Chapter : 46

  Naomi stood in the middle of the room, not even breathing hard. Her green wind magic slowly faded away. She spun her dagger stylishly in her hand and slid it back into its holder.

  Sayma lowered her hands, letting her golden barriers disappear into thin air. She smoothed out her uniform jacket, looking like she had just finished a pleasant walk in the park.

  The primary drug dealer was still pinned against the brick wall. He had watched the entire fight. He had watched his heavy muscle, a dozen of the toughest guys in the slums, get absolutely destroyed in just a few minutes by two girls who didn't even break a sweat.

  The dealer was terrified. His legs were shaking so badly he could barely stand. He looked at Naomi’s sharp bde, and then he looked at Sayma’s calm, serious face. He knew he was completely trapped.

  Ken peeked his head up from behind the trash bags. He looked around the room, pretending to be very surprised.

  "Wow! Are they all asleep?" Ken asked, standing up and dusting off his uniform. He carefully stepped over a groaning thug. "You guys did amazing! I guarded the trash bags perfectly. Nobody stole a single piece of garbage while you were busy."

  Naomi gred at him with pure hatred. "If you say one more word, Ken, I am going to make you clean this entire basement with your toothbrush."

  Ken immediately zipped his lips shut and gave her a double thumbs-up.

  Sayma walked over to the terrified drug dealer. She stood right in front of him. She did not yell. She did not threaten him with a weapon. She just looked at him with a cold, intelligent stare that made the dealer feel very small.

  "Your guards are gone," Sayma said calmly. "Your operation here is finished. Now, you are going to tell me what I want to know. Who is making this cursed drug?"

  "I... I can't say!" the dealer cried, tears of fear forming in his eyes. "If I talk, the higher-ups will kill me! You don't know who you are messing with! They use dark magic! They will curse my entire family!"

  Naomi stepped closer, pulling her dagger back out. The steel bde caught the dim light of the basement. She pressed it just a tiny bit closer to his neck.

  "If you don't talk right now," Naomi whispered fiercely, her patience completely gone, "you won't have to worry about the higher-ups. I will end this right here. This drug is destroying innocent lives, and I have zero mercy for monsters like you."

  The dealer swallowed hard. He felt the cold steel against his skin. He looked at the defeated thugs on the floor. He broke down completely. He started crying, sobbing loudly in the quiet basement.

  "Okay! Okay, I will tell you everything!" the dealer sobbed, sliding down the wall until he was sitting on the floor. "Please don't kill me! I will tell you everything you want to know!"

  Sayma pulled a small notebook out of her pocket. "Start talking. Give me names, operations, and exact locations."

  The terrified dealer spilled everything. He talked incredibly fast, eager to save his own life. He expined how the cursed drug was delivered to the basement once a week. He expined how the victims' life force was collected by the dark magic in the drug and transferred away.

  But most importantly, he gave them the exact location of the higher-ups. He gave them the true hiding pce of Vane and the core leadership of the Curse Organization.

  Sayma wrote everything down quickly. When the dealer finally stopped talking, she closed her notebook with a satisfying snap. They had it. They finally had the real target for their B-rank mission.

  ----

  The rusted iron gates of the crumbling estate groaned loudly as Ken, Sayma, and Naomi walked back into the courtyard. The bright morning sun was already shining, but the mood among the three of them was strictly business. Sayma held her small notebook tightly. Inside it were the exact details and locations they had squeezed out of the terrified drug dealer in the slums. They finally had the real target for their B-rank mission.

  Naomi marched across the courtyard, her heavy combat boots hitting the stone floor with angry, sharp clicks. She was still completely grossed out by their trip to the slums. She kept checking her dark uniform for imaginary dirt.

  "I am going to need a four-hour shower after this mission is over," Naomi compined loudly to nobody in particur. "I can still smell the garbage. And worse, I can still smell the trash bags you hid in, Ken. Stay at least five feet away from me."

  Ken Eliot dragged his cheap shoes against the stone path, making his usual scuffing sound. Scuff. Scuff. Scuff. He had his hands shoved deep into his pockets and let his shoulders slump forward. He didn't look like a guy who had just survived a deadly underground drug den. He looked like a guy who had just been forced to wake up early on a Sunday.

  "Hey, don't bme me," Ken shot back, giving her a zy, goofy smile. "The garbage bags were highly strategic. They completely hid my presence. I was like a ghost. A very smelly, potato-loving ghost. Besides, I think the smell adds to my natural charm."

  Sayma pushed her thick gsses up the bridge of her nose and let out a soft sigh. "Please, both of you, save your breath. We need to brief the rest of the unit right now. Vane and the Curse Organization are not going to wait for us to get ready."

  The rest of the 13th Unit was already waiting in the center of the courtyard. The girls had spent the st hour gearing up and getting ready for a serious fight.

  Laxmi, the fiery and hot-headed magic user, was tossing a small, bright orange fireball from one hand to the other like a baseball. When she saw the trio return, she crushed the fireball in her fist, letting the sparks fade away. "Well? Did you find him? Tell me we have something to punch."

  Beside her, Zinia was doing deep lunges to stretch her legs. She was the earth magic user, and she looked built for close combat. "We have been standing around forever. I hope you guys brought back some good news."

  Ira, who was always calm and quiet, simply handed Sayma a clean bottle of water. Luna, the lightning user, was leaning against a stone pilr, rubbing her eyes like she was half-asleep.

  "We have exactly what we need," Sayma announced, her voice carrying across the courtyard.

  Just then, the heavy wooden doors of the main house opened. Princess Iris walked out, followed closely by the giant, towering figure of Grandmaster Finy. The massive silver armor of the Grandmaster cnked with every step, making the ground vibrate slightly. Princess Iris looked at Sayma with hopeful violet eyes.

  "Vice-Captain," Iris said gracefully. "Report."

  Sayma gave a quick, respectful bow. "Your Highness. Grandmaster. The reconnaissance was a complete success. We located a distribution hub in the deep slums. After a brief... disagreement with some local thugs, we managed to secure the exact location of the Curse Organization’s main headquarters."