Three days later...
At the extraction point, deep within the ruins of Nevermore City, three agents of the Temple of Assassins remained stationed, awaiting the return of Zane and Shelby. It had been two full weeks since the duo had left, and still, there was no sign of them.
In all this ti, the agents hadn’t left the ruined city once. They camped in the shadows of collapsed towers, ate rationed als, and trained regularly to stay sharp.
As the morning sun rose through the haze, the three agents gathered as usual for their daily check-in, their breaths visible in the cold air of the cursed city.
This ti, Agent Kassam broke the silence.
"If they don’t return today, we’re pulling out," he said bluntly. "Let’s assu they failed the trial and died sowhere in this wasteland."
The other two agents frowned.
Elizabeth McGraw, sharp-eyed and sharp-tongued, folded her arms. "Who are you to decide that?" she snapped. "When we accepted this mission, the instructions were clear: we wait at the extraction point as long as necessary. We know both applicants are still alive—so we stay."
Kassam narrowed his eyes. "Don’t twist this. There’s nothing in the rules that says I’m wrong. This so-called ’simple’ mission has taken far too long."
Elizabeth’s voice turned cold. "Ah, I see where this is coming from—your teacher’s philosophy, right? You and that ntor of yours... cut from the sa stubborn, arrogant cloth."
Their argunt was nothing new. Since the start of the mission, Elizabeth and Kassam had been at each other’s throats. They belonged to opposing factions within the Temple, often clashing over ideology and thods.
Elizabeth’s faction saw Zane and Shelby as valuable assets—talents with potential. Kassam’s faction, however, considered them opportunists who had advanced through underhanded ans.
anwhile, the third agent, Barun, belonged to a neutral faction—and had spent the past two weeks playing diator.
He sighed dramatically. "Ah, not again. I swear, I must’ve been assigned here just to babysit you two brats."
"Shut up!" both Elizabeth and Kassam barked in unison.
Barun raised his hands in surrender. "Alright, alright. No more comnts. Next ti you two put swords to each other’s throats, I won’t interfere. Happy now?"
Suddenly, Barun’s expression changed. His eyes narrowed, head tilting.
"Wait... do you hear that?" He lifted a hand to signal silence. "Footsteps. Several. Headed this way."
Elizabeth reached for her weapons. "Could it be Zane and Shelby?"
Barun nodded, serious now. "Could be. Either way, we follow protocol."
Without another word, the agents dispersed.
They returned to their respective tents, quickly dismantling camp. In monts, their canvases were folded, supplies vanished into enchanted silk pouches, and all signs of their presence were erased. With practiced efficiency, they activated stealth mode, hiding in the shadows of crumbling stone walls and broken arches.
Then... movent.
Four figures approached through the rubble-strewn street.
The agents waited in tense silence until two of the faces beca visible.
Zane. Shelby.
Elizabeth let out a small breath of relief.
"They made it," Elizabeth murmured. This was their first mission in this fractured world, and every agent had ntally prepared for the worst. Seeing the pair alive—and walking—was no small miracle.
"It’s us," Zane called out, his voice firm. "You can co out now. Mission complete."
From the shadows, the three agents erged—cloaked, masked, and vigilant.
Zane’s eyes flicked to each of them, and with the help of the All-Seeing Vision, their stat overlays lit up above their heads. Impressive—each of them had four core attributes exceeding 6,500 points.
Then he glanced at Shelby, but, as always, the system couldn’t read a single thing from his stats.
"Where’s the Beast Mana Core?" Elizabeth asked in a surprisingly masculine voice, distorted through her mask.
"You’re looking at him," Zane replied, pointing directly at Sebastian Hemp, who stood chained beside them.
"I don’t follow," she said, narrowing her eyes.
Zane smirked. "Agents, et the infamous Celestial Wolf King—alive and captured."
"That wasn’t the mission," Kassam cut in sharply, his tone accusatory. "You were ordered to retrieve the Beast Mana Core of a Celestial Wolf—not bring him back."
Zane clenched his jaw. He recognized Kassam—the sa agent who’d been openly antagonistic toward them from the beginning.
"Are you dense?" Zane snapped. "He is the Celestial Wolf King. If you want the mana core so bad, go ahead—rip it from him yourself. Or are you too stupid to understand what a live capture ans?"
Shelby, who had remained silent until now, chuckled softly.
Kassam’s eyes flared. He reached for his blade, fury simring in his posture—but before he could draw, Elizabeth stepped in.
"Enough," she ordered, pushing his hand away. "Let’s follow protocol. I’ll confirm with command."
Kassam grumbled, stepping back but still glaring.
"And who’s she?" he added, nodding toward Erlin. "Another stray you picked up?"
"She’s none of your business," Zane said coldly. "She cos with ."
Kassam was about to argue again when Barun intervened, stepping between them. "Cool it, both of you," he said. "Let’s focus on the verification first."
Elizabeth tapped her wrist device, bringing up a holographic interface. Her fingers flew across the screen as she activated the encrypted chat system. Monts later, she raised her watch and snapped a photo of Sebastian.
Zane watched curiously. So their ssaging system works even in this world... impressive.
After a tense few minutes, a soft chi rang.
Elizabeth’s gaze flicked to the response. She nodded. "Confirmation received. Command verifies: he is the target. Priority One—capture and extract alive. Good job."
She reached into her pouch and tossed two small tallic boxes to Zane and Shelby.
"Scan the embedded codes—one-ti use. Once activated, you’ll be registered officially as agents of the organization."
Zane caught the box, turning it over in his palm.
"What about the girl?" Kassam asked again, frowning.
"She’s not our concern," Elizabeth replied curtly. "If Zane wants her along, that’s his call. The mission’s complete. Now prepare the path ho."
The two male agents drew their blades and slashed the air with synchronized movents. A spatial rift tore open—dark, swirling, and ready for transit.
Just as they were about to enter, Shelby’s voice rang out, calm and sharp.
"That’s enough lurking. You might as well show yourselves now."
From the nearby tree line, a figure stepped forward—a tall man clad in gleaming silver armor, a broad sword slung across his back. His presence was regal, commanding.
"You knew we were watching?" the man asked.
Shelby smiled faintly. "Hard not to, when you stomp around like an elephant in chainmail."
A gasp followed.
"Big Brother!" Erlin cried out.
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