---
The morning sun barely kissed the sky when Elandro burst into the room and shouted, "Rudra! Wake up, you damn brat! We don't have time to sleep in — we need to move, now!"
Rudra groaned and pulled the blanket over his face. "Five more minutes, you noisy old crow. Do you want me to kill you before those bastards get the chance?"
Elandro scoffed, crossing his arms. "Try it. But don't cry when your bones start snapping."
With a smirk, Rudra sprang from the bed and kicked Elandro lightly in the gut. "You're louder than a rooster on fire. If this was a battlefield, you'd wake up the dead."
Elandro grunted, holding his stomach with a grin. "You sure talk big for someone with bedhead. Now hurry up and wash that sleep off your face."
Within minutes, they were out of the safehouse and headed toward the Black Table Tavern. In Elandro's office, Rudra sat down and scribbled a quick dispatch to HQ, tying the scroll to a messenger pigeon and letting it fly off into the morning mist.
Elandro leaned over the table. "It all started near the southern mountain. That's where the disappearances began — if we're going to find Lily, we start there."
Rudra nodded. "But after yesterday, I doubt we're safe anywhere. Their network runs deeper than we thought. They even dared to attack us inside the city."
Elandro smirked grimly. "Which is why we go incognito. Time to change our skin. Let's give the shadows something new to chase."
Suddenly, a knock rattled the door.
Elandro raised an eyebrow. "Who is it?"
"Butler from your mansion, sir," came the voice.
"Tell me the name I gave you," Elandro asked sharply.
"I... I'm Samuel. Samuel the Zero."
"You may enter."
The door creaked open, revealing a pale, shaking butler.
Elandro frowned. "What's the matter, Zero? You were never supposed to come here."
The butler wrung his hands nervously. "My lord... it's Lady Lily. She's gone."
The room fell silent.
"What do you mean gone?" Elandro barked, his voice rising in disbelief.
"I-I went to fetch her for breakfast this morning, but her room was empty. No one in the mansion saw her leave. She's just... vanished."
Elandro froze. His eyes burned with rage. Without warning, he slammed his head into the wall. Thud. Blood trickled down his forehead.
"Damn those Mountain Leopards!" he roared. "If only I'd been more careful...!"
Thud. Another hit. The wall was now stained with red.
Rudra rushed forward, grabbing him. "Stop it, Elandro! This isn't helping. I swear to you—they'll pay for this. I'll bring her back."
Elandro shoved him off. "You! This is all because of you! I told you to stay low, to stay hidden! And now—my daughter is gone!"
Rudra was silent, guilt wrapping around his chest like a vice. For the first time, someone else had been caught in the crossfire of his war.
"I've already sent word to HQ," Rudra said solemnly. "But they'll take time to respond. If we want to save her, we must act now."
Elandro slumped to the floor. "What can we do, Rudra? We're not gods. This... this is death waiting for us."
Rudra knelt beside him. His voice was steady, cold. "Then we walk into death and drag Lily back from its jaws. I've buried enough bodies, Elandro. I won't add hers to the list."
A grim determination lit Elandro's eyes. "Then let's mask ourselves. No one can know who we are."
Disguised in fake mustaches, travel-worn robes, and beards, they departed for the southern mountain.
By midday, they arrived at a quiet village near the base. They asked around, but every response was a silent look or a forced smile.
"They're stonewalling us," Rudra muttered. "It's like the whole town's in on something."
Just then, a hunched beggar limped toward them. "You lookin' for something, strangers?"
Elandro stepped forward. "Do you know anything about the missing people?"
The beggar's face twisted with fear. "If it's about the forest... I don't know anything. Don't ask."
"What forest?" Rudra asked.
The beggar shook his head. "I said I don't know!" Then, hesitating, he lowered his voice. "There's a part deep in the southern woods. Some call it cursed. They say... no one who enters ever returns."
Elandro's jaw clenched. "What kind of curse?"
"Some say it's a beast. Others say it's something worse — something... unnatural." The beggar began muttering to himself and limped away, vanishing into the shadows.
Rudra glanced at Elandro. "It's a lead. Better than wandering blind."
Elandro nodded. "Then let's walk straight into the belly of the curse."
The two looked toward the mountains cloaked in mist, unaware of the darkness that waited in the trees — and the blood yet to be spilled.