After severing the mental link, Graves in the sewer let out a long sigh against the wall.
Complaining was one thing, but the coercive force of the contract was right there. He couldn’t muster even a sliver of a thought to resist it.
He fished out a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket, bit his finger, and quickly drew a bizarre rune on it.
Then, he pressed his palms together and chanted a short incantation.
Flutter flutter
The paper spontaneously ignited without fire, instantly transforming into a black raven made of pure shadow magic power.
It circled half a turn in the narrow sewer, slipped out through a gap in the iron grate, and completely melted into the vast night.
This was the Night Owls Organization’s internal emergency signal beacon.
Midnight.
Kastian manor had fallen completely silent.
Confirming that no one was moving about, Ailiya pulled open a drawer in her room. Inside, ten gleaming dining knives were neatly arranged, along with the sharp boning knife she had casually taken from the kitchen that afternoon.
She carefully inserted the blades into the sheaths at her waist and in her sleeves. Then, she pushed open the window and leaped out.
Mid-air, Ailiya willed it.
[Shadow Stealth]
The moment her body made contact with the shadow on the manor’s outer wall, it was like melting ice and snow, causing not a single ripple, vanishing without a trace.
She felt like a fish returning to water.
The surrounding shadows were no longer darkness obstructing her vision but had become a network of high-speed passages extending in all directions.
Anywhere covered in shadow, she could slide with terrifying speed and complete silence.
In less than a quarter of an hour, she had traversed nearly half the district and arrived at the meeting point.
The West city docks.
Inside one of the warehouses, a pungent smell of fish filled the air.
Graves was huddled behind a large, dilapidated wooden box, clutching his magic gun, nervously staring at the drafty, broken iron door of the warehouse.
Every time the river wind blew, the iron door let out a creak.
Suddenly, he felt an unusual chill on the back of his neck.
“You’re early.”
A cold voice exploded in his ear without warning.
Graves was so startled he fell onto his backside, nearly discharging his magic gun in his fright.
He turned his head in terror. A figure shrouded entirely in a black cloak stood behind him, having appeared without the slightest trace of magic fluctuation or the sound of footsteps.
Only when he saw those signature ice-blue eyes beneath the hood did Graves swallow hard, recognizing the newcomer.
“Your stealth technique…” Sweat beaded on Graves’s forehead, his voice trembling. “It’s even more outrageous than the Assassination Elder at our headquarters… How on earth did you do it?”
“Don’t ask what you shouldn’t.” Ailiya coldly cut him off, her gaze sweeping over the empty warehouse. “Where is she?”
“I’ve already sent the shadow raven. The agreed time is now.” Graves swallowed. “But… if she’s the one who betrayed me, I doubt she’ll come alone, if she comes at all.”
No sooner had the words left his mouth than—
Creak—
The already battered large iron door of the warehouse was slowly pushed open.
Accompanied by the sound of light footsteps, a seductive woman in tight leather clothes and a dark cloak walked in.
“Oh my, if it isn’t our Night Owls’ renowned gunman, Senior Graves?”
The woman chuckled coquettishly, her eyes lingering on the cast on Graves’s leg. “What happened? You look so pathetic after just a few days apart.”
Graves gritted his teeth, using his magic gun to prop himself up as he stood, glaring coldly at her. “Cut the sarcasm. Was it you who leaked my hiding spot?”
The woman didn’t deny it. Instead, she lightly covered her mouth and laughed. “Senior, how can you call that ‘leaking’? I’m just a concerned citizen assisting in maintaining district security.”
“You damn bitch.” Graves snarled in fury. “I helped you back in the day. If it weren’t for my recommendation, could you have gained a foothold in the Royal capital? Is this how you repay a favor?”
“Senior, you can’t put it that way.”
The woman’s smile faded, her eyes turning somewhat cold. “The debt for your help back then has been repaid. We’re even, no debts between us.”
“Then why the hell are you screwing me over?!”
Graves sneered. “Besides that fight with that swordsman at the tavern a couple of days ago, I don’t recall offending you in any way.”
A flicker of cold light passed through the woman’s eyes.
“No, no, no, Senior, you’re being too sensitive.”
