meat.

The man laughed and then held up his hand, "That'll be twenty slabs, please."

"What...?" I angrily asked back as the bone in my mouth started to crack.

"Easy there, just playing around." he tells me as he sits down and wipes his hands with a towel. With this detail in mind, I just go back to gnawing. Throwing it down on the plate when I felt full enough.

"Hey, Abbspri, come on in!" a bearded man said as he leaned out the door. And for some reason, he sang the last three words.

"But one moment my fine chap! A man out here is in need of charity! Charity to that will invigorate him with strength!" Abbspri sang back as he shot to his feet. And even with me about, some onlookers did clap at that voice of his... A very deep, passionate one. But I had something else to listen out for.

That cruel laughter...

"Is he not coming inside?" the man at the door asked.

"I am not-" I answer on his behalf before Abbspri stops me.

"Oh, yes you are!" he sang in my face before he started gesturing at my plate. Which, reluctantly, made me follow through with his insistence. I could not pay so he'd be able to call the guards on me... This thief that stole his food as he might put it...

The reaction I saw upon entering was about as much as I expected it to be. There was a fearful reaction and a clear change in the atmosphere. At least, until a wordless song began to fill the place again. Powerful yet pleasant screams bellowed out of the men on stage.

"What do you want?" I ask him as I start to make sure that my hideous face was covered up. Yet, by his insistence, the mask stayed off. A tankard full of something strong was slammed before me and he encouraged me to drink it up. I was hesitant, but, as it was somehow making me feel warm, I drowned myself with it.

Blinking a few times before shaking some of the droplets off. Wiping them off with an offered towel shortly after. I then tried to leave, but, he kept me here. He then went around to the other end of the bar and set himself up behind it.

"What's on your mind, lad?" he asks me as I start to sneer a little.

"The same stuff as the last time I was here..." I tell him as I recall that trip with Seigunfrei. The one that preceded the ultimatum I am now experiencing the consequences of.

"So, you did it then? You went out to try and save your bird?" I was asked, his eyes nodding at all my wounds and the bloodstains that covered me.

"I went out and achieved nothing..." I spit angrily.

"Don't let it get you down, then, you're here to give it another go."

"Another go..." I repeat as that was indeed my intention. I was going to find Jhurack and tear him limb from limb... I've seen how he fights... I can go back into this better than ever.

"Do not be so hasty, lad. Take a moment to think on how it went down."

"Every moment I waste is time that the one I am doing this all for is left in danger!" I tell him as I suddenly slam a fist on his bar.

"No, lad, listen. Calm. You need focus, this anger needs to be your drive, but it cannot carry you through this."

"That makes no sense..." I mutter as it really did not. How, in the names of all that was divine, could I be driven just by anger... But not let it be there fully...?

"Then let me put it another way, take some time to learn the city. Use what you can. He's been around for thirty years, probably more. Birds of all types have never seen the sky again all over this place."

"I will never learn the city as he knows it..." I point out to him. If that was really how long he has been around, then there was no way I could match his knowledge.

"But you can, there's a whole city you can just listen to and experience." he tells me before he briefly disappears to fill some drinks for the singers. And, when he comes back to me, he enjoys a drink of his own.

"Alright, then..." I start off sarcastically, rolling my eyes at the idea, "Where should I start?"

"The public squares. And, if you can, a certain musician whose is cursed to be involved with all this." he answers, a sorrowful tone coming about towards the end.

"Who...?" I ask, curious as to who this was. If they were involved in this...?

"The one you were listening to that same night." he tells me before he gestures outside. Towards that building where I watch Lari disappear into the dark night...

"Jhurghdak?" I repeat as I read the name on the display. Was that it...? The man was accused because of a similar-sounding name...?

"Indeed, but I would suggest going somewhere with a quieter mood first. One where you are less likely to blow up in their faces." Abbspri tells me.

"If they're going to get in my way..."

"That's what I am talking about, so, I suggest you head on down to one of the Chambers of Legal and Ethical Debate. Large, round buildings made of white stone. Cloud of smoke rising from the top of them."

"What will I find there...?"

"A soothing environment for you to ask your questions in peace. And also a free place to have your attire cleaned and fixed up at." he explains, seemingly joking at the end. Admittedly, however, that would be a very nice thing for me to receive. Einervaene could no longer be trusted, so I would not need her help with my attire.

"Is there anything else I clearly need to know?" I impatiently demand as he was still insisting I stayed here.

"Yes, now, I have no problems with charity. But, news travels fast here regarding you. You no longer have the protection of that there Academy. So you'll need work to keep your pouches and pockets full."

"I can't be working when I have to save her..."

"I'm not on about bricklaying or gardening, Witch, guild work. Monster hunts. Things that you can hone your craft in. Without the Academy you need something to keep you sharp. Besides, you won't always be able to find Smiling Jhurack." he explains further.

"He intends to toy with me... I will be able to find him..." I growl in frustration as I hear him call me that name again. His 'Dance Partner' as he put it... He intended to draw this out for mere fun!

"Which is all the more reason you need to learn." he points out.

But I scoff and get up out of my seat, "I don't need money and that arrogance of his will give me my moment."

