Yoka Satori entered the war-room, her boots clicking against polished stone, and immediately felt the weight of three pairs of eyes settle on her.

  To her right sat her older brother, General Kiddo Satori: First Commander of the Freelancer Guild, and the only person in Hano capable of opening dimensional Portals. Probably the only one in the entire Seven Realms. His salt-and-pepper hair was tied back, exposing the sharp line of his jaw and the deep grooves of exhaustion etched into his face. A massive ōdachi leaned against his chair, nearly as tall as he was. He kept it within arm’s reach at all times, and he would sooner let the end of the world to happen than allow anyone else to touch it. Even her.

  To her left sat General Ta’o, Supreme Commander of the regular military. His short, cropped blue hair glinted beneath the lantern light. His uniform was immaculate; medals, metal badges, and ribboned honors covered his chest like layered scales. On his back rested his famous glass sword, cyan liquid pulsing slowly inside the transparent blade like caged light.

  Between them sat Elder Haro Okar. His bald head shone softly, his white beard curled neatly over a face shaped by decades of laughter rather than scowls. Draped in ceremonial robes, he looked more like a kindly grandfather than one of the three most dangerous men in Hano.

  “Captain. Report.”

  General Ta’o’s voice cut through the room, sharp enough to carve a line straight through the table.

  “Oh, come now, Ta’o,” Elder Haro said, waving a wrinkled hand. “Don’t start the interrogation the moment she steps in. This is little Yoka. Let’s not pretend we’re strangers.”

  Kiddo was already glaring at Ta’o. The tension between Freelancers and Regulars had long since become a civic tradition, like watching two hydra heads fight with itself.

  “Sit, sit, little Yoka,” Haro continued, smiling warmly. “Look at you, you’ve grown into a woman.”

  His eyes dipped, just briefly, before returning to her face. “A powerful woman, I mean. Your father would be proud.”

  “Thank you, sir.”

  Yoka bowed and took her seat, placing the sealed scroll on the table. “As requested, I’ve compiled my full report on the Todor engagement.”

  Ta’o leaned forward, fingers steepled. “Start with the casualties.”

  Yoka inhaled. “Lieutenant Lloyd is dead. His body has been returned to his family. Two Dragon Slayers were injured, both stable and fully recovered, thanks to a Holy cleric embedded with the team. All other personnel sustained only minor wounds.”

  Kiddo’s jaw tightened, but he said nothing. Lloyd had been one of his protégés.

  “And the missing civilians?” Elder Haro asked quietly.

  “They were freed. Seventeen alive.” Yoka paused. “Two are missing… presumed dead.”

  Haro nodded, though the light dimmed in his eyes.

  Ta’o drummed his gloved fingers against the table. “And Todor?”

  Yoka broke the seal and unfurled the scroll. “According to Lieutenant Hanakudo Agame, Todor escaped into the undead dead zone alongside Lenfair the Cursed-Flame and Lieutenant Izair of High Rock. He deemed pursuit too dangerous.”

  Kiddo muttered, “That Todor bastard always knew how to hit-and-run.”

  Ta’o’s gaze sharpened. “You’re certain it was Izair of High Rock?”

  “Yes,” Yoka said without hesitation. “Both Sergeant Yon and Lieutenant Hanakudo identified him.”

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  Ta’o’s expression darkened. “Then does this mean High Rock has allied itself with the cult?”

  “Let’s not be hasty,” Haro said mildly. “Aside from Izair, we have no proof. King Palsha would not stoop so low.”

  “I wouldn’t be so sure,” Kiddo said, rubbing his forehead. “Donas infiltrated Hano’s leadership for years before betraying us. With a snake like that in play, it’s safer to expect the worst.”

  Ta’o nodded once. “What of the cult’s remnants inside the city? Have all contacts been apprehended?”

  “Yes,” Yoka replied. “Interrogations revealed embedded assets throughout Hano, a guard sergeant, a Merchant Guild associate, and a pawnshop owner acting as a fence. All have been captured and questioned.”

  “They were operating under our noses,” Kiddo growled, fingers digging into the armrest.

  “And how did we uncover them in the first place?” Haro asked.

  Yoka hesitated. “It began with a sewer hunt. A freelancer team discovered a death-mana anomaly that had transformed common rat-beasts into mana monsters. Further investigation revealed it was the result of a ritual sacrifice.”

  Haro raised an eyebrow. “And who was this team? Anyone we would know?”

  “Alice Hecate, Kan Karda, and… ” She paused, Yoka glanced at the scroll, she kept forgetting the third guy name, “...Calr Hickmanen.”

  Both Ta’o and Haro stiffened at the name Karda.

  “Are we certain this Karda girl isn’t involved?” Ta’o demanded.

  “We are,” Yoka said firmly. “She fought the cult in the Pikar Steppe and personally killed one of their members.”

  “That proves nothing,” Ta’o snapped. “It wouldn’t be the first time a Karda played both sides.”

  Kiddo’s chair scraped loudly as he leaned forward. “You’re just bitter because her father beat you in the duel that legitimized his claim.”

  Ta’o surged to his feet, hand flying to the hilt of his glass sword. Cyan light flared as the liquid within churned violently.

  “How dare you!”

  “Enough.”

  Elder Haro rose.

  The word alone carried power. His aura unfurled in a sudden, crushing pulse, washing through the chamber like a tidal wave. Lantern flames guttered. The air thickened, pressing against lungs and skin alike.

  It was nothing like Todor’s raw, monstrous pressure. Haro’s power was refined, tempered by eighty years of discipline. Todor may have lived for a thousand years, but he had never learned control.

  Ta’o froze, knuckles white around his sword. Kiddo stiffened, teeth clenched. Neither dared move.

  “This chamber,” Haro said calmly, “is not a battlefield. Nor will ancient grudges decide Hano’s future.”

  The pressure eased, but the silence lingered.

  “If the cult still breathes, we will hunt it,” Haro continued. “If enemies hide among us, we will expose them. But we will not tear this city apart while the cult yet survive.”

  He turned back to Yoka. “Continue, Captain.”

  “With Lloyd gone,” Yoka said, “I recommend promoting Nakera to sergeant.”

  All three nodded. No one disputed Nakera’s merit.

  “Kitchi’s younger brother also distinguished himself,” Yoka added. “I would recommend the same, if this hadn’t been his first real mission with our guild.”

  “That’s simple,” Ta’o said. “Give him an open challenge. Something really difficult. If he succeeds, no one can object to his promotion.”

  “And it would boost morale, in the city considering he is the son of Taka Agame.” Kiddo added, finding him self in a rare agreement with general Ta’o.

  “I’ll think of something,” elder Haro nodded.

  Yoka suppressed a sigh.

  Poor Raik. The old man could be brutal when it came to testing newcomers.

  “Anything else”, the older man asked.

  “The girl Alice is a teleporter,” Yoka said. “She appears to possess a conditional, mythic-grade ability. She was instrumental in uncovering the cult’s plot, locating the civilians, and drawing Commander Kitchi Agame into the engagement.”

  Kiddo scowled. “Mythic teleportation. The gods really do hand out powers like they’re pulling them out of their asses.”

  “She’s new to Hano,” Haro said thoughtfully. “Let us see how she integrates before assigning any authority.”

  “I guess this is all for now,” smiled the supreme leader.

  She folded the scroll and bowed, recognizing a dismissal.

  She was sensing the signs of the coming storm.

  If even rookies were being tested now, it meant Hano’s leaders no longer believed peace was possible. The next time the cult moved, the city would be ready. She will make sure of that.

  And with how disruptive a new teleporter could be, Yoka really hoped that Alice would remain an ally of the city.