Keith nodded grimly, the sarcasm completely draining from his face as the weight of my words sank in. He turned to the secondary guard post and barked a brief order to his subordinate, handing over his guard clipboard.
"I'm guiding these three to the city hall immediately, keep the line moving and don't take any lip from the grain haulers."
He gestured with his arm, turning down the main cobble avenue.
"Follow me. And keep that cloak tight, kid."
Patricia, holding Catherine securely against her shoulder, fell into step beside me as we navigated the awakening streets. The morning sun was casting long, bright rays across the stone roofs, heralding the start of a bustling trade day. Yet, looking at the lively market stalls starting to set up around us, a heavy chill settled in my chest.
In the not-so-distant future, if Edrie's plague takes root, this whole city will be a ruined mess.
Keith glanced back at me over his shoulder as we walked, his eyes scanning my hooded, single-armed silhouette.
"You've changed a lot since the first time you walked through those gates, Eirene, used to be, you were just a cold, ruthless, terrifyingly pragmatic bounty hunter who looked ready to slit a throat for five copper. Now... well, you actually look like a girl. A strange, pale girl who gets dragged into world-ending chaos, but a girl nonetheless."
"People change, Keith, Life has a way of forcing your hand." I replied dryly, pulling my cloak tighter to shield my cheek from a sudden gap in the building shadows.
Patricia looked between Keith and me, her curiosity piqued despite the grim situation.
"Uhm... Eirene, did you two know each other before this?"
Keith gave a sharp, bark-like laugh.
"Certainly! Back then, I just figured she was your typical sharp-eyed bounty hunter coming into Lulu City to cash in on unlawful heads. But then I found out she came here with a very specific, dangerous purpose… hunting down intel on Don Anthony."
He paused, glancing back at Patricia with a look of lingering disbelief.
"I didn't believe a word of it at first. But then this crazy kid single-handedly raided the inescapable prison… the Dodorant Citadel… breeze right through their defenses, gathered intel directly from Inmate 003, Luke Granhart himself, and walked out without a single scratch. Later on, word came out that she was actually a vampiress all along. Up until then, I just thought she was an abnormally skilled young lady."
Patricia's eyes widened in genuine fascination as she listened, looking at me with newfound respect.
"You raided the Dodorant Citadel alone?!"
"It was just a job," I muttered, shaking my head.
As we crossed the vast central plaza, the massive scale of Lulu City hit me. It was sprawling, densely populated, and far too large for just the three of us to handle if a full viral outbreak erupted simultaneously across every district.
If my siblings were here, this whole mess would be solved in an hour.
But every single one of them was tied down elsewhere.
My big brother Elias was currently on a well-deserved hiatus, taking time away from the frontlines to be with his family… his loving wife and his sweet little daughter. He'd earned that peace a thousand times over; I wasn't about to drag him back into the mud for this.
My big sister Elicia was clear across the region in Sisiphon City, buried alive under mountains of administrative paperwork as the Principal of the prestigious Sisiphon Magic Academy. Interrupting her right now would probably get me a lecture scarier than losing my arm.
And then there was my younger sister, Evelyn... who was currently back home, busy babysitting my own child, Cliff. The bittersweet truth of it was that Evelyn actually possessed far more motherhood experience and natural nurturing instincts than I ever did. I was a weapon built for war; she was the anchor keeping my son safe while I bled in the dirt.
And yet, Evelyn had absorbed the memories of a hundred souls, possibly one of them was a mother. Plus the memories of Vanessa Katt.
"We're on our own for this one, so we better make every second count."
Walking alongside Keith, the familiar architecture of Lulu City drifted past us like a half-remembered dream.
Even after all this time, the layout of the coastal city remained burnt into my memory. Back when I had first come here to plan my suicide mission into the Dodorant Citadel, I had scoured every alleyway, mapped every guard patrol, and memorized every escape route.
We stopped in the grand plaza facing the city's command center… a imposing, three-story civic structure crafted from weathered white stone and reinforced ironwood, designed to withstand both ocean hurricanes and naval blockades. It was half-fortress, half-administrative hub, serving as the official town hall where the ruler of Lulu City governed the entire territory.
The truth was, despite all the chaos I had caused in this city years ago, I had never actually met the ruler in person. During my initial stay, I was a ghost… a silent, heavily scarred mercenary operating strictly in the shadows, focusing entirely on my disguise as "Keane Leon" and gathering intel on Don Anthony. I knew the Citadel's layout down to its sub-aquatic dead zones, but I didn't have a clue who actually sat behind the governor's desk.
