"Mono/Dialogue"
'Inner thoughts'
Narration
[Message/communication apparatus]
Date: January 1089
Location: Kawalerielki, Kazimierz
POV: Narrator
Nyx has been doing her best to track down the final piece of the puzzle; the café’s owner who had unsurprisingly closed his shop. She made her conjecture, that either he goes mad or pursues his interest. Such a conjecture came up when she discussed their preliminary findings. Namely the victims, she doesn’t regard them as hostile criminals anymore, of this Arts all have a singular goal in mind; longing for their truest self.
Mental Arts has always been regarded as one of the most potently dangerous types that existed, Nyx theorized hers belonged in this category but it was too versatile and acted chaotically plus erratically. A part of her is worried about how far her mental pollution would affect someone, would it be temporary only or would it potentially overwrite someone? She doesn’t know and she is not thrilled with it yet she has no choice but to seek the answer.
She’s still waiting on Kal’tsit to tell her about it. Her communication with her faction, Babel, seems to underline a situation in which the war has been going well but they’re not getting away with mere scratches either. Nyx ironically could only hope that her doctor would hold up her end of the bargain after the shitshow back in November.
In regards to the madness, we could also discuss how she dealt with the fallout and prevented potential incidents later on.
Nyx used her assets to investigate the truth while keeping up with her current contract. Her monetary asset is a non-issue; the manpower is. She used up half of her Kawalerielki’s agents to prevent anything else befalling the Nearl when she got the news of Nelka’s attempted assassination. The Grey Serpent always put just enough to monitor those she cared about, but that was not enough with what happened to them.
All is in the past, yes, but that’s why she must make amendments. She needs to expand her reach quickly to ensure she doesn’t get blindsided again in the future. Here is the hard part, these agents have been compromised and to leave them to die, or worse, just like that would leave a bad taste in her mouth and make it harder to find someone willing or desperate enough to work for her.
Thus she pulled her strings, did her usual balancing acts, and freed up some time for a lengthy discussion with Conrad and Młynar. When she asks whether she could turn a blind eye, Młynar berates her. He said that not only was that irresponsible, but she would only make herself an even easier target to antagonize by proxy. Then Conrad added with citing again about her fearsome reputation; here is the Grey Serpent and she wants you to leave with a heap of cash, do so or die.
So she goes with the appeasement and warning approach. She called her assets and gave them the choice of continuing riding the waves she had conjured or calling it quits. That’s how when she rewarded that 50%, about 60% of them decided to leave Kazimierz and she is keeping up with her promise.
This is why now she is moving a lot slower, the tracks might even have gone cold. She prioritized the unused half to do everything in their power to ensure none of the Nearls were being shadowed by notorious actors or possible hostiles, she never believed that lightning ever struck the same spot twice. If someone did target them, Nyx would gladly stain her hand and name again, her feelings and reluctance being put on the backseat as per usual.
Thankfully, she managed to track down the café’s owner… will it end there? Who knows…
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“Hmm… I guess he is somewhat eccentric to purchase that kind of property.” Nyx said to one of her agents, a Liberi man nodded while they were looking at an abandoned 2-story warehouse. The both of them are watching from a rooftop just a few blocks from the target building. The man is not the only one, masked Cordelia’s employees could be seen operating a communication array while being armed to the teeth. Meticulous training and planning prevented them from skylining or being spied upon by drones.
His boss motioned him to continue with the explanation.
“I swear on me mum that he is dere, boss. Though lemme tell ya that Herr went cuckoo in da ‘ead. Spoutin’ spits alon’ an idea of seekin’ ‘masterpiece’ or thingy ma jig.”
“Herr? He is Leithanien?”
“Yea, checked by our lovely friend from Black Market… You really should stop antagonizing ‘em boss.”
“What was he doing the last time?” She ignored his words, and the agent sighed internally and answered a beat later.
“Last seein’ ‘im he snuck out at night and brought a bag of shifty stuff, smell foul too.” The Liberi said while keeping the watch. His eyesight is special you see, with both conventional and rudimentary thermal film cleverly hidden beneath his eyelid. So he has been scanning the place and its surroundings for potential inconsistency.
His boss nodded and prompted him to continue while she brought her binoculars to watch her collaborators start surrounding the warehouse. Nyx let the Captain have it, she has no interest in having her name credited to solve this problem and she has no problem if complications happen.
Of course, the Captain is not dumb. He realized that Nyx let him go first to allow him to hog all the glory while also reminding him of who is the one watching and investing in their interest. All-in-all, he has no choice on the matter especially after he takes the 15 million bribe.
What he didn’t know was the fact that Nyx had snuck in a device that would let her hear the upcoming interrogation. Her growing paranoia is not without reason, if this mental manipulation had somehow disrupted her own Arts’ control, things would go from bad to nightmarish.
Nyx still needs assurance to know just where the Arts originated from. She could try asking Zofia about it, but she knows that her little sister is somewhat unstable and that would just not be a good idea. While she is watching over them, her agents start small talks between them. They have nothing to fear since she never cared to begin with.
“The boss doesn’t sound all that pissed huh?” A Sarkaz woman said while watching the security units using drones.
“She might be… protective… but most importantly she understands when to just take a backseat.” Another Sarkaz woman answered her. She flicked a gaze towards a man across her with a question.
“How do you think it would go down?”
“Either things would go well and nothing happened or she would need to subdue them. Yes, subdue the securities if they went mad.” A Perro with a gruff voice said, seemingly bored from watching one of the surveillance drones.
“She could subdue someone?”
“Lass, how do you think she could leverage her playing field? Breathing and somewhat intact SoB is usually worth more after all. Ok, alright, worst case scenario we see her killing again…”
“Huh… guess I know something new.” Despite Nyx not caring about their theory crafting, they still need to lean in a hushed tone when talking about something more sensitive.
