Aoi was lying in her bed waiting for the First Legion to board Dauntless. The Second and Fifth Legions were already retreating toward the Infinity Dungeon. She lifted one of the reports and sighed heavily just after a few opening sentences...

•••

Earlier.

Rhys wasn't particularly surprised when he and his ex-mercenary team were loaded into Dauntless and sent on a covert mission. Well... He was surprised by Dauntless but that wasn't the point. That warship was most probably the biggest and the most heavily armed ship in existence. You had to have something wrong with your head to not be impressed by that behemoth. In moments like this, Rhys became very melancholic and tended to reminisce about his life. To be honest, being a team of mercenaries was very romantic to talk about and tell long stories in taverns, but the truth was ugly; it sucked. You more often fought with your clients than with enemies. Never-ending disputes over money the client didn't want to pay or when they conveniently forgot to mention something very important for the mission. However, everything changed during the recent months. Finally, there was a King for whom Rhys would bend his knees. Now the Emperor, Theon Avalon, was someone worth dying for. The problem was he didn't need someone like Rhys to protect him. Someone with the title of The God Slayer doesn't really need protection.

However, it turned out that the Emperor was paranoid when it came to the protection of his wives. Rhys and his former mercenaries became the special forces in service to the Emperor himself. They all gladly left the mercenary life behind and pledged themselves to a single man who already changed the lives of millions for the better. Their duty from now until the day they died or retired was to protect their Empresses. While Praetorians were seen in the light and in public, they were working in the shadows. They received intense training and weapons and armours they could only dream of before. While Praetorians were immortal, they became invincible. They had much to learn but their first deployment came quickly. His team, the Moonshadows, was assigned fairly spacious quarters where his battle-hardened twenty soldiers could quite comfortably spend their time. Their Living Armours were waiting right next to their bunks ready to hop in. After the last three days of gruelling training, they dreamt about the promised entire-day in transit to the peace conference. They slept the entire time.

Once they arrived, they snuck to the surface on board a CB-90 and hid their assault craft in the forest. According to the intel, an assassination attempt was highly probable. The Emperor made it clear that if even a single hair fell off the head of representatives of Arcadia, Admiral Sparrow was going to immediately respond with a full-scale counterattack aimed at all military targets in the Union. While Rhys wasn't exactly sure how devastating such an attack might be, he was sure that preventing it would keep his family safe. After all, preventing war was always better than waging one, no matter how overwhelming the Arcadian army was. So his soldiers dispersed across the forest and hid themselves using an amazing illusion and waited. He observed the two assholes who slowly walked towards the conference tent and he played with the HUD. The detailed information he received from the Living Armour was absolutely amazing.

"Movement in sector one alpha." A voice belonging to one of his soldiers disturbed his playtime.

Rhys slightly moved his head and laughed.

"Confirmed. They couldn't be more obvious even if they rushed straight forward. I want prisoners, boys." Rhys stood up and activated his movement-enhancing runes. "No one can learn we were here."

"Yes, sir!" The round of confirmation rolled through his coms as he jogged towards the enemies.

His unit moved through the forest undetected and quickly took down most of the enemy soldiers who should, in theory, spot their approach. The forest litter was marked with the fresh blood of those few enemies who were unfortunate to notice Rhys' team. The enemy company that violated the neutral zone was one hundred and twenty soldiers strong. But that wasn't accurate anymore.

"Most of them are assassins, sir!" Another voice reported.

"Gods... The Emperor's spies are terrifying." Rhys laughed nervously as he drew his glaive and cut in half a terrified man who saw nothing more than a flash of a blade. "All right, boys. If you notice any of them having anything resembling a ranged weapon..."

"Code red! Moving to kill!"

Rhys turned around and dashed towards the flashing marker on his HUD.

"Kill them all!" He snarled the order and heard muffled sounds of dying people across the forest.