"I'll make sure to keep the doors open for longer." he remarks as I leave. And, with a sneer, I walk away from the place as it grows louder and louder with revelry. However, after a few minutes of walking, I came to realise how right he was. I needed to learn this city...

He suggested a place that discussed ethics and law. But I had no idea how that would help. It might've just been the name of the place. But how was discussing the morality of hunting Smiling Jhurack helpful?

Was I supposed to make a case for why my vengeance was just? Was I meant to seek encouragement from those who have fallen victim to Jhurack? I did not need the encouragement to do this... Everything has fallen into place to make me only want to do this...

Those I thought I could count on had turned their backs not only on me... But on Lari, too. She needed our help and I was the only one who came to her aid. They all backed away because they feared these men with guns...

And, I just couldn't help but glare intently at the nearest one as I thought about that. I had more reason than any to be scared of these men and their weapons. I was the one tormented by them for so long... Yet, in doing this, I noticed something that was off.

Back when they were first leaving Suhurlodst, another kind of soldier was keeping them in check. Those same soldiers were scattered very thinly about the city from what I had seen. Unlike the ones in brass and copper armour, however, they paid no mind to me. Their black, abyss-like features did not even turn towards me.

"Why are there soldiers from the Union of Seven-Peaks here? They should be out there!" one young man asked another as I walked by. And I suppose that question answered that somewhat. They were foreign troops. How they were meant to keep the peace, I did not know.

They had a very useful trait, though. They kept the ones who hated me away for some reason. It was as if they were looking out for me. But they were probably just making sure the law was upheld.

And, as much as I wished to scorn them all and distance myself from them. They all had a point in telling me about the illegal nature of my actions. These soldiers would become a problem once I found Jhurack again. But I needed to find a trail that lead to Jhurack...

"Jhurghdak." I repeat slowly as I stared at that building I saw him in. Yet, despite him being a lead I could work with in theory. I did not move, because what kind of musician lived in the place they worked...?

"BY THE GODS, IT'S HIM! IT'S JHURGHDAK!" a woman screamed before an excited crowd seemed to form around the building's rear. And, with that in mind, I began to head there myself. Moving what I could aside until I finally reached a perimeter. The guards did not let me closer, but I saw him.

I saw a well-dressed man with an ornamental cane and ornate mask that covered his face... The decor on that mask, however, enraged me. It was so alike Jhurack's smile... As if it was cast from a mould of it.

"Out of my way." I told the people in the crowd as I started to move out of it. This Jhurghdak had moved into an airship and he was quickly departing. Then, with as much strength as I could muster, I started to climb a small building. And I stared out at the departing aircraft.

For some reason, however, my vision started to go funny and the city seemingly grew. I started to feel nauseous and moved to clutch my head. Yet, this peculiar feeling disappeared soon. So, after making sure I was alright, I started to run.

I leapt the gaps between buildings and grappled onto the ledges. Throwing myself over low-hanging roofs before I rolled along them. Sometimes, I went down onto signs but I always went back up. There was still a lot I had to learn from Larishazza, but she had taught me enough for now.

I could only smile in anticipation for that wake-up, tearful hug from her. To have her smile so brightly as I told her how what she had taught me let me save her... I know she probably didn't need to see it or know it. But the idea of it alone made me happy!

And it once again reminded me of how I needed to do this. I could not overstate how important she was to me... And I had to learn how to make that clear to others. If I could tell others about why I was doing this...

"Of course..." I found myself commenting as I came to realise why Abbspri told me about those halls. If the law was to get in my way, I could argue passionately about why this needed to be done. I could reference how their soldiers have failed year after year against this man. I could appeal to those who have also lost loved ones to this madman!

For now, however, I intended to focus on the man whose home I seemed to have arrived at. Or, rather, the grand hotel he was staying at. In a way, the decadence of it reminded me of my first time on the upper floors of Tobaballe. But the size of this building created an issue, how was I meant to get up there...?

Its walls were smooth and fine. My magic was being sucked away at and I was weak from the cold. I suppose the best I could do was work my way up from within the building... Thankfully, this building had a few lesser ones next to it.

"Give it back to me..." I demanded from the city as I prepared to jump once I got into position. Yet, my initial jump left me stumbling backwards once I realised how little I could muster. Within this city, I could not jump like I did in the valleys below. I had to go about this smarter...

So I tore a flag pole down and looked for an opening. A feeling of nervousness began to overtake me, yet, I still leapt with that pole. And, I just barely reached an open window in this building. Fear filled me slightly at first.

But, I was able to grab onto the ledge with my other claw before I pulled myself up. Then, from within the safety of this room, I groaned in pain. I quickly dashed out when someone was making noises in another room. Sighing in relief once I had turned a nearby corner.

And, like before, I was reminded of my first visit to the Crown with Iishar. Unlike then, however, I paid no mind to the art and extravagance. I just kept on going up to the highest floor as that is where he must've been. And it was all the more believable once I saw soldiers guarding a single door.

Looking outside the window, I could see that even more floors existed. However, that door must've been the only way up. Yet, with those guards there, I could never get past. So I smashed some glass.

Jogging around the corner as they left to investigate. Yet, when I reached the door, there was no handle at all. There was just a set of buttons!? And they were clearly coming back after arguing about something...

