A few more details were explained over the call, though it was less about strategies and more about providing Alen with the location that needed to be checked. What was truly happening there was sothing they would have to discover for themselves.
Even after the call ended, Alen and his small team stayed in the shop. The silence among them was broken only by the occasional scrape of a chair or the faint clatter of cups in the background. Raze had said he would send one of his own people over, one of his strongest allies, soone from the other world. Alen knew whoever it was would be a formidable fighter, but he couldn’t be sure which of them it would be until the door opened.
The woman who stepped in was instantly recognizable. Her blonde hair, tipped with striking red ends, made her stand out no matter where she was. And like all of the Pagna warriors, her beauty was undeniable, an otherworldly sharpness that made every head turn when she entered.
"Nice to et you," Alen greeted, rising to his feet. "You’re Beatrix, right? I know we’ve crossed paths a few tis, but I don’t think we’ve ever really spoken properly."
Beatrix gave a small bow to him and to the rest of the group sitting at the table. When she lifted her head, her eyes swept across them, and she caught the faint flush on each of their cheeks.
"Is it hot in here?" Beatrix tilted her head, speaking casually. "Maybe I just don’t feel it as much as the rest of you." Her words carried a hint of humor, but her tone shifted quickly back to focus. "Regardless, I’ll do my best to help you and protect you. From this mont on, we’ll handle this task as a team."
Her presence shifted the atmosphere imdiately. The team was now more ready than ever to move forward with the next stage. And there was a reason Raze had chosen Beatrix over the others.
Safa was still tied up with her work in the Underside, tending to the countless addicts who needed her light to recover. That alone ruled her out. Of the remaining options, Raze had chosen carefully. Beatrix’s origins within the Light Faction ant that her morals and her sense of justice aligned closest with Alen’s n. If anyone could work alongside them with the least conflict, it was her.
Together, the group left the shop and traveled to the designated location. By the ti they arrived, the sun had shifted overhead, casting long shadows across the path that led to their destination.
At the edge of the property, they stopped at a wide iron gate. Beyond it stretched a massive garden, its hedges and trees rising like walls of greenery, winding their way up toward the hill where the main building sat perched. It was an imposing sight, one that felt more like a fortress disguised as a sanctuary.
And then they saw the sign. The letters were carved clearly into the plaque near the gate.
"ntal institution?" one of the n muttered, disbelief clear in his voice. "Are you sure this is the right place?"
Alen stepped closer, eyes narrowing as he read the words again. "There are things magic can’t solve. ntal illness is still prevalent, even in a world like ours. Up until now, we’ve been searching through factories, warehouses, places that dealt in raw goods and production. But not everything under Gizin’s banner is so obvious. His company owns this place as well. And if what I suspect is true... if we find proof here, then this might be the biggest piece of evidence we’ll ever have."
The others exchanged wary looks, the unease settling in. One of them finally spoke up. "So what do we do? Just raid the place? Force our way in and make them tell us what’s happening inside? If we’ve already got confirmation that sothing’s wrong here, then there has to be evidence, right?"
Alen shook his head. If there was one thing he was, it was cautious, risk-averse in every sense. With everything going on, there was always a chance Gizin was already moving to clean up, to erase the traces of his cris before anyone ca knocking.
If they attacked now and found nothing, they couldn’t even use the excuse of acting on a tip. And while they could always put on masks and raid under the guise of the Dark Guild, the thought of possibly killing innocents on a whim unsettled them deeply. None of them wanted blood on their hands for the sake of a guess.
Before Alen could answer further, Beatrix stepped forward, her staff appearing in her hand as if it had always belonged there. "Sothing’s happening inside that facility, right? Then all you need is confirmation. You don’t need all of us to go barging in. Let go in alone."
Alen frowned. "What do you an? We can all go in together. It’s just a matter of whether we can co up with a convincing story to explain our presence, or if we can find out what they’re hiding without being noticed."
Beatrix smiled faintly, her confidence shining through. "I’m confident I can manage that." She held her staff upright, the artifact humming faintly in her grip.
At the academy, she had always concealed the true extent of its power, limiting herself to manipulating earth and stone so that others believed it was no more than a powerful magical staff. But the truth was far greater. The artifact could change anything, any material, any shape, no matter what it was made of, as long as she fed it Qi.
With it, she could shift solid walls aside, carve a passage through locked halls, or mold barriers into doors. And if all else failed, she had her cursed sword. A blade that would let her phase through anything in existence. But that power ca with its cost. Each use aged her body, stealing away fragnts of her life.
"I can move walls, change structures, get to where we need to be," she explained. "And if that fails, I have... other thods. You’ll get the confirmation you need."
Alen studied her for a long mont before finally sighing. He knew her reputation. If anyone could accomplish this without drawing attention, it was her. "Then we have no choice but to rely on you. But rember this, at the first sign of danger, you co out imdiately. Don’t hesitate, don’t try to be a hero. We’ll be waiting right here."
Beatrix gave a single nod. Her grip on the staff tightened. Whatever lay hidden inside that institution, they were about to find out.
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