The woman looked at him mockingly. “With your escape skills, how could those tin cans from the city defense army ever catch you?”
“I just wanted to give you a little trouble, make your life a bit more… fulfilling lately, that’s all.”
“You—!” Graves was so angry he almost coughed up blood on the spot.
Ailiya, who had been standing in the shadows, could no longer stand this pointless bickering. She slowly stepped forward.
Seeing a cloaked stranger suddenly appear, the woman’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Oh? So the Senior brought backup? No wonder you’re so confident.”
Ailiya had no intention of wasting words with her.
In an instant, she transformed into a black blur, skimming the ground, moving toward the woman along an incredibly bizarre, zigzagging trajectory.
“So fast!”
The woman’s heart jumped in alarm. With a sharp flick of her cloak, over a dozen poison needles glowing with a faint light shot from her sleeve, blocking all of Ailiya’s possible paths forward.
But in Ailiya’s eyes, enhanced by [Weak Point Insight], this attack was full of holes.
She didn’t even slow down, merely contorting her body and tilting her head in ways that defied normal human biomechanics during her high-speed movement.
The poison needles brushed past the edges of her cloak, not a single one making contact.
“What?!” The woman was horrified, trying to retreat and create distance.
But it was already too late.
Ailiya had closed the gap.
A boning knife shot out like a striking viper, tracing an incredibly precise silver arc through the air, aiming directly for the joint of the woman’s wrist.
The woman desperately tried to dodge, but Ailiya’s movements seemed to have predicted her evasion path in advance.
Sschick!
The blade sliced through the leather clothes without resistance.
Following through with the motion, Ailiya launched a spinning kick in mid-air, solidly connecting with the side of the woman’s neck.
Thud!
The woman flew out like a ragdoll, crashing heavily onto a pile of discarded wooden crates.
Ailiya landed steadily, ready to step forward and subdue her.
However, something bizarre happened.
The woman who had been sent flying wasn’t bleeding crimson blood. Instead, from her wounds drifted out wisps of paper scraps and smoke.
“Hehehehehe…”
The woman, pinned under the broken planks, lifted her head again. Though her body was somewhat twisted and deformed, a strange smile hung on her face.
“Truly impressive. No wonder Senior Graves is still alive and kicking… he found himself such a terrifying backer.”
The woman’s voice echoed in the empty warehouse, carrying a faint, layered resonance. “But unfortunately, I had no intention of fighting you today.”
As soon as the words were spoken, the woman’s body disintegrated like ashes scattered by the wind, instantly collapsing into a pile of black paper scraps scattered on the ground.
“A substitute puppet!” Graves exclaimed from behind. “That cunning bitch didn’t even send her real body!”
Ailiya stood in place, watching the paper scraps slowly dissipate on the ground.
At the moment the paper scraps disintegrated, her keen sense of smell caught a faint, yet very distinctive scent.
This smell… she had smelled it before, and not long ago.
However, now was clearly not the time to ponder this deeply.
Woooo—!!
Outside the warehouse, a piercing alarm whistle suddenly tore through the quiet night sky.
Immediately after, the sound of chaotic footsteps and clanking armor converged from all directions.
Dazzling holy light magic, like searchlights, illuminated the area around the warehouse as bright as day.
“Listen up, inside! You are surrounded!” A powerful knight’s voice boomed from outside.
“Damn it! The city defense army and the holy see.” Graves’s face paled with anger. He grabbed his magic gun, ready to find a way to break out. “We’re surrounded!”
Ailiya retracted the boning knife into her sleeve. She turned her head, looking at Graves, her tone utterly calm.
“Let me correct you. You are surrounded.”
“Huh?” Graves was stunned.
“Figure out a way to survive on your own. Don’t lead the city defense army to me.”
“Don’t get caught. Otherwise, I’ll kill you before their trial gets to you.”
Having said that, Ailiya didn’t even give Graves a chance to protest. She took a step back, directly merging into the shadow behind her, vanishing without a trace in an instant.
Leaving Graves alone, utterly bewildered.
“You can’t just screw me over like this!!!”
Looking at the church knights about to break down the door outside, Graves steeled himself and sprinted toward a drainage outlet in the warehouse.
Once again, he plunged back into the foul-smelling sewers.