"Dammit..." I growled before the door suddenly opened. Before me as well, was that man... The one I chased to this building...

"Going up?" he asked me softly even though it was distorted by that mask.

"Yes, please." I tell him as I walked into the lift. Thankfully, the door closed before the guards came back. And, I waited for the time being. I was going to be better off asking him in his room.

"So what have you come to see me about?" he asks with a tired tone.

My response was as quick as it was violent, "How did you!?" I asked him. Keeping my claws at the ready as he grew uncomfortable.

"This is not new to me, unfortunately." he answers before he gestures for me to follow.

"What isn't new!?" I demand to know.

"Vengeful men coming to me for answers about that killer." he tells me, disdain all over his words.

"Then we can skip most of the legwork." I comment.

"Indeed, and the answer is no, I do not know where you can find him. No, I am not the murderer. No, I am not associated with him... No, I'm not guilty! No, I will not come with you again to be interrogated for no gain!" he said with growing anger before he reclined himself into a soft chair. His cane was between his legs while he stared at a vial of liquid.

I could only assume it was alcohol. And, I made sure it never made it to him. This may have been run-of-the-mill for him, but it wasn't for me. I wanted answers, proper ones...

Not dismissive, frustrated rambling!

"If all of that is the case, then why do they come after you!" I demand to know as I shoot up to my feet. If one word he said was true, if this frustration was genuine. Then why did the killer lead back to him!?

"Because this madman likes to toy with people. As he is probably doing with you and all the other hundreds of vigilantes who threaten me for information! He runs circles around the security forces of this city and he only comes out during my tours here!" he angrily answers with violent taps of his cane.

"And how would I know that you aren't toying with me right now, Jhurack?" I accuse to see if any signs of a facade would drop.

"My name is Jhurghdak! Jhurghdak!" he angrily repeats before he rises and takes off his mask. And, to my shock, I see a horribly mutilated face that was warped and bulged unnaturally. It was grotesque in all manner of speaking. Most importantly, however, this man had no capacity to smile like Jhurack did...

"I see..." I mutter as this lead I had dries up in but an instant. There was no way this man was the killer with features like that. Smiling Jhurack wore no mask... His smile was iconic in how vile it was.

"I'm sorry... You didn't need to see that." he sighs as he stumbles over to pour himself a drink. A particularly strong one going by the smell. Curiously as well, this mist rising from it blew unnaturally towards the giant gnomon. He even made a point of offering me some.

"No, thank you." I say as that would mean revealing my face. He may have been a hideous man, but I was osibindah. If he saw my face...

"I showed you my face, you can at least be a man and show me yours." he tells me before his cane briefly flicks up towards my beak.

"I have no reason to show it..." I say before I turn towards the great glass wall this room had. Right at the very peak of this hotel. An uninterrupted view of all the city. Even Suhurlodst to some extent...

And I looked away after seeing that place.

"You're the osibindah student, aren't you?" he guesses correctly, much to my shock.

"Ok, how'd you!?" I angrily ask him before I aggressively approached him. Only stopping when his cane interrupted me. He then tapped my hands and legs before he gestured back at that damned school.

"Travelling as much as I do, you tend to see a lot of things about this land. I know what your kind looks like, and who couldn't know about the osibindah student that called itself Nin?" he explains as I start to get nervous.

"This..."

"Have a drink, Nin, it will calm your nerves. Oh, wait, my apologies." he starts to say before he suddenly brushes himself down. His hand then appears before me.

"Right, nice to meet you..." I nearly squeak as I take this man's hand and shake it.

"You've been through a lot, haven't you?"

"I've been trying to find Smiling Jhurack..." I answer.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

"You have fought him too, no? Failing just as the Worm Rider did?" he asks me before he groans in displeasure. I could understand why, if he was falsely strung together with Jhurack, then he'd be eager to see his demise.

"I will beat him..." I tell him. Not even confident about such a likelihood.

"Not with that attitude you won't." he says before his magic explodes about the room. Items all around us were being carried effortlessly by the wind and the whole room was rearranged. I watched it happen and I still struggled to understand it.

"Did you not like the view?" I ask him as he sits down on the recently moved chair.

"So why are you doing this? Putting yourself in so much danger?"

"Because the woman I love needs me..." I tell him as my fists tremble with rage. If I clenched any harder, I was sure to draw blood.

"Time and time again, like all those before..." he reminisces before I move to leave. I can't get anything useful out of this man. Unless I pushed further into the fact he was being toyed with too? We were both targets of Smiling Jhurack, so perhaps something could be done?

"Is there anything you know about Smiling Jhurack? Something the public out there wouldn't know?" I ask him, stopping my prior exit.

"How do you mean?"

"Just now, you brought up how the guards often came for you for questioning. Did they not connect any dots to you during these farces?" I elaborate for him. Watching with some curiosity as he smiled in his own strange way.

"Well, for starters, he only comes out at night. Gone with the wind at a moment's notice." he starts to explain before he clicks his fingers.

"So I do have time to do as Abbspri said." I remark under my breath as I recall what he told me about work and those debate places. However, it also meant another thing, I had to realign my sleep schedule somehow... As it was now, Smiling Jhurack would only ever catch me tired.

"You won't ever find him, he'll find you. Often when he takes another life to Undwote. But, if he is toying with you like this... You'll probably find him without someone dying."

