There were bodies piled on the ground, slumped over each other like sacks of flour. My bloodied hands trembled slightly at what I had done.

Taking the life of a person strikingly similar to a human can be traumatizing. Especially with a past that involves murder. I know I said it’s kill or be killed, but if past Laila was transported instead of the present Laila, then I would very much be breaking down into uncontrollable sobs. However, since this is twenty-year-old Laila and I had time for a slow healing from my past, the things I’m able to do now won’t damage my psyche.

In the corner of my eye, I saw one of the ‘corpses’ flinch. Walking over to the bodies carefully, I squatted down and pulled the hood down on one of the fallen. It was a woman with black horns.

“Who sent you?” I asked the woman. She didn’t answer immediately. Instead, she was about to bite down on her tongue, but I inserted the butt of my rapier inside her mouth just enough for her to speak and not do anything foolish.

“If you answer my questions, I’ll let you go. Got it?”

“As if I’ll believe you,” she grunted. The assassin was too busy trying to impale herself with my rapier, but it was of no use. I sighed and grabbed her left arm, twisting it as I felt her muscles snap like spaghetti.

“I really don’t want to do this, ya know? I’ll ask nicely one more time. How you answer is up to you. Just know, I may do something even worse. Who are you and who sent you?”

The woman groaned in pain as her teeth clattered. After a few seconds of silence, I shifted over to her legs before she finally spoke.

“We were sent to kill you four after our leader heard word of your whereabouts!”

“Who’s your leader, and where are they?” I snarled. If I can just figure that part out, it would save me the trouble of looking for him.

“He’s-“

She couldn’t utter another word as her mouth clamped shut and eyes rolled back. Her face contorted and expanded like a balloon being filled with helium. Her body also spontaneously ballooned into a grotesque sight, and soon after, popped. The woman exploded as millions of small pieces of her flew in every conceivable direction. Thankfully, I was able to get away before I was covered in her blood and other stuff I don’t want to think about. I was too appalled to be disgusted at what just transpired.

“What the hell was that?!”

When she was about to reveal her leader’s location, her body inflated. Is there some kind of insurance placed on each of the members as a sort of precautionary measure? Whoever this person is, they’re horrifying!

“I see that you’re done over here as well.”

Turning around, I spotted Zelke, Isaac, and Myra trotting toward me, blood all over them.

“9-12-14… damn. You win by one,” Isaac mumbled. He seemed fine, although there were some cuts in his hands.

I pointed at the carnage and said, “One of them was alive, and I tried getting information out of her. When she was about to mention her leader’s whereabouts, she exploded.”

They all looked at each other and nodded.

“The same happened to us as well. It looks like they’re set to detonate if they mention the leader,” said Myra. She walked by me and kicked at the corpses, checking to see if there were any still alive and if they had anything on them.

“Shouldn’t we get out of here quickly in case they throw more at us?” I said to the group. “I don’t want to keep on fighting in the dark.”

Zelke nodded at my suggestion and pointed northeast. “She’s right. There was a road around these parts. Taking it should lead us to the next city.”

“Aha! Jackpot!” Myra yelled.

We all ran up to her to see what caused her to squeal like that. In her hands was a note with scribbles. Reading the contents in my mind, I couldn’t help but gasp. Lady Luck was finally smiling at us.

****

“Hm...”

Up ahead was the city called Jahla. From afar, its towering stone walls made it look like an impenetrable fortress, a monument to the strength of the structure. The note we found earlier only had the names Jahla and Cronas written. We figured it was an important piece of information, since these two were popular cities in Aglona. In order to cut time, we had to separate into two groups. Zelke and I were to head over to Jahla while Myra and Isaac went to Cronas. I wanted to team up with Isaac since I didn’t want him far away from me, but Myra was adamant in keeping Isaac by her side and made good points in her argument.

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

“You two have only been on Athiens for two months. Why should we have you two together? It makes no sense. It’d be best to have either me or Zelke accompany you,” was what Myra told me. I couldn’t refute what she said, as it made perfect sense. For all I know, if Isaac and I were grouped together, it would make searching around a lot slower. Even though I didn’t like it one bit, I had to let it go.

“At nightfall, we begin the first phase, spying. We must scour the city in search of the one who sent those figures to us. They will most likely have the information we are looking for. Who knows, Airon himself may be there as we speak.”

“And what if we find Airon?” I asked.

“We kill him and take The Oracle.”

“Okay then. I’m guessing we’ll enter the city by scaling the walls.”

