"...Never again," Sahro muttered while kneeling on the floor, Liara imitating him with a pale face, "...never again."

Milena laughed before putting on a haughty expression, "Huh, scared of the mean machine? Of the big bad Transit?"

Sahro and Liara shot her a deadly stare before forcing themselves up. Glenn watched from the side, his arms crossed.

'...They don't call it a subway, then. Just transit. Hmm. Maybe Exan got his names mixed up?' He pondered before leaving the station with his team. They had arrived in District XIV, or Towsblade if he trusted a clean copper sign hanging above the exit. He was immediately struck by the difference between the previous Districts and this one. Where he expected to discover more run-down Victorian-style houses, he instead found steam-powered factories and countless weapon shops, all flaunting steel of remarkable quality.

There were little to no housing facilities; instead, lots of commercial areas, established merchantries, and mercenary groups. Need someone to take care of a Rift? Ask the Cleaner's Workshop or the Red Hunters. A need for security measures and escorting personnel? Try the Blue Fangs or the Godless Paladins. There was manpower available for every military task possible, making the Towsblade District the perfect place for employers.

"Cleaner's Office, Cleaner's Office...wow, doesn't that look like the Workshop's emblem?" Milena whistled in awe as she pointed to a structure in the distance. Glenn followed her direction and blinked in shock more than once. There was a particularly tall building, maybe seventy, or eighty stories tall. It was mostly white, with lines of red for the joints and corners. From the top of the building to at least the middle half, there was a grand sculpture of a red flame outlined with black. This was the tallest building in the District, and maybe the tallest in the whole Bourgeoisie.

"I have to admit...this is impressive," He muttered while rubbing his eyes. Sahro and Liara nodded silently, similarly blown away by the building's height. It wasn't as tall as King's Rise walls, but King's Rise walls were another matter entirely. They were made to block the way, not to live within it. On the other hand, this building was probably filled to the brim with Cleaners officers, and Fixers, as well as some other important people. This defied this age's technological limits.

"But then, most of the things we see today are defying this world's technological limit. I'm pretty sure the Court is going to be even worse than that," Nelg remarked, calming Glenn's increasing excitement. The latter closed his eyes and took a moment, before turning toward his friends.

"Alright, we know where to go. It's..." He pulled out the Exan-Egg and checked the time, "...3 P.M. and we didn't eat. I didn't expect the Transit to take that long, to be honest."

"Me neither..." Sahro grumbled with an apparent distaste for the public transport. Glenn smacked his lips and stretched.

"I'll head to the Cleaner's Office and see what the INK-DEF mission is about. Feel free to go have fun while I do the boring shit. Let's meet at 9 at the place Kevin gave us, alright?" Glenn proposed. Milena instantly smiled and grabbed Liara's hand.

"Okay, perfect! We'll go shopping and join you in Silverhomes! Bye~!"

Glenn smirked as he watched Milena drag Liara away, before turning to Sahro.

"...And you?"

The Black Heir spat on the floor, sneering, "Do you think I want to explore this place? This is hell, I'd rather be with you."

Glenn paused, before laughing mockingly, "Oh, but little Sahro is scared of the city, he needs daddy Glenn to show him around?"

Sahro grunted and didn't reply, leaving Glenn to laugh all alone. Well, Diamanes and Nelg did laugh with him, but they didn't count, did they? The two walked in the Cleaner's Office direction, stopping from time to time to check the weapons the shops proposed. Glenn didn't need one, since he had Nelg, who probably was the equivalent of some legendary artifact, but Sahro did seem interested. Glenn glanced at the curved sword hanging on his friend's back, finding it to be already well-worn.

"You should stop mistreating your weapons," Glenn remarked with a smile. Sahro paused, before shaking his head.

"I'm treating my sword exactly like a swordsman should. But it's not capable of handling me anymore..." He trailed off, his eyes glued to a Ōdachi with a white hilt and a dark blade. Glenn glanced at the price and winced.

"Phewww, only five thousand credits. Wow. You'll have to work your ass off if want to get this one for yourself."

Sahro also noticed the price and his expression darkened, turning away with visible disappointment, "I hate having to be poor again..."

