In the capital of the Kingdom of Aurelion, it was as if a storm had swept through the city. News of Hawk Hollows spread everywhere — not only among the common people, but even among children.
Among the adults, rumors circulated of a criminal organization called Hawk Hollows that had emerged and killed three nobles within just three months. Some even used them as a warning in bedtime tales — "If you're not a good child, the people of Hawk Hollows will come and take you away."
Yet there was one question the people of Aurelion could not answer:
Was Hawk Hollows truly a criminal organization?
After all, they had only targeted powerful figures known for oppressing the common folk — those involved in illegal taxation and the slave trade.
As Hawk Hollows' name spread, dark clouds gathered in the sky as if summoned by the rumors themselves, and rain began to pour. Children hurried home with their parents, and merchants closed their doors to protect their goods from the downpour.
At that same time, Arthur, Jane, and the elderly General Luke convened inside the war camp attached to Aurelion's royal palace.
(Luke was a man who knew well how greedy and vile the kings, nobles, ministers, and power holders of both Aurelion and the Vareth Dominion could be. Long ago, he had abandoned the naïve belief in absolute justice and rank. He was the one who had trained both Arthur and Jane. His body was covered in scars from countless battles, and due to age, his strength had nearly faded.)
Outside the war camp, lightning cracked as heavy rain continued to fall. Lit by candles and magic-powered lanterns, Arthur spoke, his voice tight as if something weighed heavily on his chest.
"Jane, Master Luke… to be honest, the information on Hawk Hollows is extremely limited. Aside from the name Eryx Hollowmark and their assault division captain, Kael, we have nothing."
Jane stood in thought.
Luke, taking a slow drag from his leaf tobacco, spoke in a deep, heavy voice.
"I didn't train you to be this slow, boy. Not a single one of them has been captured. They leave no information, no trace whatsoever. That's obvious, isn't it?"
Arthur clenched his teeth and accepted his teacher's rebuke. Jane had clearly reached the same conclusion as Luke.
Luke continued.
"Which means they have an informant. There is an informant within the Kingdom of Aurelion. Now tell me — where is the easiest place to gather information?"
Arthur fell silent in thought. Jane's eyes sharpened.
"A tavern," she answered. "If it were inside the royal palace, they'd be caught immediately."
Luke slowly clapped his hands once, a cold smile forming as thunder roared outside.
"Exactly right, my girl. A place in the center of the capital, where one can observe Aurelion's movements and gather information from people… There's only one bar that fits."
He ran his finger across the capital's map and flicked ash from his tobacco.
Arthur followed his gesture. There truly was one viable location.
The Dead Rabbit.
Understanding dawned in Arthur's eyes.
"Master Luke, everyone in Aurelion knows you. So I will take this operation—"
Before he could finish, Jane cut in.
"I'll handle it."
Arthur turned in surprise. Jane circled the table and stepped closer to him, smiling faintly.
"You're a platinum-ranked knight. Plenty of people recognize you. If you go, the informant rat will grow suspicious. There may be other secrets we don't know about. As someone from a neighboring kingdom, I'll attract far less attention."
Arthur had no counterargument.
Luke took one final drag of his tobacco and crushed it directly over The Dead Rabbit's location on the map.
"Very well. We'll entrust it to Jane."
Arthur silently agreed.
Jane smiled coldly.
The operation was named: Operation Rat Hunt.
The next day, the sun rose over Aurelion's capital, the rain finally gone. The city was alive with movement. Suppliers unloaded goods. Shopkeepers opened their doors. Children ran through the streets laughing.
And Jane and Bonnie began Operation Rat Hunt.
Jane entered The Dead Rabbit with Bonnie, both dressed like ordinary citizens. The moment they stepped through the door, the thick scent of alcohol and lingering tobacco smoke wrapped around them. The tavern was packed with drunk patrons.
The straight, shameless stares of drunken men fell on the two girls. From among them, a bold middle-aged drunk named Rachel staggered forward, reeking of liquor.
