As Reeza delved deeper into the subterranean base, a noticeable ge in atmosphere unfolded. Mana crystals, like scattered stars, provided gentle illumination along the walls and ceiling. Simple furnishings began to appear in the corridors and chambers, adding a touch of homelio the previously barren space. Aion shafts, crafted usih magic, circuted fresh air throughout the plex.
Reeza panted as she sprinted ahead. Without so much as a sidelong gnce, she hurried past the barracks, the kit, and the cafeteria that often doubled as a ference hall. Plush carpets, tapestries, and crystal deliers hi opulence as she he g body of the evil syndicate.
As she approached an oriental sliding door of aern-styled house led strategically within the cavern wall, any lingering traces of apprehension within her veins were swiftly ed by rage. With each step, the threads that bounded her rationality were ied like tio a fme.
Reeza’s mind raced with questions. Where was her mother being held? What unspeakable acts had they subjected her to? And was Casimir, that treacherous bastard, truly pnning to double-cross her after all she had sacrificed? Words failed to capture the chaotic whirlwind of emotions ing within her.
Just as Reeza’s fingers hovered he wooden door, they froze. From within the dwelling, she could faintly dis the hushed murmurs of a highly fidential exge between the aforementioned bastard and his loyal guard.
Draped in a loose-fitting oriental robe, Casimir sat on a cushion with an angry scowl. He took a swig of sake before smming the ceramic cup down on a floor table beside him.
“Ahhh,” he exhaled noisily, the alcohol doing little to alleviate his exasperation. “Damn that arrogant bastard!” he cursed, hurling the cup into a er where it shattered upon impact.
A small Florian girl timidly scurried forward to attend to the mess. With a delicate touch, she carefully repced his cup with another. Casimir growled. He couldn’t shake the feeling that the girl’s as were a subtle mockery of his outburst. For a fleeting moment, he eaihe idea of striking her down, but instead, his unpleasant gaze shifted to his stoic bodyguard.
“Dealing with nobles has always been a vexing affair,” he argued. “But then again, what more one expect from a breed of entitled, self-absorbed pigs who believes that the world solely exists to do their bidding.”
“heless,” Rahe typically reserved bodyguard, interjected, “we must make every effort to maintain a cordial retionship with them.” His tone was firm, undersg the importance of diplomacy.
Casimir scoffed, his disdain evident as he relutly ceded to the unpleasant truth. “Sadly, you’re right. We’re in desperate need of funding to see the brothel through to pletion.”
Discarding all sembnce of etiquette, he seized the ceramic vessel from the attentive Florian and guzzled down the delicious beverage within. “Kahhk,” he exhaled, sav the taste. “It’s crucial that I this project as soon as possible,” he remarked with a grin, “and demonstrate to the boss that I’m deserving of being a franchisee.”
A rare flicker of emotion danced acrer’s face, a fleeting shadow of something ominous. “Agreed. “The soohe better…”
Casimir’s gaze turned lustful as he gowards the sheepish girl standing nearby, a noticeable bulge f beh his garb. “Fortunately, we have the Florians as a rather effective bargaining chip,” he mused aloud. “They’re the perfect pawns f open the wallets of those pompous bastards.”
CRASHHH!
Reeza burst through the wooden door with the ferocity of a charging Bullgator, her eyes abze with murderous i as they locked onto Casimir. The heavy bastard let out a pathetic squeal of terror, his member shrinking back like a mimosa pnt as the enraged woman lu him with a dagger.
“YOUUU!” She hissed, her dagger catg the ambient light as she raised it overhead, her aura pulsating with malicious i.
Just as the bde threateo pluo Casimir’s eye, Ranger effortlessly intervened, swiftly subduing Reeza in a disorienting flurry of movements that left her grounded and immobilized.
“Let me go!” she bellowed like a ossessed, her teeth bared, her gaze ptuous. “You monster! I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you!”
A furious snarl escaped Casimir’s lips as he observed his ungraceful response. Dark liched across his forehead, his anger mounting to match Reeza’s own iy. In that moment, he begrudgingly admitted that the girl had succeeded in instilling a genuine sense of fear within him, and that fact made him livid.
With a strenuous effort, Casimir pushed to his feet and approached the fuming girl still pinned beh his capable servant. Without hesitation—spurred on by his rage—he kicked out with a thick leg, nailing Reeza in the side of the ribs and utterly knog the air from her lungs.
“How dare you!” he spat, delivering another kick, the merciless assault synized with his emphasized words. “After everything I’ve done,” he seethed, delivering another punishing blow, “you have the audacity to bite the hand that feeds you?!”
Coughing violently, Reeza struggled to draw in a lungful of air, the secutive blows leaving her pletely breathless. The once fiertensity in her gaze faded, repced by a gze of agony that mirrored the excruciating pain c through her body.
