Sahro and Milena were silently sitting in the relaxation room of their manor on Longhorn's Street. They had just returned from the Horizon Gates, caked in dust and blood. But neither of them had any intentions of cleaning themselves up.

"Lucian will return with good news," said Milena as she chewed on her fingernails anxiously.

Sahro rubbed his stump pensively, frowning. The manor's other occupants had noticed their return, but none had dared to disturb them. There was something that made them hard to approach, a palpable bloodlust. The fox Raijin silently rested its chin on top of its master's head.

"We need to find a way to locate them." Sahro suddenly declared.

Milena chuckled dejectedly. "Sure, but how? What way do we have to find them? I don't know any magic can track someone anywhere!"

Sahro slammed his fist on the table, his expression hardening. "It doesn't matter. We will find a way, and rescue them. We need to be quick."

"Rescue who?" An angry voice thundered from the other side of the room, hidden in a corner. As it stood, there was only one person in the manor who hadn't been scared away by Sahro and Milena's bloodlust. Lina jumped out of her hiding place, her face as red as a tomato. Sahro clicked his tongue while Milena sighed heavily, her face hidden in her hands.

"Where is my brother? Where is Liara? What have you done with them?!" Lina's anger was only rising. "I swear, if they're in danger I will—"

"—You will what?" Sahro interrupted her with a deathly glare. Red electricity exploded out of his stump, creating a magic limb. "You're weak. Don't butt in dangerous matters like this."

Lina took a step back, hurt. "But—"

Sahro stood up violently, his chair falling to the side. "There's no but. We're already working on it. You...You focus on what your brother wants for you. Getting an education and growing stronger."

Glenn's little sister looked at the ground silently, her teeth clenched. Milena pressed her lips together, hesitating to say something, but the young lady left before she could.

"...That was harsh of you." Milena leaned back in her seat, nervously tapping her fingers on the armrest.

"It was necessary." Sahro shook his head. "Glenn is right to want a more...normal life for her, away from fights and death."

Milena hugged her knees. She could understand that all too well. The sound of the main hall's door being opened echoed through the manor. Both of them stood up in tandem and dashed out of the relaxation room. Lucian was standing awkwardly in the middle of the main hall, twiddling his thumbs.

"So? How did it go?" Sahro restrained himself to a simple question instead of shaking the answer out of the Prince.

"My father will look into Count Mortelli and maintain his status as a traitor for now..." Lucian bit his lip and looked away in shame. "But he won't help us to locate Glenn and Liara. His scryers are too busy trying to monitor enemy positions, and..." He rubbed the back of his head. "...He pretty much told me it was my mess to take care of. We can't count on the King."

Milena collapsed on the stairway, sitting in dismay. "Where else are we supposed to find scryers? They are as rare as Newborn Rulers!"

"Are they our only solutions?" Sahro inquired.

Lucian grimaced. "Unfortunately, yes. Locating and tracking magic was something exclusive to the elves if my history lessons are correct. Scryers can use these spells because they have some elven blood."

"What do you need a scryer for?" Manalok Tuleam, the Restoration Operator and Lina's private tutor was leaning on the first floor's railing, looking down at the main hall with a bored expression.

"Finding Glenn and Liara," replied Milena. "They've been teleported to Onnea knows when we got out of the Beyond."

Tuleam frowned confusedly. "You went into the Beyond? The land of demons?"

"Yes, yes, it was an adventure I will certainly tell to my grandchildren once I have some, but we don't have time for that. Sahro, Milena, I might have some leads for other scryers, but they're very well hidden and we have no guarantee that they'll help us—" Lucian stopped and took a second look at Tuleam.

"...Wait. Aren't you Tuleam Manalok? From the noble Viscount Manalok house?"

Tuleam picked his nose. "So what? I don't have anything to do with these boring losers."

Lucian rubbed the corner of his eyes, grimacing as he tried to recall important information. "Tuleam, Tuleam..." His eyes suddenly widened. "Wait, you're that miracle child! The only Restoration Operator and one of the best scryers in Munirp, am I right?"

Tuleam rolled his eyes and brushed his seaweed-like hair back. "I certainly am a miracle child, considering how the rest of my family all have the intelligence of a brick, but I'm not sure I agree with the rest—"

"You can help us?!?" Milena ran up to Tuleam and grabbed him by the collar. "Can you locate Glenn and Liara?"