"Their lives do not matter to me." I inform him, and why would they? I was doing this for Lari and her alone.

"This woman you are doing it for, she is still alive...?"

"She is..." I answer, glaring at this man for how intuitive he was. But, I assume he had to be good at noticing things when his performance was him alone. Dozens of instruments that all had to be played to perfection. He'd have to be able to tell all the minute differences between them to do that?

"A very special case, then. This is a first, even for him." he says with a frown.

"First time or not, he chose the wrong woman!" I declare with a growl.

"No... Painful as it might sound, he chose the right woman. Because how could he humiliate everyone more, but make it clear only an osibindah could save them?"

"Save them?" I scoff as it was such an absurd sentence. Why, in the name of all the gods and goddesses, would I save them? There were so few people who treated me like a person that it might as well have been all that damned me!

"Not something you have to do, just what he is likely thinking."

"So, is there anything else you might know about him?" I ask, desiring to switch the topic away from that delusion. Me, saving them? A cruel joke.

"Unfortunately, no. Smiling Jhurack has become such a terror precisely because of how little people know. The killer that suddenly appears along with the pack-calling screams."

"Does he have a preferred hunting ground? A family he made a point of hunting?" I ask him as everything started to dry up. If I was to have to wait for him, then so be it. But I needed to learn all I could!

"No, in this city of several hundred million. From the top of this mountain all the way down to the bottom of its hollowed-out core. He is there. This city is his hunting ground, all its families are ones he makes a predatory point about." he explains before his cane points at that second drink he poured.

"Fine." I admit in defeat before I drink it up. Coughing violently as the magic-dense liquid burned its way down my throat. However, I can see why he was so insistent on me drinking it. I did feel stronger because of it.

"Frustrating as this has been for me. I do wish I could be of more help. So, tell you what... If you survive this coming night, make our talks a habit. I've been involved with him for so long that I can probably think of something at the very least."

"I don't intend to come back."

"You will, Smiling Jhurack is beyond your reach right now."

"Then I will chase him until he has nowhere left to run!" I declare before I stop at the lift door. The security guards came back to my mind for a second...

"I'll come with you, get you out of here without an issue." he says as he gets up. But first, he makes sure his mask is on securely so I by instinct do the same.

.

.

.

"Grand-Guard Inerish, you have been requested to appear before the Clockwork Council." my secretary informs me just as I left my office to see them anyway.

"Wonderful." I say before I smirk at the device Galanmarck gave me. With this single item I could hunt that bastard down! Now if only the men employed under me would stop being so finicky around them. These Union soldiers would only do as ordered.

"Get out of our country!" one of my men snapped at the motionless Union soldier. The ones within this grand building of ours had a unique job in comparison to the rest. Emblazoned with the symbology of Jhrarda the Mighty and decorated with emerald cloth. These royal troops would be my personal guard for now.

I was no fool, I knew full well the friction this plan would create.

"Fall in line, Guardsman." I told that man as I passed by him. He then did so with little complaint. But I could see those slight, childish behaviours once he was back in position. And, once I reached the door to that chamber of puffed-up annoyances, I straightened myself out.

Whistling over my new guard before I entered the chamber. And I walked into a world of uproar with all kinds of complaints being levelled at me. How I wasn't meant to bring soldiers into this room. Silly things like that.

"How may I help?" I asked with a smile as those Union soldiers took up positions around the chamber. Many of the councilmen went quiet, intimidated into silence by those lone, yellow eyes amidst the black.

"To think you would arrange a coup de tat over a mere criminal." one of them comments after he mustered the strength to speak despite the soldiers.

"No, this is not a coup de tat. As much as I would love one..." I answer, muttering the last bit as I hated these politicians.

"Then explain, Grand-Guard." the Stroke of High Noon asked with a small gestured.

"I have brought them in to ensure our own soldiers do not ruin the plan I have created to stop Smiling Jhurack." I answer confidently. Only to snarl when some laughter was apart of the response.

"A Worm Rider failed, how will those that drag their heels against Valkinvar defeat him!?" one of the administrators demands to know. But, the truth is, I did not know. We were painfully low on options...

"They won't, as I just said, they are here to make sure my plan goes along as it should." I start to explain before I reach out for a means to project my plan. However, as I wanted to rub it into their faces. I issued the command to do so to these men in silver armour and emerald cloth.

With a smirk, I took the controls and then displayed the key player, "A vigilante?"

"Yes, more specifically. The recently expelled osibindah student, Nin." I tell them. And, as expected, uproar filled the chamber once again.

"You would trust our safety to a bug!?" someone complained with a violently slamming of their fist.

"I trust our safety in the men who protect this city! I trust our safety in the exploitable moment this unorthodox method will create!" I clarify to them loudly.

"Using an osibindah is too far..." the Stroke of High Noon comments.

"Too far? With all due what little respect I think you all deserve. For thirty years we have tried to deal with Smiling Jhurack! Thirty years of your plans, of your ideas and your restrictions! It does not... WORK!" I tell them, yelling that last word.

"The way we uphold the law has been revolutionised under Jhurack's killing spree. Our security is renowned throughout the continent and even beyond!" one tried to argue.

"Then why is he still here?" I ask them.

