types qw

Mission

Chapter Text

"Greetings, Scoutmaster."

Words echoed through the, otherwise quiet, Pocket Dimension.

The members of the Troop Meeting kept their saluting pose until a voice sounded from the head seat.

"Greetings, take your seats."

Everyone sat down, looking to the largest and most captivating seat.

On it was a young girl, sitting leisurely with a calm but smiling expression.

Ellone turned her head to the opposing seat.

There sat a tall, young man with long brown hair, her brother, Dager.

He had gloomy, almost sulking expression.

Ellone noticed as the black-haired girl, Juny, turned to look at him.

After Juny saw his expression, her black eyes immediately shifted to the short-furred black cat sitting next to Ellone.

Ellone followed Juny's gaze.

Having received the hints, Darmine, spoke.

"The scouting was successful, we uncovered the ones communicating with Dager's crew member."

Juny nodded, seemingly having expected it.

"Well done."

Ellone then watched as Juny turned to nod towards Dager.

"What's that about?"

Before Ellone could sigh, Dager spoke up, his tone gloomy.

"They're nobodies..."

Ellone's eyes narrowed.

Just then, the young man behind Dager, Valler, reached to massage his forehead.

Ellone couldn't help but think that he must be feeling embarrassed.

Valler spoke, explaining.

"The crew is not well known nor famous. Their captain is simply overconfident because he found out Captain's age."

Ellone leaned back as Juny lightly nodded.

"I see."

She finally rolled her eyes at her brother.

Before the topic moved on, the 20 year old Brielle spoke up.

"The sea, especially the pirates are still in a bit of an uproar because of the news from last week. Although we opened it up last week, we thought it'd be good to repeat it. The Second Mate of the Admiral of Blood, 'Steel' Maveti, with a bounty of around 6 000 pounds was mysteriously killed last Wednesday or early Thursday."

Hearing the bounty, Ellone's attention was piqued.

At this moment, Darmine nodded.

"Yes, although the Church of the Storms covered it up, we did some scouting and searching."

All gazes moved to the short-furred black cat.

"It is believed that the Fourth Boatswain of the Golden Dream, Blazing Danitz, was behind Maveti's death. But it's also unlikely that he did it by himself. At some point, he was seen moving around with a sharp looking man with gold-rimmed glasses. He was also seen leaving a boat called White Agate from the Darmir Harbor."

"It took some time, but I managed to find the list of cruisers on the White Agate from that specific day. We were able to get the name, which also matched with the recent newspapers. The man's name is Gehrman Sparrow and he's probably an adventurer or a bounty hunter."

The place was silent for a while before Juny nodded.

"Alright, it would be a good idea to keep an eye on that one. Well done, Scout Patrol Leader."

"Thank you."

As matters concerning the sea came to an end, everyone's attention shifted to the beautiful Sanguine sitting on an elegant chair.

Feeling the eyes, Daimira spoke calmly.

"The mission is proceeding smoothly. So far, Garnil's Opera has visited all locations designated for this week according to the schedule. The plan concerning the restoration of the fields's vitality is also moving without problems. So far, 2 farms, 3 fields and 2 flower gardens have been restored to normal."

Ellone felt glad as Daimira continued, her eyes moved to the table.

"I ensured safety from attackers or bandits, although there were several unexpected disturbances..."

Ellone leaned forward with her hands on the table.

"What kind of disturbances?"

Daimira showed slight hesitation before smoothing it out.

"Some of the lead performers faced injuries or unforeseen setbacks in every settlement, making them unable to fulfill their roll as actors. As such, I was asked to... em, temporarily stand in? I took on some minor roles to avoid cancellation of the shows."

Ellone's eyes narrowed.

Same with Darmine, who subconsciously turned to look at Juny.

She was leaning to the side, supporting her chin with her fist.

Darmine noticed an amused twitch tugging at Juny's lips.

But that was all, as Juny's face soon returned to normal.

As if sensing that something was wrong with Daimira's description, Degster spoke up.

"Stand in? As if taking on acting? How did it go?"

Daimira flinched, her eyes darted to Degster and then to the table.

"I did what was required in order to keep up the morale. As far as I was told, my participation was satisfactory."

At this point, a scoff rang out.

The scoff was followed by an elegant woman's voice.

"Satisfactory? Yes, I suppose so. You did manage to receive a title, no?"

Daimira froze, her face heating up.

