"They are planning to brainwash you, Princess." I looked at her, hoping she would stay calm.
"Break the shackles. Then we escape." She held out her wrists.
I used the key Veyra had given me to unlock all three of us. While I worked, I confirmed what Veyra had told me about her history with the princess, the item from the dungeon, the fight, the destroyed cores. It matched.
Once they were both free, I pulled their weapons from the inventory and handed them over.
"Rivena, take the front. Stay on him." the princess said.
Rivena nodded once.
"There are over forty people in this building," I said.
"Then there will be enough evidence here to incriminate my brother. And he owes me for what happened two years ago. This is the right moment."
"I would prefer not to become collateral damage in a sibling dispute."
"I do not like men who constantly complain."
"A complaining man is better than a dead one."
She drew her blade and turned toward the footsteps approaching from down the corridor. Rivena stepped in front of me without being asked. I pulled the gun and switched the magazine to pepper rounds.
The moment the first henchman came within range, the princess moved. In the time it took me to register the motion she had already dropped two of them. She walked forward and kept going, clearing person after person with an ease that was difficult to follow even with Anatomical Insight active. I could not track her properly.
I navigated as we moved, using my skill to map the building ahead of us. My range held at ten feet under normal use, fifteen if I held my focus on a single point without moving it.
Within a few minutes we reached the room where we had first been brought in, then pushed through into the ritual chamber.
The pastor and Veyra stood side by side. Joseph was crouched over a magic circle on the floor, still working. Valthor sat in a chair at the far end of the room, and behind him stood a hooded figure, still and watching.
Our entrance pulled every eye in the room.
Valthor rose, glanced behind him, and said something low to the hooded figure.
The hooded figure raised one hand and began to chant.
[YOUR MANA HAS BEEN BLOCKED. MOVEMENT RESTRICTION APPLIED.]
I tried to move. Nothing. I looked sideways at the princess and Rivena. Both of them were locked in place as well.
"Pastor." Valthor's voice carried anger underneath its surface. "What is the meaning of this? How is she free."
"My lord, I placed binding shackles on her myself and the bracelet commanded her to remain in the cell under all circumstances. It was working until—"
"Enough." Valthor cut him off. "It would have been our grave if I had not taken precautions." He turned to Joseph. "We are short on time. Begin the ritual. Send your men outside to deal with whatever is left of them."
Joseph bolted from the room.
Veyra's voice came out low and tight. "What is the meaning of this, Valthor? Why have you restrained me?"
Valthor smiled. The kind of smile that has been waiting a long time to surface. "Did you really think I forgot you, Veyra? You are the most gullible person I have ever met. If that fox girl had not opened her mouth, you would have killed Arielle yourself. Because of her, more plans of mine have failed than I care to count." The smile did not move. "After this is done, I will find her. And I will make sure she ends up in the cheapest brothel I can find."
"Touch her and I will tear you apart," Veyra said, her voice shaking with the effort of containing it.
"Do you really think you are walking out of here, Valthor?" The princess's voice was completely calm.
"Bark while you still can," he said.
The moment the words left his mouth, Joseph came running back into the room, breathless and pale.
"Master. The monster cores are gone."
"That is impossible," the pastor said, his composure cracking. "Check the secondary treasury. I brought them here myself along with the ledgers."
"I have checked everything. There is nothing."
"Pastor, is there anything you are actually capable of?" Valthor's patience had run out.
"Give me time, my lord. I will source them again."
"Forget it." Valthor looked at Joseph. "Take me to the hidden treasury. There is an S-rank core stored there." He left the room with Joseph behind him.
I looked at the princess and began moving my lips slowly without making a sound.
She stared at me with a puzzled expression, trying to understand what I was doing.
I kept going.
The hooded figure began moving toward us, drawn in by the silence, trying to get close enough to hear. I waited. The moment he stepped inside my shooting range I fired three rounds directly at his face.
The rounds burst on impact, coating his face with pepper.
"My eyes. My eyes. It is burning—"
The spell collapsed.
The henchmen in the corridor rushed in. The princess and Rivena met them. Veyra grabbed the pastor by the collar and threw him hard into the hooded man, who was still writhing on the floor. The hood came loose.
I switched to metal rounds.
"Find him, Nolan. That noise will have reached them."
I looked at the two figures on the ground. After a moment's consideration I aimed at their ankles and fired. At this range the rounds would not need to pierce to do damage. The impact alone would shatter bone.
Veyra fell into step with us. It did not take long to find them. They were moving through a side corridor carrying the monster core between them.
They stopped when they saw us.
Veyra crossed the distance in seconds and drove a right hook straight into Valthor's face. Then she grabbed Joseph by the collar and put him into the ground.
The core hit the floor. I picked it up.
[S-RANK MANA CRYSTAL DETECTED. CONVERT TO 2500 COINS?]
I put it in the inventory.