During the time we waited, we would hunt and forage for food in the wilderness and do swordsmanship training right after. Time flew by in a flash, and our deadline was finally here. Standing at the edge of Jahla’s walls, on top were guards. Zelke went ahead first and hopped across the stone walls. I followed right after. As we got closer, we found out that four guards were patrolling the perimeter. With a single glance at each other, we understood what to do. In just four seconds, we knocked all the guards unconscious.

We dragged the bodies somewhere discreet and piled them together. We then scanned the city in front of us. It was dark, but some streets had lamps lit. The houses beneath us were constructed with poor craftsmanship, as if individuals with no experience in the field had built them. They were living in huts made of mud and straw, fit to house at least two people. Some were out in the streets, sleeping on the ground, while others walked around in a daze. We were obviously in the poorer district of Jahla.

“Those poor people... Living in poverty of this kind,” I whispered. What were the officials in this city doing for it to be this bad here? Do they just not care for their citizens?

“Hey,” Zelke nudged my arm. “Don’t forget what we’re here for.”

“...Yea.”

“Good. Now listen up. I want you to find the Jahla branch leader and get information out of them.”

“And what will you do, Zelke?”

“I will check if there are any brothels in the area.”

“Now’s not the time for pleasure!” I hissed.

Zelke scowled at my scolding. “...That’s not the reason. We are wasting time as we babble amongst ourselves. Let’s commence the first phase.”

Just like that, Zelke was gone. He had fallen inside the city and was heading toward the nicer area of the city. I watched him run until I could no longer see him.

“Wait. We haven’t talked about what to do after we find them… Well, it’ll work out somehow. First, I should figure out clues about Jahla's branch leader.”

In the far corner of the poor district, I noticed a group of five grabbing the ones sleeping outside. They were dragging them across the dirt after they were injected with something. Maybe it was a needle? Since I’m still on top of the walls and activated my [Night Vision], I could still see their movements.

“I’ll ask those five gentlemen if they have what I’m looking for.”

Wait, instead of asking them directly, why not follow them around like a ninja? That seems more logical. Thank god I second guess myself from time to time even though it can be a pain in the ass sometimes. Especially when taking tests.

“Oh shoot. I’m getting side-tracked. They’re leaving.”

Every member of the group had bodies slouched over their shoulders. They were all slinking away from the rickety homes and began their trek further within Jahla. I jumped off the stone walls and landed gently on the hard ground.

“Pretty sure they went this way.”

It only took me a minute to find them again. They maneuvered through the pathways and homes with an ease of familiarity, as if they had done it a million times before. Up ahead was a small gate resembling that of a checkpoint. There was one guard at the front.

“What are they doing? They’re leisurely walking up to the gate. They’ll be caught!” I murmured while peeking from behind a mud hut.

“.Oh... that’s why,” I mumbled. The guard just stepped aside and held his hand out. One man up front rummaged through his pockets and gave the guard a fistful of silver coins. After confirming the amount, the guard opened the gates, letting them through.

What I just witnessed right now was a bribe. The people I’m following right now are definitely connected to the branch leader somehow. Since I can’t bribe the guard myself because I’m wanted throughout Aglona, I’ll just have to jump over the walls again. They weren’t that high to begin with. Its gotta be at least ten feet. I’ll wait for the perfect chance...

The guard’s legs wobbled as he cautiously looked around the area, his eyes alert for any movement. He then turned his back and was facing the side of the gate. What came after was faint splashing noises and moaning.

Well, that was quick. The chance that I’ve been waiting for has appeared.

Not wasting a second, I leaped over the walls of the gate and landed soon after. Scanning the area, I found the men yet again to my left. Instead of a dirt walkway, it was now smooth cobblestone. This area was noticeably nicer than the previous one. Actual builders constructed the wooden houses, and they were big enough for a family of four to live in.

The group of men entered one of the said houses. Without making a sound, I quickly headed over there and saw that white cloth covered the windows. I pressed my ear against the exterior and heard muffled voices I could barely make out.

From what I have gathered, the unconscious bodies will be picked up soon, but by whom?

“Eavesdropping isn’t nice to do.”

A shiver ran down my spine at the bitter voice. Just when I was about to turn my head, something sharp pricked the skin of my neck. My body swayed sideways as my vision blurred.

“Wha…”

My voice was slurred, and my tongue felt foreign. Before I knew it, I crashed into the wall, and my eyelids drooped. The last thing I heard was the voice speaking in a condescending tone.

“You poor thing...”

I couldn’t get a good look at them as darkness fell before my eyes.