Everyone first turned at the one who scoffed, Airina, and then at the one with a strange remark, Madam Petrison.

They both had cheeky expressions, but one was better at hiding it than the other,

Dager, who seemed to have forgotten about his sulking, chimed in.

"What title? What are you talking about?"

Airina and Madam Petrison exchanged swift glances.

During this moment, Airina has already recovered from her previous loss of face.

"Yes, well. The Battle Patrol Leader's acting was effective enough to grand her a fitting title. I heard it's connected to her most popular role as which she had to 'stand in'."

Madam Petrison gracefully nodded, as if she really was just having a casual conversation.

"Yes, I have heard that too. The papers say that she was radiating divinity with every step. They call her-"

"Wait! Don't!'

Even through Daimira's pleading cries, Madam Petrison was cruel, not hesitanting.

"-The Scarlet Angel."

"Hahaha!"

Shake, who seemingly also heard about it, burst out with laughter, which he's been holding back for a while.

Ellone first flinched before bending her back and hiding her face.

Jenica bit her lip hard, doing her best to keep a straight face.

Juny tightly gripped the armrest with her eyes staring straight forward.

Degster and Dager had strangely similar reactions.

They both stared at Daimira with wide eyes filled with exasperation.

Which probably stung Daimira even more than them laughing.

Gen was silently contemplating something while Darmine just rolled her eyes.

After a few seconds of this chaos, Juny finally snapped her fingers.

Instantly, everyone's emotions calmed down and the place went silent.

"Very well, report received."

When silence took over once more, a completely different voice emerged.

"I've heard something strange recently..."

Everyone's attention moved to the calm, and usually quiet, Gen.

He leaned back, still in the middle of contemplating.

"There's been a talk of major disappearances across many villages in the West part of the Kingdom. It was mentioned mainly by merchants or families who feared being a part of such event and thus ran away."

Ellone straightened her back, getting ready to listen.

Gen lightly pressed down his palm.

"I went to investigate this Wednesday and it seems to have something to do with a certain fallen clan with a long history. I haven't found out much more as I didn't even arrive at the place where the disappearances occurred the most."

Ellone tilted her head.

Since she was someone in a wholly different Kingdom, she didn't have much of a way to assist with such problems.

She saw as Juny shifted in her seat.

"That sounds like something worth investigating. Let Kalim help you with the scouting."

Gen looked at the large gray wolf before nodding.

"Alright."

The Troop Meeting then moved on and it was soon Ellone's turn to report.

She looked to the head seat, her expression bright.

"I am happy to report that the cure is spreading at an abrupt rate. As of now, over 5 thousand people have been saved and the casualties are only decreasing. I am sure that the plague will soon be completely eradicated."

"Also, my Potion Professor Potion has been fully digested. I'm ready to proceed with my Advancement."

Ellone watched as Juny nodded with a smile.

"Understood, I'll provide the materials for the ritual as well as the main ingredients."

"Thank you, Scoutmaster!"

The mood instantly turned lighter as Degster spoke up.

"Scoutmaster, The Instructor and my Assistant Patrol Leader have also finished digesting their respective Sequence 7 Potions. We've recovered the main and supplementary ingredients so we're now awaiting your approval."

Juny tilted her head but immediately answered.

"Well done. Although I could've assisted you, I'm pleased that you've managed to get what was necessary even without my help. You may Advance, tell me if you encounter any complications along the way."

"Yes, Scoutmaster."

The mood around the round table soon became calm and the Troop Meeting came to an end.

Like every week, Ellone stood up and bade farewell.

And within seconds, there was only one person left in the wide Pocket Dimension.

Juny leaned back in her seat, taking in the empty space.

The smile never faded from her face, but that was not the case for 'everyone'.

'Child, they left. You don't have to ignore us anymore.'

"..."

'Hey, I'm starting to think she really can't hear us.'

'𝒴𝑜𝓊'𝓇𝑒 𝓇𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉... 𝒾𝓈𝓃'𝓉 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝒸𝑜𝓃𝒸𝑒𝓇𝓃𝒾𝓃𝑔?'

'O𝔯 𝔰𝔥𝔢'𝔰 𝔧𝔲𝔰𝔱 d𝔬𝔫𝔢 𝔴𝔦𝔱𝔥 y𝔬𝔲𝔯 𝔟𝔲𝔩𝔩𝔰𝔥*𝔱.'

