The City of Silver lived up to its name as a gleaming edifice of shining light. It looked rather austere and pure, but the entire picture gave a sense of disdain. Eve felt it was a city that didn’t welcome outsiders, for all that it could have placed as a modern tourist trap on Earth. She turned away from the City of Silver and said, “Do either of you children have plans for the future?”

She watched Lily scrunch her face up after Mark cleaned the sauce off it before the little girl said, “I’m going to be a healer that can fix things like what happened to brother.”

“I will of course follow whatever plan you desire, Mrs. Eve,” Mark said more diplomatically as he wiped his hands with a wet cloth provided by the ever-omniscient waiters in the place.

“I have four allies. The Hut, Nota, Felix, and Kudzu. Each of them specializes in a specific affinity. Nota handles Ink so she’ll be your tutor, Mark.” Eve turned to the small girl and continued, “For you, Kudzu will be your tutor. There isn’t anything he cannot do with Alchemy, at least, according to his own words.” Both children nodded in understanding, and the rest of the meal passed with only the sounds required of excellent cuisine.

The window continued to show a stream of cities from across the known world, although none were quite as incredible as the first few. Nota had memorized the locations so using Spatial Step to reach them was theoretically possible. It wasn’t something Eve was in a hurry to try, as the mana cost would be insane.

Once the meal was finished, Eve paid with her crystal card. A glance at the two children revealed they were barely remaining awake, so Eve pulled them into the Hut and left her home to take care of them. No matter how inured children were, there were simply some things they didn’t need to see. Exiting the restaurant, she shifted her position to the building housing the four women from earlier by tracing the dust she left upon them.

Eve examined the ornate wooden building with her senses, the walls enchanted for privacy no more able to keep her out, than prevent a tornado’s strength. Plush carpets, ornate rune-work, and exquisite beds made up a large portion of the establishment. Scanning each floor she saw the Silver Fingers dabbled in quite a few illegal things from drugs to trafficking. A dungeon on the bottom serviced those who enjoyed pain, while also serving to conceal a prison that held several women in cages. Eve watched dispassionately as the women in cages were educated on the proper ways to service customers. Those who demonstrated proper understanding were given food, while those that resisted the brainwashing continued starving. The four women from before were currently in a cage, cleverly enchanted to prevent the stench from incapacitating customers. It appeared the Madame of the establishment hadn’t taken the news of Lily well.

Staring at the cages through her senses Eve sighed.

Not my problem, but I suppose I can take care of it while handling the main issue. Eve thought. Felix, ready?

Ready. Felix replied.

Eve used Spatial Step to move directly to the upper office where a single fashionably dressed older woman that still had the appearance of exceptional beauty was screaming at a well-built man. As soon as she arrived, shocked silence descended. The man moved to place himself in front of the older woman, which amused Eve to no end.

Felix appeared floating above Eve’s left shoulder before starting to spin with incredible speed. Eve allowed the Dungeon Core to shift her into the dungeon along with every other person in the building. As she appeared in a large cavern, the sounds of a disturbed crowd sounded in full force. Each person was now upright, and boxed in their own unique little cordon of space. Felix had placed those in cages offset from the rest of the group since they were most likely not involved at all with Lily.

I’ll check them just in case any of the caged ones sold Lily out. Eve thought before turning her full attention to the group of just under a hundred people. Time to sort the guilty from the innocent.

Eve flexed her will twisting space so the women and men were split into halves. Another small exertion prevented the noise from within the spatial boxes from exiting. She didn’t need these people able to speak yet, they only needed to listen. Floating to the front at a height that allowed her to look over the captives like a queen surveying her subjects Eve smiled. Most of the men and quite a few of the women suddenly had breathing problems, along with flushed faces. The Charm stat could be devastating when she unleashed the full effect, after all. Her book, candle, and a knife appeared immediately identifying her as a Witch. Reviewing with Nota had provided the perfect legal precedent for her actions, which all of the major powers adhered to.