Beside me, Patricia let out a ragged breath, her shoulders sagging under the weight of Catherine's limp body. Her forehead was slick with sweat, her legs trembling slightly from the sprint from the valley and the long walk up the city's steep stone inclines.
"Patricia, Take Catherine and go get her a bed. You need rest, too."
I said, stopping in the shade of the town hall's grand portico. I reached into my spatial inventory ring with my left hand and pulled out a pouch of silver coins, pressing it into her palm.
She blinked, wiping sweat from her eyes.
"Wait, Eirene... what about you? Shouldn't I stay with you for the briefing?"
"You're exhausted, and Catherine needs a clean place to recover while I speak to the authorities, A few blocks down from here, in the lower Pier District, there's a place called the Golden Shrimp Inn. It's the cheapest, quietest inn in the city, and the walls are thick enough to keep out the noise of the docks."
I replied calmly, adjusting the deep hood over my head to keep the intensifying sunlight from scorching my skin.
A ghost of a memory flashed through my mind. The Golden Shrimp Inn. That dirty, cramped little room was where I had spent restless nights prepping for my raid… swallowing paperclips to pick my suppression chains, double-checking my fake IDs, and carefully storing the explosives I'd bought for the escape. It wasn't luxury, but it was safe.
Patricia looked down at the silver, then at Catherine, and gave a firm, resolute nod.
"Alright. I'll get her settled, make sure her fever doesn't spike, and wait for you there. Please... be careful, Eirene."
"I always am," I lied smoothly.
I watched Patricia trek down the cobbled path toward the inn before turning back to Keith. The veteran gatekeeper gestured toward the massive iron-reinforced doors of the town hall.
"Alright, kid. Let's get you inside before you start melting out here," Keith grunted.
We stepped through the front entrance, entering a vast, bustling lobby filled with dozens of clerks, scribes, trade inspectors, and city guards darting back and forth with stacks of parchment. The upper echelon of Lulu City was clearly operating at full tilt. Thanks to Keith's long-standing status and security connections as the chief gatekeeper, the guards at the inner stairs didn't even stop us. They simply gave Keith a respectful nod as he led me up the grand spiral staircase to the third floor.
We walked down a quiet, high-ceilinged hallway lined with heavy mahogany doors until we reached the grandest entrance at the very end… the Mayor's Office.
Keith didn't hesitate. He stepped up and gave three sharp, authoritative knocks on the wood.
"Enter," called out a deep, gravelly voice from inside… a voice that sounded violently familiar, carrying a rough, raspy edge born from years of hard living and harsh harshness.
Keith pushed the double doors open and stepped inside. I followed close behind his left shoulder, keeping my black cloak pulled tight around my form, my single hand resting casually at my hip.
Sitting behind a massive executive desk made of polished dark oak, buried beneath mountains of trade ledgers, naval reports, and official city seals, was a heavily built, sharp-dressed man.
My crimson eyes widened slightly beneath the shadow of my hood.
He was heavily tanned, with broad, calloused hands resting on the desk. Across the left side of his face was a massive, jagged scar cutting directly over a blind, milky eye. But most distinct of all was the prominent, weathered Glasgow smile carving up the corners of his mouth… the unmistakable mark left behind years ago when sadists at the Dodorant Citadel had forced a rusted metal tray into his jaws.
It was Chris Ratt.
The former Citadel prisoner. The military explosives master who had sold me the high-grade blue mana dynamite for a single gold coin all those years ago. The man who had given me the complete breakdown of Level 1, 2, and 3 before I blew a hole in the nine vertices of the citadel.
He had gone from running a dangerous dynamite stall in the shadowy corners of the city to sitting in the highest political chair in Lulu City.
Chris didn't recognize me immediately under the heavy, light-blocking shroud of my cloak. He raised his good eye from a stack of paperwork, resting his chin on his interlaced fingers as he looked at Keith, then shifted his gaze to my hooded, single-armed figure.
"Keith, what's so urgent that you're leaving the gate during peak morning rush? And who is this young lass?"
Keith took a step back, gesturing toward me with a flat palm.
"It's the S-rank bounty hunter, Eirene."
Chris stared at me, his jaw set, before a rare, genuine smile stretched across his scarred face.
"Eirene... damn, kid. You've changed."
Seeing that the dark crimson velvet curtains were drawn over the office windows… blocking out every stray ray of lethal morning light… I reached up with my left hand and lowered my heavy hood.
