Isabel always found it surprising how strong she could be if needed. It couldn’t even be compared to how it had been back on Earth. There, she mostly spent her days in a haze, only doing what was strictly necessary to pass her classes.

Now? Now Isabel could move without rest for hours. She could lift many times her weight. Her feet carried her with incredible speed. She knew the best athletes on Earth couldn’t compete with her in any physical competition.

All it took was an intent to move mana through Isabel’s body, filling it with boundless energy. She didn’t quite get it, but she didn’t need to. It all came naturally to her. Her body adapted to using mana without conscious effort, much to Mila’s grumbling.

Too bad none of that energy had gone towards punishing that damn imp. Viola deserved a good punch for that terrible nickname.

But…

Isabel kept pushing through the crowds. The conflicts and abuse did not escape her eyes. Those who were weaker were tossed aside. Those who had no one to protect them were left helpless and would likely die. With each passing day, Stilag found a new way to make her feel terrible.

These sights reminded Isabel her energy could be put to better use than chasing down a prankster, even if she disliked Viola immensely. Not in a small part because Mila seemed to get along with her just fine, or even better than just ‘fine’.

Of course, Isabel realised Mila needed friends. Everyone did. Except… Viola had gone through a makeover, making herself much more appealing to the eye when infiltrating Stilag. She wasn’t nearly as plain as in Ocheon.

“Bah!” Isabel felt conflicted. She knew her possessiveness could be a bitch to deal with. Mila needed friends, and that was it. “Fucking stop that!”

To vent her frustrations, Isabel veered off the course and crashed into a couple of loudly shouting men who barred the way in and out of an alley. They were blocking a family with children from hiding in there.

Leaving the men sprawled on the ground, Isabel didn’t wait to see what would happen next. She had to get back to Kanna and Vatim. Hopefully, Mortimer was doing his job and keeping them away from the trouble.

Once more, Isabel tried to find a way through the unending forest of bodies. She heard snippets of rumours spreading. Luckily, they were not about her and Mila. Although she caught a couple mentions of them, too.

People talked about being trapped in Stilag. They whispered about an upcoming fight between the local Crime Lords, Nobles and Army. They wished to get out. They exchanged ideas about how to get out. But many felt helpless. They just wanted a hole to dig themselves in and hide.

The unrest was ever-growing as people grew more desperate. But these people were not pushed to the breaking point just yet. They still hoped something would change. That level-headedness would prevail. Perhaps it was because of this hope that the rumours of her and Mila were such a popular topic to discuss. They had punished evildoers. It was something that didn’t happen in Stilag.

But they weren’t that powerful. There had to be someone else in Stilag who could bear the burden of saving these people.

Just as the masses had faith that Isabel and Mila would help them, so did Isabel hope people in power would do their jobs. They couldn’t be all bad, right?

But Isabel’s intuition told her otherwise. And from how people kept looking around and towards the sky, theirs did the same. Small struggles kept breaking out here and there, impeding Isabel’s path. A particularly noisy struggle was happening in front of her.

The closer Isabel came to one of Naran’s holes that served as an entrance to his little tunnel system, the louder the commotion in front of her became.

When Isabel arrived at the bridge over the gutter where the entrance into Naran’s domain was, she saw several armed thugs facing off against another less numerous group, from which she recognised a few faces.

Careful to not disturb the shouting, Isabel rounded the confrontation and joined at the back of Naran’s group. She tapped on the shoulder of one of the women, glaring at the intruders. “What’s happening?”

The woman jumped but calmed down when she recognised Isabel’s face. “Some of surviving Hacho’s people. They got forcefully taken in by the ‘Hatchet’ and were forced to come and see if Boss would help with a route out of the city.” She explained.

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“Hatchet?” Isabel was not familiar with the person. She assumed it was a person.

The woman shrugged. “One of the local ring leaders. He rules the area to the north. A large one. More than Helly and Boss have together. It’s near where Nobles live. We don’t have dealings with them. Needless to say, they did not come to negotiate. They informed.”

