When Jaid made it to the barred door again, a floating orb greeted her: one of Chorus' cameras, blocked by the bars from proceeding any further. It hadn’t even crossed Jaid’s mind how Chorus was probably recording this entire mission, not noticing any orbs until now. They were certainly getting better at making them more discreet, and were probably kicking themselves right now from not getting Jaid’s harrowing boat hijacking from a better angle.
A Jaid clone dug through the pockets of the merc she was carrying and found the keys for the door. After she got it open, she began the long trudge back up the flight of steps. She hadn’t really noticed how many there were on the way down since she’d rushed, but the anguish really showed on the climb back up. These mercenaries probably didn’t even need regular training. This hidden staircase would be all they needed.
Clones wouldn’t really help much in this case since she had to carry the big lug with her. She could make a chain of Jaids up the stairs and pass him off from one to the other but that would honestly be even more tiring. Jaid had been using her Curse too much lately. It was slowly building her stamina using it but not nearly enough to match the recent output. She was exhausted now, taking each step slower than the last.
The floating orb was flying backwards, filming her the entire way up. However, in a weird change, the orb was bouncing around, almost like it was happily dancing. How odd. Did Chorus reprogram them to have personalities or something? Maybe it was to help lower guards and make getting consent to film easier—not that consent was something that had ever or would ever stop them.
The film fanatic in question was still waiting at the top of the stairs when Jaid returned. Their wardrobe swallowed the Wukadai whole, but they were never spat back out. Apparently, while Chorus could only hold one person at a time, they could actually trap them indefinitely in whatever weird pocket-dimension their storage comprised.
After finishing their second sweep, the two of them returned back to the entrance. Chorus let out the captured merc, wrapped up like the rest. However, the mercenary had regained consciousness and was now spouting insanities. “The light, praise the light! I thought I’d never see it again! No, get me out of this. I’ll never wear clothes again. I need to be free! Never again shall I be touched by clothes!” Jaid knocked them out again to stop the rambling, but it seemed there were lingering effects from being stuck in Chorus’ wardrobe for an extended period of time.
The two sat around for a while, and just when they were discussing heading back in to find the others, Roque and Tize came stumbling out, a Wukadai member in tow—wrapped in a rope and being dragged behind them on the ground. Both of them had their faces tucked into their shirts. When they got close, it was obvious why, and both Jaid and Chorus blocked their noses as well.
“You don’t want to know where we found them,” Tize answered preemptively.
“Please go ahead and bag this one, Chorus,” Roque genuinely pleaded for once. “Maybe double bag them.” As requested, Chorus bound them in a restraining suit normally, and then with the suit upside down so it completely covered their head and sealed away the stench.
“They can still breathe right?” Jaid asked as she approached to see if there was any sign of movement or struggle, thankful the air didn’t make her eyes water anymore.
“Yes, but they’ll probably stay knocked out as long as that stench lingers,” Chorus confirmed.
“Still no sign of Kaizu?” Tize asked after surveying the area.
“Hmm, I can sense someone inside the cottage,” Roque announced to everyone. “Perhaps it is our stalwart companion.” Regardless of who it was, Jaid’s fingers twitched on the hilt of her sword just in case.
“Sorry, nope, just me.” Nachi exited the cottage with a drink in hand. “Look, you can’t leave a fully-stocked bar out in the open and not expect me to partake. Seems we’re all wrapped up here once Kaizu makes it back.”
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“She’s on her way,” another familiar voice called from above as Xard swooped down to join the group. “I saw her through a window as I was scouting around.”
Right on cue, three people walked out of the fortress. Jaid clenched her fingers tighter around her sword since one of the people she didn’t know was unbound. “Don’t worry about him,” Kaizu put them at ease. The man in question was tall but very scrawny and looked undernourished. He was wearing what were basically rags, and his hands were in shackles. His nose looked bashed in, so he was breathing out of his mouth, making it obvious his tongue had been removed.
