Dragon Empire,
Kankaar Faction Meeting Hall,
There were only two people there to begin with.
The whole hall was otherwise empty.
An old man—though not truly a man, rather an alien male—and another young-looking male with a cold demeanor.
The old man was Germio, and the younger one was Wedgermio.
[Germio]: By my informer's report, I have learned that Immortalus Society intends to meddle in our war against Gem Faction.
Wedgermio still maintained his calm demeanor.
[Wedgermio]: I alone am attending this meeting, does that mean I must execute the team they send?
[Germio]: No. According to the informer, the team itself is not a great threat. However, if we kill them, there is a high possibility that the Leader of the Society himself will make a move, or even worse, he may order the Legendary General of Immortalus Society, Gomo Taka, to annihilate us all.
[Wedgermio]: Now this meeting makes much more sense.
[Germio]: Your mission is to abduct the captain of their team and hide them until the war ends.
[Wedgermio]: Who is their leader, and where are they currently?
[Germio]: Their whereabouts are unknown. They will likely disguise themselves as one of us. However, finding them itself should not be difficult. As for their leader, the informer confirmed it to be a human female, perhaps.
[Wedgermio]: I see. In that case, I shall not waste my time. I am alerting a curfew.
[Germio]: What?! How will that help?
[Wedgermio]: Do not concern yourself with that. I will handle matters at my own pace.
Saying that, Wedgermio disappeared.
"That boy will surely create problems for us."
Those were Germio's thoughts.
Meanwhile, Pratik, Kel, Grimori, Lila, and Mala had already disguised themselves as native aliens and were roaming around as though this were some sort of picnic.
They were currently roaming within Gem Society territory.
Gem Society was where the supporters of Gem Faction lived.
More specifically, they were inside a city situated close to Kankaar Society.
This is interesting.
The culture and knowledge these aliens share...
I am quite intrigued by it.
About our mission?
From the information we gathered—well, Grimori and Kel were the ones who worked hard for it—Gem Society is supposedly good while Kankaar Society is bad.
I mean, Grimori and Kel's explanations were way too complex for me to understand properly, so what I concluded was simple:
Gem Society good.
Kankaar Society sinful.
I am a simple-minded person.
I avoid dwelling too deeply into unnecessary things.
I am quite generous like that, right?
Meanwhile, Mala and Lila were idiots.
They were just shopping, shopping, and shopping.
What do they think we are doing here?
Picnic?
We are on a mission.
And before anyone accuses me of anything, I worked hard too.
I just don't remember exactly what I did.
I was the one following Mala and Lila during their shopping trips so they wouldn't create trouble.
Also, I was the one listening to all the information Grimori and Kel gathered.
I am basically the captain of this team.
I deserve proper respect.
ANNOUNCEMENT: CITY 156 OF KANKAAR SOCIETY HAS BEEN PLACED UNDER CURFEW.
With that announcement, our whole team gathered near the center of the market.
We held our meeting inside the clock tower located there.
[Pratik]: Hey, you lis—
[Mala]: Hey, did you hear that announcement?! We should speed up our movements!
This girl never misses a chance to get on my nerves.
She interrupted me while I was about to say the exact same thing.
[Kel]: Could this be a trap?
[Grimori]: I suppose you are right.
Once again, Mala was left embarrassed as everyone disagreed with her.
Thank god I never completed my sentence.
Well, she looked genuinely angry now.
Can't really blame her though.
Kids tend to throw tantrums when things do not go their way.
[Mala]: FINE! I WILL GO MYSELF! YOU GUYS NEVER AGREE WITH ME!
Saying that, she jumped away.
Wait!
Oh shit!
She is absolutely at fault this time.
No one would agree with her on this.
It was obviously an enemy trap.
Even an idiot could understand that.
Stop!
We immediately started chasing after her.
None of us even realized we had crossed the borders.
The curfew was real, and there were barely any guards patrolling near the border, so trespassing became surprisingly easy.