“Anyway, she’s probably trying to leverage her winning chance, having them go from normal into manic also means that she has more power and cards to play. If nothing happened then she would most likely go her own way, if something did? Well… National Council isn’t a stretch…”
There has been a revelation, or more like an open secret, among them that she has the National Council’s ears and they would listen to her on the account she doesn’t talk bogus. Goes to show how much influence she has amassed for almost 2 decades of mainly operating in Kazimierz.
“… Yeah, I can see that… National Council would surely hear her out with more evidence at hand, proving how someone turned into a lunatic is no small feat… but that’s a last resort isn’t it?”
“Say, how much longer?” Nyx says while her eyes are still glued on the building, prompting them to drop their conversation with a cough. Other than the Zalak man, no one could see her face, but their mind instantly conjured a glare that bored a hole with her gaze along with a tiny, displeased, scowl.
“Tapping into their comms link, the Captain and his assault squads 1 and 2 are still on the move. We’re recording everything just fine, Ma’am. As an update, we have 2 fireteams blending in among the neighborhood just as you have ordered.”
“Keep up with your duty. Those of you who did their role well could expect a nice little bonus.”
“Heh, how much?” One of the agents asked with a joking tone, either too brave or just wanted to know how far they could go. Their colleagues are divided between those who look like someone seeing a unicorn, the race, for the first time, or just an amused chuckle while shaking their heads.
“How does 50.000 pounds sound like?”
“…”
“…”
“…” The agents are exchanging discreet glances. Some of them start to feel bad for those who chose to throw the towel, working for her is probably one of the most profitable jobs out there after all.
The Grey Serpent put 5.000 LMDs as standard salary and that is enough for them to have more than decent accommodation in the city with room for more. That much bonus, in Victorian Pound no less, is enough for them to just hang back for months here. Even if they splurge, that’s enough for 4 weeks of relatively luxurious R&R.
“Ma’am, they’re starting the assault.”
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A team of 6 securities are seen creeping along the wall. Their equipment is a mix of 21st-century riot team gear, machetes, stun grenade courtesy of Columbia, and a shielder with heavier armor and helmet. This group would have attracted attention, but with the neighborhood being so quiet they could finish everything before lunch,
Crossbowmen are watching every possible blind spot. The one holding a shield becomes the point man for obvious reasons. They move slowly but never stop since slow is smooth and smooth is fast. Not long after, they made their way into the breaching point.
Using signs, the point man told 2 men behind him to move forward on the other end and for their engineer to plant the breaching charge. Confirming their position and readiness, the team lead contacted the other team lead.
“This is Bodkin actual, we are ready for synchronized breach. Over.”
[This is Broad actual, we are ready for breach. Over.] With their watch already adjusted to show the same time, they only need for it to strike 09.00 before pressing the trigger. Once the watch shows 09.00, the triggerman does their call-out.
“Fire in the hole!” Subdued explosions from both north and south could be heard. Not wasting time, they start moving and sweeping their respective area. The warehouse has been turned into a mix of compartmentalized rooms and some kind of gallery. They could see all sorts of ghastly drawings being etched into the makeshift walls.
An old classical piece is playing, but they don’t know from where.
“…Are we in Leithanien?”
“I don’t know bro.”
“Cut the chatter, stay focused.”
““Rog’/Affirm.””
Pushing down the mystifying feeling, they start clearing the area and searching for the target. While they do so, they are also forced to take in the drawings. One such thing shows humble farmland stretching from one section to another before showing a hellish landscape. The landscape also bore the symbol of the long-dead Witch King.
Another is about a family, a nice nuclear family. The father, the mother, the sons, and the daughters are all sitting at the table with joyous visage. Truly picturesque, if one were to dismiss a corpse of Gaulish Liberi being displayed in the middle, face akin to a jigsaw, body a puzzle, and limbs twisted into a mockery for the tree of life.
“What the fuck…”
“The hell are these…”
“Why would anyone paint a waterfall of blood?”
“Huh? That’s a dining table!” Realization dawned, they are perceiving different things at once. Their surroundings feel more than merely unnerving, the lesser and weak-willed of them all couldn’t stop shaking. Yet despite Nyx dismissing them as mere cannon fodder, she is proven wrong when their stout hearts harden instead of breaking. They push forward with fear-ridden steps but said steps were resolute.
[This is Broad actual… Are you guys seeing these?]
“Bodkin actual copy… you’re not the only one…”
[All channel, this is Bowman. I’m monitoring the camera feed and I’ll instruct a change in your approach: extract the target at all costs. Break. Abandon trying to gather evidence at this moment, how copy? Over.]
“Bodkin actual, solid copy.”
[Broad actual, copy.]
This search that felt like an eternity of mental and psychological burden ended when they heard the swishing and brushing sounds of a paintbrush. Consolidating once more, the point man peeked around the corner and spotted a man by the hallway painting away without care in the world. He looks emaciated, lanky, and overall a shadow of his former self… yet the smile is that of pure satisfaction.
The point man use sign language, telling them of 1 potential target and prompting the team to prepare to subdue him. With practiced, but somewhat rigid, coordination, they crept slowly toward the man. He doesn’t care about his surroundings. Once close enough, 1 actual speak.
… Was what he was planning to do, the man suddenly screeched and bolted away towards the other end of the hallway. The screeching of his throat caused the team to be assailed by migraine, momentarily stunning them. Once they reoriented their formation, they promptly gave chase of a potential suspect.
“This is Bodkin actual, we are chasing after a potential suspect!”
[Copy that, we’ll expedite our side and come to yours.]
They chased the man all over and watched how despite his body telling them how weak he was, his speed and agility tell a different story. Bodkin's team also doesn’t just chase him around, crossbow bolts and fast-chant Arts are being used to either incapacitate or bring down the wall as an obstacle with little effect.
Lanky but not out of it when he dodged shots purely by instinct and luck. They keep up with the chase forevermore while a black-haired girl can be seen watching it all from the sideline unnoticed. Her fingers have been strumming along a soundless note, a soundless invitation, and a soundless truth.
