Lanterns lit up New Valentine like stars as the sun sunk beneath the horizon. If new Valentine were a man, itd be an insomniac dosed up on alchemical pills. Twitching and erratic all through the nightfilled with enough juice to keep going until the morning. It was a city of two faces, with a sun-loving mixture during the day for tourists to enjoy beaches and pleasant year-round weather. Then there was the night, where bars and clubs blasted music across the streets.
Beauty and sin mixed together in a single delicious cocktail that nobody could get enough of.
The unique part of the Lantern Festival was that it cented the marriage of the two parts of the city and tore down the boundary. It carried the regal and traditional attitude of the day into the depths of the night, lighting the path to sin with Lanterns. It was an unholy union of pride and debauchery nominally celebrated life and the Immortal of Light.
Now that we had Bruno, we left the west side of New Valentine. The city started to flare to life as the festival took full swing. A barrage of multicolored lights and lanterns filled every street, along with costus, complete with mock paper dragons. The festival would keep going until dawn, as everyone did their damnedest to stay sober enough to make it to the first ray of light.
Our bikes swerved past a party spilling out into the streetcars were driving poorly. Yep. Seed about right.
It was almost tragic that I didnt get to spend the night with my friends like wed planned. I imagined and Eve in a drinking contest or Bruno picking a fightSuzaki helping down the street after I got drunk. But no, it wasnt ant to be. Thered be ti another year.
Kayson shot past the Lantern District and into Downtown, leading our troop eventually to Uptown; by then, the fireworks popped in the sky.
For a second, the noise almost startled into crashing against Suzakis bikeId thought it was a gun. My exhaustion drove the paranoia, and I mightve known that, but it didnt stop it. That and the worry for my brothers safety was a bad combo.
Kayson stopped us near a small butchery. It had a crimson sign displaying the world Closed for the holidays. I snorted. Bit late for a steak, aint it? I tried to force a bit of a laugh into my toneanything to ease the tension humming in or break Bruno out of that brooding silence. Ever since we left the Sect, Suzakis words weighed him down.
Funny. But no. Kayson leaned on his handrails, spiders sparking to life on his fingertips. They crawled down the sleek tal handlebars to scurry towards the butcher shop. Ive been keeping tabs on the Alchemist the Fourth Division took. One of their squads is stationed here, and they occasionally send out warriors with duffel bags. Those go directly to a couple of select Captains from other Divisions.
They shoved him in this shithole? Eve spat on the ground.
Kayson nodded, his hands spread out and twitching as if he were playing the piano. The occasional glitter of light traced the thin webs running from his fingertips. That scouting ability was always so useful Could I translate so of that skill set to my Crowsmaybe broaden my utility a bit more. Though my Soul lacked any intelligence and reasoning, he seed to be presenting at this stage.
Guess the lack of raw firepower gave him so advantage. That also extended to the large number of spiders his Soul manifested. I still didnt know how many he could make if he pushed it.
This business has been paying protection fees to the Brass Kings for several years now. I asked Captain Atkins to look into it once I determined Jas was being stashed here. The owner is a fifty-year-old man, compliant, and has nothing but praises for us. Partially because we dealt with a couple of robbers on his behalf and intimidated a supplier to cut him a deal.
I blinked at the information; Eve let out a soft, Damn. Kayson never disappointed when it ca to information gathering. Our leader paused, cracking his neck, his fingers twitching once more.
Confird. Jas is in there, along with a full squad from the Fourth Division. Theyve set up defenses and barricaded Jas in the backroom. Kayson scanned the nearby building before returning his attention to us. No easy way to approach from the shadows, hard to predict their exact orders and what theyll do if they see Luca. Weve got to bust in and out quickly.
One thing didnt quite sit right with . Why are we saving this Alchemist? Ya know, I aint opposed to coming and getting him after we get Alex, since it was fucked up what Tristan did. But this seems like itll sap us more and piss off the higher-ups more than anything.
Where is your brother, Luca?
I dont fucking know! I threw my hands up, trying to stem the rising tide of anger. It wasnt Kaysons fault, but my emotions were already close to the edge.
Thats my point. We dont know where hes stashed your brother. It happened too soon for to have any way of tracking the whereabouts of him or his n to try to puzzle it out. Captain Atkins is also not directly cooperating with us on this since, as she saidshe doesnt want the hamr that falls on us afterward to also fall on her.
Alright, yea, I get that. But how does this Alchemist get us closer to saving Alex?
First, itll anger Tristan. Your Lieutenant has an obsession with maintaining a close handle on his affairs. Disrupting that will throw him off; hes certain we wouldnt make a move like this or likely doubts our capability to attack directly. Second, hes been using the Alchemist to leverage his bribery to new heights and increase his influence. Instead of money, he can offer power directly and use the money to make it more inviting. Thats made him very popular. Every Captain is competing to curry his favor for pills.
I scratched the back of my head as he broke the situation down. Yea, maybe the politics made sense. The whole thing with the Alchemist in the first place reeked like a dirty dealand bribery for soone like Tristan tracked.
That rat is far too good at what he does. Eve snorted. Hows he bankrolling all this?
Kayson sighed. Hes obscenely wealthy. But let's not get into that; well find victory here through a shock attack. Sweep in fast, throw them off, and then overrun them before they understand or can contact help. He moved over and patted Bruno on the shoulder. You strong enough?
Bruno shook his head, sothing was still off, but he gave a thumbs up. Of course! Theres none more glorious than I. This is a fitting job for .
Going in with ya, big guy. I added.
Eve runs in first, you guys begin the attack, then Suzaki and I co in last. My Thread Spinner is poised in pri locations to distract the enemy and provide us an edge. I also brought these. Kayson pulled out small orange ear plugsthrowing them to everyone but Eve. Dont be afraid to make as much noise as possible, with the fireworks going off, well be able to get in and out before anyone notices.
With that, all of our roles settled. For a grim mont, we stared at the door. This was crossing another dangerous line, but at least we were doing it together. I felt almost keen to face off against my old Division; getting that poor bastard out of there was just the icing on the revenge cake. I rubbed the back of my head, trying to psych myself up for the fight. I needed to push harder, be stronger. My team needed .
Bruno slamd the door open and ran into the building with a giddy laugh. I Manifested Fickle Fatethis ti, I got lucky and conjured three Crows. I let one stay on my left shoulder while I sent the other two ahead to latch onto Bruno. He made an ideal target since bad luck likely wouldnt end a fight for him, but a dose of good luck would probably take out whoever he punched after.
With my preparations made, I ran in behind him. I was his shadow. Eve ca after , and I shoved my ear plugs in, which turned everything into a dim muffle. We darted past glass tables filled with at and refrigerators stocked with food.
Bruno threw open another door to the back, finally lighting up the place as overhead fluorescent lights flooded outward. I dodged a dead cow hanging from a at hook, wincing as I looked at the animal.
Eve got ahead of Bruno as the dull shouting erupted ahead. Theyd noticed and were calling themselves to action. I steadied myself on the hanging cow, the cold flesh freezing against my palm as Eve opened her mouth and scread. Id still feel a backlash to my Soul, and I didnt want to put myself in a bad position after it ended.
Luckily it was a brief sound bomb, and then Eve cut herself off. Bruno was already rushing forward to start the fight.
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