The Dark Novels

"They should be just a little bit further," Kai called out, his voice carrying back to the five Ironguard officers trailing behind him. His pace was hurried, his head swiveling nervously as if expecting trouble at any moment.

Silas, walking near the back of the group, muttered under his breath, "I don't know how to feel about this."

Daysze, striding beside him, glanced over with a casual smile that felt out of place in the tense atmosphere. "Feels like a trap, doesn't it?"

Silas nodded, his gaze fixed on Kai. "I mean, yeah. Last time Malvin followed someone in the slums, he almost ended up dead."

Malvin, walking ahead of the pair, rolled his eyes but refrained from snapping back. He understood Silas's unease; it was suspicious. Someone just happened to overhear their conversation, conveniently knew people using the drug, and was now leading them straight to them? It felt too good to be true.

Still, Malvin couldn't shake the sense that Kai was sincere. His nervous demeanor, the way his voice cracked when he spoke—it didn't feel rehearsed or calculated like Joshua Ambrose's lies. It felt genuine. "Some guys I knew started using the drug," Kai had told them earlier. "If you question them, I'm sure they could tell you where the dealers are."

Now, after following him for nearly fifteen minutes, they found themselves deeper in the slums. The air grew heavier with every step, the streets narrowing and twisting into a maze that felt intentionally designed to confuse outsiders. The people here were markedly different—hardened, their gazes sharp and unfriendly. Criminals and gangsters loitered in small groups, their postures tense as they tracked the officers with wary eyes. None dared to make a move, though. Five Ironguard officers in uniform were too much of a risk, even here.

"How much further?" Jae asked, her tone clipped as her sharp sapphire-blue eyes scanned their surroundings.

Kai pointed ahead, his hand trembling slightly. "Just around that corner. That's where they usually hang out."

Before anyone could respond, Reinhard stepped forward, placing a firm hand on Kai's shoulder. The sudden contact made the young man jump, his eyes going wide with alarm. "Then you should get going," Reinhard said, his voice calm but resolute. "We'll take it from here."

Kai blinked, clearly startled. "Uh, w-why? If I'm with you, I-I could talk to them, maybe get them to tell you where they're getting the drug," he stammered.

Reinhard shook his head, his grip loosening as he let go of Kai's shoulder. "Trust me, if they're addicted, they won't just give that kind of information up because you ask nicely. And if you're with us, they'll know you led us to them. You could lose your friends—or worse."

Kai hesitated, his expression conflicted. He looked down, processing Reinhard's words, before nodding reluctantly. "That… makes sense, I guess," he said quietly. Then, as if an afterthought, he added, "Just… could you not hurt them too much? They don't know any better."

Jae turned back, her voice soft but firm. "We'll try not to," she assured him, her tone leaving no room for argument. With that, she followed Reinhard and the others as they rounded the corner and...

---

"We'll skip this part," Malvin said abruptly, cutting off the retelling mid-sentence. His sudden declaration left the room in stunned silence, everyone reeling from the sharp shift in tone.

"Huh? Why not?" Jos asked, leaning forward with clear anticipation. The eagerness in his voice mirrored the sentiment shared by the others in the room. Everyone's attention was locked on Malvin, waiting for the details of how the encounter had played out.

Malvin leaned back in his chair, his expression unbothered. "It's just not that important," he said with a slight shrug. "Me, Silas, and Reinhard handled it the way you'd expect. A few of them tried to put up a fight, so we knocked them out. Officer Daysze got the location of the dealers out of one of the guys afterward. Simple as that."

Jos groaned, letting out an exaggerated sigh of disappointment. "Still, I'd have liked to hear more about it," he muttered, clearly deflated. "Especially how Sir Reinhard fought. That could've been interesting."

Malvin remained indifferent, crossing his arms casually. "It was nothing worth dwelling on," he said dismissively. "Just another skirmish with criminals, the kind of thing we deal with all the time."

Jos muttered something under his breath but didn't press further. 

Malvin sat up slightly, his tone shifting as he added, "What's more important is what happened when we got to where the dealers were operating at the time. It was an abandoned sawmill, by the way." He paused for a moment, his expression darkening. "And don't worry, Jos. You'll get your chance to see how Reinhard fights soon enough. That sawmill? That's where I ran into that piece of shit Joshua Ambrose for the second time."