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POV: Nyx
‘Something isn’t right…’ I couldn’t help it while watching the hacked camera feed. Their equipment really sucks, like holy shit. I might be using military-grade equipment, but come on that was too easy. Back to the chase, it is turning for the worse.
“Is it just me or did they start bickering over themselves rather than hunt that old man down?” An Elafia said since he couldn’t help but notice how they seemed to get worse in their chase. I concur. Their shots had been missing all the time, which goes to show they needed more training, but this time they didn’t even bother with reloading and chose to verbally abuse one another.
“Yeah, this must be the source of madness. I mean look at those paintings! It gives me heebie-jeebies just looking at it.”
“Heebie-jeebies my ass, this is straight outta a B-Grade movie. I ain’t scared at all, you’re just a wuss.”
“Broad team is sailing smoothly though? They aren’t deviating whatsoever…” I said nothing and just watched. Between team Bodkin and Broad, the first clearly is under some kind of Mental Manipulation. I tried to use my mental synapse but to no one’s surprise, I sensed a jumbled mess from there. The perpetrator should be around but I’m hesitant to test how close or far are they.
When I added my humming into my mental synapse, I sensed something prickling at my brain and touching my ears. Unconsciously, I backed away from the monitor, and only then did the feeling disappear… no way…
‘Fuck…’ But… I looked around discretely and no one else was seemingly affected by whatever that tried to reach out, if anything only a few people batted an eye seeing me move. God fucking dammit, this is not going great at all. I tried adding it again, but when I leaned in closer there was nothing… Should I?
‘No… no… 2 times were risky enough…’
I’m not gonna risk myself potentially going out of control, sounds cowardly but sometimes you really cannot tempt fate. Yes the potential of me turning into a better person exists, but this is not going about to be me with fate plus a coin flip, others would be affected greatly by my life. This would have been a lot easier if I had Mwi as my backup since he should be able to knock me out.
‘No, that will only risk 2 highly dangerous individuals to be walking on thin ice. It is better this way, the only one that would get hurt is me and these people.’
This ugly chase ended when their team finally met up with one another. An interesting situation unfolded, the first team that had been chasing the suspect around was really letting their emotions out while the second could only stand dumfounded. Their target has been secured but it appears that a guy or two from the first team felt like their efforts weren’t appreciated.
‘A gradual effect huh? Hmm… that means I have a few moments to get the hell out of dodge if I meet the perpetrator just like what happened earlier. I’ll need to tread carefully for a while, I could gamble out the fact that my singing seems to be related to it… but what’s the relation between mine and that? Hah… my head hurts.’
“You’re still recording this?”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
Turning my vision back, they had turned into full-blown fisticuffs between one another. The Captain has been screaming non-stop for them to cease their violence. While my men and women were monitoring and storing the data for later, I noticed something odd at the edge of the camera’s vision. Something seems to be floating, but I can’t ascertain what it is.
“Move a camera drone inside.” They exchange glances before complying with my command. One of them directs a tiny drone, no bigger than a hummingbird, inside. I directed them to weave around and they too noticed something.
“… Is that… A person?”
“Looks hella blurry, I can’t get their face either.”
“This is a tiny drone, do you expect it to have a 4K display or something?” While they bickered, the unknown person seemed to notice its presence and bolted into the darkness. The drone followed them and I didn’t wanna gamble on activating my singing, but thankfully a mental synapse could still work since the feeling didn’t come back… The mental signature is faint as hell though, almost like looking trying to find a specific tree inside a forest.
The chase continues… until the drone meets a dead end. Moving the camera around, there doesn’t seem to be any hidden doors or mechanisms for escape.
“Dammit…”
“Where the hell did they go?”
“… It was never easy.” I sighed with clear disappointment. I look back at the brawl, where even the target becomes the victim. I got one lead and it’s gone. I tousled my hair and thought about alternatives, no doubt that the person would be leaving the place using some other means I’m not privy to.
It was easy to track Aoyuki back then, her emotional distress was a giant beacon and I already had drones following her. I have the speed too, but it means nothing if I have no destination or tracks to follow. It left me with an obvious choice, something I like the least to put it gently.
‘…I need to persuade Zofia to talk somehow… Her mental health is recovering but it could be harmful if I don’t tread carefully.’ The very notion of procuring information from her made my stomach churn, but we are running out of options and I don’t like how we have an unknown actor that is seemingly tied with this trail of madness just up and gone.
“Ma’am, the Captain has directly intervened with his team and have the dissenting groups be subdued, are we clear to exfil?”
“He’s quick… Proceed, we are done here.” Frustrated with this result, I ordered us all to leave the area and pretended that no one knew about this successful, on paper, raid. Turning on my communication device, my line connected with an equally frustrated and exasperated man.
“What a mess that was, Hugo, you guys could have done better.” I could hear him sighing audibly while his men tried to knock the dissidents out. I start making my way out of this place.
[It was, making it worse is that I don’t think he is the one.]
“He is not getting out after this stunt…”
[Hah… Yeah. So where do we go from here? I mean, if we want a scapegoat then this guy is enough. Though I kind of feel bad for it, he still outs himself as Old Leithanien’s loyalist and fugitive of the Twin Empresses, being a Witch King’s fanatic and all…]
“We couldn’t do anything about the man, and Leithanien surely would want an answer.”
[This debacle made me wonder if I still want to stay as Captain in this hellhole.]
“You should have run years ago.”
[I hate how easily you could say that then again our position is just a world apart.]
“If only you were more prudent, I won’t be here.”
[Are you done sizing up on me or not?]
“Hmph, get your nicest suit ready.”
[Where to?]
“National Council.”
[I’m such a lucky person to face the national council…]
“You agreed to take the spotlight. I’ll hand a nicely worded script over to you. This is also why you’re still breathing, you’re useful.”
[You know what Nyx, screw you.]
“You’re welcome, I expect you to be ready at 8 morning sharp.”