'[Hmm]... [Void][you're][being][awfully][quiet],[don't][you][have][anything][to][say]?'

Having been questioned for the eighth time today, the Void Elemental gave Juny a glance.

After a moment, she sighed.

'Of Course She Can't Hear Us.'

'𝕎𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕕𝕠 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕞𝕖𝕒𝕟 𝕓𝕪 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥?'

The Void Elemental moved closer and stopped right before Juny's face.

'This Is A Body Double Who's Only A Sequence 4. The Main Body Has Been Gone For Days Now.'

There was a short silence between the Elementals as 'Juny' stood up.

'What...?'

'i-see. i-thought-she-was-just-fed-up-with-us...'

'𝔸𝕨, 𝕀'𝕞 𝕙𝕦𝕣𝕥. 𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝔻𝕒𝕣𝕝𝕚𝕟' 𝕔𝕠𝕦𝕝𝕕'𝕧𝕖 𝕒𝕥 𝕝𝕖𝕒𝕤𝕥 𝕤𝕒𝕪 𝕘𝕠𝕠𝕕𝕓𝕪𝕖.'

The Elementals watched 'Juny' leave the Pocket Dimension.

'I Just Hope She Won't Get Hurt...'

...

"Now that we know all the context, what's our play?"

Kaelith crossed her left leg over her right, staring at the other three before her.

As the Third Mate, Boatswain and someone who was often all around the deck, Kaelith was one of the very first to catch a whiff of the betrayal.

At first, she just reported it with a smirk, not caring too much.

But as time passed, the bad blood spread.

Those who used to respect Dager showed hesitation and always seemed to judge the Captain's choices.

This made her blood boil.

Valler massaged his forehead, getting a headache.

As the First Mate, he was also under a lot of pressure because of this.

Brielle clicked her tongue, sitting down with a bottle in hand.

"I think we should just kill the main ones. The rest is bound to wake up afterwards."

Hearing this, Dager immediately shook his head.

"No, that is nothing more than a short term fix. If we just kill them, this whole thing is going to repeat itself."

Brielle gave him a look, but she didn't refute it.

She took a gulp of the bitter liquid in her bottle.

Dager lightly tapped the table, his expression devout of the usual cheekiness.

Seeing that Dager didn't continue, Valler probed.

"Then what do you propose? You're the one they want to assassinate."

Dager's finger stopped moving.

"It's not 'them'."

"Huh?"

Kaelith blurted out, tilting her head.

Dager sighed before pulling his lips back into the usual smile.

"This whole problem stems from one arrogant man. He's the one who spread it, so it's not 'them' but 'he'."

Valler's eyes narrowed.

"No, it was him at first. But by now, there might as well be multiple."

Dager looked at Valler before shrugging.

"Maybe, but in the end, it will be just him who takes action. Not them. The rest might assist him if he comes close to success."

Kaelith placed the bottle down.

"So what's your plan?"

Dager's smile widened.

"I'll get rid of both problems at once."

Valler groaned, feeling the headache intensifying.

"When and how?"

Dager looked his way, supporting his chin with his fist.

"When they move in with the assault of course."

Seeing signs of confusion, Dager explained.

"We already know who they are and what they're planning. So we'll wait until they play their turn. The traitor will probably also move at that time, attacking me while I'm distracted. What better way to mess up someone's scheme than to ruin it in front of a wide audience?"

Brielle was the first one to react.

"But isn't that dangerous? You'd be leaving your back wide open."

Dager nodded while standing up.

"Yup, that's the plan. Just don't do anything no matter what happens and enjoy the show."

His eyes were filled with mischief as he turned around.

I'm sure it will be an entertaining spectacle."

...

Juny's eyes opened.

She was still half dazed, but she was already used to 'dreaming' about the Body Double's experiences.

'It seems that all is good so far, I'm glad there's no reason for me to return. Although, I suppose that the Elementals have long seen through the Body Double.'

Juny sighed out loud, her eyes moving from the ceiling to the ground before her.

She pushed herself off the floor, stepping closer to the two corpses.

Her head then turned to the side and deeper into the cave.

To her displeasure, nothing changed since an hour ago.

"How troublesome. They ran again."

Her fingers made a snapping sound as the dead bodies lit up and slowly dissipated to smoke.

She turned around, her steps sprung with slight tension.

