Following my departure from the Saint-Margasie orphanage, I took the path back to the slums, marching at a brisk pace to hide this new haul.
Along the way, a torrent of questions relentlessly flooded my mind.
What I had just witnessed in the facility’s basement disturbed me more than I cared to admit.
I wondered if, by integrating Eresboros, I too would be forced to manage these kinds of criminal activities.
And if I refused to do so, would I ever possess enough strength to successfully oppose an organization so monumental?
For now, my primary objective remained unchanged.
Even though what I had learned had deeply troubled me, I had to carry out my mission.
Vengeance demanded sacrifices, and I couldn’t back down now.
As I neared my hideout, my senses immediately flared to high alert.
I sensed an intruder inside.
For a split second, I thought it might be Lucas, dropping by discreetly to check on how I was faring on the organization’s behalf.
But the moment I crossed the threshold, I realized my mistake.
It was a complete stranger.
He was rummaging through my room, overturning my meager belongings, undoubtedly hunting for a bit of coin.
A cold rage consumed me.
I advanced slowly to seize him from behind, my breath shallow and imperceptible to prevent him from sensing my approach.
My footsteps remained entirely silent on the floorboards of the hideout.
Despite the light from his flashlight, the room was poorly lit, which played to my advantage.
The instant I gripped the intruder by the throat, it was a total shock to him.
He immediately began to writhe and thrash like a cornered beast, but my chokehold was firm and unyielding.
For a few seconds he struggled, then his body went limp.
Thinking he had passed out, I loosened my grip.
A massive mistake.
At the exact moment I relaxed my fingers-bam!
With a sharp jerk, he broke free and bolted toward the exit.
He began running with all his might to escape.
The man was reasonably fast, but he wasn’t as trained as I was.
I immediately gave chase through the dark, twisting alleys of the slums.
After a brief pursuit, I managed to lunged at him, pinning him to the ground.
The moment I laid hands on him, panic overwhelmed him, and he began to plead while trembling:
“Listen…
I’m so…
sorry!
I swear I won’t do it again!
I just needed a little money and…
according to the rumors, you and Lucas are hiding stuff here…
Look, if you let me go, I’ll do whatever you want!”
Listening to him, I stared down at him with profound contempt.
But in truth…
I couldn’t care less.
This man had dared to break into my sanctuary to rob me of my possessions-the only tools that would allow me to fulfill my vengeance.
I picked up a heavy iron bar lying on the ground.
His terror became almost palpable.
Around us, the slums were deserted, enveloped only by the noises of the night.
I stood over him, a frigid smile playing on my lips:
“I would have gladly let you leave, but unfortunately for you…
today just isn’t your lucky day.”
The second those words left my lips, I brought the iron bar down.
A violent blow smashed into his face…
and another followed immediately, accompanied by a heavy impact right to his chest.
The man screamed in agony, his shrieks tearing through the silence of the night.
The sound of his groans was starting to tire me, but I didn’t ease the pressure.
If I wanted to prevent other wretched souls from snooping through my hideout in the future, the rumor that I had butchered an intruder had to absolutely spread throughout the entire slum.
Even if it wouldn’t stop the most desperate thieves entirely, it would be more than enough to deter a good portion of them.
The blows rang out, heavy and powerful, the metal striking his body repeatedly.
After a while, when I felt he was battered enough and unconscious, I finally stopped.
I left him dragging there, half-dead, after throwing one last warning never to return.
Following this ordeal, I returned to my hideout to try and get some sleep.
The next morning, I woke up with my mind sharply focused on what lay ahead.
I quickly set out toward the third location indicated on my map: the Black Merchant Guild warehouse.
I crossed a portion of the city of Malbour, carefully following the itinerary of the picto-card, until I arrived before a massive building of grey stone.
Upon arrival, I went straight to one of the workers guarding the entrance.
After sizing me up, he led me without a word to the office of one of the guild superiors.
The moment I uttered the password-“The Shadows”-the man’s demeanor shifted entirely.
Without asking a single question, he slid a heavy chest filled with bills toward me and told me in a curt tone to leave immediately.
I was rather astonished by this scene.
It was the first time a transaction had been so swift and effortless.
But reflecting on it on my way back, I realized it made perfect sense:
these merchants absolutely did not want it known that they maintained close ties with a shadow organization like ours.
Such a revelation would destroy their legitimate business.
With that matter settled in the blink of an eye, I set off toward the farm, the final point of my mission.
However, I preferred to return to the slums first to gather all the money accumulated since the beginning.
I placed the entirety of the loot into a large canvas bag, which I fastened securely to my waist.
I didn’t want to give the local thieves another chance to rob me during my absence. Find the original chapter at g.com.
Once the bag was secured, I left immediately for the outskirts of the city.
Crossing through Malbour once more, I took the time to observe the daily lives of the city’s inhabitants.
The contrast was striking.
The nobles and wealthy merchants strolled peacefully, entering magnificent boutiques that sold overpriced tools and clothing.
I looked everywhere around me, not merely to admire the scenery, but above all to memorize the streets and monitor the surroundings.
Malbour had taught me the hard way to pay closer attention and to constantly be sharper than everyone else.
While crossing a particularly crowded street, an uneasy sensation gripped my throat:
I realized that several figures had been tailing me from a distance for quite some time.
Not wanting to cause a scene in the middle of the crowd, I decided to quicken my pace to lose them.
Finally, I arrived at the exact location where the farm was supposed to be.
To my great surprise, there was nothing.
The plot of land was completely empty, abandoned.
I was stunned, but my instinct screamed at me to stay on guard.
I stood there, in the middle of nowhere, trying to understand why this last point was deserted.
Several theories crossed my mind:
perhaps the owner had relocated, or perhaps he had fled upon learning of the collectors’ arrival.
I immediately told myself I needed to go back to Louis Ponti to get fresh information.
I didn’t know where Déva Callis was hiding, and even if I had found him, going to tell him there was an error on his map would have been a terrible idea.
He would have undoubtedly judged that I wasn’t competent enough to handle unexpected variables.
I grabbed the picto-card to verify the coordinates of the point one last time, just to ensure I wasn’t misreading it.
But the moment I unfolded the map, an incomprehensible event occurred.
The canvas bag that I had nevertheless securely fastened to my waist uncoupled with a sharp snap.
Before me, a man had just appeared as if by magic.
He wore a long cowl and was dressed entirely in black, his face concealed by a dark mask that rendered identification impossible.
In his right hand, he held my bag containing all the loot from my mission.
I didn’t even understand how he had managed to approach and seize the bag without me hearing the slightest sound.
One thing was certain: this man was no ordinary human.
I absolutely had to take the loot back.
The instant I lunged toward him to grab him, he moved at an astonishing velocity, slipping instantly behind my back in a single, fluid stride.
I pivoted immediately to launch a new offensive, but the result was exactly the same.
He evaded my movements with disconcerting ease, always shifting into my blind spots.
No matter the speed of my strikes, I couldn’t hit him, nor even graze him.
I was completely out of breath, my heart pounding violently against my ribs.
I didn’t understand what was happening.
After a moment, the masked man turned to face me, took a step back, and abruptly vanished into thin air, like a shadow dissolving in the sun.
My survival instinct then began to scream: “Run, fast!” My feet began moving on their own, propelling me forward.
I absolutely had to catch him.
If I lost that money, I risked dying at the hands of Déva Callis, failing before I had even reached my goal of vengeance.
I had to catch this man and take back my loot, no matter the cost.