POV: Narrator
Under the guise of reluctant cooperation with the Captain of The Guard who got himself questioned by the National Council for the spike of madness, Nyx came face to face with the National Council without using her favor. It’s weird right? How something like this is seemingly being mishandled? Well, that’s another can of worm altogether.
Her act was flawless since that was not an act at all, Nyx finally shows her deep-seated misgivings of even working with the guy. People who see them sitting just a few feet apart can sense that a situation beyond their pay grade is unfolding in real-time and nothing better than being ignorant. Her misgivings are also the product of how the National Council is partly responsible for making the Nearl into a clusterfuck of a noble house.
Nyx has been summoned with reasons that will be announced inside the council room. They proceed inside when the time of appointment is due. Once entering the core part of the Kazimierzian Legislative body, Nyx could see a familiar face and several others whom she only knew in passing.
Kazimierz National Council was created after the previous King was ousted due to a lot of rumors, factors, and politicking that would only result in headaches. Since The Grandmaster is the most powerful person in the room, both de jure and de facto, Ioleta sits where monarchs of old were once seated.
After some needless pleasantries, greetings, and poetry for whatever reason, the Captain shows all the pieces of evidence he has gathered. He starts by citing the time when the spike in violence started.
“On the 22nd of November, we noticed a trend of increasingly worrying levels of civil disturbance. It has been exemplified by the usual harassment towards our noble knights.” His tone is level, but Nyx could see how Ioleta is amused by such a choice of wording.
“It starts with the usual case of fanaticism gone wrong and or stalking… what we didn’t expect was an attempt at both violence and sexual harassment. The Knight in question was stunned by such an overt behavior, despite being a relatively new competitor.”
“That much we understand, but are you implying there are other factors in play?” An old councilor questioned him, his gaze sharp but the Captain doesn’t flinch. He is now way too used to dealing with Nyx’s death gaze to be afraid of it, despite being a noble, still merely a civilian and bureaucrat.
“My findings had pointed towards a possibility of misuse; specifically mental Arts misuse.” The chamber went noisy with this revelation. A woman in her 30s raised her hand.
“If I may… that was certainly a bold claim to present in this most auspicious meeting, care to elaborate?”
“Certainly.” The Captain then shows images and recordings where the mad dash of violence has been on steady uptake. Then came the bomb, he shows a finding that all these perpetrators had once been in the same location. On the 18th of November, a recording about the alleged cause of madness was a humble café.
A certain someone being seen there raised the attendance’ eyebrows, that someone was Zofia. An unspoken question is hanging in the air, it is very obvious. Seeing that no one wanted to say it out loud, Ioleta spoke up for the first time.
“It appears that we reached a deadlock due to an elephant in the room, Baroness Nyx, anything you wish to add on this matter.”
“Gladly, Lady Grandmaster.” Nyx stood up from her seat and started explaining the correlation.
“Thanks to… Sir Hugo’s investigation.” She starts acting again to keep up the illusion of having nothing to do with said investigation. The Grey Serpent looks like she is still pissed with how she couldn’t kill him and gave him a side glare so deadly Hugo involuntarily flinched. Not just him, but almost everyone flinched and could see how displeased she was.
“Lady Grey Serpent, I must remind you to adhere to our strict code of conduct.”
“Pardon, me… well let’s get on with it.” Nyx narrated everything that needs to be shared. One such thing is how there appears to be a change in the demeanor of Zofia. She also underlined that she never thought of her to be able to pull such a move.
Nyx dodged mentioning the bloodline part but instead gave a roundabout theory that this Mental Manipulation is less of brainwashing and more about unleashing someone’s base desire. Of course, it made the council question what happened with Zofia back in the arena but Nyx just half-lied because she really doesn’t know the specifics of the bloodline awakening thing.
She then shared what had been understood with supplements from the Captain regarding this incident while promising to do her duty as both ordinary catastrophe messenger and Contingency Contract Liaison. She leveraged her knowledge and what she knows about Leithanien and the outside world, and her words are taken into the council’s consideration very seriously.
The Council starts understanding how the gradual change occurs, and it is further proven by the newest recording that Hugo decides to show. Once Nyx was seated once more, she scoffed about this whole thing.
Everyone is horrified knowing that there are still, what they believe to be, Leithanien terrorists lurking about. The credibility of their findings starts to rise since it is not unthinkable for Leithanien to have esoteric Arts in their arsenal, thus the deliberation and discussion continue late into the night and the result is the city is under soft lockdown.
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Not far from the hills that were passed by the gargantuan machine of civilization made manifest, that is Kawalerielki, a black-haired Sankta with a matching black halo and wings could be seen playing a cello. She is playing a quiet melody for parting, but her eyes shine even brighter despite the melancholic tune.
“Such a shame… I was so close, but I must not let my dear brother wait…” She looks up at the sky, her gaze seems to pierce the unending darkness above. Her fingers deftly played along while her smile widened, so kind and peaceful but also ambitiously fueled by sincere self-righteousness.
“Human souls are truly beautiful…” She stood up and bowed towards the mobile city that kept getting farther and farther.
“Thank you, we will meet again… and I’ll free you just as you teach me how to feel, no matter how transient.”
[END OF CHAPTER]
Author’s Note:
Yo there, this is me, myself, and I, the author who will be going on vacation.
Lore got updated again, Kazimierz used Mark and Heller while the National Council suddenly became a legislative body, The Grand Knight became the head of state, and Adeptus the Head of Government… Hah…. I’ll just update it retrospectively, I have a train to catch.
I may or may not be editing this chapter in the future, just remember to check the announcement chapter or my profile for confirmation.
If you haven’t realized it, Nyx left the area while jumping from rooftop to rooftop while her agents were doing their things. The anime showed that it is possible to use none other than Blaze. With that out of the way, I wanna make an announcement below.
Life is funny, so much so that I could feel how punching it would be a cathartic experience. I’ll be going on vacation to address stuff that might or might not come up.
Hopefully, I get to see you guys again soon.