The enemy company was losing people rapidly, without even knowing they were under attack. Rhys, however, was sprinting as fast as he could towards his team member who called the red alert. He ran into five enemies who were shocked to see him. Before they managed to scream, Rhys kicked one of them and sent the boy flying into the nearby tree. He rapidly extended his arm that held his glaive, and by loosening his grip, he allowed it to move forward, only to tighten his grip again right before it could slip out of his hand. Using the momentum he moved around, making a rapid slash that reached three of the remaining four enemies. His movements were enhanced by the enormous strength and speed of his Living Armour, making his moves blur. The last enemy, seeing that carnage, froze in shock, which was his last mistake. Rhys rapidly raised his free hand and a throwing knife almost magically appeared in his grip. He threw it straight into the enemy's eye and resumed his sprint. That encounter lasted less than four heartbeats, but Rhys was so focused it seemed to him that he lost too much time. He tried to dash even faster, jumping over the obstacles or sliding under them. In one, long jump he leapt towards the small clearing where the bulk of the enemies were concentrated.

"Ren! Report!" He shouted but calmed down seeing green dots surrounding the clearing or already engaging the enemies.

"It's some kind of a ranged weapon, but I don't know what that is! My Armour insists it's a weapon, so..."

"So it is a weapon!" Rhys infused his glaive with the lightning and began the killing. "You got it?"

His shields and barriers flashed when the enemy spells and arrows hit him, but they weren't able to overcome his protection. With another unbelievably long leap, he was already between the enemies where his heavy glaive couldn't be stopped anymore.

"Not exactly, sir but I destroyed it." The apologetic voice was almost as if expecting some punishment.

"Works for me..." Rhys shrugged as he methodically cut down all the enemies around him one by one.

The enemy company finally realised their position was compromised but it was far too late. Rhys' team was rapidly thinning the ranks of enemies until the last twelve of them decided to surrender. Rhys' team swiftly cuffed them with handcuffs that suppressed magic, and the Captain quickly assessed the situation. Out of twenty green dots that should indicate soldiers under his command, only one was flashing with a yellow warning light.

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"Jack, what's wrong with you?"

"It was just a nasty case of mace out of nowhere, sir. Nothing serious but I had to withdraw to Dauntless. My right arm is broken but I got them all, sir!"

"All right. Report to Lady Sparrow that everything is under control." Rhys let out the air and looked around.

His soldiers were bringing the incapacitated enemies to the clearing while he approached Ren. The younger Wolfkin was standing over a strange weapon that was cleanly cut in half. Around it, were scattered remains of six assassins who died almost in an instant.

"What do we have here?" Rhys picked one of the weapon's halves but it just broke down into more pieces. "Fuck."

"I've never seen anything like that before, sir," Ren said with a sigh. "But I know better than to argue with my armour, Commander."

"It's Captain now, Ren. We are no longer mercenaries." Rhys chuckled. He looked at the description of the debris in his hand. "Some kind of magic staff?"

"No, sir. According to Living Armour, this is something called a muzzleloader."

"I see it now... Why is it classified?" Rhys was surprised, and his last remark was directed towards the Sentinel system.

"I'm sorry, Captain. This information was classified by the Emperor. Please, collect the weapon remains and return to Dauntless with your prisoners." Sentinel's voice was a bit too flat. "I was informed that I can disclose some information about this weapon. It is not magic-based, but rather, it's similar to the bow in its principles. It uses an explosion to propel a projectile made of soft metal instead of energy stored in bow's limbs. The energy is devastating and deadly for the target."

"That's rather not good?" Rhys shook his head. If the Emperor classified that information, it must have been him to allow Sentinel to tell them even that. That also meant that the Emperor himself was watching them right now.

"We don't know," Sentinel replied in a bit worried voice. "The theory behind this weapon is very well-known to the Emperor. While you may think this weapon is advanced, for our Lord it is just a primitive toy. Nonetheless, it is dangerous. Depending on the bullet, this weapon might be harmless or deadly. Everything depends if it manages to punch through the magic shields. Caution is advised. Lethal force to be used against any enemy equipped with a gun is permitted. You can freely use the Sentinel Blades if you deem it necessary."

"Thank you, Sentinel." Rhys sighed and scanned the area. Then he looked at the internal clock and gasped in shock.

