Lakyus exited the tavern mentally exhausted. Blue Rose had just spent several hours playing the most serious game of twenty questions this world had ever seen, and while it got them answers it was downright frustrating to not receive something more straightforward. Delta only seemed willing or able to write things in that strange code when prompted, and Evileye's attempt to Message Delta returned some indecipherable gibberish.

Evileye attempted to decipher the code from before as giving Delta the real life equivalent of cheating. She also deduced that 'ct' in the second command represented Delta to some extent, though the idea that a resurrection switch could simply be flipped for any given being was quite concerning. It was as if he had his own brand of magic that could alter the world as he desired.

As far as his existence went, it was clear he wasn't human. Evileye had confirmed it before, yet Delta seemed to deny it. It was entirely possible he didn't know the answer himself, though he wasn't exactly in a position where he could prove his case either.

The scariest thing that had come out of all of this was that Delta could resurrect a seemingly infinite number of times with zero repercussions. He would seemingly live forever, consigned to the fate of the gods. This led to Delta waving off his death as no big deal.

Delta was also able to amass a veritable treasure trove of weapons; When asked for one, it simply appeared in front of him, clattering onto the table. The repercussions of something that not only had infinite lives but could produce infinite objects of war was terrifying, and the more Lakyus thought about it the less she wanted to do with him.

Still, Blue Rose was in what was possibly a world-changing position here. If they didn't try to rope him in, it would only be a matter of time before he was employed in less… tasteful lines of work. Eight Fingers or Slane at worst, another adventurer's party at best. Even then, he would likely transcend the ranks given his immortality. At least here he would have Evileye to keep him company. Lakyus was human, but she would certainly fear the solace that such a life would bring to him.

With that in mind, they had extended an invitation to the man. Delta happily obliged, spinning around in his seat until he was a blur.

Something that also concerned Lakyus was Delta's ascension through the ranks. While it was true that Delta's rank from the beginning would have easily been on par with a Mythril or even Orichalum, Lakyus worried that Delta would grow tired of questing. It wasn't hard to imagine Delta's weapons falling into the wrong hands and dealing their signature brand of devastation on the other side of the battle. For someone who quite literally transcended mortal issues of life and death, Lakyus was terrified that his seeming lack of attachments could lead to a switch quite easily.

She resolved to fix that by showing Delta the wonders and great things the morally right had to offer. At the least, Delta questing with Blue Rose would make him slowly grow attached to them, and initiating him into the group served to strengthen those bonds.

The conversation had wound up turning into a debriefing about Eight Fingers and their general existence within Re-Estize, though more importantly within E-Rantel. Blue Rose had been running around the Re-Estize kingdom for a while now attempting to drive them out to no avail.

With the help of the third princess they had even managed to locate a few more hideouts and black dust farms, which was where they intended on testing Delta's mettle in an undercover operation. He said he was good with stealth and proved it with completely silent footsteps.

It had taken them most of the night to clear everything up, so Blue Rose was headed to the inn they were staying at to get some well deserved rest. Delta refrained; Lakyus assumed he had some stuff to grab from his current residence. They agreed to meet up next evening to plan out their first raid with the expanded team.


Lance had a bit of a problem.

Cocoa Doll had been getting greedier with his branch of Eight Fingers, asking for more and more slaves regardless of circumstance. The issue became less of finding someone who wouldn't be missed and more of finding someone Lance could actually win an engagement against. The numbers were high, sure, but Lance innately knew one day he'd pick a fight with someone he would miserably underestimate.

For now though, Lance was on the prowl to keep his family happy and healthy. Nighttime was the best to find and catch the weary and unsuspecting, trudging home from work to families and loved ones.

It was here in the darkened alleyways that he would lie in wait. If he acted in just the right way, looking like just another man with purpose in his stride, he could easily take down or at least surprise most without a fuss.

Found one.

An average sized man was running in quite the hurry down Lance's alley of choice. The shadows covered his body, the silhouette only betraying a sliver of information to the experienced trafficker. The size, gait, speed… if this catch went well he'd likely be eating good for the next few weeks.

He started walking in the opposite direction of the man, fake purpose infecting his walk. Lance played this game so many times the actions came as easy as breathing.

As soon as Lance had entered the man's blind spot he put an arm around their throat and murmured sweet threats into their ears, as was protocol. Lance found it odd how easily the man gave up, but wound up attributing it to a simple case of shock. Even if Lance couldn't place the clothing the man wore, it was likely some noble fashion trend that cost exorbitant amounts of money. He probably had never even worn anything worth less than a gold in his entire life.

Lance snorted. He'd learn quickly. They all do.

Usually the rich tended to beg or threaten their way into Lance's bad side, but this man was different. He didn't even try to let out a peep or a whimper, simply breathing as if that was all he could do. His chest rose and fell in a natural, slow rhythm, as if he was still out on his nightly run.

Lance didn't like that.

He got an eyeful of his catch under the dim lights of the hideout after clearing with the guards. While his fingers registered the man's cloth as something different and unique, it was clear he underestimated just how unique. Mirrors for eyes shaped in ways he had never seen, cloth and other unknown textures dotting the man's clothing in mesmerizing fashion. Only a patch of his worn hands were visible under all of that attire.

Lance stripped the man of his knife and other valuables he had on him, including a variety of metal items that looked pretty pricey. A good catch all in all, Lance figured. The best he's had in a while.

