Feeling the weight of the responsibility that had been given to him, Amon drew a deep breath and composed himself. This assignment was heavy with consequences, but it was also an excellent opportunity to prove himself. The Ravens had always been a secretive organization, as they had to be if they opposed the Order, and only higher ranking members could access the more confidential information.

Amon started giving a run-down of the information he had received to Bel. As he was describing the Holy Knights they would have to face; he saw Bel's face getting darker and darker. At some point, he even stopped eating, something unusual for him. When Amon finished his presentation, Bel said. "We hit it big this time.

-Indeed, it's quite the mission. I think the hardest opponent will be this Undying individual. Dealing with him will prove to be quite a challenge.

Bel shook his head slowly.

-I think you're mistaken. I've never fought this Undying, but I have had a brush with Stormbringer in the past. We didn't fight directly, but I could never forget how he changed things around. We were in the outskirts of Bamako. We were a team of two hundred augmented fighters, and we sieged one of the Order's main operational center in West Africa. Our victory was assured as we outnumbered and we bested them in terms of skill. We needed only two or three days to break their last defences. At least, that was until Stormbringer came in the picture.

At that point, the waiter came back, and Amon quickly placed his order before he signalled to Bel to resume his tale.

-Stormbringer immediately changed the Order's strategy. They started laying traps and willingly abandoned parts of their stronghold to tighten their defence. They also raided us during the night, something they had never done before. They took the fight to us and out of nowhere, we started feeling like we were the ones being sieged. However, this change of strategy would have been meaningless in any other circumstance as their manpower wasn't enough to pull it off. But Stormbringer's strength was the deciding factor. His use of the lightning augmentation was wanton, to say the least; the storm in his name wasn't just for show. We also discovered some peculiar things about his power. When the electricity hit our retractable swords, it disrupted the circuitry and made us unable to use our weapon.

"At that point, we were left without weapons and always on the defensive, so our leader chose to retreat. The power of this one man changed the whole outcome of the battle. If he already been in New-Paris for an entire month, I dread to think about what kind of measures he has to place to make our life hell.

- We already know he has augmented a portion of the city guards. It'll be hard to predict what kind of moves he has taken to ensure their safety as they deal with the safehouse.

-The faster we act, the less time he has to prepare.

-In that case, we shouldn't delay too much. We will need to do some recon work first. If I were to guess, I'd say they are somewhere in the business district. The area they are in should be somewhat restricted. Scouting potential location might be the most efficient way to find them. Since we can't use the operatives stationed in the city, who are too busy evacuating, we can only count on ourselves.

-When we find the place, how do we act?

-I think our best bet if infiltration. I want to avoid a direct confrontation as the three Holy Knights sound like troublesome opponents.

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-Shall we head out?

In Bel's voice, Amon could sense impatience and a hint of bloodlust. Bel seemed eager to get to kill and that worried Amon. In a bind, he wasn't sure Bel would follow his directive as he preferred bloody combat to stealth action. However, he needed to trust him as Amon couldn't deal with this alone.

-Let me eat first, and we still need to pinpoint the most probable location of their base of operation.

At that moment, the waiter came back with Amon's food. As he ate, Bel and he discussed the sites they would scout first. They also decided to act separately to cover more ground. Since time was of the essence, the quicker they could find their enemies' whereabouts, the faster they could kill them.

Amon paid for both of their food, and his heart ached a bit as he saw the bill. They headed for the business district in the center of the city. Walking this way meant they would pass by where they had killed the captain of the guards yesterday. After about an hour they saw a large crowd blocking the road. It seemed like the guard had set up a perimeter and cut off all circulation in the area. With a mischievous smile, Bel headed for the crowd. Amon could only helplessly follow him as he didn't want to let him on his own in a situation like this. With his unpredictable character, Amon didn't feel safe.

The crowd was relatively large, with about two-hundred people gathered around the scene of the incident. They had little difficulty making their way to the front of the group as Bel's height was enough to make people subconsciously get out of his way. When they got to the front, they could see the aftermath of their battle more clearly with the aid of the daylight.

The were several black marks on the pavements where the pyromancer had unleashed his fire. Thankfully there were no flammable materials nearby when they fought yesterday, or it could have devolved in a massive explosion. The bodies had not been cleared up yet, probably because they were waiting for some crime scene experts to come to analyze what had happened. The gore did not seem to discourage the crowd who seemed morbidly fascinated by the whole ordeal. Two dozen guards were keeping the people at bay behind the security tape.

An officer of the guard, probably an investigator was crouched next to the body of the captain. His furrowed brow signalled his lack of understanding of how the event could have unfolded. As far as they knew their captain and the few who had accompanied him had been recently augmented and it would hard for them to find their match in the city.

Amon didn't want to stay here for too long. He looked up to Bel and saw a disgusting smile on his lips. He motioned to him and albeit reluctantly, Bel followed him. As they were leaving, Amon saw from the corner of his eye a familiar figure among the crowd. It was the young lady from this morning. Ven was it? However, what grabbed Amon's attention wasn't the fact that she was here but rather the expression on her face. Most of the people in the crowd had either a shocked or fascinated expression, but her's was somewhat pensive as if she had encountered a puzzle that needed solving.

When Amon noticed her, she seemed to have sensed his gaze and turned towards him. They were easily seen among the crowd, especially Bel with his height. A look of surprise flashed through her eyes when she saw Amon. As she looked up to Bel, her gaze completely changed and seemed to become much sharper. An understanding smirk also flashed on her face for an instant, so short Amon wasn't sure if he had hallucinated it.

Amon felt like it would do them no good if they stayed here and he led Bel outside the crowd. A few minutes later, Bel asked Amon: "Who was that lady with whom you were having a staring contest? She seemed to know us. Don't tell me you're having some fun outside of our mission. If that was the case, you should have called me.

The insinuation behind Bel's remark made Amon shiver slightly. He did not doubt that if he did, the night would find a way to end in blood.

-I merely met her at the hotel this morning.

-Is that so. You should be careful. I felt like something was weird about her."

Amon didn't reply, but he committed Bel's warning to mind. No matter of much of an animal he was, Bel indeed had sharp instincts, and his experience was vast. If he bothered warning him, it meant there might genuinely be something more to her than Amon first thought.

After circling the crowd, they entered the business district, and the sight was a far cry from what it had been the night before.