Ciao
"Mono/Dialogue"
'Inner thoughts'
Narration
[Message/communication apparatus]
Date: January 1089
Location: Kawalerielki, Kazimierz
POV: Narrator
Nyx has been doing her best to track down the final piece of the puzzle; the café’s owner who had unsurprisingly closed his shop. She made her conjecture, that either he goes mad or pursues his interest. Such a conjecture came up when she discussed their preliminary findings. Namely the victims, she doesn’t regard them as hostile criminals anymore, of this Arts all have a singular goal in mind; longing for their truest self.
Mental Arts has always been regarded as one of the most potently dangerous types that existed, Nyx theorized hers belonged in this category but it was too versatile and acted chaotically plus erratically. A part of her is worried about how far her mental pollution would affect someone, would it be temporary only or would it potentially overwrite someone? She doesn’t know and she is not thrilled with it yet she has no choice but to seek the answer.
She’s still waiting on Kal’tsit to tell her about it. Her communication with her faction, Babel, seems to underline a situation in which the war has been going well but they’re not getting away with mere scratches either. Nyx ironically could only hope that her doctor would hold up her end of the bargain after the shitshow back in November.
In regards to the madness, we could also discuss how she dealt with the fallout and prevented potential incidents later on.
Nyx used her assets to investigate the truth while keeping up with her current contract. Her monetary asset is a non-issue; the manpower is. She used up half of her Kawalerielki’s agents to prevent anything else befalling the Nearl when she got the news of Nelka’s attempted assassination. The Grey Serpent always put just enough to monitor those she cared about, but that was not enough with what happened to them.
All is in the past, yes, but that’s why she must make amendments. She needs to expand her reach quickly to ensure she doesn’t get blindsided again in the future. Here is the hard part, these agents have been compromised and to leave them to die, or worse, just like that would leave a bad taste in her mouth and make it harder to find someone willing or desperate enough to work for her.
Thus she pulled her strings, did her usual balancing acts, and freed up some time for a lengthy discussion with Conrad and Młynar. When she asks whether she could turn a blind eye, Młynar berates her. He said that not only was that irresponsible, but she would only make herself an even easier target to antagonize by proxy. Then Conrad added with citing again about her fearsome reputation; here is the Grey Serpent and she wants you to leave with a heap of cash, do so or die.
So she goes with the appeasement and warning approach. She called her assets and gave them the choice of continuing riding the waves she had conjured or calling it quits. That’s how when she rewarded that 50%, about 60% of them decided to leave Kazimierz and she is keeping up with her promise.
This is why now she is moving a lot slower, the tracks might even have gone cold. She prioritized the unused half to do everything in their power to ensure none of the Nearls were being shadowed by notorious actors or possible hostiles, she never believed that lightning ever struck the same spot twice. If someone did target them, Nyx would gladly stain her hand and name again, her feelings and reluctance being put on the backseat as per usual.
Thankfully, she managed to track down the café’s owner… will it end there? Who knows…
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“Hmm… I guess he is somewhat eccentric to purchase that kind of property.” Nyx said to one of her agents, a Liberi man nodded while they were looking at an abandoned 2-story warehouse. The both of them are watching from a rooftop just a few blocks from the target building. The man is not the only one, masked Cordelia’s employees could be seen operating a communication array while being armed to the teeth. Meticulous training and planning prevented them from skylining or being spied upon by drones.
His boss motioned him to continue with the explanation.
“I swear on me mum that he is dere, boss. Though lemme tell ya that Herr went cuckoo in da ‘ead. Spoutin’ spits alon’ an idea of seekin’ ‘masterpiece’ or thingy ma jig.”
“Herr? He is Leithanien?”
“Yea, checked by our lovely friend from Black Market… You really should stop antagonizing ‘em boss.”
“What was he doing the last time?” She ignored his words, and the agent sighed internally and answered a beat later.
“Last seein’ ‘im he snuck out at night and brought a bag of shifty stuff, smell foul too.” The Liberi said while keeping the watch. His eyesight is special you see, with both conventional and rudimentary thermal film cleverly hidden beneath his eyelid. So he has been scanning the place and its surroundings for potential inconsistency.
His boss nodded and prompted him to continue while she brought her binoculars to watch her collaborators start surrounding the warehouse. Nyx let the Captain have it, she has no interest in having her name credited to solve this problem and she has no problem if complications happen.
Of course, the Captain is not dumb. He realized that Nyx let him go first to allow him to hog all the glory while also reminding him of who is the one watching and investing in their interest. All-in-all, he has no choice on the matter especially after he takes the 15 million bribe.
What he didn’t know was the fact that Nyx had snuck in a device that would let her hear the upcoming interrogation. Her growing paranoia is not without reason, if this mental manipulation had somehow disrupted her own Arts’ control, things would go from bad to nightmarish.
Nyx still needs assurance to know just where the Arts originated from. She could try asking Zofia about it, but she knows that her little sister is somewhat unstable and that would just not be a good idea. While she is watching over them, her agents start small talks between them. They have nothing to fear since she never cared to begin with.
“The boss doesn’t sound all that pissed huh?” A Sarkaz woman said while watching the security units using drones.
“She might be… protective… but most importantly she understands when to just take a backseat.” Another Sarkaz woman answered her. She flicked a gaze towards a man across her with a question.
“How do you think it would go down?”
“Either things would go well and nothing happened or she would need to subdue them. Yes, subdue the securities if they went mad.” A Perro with a gruff voice said, seemingly bored from watching one of the surveillance drones.
“She could subdue someone?”
“Lass, how do you think she could leverage her playing field? Breathing and somewhat intact SoB is usually worth more after all. Ok, alright, worst case scenario we see her killing again…”
“Huh… guess I know something new.” Despite Nyx not caring about their theory crafting, they still need to lean in a hushed tone when talking about something more sensitive.
