Midnight. The Old Ruins, Tyelven.
The night air was cold. Wind from the sea carried the smell of damp moss and the faint sound of waves crashing in the distance. In the grand ruins, cracked and broken marble pillars reached toward the sky. Most of the roof had collapsed, revealing a large, bright full moon hanging above. Moonlight streamed through the large holes in the walls, creating pale patterns on the shattered stone floor.
Fyar stood alone in the middle of the hall. His commoner’s cloak fluttered slowly in the wind. His new black hair made him almost blend in with the shadows. he looked up, staring at the moon and the night stars.
Somehow, nature feels clear when the situation is chaotic, he muttered inwardly.
The sound of footsteps on rubble came from behind. Gravel shifted softly.
He’s here. Fyar turned around. "You came alone?,"
Zaefal stepped out from behind a collapsed pillar. He also wore a dark cloak, covering his guard uniform. Upon seeing Fyar, Zaefal immediately let out a sigh of relief. "i know it..."
"Rasie can’t call me purple-hair anymore," Fyar replied. A faint smile formed on his face. He glanced to Zaefal’s side. "It seems you aren’t alone."
"Well, you already know," Zaefal replied.
From the darkness between the pillars, two other figures stepped forward. The first was Xavier, the Guardian who wore a black eyepatch. He wore a dark blue uniform with a crimson cloak.
"I’ve been looking forward to meeting you, Fyar," Xavier said with a smile.
The second figure was a woman. She was tall and elegant, wearing a uniform similar to Xavier’s. Her long white hair shone in the moonlight, and her purple eyes stared at Fyar with a flat expression.
Fyar’s first impression of the girl was that she was very beautiful and also strong.
"Fyar, this is Captain Xavier, and Lieutenant Autumn," Zaefal said.
"Autumn?" Fyar raised his eyebrows, glancing at Zaefal. "Similar to Rasie’s fake name."
"Just a coincidence," Zaefal said flatly.
Autumn regarded Fyar seriously. The girl looked Fyar up and down, analyzing his body. The stare made fyar a little uncomfortable.
Wh-what’s with this girl. She’s creepy.
"So," Fyar turned to Xavier, ignoring Autumn. "I don’t need to explain my report, do I?"
Xavier nodded. "Your friends has already explained everything." Xavier began to walk closer to Fyar. "Starting from the suspected connection to Martis, your disguise, and your current situation."
Xavier’s expression turned serious. "You can’t imagine how valuable you are to the Kingdom, Fyar." He then clapped Fyar’s shoulder a little hard. "Well, thank goodness you made it out of there."
Fyar coughed lightly. "I have a question, I really want to ask you. Even though Zaefal already answered it."
Xavier laughed lightly. He already expected what Fyar was going to ask. "The reason the Kingdom gave this mission?"
Fyar bit his lip slightly. "hell yeah!"
Xavier just clapped Fyar’s shoulder once more, this time more gently. "The Prince’s orders were clear, Fyar. This mission is crucial. The exact reasons... well, we all have our secrets, don’t we? Just focus on what’s in front of you."
Annoyance burned in Fyar’s chest. He resisted the urge to slap Xavier’s face and forced himself to calm down. "Does the Prince already know the current situation?" Fyar asked, his tone flat again.
"Yes," Xavier answered. "He also knows that you are not the Starfall who attacked the Association."
Fyar raised an eyebrow. "Interesting....you know That makes me curious."
"Why?" Xavier asked.
"This sounds strange, but... how could the Prince know the situation so quickly? I just found out this afternoon," Fyar said. His eyes stared suspiciously at Xavier.
Xavier chuckled. "Important information moves quickly when needed, Fyar. Let’s say the Prince received a report almost instantly after the incident at the Association."
"Hmm. Alright," Fyar said. His eyes still held suspicion as he looked at Xavier.
"So now you can officially appear in the city, right?" Zaefal, who had been silent, finally spoke.
Xavier nodded. "Exactly. We don’t need to hide anymore."
Fyar crossed his arms over his chest. "Why didn’t you come under the pretend of a routine inspection or something like that?"
