On the northwestern outskirts of Tivian lies a region of rolling hills covered in dense forests. The vast expanse of woodland is a rare sight near a large metropolis, where such untouched and expansive forests are seldom found.
In the winter woods, the ground is carpeted with decaying leaves and damp soil. Most of the trees have shed their leaves, leaving only their sturdy trunks and twisted branches swaying slightly in the cold wind.
During the day, the sky over Tivian is overcast and heavy. On a small hill within the northwestern forest, several figures stand gathered. At the forefront is a thin, middle-aged woman in her forties, draped in a black woolen cloak and wearing a leather hat. She stands in the cold wind, flanked by several attendants dressed in various attire. They all stand together in the chilly air, seemingly waiting for something.
This woman is Larena of the Nether Coffin Order, and the people around her are her subordinates. At this moment, her subordinates are scanning their surroundings with vigilant expressions. Though their numbers are few, in places unseen by ordinary eyes, numerous ghosts are lingering nearby. The gathering of these invisible entities seems to have dropped the surrounding temperature by several degrees.
In the center of the hilltop clearing stands a small wooden table, on which rests a beacon. Larena has two subordinates guarding the table.
On the hill, both the ghosts and the subordinates are on high alert. Larena herself holds a monocular telescope, peering into the distance. In the direction she is looking, a massive stone structure stands within the distant forest.
The not-too-high walls twist and turn at sharp angles, forming a complete, large star shape. This star-shaped wall is layered and interlocked, spreading outward like a sharp flower blooming on the earth. Outside the outer wall are gentle slopes and deep trenches, while inside the walls stand various buildings. Flags flutter atop the walls, and Larena can clearly see the emblems of the Pritt Army and the Pritt Kingdom through her telescope. Red-and-white soldiers patrol the walls.
Clearly, this is a fortress—a military fortress of considerable size located on the outskirts of Tivian. Staring at the massive structure through her telescope, Larena furrows her brow after a long moment and lowers the telescope, her expression slightly troubled.
At this moment, a man in a plain overcoat and a thick hat runs up to Larena. It is Calais, who stands respectfully beside her and reports.
"Lady, we’ve thoroughly scouted the area within a few hundred meters. There are no signs of any abnormalities or ambush. We’ve also dug into the soil at the trade location and found no traces of traps. This trade location is safe."Calais reports to Larena. To prepare for this transaction, they had arrived in Tivian several days prior. Since then, their main focus had been gathering intelligence and scouting the trade location.
Tivian is not a stronghold for the Nether Coffin Order, so they must proceed with caution. The trade location was chosen by the thief, and there was a possibility that the other party had set up ambush or traps in advance. Thus, they had to arrive early and carefully inspect the area.
"No abnormalities... So the thief hasn’t done anything here?"
Hearing Calais’s words, Larena pauses for a moment before continuing to ask. Calais responds with certainty.
"None! Lady, our people and ghosts have been monitoring this place since the day before yesterday. No suspicious individuals have approached. As far as this location is concerned, it is absolutely safe!"
"Just this location..."
Hearing Calais’s tone, Larena raises an eyebrow and continues.
"From the way you’re speaking, it sounds like... there are issues elsewhere?"
Larena speaks slowly, and Calais nods, pointing to the distant fortress at the edge of their vision.
"Yes, the biggest issue is that Pritt Fortress over there. Although it’s quite far from here, its alert range is enormous. If you walk about five hundred meters in that direction, you’ll encounter patrols and checkpoints. The fortress’s defenses are strong, and the soldiers are well-equipped."
Looking at the towering fortress complex in the distance, Calais pauses before continuing.
"More importantly, our ghost reconnaissance revealed that when we got within about a kilometer of the fortress, we sensed a spirit-dispelling mystical effect. The checkpoints near the fortress seem to be equipped with Illuminating Beacons for inspections. One of our ghosts was discovered when it got too close, and the patrols immediately used Sealing Sigils to capture it and launched a search. If we hadn’t reacted quickly and hidden in time, we might have been discovered...