"Thisss… these two pretty little girls… what are you doing here, huh?" he slurred with a laugh as he invaded their personal space and reached toward Bonnie.
Bonnie giggled lightly.
"Captain… no, Sister Jane, should I kill him?"
Jane shot her a cold glance. Bonnie understood and restrained herself, tolerating Rachel's behavior.
Rachel laughed even louder, his drunken eyes gleaming.
"Hey! This tiny girl's asking if she should kill me!"
The entire tavern burst into laughter.
Without imagining what would happen next, Rachel reached and grabbed Bonnie's backside.
In an instant, Bonnie moved.
With a single strike, she dislocated his jaw and knocked him unconscious.
Rachel's body hit the wooden floor of The Dead Rabbit with a heavy thud. The laughter died immediately. The drunken men stiffened as if sobered in an instant, averting their eyes and pretending to resume their conversations.
Jane shot Bonnie an irritated look.
Bonnie muttered under her breath, knowing she shouldn't have done it.
"He touched me first…"
Jane let out a quiet sigh and walked to the counter, sitting in front of the old barkeeper, Oliver.
Oliver wiped his glasses, put them back on, and said calmly,
"Well now, my two dangerous ladies, what can I get for you?"
"Something strong," Bonnie said with a grin.
Jane quickly covered Bonnie's mouth.
"Just two regular ales, please."
Oliver nodded and poured mild ale into two wooden mugs for them. Bonnie drank with visible disappointment. Jane took a small sip before addressing him.
"By the way, sir… Aurelion has been rather restless lately, hasn't it? It feels like some strange group appeared out of nowhere and left nothing but rumors among the people."
Oliver rolled a cigarette, lit it, and took a drag.
"Yes… many things have been happening in Aurelion lately, young lady. But you two aren't from around here, are you? I haven't seen your faces before. You look… new. Like fresh blood."
Bonnie, slightly affected by the ale, began brightly,
"We're from a neighboring king—"
Jane smoothly cut in.
"We couldn't survive in the neighboring kingdom anymore, so we moved here recently, sir."
Oliver raised a brow, exhaling smoke.
"Oh? From a neighboring kingdom?"
To avoid suspicion, Jane lowered her gaze.
"Yes. Our home burned down. Only my younger sister and I survived."
Oliver seemed to believe her.
"That's unfortunate… Though coming to Aurelion isn't much better. You two are about the same age as my granddaughters. Taxes are high here. People barely survive even after working themselves to exhaustion. The men you see here drink to escape their miserable lives. Don't become like them."
He glanced at the drunken men around them.
Bonnie quietly drank her ale, not interfering.
Jane spoke softly, pretending sympathy.
"You're very kind. But I've heard people talking a lot about a group called Hawk Hollows. What do you think about them?"
Oliver leaned forward carefully, lowering his voice so others wouldn't overhear.
"Yes, that group exists. I heard they killed three nobles. Personally, I support Hawk Hollows. They only target nobles who impose illegal taxes, deal in slave trade, and hunger for power. Especially that noble named Joshua—he was the worst of them. He loved the wine from this bar. We delivered it to his mansion many times. Not once did he pay. He even told us we should be grateful to serve a noble. A disgusting man."
The moment those words left his mouth, both Jane and Bonnie knew.
This man had direct ties to Hawk Hollows.
Jane let out a cold laugh.
Oliver froze. His hands trembled, sweat forming on his brow as he stepped back, realizing too late that he had spoken too much.
Jane's laughter faded. Her eyes turned icy.
In one swift motion, she plunged a poisoned dagger into Oliver's shoulder.
It wasn't a fatal wound, but blood sprayed as his body trembled and collapsed. Bottles of ale, wine, and whiskey crashed down with him, shattering across the floor. Liquor spilled everywhere.
The entire tavern stood up in shock, not understanding what had just happened.
Bonnie drew her blade, her eyes cold as a killer's.
"Don't do anything stupid."
Everyone froze.
Blood slowly spread across the floor, mixing with broken glass and spilled alcohol.