Glenn sneered and patted him on the shoulder, "Don't worry, we'll be rich again soon enough. Let's get to the Cleaner's Office to be done with that."

The Black Heir grunted and patted Glenn back, before taking the lead. It didn't take too long for them to arrive at the Cleaner's Office. The streets here were way less labyrinthic compared to the 3rd and 4th Districts after all, and much easier to navigate. A dozen guards under the Cleaners colors were keeping watch at the Cleaner's Office entry, weaponless and their faces hidden under their white hoods.

They all shared the same red cross on their chest and backs, and they had a threatening air to them. Glenn was tempted to check out their strength with Mana Sight, but with him being supposed to have no Mana and the fact that it was rude (if he trusted Manalok Calopea Truant's words), maybe it wasn't a good idea.

"Why do I feel like these guys are Assassins who will go on to fight in some holy crusade?" Nelg commented with a bemused tone, making Glenn chuckle.

In the end, he decided against inspecting them, but...would an occasion come to discreetly check their powers, he certainly wouldn't miss it.

'And you're wondering why your life is fucked up.' Diamanes sneered. Glenn moistened his lips and entered the Cleaner's Office under the guards' watchful eyes. In opposite to the crowded Workshop bustling with Fixers, the Cleaner's Office was practically empty. No contract board, no waiting room, only a single counter waiting at the center of the room, a room that was heavily decorated with majestic black banners with red flame embroidered on them. A single clerk was sitting at the counter, smiling politely with crescent eyes.

Glenn glanced around the room to make sure he wouldn't accidentally steal someone's spot, and went up to the counter, Sahro closely following behind him. The clerk watched them do so with that same polite smile, silent and patient.

"Hrm," Glenn cleared his throat and pulled out the black envelope the HCD had given him, holding it for the clerk, "Hello, I've been sent here by the HCD Manalok Calopea Tuleam. I was told I should give you this and wait for further instruction, so...?" The clerk looked at the black envelope without saying a word, unresponsive. Slowly, he went and grabbed the letter, carefully handling it like a precious piece of jewelry. He produced a letter opener and broke the letter's seal.

Sahro bounced from one foot to the other, unsure of what to expect. Glenn forced a smile while elbowing his friend in the waist, stopping him from moving. The clerk didn't seem too interested in their shenanigans, entirely concentrated on the letter's contents. After a short while, a flame appeared from his hands and burned the letter down, a small breeze then scattering the ashes to the wind. Glenn wanted to grimace but restrained himself. Why all the mysteries and secrets? The longer it was going on, the weirder this situation was appearing.

After a short but awkward silence, the clerk stood up and bowed to Glenn and Sahro.

“It's a pleasure to meet you, Fixer Glenn the Devil's Hand, Fixer Sahro the Black Swordsman. Someone will pick you up in a few minutes. Please make yourselves comfortable in our waiting room”. He politely pointed to a small crystal coffee table and a set of chairs waiting in the corner of the room, which certainly hadn't been there before. Glenn knew this because he'd made sure there was nothing else in the entire room before talking to the employee.

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"Dimensional magic, then? Or is it illusions?" Nelg pondered, soon followed by Diamanes with a disgusted tone, 'I'd say a bit of the two, and some disgusting, divine bullshit, whoever's filthy undead energy that is. Urgh.'

Glenn thanked the clerk and went to sit in the waiting "corner" since it was more a corner than a room. Sahro glanced at the clerk before shaking his head and following Glenn's example. As soon as both were seated, their surroundings suddenly changed to a luscious environment with green everywhere. The Black Heir jumped to his feet, his sword already drawn while Glenn was clenching Nelg in his hand-axe form to fight at any moment. A glance at his surroundings made him realize they were standing in a garden of some sort, a greenhouse. Someone cleared his throat right beside them, making the two spin on their feet and ready their weapons to hack and slash.

They only found a well-dressed gentleman, with a white vest and pants with the habitual red crosses pattern. Not one inch of his skin was visible, hidden under tightly wrapped white bandages. Not even his eyes were visible, and the only way could tell they were a "he" was by the tone of their voices.

