The announcer's voice was booming loudly, making its way through the gate.

The spectators sounded really excited.

“This is humiliating”. Bortheus touched the plaque that was covering the royal emblem on his chest. His shields received the same treatment.

“It's the only thing I could do in such a short time” Phisena said. “But I made it so that your defense will be boosted. And you can take those off after we are done”.

Hearing that casual talk, Nez felt a little less stressed out.

Luckily, the crowd in the stands would have been too far away to spot his Devil Touched features. One less thing to think about.

But still, having so many eyes on him...

Delilah adjusted her circlet. “Are you ready to take them by storm?”.

“We won't fail you, my lady”. Bortheus bowed.

“Just stick to the plan, and everything will be alright” she replied with an encouraging look.

Nez clacked his teeth together. “Sure thing. You three focus on your teamwork, and I'll take care of my business”.

“Let the last match of the first round begin!” the announcer finally said.

The gate began to rise, revealing the battleground.

The arena had been set up with columns and large rocks to use as covers, leaving the central portion clear enough to allow ample movement.

Their opponents were a group of five people, a band of adventurers that often participated in that kind of events. Nez immediately set his sight on their two archers, a pair of twins.

Those were his preys.

“The marksmen are mine” he said softly, with a vicious tone.

He could afford to let loose a little. Around the arena there where arcane crystals that would heal injuries. As long as he didn't outright kill someone, it was going to be fine.

A horn marked the start of the match.

The two archers quickly tried to bolt to the side together, probably to offer cover to their teammates and still protect each other. An interesting move.

But Nez was quicker.

He took advantage of his new gun, and shot twice rapidly at them without the intent to hit.

The bullets went flying by just a quarter of an inch from their faces, making them stop for a second. Judging from their expressions, they were completely shaken, knowing that if Nez wanted he would have hit them with ease.

Mission accomplished.

Nez dove behind cover and started to make his way to the archers. No doubt they were waiting for him, but it didn't matter.

They wouldn't see him coming.

Silent as a shadow, Nez stalked them like a predator. It was almost too easy, thanks to the archers' perturbed state of mind.

He waited for the right moment, got behind one of his targets, then dragged him to the ground and hit him in the stomach all the while looking at the other one with a ferocious expression.

One archer was out of the fight.

Nez turned away and got back behind cover, but not before getting hit on the side by an arrow. It hurt, but not enough to stop him.

He climbed on top of a rock and attacked the remaining archer from above as he was looking for him, stabbing him in the shoulder.

“Get away from me, you monster!”.

The archer tried to hit Nez with a small knife he carried on his belt, but he swung frantically. He was clearly starting to lose it.

Nez sunk his blade right under his armpit the second he exposed it, putting an end to his struggle.

He looked at his dagger with a satisfied face, then went towards the center of the arena. One of the remaining opponents was already on the ground, badly scorched.

The other two were being pressed by Delilah and Bortheus.

They seem to have everything under control.

Bortheus protected Delilah from a heavy blow by a greatsword wielding muscular woman, allowing her to breach the opponent team's defense.

“Spirituale telum!”.

The blade of Delilah's rapier lit up brightly. With a quick and powerful thrust, the princess took care of the muscular woman.

“There is no shame in surrendering in front of a sure demise” she said to the last opponent, pointing the radiant weapon towards him.

He quickly conceded.

“And victory goes to the King's Brigade!” declared the announcer.

A huge round of applause erupted from the stands.

“Thanks for taking care of the two archers” Delilah told Nez, before performing a gracious curtsy towards the spectators.

“It was nothing”. Nez went right for the exit, cupping his side.

The rest of the group quickly joined him.

“We'll go clean ourselves up” Delilah said, taking Phisena by the hand.

They went their way.

“I need to take these off” Bortheus said, scratching at the metal plate that covered the raven emblem.

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“Do you need help?”.

“I need you to not bother me”. Bortheus left for the dressing room.

Nez sighed. What did he do to the guy?

Not being welcomed by the royal knight, he decided to go and wait for the girls.

The halls were mostly empty, only a few staff members walking around.

It was thanks to that stillness that Nez could hear a scream in the distance. He couldn't be sure, but it sounded like Delilah.

He rushed to the female changing room, finding two masked individuals with their weapons drawn. They both had the same black clothes and held thin knives without guards.

“You're not as discreet as you think, princess Delilah” one of them was saying.

The other was tightly holding Phisena, his weapon pressed between her shoulder blades.

Nez dashed in the room.

The two assailants were caught off guard by his arrival. Phisena managed to wiggle free with just a scratch, and Delilah used her light spiritist magic against the enemy closest to her.

Even so, those two moved very rapidly to avoid any hit and ran around Nez to get to the door. It was evident that they were professionals.

But they are not good enough.

Before they managed to flee, Nez slashed at one's chest and stopped him. From the thorn clothes, out came a round silver pendant with five vertical lines in the center.

“Shit!” the aggressor yelled. He couldn't shake Nez off, who was trying to disarm him without wounding him too much.

The other one took out a vial filled with a purple liquid and smashed it on the floor.

A thick smoke filled the room. It was the perfect cover for an escape... or it would have been if they weren't dealing with Nez.

The Devil Touched, who could see well anyway, managed to grab the second attacker. “Mind if a check something?”.

