The silence inside the Guild lasted only a moment.
"...Are you insane?"
The scavenger's voice echoed across the mission hall as she stared at the glowing B-rank emblem suspended above the terminal.
Several nearby adventurers glanced in their direction before returning to their own business.
Kaelen calmly closed the mission screen.
"The mission has already been accepted."
"You accepted it with my identification!"
"You followed me."
"I followed you to collect credits, not fight B-rank hybrids!"
Kaelen met her furious stare without flinching.
"You can withdraw."
She folded her arms triumphantly.
"There."
Kaelen nodded once.
"The Guild will deduct your contribution balance for abandoning an assigned mission."
Her confident expression froze.
"...What?"
"You agreed to temporary registration."
She rushed to another terminal, desperately checking her status.
A bright warning flashed across the screen.
MISSION ACCEPTED
Withdrawal Penalty: -150 Contribution Credits
"No..."
She slowly turned toward Kaelen.
"You planned this."
"I planned to complete the mission."
She buried her face in her hands before letting out a long sigh.
"I've officially had the worst day of my life."
---
Outside the Guild, the afternoon sun cast long shadows across the stone streets of Tartarus.
The scavenger kicked a loose pebble along the road.
"My name's Lyra."
Kaelen looked at her.
"You never asked."
"You never told me."
She shrugged.
"Fair enough."
After several minutes of silence she spoke again.
"If we're really doing this..."
"...we'll need supplies."
Kaelen nodded.
"What kind?"
"A transport vehicle."
"Field rations."
"Monster harvesting tools."
"And something to survive the cursed wilderness."
She lowered her voice.
"That means the Black Market."
Kaelen slipped a hand into his coat, feeling the cold metal token Eren had given him.
"So that's where we're going."
---
The lower districts of Tartarus looked nothing like the polished streets surrounding the Guild.
Steel bridges crossed over abandoned factories.
Broken neon signs flickered overhead.
Rust-covered pipes stretched across rooftops like giant mechanical vines.
The deeper they walked, the quieter the city became.
Eventually Lyra stopped before an abandoned warehouse squeezed between two collapsed buildings.
"This doesn't look like a market," Kaelen observed.
"It isn't."
She looked around carefully before pushing against a massive iron door.
Instead of opening immediately, several hidden mechanisms clicked inside the wall.
A narrow slit appeared.
A pair of unseen eyes studied them.
"No names."
A rough voice echoed from inside.
"Purpose?"
Lyra remained calm.
"Trade."
A pause followed.
"Proof."
Kaelen stepped forward.
Without a word he held up Eren's black token.
Everything became silent.
Several locks disengaged one after another.
The heavy door slowly opened.
"Enter."
---
A staircase descended deep beneath the city.
The air grew colder with every step.
Faint voices drifted upward.
The smell of machine oil mixed with smoke and unfamiliar spices.
When they reached the bottom, Kaelen stopped.
The Black Market stretched beneath Tartarus like an underground city.
Hundreds of merchants occupied narrow streets illuminated by crimson lanterns.
Some sold weapons crafted from monster bones.
Others displayed glowing crystals suspended inside glass containers.
Several stalls offered strange mechanical devices powered by unstable energy cores.
Every customer wore a hood, mask, or helmet.
No one revealed their identity.
"No one asks questions here," Lyra whispered.
"Only prices."
Kaelen slowly surveyed the crowd.
Some customers carried Guild equipment.
Others wore military uniforms with insignias carefully hidden beneath cloaks.
Even criminals and Guild hunters appeared to trade side by side.
"The Guild knows this exists."
"They pretend it doesn't."
---
An elderly merchant waved them toward his stall.
His mechanical right eye rotated softly.
"Looking for equipment?"
Kaelen nodded.
"We're leaving the city."
The merchant smiled knowingly.
"Dangerous mission?"
Kaelen didn't answer.
The merchant laughed.
"I'll take that as yes."
He placed several items onto the counter.
A compact medical injector.
A reinforced climbing cable.
Two anti-venom capsules.
A portable energy beacon.
"Cursed territory package."
Kaelen inspected each item carefully.
"Reliable?"
"I've survived sixty years selling equipment."
"Faulty merchandise doesn't create repeat customers."
Kaelen purchased the supplies before moving deeper into the market.
---
The farther they walked, the stranger the merchandise became.
Glass containers held black mist swirling like living smoke.
Ancient books rested inside sealed cases.
Fragments of hybrid skeletons hung from metal chains.
One merchant quietly offered information instead of goods.
"Forbidden City maps."
"Missing Guild records."
"Names of corrupt officers."
Kaelen slowed.
The merchant leaned closer.
"I know you're searching for someone."
Kaelen's eyes narrowed.
"What did you say?"
The merchant simply smiled beneath his mask.
"Everyone who carries that token eventually searches for someone."
Before Kaelen could ask another question, the merchant had already disappeared into the crowd.
Lyra frowned.
"I don't like this place."
"Neither do I."
---
Near the center of the market stood a massive circular stone pillar.
Unlike everything else underground, it appeared ancient.
Its surface was covered with faded carvings.
Kaelen stepped closer.
One symbol immediately caught his attention.
A city surrounded by towering black walls.
Above it floated a burning ring.
Beneath the city stood dozens of kneeling figures.
At the center...
A massive furnace.
His heartbeat quickened.
"The Foundry..."
He reached toward the carving.
The moment his fingers touched the stone—
Pain exploded through his cursed wound.
Dark mist burst from beneath his bandages.
Images flooded his mind.
Towering furnaces.
Screaming voices.
Hybrid creatures chained to metal platforms.
A child standing behind iron bars.
Then—
Everything vanished.
Kaelen staggered backward.
Lyra caught his arm.
"What happened?"
He stared at the ancient carving.
"...Nothing."
But he knew that wasn't true.
Someone had carved the Foundry centuries ago.
Which meant it was far older than the Guild itself.
Far older than anyone had admitted.
---
A faint electronic tone sounded inside Kaelen's communicator.
SC.
Its voice came through in short bursts.
"Kaelen... investigation complete..."
Static crackled.
"I've accessed restricted Guild archives."
"Several B-rank missions were altered before publication."
"Hybrid activity has increased by forty-three percent."
Another burst of interference followed.
"Most importantly..."
"The sector you're heading toward..."
"...appears repeatedly in classified Foundry documents."
The transmission ended.
Kaelen slowly lowered the communicator.
Lyra looked at him.
"Bad news?"
He looked toward the tunnel leading out of the Black Market.
"Our mission just became far more important."
Far above them, evening settled over Taelen.
Beyond its walls lay a wilderness where colossal beasts roamed beneath broken satellites and crimson skies.
Somewhere within that wasteland waited the answers Kaelen had spent months searching for.
He adjusted the rifle across his shoulder.
"Let's move."
Without another word, the two disappeared into the gathering darkness, unaware that hidden eyes had been watching them since the moment they entered the Black Market.