Harrison didn’t fear death. He didn’t fear loneliness. He didn’t fear heights. What he feared was the council. His steps brought him closer and closer to hist most dreaded room. From behind the doors, he could hear the roaring of lions and the hissing of hydras. Of course, there were no lions or hydras in there. There were even more horrible creatures in that room. It wasn’t like he was innocent. He had killed three men. In that room were the monsters of Trianon. They had killed so often that genocide, like the eradication of a slum district, was a viable option.

He had visited the southerner lands once. Crime there was chaotic but simple. Hundreds of small band leaders ruled the city. They were like a pack of starving dogs compared to what waited in front of him. ‘Organized Crime’ they had dubbed it. Instead of the ragtag bands, the council ruled all branches of crime. If the council said ‘jump from a roof’, you would ask where and when.

In his hands, he held a stack of papers that could seal his fate. If the council feared someone, he would fear that person a hundred-fold. With a slight push, he opened the door and stepped into the room.

Every gaze was stuck to him like glue and a drop of sweat was running down his forehead. “Sirs, I am here because of the top-secret target.”

A middle-aged monk of a southerner god waved at him in a dismissive gesture. “Harrison, my friend. Don’t be so tense. We are all buddies.” By the forced mirthful grin on his face, Harrison that it was part of a power game within the council.

The silky-smooth voice of Akila, leader of the prostitutes, chimed in: “We should hear the report. You, as leader of the intelligence department, most likely know what is written in the report.” The smug smile on the leader of the intelligence department’s face was all the confirmation needed.

Harrison took a deep breath and read: ”The activities began with the disappearance of the street rats Brent, Aron, and Julie. Julie came back to her base after several days and told the story of the two boys starting a revolution. She claimed a powerful aether user named sensei supports them. One of his abilities involves cleaning aether channels to a horrifying extent. Our necklace of truth confirmed Julie’s testimony.”

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A black figure seated in the corner of the room, the leader of the assassin department, asked in a mocking tone: “What is so special about cleaning aether channels? He could have bought a potion and tricked the girl.”

“Julie described the exchange as sensei punching the boy’s backs. All the evidence points towards the fact that he did an aether exchange.”, Harrison clarified.

The head of the department of narcotics foggy gaze lifted, and he spoke up in his smoky voice. “You don’t mean to say...”

“Yes, he practiced acupuncture.”

An elderly man with a beer gut, the department head of theft, leaned towards Harrison. “I thought it was only a myth.”

“It is the only explanation. Nobles would pay hundreds of platinum for such a treatment. On the same night, someone in the high crafter’s district created an aether storm. Experts say that such a phenomenon only occurs with pure aether without intent. The tornado that manifested damaged the surrounding building. Through the course of the next days, more and more kids vanished from their bases. One of Akila’s guards confronted sensei, but the guard let the mysterious young man escape. Yesterday evening, the elite palace guard teleported twice to a training facility via the power tracker. Allegedly, they didn’t catch the perpetrator. We can be sure that sensei must have been there at some point. In the morning on the next day, the same guardsman confronted the young man again. One of sensei’s spells backfired, and he was severely wounded. He still escaped. As for the instructions from your last meeting: I have already drawn sketches of sensei’s features. I have distributed those to every base with orders to kill the man on sight. Unfortunately, the ‘young rebellion’ keeps growing every day. We have already sent in moles and should hear from them soon.”

With a loud thunk, a silver glint flew past inches from his head. “The elite guard Commander has contacted us. He said that our underlings are now allowed to use aether in the city. Spread the word that aether usage on the boy is allowed. I will bet that he won’t even last in a fight against our C-Rank users.”, the shadow whispered into the silence that had descended upon the room.

As fast as his legs could carry him, Harrison scrambled out of the room and slammed the door shut. With a racing heart, he leaned against the wall and buried his face into his hands.

“Fourth visit to the lion’s den – survived. I hope I at least break the record of six visits of my predecessor.”