"We could ask the same of you, Grand-Guard." the Stroke of High Noon counters.

"Keep trying you sleezy old man, maybe a coup de tat might come about." I snort at them before I went on with my presentation.

"So, as you were saying, Grand-Guard?" a calm administrator said as he made it clear he was actually interested in my plan. Or maybe this was just a professional courtesy? It didn't matter, I suppose.

"Smiling Jhurack has displayed a strange, unseen behaviour with Nin here. Unlike the vigilantes from before, he sought out him."

"It looks like the bug is hunting him..."

"He is, but pay attention to how Jhurack is acting, he is not going after any women like he usually does. He is going straight for our key player right here."

"So you wish to use the bug as bait?" one asks with an amused huff.

"If that is what it will take, yes. Oh, and the plan is already in motion so don't even think about stopping it with one of your pathetic votes."

"Very well, Grand-Guard... However, these actions you have taken... As said before, they are too extreme. If you want the Clockwork Council's cooperation, you will need to make a promise of resignation!"

"I don't need your approval, had I not just made that clear?" I tell him before I turn to leave. Whistling for the Union soldiers before I headed to my command centre to oversee the final developments of the plan. I even made a point of having most of my staff briefly replaced by Union technicians. I had to admit as well, they took to this with surprising ease.

"Grand-Guard Inerish, Vigilante Nin has been sighted exiting the Rising Glory Hotel." one of them informs me respectfully before they also handed me written down information.

"I could get used to this." I remark happily as I took the tablet and went through it. It wasn't much, but it detailed Nin's arrival into the city and what he had been up to. Going by where he was leaving, that meant he paid a visit to that conductor. A typical behaviour for the vengeful...

What confused me now, however, is that he wasn't doing much of note. But, he was idly standing near a debate hall for some reason. Had he been given a lead we never got? Or was this something else entirely?

"I suppose this is a good opportunity for some field work." I decide on the spot as I get up. I wouldn't be needed here until darkness fell upon the city. So, I felt it prudent to understand what I could about our key player here. I only needed to get a general idea, and, these chambers were the best place to do it.

If someone had directed him to one of those halls, they must be encouraging him to speak his thoughts. So, I suppose that meant I could direct the conversation towards that of vigilantism? I know it was a popular topic every time Smiling Jhurack came out. I could also force his inclusion into a discussion should they try to bar his entry.

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"Two unfamiliar faces? We're getting popular, aren't we?" one of the attendants of this hall joked. Yet, no one laughed or smiled because they could not. The steam in this place suppressed all emotion. And it was telling when a shrine to Apahthein existed in this place.

"Don't mind me, I'm here to observe for now." I explain as I crossed my legs and pulled the towel up. And I really wish I could laugh in this place, because Nin was being hounded over his filthy attire. The steam made it all the easier for him to just ignore the requests as well.

"Anyway, who wishes to put forth a topic for discussion?" the soft-bodied man at the podium asked. Several people rise up to offer their options. But, all turned to Nin when he followed along with them. If people were aware of what was under those blood-stained bandages, however, was a different question.

"Yes, put forth your topic." the Ensurer of Apathy told him before he tapped a metal piece.

"Right... Uh, doing the right thing even when others tell you it is wrong." Nin says with what came off as nervousness at first. But, I soon saw signs of anger when he reached the end. Of course, however, I was only seeing this all from his physical actions.

You couldn't get angry in here. Or be saddened by the topic. No past trauma would dictate your actions here. In fact, the Ensurer at the head of this assembly was purely a symbolic thing since this emotion-suppressing tech was made.

"Would you care to elaborate for the assembly?" the Ensurer asked him.

"The woman I love was attacked by Smiling Jhurack. She is not dead, unlike most others. But, everyone I know has tried to dissuade me from going after him."

"And they'd be right to, vigilantism is illegal." someone pointed out.

"Yes, I am aware, but the point remains that this criminal has been active for thirty years. How can that continue to hold weight?"

"Because it would interfere with how the government kept the people safe." I answer. But, to be entirely honest, I wish my employers hadn't been so rigid. This might've all been dealt with should I have been allowed to call in mercenaries or something. Witches with terrifying reputations!

Maybe we could've caught Smiling Jhurack before he became strong enough to beat a Worm Rider...

"But you haven't kept them safe, the woman I love is lying in a hospital bed because of their failure." Nin retorts back with as he advances to the centre of the floor. A behaviour that caught the eye of many as that meant he was particularly passionate about the subject. But, how could he not be? This Larishazza Sl'Ayiysab was his flame after all.

However, this behaviour made the Ensurer actually do his job for what must've been the first time in a long time. A revolutionary moment in this institution's history, I am sure. Yet, what Nin's words conveyed struck a chord for me. Even with this emotion suppressing steam.

"Yet, your actions would still interfere with their plans. You'd do more harm than good. As with all vigilantes throughout these past thirty years." I tell him, which would be quite the humorous thing once I left here. He was the key player in my upcoming operation, after all.

"Then they need to step aside." Nin boldly told us all which caused quite the uproar. For this kind of place, anyway.

"Are, are you able to elaborate on that?"