But WHEN THE HELL DID MALA GET SO FAST?!!
She was the slowest member of the team.
Well, maybe I was slower, but that doesn't matter.
The gap between our speeds was huge.
Meanwhile, Speed Gap:-
Kel: 1.2 MACH
Lila: 1.15 MACH
Grimori: 1 MACH
Mala: 0.98 MACH
Pratik: 0.6 MACH
We had entered Kankaar Society's City 156.
Ah finally—
Wait, no.
Suddenly we bumped into a stranger.
He looked like a weird guy, but something about him made me deeply uneasy.
"Who are you people, and what are you doing here? Haven't you heard about the curfew?"
He asked.
Grimori and Kel immediately tensed up.
[Lila]: Oh, we heard it, but... we were just trying to catch our friend, you see. She has a bad habit of running around even during curfews.
Lila said while secretly pinching Mala's hand.
"I see. What is her name?"
The man asked.
[Mala]: My name is Malaemio.
Ah yes.
Thank god.
According to the information Grimori brought, the names of males from Kankaar Society end with "mio" while female names end with "emio".
I had completely forgotten about that.
Thank god Mala remembered.
Who would've thought such a reckless girl would remember such a crucial detail?
"Where did you watch the announcement?"
The man asked again.
[Lila]: It was telecasted through hologram projections, right?
My heart was beating faster.
This was a dangerous situation.
I hoped this would work.
"My name is Wedgermio."
Said the man.
He looked at all of us before letting out a sigh.
[Wedgermio]: I see. You all belong to the team Immortalus Society has sent.
All of us froze in shock.
Grimori and Kel instantly drew their sword and mage stick.
He... he found us.
Wait, does that mean he was already hunting us?
He even knows we are from Immortalus Society.
So the information regarding our mission was leaked?
What exactly is happening?
[Kel]: Binding Lights!
[Lila]: Rope of Purity!
[Pratik]: Shadow Gutte—
We launched our attacks simultaneously toward him however—
[Wedgermio]: Range Shiftling, Power Reversal.
All of our attacks were redirected back at us.
Kel's eyes started bleeding badly.
I could see the intense pain on his face.
Thankfully, he had not used his full power.
That saved his life.
Grimori too had been using lower output, so although he suffered severe wounds, he survived.
Lila ended up tied by her own ropes.
Since Rope of Purity nullifies Sorcery techniques, she could neither use techniques nor move her body properly.
She received the least damage among us.
Mala, however, suffered the worst.
She was bleeding from nearly her entire body.
Her ribs were definitely broken.
I... I can't watch this anymore.
I am fine.
My technique...
I... am perfectly fine.
The technique I used was meant to stop enemies from escaping, so its reversal simply trapped me in place instead.
Shadow Gutter slowly worked like quicksand around my body.
The technique that man used—Range Shiftling, also known as Range Shifting—is a technique used by sorcerers on Earth.
Mostly elite sorcerers use it.
It is a special technique capable of increasing the range of attacks and abilities.
However, with modifications, it can function as a completely separate technique as well.
It isn't merely a range amplifier.
Mala lost consciousness.
I can't leave her.
That damn monster is walking toward her.
[Pratik]: Stop it! Face me! You damn coward! I am here!
But my words meant nothing to him.
He remained calm and simply picked Mala up as though she were not even alive.
That angered me beyond limits.
Using all my strength, I broke free from my own technique and rushed toward him.
[Wedgermio]: Range Shiftling, Slashes.
Hundreds upon hundreds of slashes tore through my body.
But I didn't care.
I needed to save her.
She may be stupid, but she is still our teammate.
Our friend.
I can't allow this.
This hurts.
It hurts so badly.
My consciousness started fading, and I collapsed onto the ground.
My entire body was covered in blood.
[Wedgermio]: Witness your weakness. Let this serve as a lesson. You may reclaim her only when you become capable of doing so.
Saying that, he disappeared along with Mala.
My eyelids grew heavier and heavier.
Soon, I fell asleep.