“Anyway, she’s probably trying to leverage her winning chance, having them go from normal into manic also means that she has more power and cards to play. If nothing happened then she would most likely go her own way, if something did? Well… National Council isn’t a stretch…”
There has been a revelation, or more like an open secret, among them that she has the National Council’s ears and they would listen to her on the account she doesn’t talk bogus. Goes to show how much influence she has amassed for almost 2 decades of mainly operating in Kazimierz.
“… Yeah, I can see that… National Council would surely hear her out with more evidence at hand, proving how someone turned into a lunatic is no small feat… but that’s a last resort isn’t it?”
“Say, how much longer?” Nyx says while her eyes are still glued on the building, prompting them to drop their conversation with a cough. Other than the Zalak man, no one could see her face, but their mind instantly conjured a glare that bored a hole with her gaze along with a tiny, displeased, scowl.
“Tapping into their comms link, the Captain and his assault squads 1 and 2 are still on the move. We’re recording everything just fine, Ma’am. As an update, we have 2 fireteams blending in among the neighborhood just as you have ordered.”
“Keep up with your duty. Those of you who did their role well could expect a nice little bonus.”
“Heh, how much?” One of the agents asked with a joking tone, either too brave or just wanted to know how far they could go. Their colleagues are divided between those who look like someone seeing a unicorn, the race, for the first time, or just an amused chuckle while shaking their heads.
“How does 50.000 pounds sound like?”
“…”
“…”
“…” The agents are exchanging discreet glances. Some of them start to feel bad for those who chose to throw the towel, working for her is probably one of the most profitable jobs out there after all.
The Grey Serpent put 5.000 LMDs as standard salary and that is enough for them to have more than decent accommodation in the city with room for more. That much bonus, in Victorian Pound no less, is enough for them to just hang back for months here. Even if they splurge, that’s enough for 4 weeks of relatively luxurious R&R.
“Ma’am, they’re starting the assault.”
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A team of 6 securities are seen creeping along the wall. Their equipment is a mix of 21st-century riot team gear, machetes, stun grenade courtesy of Columbia, and a shielder with heavier armor and helmet. This group would have attracted attention, but with the neighborhood being so quiet they could finish everything before lunch,
Crossbowmen are watching every possible blind spot. The one holding a shield becomes the point man for obvious reasons. They move slowly but never stop since slow is smooth and smooth is fast. Not long after, they made their way into the breaching point.
Using signs, the point man told 2 men behind him to move forward on the other end and for their engineer to plant the breaching charge. Confirming their position and readiness, the team lead contacted the other team lead.
“This is Bodkin actual, we are ready for synchronized breach. Over.”
[This is Broad actual, we are ready for breach. Over.] With their watch already adjusted to show the same time, they only need for it to strike 09.00 before pressing the trigger. Once the watch shows 09.00, the triggerman does their call-out.
“Fire in the hole!” Subdued explosions from both north and south could be heard. Not wasting time, they start moving and sweeping their respective area. The warehouse has been turned into a mix of compartmentalized rooms and some kind of gallery. They could see all sorts of ghastly drawings being etched into the makeshift walls.
An old classical piece is playing, but they don’t know from where.
“…Are we in Leithanien?”
“I don’t know bro.”
“Cut the chatter, stay focused.”
““Rog’/Affirm.””
Pushing down the mystifying feeling, they start clearing the area and searching for the target. While they do so, they are also forced to take in the drawings. One such thing shows humble farmland stretching from one section to another before showing a hellish landscape. The landscape also bore the symbol of the long-dead Witch King.
Another is about a family, a nice nuclear family. The father, the mother, the sons, and the daughters are all sitting at the table with joyous visage. Truly picturesque, if one were to dismiss a corpse of Gaulish Liberi being displayed in the middle, face akin to a jigsaw, body a puzzle, and limbs twisted into a mockery for the tree of life.
“What the fuck…”
“The hell are these…”
“Why would anyone paint a waterfall of blood?”
“Huh? That’s a dining table!” Realization dawned, they are perceiving different things at once. Their surroundings feel more than merely unnerving, the lesser and weak-willed of them all couldn’t stop shaking. Yet despite Nyx dismissing them as mere cannon fodder, she is proven wrong when their stout hearts harden instead of breaking. They push forward with fear-ridden steps but said steps were resolute.
[This is Broad actual… Are you guys seeing these?]
“Bodkin actual copy… you’re not the only one…”
[All channel, this is Bowman. I’m monitoring the camera feed and I’ll instruct a change in your approach: extract the target at all costs. Break. Abandon trying to gather evidence at this moment, how copy? Over.]
“Bodkin actual, solid copy.”
[Broad actual, copy.]
This search that felt like an eternity of mental and psychological burden ended when they heard the swishing and brushing sounds of a paintbrush. Consolidating once more, the point man peeked around the corner and spotted a man by the hallway painting away without care in the world. He looks emaciated, lanky, and overall a shadow of his former self… yet the smile is that of pure satisfaction.
The point man use sign language, telling them of 1 potential target and prompting the team to prepare to subdue him. With practiced, but somewhat rigid, coordination, they crept slowly toward the man. He doesn’t care about his surroundings. Once close enough, 1 actual speak.
… Was what he was planning to do, the man suddenly screeched and bolted away towards the other end of the hallway. The screeching of his throat caused the team to be assailed by migraine, momentarily stunning them. Once they reoriented their formation, they promptly gave chase of a potential suspect.
“This is Bodkin actual, we are chasing after a potential suspect!”
[Copy that, we’ll expedite our side and come to yours.]
They chased the man all over and watched how despite his body telling them how weak he was, his speed and agility tell a different story. Bodkin's team also doesn’t just chase him around, crossbow bolts and fast-chant Arts are being used to either incapacitate or bring down the wall as an obstacle with little effect.
Lanky but not out of it when he dodged shots purely by instinct and luck. They keep up with the chase forevermore while a black-haired girl can be seen watching it all from the sideline unnoticed. Her fingers have been strumming along a soundless note, a soundless invitation, and a soundless truth.