“Which didn’t go over well,” Isabel noted. “Are they dangerous?” She tried to get the feeling for the bunch of ruffians but couldn’t tell. They didn’t look impressive with their tattered appearance and lack of weapons and armour.

“These ones? No. They are a feeder to see if we will fight back. It’s just a test. Those ones-” The woman pointed further down the street where another group was ploughing through the crowded street. “Yeah, not fighting those guys.”

“Ah.” Isabel could tell they were trouble. The new group was actually armed and strutted with confidence. They had bits and pieces of metal armour covering their vital spots and expensive-looking leather armour. “Should I get Naran to send reinforcements?”

“Boss?” The woman looked at her in surprise. “You know ‘im? I mean… I guess I did hear about that. Yeah, that would be nice. Another request wouldn’t hurt. We already sent the word. But I doubt he will send any support unless the tunnels get breached. Boss is preparing…” She wagged her eyebrows. “You know.”

“Right.” Isabel knew. Naran’s primary concern currently was an escape route. “Is there a problem?”

“Yeah…” The woman didn’t elaborate. “The Guard’s did something. I don’t know what. I wouldn’t be here if I was important.” She grumbled. “Or had skills beyond looking threatening and punching a face.”

“So what about those guys?” Isabel pointed at the new group. They used almost the entire width of the road to walk by pushing everyone aside.

It made a lot of people unhappy. And unfortunately, any complaints were silenced with an iron fist - literally. A couple of the men in the group had metal gauntlets. They happily used them to pound ‘sense’ in the bystanders.

The heartless actions quickly made the people scatter. Or at least try to. Many didn’t manage to avoid the beating for being too slow.

“We retreat.” The woman replied. Just as she did, the leader of their little group spat on the ground and gave a sign. He looked at his group and shook his head. They were too weak to stay.

Their retreat to the tunnels was accompanied by jeers and taunts. Isabel was the last one to jump down from the bridge. She saw the groups join together and start ‘cleaning’ the surroundings.

They began to brutally beat up an aged man who had dared to reply to the group.

Everyone scampered away from the casual violence. People tried to clear themselves from the area with even more speed. Many hurt themselves in the process.

Isabel landed next to the sewage waters with furrowed brows. She looked back up to the bridge where she had jumped down from. Even through the loud shouting, she heard the bones breaking.

That couldn’t continue. Isabel had to do something.

“Come. Those assholes won't enter the tunnels right away.” The woman called Isabel to join them.

And Isabel did - for now. Just after entering the tunnels, she passed the group and rushed ahead. Her goal was one of the rooms where miscellaneous items were put in for later sorting. She needed only a couple things from there.

With her speed, it took Isabel at most a minute to reach the place. She threw the doors open, spooking someone who was sorting through the piles of stuff. “Leave me alone for a minute.”

The woman hurried to exit the room, leaving Isabel to do whatever she wished. Which, in her case, was searching for the mask of a demon she had thrown in here after the meeting with Helly. The cloak as well. The items were where she had left them. That is under a pile of random clothing pieces and kitchen cutlery. It had been her attempt to hide them.

After accomplishing her task, Israel rushed back. She took a different route this time. Mila had often told her to keep her abilities to herself. So Isabel donned the mask and the cloak.

It wasn’t comfortable. Isabel preferred something more tightfiting. The cloak kept flapping around, making her wonder how Mila kept hers behaving. Leather armour was heaps better than this.

After finding one of the more remote and hidden exit ladders, Isabel came to a halt and climbed up. She found herself in a freshly emptied basement. It was a good thing there was no one here. She could safely return here to escape after dealing with whatever the hell was happening out there.

It didn’t take Isabel long to find her way out of the basement. As it turned out, the building wasn’t completely empty. Some refugees had already broken into it, hiding from the outside dangers. More found their way inside as she ran.

Upon Isabel’s passing, they covered and hid, not daring to face her. She doubted they even had a good look at what she was wearing. At least these families had a place to stay for now.

And then Isabel was back in the streets, not far from where the ‘Hatchet’s’ group had wreaked havoc.

Despite Isabel being absent only for a few minutes, she now heard no fighting sounds from anywhere close.

In fact, there was now a suspicious silence in the direction of the bridge…