Manalok Tuleam pushed her away and dusted off his white lab coat. "I could do that, but, why would I?"

Sahro breathed out his frustration. "...What do you want, Tuleam? I know you had a deal with Glenn in exchange for Lina's education. We can do something similar."

Tuleam straightened his back and flashed a wide, yellow grin. It looked like the Restoration Operator hadn't cleaned his teeth in a long while.

"I could agree to that! You see, I've been very curious about Black Heirs' history, you know, the real history. The old empire and all that?"

Sahro's eyes widened. "You know about that?"

Tuleam scoffed. "Come on, I have practically restored every ancient tome in Munirp. I'm bound to learn a few secrets here and there."

Milena bowed her head. "We accept the deal." She had no hesitation in selling the Black Heirs' secrets.

"Good. You'll pay me after we find them. Now, uh, I'll need the blood of a relative. Can someone go find Lina?" Tuleam rubbed his hands together, already grinning at the idea of expanding his knowledge.

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Sahro spat to the side as his fox hissed at Tuleam. "Blood magic. Tsk."

Lucian raised his eyebrows with an idiotic smile. "Sorry, who's Lina?"

***

Lina was lying on her bed, the door to her room locked. She looked at the wristband that should have allowed her to communicate with Glenn, but no matter how much Mana she sent into it, there was no response on the other end. She sighed and rolled to the side, her worries growing with each passing second.

"Milady, if I have to comment, I believe that they are right—" Tiamanes tried speaking but Lina clenched shut her right hand, silencing him.

"I know that you agree with them. I know what they are thinking. But still!" She threw her pillow away, sitting on her mattress with a dejected look. "...But still. It's not pleasant to be always considered like some sort of precious porcelain thingy that must be kept away from all the 'very bad things' in the world."

She looked at the ceiling with frustration. "What am I training for if I'm just supposed to stay away from all the danger?"

"Survival," stated Tiamanes plainly. Lina looked at her right, purple hand for a long time before groaning and rolling back into the bed.

"Survival my ass... I'm sure I could have helped if I had come with them."

"I sincerely doubt that."

"You—!"

A knock on the door interrupted her bickering with the entity living in her hand.

"Lina? We, uh, we need your blood to locate Glenn, could you—?" Lina opened the door with a bright smile, her previous anger and frustration nowhere to be seen.

"Sure, what can I do?"

Milena looked at Lina with an absent look before picking herself up. "We're going to scry for Glenn's position, and we need a strong medium connected to him."

"My blood," understood Lina.

"You're sharp. With some luck, it's not too far from here and we'll be able to pick him up quickly." Milena crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. "We just need to draw some blood, is that fine with you—"

"Yeah, yeah, just show me the way already!"

Milena restrained a smile. 'She sure is enthusiastic about this. She most certainly is Glenn's sister.'

They went into the relaxation room, where Sahro, Lucian, and Tuleam Manalok were waiting in front of a map.

"Teach'?" Lina frowned but Tuleam dismissed her with a wave of his hand.

"Lina, if you could..." He pointed at a needle on the table. Lina didn't even think twice about it as she poked her finger with the needle. Tuleam's expression suddenly turned serious as he concentrated on the droplet of blood. A flow of Mana flew out of him, a bright show for those who could see Mana and a strange breeze for the ones who couldn't.

"Just asking, you don't have any other relatives, do you?" Tuleam inquired as a drop of sweat beaded down his forehead. Lina shook her head as she watched the process, entrance. Her blood floated up in the air before hovering above the map. Tuleam muttered incomprehensible ancient spells, sweating profusely. The blood droplet suddenly froze and fell on the map, right on a named location.

Everyone leaned over the map, wondering where the blood landed.

Lucian raised a confused eyebrow. "Satidipug? Why would he be in Satidipug? I should have heard about it beforehand if he was there!"

Sahro tapped his fingers on the table, worry growing in his chest. Satidipug was near another city, Eari, and between the two were the Retni's Plains. Or, if his memory didn't fault him, the place where Glenn landed when he arrived in Limbo.

***

"I. Not. Like. That."