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POV: Nyx
‘Something isn’t right…’ I couldn’t help it while watching the hacked camera feed. Their equipment really sucks, like holy shit. I might be using military-grade equipment, but come on that was too easy. Back to the chase, it is turning for the worse.
“Is it just me or did they start bickering over themselves rather than hunt that old man down?” An Elafia said since he couldn’t help but notice how they seemed to get worse in their chase. I concur. Their shots had been missing all the time, which goes to show they needed more training, but this time they didn’t even bother with reloading and chose to verbally abuse one another.
“Yeah, this must be the source of madness. I mean look at those paintings! It gives me heebie-jeebies just looking at it.”
“Heebie-jeebies my ass, this is straight outta a B-Grade movie. I ain’t scared at all, you’re just a wuss.”
“Broad team is sailing smoothly though? They aren’t deviating whatsoever…” I said nothing and just watched. Between team Bodkin and Broad, the first clearly is under some kind of Mental Manipulation. I tried to use my mental synapse but to no one’s surprise, I sensed a jumbled mess from there. The perpetrator should be around but I’m hesitant to test how close or far are they.
When I added my humming into my mental synapse, I sensed something prickling at my brain and touching my ears. Unconsciously, I backed away from the monitor, and only then did the feeling disappear… no way…
‘Fuck…’ But… I looked around discretely and no one else was seemingly affected by whatever that tried to reach out, if anything only a few people batted an eye seeing me move. God fucking dammit, this is not going great at all. I tried adding it again, but when I leaned in closer there was nothing… Should I?
‘No… no… 2 times were risky enough…’
I’m not gonna risk myself potentially going out of control, sounds cowardly but sometimes you really cannot tempt fate. Yes the potential of me turning into a better person exists, but this is not going about to be me with fate plus a coin flip, others would be affected greatly by my life. This would have been a lot easier if I had Mwi as my backup since he should be able to knock me out.
‘No, that will only risk 2 highly dangerous individuals to be walking on thin ice. It is better this way, the only one that would get hurt is me and these people.’
This ugly chase ended when their team finally met up with one another. An interesting situation unfolded, the first team that had been chasing the suspect around was really letting their emotions out while the second could only stand dumfounded. Their target has been secured but it appears that a guy or two from the first team felt like their efforts weren’t appreciated.
‘A gradual effect huh? Hmm… that means I have a few moments to get the hell out of dodge if I meet the perpetrator just like what happened earlier. I’ll need to tread carefully for a while, I could gamble out the fact that my singing seems to be related to it… but what’s the relation between mine and that? Hah… my head hurts.’
“You’re still recording this?”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
Turning my vision back, they had turned into full-blown fisticuffs between one another. The Captain has been screaming non-stop for them to cease their violence. While my men and women were monitoring and storing the data for later, I noticed something odd at the edge of the camera’s vision. Something seems to be floating, but I can’t ascertain what it is.
“Move a camera drone inside.” They exchange glances before complying with my command. One of them directs a tiny drone, no bigger than a hummingbird, inside. I directed them to weave around and they too noticed something.
“… Is that… A person?”
“Looks hella blurry, I can’t get their face either.”
“This is a tiny drone, do you expect it to have a 4K display or something?” While they bickered, the unknown person seemed to notice its presence and bolted into the darkness. The drone followed them and I didn’t wanna gamble on activating my singing, but thankfully a mental synapse could still work since the feeling didn’t come back… The mental signature is faint as hell though, almost like looking trying to find a specific tree inside a forest.
The chase continues… until the drone meets a dead end. Moving the camera around, there doesn’t seem to be any hidden doors or mechanisms for escape.
“Dammit…”
“Where the hell did they go?”
“… It was never easy.” I sighed with clear disappointment. I look back at the brawl, where even the target becomes the victim. I got one lead and it’s gone. I tousled my hair and thought about alternatives, no doubt that the person would be leaving the place using some other means I’m not privy to.
It was easy to track Aoyuki back then, her emotional distress was a giant beacon and I already had drones following her. I have the speed too, but it means nothing if I have no destination or tracks to follow. It left me with an obvious choice, something I like the least to put it gently.
‘…I need to persuade Zofia to talk somehow… Her mental health is recovering but it could be harmful if I don’t tread carefully.’ The very notion of procuring information from her made my stomach churn, but we are running out of options and I don’t like how we have an unknown actor that is seemingly tied with this trail of madness just up and gone.
“Ma’am, the Captain has directly intervened with his team and have the dissenting groups be subdued, are we clear to exfil?”
“He’s quick… Proceed, we are done here.” Frustrated with this result, I ordered us all to leave the area and pretended that no one knew about this successful, on paper, raid. Turning on my communication device, my line connected with an equally frustrated and exasperated man.
“What a mess that was, Hugo, you guys could have done better.” I could hear him sighing audibly while his men tried to knock the dissidents out. I start making my way out of this place.
[It was, making it worse is that I don’t think he is the one.]
“He is not getting out after this stunt…”
[Hah… Yeah. So where do we go from here? I mean, if we want a scapegoat then this guy is enough. Though I kind of feel bad for it, he still outs himself as Old Leithanien’s loyalist and fugitive of the Twin Empresses, being a Witch King’s fanatic and all…]
“We couldn’t do anything about the man, and Leithanien surely would want an answer.”
[This debacle made me wonder if I still want to stay as Captain in this hellhole.]
“You should have run years ago.”
[I hate how easily you could say that then again our position is just a world apart.]
“If only you were more prudent, I won’t be here.”
[Are you done sizing up on me or not?]
“Hmph, get your nicest suit ready.”
[Where to?]
“National Council.”
[I’m such a lucky person to face the national council…]
“You agreed to take the spotlight. I’ll hand a nicely worded script over to you. This is also why you’re still breathing, you’re useful.”
[You know what Nyx, screw you.]
“You’re welcome, I expect you to be ready at 8 morning sharp.”