"Please, sit," the stranger asked with a gentle voice as he pointed to the chairs. Glenn and Sahro carefully obliged while putting away their weapons. The bandaged man rubbed his chin, lost in thought, before shaking his head.

"Forgive me, I tend to forget myself sometimes. You may call me Veil."

Veil leaned forward, his elbows on his knees and his hands glued together, "...So you two must be the famous Devil's Hand and the Black Swordsman, is that correct?"

Glenn grinned, "That is us. Why don't we skip the formalities and you tell us what the job is?" He went straight to the point, secretly a little annoyed at all that time wasted. Couldn't they just tell them what the hell they were supposed to kill, so they could be done with it?

Veil seemed to smile under the bandages, and he crossed his arms.

"...No beating around the bush, then. I was simply curious as to why Truant sent your team for the INK-DEF mission, but, now that I'm seeing both of you, Glenn, and Sahro, I'm starting to understand why. And I have no doubt the rest of your team is certainly exceptional."

The bandaged man pulled a sheet of paper out of his white vest and gently placed it on the coffee table. Glenn and Sahro leaned in to see what was on the paper.

"Ninety-seven days ago, Comte Noir and the Black Gate almost fell. The Dark Wall, the sole rampart separating Munirp from the Ink Dunes, the Dreadland, and the Kyrvos Archipelago was truly threatened for the first time since King's Rise establishment," Veil said sternly, losing all of his mirth. Sahro tensed up when the Ink Dunes were mentioned, but Veil did not seem to care too much about that.

He tightened a bandage around his left hand's pinkie, "As you might be aware, Munirp is a powerful kingdom, with a considerable amount of talented, powerful individuals who, more often than not, can solve situations with their sole power. But..." the bandaged man crossed his arms and leaned back in his seat, "...The enemy is similarly incredibly powerful. Maybe thanks to some twisted play by fate, Munirp's forces are now tied with them, with neither side succeeding in taking advantage. Currently, the country is at a standstill while facing one of the most dangerous threats in thousands of years."

Glenn opened his mouth to ask a question but Veil continued, undeterred, "...And your question might be, what has the Cleaner's Workshop have to do with all this? Well..." He pointed at the sheet of paper on the table, which Glenn and Sahro previously recognized as a map. Of what, they couldn't tell, but a map nonetheless.

"This is Munirp," Veil pointed at the left side of the map, where Glenn could indeed recognize a few features of Munirp. Since it was a much larger map, though, he was still a little destabilized, "...and this is the Black Wall." Veil placed his finger on a thick, black line that separated the map in two.

"A massive chain of mountains said to have been created by the wizards of old to protect Munirp from ancient threats. No one knows what it was then, but everyone now references to this part of the world as the Land beyond the Dark Wall," Veil conveniently explained. Glenn frowned but kept on listening. What kind of "ancient threat" needed a literal chain of mountains to be avoided? This sounded a little too over the top, didn't it?

"I mean, if I'm strong enough to create a chain of mountains, I'm doing it," Nelg admitted shamelessly. Glenn was about to rebut him, but...after thinking about it, it was indeed quite the cool thing to do. Create his own Everest. Wouldn't that be something memorable?

'Keep on dreaming,' Diamanes groaned dully, 'Maybe try reaching a tenth of these wizards' powers before thinking about such things.'

The corner of Glenn's lips trembled, but he didn't add anything else and instead focused on Veil. The bandaged man then circled an area in the Dark Wall.

"This is the Black Gate. The only passageway between Munirp and the Land beyond the Dark Wall. It isn't an exaggeration to say that whoever controls the Black Gate controls everything past it. Exotic merchandise, exclusive monsters or artifacts, legendary mercenaries... The Black Gate is the most important passageway on this continent."

Sahro groaned, "This still doesn't explain what we're doing here."

Veil smiled, "Don't worry, I'm getting there. As I've said previously, three months ago, an unknown enemy attacked the Black Gate and almost won. Munirp dispatched their best talents to fight back in time, leading to the current situation. And now, every military organization wants a piece of the pie that is the Land beyond the Dark Wall."

