Groaning in pain, a person finally winced despite being asleep. Finally, as if she were the victim of a nightmare, she suddenly sat up, and opened her eyes. Once she did, she breathed rapidly, while a film of sweat formed on her forehead.

Then inspecting the place where she was, she noticed that she was in a small room.

"Where… Where am I?"

" Wendy ! "

Immediately, turning her gaze, the young child saw Wave, sitting next to her on a chair. Having first jumped when the young girl had straightened up, the boy ended up smiling at her, before asking her.

"Are you okay?"

"W…Wave? But…where am I?"

"To the palace. " The boy told her. " They brought you back to the capital."

"The capital? But how...? How long have I been here?"

"We found you five days ago." The boy explained to her. "To be more precise, it was Seryu who brought you back to us. "

"Se… Seryu? But where is she? And what happened? And… and…?"

Suddenly grimacing from a pounding headache, the girl placed her hand on her forehead before Wave exclaimed.

"Lie down! You were in pretty bad shape when we found you! Not only had you taken some serious blows to the face, but the doctors also found that you were malnourished! How long has it been since you had a proper meal?"

Seeing him worry about her health, without showing the slightest hostility, Wendy could only be surprised to see that he still didn't seem to know that she was a Night Raid spy.

" Seryu didn't tell him anything? "

"Wendy… why did you leave like that?" Wave questioned. "Why did you decide to quit suddenly? I thought you liked being with us! The proof is that you came here yourself and protected Seryu from Night Raid."

"Protected?"

"Yes! Seryu explained everything to us! She was attacked by Night Raid and was about to be killed, until you arrived to help her! It's thanks to you that she was able to come back here alive."

" Wha… what is this lie? Did Seryu really tell them that to… protect me? "

"Where is she?" Wendy wanted to know.

"Seryu? Huh, when she came back carrying you on her back, she ended up losing consciousness! She was injured too! And she woke up yesterday, when we got back to the palace! That's how she explained everything to us! Unfortunately, Koro wasn't so lucky."

" Koro ? "

Pointing to a piece of furniture, Wave showed her an enormous jar filled with a scarlet red liquid in which a strange disc was bathed.

"This is his vital core! It's been damaged here and there! Normally, this bottle contains a regenerative liquid, but for the past five days, the core's condition hasn't improved at all."

"And Seryu? Where is she?"

"Huh...she left for town this morning and..."

Then jumping up, Wendy walked past the boy, before leaving the room.

" Hey, Wendy ! Wait … "

"Later! I'll be back, I promise."

Running like this, she headed towards her room which, to her great happiness, had remained intact. Rummaging through her wardrobe, she grabbed a few clothes which she quickly put on before leaving the room. Then running to go outside, the young girl had to stop abruptly, while a person was leaning against a wall and seemed to be waiting for her.

"Glad to see you back on your feet, Wendy."

Not knowing how to react, the child finally found the reflex to support the gaze of her worst nightmare.

" General Esdeath ! "

"Glad you remember your superior! Superior who was not at all happy to hear of your resignation."

" I … "

Then being grabbed by the neck, the young girl found herself lifted while Esdeath watched her gesture to free herself.

"Wendy... I admit I like your character! However, I don't appreciate deserters at all! You decided to resign of your own free will and that, I can't stand! I remind you all the same that you promised me a fight worthy of me! Is it because of that that you decided to flee? Are you more of a coward than I thought? "

Feeling her nails digging into the skin of her neck, Wendy found it increasingly difficult to breathe. Having no other choice, she ended up letting out a draft of air from the palm of her hand. Anticipating this, Esdeath had no trouble avoiding it, but had to let go of Wendy nonetheless. Falling on her butt, the child immediately brought her hand to her neck, while her attacker noticed.

"I see you still know how to fight, Wendy! That's good news."

Then suddenly she turned around and started to walk away.

"Resume your duty."

"Huh?" Wendy wondered.

"Normally, if I had found you myself, I would have fought you before taking you to the torture room to teach you how to desert your post! However, I seem to have understood that you saved Seryu of your own free will by fighting Night Raid! Therefore, … I am willing to forgive you this time! However, expect a huge reduction in your salary."

