Night arrived.
The slums grew quieter, but the gambling den stayed alive.
Light still spilled from its windows. Voices still echoed inside like laughter, shouting, coins clinking against tables.
Like nothing was about to end.
I activated my eyes again.
Mana filled my vision.
I focused.
"The number of guards is the same," I whispered. "No change from this afternoon."
Spiro nodded.
We were already in position.
Agni and Pritha waited near the front, hidden in the shadows of broken walls and stacked crates.
Spiro stood with Theo and me in a narrow alley across the street.
Robert and Margaretha were already gone.
On the roof.
"Remember," Spiro said quietly.
"No witnesses."
His eyes moved between us.
"If they see your face… they die."
"I understand," Theo replied.
I nodded.
The cold air brushed against my face.
Then…
Fire.
Flames burst from the first-floor windows.
Glass shattered.
Screams followed immediately.
The heat spread outward, pushing against the night.
"That's the signal," Spiro said.
I moved.
My body climbed the wall before my thoughts caught up.
Hands gripping stone.
Feet pushing upward.
Fast.
Quiet.
An open window appeared.
I slipped inside.
A guard turned the corner.
He froze.
His eyes widened when he saw me.
"A… a kid…?"
"Who are…"
I didn't let him finish.
Mana gathered in my legs and arms.
One step.
One swing.
His head separated cleanly.
The body dropped.
Blood spread across the floor.
Warm.
I stepped over it.
Voices approached.
Three guards.
"What's happening?!"
"The first floor is on fire!"
"Who attacked…"
They turned the corner.
They saw the body.
"What…"
"Oh gods…"
"Let's run…"
I moved first.
From behind the window.
My sword pierced the chest of the closest guard.
He choked.
Blood filled his mouth.
The second guard jumped back.
The third froze.
Too slow.
The second guard charged.
Reckless.
Panicked.
His blade swung wide.
I stepped aside.
My sword entered his stomach.
He gasped.
His body collapsed slowly.
I pulled the blade out.
Then, I turned to the last one.
He wasn't attacking.
His sword fell from his hand.
It hit the ground with a dull sound.
He dropped to his knees.
"Please…"
His voice trembled.
"I… I don't want to die…"
I stopped.
My sword hovered in the air.
He looked at me.
Really looked.
And his expression changed.
Confusion.
Fear.
"Y-you're just a child…"
His voice broke.
"My daughter… he's your age…"
My grip tightened.
But I didn't move.
"I only work here," he continued desperately.
"I don't hurt anyone… I just guard…"
Tears ran down his face.
"Please… I have a family…"
His words slowed.
Shaking.
"My daughter… she's sick…"
"I need the money…"
Something inside my chest shifted.
For a moment…
I saw something else.
Blood.
Fire.
Screams.
My brother is standing in front of me.
The knight's blade.
The sound it made when it cut through flesh.
Warm blood on my face.
"Run…"
That voice.
Frans' voice.
"Live…"
My breathing stopped.
The guard's voice brought me back.
"Please… don't…"
My arm moved.
Faster than my thoughts.
The sword swung.
His head fell.
Silence.
Only the fire remained.
I stood there.
Looking at the body.
At the blood.
At the face that was still… afraid.
My chest felt tight.
Uncomfortable.
Why?
He was an enemy.
He would have killed me.
That's what I told myself.
That's what Spiro taught us.
No witnesses.
No hesitation.
If I hesitate…
I die.
If I hesitate…
My friends die.
I looked away.
And moved.
***
The second floor was chaos.
Gamblers ran in every direction.
Some screamed.
Some cried.
Some tried to fight.
Most just wanted to escape.
I didn't stop.
Anyone who saw me…
Died.
A man grabbed my arm, begging.
I stabbed him.
A woman screamed when she saw my face.
I cut her down.
A boy tried to run past me.
I hesitated…
For half a second.
Then I moved.
My sword pierced his back.
He fell forward.
Didn't move again.
My chest tightened again.
But my body kept going.
Forward.
Always forward.
This is the mission.
This is survival.
This is…
Necessary.
That's what I repeated.
Again.
And again.
Until the voices stopped meaning anything.
***
I met Spiro and Theo in a wide corridor near the stairs.
Theo's clothes were stained with blood.
His expression was different.
Quiet.
Too quiet.
Spiro looked at us.
"Any witnesses?"
"No," Theo answered.
"No," I said.
Spiro nodded.
"Good."
He turned toward the stairs.
"Let's go. We assist Robert and Margaretha."
We followed.
Theo didn't say anything.
He usually would.
A joke.
A complaint.
Something.
But now…
Nothing.
The stairs creaked under our steps.
The air grew hotter as we climbed.
The fire below was spreading.
Fast.
When we reached the third floor…
Two corpses greeted us.
Guards.
Already dead.
The room ahead was a mess.
Broken furniture.
Scattered coins.
Blood on the floor.
At the center…
Robert and Margaretha fought the last guard.
A large man.
Heavy and slow.
His body was covered in wounds.
Margaretha's wind blades had cut deep into his skin.
Robert stood in front of him.
Blocking.
Striking.
Relentless.
Behind them…
Two men hid behind a desk.
The leaders.
Shaking.
Useless.
"Rick," Spiro said.
"Finish it."
I moved.
"Robert!" I shouted.
"Move!"
Robert lowered his body instantly.
The opening appeared.
I stepped in.
My greatsword drove forward.
It pierced the guard's stomach.
Deep.
I pulled back immediately.
Margaretha moved at the same time.
Her body spun.
Wind gathered around her leg.
She kicked the sword's handle with full force.
The blade drove deeper.
The guard screamed.
Blood burst from his mouth.
His body trembled…
Then collapsed.
Silence.
Theo's voice broke it.
"Hey. Help me carry this."
I turned.
Nine large bags.
Coins.
Spilling slightly from the open tops.
One of the leaders was opening the safe.
The other…
Was already dead.
Headless.
The last leader looked at Spiro.
"I opened the safe! So spare…"
His sentence ended.
His head fell.
Spiro lowered his blade.
Cold.
Unchanging.
"Robert, take three bags," Spiro said.
"Theo, Rick, Margaretha. two each."
He turned slightly.
"I'll check the documents."
He picked up several books.
"Leave now."
"Wait at the escape point."
"Fifteen minutes."
The heat was rising quickly now.
We moved.
Fast.
Down the stairs.
Through the burning building.
Out into the night.
***
We regrouped at the escape point.
Agni and Pritha were already there.
Waiting.
The gambling den was now fully engulfed in flames.
People shouted.
Buckets of water were thrown uselessly against the fire.
Smoke filled the sky.
Theo dropped his bags.
"Good distraction," he said.
Agni grinned.
"Told you."
We waited.
Not long.
Spiro appeared from the shadows.
Four books in his hand.
Untouched by fire.
He looked at the burning building.
Then at us.
"Good harvest," he said.
I turned away.
But the smell of blood…
And the sound of that man's voice…
Didn't leave.
Not even when we walked into the dark.