The man received a slave collar for his troubles and was thrown in the cage with the rest of the newly captured and awaiting transfer. The hideout they were located in at present was just a single entry point in the vast underground network dominating Re-Estize. It would likely be a long time until that man saw the light of day again.

Unlike his feelings towards the majority of commoners he had captured, he felt no remorse for the man. Why should he? Nobles are the people who made the rules. If they wanted their family back, they'd have to pay for it like the rest of them.

Not that he really cared about any of them at the end of the day. He would probably never see these faces again in his entire life. Re-Estize was big, but the trafficking market spanned the world. They could end up in some demihuman kingdom for all he cared.

Lance closed the door with a loud bang, disturbing whatever meager amounts of sleep the slaves had been attempting to get before their departure tomorrow morning. Better for them to be sleep-deprived and without reason during the transfer after all. Nothing personally against them, but cooperative slaves were a much nicer lot to handle.

He headed back out into the night to try to see who else he could catch. There was still enough night left to grab a few more.


Finn was sleepy.

He traced the markings in the stone floor with a pout. The man who brought them here was very nice and said they could go on an adventure if they followed him! But now they had to wait, he said. Other people wanted to go on adventures too, so he had to get everyone before they could go.

Finn hoped his friends would come too. He had never been on adventure before and wanted his friends to have fun with him.

He scrambled to the metal bars as the door squeaked open to see who was coming in. The man said the bars were there so he could organize everyone better. He liked touching the cold bars and warming them up with his hands.

The adventurer man came back and brought in a big guy!

The big guy got put in the same room as him. He looked scary, but if he was in the same room as them he couldn't be bad.

Big Guy looked around everywhere. Finn could tell he was excited too. He had big eyes and moved his hands like a zombie! Finn tried to copy him, spinning around with his hands out.

Mom pulled him close. Finn wanted to talk to Big Guy but she said no. Finn would have argued with her but the room was quiet. He shouldn't speak in quiet rooms because that meant he was supposed to be quiet.

Finn didn't know why Mom was sad. They were going on an adventure soon! They had never been outside of the city so it was going to be a lot of fun!

She stroked his hair and he giggled. He liked getting pets like a dog. He wanted a dog but Mom said no to that too. She was no fun.

Big Guy was looking at the door a lot. Finn wondered what made Big Guy so interested in the door. It was a cool door, sure, but it wasn't that cool. The coolest doors were the ones that had all the cool art on them, like the ones at the church. He swelled in pride as he remembered the cool door.

Suddenly Big Guy pulled out something from thin air! It was a long stick of metal. It looked heavy, but Big Guy made it look like a feather. Was Big Guy a magician?!

Big Guy glanced at Finn, pointing the stick at him as if showing off. Finn pouted. He wanted a magic stick too.

To Finn's amazement, Big Guy pulled out another stick! This one wasn't as cool though. It was smaller than the other one.

Big Guy looked back at the door for a long time while Finn stayed with Mom. Maybe if Finn was a good boy he'd get a magic stick too!

As Finn was going to snuggle in to get some sleep Big Guy's stick made a loud sound! It hurt his ears a little bit. Finn glared at the man. Only rude people would be loud without warning.

Big Guy opened the door out of the metal bars too! That was dis-res-pect-ful! The adventurer man had planned everything and Big Guy was gonna ruin it!

Finn would've shown Big Guy a piece of his mind but he didn't want to leave the room too. He was responsible, after all. He'd show them!

Mom pulled Finn in tighter. Finn didn't know why. Maybe she wanted him to sleep. He wanted to watch Big Guy though! Big Guy was gonna be in soo much trouble when the adventurer guy finds out!

Finn decided he should sleep after all. Sleep makes time go fast, and then he could go on the adventure that much quicker!

Mom said Finn was a heavy sleeper. He didn't really know what that meant, but it probably meant he was really good at sleeping. Finn thought he should do sleeping competitions. Oh! And the prize pool could be a dog!


Lakyus would've gagged at the mess in front of her if not for her years of adventuring. She had seen some pretty gruesome stuff, but this easily cleared her top five worst.

Delta was absolutely covered in human. Bits and pieces of people clung to him, coagulating and sticking. Dried blood hugged his frame like a second skin.

"Delta." Lakyus vainly tried rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. "What did you do in the eight hours we haven't seen you?"

"Bad guy down." was his response.

Breathe in.

Hold.

Breath out.

"Alright, who's turn is it to babysit Delta?" Lakyus gave up and turned to the rest of Blue Rose.

"Lakyus-"

"-Because I swear to god-"

"Lakyus…"

"-we need to actually schedule this-"

"Lakyus!" Gagaran shook Laykus out of her mumbling rant.

"What!" She shouted back.

Gagaran pointed at the empty spot where Delta had been standing. "He's already gone."

"Oh for fuck's sake." Lakyus responded, completely giving up on retaining any dignity while dealing with the bastard.


A/N: mp_drop_knife_enable 1 is on for those of you wondering.

I've unfortunately done all I had really intended on doing with this story. I'm going to put a pause on it for now, though I intend on coming back when I come up with more ideas and motivation.

Thanks to Warp Spawn for catching the oversight of Laykus knowing what guns are via Azuth in chapter 5; I've corrected it.