“Fine!” Casimir spat out, his breath ragged as he pressed his bare foot against her face, clearly drained from the physical exertion. “Si’s e to this, I’ll fess the truth: right from the start, I never had any iion of setting you, your pitiful mother, or the sves free.”
Reeza’s eyes flew open in shock, and Casimir let out a mog ugh, his heel grinding into her jaw.
***
“Sir!” Gasped a lone guard, his breath ragged as he skidded to an ungraceful stop before two of his superiors—oh dreary eyes, the other resembling an ogre. “We’ve made tact with the intruders,” he announced, “but… the advaeam… they’re gone, sir. pletely wiped out.”
The dreary-eyed man tilted his head to the side with a dark scowl. “A… you somehow mao survive?”
“Ah,” the ckey stammered, his face paling noticeably. Taking a nervous step backward, he gnced apprehensively at the ogre, who cast a gring gaze as he tore into the leg quarter of some unfortunate monster.
Sensing his impending doom, the ckey attempted to flee, simir to what he had doer witnessing his rades being ruthlessly cut down by a golden-eyed demon. But, the momeurned on his heels, a needle ced with poison swiftly found its mark at the base of his neck from behind.
PHIPP!
The man cried out in horror, desperately reag for the silver projectile in a futile attempt to pry it free. But the instant his trembling fingers brushed the tool of his destru—
THROB!
The wound ignited with searing pain, purple veins bulgih his skin like grotesque rivers of agony. In mere moments, the poteoxin us merciless assault on his nervous system. Intense pain surged through his body, pelling blood to ooze from every orifice—eyes, nose, mouth, and ears alike. Writhing in unbearable torment, the man colpsed to the ground, his vulsions t his body as froth spilled from his mouth.
“Imbecile,” the dreary-eyed man spat, too irritated to savor the kill.
“…There’s not much job security in this line of work, is there?” said Daisuke in a deep voice as he emerged from the darkness without a sound.
DING!
[Ziddian | Lvl 39 | Rogue]
“You… you’re that kid we thhly disciplined before,” said Ziddian with an amused curve of his lips. “Leaving that fool alive just to tail him. Clever.”
Daisuke’s eyes glinted with malice, like a fme flickering in the wind. “I’m surprised you manize me behind this mask,” he scoffed.
“I’m heartbroken! After that intimate enter we shared before,” the maured theatrically, recalling Daisuke’s despair and anguish and the magnifit mask it etched on his face. “Did you holy believe I wouldn’t reize you?”
Daisuke sneered, a swift flick of his hand sending a kunai whistling through the air. The bastard tilted his head just in time. The projectile narrowly missed his eye but grazed a few strands of his hair.
Ziddian’s frown deepened as he straightened his neck, his posture stiffening as he squared his shoulders. “Looks like you still haven’t learned your pce from our st enter.”
DING!
[Brutus | Lvl 44 | Brute]
Daisuke g the ogre-like man, his reluce to engage in the fight. “I have a serious problem with corruption and authority. I’m sure you uand.”
“Cheeky bastard. What makes you believe this enter will end any differently? Perhaps you’ve lost your mind.”
“I’m in a hurry,” Daisuke replied nontly, his tone devoid of emotion. “So let’s skip the chit-chat araight to the killing.”
The mawitched in exasperation, though he maintained a fa?ade of amusement. “You’re not much of an artist, are you? If you’re seeking vengeance, shouldn’t you at least savor every moment?”
Daisuke shrugged indifferently. “You sickos are just pawns in this game,” he expined casually. “Killing you won’t make much of a difference. But your boss, the bastard pulling all the strings—I’ll take my time with him… and enjoy every sed of it.”
Ziddian’s earlier enthusiasm had now dissipated, repced by a palpable tension as they locked eyes. In the eerie pause that ensued, Petu cautiously peeked around a er, her breath caught in anticipation of the impending frontation. With a startled shriek, she tumbled backward, nding on her rump as the tensioween them exploded into a.
Daisuke’s eyes narrowed.
Ziddian’s body tipped low.
With a fluid motion, the dreary-eyed captain crossed his arms, eight shurikens tightly ched between his fingers. Without a moment’s hesitation, he uhem forth, each projectile imbued with lethal i. Daisuke reacted, an impeccable parry materializing a hexagon-shaped barrier that deflected all the shuriken.
But the assault was just a distra. In the split-sed it took to intercept the barrage, Ziddian had ingly maneuvered behind Daisuke in a burst of speed and unched a familiar needle.
PHIPP!
Despite his incredible speed, dexterity, and the newly acquired sixth sense, Daisuke found himself uo evade or intercept the projectile. With a precise strike, it found its mark in his upper shoulder, sending a wave of pain rippling through his body.