'Gehrman Sparrow, was it? From what I know, 'Steel' Moveti was a Sequence 6 Beyonder. This makes this Gehrman quite the powerhouse. But why would he, someone who hunts pirates, work with Blazing Danitz?'

Juny paused in her steps, her stoic expression momentarily shifting.

'Wait a moment. Gehrman Sparrow... Pirate Hunter... Hunter... Like Gehrman from Bloodborne? The hunter? And Sparrow, as in Jack Sparrow? The pirate?'

"Huh?"

Juny's eyes narrowed.

'Wait, wait. White Agate is a Passenger Ship, is it not? So then, uh... A new powerhouse, who's also at least a Sequence 6, who also just came to sea from Backlund and who also just happens to have not one, but two references in his name?'

"Heh-"

Juny's serious lips twitched up.

"Caught you, Mr. Fool~"

The words rang almost eerily through the empty cave.

Juny's expression returned to its previous coldness as she started walking again.

'Gehrman Sparrow, huh? I'll have to tell Dager to be nice if you two ever get to meet.'

'I'll be attending this week's Tarot Gathering, since excusing myself two weeks in a row without a proper reason would raise suspicion. Haa... I'm tired.'

...

The first thing Juny noticed in the fog was the new lady's figure next to Miss Magician.

Juny's Material Vision activated on instinct as she scanned the woman.

She had long black hair and her eyes had a hue of indigo purple.

'Hmm... from the Hermit Pathway? Uh... wait!'

Juny listened to Miss Justice in the background as her and the new lady's eyes met.

Without the time to intervene, the lady's eyes turned bloodshot.

Juny felt her body instinctively reacting to having someone intrude.

As such, the new lady with special eyes from the Hermit Pathway experienced backlash.

There was a limit to how much the gray fog in this place can block.

Thankfully, it hid enough and the lady didn't lose control.

'Idiot! She's an absolute f*cking idiot!'

Juny cursed inwardly as the lady's head whipped away from her.

She rubbed her bloody eyes, hands shaking.

'You're of the Hermit Pathway, yet not only do you not have protective items, but you even dare to use your ability thoughtlessly? Are you an actual moron?'

Juny's body and spirituality were very stable, but she was still a Saint.

She was a Saint with the power to turn into a Mystical Creature.

If someone with the eyes from the Hermit Pathway looked at her, they would ultimately see Juny's Mystical form and thus lose control.

'The only reason an idiot like you survived is because of this gray fog. Learn from your mistakes!'

Juny leaned back into her seat, arms crossed as her bad mood just got worse.

She rubbed her forehead, trying to get rid of the emotional turmoil.

'Calm down Juny. Don't let your emotions show, or the Elementals might notice. If that happens, well... I might as well kill everyone here.'

'...Why is it that I can't send a Body Double here? My emotional state is not at its peak...'

Just then, Miss Justice finally got to the new member.

The lady, whose eyes have already recovered with the gray fog's assistance, nodded towards Miss Justice.

"Hermit."

Miss Justice smiled in return, her tone bright.

"Justice. Good afternoon, Ma'am Hermit."

Juny saw Miss Justice's eyes wandered over to her before quickly turning away.

Juny didn't bother with it, as what happened to Madam Hermit was not her fault.

Miss Justice sat down before turning to the Seat of Honor.

"Mr. Fool, I'm out of town and have only managed to find one page of Roselle's diary."

Juny immediately noticed Madam Hermit showing both alarm and surprise before calming down.

It was a wide range of facial expressions exchanged at an abrupt speed.

Juny's eyes narrowed, looking closer at the suspicious lady.

At this moment, Miss Magician smiled.

"Mr. Fool, I received three pages."

Mr. Sun's voice quickly followed.

"Mr. Fool, I've copied a new legend of the ancient gods."

Juny kept quiet, having been too preoccupied to care about diary pages.

Mr. Fool leaned back before speaking with a chuckle.

"Very good."

Just as the pages appeared in Mr. Fool's hand and he began browsing through them, Madam Hermit's expression collapsed.

It was almost as if great terror took over her, making Juny raise her eyebrows.

'That's a bit intense, no..? Do you know what those pages are? Do you know the symbols? Hm... could you have also transmigrated? No- your reaction doesn't carry that kind of emotion...'

'I guess I'll have to wait to get the answer.'

Juny relaxed her arms, uncrossing and placing them on the thin armrests.