"Lady... that fortress seems to have very sophisticated mystical defenses. It’s not an ordinary military fortress. Although the distance between us and it is safe, with such a fortress nearby—one that has strong defenses both in conventional military and mystical terms—we need to proceed with caution..."
Calais speaks to Larena in this manner. Hearing his words, Larena does not respond immediately but instead turns to look at the distant fortress again. After scrutinizing it for a moment, she murmurs.
"A heavily guarded military fortress near the capital of Pritt, with sophisticated mystical defenses... Interesting..."
At this moment, Larena is pondering the purpose of the distant military fortress and has already formed a faint hypothesis. Just then, another subordinate approaches from afar, arriving beside Larena and Calais. Pointing in a direction, the subordinate hurriedly says.
"Lady Larena, someone’s coming. They’re driving three carriages up the hill. It must be the target!"
Hearing the subordinate’s words, Larena and Calais are momentarily stunned. They then walk in the direction the subordinate pointed. After a short while, they see three carriages lined up, slowly making their way up the gentle slope of the hill. Two of them are large cargo carriages, and one is a smaller passenger carriage.
The two cargo carriages are each pulled by two horses and driven by ordinary-looking coachmen. The cargo on the carriages is covered with canvas, making it impossible to see what’s inside, but the strong spiritual aura emanating from them is easily sensed by Larena and the other Silence-path Beyonders present.
This is a sensation unique to Silence spirituality! The members of the Nether Coffin Order make this judgment in their hearts. As a White Ash-rank Beyonder, Larena can further sense the familiar spiritual aura of powerful spirits she has personally hunted on the cargo.
"They’re here..."
Watching the carriages slowly ascend the hill, Larena grits her teeth, a flicker of anger flashing across her expression, but she quickly suppresses it. She turns to the subordinate who reported and asks.
"Are these the only people?"
"Yes, just these. According to the ghosts’ reports, there are three carriages and three coachmen. There’s also a passenger in the last carriage. Other than that, there’s no one else."
The subordinate reports to Larena. Larena then uses her White Ash-rank soul perception to scan the three carriages. In her perception, she finds that the three coachmen have no traces of souls, while the passenger carriage does. Based on this, she makes a judgment.
“The three coachmen have no souls... They seem to be some kind of puppets. The only living person in this convoy is inside the last carriage…”
Larena stares intently as the three carriages arrive at the hilltop clearing. The small passenger carriage comes to a stop, and the door opens. Under the watchful eyes of the Nether Coffin Order members, a figure steps out of the carriage and stands before them.
The figure is dressed in a gray-black robe, the dark fabric almost completely concealing their body. A hood covers their head, casting a shadow that obscures their face, which is further hidden by a black mask. The only visible features are the faintly glowing eyes within the shadow.
The figure, almost entirely concealed, steps out of the carriage. The eyes beneath the hood scan the surroundings, pausing for a moment before the figure speaks in a female voice.
"Quite the gathering, both in the visible and the invisible realms..."
The figure’s tone is calm, as if simply making an observation. However, as she speaks, her gaze falls on the hidden ghosts around them. This action causes the Nether Coffin Order members to tense, realizing that this woman has the ability to see ghosts. She might be a Silence-path Beyonder or another type of Beyonder using some method to perceive spirits.
"Are you... Thief K?"
After carefully examining the woman in the gray-black robe, Larena suppresses her emotions and asks. The woman pauses for a moment before nodding slowly and responding.
"Respected Lady of the Nether Coffin Order, as you can see, I am the despicable thief mentioned in your letter. As per our agreement, I have brought the goods."
The self-proclaimed thief speaks to Larena, glancing at the cargo on the two carriages nearby. Hearing the thief’s words, Larena snorts coldly and says.
"That’s the tone from the letter—full of manners yet shameless and despicable... Hmph, I never expected that the one daring to steal from the Nether Coffin Order would be such a young woman... Thief K, which society do you belong to? Where are the other members of your society?"
Larena asks the thief in this manner. After a moment, the thief responds softly.
"Lady, why do you assume I belong to a society? Why do you assume I’ve brought others here?"