"Smiling Jhurack has made it personal. His behaviour has shown nothing but a desire to make this personal. I am not the one getting in the way of the government who has shown me nothing but malice. They are getting in my way." he told them with a clenched fist.

"Such arrogance would only make the situation worse." someone argued.

"How could you make it worse? From what I have heard, your daughters, sisters, mothers and lovers have been preyed on without fail for thirty years. Thirty. The situation is as worse as it ever could be. A different approach is clearly needed."

"And do you have the skills to improve the situation? Recent and blurry as the details are, a powerful witch from the Grand-Kingdom of Ibenerocco failed to beat this man."

"Hear, hear! An unskilled, rage-driven man would never best him!"

"Do you not see the blood that stains me? The deep cuts that have torn my outfit apart?" Nin asks them as the steam slightly washed said bloody outfit.

"Yes, we remarked about it when you came in."

"Then, if you all can see it, you know that I have survived my last encounter with him! Be it by his own wish or another reason. I can go on to fight another night, I can learn what that Worm Rider could not."

"It was a Worm Rider?" someone repeated before the discussion started to get out of hand. Dozens of smaller discussions erupted and it was clear Nin felt this endeavour to be pointless. So, I decided to get up and follow him as what was likely to be a den of rumours rapidly formed.

"Do you really think you could defeat him?" I asked him as we started to enter the still steam-affected changing rooms.

"I don't know, but I can't leave her like that." he answers as he turns to me. If I could, I might've smiled at that determination. That willingness to forsake his own body for something else.

"And if you can't save her?"

"We will meet each other again in the misty world before Undwote finds us." he tells me before he turns and leaves. I would've liked to question him some more. But, now that he was getting closer to the exit, the steam was becoming less effective. That sense of bloodthirst would only get in the way.

Eventually, after pondering what he had said, I started to dry myself off. I then redressed myself and left the building. Pulling out a communication device once I was outside. And, with a determined glare, I started the device up.

"This is Grand-Guard Inerish, I require pick up at the detailed location."

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"Any signs of Smiling Jhurack?" I ask my briefly employed technical staff while I idly stared outside. The sky was getting darker and nighttime was approaching. The view I saw was different than it was during the day, as it always was. And as per usual, I was unhappy with the circumstances.

"None at all, Grand-Guard Inerish."

"What about the vigilante?"

"Vigilante Nin is still lingering around St. Bruttar's Brief Recovery and Healing Centre."

"Any word from them about the patient's condition?" I asked, having put out orders to keep tabs on her since news of foreign powers amassing first came to me. It was a simpler time then. Just a bit of political pressure, no city destroying witches or bugs with the souls of men.

"Nothing as well."

"Do not waste time informing me if something does change, then. Just send the orders out to our native troops and your own." I tell them, sighing out at the end before I got up and left my command centre. I then headed into my personal washroom and stared intently at my mirror. I may have not really shown it, but I was nervous about this. I acted that way before the council for something that would likely fail...

As much as I wanted to believe otherwise, as much as I wanted to trust Nin's declaration... Thirty years has this man terrorised this city. And in this one, he accomplished the impossible. Anyone with a grasp of what a Worm Rider was would now amplify his reputation.

What was once hearsay and rumour abroad in other nations and mountain-states was now a cause for war. It had far-reaching implications that I had to also find the time to look into. But, if Jhurack was now eager to toy with someone, I would never find the time to comfortably do so. Odd as it was to think about, if Nin was not this involved, I could just ignore it to some extent.

Failure was expected of me and my confidence as a leader was waning. I made my name guarding the Dakrid Fortress deep below even the water-veins of this continent. I was a respected fighter and master of defensive warfare. Anti-spy actions in particular.

My parents were so proud when they heard about my job acceptance here. Yet, now, it was the worst thing I could have ever done. I gave up a simple life for one where I became a pin cushion for blame after blame. It was frustrating indeed.

"Let's see how driven you really are, Nin." I say to myself in the mirror before I used my dark-fire to light a candle. It wasn't a particularly nice-smelling one. But I was nostalgic for the sulphuric scent it had. Reminded me of home.

However, I soon found myself attracted to the device I wore on my wrist. The beacon that segregated my power from the all-consuming pull of our city. Anyone with sufficient strength or these devices could withstand the city. But what about Nin?

That footage I watched before did not show him using any spells. So that was an oversight on my part because he would not be at his best if he was too weak. Something that was likely the case. However, it was too late to rectify that.

So I headed back to my chair after blowing out the candle and got caught up. Nothing of note had occurred so far, but that was likely to change very soon. One of the fourteen moons was making itself known and the last signs of light were disappearing. It would've been a nice view to watch hadn't other things taken precedent.

"Alert all patrols and send the order out to the hangers, I want all aircraft in the air."

"Yes, Grand-Guard Inerish." they acknowledged before my orders began to repeat in my ears. And before long, dozens of airships were flying about after they deployed. Some began to bring in details of other crimes they had intercepted. Yet, the main attraction had yet to show himself.

Not even the wind gave me any details. I wasn't sure how it worked, but Galanmarck told me I heard his men the same way as I ordered them. The wind carried it all according to him. But I was no wind-person.

I was Errakurd.

Regardless, I made sure to whistle my intent to those Union soldiers. I could trust their relentlessness the most right now. And I even told them to serve as guides for Nin, should Jhurack lead him on. I wanted them to corral that scum for a swift execution.