The other new person was a Wukadai mercenary wrapped up in Kaizu’s chain but still left conscious enough to walk. Kaizu now ignored the rest of the group entirely and pointed her gloved hand over to the two new mercs that had been captured during the second sweep. She then marched directly over to Xard.
“This one here…” she started but then paused to change tactics. “I’ve scanned all 63 members of the Wackadoos, and according to Drim’s senses, 7 are evil. I didn’t kill any of them against orders, but this one is the worst by far.” She then pointed the glove at him and showed the gem on the back to Xard. It was swirling with red and black.
“This person is proof of that,” Kaizu pointed to the clearly abused man. “You can tell just by looking, and when I found them hiding in a secret room together, the bastard tried to use him as a human shield. So please, let me kill him. I’ve been good and done everything you all have asked since I’ve joined. I need… They won’t let…” she stumbled over her words briefly. “If I can’t satisfy this damned itch soon, I don’t know what I’ll do.”
“You seem to have miscalculated, Kaizu,” Xard stared back at her with hollow eyes that made her scowl. “I only count 62.” Kaizu’s entire face lit up with glee, and Jaid could have sworn what exposed Curse Marks were visible began to fidget around in joy. Xard didn’t say anything else on the matter and instead turned to the rest.
“Now then, congratulations on completing the mission. A job well done everyone,” Xard presented them with some genuine praise. “I’m going to go report to the government and I’ll take this man with me as well to make sure he gets help. Normally, this would fall on you, since no job is done until you have payment in hand and you’ve submitted the report on the app. However, just this once, I’ll handle the wrap up for you. Good job again. Nachi will go over the specifics.” Xard then wrapped his arm around the brittle man and flew off at a much slower speed than usual so as not to harm him.
Before anything else, Kaizu yanked the chained man over to the edge of the cliff. After shoving him to the ground, she removed the chains and dug the heel of her boot into his ass to keep him trapped. She then scooted him forward a bit so his head and neck were peaking over the edge, forcing him to look down below. The way he was positioned, it was like he was about to have his head cut off by a guillotine.
That wasn’t a far off comparison for what was about to happen, and Jaid had to hold herself steady to avoid looking away. She really wanted to, but felt it was her duty as a spy to witness it so she could properly report everything that happened. Both daggers swung down, slicing through the man’s neck from either side like a pair of shears. After hearing the man’s head splash into the water below, Kaizu kicked the beheaded corpse off the cliff to join it.
An ecstatic shiver surged through Kaizu’s body as she started to wiggle wildly in bliss. A convenient gust of wind blew by at that moment, lifting her long skirt up just enough for Jaid to witness the birth of a new Curse Mark. It was on the back of her leg, just above the ankle. The mark was small, bloody, and blurry, but Jaid made it out as a head splashing into a puddle of water.
“Boss says you did good, so you did good,” Nachi cracked wise once Kaizu rejoined them. “I’m sure I could find plenty to nitpick, but why bother? I’ll aim for perfection in your training, but on the job, all that matters is getting it done and coming back safe and sound. You can consider that your graduation test. You’re all full-fledged members now, so what happens next is up to you.”
“I’m going to get into The VANisher here and fly back to the compound, and you’re welcome to join me. But you don’t have to. You’re welcome to stay on this side of the world to take some jobs if you like. Hell, you never even have to come back to the compound ever again as long as you’re active in your duties. But if I find out you’re slacking and not even training during your down time, you can bet your ass I’ll hunt you down.”
Jaid of course headed back to the compound along with Nachi, and Tize joined them as well. Kaizu, who still needed to be monitored, was forced to come back, even though she didn’t seem to care about anything at the moment—still riding the high of a fresh kill. Roque and Chorus decided to stay in Tooshifont, saying they’d meet up with Xard for the government reporting. Jaid’s best guess is they were going to try to manipulate them into altering the reward somehow.