As Mr. Fool began reading the contents, Juny continued to observe the new member.

Madam Hermit's eyes scanned the place, seemingly processing some information.

Although every time her gaze wandered to Juny, she quickly turned her head away.

After some time, the papers in Mr. Fool's hand disappeared.

"You may begin."

Juny kept leaning back, not too interested in joining today's gathering.

Except for the new Madam Hermit, Juny had many other concerns to worry about.

She didn't excuse herself simply because she didn't want to stand out too much.

After a moment of cautious silence, Mr. Moon turned to Mr. Hanged Man.

"Mr. Hanged Man, I've done the preparations. When can you obtain the inheritance of that Sanguine Baron? You mentioned before that it's in the hands of some powerful pirate?"

Mr. Hanged Man's expression remained steady as he replied.

"Have you obtained the funds?"

"Of course!"

For some reason, Mr. Moon raised his neck, probably out of pride.

Juny couldn't help but admire Mr. Hanged Man's calmness even as Mr. Moon just exposed him to the new member.

"I'll get it for you within the week. Finally, let's confirm the prize: 4 500 pounds. Is that right?"

Instead of immediately answering, Mr. Moon cleared his throat, eyes darting around the bronze table.

"Can it be cheaper?"

"It's not up to me to decide, but I can try to acquire it for you at a lower price. Also, don't forget my commission. Let's lower it. How about 300 pounds?"

Mr. Hanged Man's tone didn't change at all as he coldly answered.

Mr. Moon quietly exhaled.

"Alright."

Seeing that the exchange between the two has ended, Miss Justice turned to the other end of the long table.

"Mr. World, you mentioned that you have clues to the characteristic left behind by a Psychiatrist. Have you successfully acquired it?"

After a second or two, Mr. World replied hoarsely.

"If you're certain that you want it, then I will give it to you as soon as possible. The price is 1 800 pounds."

The well educated Juny caught the 300 pounds price rise, but she didn't point it out.

She, too, was slightly curious where Miss Justice's bottom line was.

And as expected, Miss Justice replied with a light tone.

"Alright."

'Hmm. Someone should really teach her how to negotiate prices. Even though she might not need it, it's an overall useful skill to have.'

Seeing that they have finished their discussion, Mr. Sun hurriedly raised his hand.

'He must've learned that from Miss Justice...'

"Which one of you has the fruit of the Radiance Spirit Pact Tree."

Juny was silent for a few seconds, inwardly going through the large storage.

But then, Madam Hermit spoke.

"I do. What can you provide in exchange?"

Juny's eyes narrowed as she looked at Madam Hermit.

'Don't you dare scam the child...'

It might've been because Mr. Sun in some ways looked awfully similar to Tarkel, but Juny felt awfully protective over the teenager.

Mr. Sun hesitated for a mere second.

"Uh... I can use the history of the City of Silver or the history of dragons, elves, and other dark creatures to banter."

He spoke rather sincerely as a piece of paper appeared in his hand.

"Ma'am Hermit, this is a list of commonly seen monsters around the City of Silver. You can choose any ingredient you need from it."

Juny watched as Madam Hermit's expression froze, her brows lightly furrowing.

Juny could somewhat understand just how confusing it must be for a newcomer.

Her very first deal was made with the only one here who does not possess money, quite the shock.

Juny kept leaning back as Madam Hermit's quickly picked herself up.

"I'll make a decision after seeing what the commonly seen monsters are around the City of Silver."

Juny's eyes lightly narrowed, feeling that Madam Hermit's was awfully similar to Mr. Hanged Man.

'She's just more daring, to be honest.'

"Alright."

Under everyone's scrutiny, Mr. Sun didn't hesitate to agree.

Juny held back a sigh, but found the matter too unnecessary to intervene.

After scanning the monster list, Madam Hermit lifted her head.

"Use the history of your City of Silver in exchange."

"Alright."

Mr. Sun's eyes lit up as a completely different parchment was conjured in his hand.

Madam Hermit scanned it and seemed to deliberate for a moment before asking.

How should I hand over the fruit of the Radiance Spirit Pact Tree to you?"

Without waiting for an answer, she turned to look at Mr. Fool.

"Mr. Fool, is it done by a sacrificial ritual?"

Juny lightly tilted her hand, confused.

'She's not stupid... is she just arrogant? Is that why she looked where she shouldn't?'