Xavier began to walk, looking around the ruined building. "There are... agreements ... that usually limit our official presence here. But mass slaughter and an attack on the Association tend to change the rules of the game. Martis has to accept us now."
A contract, huh. I’m curious. But I’m sure this man won’t answer, Fyar muttered inwardly.
Fyar then asked Xavier again, "Do you know who the culprit is who used my name for that massacre?"
Xavier shook his head. "No positive identification yet. What’s clear is he’s a very high-level and extremely dangerous assassin. His trail went cold instantly after the Association attack."
Fyar suddenly fell silent. His eyes narrowed slightly as a memory surfaced. "The one who killed Kail... she... was also an assassin."
Xavier, Autumn, and Zaefal flinched slightly at that.
Fyar continued. "She was a woman with brown hair. Brown skin, wearing all white clothes with a white cloak."
Xavier glanced at Autumn before looking back at Fyar. "That’s Whitening. Most likely, Martis framed you by killing Kail using them."
"And he didn’t expect that decision would bring a greater disaster upon him," Zaefal said. He then turned to Fyar. "Why didn’t you report the details of Kail’s killer in the message?"
"I was panicking. My situation was chaotic, so I only reported what was most important." Fyar then looked at Xavier cynically. "Just so you know, just sending that message cost 100 gold coins!"
"We will compensate you," Autumn, who had been silent all this time, finally spoke in a cold tone.
Fyar didn’t expect Autumn to be the one to reply. "Ah...okay"
Xavier crossed his arms over his chest. "Proof Martis hired Whitening would be very useful. It could be one more nail in his coffin."
Xavier paused for a moment before continuing, "And that impersonator is the bigger problem. But the Prince’s orders are clear: focus on Martis first, while remaining vigilant about the impersonator."
"Oh yeah. Why is the whole city still hunting me if you know it wasn’t me? You could just order the Association to remove the Starfall bounty and replace it with ’Starfall Impersonator,’ right?" Fyar asked.
"We cannot announce that," Autumn said. "It would inform the Impersonator that we know who he is. We are letting this hunt continue to use it as bait."
They’re sacrificing me as bait. Ugh. I really want to punch you, Prince! Fyar clenched his fists inside his cloak.
"So... what’s the plan?" Zaefal asked.
Xavier turned to Zaefal and answered, "That’s why I’m here."
Xavier paused for a moment before continuing, "This chaos... it makes Martis vulnerable. His illegal clients must be panicking. They’ll be trying to erase their tracks. Especially... the Dragon race connection."
He turned to Fyar. "You’re sure about the Dragon race?"
"Yes. Why would he lie about something so fatal?" Fyar said.
"The Dragons guard their secrets closely," Xavier revealed. A faint smile reappeared on his face.
"Why is that?" Fyar’s curiosity was piqued.
"You’ll find out eventually," Xavier replied curtly. "The point is, Martis must be scrambling to destroy evidence now. We can’t move without solid legal grounds."
Silence enveloped the four of them.
Zaefal looked at the ruins around them. "I have a proposal."
Xavier raised his eyebrows. "What do you mean?"
"We will kidnap the only person who has the full picture of Martis’s operation and can serve as a living witness," Zaefal said. His voice was cold. "His right hand, Magnus Vorlag."
Fyar and Xavier were stunned. Autumn narrowed her eyes slightly.
"Kidnapping a nobleman in Stone Town?" Xavier said. "A bold plan."
"Leave the infiltration to me," Zaefal replied. "Your job is to prepare a secure interrogation room and ensure no one can interrupt us for one hour."
Xavier stared at Zaefal for a long time. He saw the determination in the man’s eyes. He finally nodded. "Alright. The Prince gave the green light for extreme measures if necessary. This qualifies."
He turned to Autumn. "prepare."
"Understood, Captain," Autumn replied.
Xavier looked back at Fyar. "Get Vorlag’s confession. Give us the legal justification. And we will tear down his entire empire."
he then looked at the moon. "This is all the help we can provide. While you handle that, we will take care of this impersonator."