POV: Narrator
Under the guise of reluctant cooperation with the Captain of The Guard who got himself questioned by the National Council for the spike of madness, Nyx came face to face with the National Council without using her favor. It’s weird right? How something like this is seemingly being mishandled? Well, that’s another can of worm altogether.
Her act was flawless since that was not an act at all, Nyx finally shows her deep-seated misgivings of even working with the guy. People who see them sitting just a few feet apart can sense that a situation beyond their pay grade is unfolding in real-time and nothing better than being ignorant. Her misgivings are also the product of how the National Council is partly responsible for making the Nearl into a clusterfuck of a noble house.
Nyx has been summoned with reasons that will be announced inside the council room. They proceed inside when the time of appointment is due. Once entering the core part of the Kazimierzian Legislative body, Nyx could see a familiar face and several others whom she only knew in passing.
Kazimierz National Council was created after the previous King was ousted due to a lot of rumors, factors, and politicking that would only result in headaches. Since The Grandmaster is the most powerful person in the room, both de jure and de facto, Ioleta sits where monarchs of old were once seated.
After some needless pleasantries, greetings, and poetry for whatever reason, the Captain shows all the pieces of evidence he has gathered. He starts by citing the time when the spike in violence started.
“On the 22nd of November, we noticed a trend of increasingly worrying levels of civil disturbance. It has been exemplified by the usual harassment towards our noble knights.” His tone is level, but Nyx could see how Ioleta is amused by such a choice of wording.
“It starts with the usual case of fanaticism gone wrong and or stalking… what we didn’t expect was an attempt at both violence and sexual harassment. The Knight in question was stunned by such an overt behavior, despite being a relatively new competitor.”
“That much we understand, but are you implying there are other factors in play?” An old councilor questioned him, his gaze sharp but the Captain doesn’t flinch. He is now way too used to dealing with Nyx’s death gaze to be afraid of it, despite being a noble, still merely a civilian and bureaucrat.
“My findings had pointed towards a possibility of misuse; specifically mental Arts misuse.” The chamber went noisy with this revelation. A woman in her 30s raised her hand.
“If I may… that was certainly a bold claim to present in this most auspicious meeting, care to elaborate?”
“Certainly.” The Captain then shows images and recordings where the mad dash of violence has been on steady uptake. Then came the bomb, he shows a finding that all these perpetrators had once been in the same location. On the 18th of November, a recording about the alleged cause of madness was a humble café.
A certain someone being seen there raised the attendance’ eyebrows, that someone was Zofia. An unspoken question is hanging in the air, it is very obvious. Seeing that no one wanted to say it out loud, Ioleta spoke up for the first time.
“It appears that we reached a deadlock due to an elephant in the room, Baroness Nyx, anything you wish to add on this matter.”
“Gladly, Lady Grandmaster.” Nyx stood up from her seat and started explaining the correlation.
“Thanks to… Sir Hugo’s investigation.” She starts acting again to keep up the illusion of having nothing to do with said investigation. The Grey Serpent looks like she is still pissed with how she couldn’t kill him and gave him a side glare so deadly Hugo involuntarily flinched. Not just him, but almost everyone flinched and could see how displeased she was.
“Lady Grey Serpent, I must remind you to adhere to our strict code of conduct.”
“Pardon, me… well let’s get on with it.” Nyx narrated everything that needs to be shared. One such thing is how there appears to be a change in the demeanor of Zofia. She also underlined that she never thought of her to be able to pull such a move.
Nyx dodged mentioning the bloodline part but instead gave a roundabout theory that this Mental Manipulation is less of brainwashing and more about unleashing someone’s base desire. Of course, it made the council question what happened with Zofia back in the arena but Nyx just half-lied because she really doesn’t know the specifics of the bloodline awakening thing.
She then shared what had been understood with supplements from the Captain regarding this incident while promising to do her duty as both ordinary catastrophe messenger and Contingency Contract Liaison. She leveraged her knowledge and what she knows about Leithanien and the outside world, and her words are taken into the council’s consideration very seriously.
The Council starts understanding how the gradual change occurs, and it is further proven by the newest recording that Hugo decides to show. Once Nyx was seated once more, she scoffed about this whole thing.
Everyone is horrified knowing that there are still, what they believe to be, Leithanien terrorists lurking about. The credibility of their findings starts to rise since it is not unthinkable for Leithanien to have esoteric Arts in their arsenal, thus the deliberation and discussion continue late into the night and the result is the city is under soft lockdown.
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Not far from the hills that were passed by the gargantuan machine of civilization made manifest, that is Kawalerielki, a black-haired Sankta with a matching black halo and wings could be seen playing a cello. She is playing a quiet melody for parting, but her eyes shine even brighter despite the melancholic tune.
“Such a shame… I was so close, but I must not let my dear brother wait…” She looks up at the sky, her gaze seems to pierce the unending darkness above. Her fingers deftly played along while her smile widened, so kind and peaceful but also ambitiously fueled by sincere self-righteousness.
“Human souls are truly beautiful…” She stood up and bowed towards the mobile city that kept getting farther and farther.
“Thank you, we will meet again… and I’ll free you just as you teach me how to feel, no matter how transient.”
[END OF CHAPTER]
Author’s Note:
Yo there, this is me, myself, and I, the author who will be going on vacation.
Lore got updated again, Kazimierz used Mark and Heller while the National Council suddenly became a legislative body, The Grand Knight became the head of state, and Adeptus the Head of Government… Hah…. I’ll just update it retrospectively, I have a train to catch.
I may or may not be editing this chapter in the future, just remember to check the announcement chapter or my profile for confirmation.
If you haven’t realized it, Nyx left the area while jumping from rooftop to rooftop while her agents were doing their things. The anime showed that it is possible to use none other than Blaze. With that out of the way, I wanna make an announcement below.
Life is funny, so much so that I could feel how punching it would be a cathartic experience. I’ll be going on vacation to address stuff that might or might not come up.
Hopefully, I get to see you guys again soon.
Ciao