"Otherwise? If you don’t have others backing you, do you think you and these two puppets can stop us from turning on you? When that happens, your remuneration... your life... your soul... none of it will remain."
With a menacing tone and a dangerous expression, Larena stares at the thief. Hearing her words, the thief shudders slightly, then spreads her gloved hands and chuckles.
"Of course not. I believe that no matter how much resentment you hold toward me, you won’t act against me here."
"Oh? What makes you think we won’t act against you? For us, taking your damned thief’s soul along with the goods would be the best outcome."
Larena threatens the thief with an oppressive tone, but the thief remains calm and points toward the distant fortress.
"Because of that."
Following the thief’s finger, Larena and the Nether Coffin Order members glance at the distant fortress, their eyes filled with confusion. The thief continues.
"Those of you from Dankt may not know what that place is, so allow me to introduce a famous local landmark of Tivian—the Gale Fortress. It is an important military facility guarding the capital of Pritt. Of course, that’s only its surface function. In secret, it serves an even more important role: it is the central hub for Pritt’s mystical countermeasure department. To put it simply, it is the headquarters of the Pritt Serenity Bureau."
The thief speaks to Larena and the others. Her words cause Larena’s subordinates to freeze in shock, their expressions filled with disbelief as they stare at the distant fortress. Although Larena had some premonition, her expression still hardens upon hearing the thief’s words.
"That place... is the den of the Pritt Black Dogs?"
"Yes. You’ve been scouting this area for a while now, so you must have noticed the fortress’s extraordinariness. That place is none other than the headquarters of the Serenity Bureau, with several White Ash-rank captains stationed there, and possibly even a Red Completion-rank figure overseeing it. No one in Tivian dares to cause trouble near that place."
Pointing at the distant fortress, the thief continues.
"I came here prepared. While I may not be able to defeat you, if you try to attack me directly, I can guarantee that I will create a significant disturbance—a very noticeable mystical phenomenon—that will surely alarm the big shots in the fortress and draw them here."
The thief speaks to Larena in this manner. Hearing her words, Larena’s expression darkens, and she coldly replies.
"You plan to threaten us by drawing the Black Dogs here? Do you think they can arrive in time?"
"Of course they can. Members of the Nether Coffin Order from Dankt, you must know what the Pritt Serenity Bureau is famous for, right? The Storm Path, inherited from the Pritt royal family, allows its members to control the wind and fly. Their speed is among the fastest of all Beyonders. Although this place is several kilometers from the fortress, I believe that if something major happens here, the White Ash-rank captains inside can fly here in no time. If there’s a Red Completion-rank figure, they might arrive in an instant.
"Regardless, whether running on two legs or four, no one can outpace those who fly. If you truly wish to attack me, I don’t mind us both ending up in the bureau for a cup of tea."
The thief speaks to Larena in this manner. Hearing her words, Larena finally understands why the thief chose this location for the transaction: to use the Serenity Bureau as a shield, ensuring that the Nether Coffin Order cannot resort take by force.
And indeed, this tactic is effective. The Nether Coffin Order’s Beyonders have almost no advantage in speed. If a few White Ash-rank captains were to fly out from the fortress to capture them, there’s no way they could escape. Not to mention, a place like the Serenity Bureau headquarters must have a Red Completion-rank figure overseeing it.
Larena can see that this thief’s goal is to ensure the transaction proceeds smoothly, and there’s no need for the Nether Coffin Order to risk a confrontation.
"Hmph... Fine. Transactions between societies should not involve the Black Dogs. Let’s proceed, Thief K. Our transaction begins."
With that, Larena walks over to the small table in the clearing, signaling that she will not resort to force. The transaction continues, and seeing this, the hooded figure—Nephthys—lets out a subtle sigh of relief and walks toward the table.
As Nephthys approaches, Larena’s expression darkens. She glances at Calais, who nods subtly in understanding.
After seeing Calais’s reaction, Larena focuses her gaze on the approaching Nephthys.
“Don’t think that just because we’re avoiding a direct confrontation, I can’t deal with you, Thief.”
Larena thinks to herself. Meanwhile, in Nephthys’ mind, Dorothy’s voice echoes.