Eve noted with satisfaction the Madame’s eyes widened as she realized the implications of the book, knife, and candle.

“Greetings, the Colored Coven apologizes for the abrupt manner of your translocation. Those who were not at fault for the attempted abduction of one of our apprentices will be compensated with one simple enchanted item of their personal desire within our power to create.” Eve said solemnly instantly calming the crowd down. Her eyes bore into the Madame as she continued, “Did you think we wouldn’t find out, worm?”

The gaze of almost all the current captives shifted to the Madame like a massive weight pressing down on her. Hatred filled the eyes of many, as they wouldn’t be in this situation if she hadn’t attempted to reach her hands to a Witch’s apprentice. There could be no other reason for someone of Eve’s power personally intervening, after all.

“She wasn’t an apprentice when we approached her, she wasn’t!” the Madame gulped before continuing, “Apprentices have to identify themselves, that’s part of the Witch’s Laws! I’m not at fault here, the girl is!”

Eve rolled her eyes and said, “Yes, the small girl desperate to keep her brother alive is certainly paying attention to the nuances of our laws. Please, pull the other leg.” Raising her hand sparkling silver dust materialized spreading to every individual before encircling their heads like a tiara. Snapping her fingers Eve entered a frozen moment to allow Nota to process the influx of information.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Eve grumbled as she learned that five of the men were serial murderers another three were abusers. They weren’t connected with the current issue but she told the Hut who immediately used her affinity to brutal effect. The Hut planted dust bombs that would melt the offender’s brains in a few hours by providing an ever-increasing amount of dopamine. Eventually, their bodies would simply stroke out providing a traceless method of death. It was a humane way to kill inhumane individuals which were par for the course with the Hut.

Eve was extremely displeased when they had to do the same to twenty of the woman.

Once she had the key players involved in Lily’s issue she exited the slice of time and separated the spatial boxes with a closed fist. With a twist of will Eve blurred every wall of those who had not been involved, sealing their sight and sound with minimal effort. Turning her full attention to the five women in front of her Eve smiled as she floated down to stand in front of them.

“One general, and four lieutenants.” Eve said as she paced in front of them, “Don’t worry, I can’t harm you. At least, that’s what the Madame appears to believe.”

The Madame glared coldly at her as she said, “You demonstrated too much power for a mere Tier Five. This means you have to be a demi-god, and that means you can’t harm mortals without dying. Relax, she can’t touch us, girls.”

Eve nodded before saying, “Your right. I can’t. I can’t kill anyone here.” The Madame’s smirk fell as she continued, “Haven’t you ever wondered how higher Tiers maintain law and order without killing?” One of the lieutenants was quicker on the uptake than the others and screamed as the answer came to her, “I’ll talk. Everything you want to know, I can answer it!” Four pairs of eyes shifted to the traitor who relaxed when Eve smiled.

“Higher Tiers cannot kill lower. That’s an ironclad law from Wilson, who you know as the System. So how can they maintain order?” Eve echoed one more before pointing to the traitor and saying, “Go ahead, explain it to these four idiots.”

The young woman who had sold out her compatriots said, “Raise someone to just below the demi-god level and then have them do it.”

“Exactly.” Eve nodded, “Wilson is a rules lawyer at heart, like any System. He’ll follow the letter and murder anyone breaking it. However, by the same measure, he won’t touch anyone that sticks to the exact wording of the unwritten law either. This means while I can’t sever your limbs, rip out your souls, or turn you into walking talking fuck toys, true. However, I can have someone else do it.”

The expression on the traitor was triumphant while the other four were paler than milk sheets.

Eve’s eyes glittered as she said, “It’s only to be expected that I know the loophole, a Demon taught me the rules after all. Just because I cannot harm you, doesn’t mean I’m required to save you after all.”

Although actually raising a subordinate to that level of power is something done only with the most loyal, too. It isn’t common since resources don’t grow out of thin air. Eve thought. Those who were willing to allow others to approach their own level of power didn’t grow on trees either. I doubt any faction has more than one ‘knife’ to borrow, realistically.

