“You’ve heard about the night imp?” A middle-aged guard said to his fellow comrade on duty as they stood above the walls of an enormous magical metropolis. High rise buildings lit up by mysterious lights of different hues could be seen. It was a jungle of structures that overlap with one another. 

“Who?" The other guard who was far younger than the old guard only raised his eyebrows in ignorance. 

“The night imp! He’s the new guy that’s posted on the wanted list in the barracks.”

“Oh. It’s not really our jurisdiction to actively search for criminals...that’s the job of the Glaives...so I don’t really try to remember the faces.” The young guard answered while giggling like a moron.

Without any warning, the middle-aged guard slapped the back of the young guard’s head.

“You fool! It’s also the city guard’s duty to remember those faces in the chances of us seeing those wanted criminals while on patrol! I know you’re fresh off training but these things you should have already learned!” The middle-aged guard bellowed. His face showed intense disapproval.

“Ouch! Jeez old man settle down! Take it easy...You’re fired up for someone who’s only a guard at that age.” The young guard ended his sentence in a low volume murmur. 

“What was that!?” 

“N-nothing! So anyway, who’s the Night Imp?” 

“Hmph!” The middle-aged guard returned to his previous guard posture. “Well, we don’t know the answer to that ourselves. We only know that he is reported to be a Tiefling male with red skin and a thief’s attire that has caused all sorts of problems.” 

“What kind of problems?” The young guard’s curiosity seems piqued.

“Well...he’s reported stealing valuable goods from...some important people in the city. Obviously, those people want their things back and their status allows them to push every security division in the city to look for him. Although it’s not clear what his motivations are or who he’s working for...If you ask me, he's probably one of the mafia's cronies. Nevertheless, keep an eye out for people who fit that description.” 

“I see—”

In the middle of their conversation, another guard approached their post on the wall.

“Hey, Cole.” The fresh guard called out. It was the young guard who turned in response to his greeting. 

“Ah, Jeffrey.” Cole, the young guard replied in a monotone. 

“It’s my shift now. Go to the station to clock out.” Jeffrey was a man in his 30s with blonde hair. 

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“Ah, alright.” 

“Before that, what were you two discussing?” Jeffrey asked. 

It was the middle-aged guard who answered. “The night imp. The new one in the wanted list. This boy here doesn’t know who he is.” 

“Oh. Him. Well, it’s another tiefling criminal, not really much to say. ” Jeffrey sneered with disdain. “Their whole fucking race is heretical, what do you expect? We should kick them out the damn kingdom.” 

The middle-aged guard frowned to Jeffrey’s words. “Our personal opinion on them is not relevant. Just be sure to keep an eye out for people matching the description while we look over the city.” 

“Heh. I’ll probably inspect every tiefling I see. They’re all probably in on the night imp’s scheme.” Jeffrey pushed Cole out of the way so that he could stand on guard. “Go on now, rookie. Go to sleep. You have an early shift in the morning. Don’t stay up all night fucking whores. ‘Ight?” 

Cole stayed silent and simply nodded before walking over the staircase of the tall wall.

The middle-aged man shook his head in disapproval. “You’re really something Jeffrey.”

“What?” Jeffrey shrugged his shoulder as if he’s clueless about what he did. “I just spoke the unbiased truth, Bruce.” 

Bruce, the middle-aged man, clicked his tongue. “Whatever. Just focus on our duties.” He returned his attention to outside the walls where there are also some houses and farms of citizens.

“Alright then.” Jeffrey also did the same before he noticed something moving in the skies. “Hmm? It’s an owl.” 

----------------------------------------

“See you later, Cole. Have a nice night.” A guard on watch at the barracks waved Cole the young guard goodbye. 

“See you, Frank.” Cole replied and left the barracks.

Cole walked the streets well past midnight. It was not actually dark like one would expect. On the contrary, it was relatively well lit. Street lights with magic crystals inside of them illuminated the sidewalks. The road themselves were not of simple dirt and gravel but rather paved with bricks. The buildings rose high and if one were to look up, towering structures could be seen filling the horizon. The capital city of King's Crown of the Kingdom of Raviar is certainly one of the most well-developed cities of the continent with its advancement in magic technology and glorious infrastructure. 

The streets were also not empty. People still roam the streets here and there and carriages past by a few times. Although it was unclear whether these people of the night had good intentions to roam the streets. Cole walked for a while  to a quiet area before making a sharp turn into one of the many alleyways. Unlike the main street, the alleys were lacking in illumination and showed only an ominous shadow, making people avoid it like the plague at night in fear of the monsters that may be lurking in it.

Cole stopped after he dove inside the alley’s shadow and was invisible to the eyes of the people on the street. 

“ ‘night imp’, what a terrible name.” Cole smiled before putting his hand on his chest. A purple light emerged that enveloped his entire figure. After the purple haze subsided, he was another being. He was not even a humankin anymore. Red skin with two long horns sticking out his forehead. Black eyes with no pupils, making one feel as if they’re staring into the abyss if they were to gaze at it. His city guard leather armor morphed into a black thief robe with a rapier and a crossbow on his back. 

Suddenly, the cooing of a bird could be heard overhead. It was a bird in its natural time zone as it was nocturnal. An owl swooped in from above and landed on the tiefling’s shoulder.

“What did you manage to find?” The tiefling asked the owl. 

The owl’s eyes shined purple.

“I see. Then we better get moving before the sun rises.” The tiefling raised his hood to cover his head and disappeared deeper into the dark alleyway.