Her view on Madam Hermit changed.

Although one couldn't say for sure if it was a change for the better.

Mr. Fool gently nodded.

"Yes."

He didn't go into detail, which made Juny pause.

'He believes that the lady already knows it? Does he know her identity? Hmm... I suppose she must be someone quite powerful.'

Amidst Juny's thoughts, Madam Hermit spoke to Mr. Sun.

"I'll do it as soon as possible."

Short silence lingered while Mr. World scanned his surroundings.

"I need a pair of eyes from a six-winged gargoyle."

Juny's attention shifted.

Madam Hermit also glanced at Mr. World, but before she could speak, Juny replied.

"I can provide it, 350 pounds."

Mr. World nodded without hesitation, wearing a deep smile,

"Okay."

Juny didn't bother making deals with most of the Tarot Club members, but she was always prepared to help a fellow transmigrator.

As the deals have come to an end, the gray fog fell silent for more than ten seconds.

After this, Juny instantly knew that the free exchange has started.

Mr. Hanged Man was the first one to speak.

"Something major recently happened in the Rorster Archipelago."

A map immediately opened in Juny's head.

Rorster Archipelago was a grouping of islands which hosted the City of Generosity, Bayam.

With just a moment of hesitation, Miss Justice's interest was piqued.

"What happened?"

Mr. Hanged Man shifted in his seat before explaining.

"A disguised archeologist, Leticia, discovered an ancient elvish ruin in Symeem Island and took out an item from it. This pushed the deity the locals believed in, Sea God Kalvetua, to be on the brink of collapse."

"This fake god wished to create tsunami to drown the island so that everyone could accompany it in its death, but it was stopped by the Church of Storm's Sea King."

"Finally, Leticia was found and Kalvetua had died. The threat of the tsunamis was leveled, but strangely, the devout believers of the Sea God would still occasionally receive responses."

Juny's eyes narrowed, her gaze moving past the Seat of Honor.

'Hmm~ So Mr. Fool comes from Backlund to sea, because he was able to stop the descent of an Evil God. Along the way, on his very first passenger ship, he stumbles across Bansy where an ancient custom of civilians being sacrificed and corrupted just happened to be restored.'

'Then, he arrives in Bayam and the very first thing he does is make connection with a pirate from the Golden Dreams and hunts the Second Mate of a cruel Pirate Admiral, whose bounty is 6 000 pounds.'

'Then, just as he gets there, a fake God goes crazy and tries to take the whole island with him as he dies. All the while someone steals the fake God's Beyonder characteristic to play God.'

'And Mr. Fool just happens to get a new, very powerful Beyonder thingy, which carries two Sequence 3 Tyrant Elementals? Hmm~'

Juny retracted her eyes, suppressing the need to look up at the ceiling.

'Not suspicious at all...'

Just as Juny's thoughts were about to move on, Mr. Fool spoke leisurely.

"Kelvetua became a demigod by relying on a relic left behind by Calamity Cohinem."

Juny blinked a few times.

'That so? Hm, I suppose that's reasonable? Cohinem was the Subsidiary God of the Elf King Soniathrym. She was also the Queen of the Elf King's court. She held the characteristic of a Sequence 2 Calamity and... I suppose this 'fake' God found one of her remains? He also survived the ingestion, lucky fellow- uh... what if he was also a transmigrator...? Pft- I doubt it.'

The corner of Juny's lips twitched up before returning to normal.

Just then, a picture of a person appeared in Mr. World's hand.

It was a red haired and overall pretty woman.

"Does anyone know her?"

Juny took a glance but kept silent as she was never really at sea.

Thus, she didn't know about irrelevant matters like pretty girls.

After a few seconds, Madam Hermit spoke with a deep voice.

"Red-haired Helene. She's from a fallen noble family and has the bloodline from the Intis's Sauron family. She was once a trader out at sea, but she was later said to have been abducted by Ailment Maiden Tracy."

'Huh... I should tell Dager that. I have to mention Gehrman Sparrow to him anyway, two birds with one stone.'

Juny crossed her legs while waiting.

Miss Justice deliberated for a moment, seemingly hesitant.

"I recently sought out the traces of a mind dragon and went to a place which has the tradition of worshipping dragons."

Juny flinched when she heard Miss Justice describe her adventure into the dreamscape by using Psychological Cue.

'Hey, that's dangerous! What if you were harmed psychologically? Miss Justice, I thought you were smarter than this...'