The orc driving the slave carriage grunted in displeasure. His beady eyes were stuck on Nelg's armored back, on which countless whipping marks had been imprinted. More than once he had tried to pull off the man's armor, but every time he failed. It was as if the armor was part of his body. It simply couldn't be taken off.

"Tell. Mistress."

The orc turned on his seat and knocked lightly on the carriage's window.

Nora peeked her head out with annoyance. "What is it?"

"Slave. Not. Pain."

The slaver lady frowned and jumped through the window, dexterously pulling herself onto the carriage's roof. It didn't take her long to realize what was wrong.

"Why does the Devil's Hand's twin still have his armor?"

"Can't. Take. Away."

Nora rubbed her chin before grabbing the whip from the orc driver's hand. She channeled her Aura through it and sent it flying at Nelg's back. Glenn's doppelganger was sent flying by the hit, only to be pulled back by the chain tied to his slave collar. Nora's eyebrows rose slightly. The armor didn't appear to be any more damaged than when she first saw him. Under the layer of crass and filth, it was still as tough as freshly hammered plates.

"Interesting." The corner of her lips lifted when she noticed Nelg standing back up and returning to his original position, not moving an inch away. Standing behind the beautiful Black Heiress and taking all the hits for her. "Chivalrous, too. Hmm..."

Nora pointed at Nelg and Liara. "Bring them both inside the carriage. Give them un-Silenced collars."

The orc grunted in understanding while Nora returned inside the carriage. A dozen minutes later, Liara and Nelg were kneeling in front of Nora's bed, their hands and feet restrained by thick Blumar chains and fastened to an iron pillar in the center of the carriage.

Liara leaned back against Nelg, closing her eyes as she enjoyed not having to pull or walk for a moment.

'How long has it been since we've captured? A week? More?' The Black Heiress clenched her teeth tightly and glanced at the naked person sleeping comfortably in the bed. Glenn was still unconscious, showing no signs of waking up. Whatever Milena had done to him, it certainly lasted more than twenty-four hours.

'I'm almost certain that it's due to that messed-up teleportation. Something must have gone wrong, without even considering Glenn's degraded health. I hope he's alright...'

"You see, even in these far-away lands, we've heard of the incredible Devil's Hand." Nora sat on the bed, running her hand on Glenn's skin freely. "The man with a purple limb and the strength to oppose ancient gods and forgotten evils..." She suddenly gritted her teeth and stabbed Glenn with her nails, drawing out blood. "...Or stopping the advent of the rightful Goddess of this world, the Mother. This is unforgivable."

Liara pulled on her chains, her expression contorting in anger at the sight. Her wrists, ankles, and throat were all sore and bloody, but she couldn't care less. 'My Mana is recovering even slower because of these Blumar chains...damn it, I'm barely at ten percent of my usual strength. How am I supposed to beat a Saint like this?'

Nelg was frozen against his pillar.

"The Mother...The Fallen Mother, you mean?" He spoke aloud with a certain touch of mockery. Nora glared at him but Nelg wasn't done. "That fake Goddess who tried sacrificing an entire village to bring her monstrous Son down onto this land? Ah, yeah, I remember Glenn killing that thing back when he was a True Initiate, a Third Circle."

Nora grabbed his throat and clenched tightly, hissing. "You roach! Just because your armor is impervious, you think you can't feel pain?"

Nelg moistened his lips, clearly unbothered by the choking. "Ah, no no, don't worry, this is all very~ painful. Ah, what sufferings!" He dramatically raised his eyes to the sky before grinning at Nora.

"You do know that when he'll wake up, no matter your strength, he will destroy you?"

Nora's anger faded and she lay down beside Glenn, running her bloody fingers through his hair. “Oh, I highly doubt that. He's only an Expert Magi, whereas I'm a Saint at the peak of his strength. But even if he were strong enough to defeat me...” His broad smile sent a chill down Liara and Nelg's spines, “I made sure he didn't wake up. Did you know that in the Lost Sea, pufferfish can put their predators to sleep for eternity?”

She pulled out a vial of a shimmering pale blue liquid with silvery undertones, playing with it. "I failed to understand why the Mother told me to take this path in the Deadlands and patrol the area until new orders, but now..."Nora leaned her head against Glenn's chest.

"Now I know. Fate is nothing but a play for our Mother."