It took him and his team just fifteen minutes to take down the enemy company. He knew that Living Armours gave them an unthinkable edge in battle but this was insane. He slowly realised that being counted among the ranks of the Arcadian elite soldiers was no joke. He was standing in silence, quickly reviewed the most important things of the last twenty minutes, and decided to leave a small sqad behind.

"Ren, Paul, Hakkan, Tom. You are staying and protecting the Empress. I'm going to take the prisoners and weapon's remains back on Dauntless. I have to question them." Rhys sighed. "Ren's team, you are blending with the background and returning to the observation posts."

•••

Rhys was sitting in the dark room next to the holding cell where the highest-ranking captured assassin was interrogated. Next to him, was sitting probably the most powerful person in Arcadia right after the Royal Family. The Grand Admiral Janet A'net Sparrow seemed calm but he knew better than to believe appearances.

"I must thank you, Captain Rhys." She finally spoke. It was a hiss of a furious predator.

"I was only doing my job, Lady Admiral." He replied and tried to understand those strange interrogation methods he was witnessing.

"Nonetheless, it was a job excellently executed. Our sensors caught something in that forest but we weren't sure what that was. However, we had no idea about your presence." She shook her head. "The Moonshadow Company?"

"Yes, Ma'am!" He confirmed seeing the enemy captain thrashing in his handcuffs while the Inquisitor was just calmly sitting in front of him asking simple questions. "We are..."

"You don't exist, Captain." She shrugged. "You are one of many secrets of Arcadia, and trust me, there are quite a few. The Emperor has an enormous talent for finding gifted people and encouraging them to work for him."

"Well... I can't deny that." He smiled.

"I heard that your daughter, Alanis, will be starting her apprenticeship soon. A little bird told me that Queen Luna was going to employ her in her office." The Elf looked at him amused.

"I... I didn't know." He stuttered, a little bit overwhelmed.

"Don't worry, Rhys. It's just the way the Emperor is. He will pay all his debts." She chuckled, and Rhys instantly understood what she really meant, making him laugh.

But he liked the simplicity of the deal and happily accepted it. As long as he was loyal, his and his family's future was secured. Overnight, he had moved to a big and comfortable house with a small private garden. His children were attending the best schools in the country if not on the continent. He earned a lot of money and his wife was free to work wherever she wanted or stay at home and write books. It was her biggest dream - to tell the stories for everyone. Staying loyal to the man who saved his family couldn't be easier.

"I wonder what he offered a person like you..." Rhys chuckled before he realised he said that loud.

"He created me." She replied with a wink. "His spies found me when I was at the very bottom. I believed him and his promises. In return, he gave me everything I own. But most importantly he gave back my dignity."

Rhys shook his head but before he could dwell on the idea, the interrogated enemy suddenly calmed down.

"Looks like he is ready to talk. Suit up." She stood up while his armour reattached his helmet on its own. Janet shrugged as if she saw his surprise from behind a closed visor. "You have no face, you don't exist."

"Right..." He replied with a voice belonging to Sentinel.

They entered the interrogation room, and Rhys noticed that the wall he previously thought was a window was just a normal-looking steel wall of the ship's hull. The Inquisitor stood up and saluted to the Admiral, who, after perfectly saluting back, sat on the free chair. The young Human handed her the documents and nodded towards Rhys, who instantly received the copy of the same papers that opened in front of him in the form of another illusion. He immediately dismissed the papers, deciding that they had no value for his work.

"Who sent you?" The Admiral asked with an incredibly reverberating voice. It wasn't a simple question but a demand that wouldn't stand any defiance.

"Lord... Derek... Vetulia..." The assassin scowled in pain but was unable to stay silent.

"All right... We got everything we nee-" Janet was about to stand up when Rhys got one of his feelings he never ignored.

"Who was your target?" He asked with an unsettling metallic voice.

The assassin cast him a frightened gaze, but Rhys wasn't going to be fooled. There was hate in that gaze. The Admiral once again used her demanding voice.

"Hector Breonia was the top priority target. The second one was the Queen of Arcadia..."

"I believe that the Emperor has yet to learn about it..."

"I believe that he already knows," Rhys said and swallowed, seeing the incoming call from the Emperor himself.