Juny was not the only one who knew the danger in the sea of collective subconscious.

Mr. Hanged Man and Madam Hermit both spoke to stop Miss Justice for attempting further investigation into her dreams.

With which Juny wholeheartedly agreed.

This small but helpful guidance even changed her view on Madam Hermit, even if only slightly.

At this moment, Mr. Moon cleared his throat.

"I've seriously researched the history handed down by us Sanguine..."

'Here we go again with the 'us Sanguine' nonsense. I know a real powerhouse Sanguine who's five times less arrogant than you. And that says something.'

Mr. Moon paused before looking over at Mr. Sun.

"Before the Cataclysm, there was no City of Silver, only the Kingdom of Silver!"

Despite Mr. Moon's smugness, Mr. Sun simply looked to the side, as if answering was beneath him.

Seeing this, Juny silently applauded.

At Mr. Sun's reaction, Mr. Moon clicked his tongue.

"The faith of the Kingdom of Silver wasn't originally Giant King Aurmir, but 'His' queen, Omebella."

Mr. Sun immediately turned his head at the name, blurting out.

"Our City of Silver has no records of this matter, nor are there any records of a queen named Omebella."

Juny tilted her head at this.

'What? I might not know much about City or Kingdom of Silver, since I didn't study into such detail, but even I know about the Goddess of Harvest Omebella. How could the city which supposedly used to believe in the Giant King Aurmir not have any records of his Subsidiary Gods?'

Hearing Mr. Sun, Mr. Moon chuckled with his hands spread out.

"That's why, there's nothing wrong with me saying that your City of Silver's history is flawed and incomplete, right?"

"Clearly, there are mistakes in your records of Sanguine history."

Juny closed her eyes, not able to take more of this.

"Mr. Sun, Omebella is a Subsidiary Goddess of the Giant King-"

"Omebella is the Goddess of Harvest-"

Juny paused when her speech got mixed in with someone else's.

Her head turned to the side where she met eyes with Madam Hermit.

Seeing that Madam Hermit has also frozen in the middle of her sentence and locked eyes with her, Juny blinked.

This was because Madam Hermit appeared nervous, unable to keep her eyes on Juny for long.

Which was understandable, as her eyes bled the last time they made eye contact.

After a second of silence, Juny looked away and resumed her sentence.

"Omebella is a Subsidiary Goddess of the Giant King Aurmir. She is known as the Goddess of Harvest and there are many records mentioning her to be an Angel of the Mother Pathway in the Second Epoch."

"She has disappeared at the end of the Second Epoch, but it's impossible to verify if she has truly perished as noone has ever seen her corpse or any relics."

The place went quiet at this revelation.

Mr. Sun was stunned while Mr. Moon seemed pleased.

Just then, a voice came from the Seat of Honor.

"Everyone, we shall meet again next week."

Mr. Sun flinched, but reacted nevertheless.

"By your will."

Juny stood up with the rest.

Her vision flashed bright red as she found herself in a damp cave.

Instantly, she sighed.

'It's so dark in here... well what use is it now?'

With a brisk whip of her legs, Juny stood up.

'I should inform Dager about the matter with the Sea God Kelvetua and to be careful of the Sea King. The watch of the Church of Storms is probably going to be tight. He could also use the information that Ailment Maiden Tracy is somewhere near Bayam and that he should be nice to Gehrman Sparrow if they meet...'

"So much useless information. Also-"

Juny's eyes moved to the wet, rocky ground.

'What should I do with this?'

There were multiple pitch black balls with strange symbols.

Juny recognized those symbols, and it gave her the chills.

Mainly because she was sure these things were some sort of bombs.

They had Runes for 'explosion', 'activation' and the enchantments 'Find' and 'Burn' Engraved on them.

'I could disassemble them myself, but it'd take too long... hm. Should I ask Jenica for help?'

...

"Is it here?"

Seeing the large and old-looking building, Gen couldn't help but ask for confirmation.

"It looks like... a lab of sorts? Or maybe-"

"A prison. And yes, this is it."

The wolf next to him, Kalim, confirmed.

It was currently an early Tuesday morning.

With the information Gen already had from the previous week, finding the main base was quite easy.

Especially since the members of the Scout Patrol were very good at their job.

Gen nodded, taking out a Spell Scroll.

"Alright, stay back and keep watch. I'll check it out and come back."