Though the poison was taking effect and his body was weakening, Oliver forced out a whisper:
"You said… you weren't from this kingdom… then why?"
Jane crouched down before him, looking down coldly.
"I didn't lie. I'm not from this kingdom. I am the Viper of the Vareth Dominion."
Everyone inside The Dead Rabbit froze in terror.
Viper Knight.
The name echoed silently in their minds.
Oliver finally lost consciousness.
Jane rose, satisfied like a predator that had captured its prey.
"Bonnie. Go inform Master Luke and Arthur. Tell them the rat has been caught."
Bonnie grinned.
"Understood, Captain Jane."
And she walked out
The cold night wind howled — as if someone were whispering, help me.
In the dungeon of Aurelion's palace, Oliver sat bound to a cold iron chair. His body had been brutally beaten, his face swollen and bruised. On the table beside him lay various instruments designed for torture.
In front of him stood Jane, Arthur, and Luke.
Luke greedily took a drag from his cigarette and blew the smoke into Oliver's face.
"Old man," he said flatly, "since we're both men who've lived long enough, I'll speak plainly. Tell us everything you know and cooperate with us. Do that, and we'll spare your life."
Jane and Arthur stood silently, watching. Of course, they both knew their teacher Luke was not a man who let anyone go so easily.
With effort, Oliver lifted his head, spat bloody saliva into Luke's face, and laughed.
"Both kingdoms are rotting from the same disease — 'those in power' who bleed their own people dry. Watching you defend those bastards makes me laugh. Even if I die, I won't say a single word about Hawk Hollows."
Arthur and Jane reached for their swords in anger, but Luke wiped his face and raised one hand. The room turned deathly cold.
"Jane. Arthur. Leave. I'll handle this from here."
His voice carried an unquestionable command.
Without wanting to think about what would happen next, Jane and Arthur nodded and left the dungeon.
Luke took another drag and pressed the burning cigarette against Oliver's bare chest. Oliver clenched his teeth and endured the pain.
"Brave old man, aren't you?" Luke muttered.
With a swift motion of his blade, four of Oliver's fingers were severed.
Oliver screamed in agony, tears streaming down his face. His cries echoed through the corridor, reaching even the guards outside — even Arthur and Jane could hear them.
Luke stood and stepped closer, grabbing Oliver by the throat and forcing him to look up.
"Changed your mind?"
Even with four fingers gone, Oliver did not yield. He did not open his mouth.
Luke laughed like a devil.
"If you can't speak… then you don't need a tongue, do you?"
He forced Oliver's mouth open and cut out his tongue.
In Luke's scarred hand lay Oliver's severed tongue. Blood soaked Luke's hand entirely.
Oliver struggled and screamed despite the unbearable pain. His eyes, already bruised and swollen, filled with tears once more.
As if calmer now, Luke lit another cigarette and spoke coldly.
"Oliver… I heard you have granddaughters."
Oliver froze. It felt as though his heart had stopped. Bound to the chair, his body trembled uncontrollably.
Noticing this, Luke leaned closer.
What a pity about your granddaughters. Because you, Oliver—their grandfather—failed to fulfill your duty as a citizen… when your granddaughters, Eva and Isabel, are forced to stand on the execution platform alongside you, I wonder what they would think of you," he whispered into his ear.
Oliver could do nothing but scream. Straining against his restraints, he thought desperately, No… not my poor granddaughters… they've done nothing wrong…
He remembered Eva's laughter.
Isabel holding his hand.
And he broke.
Luke stared at him with devilish eyes.
"Will you cooperate with us? If you do, I swear in God's name that no harm will come to your lovely granddaughters, Eva and Isabel."
Oliver's body still trembled. Forgive me… I had no choice… he prayed silently.
With hollow, defeated eyes, he looked at Luke and slowly nodded.
Luke smiled with satisfaction.
"Good. Well done, my brave Oliver."
He flicked his cigarette at Oliver and walked out of the dungeon.