After ripping the collar of his shirt, he saw a pendant identical to the previous one.

“Very interesting” he said.

Hearing someone approaching behind him, Nez dodged to the side avoiding a knife to the back.

But the aggressors managed to slip away.

Instead of running after them, Nez made sure the girls were fine. “Phisena? Delilah? Are you hurt?”.

“We're okay” Phisena replied.

Once the smoke cleared out – blown away out of the window by a wind current summoned by Phisena – a couple of maids showed up.

“Help! A Devil Touched is attacking two women!”.

Nez looked at the maids with incredulous eyes.

“He saved us” Delilah corrected her. “You should worry about reinforcing your security, instead of accusing innocent people”.

By the time the two girls finished tidy themselves up, Bortheus arrived.

“What did you do?” he immediately asked Nez.

“I only fended off two assassins that were after Delilah” Nez replied with disarming simplicity. “Thank you for asking”.

The royal knight seemed appalled.

“It's true”. Delilah came out of the dressing room, followed by Phisena. “They attacked us while we were unarmed”.

“Who were they?”.

“I don't know” Nez replied. “But I can find out”.

All three of his friends suddenly turned to him.

“They had the same necklace. I think it was the symbol of an organization”.

It was none that Nez had seen before. That meant it was a little-know group, of small size... or it was a new one, formed only a little while ago.

Either way, the had a clear objective: Delilah.

Could they be connected to the elder elemental problem?

Without wasting time Nez guided the group through the city, looking for a place he once knew.

He found it exactly where it was last time. It was a plain looking cloth shop.

Nez headed straight for the clerk. “I need to speak to the owner” he said without many pleasantries.

“She's busy at the moment”.

“Then I'll wait until the sun has went down and came up a thousand times”.

Hearing the password, the clerked raised an eyebrow. “Follow me”.

The group was brought in a cozy but simple backroom, with a lot of tapestries and a table in the middle.

“What is going on?” Bortheus asked. He seemed confused and suspicious at the same time.

Nez stayed silent.

“Answer me, dammit!”.

The Devil Touched looked back at him. “We are about to meet an information broker”.

As if he had summoned her, the owner of the shop came out from a curtain. She was a well dressed older lady, who brought a soothing scent with her.

“Not many know how meet me in person”.

Nez took a seat at the table.

“I imagine it was you” the lady said, sitting as well. “How did you get to know the password?”.

“I should be the one asking question”.

The lady stuck out her lips. “Fair enough”.

“A silver medallion with five vertical lines” Nez said, going straight to the point. “What does it mean?”.

“You want to know about the Silver Claws, cursed child”. The lady maid a faint smile. “It doesn't surprise me that one of your kind is interested in them”.

Nez brushed off that comment. “Never heard of them”.

“They appeared not long ago, but quickly became the top organization to... deal with people”. The lady made a smug expression. “It would seem they are the ones who killed The Hollow”.

Nez couldn't not make a shocked face. “Are you serious?”.

“That's what the rumors say, at least. Some think The Hollow is actually working for them”.

That was even less likely.

“They are based in Cardinal Citadel”.

That was the Salisgor Republic capital.

Nez dug his fingernails in his thigh.

“That's all” he then said, keeping a straight face. “May I have pen and paper?”.

Once those materials were brought to him he wrote down a few things, secrets he came across through the years.

“I believe there's not going to be the need for monetary compensation” he said, passing the folded paper to the lady.

She went wide eyed after reading it. “You are correct. It's been a real pleasure doing business with you...”.

The group went back outside.

“This is bad news” Nez said. “I know the kind of people that move in the shadows of Cardinal Citadel... That's where I'm from. We have skilled people on our heels”.

“That does it!” Bortheus snapped in the middle of the street. He grabbed Nez by the shoulders. “I have enough of your shady antics! Since we met you, my lady kept being put into danger by criminals!”.

“Bortheus!” Delilah yelled.

Nez broke free from the knight's grip, moving like flowing water, and got behind him in the blink of an eye.

“I never hid what's my line of work” he reminded the group. “And if a group like the Silver Claws is after you, then I'm one of the very few people in the Three Nations that can improve your chances of survival”.

It was getting more serious than Nez had anticipated. Someone wanted to stop Delilah, and was ready to go great lengths to do so.

“We are very grateful for your help” Delilah said. “Bortheus is only concerned for my safety. Don't let it get to you”.

“We should never have let him join us”. Bortheus stormed off, but not too far. Delilah went after him.

Phisena slowly approached Nez and tapped him on the back. “Are you okay?”.

He turned around and smiled. “Of course. I'm used to way worse than that”.

She seemed relieved. “So you won't go away, right?”.

“Never even considered it”.

“Good, because I like talking to you. It always makes me feel like I'm not just an animated doll”.

Nez cocked his head to the side. “Maybe it's because I'm weirder than you... but you seem like any other person to me. You have thoughts and feelings, you have wishes and desires, and you act on your own will”.

He started to make his way to the inn.

“And Delilah and Bortheus think the same, I'm sure about it. So keep your chin up”.

She probably didn't want a pep talk from him, but Nez felt less tense anyway. It was in that moment that he realized he also liked to talk to her.

What a weird feeling, this is...