Kalim nodded, taking a step back into the shadows.

Gen gave him a glance, feeling a shiver run down his spine.

'Why is he so good at blending with the darkness?'

Without a second thought, Gen ripped the Space Isolation Scroll and his body disappeared.

He arrived before the thick metal door, only to find that it was cracked open.

Gen instinctively froze, his Spiritual Intuition was going off.

His eyes narrowed.

He looked through the hole at what seemed to be... blood?

Gen pushed his Isolated body through the door, activating his Spirit Vision.

He saw auras, grayish-black auras.

They were the auras of many corpses.

There were many of them, lying in pools of blood.

Gen could immediately tell, it hasn't been too long since they last died.

He frowned as he immediately turned around and walked out.

The Isolation was removed as he stopped next to the Nightmare Kalim.

The wolf tilted his head.

"That was fast."

Gen's frown loosened, pointing towards the building.

"Help me look through it."

"What do you mean?"

Gen looked back before showing a light smirk.

"It's empty, someone- something got there before us."

Kalim turned to look at the large building.

'Something?'

He stood up, moving closer to the building.

He stopped around five meters away, flinching.

Kalim could smell the foul stench of blood, a very strong one.

He glanced at Gen before nodding.

"Alright, it looks safe. But don't let your guard down."

Gen pushed the metal door open with a loud creak.

His expression was calm.

"Right back at you."

Gen stepped over a dead body, a gentle shimmer catching his eye.

'Huh?'

Kalim paused next to him, also staring at the same spot.

He then turned to Gen.

"Why would they leave this... could it have been a monster?"

Gen looked down at the wolf before shrugging.

"That's why I said something. But it doesn't matter too much, I'll pick them up along the way. Go on ahead."

Kalim nodded, walking around the bodies with Beyonder characteristics formed in their wounds.

This whole scene was suspicious.

Especially because it didn't seem like guns or knives were used to kill these men.

'At the same time, it wasn't sharp teeth either. Maybe some sort of claws?'

Gen thought as he grabbed another characteristic.

Not every dead man was a Beyonder, and those who were seemed like a Low Sequence.

But that didn't mean that their characteristics weren't worth picking up.

Gen had a bad feeling as pitch black wings grew out from his back.

The whole place was terribly quiet, it was literally dead silence.

He made his way through the short bloody hall.

At the end was a strange hole in the ground.

The hole looked like it used to be a perfect square.

The door lying not too far away was a proof of this.

Now, it was nothing more than a cleavage filled with cracks and debris.

'Something forcefully tore through here.'

Gen knew that Kalim took a turn into a nearby room, so the underground area was left untouched.

He sighed, placing his foot cautiously on the unstable stars.

Although the stairs made uncomfortable sounds, they stayed attached without immediately breaking.

Gen made his way down into the pitch black.

Once inside, Gen found a dimly lit place.

This light was thanks to the few surviving gas lamps.

The place was deep with bars on the sides.

They were cages.

Many cages aligned side to side.

Basically a prison.

Even worse than that was that they were not ordinary cages.

They were covered in dead and torn up bodies.

The bodies were bony and dry, as if someone sucked out all of their blood before killing them.

Gen's throat moved at the scene, but he didn't panic.

Instead, he steadied his gaze to look at the furthest point.

At the far end of this prison were dual doors.

Strong metal doors burst wide open, connecting to a room.

The room was disheveled and the walls cracked.

Connected to the room was a large and the most secure cell.

The two places were separated by thick iron bars.

In the room, the floor, desks and drawers were covered with papers and old crunched up parchments.

Gen clicked his tongue, taking a shimmering Beyonder characteristic off of the corpse inside.

The iron bars have been burst open by sheer force and the documents were drenched in blood.

But not all of them.

Gen picked what was still readable and stored it.

As a head member of the Troop Meeting, Gen also received an artifact which connected to Juny's Pocket Dimension.

It was in the shape of a gray brooch on the inside of his coat.

Seeing that this was as far as the underground place went, Gen turned around.

Of course, that's not considering any secret pathways or rooms.

He has to meet with Kalim and go through the papers.

The most important thing was to figure out just what the hell happened in this place.

As far as Gen could identify, there was quite a large chance that it will involve matters at the Demigod level.

In which case, Gen would be forced to make a report and leave.

Fighting a Saint was not in the description of his mission.