No courts or bars, I just wanted it all over with. To a degree, I was getting impatient. But, I could trust those Union soldiers not to be. The same could not be said of my own men, however.

Like me, they were sick of this man...

"We have reports of laughter." someone suddenly said. And I shot up in my seat with a glare coming to the forefront.

"Where?"

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"I'm sorry, Lari... I will save you... I just need time..." I said to her quiet body uncertainly. And it hurt me deeply that I could not be closer to her. This accursed body of mine caused issues wherever I went. I would only endanger her if I went near her for now...

So I tried to get as close as I could to her room from the outside. It was an awkward affair, but I had a clean line of sight. It made me sad as much as it made me angry. That face should've been smiling or made me smile myself...

"Is it time...?" I soon asked myself as I turned away from the glass. The sounds of gunfire and accelerating machinery could be heard. However, when I turned back to the glass. A message had appeared.

'Time to move it, Dance Partner!' it said, and, with a growl, I dropped down and rushed away. Stopping only briefly to get an idea which way the sounds of battle were. I could not fathom how that message appeared while he was fighting. But that was unimportant.

All that mattered was that he had made himself known again. In the dead of night as Jhurghdak told me. And soon, the sounds of magic guns started to be drowned out by that laughter. It sounded so close but he was nowhere near me!?

"Oh, won't someone dance with me properly!?" Jhurack whined before he cackled. The screams of men soon filled my ears and I was soon running past a bloody mess. Soldiers from this city were groaning in pain or holding their wounds. Yet that was all I kept on finding.

"WHERE ARE YOU!?" I roared out to the city before a loud bell rang behind me.

"Up here!" he declared before he flipped down onto the street ahead of me. And in but a flash, I was already charging at him. Missing at first before I had him pinned between me and a pile of still loaded supplies. Yet, he also disappeared just as quickly, and I ended up crushing some soldier.

I could only growl at what had just happened, but he had not gotten away just yet! So I started to run once more. Climbing up onto the roofs with him before I carried on. Enduring the pain each quick attack of his did.

Unlike before, he was only slapping me with that stick of his. No blood came out of me from his sword or whatever he used before. Yet, I could not keep my composure. There was simply no way I could.

That laughter would not stop and his efforts to agitate me carried on. And, as I just could not focus under the barrage of pestering attacks. I found myself tripping up and running into things. And before long, I fell back down to the streets below.

"DAMMIT!" I roared before I slammed a fist at the road I was getting up off. The lack of magic made it an even more frustrating experience as well. If I could just cast a spell... I could block his escape or catch him!

I could stop those annoying whacks and chase him unimpeded! Yet this damn city was preventing me from so much as even trying to manipulate it! I could not save Lari like this! I had to do something!

"Hey, up here!" Smiling Jhurack taunted as he hopped down onto a shop sign. And, right behind him, an aircraft was swinging around to fire upon him. But that man was mine, so I charged. I charged along the road and path before I ascended.

Only to suddenly leap into the air and go past him!? Whatever had just happened, I did not let it dwell in my thoughts. And I violently spasmed about before I finally got off this airship I flung myself into. Seemingly as well, I damaged it badly when I leapt off of it.

"Yes, that's it! You're doing better, Dance Partner!" he maniacally joked before he casually swung under and around my animalistic swings.

"GET BACK HERE!" I roar at before I instinctively called on my magic. An arcane fireball then roared after him. Yet, he charged through it without detonating it and impaled me. But he would not hear me roar or scream.

"Tsk tsk." he tutted as he skipped off of me, having left the sword in. However, when I tore it out, it suddenly reappeared in his hands.

"Scared?" I asked him as I did my best to call upon my magic. Now was the time to show everyone that I had been learning. That I had managed to go somewhere with this young power of mine.

"Only of these bullets behind me!" he answers before I am suddenly hit by dozens of magic projectiles.

Yet, he was still there in front of me, so I charged once again. Only to have him turn my power against me so he could throw me at the soldiers behind him. And that claw that I intended for him crushed the head of one of the guards. Despite Jhurack even being behind me right now, those same men turned their guns on me.

"DIE BUG!" one roared before he shot me directly in the face. Yet, suddenly, all their guns were slashed apart. And they were screaming in pain as blood showered about me.

"Oh, how could you?" I was asked by that laughing madman. All I responded with was violence and anger. And it only got worse. Because no matter how close I was each time, he was still too far.

He kept it up as well, leading me into groups of these soldiers and their aircraft. I could not care about their injuries at all. But I could still tell that he was manipulating me. Guns that should've been pointed at him were turning on me!

"Partner, my Dance Partner! Would you take my hand?" he asked me as he came to a stop before the base of a large tower-like building. To my fury, however, my attempt to yank him to the ground failed. And he suddenly brought us to the top of that tower.

"STOP RUNNING!" I roared at him as he suddenly and knowingly fell off the side of the building. And from my vantage point high above, I roared down at him before I jumped. With a mighty crash, I landed on the road. Carving a great hole into the brick and stone before I clawed my way out.

To my confusion, however, even though he was right in front of them. The approaching soldiers were firing upon me. I didn't have the time to explain or move them out of the way safely. So I barreled past them and kept on lashing out at Jhurack.

"GGGGGGGGGGRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!" I incoherently let out before I was tricked once again. I had him! He was in my claws! Yet, somehow, a soldier had replaced him.

"You lack refinement." he chastised before he cracked open the reinforced glass near one of my eyes. I then hissed in pain as that extra hard material got stuck in my eye. A bloody, yellow tint overcame part of my vision. Soon after as well, he started to attack me more from that side as well.

He brought me to the ground again and I tried to hold him off. But, he was too quick for me to act against. Each sharp slap against my body only left empty space when I tried to stop him. I was helpless until he suddenly just stopped.

"Where...?" I questioned as I quickly got over how my eye had suddenly been fixed. Fortunately, I found him running away down the street. So I scrambled to my own feet and ran as fast as I could. Swinging into a small shop when he suddenly dived into one.

Whatever he had done, it was me who broke through the glass front and terrified the occupants. He was nowhere in sight until I saw the door out back. He was laughing beyond it and I tore up the place on my way out. Despite the screams behind me, I could still hear his laughter above it all.

Even as more and more men started to shoot at me or cast small spells. I kept on chasing him as fast as I could. No matter how many times he tripped me up or kicked me aside. I got back up each time.

"I'm loving this fire in you! But can I fan it to be even hotter?" he asked before he suddenly carved Lari into the wall I was about to punch down.

"STAY AWAY FROM HER!" I roared as I pulled back my brick dust-covered fist. Venting my magic out once more before I nearly filled the alleyway we were in with blue fire. And I did the same again when he was somehow right behind me. Then, full of anger, I lept into the air.

"But she is only right over there!" he taunted just before he surged after me to deliver a street-ruining kick. And as I growled on the way back up. I saw him slowly approach me. A rhythmic tap filled my ears rather than his laughter for now.

"You will not touch her..." I told him defiantly as my memories started to flash in my mind. I still remembered vividly how I found her. Blood all over her as he smiled viciously in my direction. I would not let it happen again.

"Then watch me do so!" he cackled after he slashed both my eyes. Rendering me blind. I roared and flailed in terror. Confused by the sudden light I was able to see.

"L-Lari...?" I questioned as I felt my arms grab nothing that I could actually see. And, if I could, I would've probably cried at the sight of her being so defenceless. With that man right above her with his sword.

"Now do you see how easy it is for me? Now, dance better!" he demanded as my eyes went back to normal. And I stumbled back as the tears finally came out. In a fit of rage, I then started to tear off my clothes. I roared and charged once again.

Swinging and lunging for him with everything I had before we suddenly reappeared on the gnomon. It was a slippery, gripless surface. Yet, thanks to my magic, I was able to force my way up. The explosive force sent me up the slope while he ran up it.

However, I could not reach for him like this, and I had to run on all fours as we climbed the great slope. But, as it started to flatten out, I started to reach for him once more. Barely avoiding the attempts at redirection. And then, with a divine blessing suddenly coming my way!

I caught him!

I latched onto him with both my claws and we plunged off of the gnomon's peak. He screamed and cried and I dug my claws in deeper. Roaring in triumphant despite the wind blasting in my face as we fell. Yet, then, all of a sudden...

"Very crass." he casually commented before I slammed against the gnomon's peak with a shell-breaking crash. And even though he was right in front of me, I could not call on my magic anymore. The city was somehow pulling on it again!?

"No... No! NO!" I repeated over and over with growing frustration as he tapped his cane in front of me. A smile on his face as aircraft started to rise up to meet us. Yet, when they arrived, the soldiers who dropped down only turned their weapons on me. Those strange, faceless soldiers...

Why could they not see him!?

"HE'S RIGHT THERE!" I roared before I charged at Jhurack again with frenzied viciousness. Yet, he kept on hiding behind these soldiers and I had no chance of going around them. So I just punched straight through them in order to get to him. I lashed out however I could.

With kicks and stomps that rang out into the night sky. With a gnashing jaw that snapped at him whenever it could. My bloody claws twitched and flexed near him. But no matter how hard I tried, those soldiers kept getting in my way.

They retaliated near-instantly. I was slashed away at and punched and slammed at with their rifle stocks. I did not let it stop me, though. I kept reaching out for Jhurack as he taunted me amongst all the blows.

"STAND DOWN!" someone then called out from above before they jumped down. Fire erupted around them, yet there was something off about it. It was dark, there was no light and it only made the night darker.

"MOVE!" I roared back at her before I aimed for the madman beyond her. Yet, she slashed at my chest with a flaming sword. Gashing it open and searing it shut with that burning darkness. But, it would not stop me just like how those soldiers would not.

So I tried to go for Jhurack again. But, for as long as he stayed behind that woman, I could not reach him. And the strength in me was starting to disappear. All this battle was taking its toll and I could no longer go on.

But after what he did earlier, with that threat he made on Lari's life. I could not just take it lying down. So I dragged myself back up with all my strength and roared again. Trying my hardest call forth my magic before it then suddenly came back.

Yet, he was gone, and I was left howling in fury at this second failure. But the soldiers and that woman were all still here. And she in particular was briefly horrified by the appearance of my magic. And she slashed her sword at me once again.