“Don’t… Give up… On yourself…” Finlay continued as he slowly drew a smile on his face. A myriad of emotions clashed within the girl’s eyes at that moment, seeing the peaceful look on the dwarf’s face.
She searched for anger, hatred, or even a form of blame, but there was none. The dwarf didn’t blame her at all even though she was the cause for his pain. She had brought these people upon them and dragged them with her back to hell.
“Why… Why do you care… I did nothing to you…” She replied as tears trickled down her cheeks. She couldn’t understand why this group still accepted her amongst them even though she was simply a deadweight. They didn’t look at her any different than how they looked at one another.
She had never received such a treatment before so it was incomprehensible. No one was benefiting from taking care of someone sought after by evil men. That was when the answer finally came to her.
“Cough cough… We don’t… need a reason… to protect you…”
“…”
“A friend… is always a friend…”
As simple as the answer was and as innocent as it sounded, it still rang in Sora’s head like a bell. She stared blankly at Finlay.
“Always…?” She muttered. Her face was a complete mess of blood and tears. But, the moment she heard Finlay’s words, a light slowly welled up in her eyes. Sora had been looking for a logical reason, anything that made sense to her mind. She thought she was supposed to be useful to them in order to make all their efforts worth it.
In reality, the group never needed a reason to help her. They simply saw someone who was about to end their lives, someone in dire need of a hand to grab them and an arm to hold them and they decided to take her in.
They saw in her a pure soul, tainted by the cruelty of the world and its hostility toward those who are different. In a sense, she was just like Finlay and Serko. They were all different, living in a world that hated them for something beyond their control.
So, they understood her very well and felt everything she was feeling at that moment.
“So, just… believe… I know… They will come for us…” Finlay said as he held her hand tightly, tainting it with his own blood. “Ok?”
“…” Sora cried silently as she looked down before she slowly nodded her head. Then, she slowly put her hand on Finlay’s hand as she grabbed it tightly. “I understand…”
***
“Are you sure this is the place, Arthur?” Herculia asked in a whispering tone.
“Hmm… This is where the tracks stop.” Arthur replied as he peeked over the wall, staring at the other side of the street. The darkness of the world had cast a shadow on the city.
After pinpointing the location, Arthur and the others quickly left the shelter and headed there. The trip took exactly 30 minutes since it was quite far. However, upon reaching the location Arthur assumed they were pointing at, all they could see was a large butcher shop.
“A butcher shop… That is a little weird…” Emmy frowned as she watched the active shop seemingly filled with people. Even at that moment, many large carriages were stopping in front of it, carrying large packages of meat.
“…” Isla squinted her eyes. “It is most likely the right place.” She said.
She didn’t know why, but even the vibe of the shop from this far didn’t sit right with her. She had heard about this chain of butcher shops in the city beforehand. ‘The Red Pearl’ as it was called. It had many branches in the entire city, even outside the Snowfall region.
However, assuming that the people who wanted Sora were an extremely powerful organization, having their business hidden behind a butcher shop is simply very logical.
“So, what are we supposed to do? We can’t just walk in and ask them to give us Sora and the two dwarves.” Danny said.
“No.” Isla shook her head as she crouched down. “Here is how we are going to infiltrate the building. Danny and Emmy, you two are going to walk through the main entrance. I want Danny to use his Shadow Step to move to the back of the building if possible. We are looking for any suspicious hidden entrances, cells, or anything else that catches your eye.”
“Hmm, got it.” Danny nodded. “I can do that.”
“Herculia, you are going to go from the back and try to find a back entrance if possible than enter from there and do the same as Danny.”
“Got it, boss!” Herculia grinned. “I will create a door myself if there is none.”
“Actually, that is a good idea. If there is no entrance from behind, create some noise and then retreat to attract the guards inside. We want to get rid of as many annoying pests as possible.” She said coldly before she finally turned to look at Arthur. “You, Arthur, will climb the building and infiltrate it from the top. Meanwhile, I will check every single carriage outside the building to make sure the kids aren’t being transported secretly and then follow you.”
At this point, Isla knew that the abductors realized that Finlay and Serko were dwarves. She didn’t want to think of what they would do with such a discovery. She simply hoped they wouldn’t kill them and instead decided to send them back where they came from.
She hated the fact that this was totally out of her control, but that was the truth and she had to play all her cards right.
“Got it. I will find a way in and find them.” Arthur said.
“I rely on you guys. Let’s get them out of there. One last thing…” She said. “If you find one of the abductors… Don’t spare them. Go in with the intent to kill.”
Although Isla would usually try to avoid killing for the possible repercussions it could bring. But, nobody understood the rage she was feeling at that moment. If she wasn’t a master at controlling her emotions, she would’ve already infiltrated that place and destroyed it all.
Nobody touches her people and gets away with it. They were her pride and a part of her.
Seeing the fire burning within Isla’s eyes, the group nodded their heads. They understood the sign clearly. Avoid innocent people, and kill everyone involved in this.
With that, all five of them quickly scattered everywhere, disappearing into the shadows as if they never existed. Meanwhile, the shop continued working normally as it was reaching the last few hours of work for the day.
Red Pearl was the biggest supplier of meat in the entirety of the capital. It had its own distribution system, hunters that caught fresh prey, and countless branches across every nook and cranny of the city. The owner of the Red Pearl was also one of the richest men in the empire so the influence of this place had already exceeded that of a mere shop selling meat… It was a large empire on its own.
*Ring*
The door to the building opened with a ring, and two people walked in silently. There were so many people inside that these two didn’t stand out. Looking around, the interior of the building was quite nice, with white tiles and black tiles flooring the entire place. The faint smell of cut meat and the sound of butchering knives hitting the boards echoed in the entire place.
‘…’ Danny looked at Emmy and nodded his head before the two started walking around the place, examining every nook and cranny of it with their eyes. Danny was trying to create the most detailed image of the place in his head to show his ability to work.
To use Shadow Step, he had to know exactly where he was going to appear. So, they had to make a tour around then leave, and finally sneak in using his ability.
‘A backdoor… I need to find the location of the backdoor…’
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It didn’t take him long to finally see the iron door where workers came and went quickly.
‘There it is. It’s a dozen meters away from the wall. Thirteen meters if I count the distance I will need to use Shadow Step. This is very possible.’
“Let’s go.” He said as he turned around and looked at Emmy. “I know where to go.”
“…” Emmy nodded.
***
At the same time, Herculia walked around the building into the other section and peeked secretly at the backside.
‘Hm?’
Surprisingly, he saw two men standing there, surrounding a closed door as they smoked cigarettes or something similar to cigarettes.
‘… Interesting. I wonder why two guards are standing here, protecting that door.’
It was getting clearer and clearer for him. This butcher shop wasn’t after all just a butcher shop.
A//N: Don’t forget to give the book some golden tickets for good luck! :3