He tapped his finger three times on the right side of the map, on three outlined areas. "The Northern area, the Dreadland. Terrible living conditions; acid rains, constant high-level Rifts opening, roaming monsters—there even are rumors that the forgotten orc tribe rose from the ashes and rebuilt their civilization there. Besides that, the Dreadland is led by the Jester, who managed to round up every survivor, exiled criminals and retired masters for his cause. Due to the harsh environment, each of their fighters is incredibly strong, with considerable fighting experience. They attacked the Black Gate in hopes of breaching into Munirp and establishing themselves on the mainland. They even call it the promised land, I believe."

Veil then showed the center of the map's right side, "The Ink Dunes. I believe your natal home, Sir Sahro?"

The Black Heir clenched his teeth and nodded. "A strange environment. Incredibly terrible living conditions, with overbearing heat during the day, and freezing temperatures during the night. Water is rare and a precious commodity, and the creatures of the desert-adapted to survive it. Stealth capabilities, abilities to live without food nor water for months, and strength sufficient to rip any rank 3 to pieces. That's the most basic set of abilities for a monster in the Ink Dunes. On the other hand, it has the potential of being one of the largest natural resource inventories in the entire world."

Sahro and Glenn looked up in surprise.

"What natural resource? This is a desert; there's nothing," Glenn asked with his creased eyebrows.

Veil gently smiled, "The reason for the Ink Dunes black color is the high proportion of iron mixed with it. We don't know why, but the desert is extremely rich in minerals, while also housing countless ruins to be explored and powerful relics to be retrieved. Now, it has been occupied by the self-claimed Celestial Gods and their army of mindless slaves. They came to a temporary alliance with the Dreadland and the Kyrvos Archipelago to try and breach the Black Gate."

Sahro clenched his fist and looked away from the map, hatred filling his eyes. Glenn glanced at him but didn't say anything. Veil continued his explanations as if everything was fine.

"Finally, the Kyrvos Archipelago, which is right there—" He pointed to the Southern part of the map, "—is a coalition of small city nations, pirate crews, and foreign churches. They're currently assuring dominion over that side of the globe under the name of the Freedom Alliance. They're the least threatening of the bunch, mostly concentrated on having fun and exploring the seas for hidden treasure. But, somehow, they still possess countless powerhouses, mercenaries who can be bought. They're working with the Celestial Gods and the Jester to help them breach the Black Gate."

Veil sighed and rubbed his forehead, "With that, you have most of the context. As for your role in all this mess, it'll be quite simple."

The bandaged man grinned widely, a wicked grin that made Glenn shiver.

"This is an extraction mission into the Ink Dunes. Infiltrate the Dunes and the Celestial Gods, who are too busy fighting their wars to take care of smaller, competent fries like you, and steal everything you can. Critical battle data, artifacts, people...whatever can create the most damage to the Celestial Gods. If we manage to get a hold over critical intelligence that can turn the war around, that means we get that much larger of a bargaining chip with the King and the realm."

Veil leaned back before adding, "Also, it has to be done in three months. Other teams similar to yours already found out that the main offensive will start in three months, hence the rush. Weaken Munirp's enemies and steal as many valuables as you can. Empty the graves, destroy the ruins—if we can't have something, they can't either. The more damage you cause them, and the more things you bring back to us, the better the rewards will be."

Glenn and Sahro slowly exchanged a look, unsure of what they just listened to. Veil glanced at a watch wrapped around his wrist and sighed.

"This was a pleasure meeting the both of you, Fixer Glenn and Sahro. I now have to meet with another team, so please forgive me for being so hasty. Report to the clerk once you're ready to head off to the Ink Dunes. Farewell."

Without leaving them a chance to say something, the surroundings changed back to the Cleaner's Office entrance, with the lone counter and clerk waiting there. Glenn's eyes were stuck in a wide-opened position while Sahro was having difficulty breathing, his right hand clenching his chest.

'...This is much more insane than we initially thought, isn't it?' Diamanes slowly said, also taken aback by that turn of events.

So they were heading to war, then. And they couldn't say no, since they already signed.

Well.

Uh.

Okay.