The Madame said shakily, “W-We can negotiate, I know p-people, places! I-I have more information than that b-bitch!”

Eve looked at the Madame before her eyes grew shadowed and cold as she said, “I don’t care.” She raised her fist in front of the four despairing women before closing it with finality. There was a pop of displaced air as Felix shifted the four into one of the starter rooms of the dungeon. If they were lucky it wouldn’t be the goblin section, but she was no longer concerned about their fate. Lowering her closed fist and relaxing her hand open once more, Eve looked at the sole survivor.

“So, little songbird, what should I do with you?” Eve said staring at the traitor, “Your information is outdated as I already know everything, but you were willing to sell out the others simply to save your skin. I can work with that, nothing is more reliable than the fear of death, sometimes. It helps that you were the only one who advocated for actually making good on healing Mark first, too before abducting his sister.”

Eve paced for a few moments before she grinned as the pieces fell into place. Turning to face the woman she smiled, “Congratulations on your promotion, sign here to survive.”

A contract paper appeared floating inside the spatial box which the traitorous woman signed with rapid speed.

I already planned to give Red and Purple a reward after their training this will dovetail nicely. Eve thought. Best if the place my students are relaxing is under my control, though. A flicker of thought exchanged her plan with Felix resulting in Eve gaining a scroll for the sale and transfer of all physical assets owned by the Madame.

It was amazing the things someone would sign to get armor, weapons, and potions when their outlook was bleak.

Checking the scroll with a smile Eve moved to the tedious part of this entire affair. Crafting magic trinkets fell into two categories. For the men, almost without exception, all of them wanted something that extended the size of their third leg. For the women it was a trinket that burned fat, allowing them to remain at the perfect weight to attract customers and look their best.

Eve extended basic contracts for each trinket removing her existence from the minds of those caught in the incident. Once everything was handled appropriately and all parties were compensated she returned them all to the Silver Finger’s branch. Felix had thoughtfully blocked the building with a barrier to prevent anyone entering which avoided awkward questions from arising.

Moving before the women who had been within cages the traitor, Janice, followed behind Eve as she spoke to the frightened women. “Those of you who honestly desire to take part in the Silver Finger’s business, raise your hands.” Counting out the eight raised hands she separated them to the left before addressing the remaining women, “Sign the contract that appears before you and this entire experience will become nothing more than a bad dream. You will be placed back with your families, or given enough money to find work within one year for those whose families might have sold them. If you refuse to sign, something worse than what you have experienced so far will happen.” Without issue, all of the twelve women signed contacts once more removing the knowledge of Eve from their lives. A quick bit of coordination with Janice ensured the women would be taken care of if they didn’t have families to return to outright. It wasn’t like the Silver Fingers couldn’t afford to hire a few maids, after all.

For the remaining women who were interested in joining the Silver Fingers, Eve structured contracts for each. This wasn’t done from the kindness of her heart, rather it was to ensure that Janice had eight completely loyal lieutenants. There was no point in taking over a business if it collapsed the next day from lack of proper management.

Once the eight women were removed Eve turned to Janice and stared at her for a long moment before saying, “Two of my students are on several month-long projects at the moment. Once they finish it will coincidently coincide with their coming-of-age ceremonies. You will ensure they have a wonderful night to remember, right?”

Janice bowed low and said, “Of course, mistress.”

“Good, I have more important matters to attend to. If anyone arrives to bother you from the other branches or the City of Gold simply say the Madame fell in a hostile takeover. If they push further imply the Dark Prince was involved. That should be enough to keep interested parties out. Should for some reason things not work out, send a message via the communication talisman to me and I’ll handle it. Just make sure that you call me as an absolute last resort.” Eve said with a dark look.

Janice nodded before Felix placed her back into the Madame’s office.

Eve closed her eyes considering the angles opening them she nodded, things had been handled with a light touch, and now it was time to collect her reward.

Cuddles! Eve thought moving back to the Hut's interior.