"Hi, Chris, It's good to see you doing well." I said softly, giving him a calm, appreciative nod.
Chris nearly dropped his pen. His single eye widened to the size of a saucer as he took in my face. The mute, heavily scarred, tanned girl he remembered was gone. Before him was a pale, striking vampiress with two glowing crimson eyes and a voice that was clear, low, and perfectly articulate.
"Eirene... what in the blazes happened to you? You can speak?! I didn't know you sounded like that... and your eyes! They're both back! But your arm... what happened to your right arm?" Chris gasped, leaning back in his leather chair, completely bewildered.
He was staring at the bloody, fresh bandages at my right elbow. The Eirene he knew back then had been missing her left arm. Now, it was reversed.
"Long story, Chris, limb loss is practically a hobby of mine at this point."
Chris rubbed his temples, letting out a heavy, gravelly laugh.
"Unbelievable. Look, take a seat first."
I hurriedly pulled back the heavy wooden chair across from his desk and sat down. Keith gave me a silent wave, stepping backward out of the office and shutting the thick mahogany doors behind him, leaving just the two of us inside.
Part of my brain was still utterly stunned. How in the hell did a high-grade dynamite seller from the stores end up as the Governor of Lulu City?
It was a crazy story for another time, but right now, we didn't have a single second to waste on catching up.
"Chris, no time for sweet reunions, What I have to tell you is extremely urgent." I cut in sharply, leaning forward over his desk.
Chris raised his hands defensively, taken aback by my intense glare.
"Hey, calm down, Eirene! You literally just sat down a few seconds ago and you're already… "
"Listen to me, Chris! You need to lock down and inspect every single grain supply entering Lulu City right now. It has been laced with an ancient, deadly bloodborne virus. It's early morning… the city hasn't fully awakened or eaten yet. You still have time! Inform the public immediately. Use town criers, heralds, emergency newspapers, whatever noise you can make to stop people from consuming the grain!" I interrupted, my voice dropping into an icy, commanding register that silenced him instantly.
I was speaking so fast and with such quiet, burning fury that I barely took a breath.
Chris blinked, leaning back as if hit by a tidal wave.
"Hey! Hey, Eirene, hold your horses! Take a breath of air for a second! What grain supply? What virus are you talking about?!"
I paused, taking a slow, grounding breath as I realized I'd been practically barking orders at the governor of a major city. Even if he was the same guy who once sold me blue mana dynamite under the table, he deserved proper respect in his own office.
"I... apologize, Chris, I'm pushing you too hard. Let me start from the beginning."
Chris gave a gruff nod, relaxing his posture slightly as he leaned over his desk.
"Apology accepted, kid. Take a deep breath and give it to me straight. What is actually going on?"
I took a breath, letting the steady beat of my heart settle my nerves.
"A demon has intentionally contaminated the regional grain supply heading into Lulu City. His goal is simple: trigger a massive, uncontrolled viral outbreak from within, infecting the entire population before anyone realizes what's happening."
Chris's single good eye narrowed into a sharp, dangerous glint.
"Contaminated the grain? How do you even know about this, Eirene?"
"Because I just barely survived a brutal fight with the man responsible, Edrie Collon." I said, my voice dropping into a low, quiet chill.
Chris froze, his hand tightening around the edge of his desk until his knuckles turned white.
"Wait... Edrie Collon? The master of the Bronze Coin Guild? Is that bastard actually alive?! Word reached the high council years ago that he was slain by the Yellow Flower Guild!"
"I know the real story, Chris, I was a member of the Yellow Flower Guild back then. I saw it with my own eyes… Edrie didn't just survive, he deliberately infected himself with an ancient virus to transform into a high-ranking demon. Right now, he's hunting for power to claim the seat of the Archdemon of Pride. He told me himself that he laced the grain, and this virus is no joke. Once ingested or transmitted through blood, it mutates normal living beings into mindless thralls… monsters that know nothing but absolute violence." I countered, looking him dead in the eye.
To drive my point home, I slightly shifted my shoulder, indicating the neatly bandaged stump where my right arm used to be.
Chris stared at the bloody wrappings, then at the dead-serious resolve in my crimson eyes. The reality of the situation finally slammed into him. The skepticism vanished from his scarred face, replaced by the grim, sharp instinct of a man who knew how fast a safe haven could turn into a slaughterhouse.
"A mindless thrall virus… and it's already in the carts entering the gates."