"But... then?"

Suddenly taking out Wendy's resignation letter, Esdeath presented it to the child, before tearing it up.

"You're a Jaeger, Wendy! And I, and I alone, decide who leaves the team and who doesn't! Never forget that! However, don't think I'm forgiving you for that! Regarding our fight, I told you that I would wait until the right time to beat you! However, from now on, I will make sure that you train much harder than usual! I will personally make sure to make you a great fighter! And I swear to you that I will enjoy breaking you."

Walking away again, she added.

"Go back to work immediately! You have a few weeks to catch up on."

Yet she stopped again, hearing Wendy scream.

"Thank you very much, General."

Glancing over her shoulder, Esdeath made Wendy bow behind her. Currently, Wendy wasn't overjoyed at having to rub shoulders with the general again. Nevertheless, she was giving her the opportunity to continue her spy mission. And besides, for Wendy, there was no way she was giving up on her goal of changing the empire.

If Seryu had finally understood the evil that was eating away at the latter, she wanted to do the same with the other jaegers, and show them who the true evil of the empire is.

Then straightening up, she ran at full speed towards the exit and left the palace.

Running at full speed through the city streets, Wendy had the greatest difficulty in continuing at this pace.

" But where did she go? "

Wendy had run to the church... then through the rich and working-class neighborhoods... before taking a tour of the Imperial Army barracks... to sum up, she had gone around all the places Seryu could have gone but no one seemed to have seen her.

"Where on earth did she go? After what just happened and losing Koro, it's not hard to tell that she must be feeling down! Usually, she always goes to her father's grave when she feels depressed! Where is she?"

Thinking again and again, the child finally has an illumination.

"Yes, there is still that person."

Finally stopping, Wendy found herself in the slums, in front of Niks' HQ. Still smoking a pipe, the man waved as soon as he saw her. Looking around, the child saw many other people bustling around her, without finding the one she was looking for.

"Huh, Niks-san…" she said, walking towards him.

"Over there." The man assured, pointing in a direction. "There's an old, half-ruined restaurant over there! That's where she decided to live."

"Thank you very much." Wendy said, continuing her run.

Then, a few minutes later, finding the restaurant in question, Wendy ended up letting herself fly into the air, with a current of air, before landing on the roof of the building. In no time, she could see Caruma, in front of her, with his back to her and sitting near the edge, busy comforting a person who had their head resting on his knees.

Immediately recognizing the second person, Wendy walked towards them before opening her mouth to announce her presence. However, as soon as she took a step, Caruma assured her.

"Glad to see you looking so good, Wendy.

"Huh… I… hello Caruma! And… Hello, Seryu."

Leaving her head on Caruma's lap, the young woman simply remained contemplating the city in front of her, without showing the fact of having heard the child speak to her. Not knowing anything by the fact if she was angry or rather happy to see her, Wendy approached cautiously before asking her.

"I… Can I sit down?"

Not looking at her again, Seryu remained unmoved. However, she eventually nodded her head in approval. Seeing her gesture, Wendy immediately took a seat not far from Caruma.

However, for a few minutes, there was no sound. Seryu lay there... Caruma only gently stroked her hair... and Wendy sat there and moved her fingers without really knowing what to say.

Then, finally, she showed courage, before asking.

"Seryu, do you hate me?"

Immediately, Caruma stopped her gesture, while Seryu didn't move an inch. But, this time she answered immediately.

"I have no idea! In fact, I don't even know who to love or hate anymore."

There was another silence, before Seryu asked.

"Wendy, is it true that Captain Ogre and Stylish were bad people?"

"Seryu, I swear to you on my life! After what you just found out about me, I can understand why you refuse to trust me but... I assure you I'm telling you the truth! Those people didn't like you as friends! They were with you because you were a perfect tool for them! Nothing more! And many other people have done the same thing."

"And you? Why did you stay with me? Did you want to use me?"

About to answer her immediately with a 'no', Wendy hesitated, before finally confessing.

"Yes! To be honest with you, when I asked you to take me on as an assistant, I was using you to get into the army more easily! And then, afterwards, I stayed for another reason."

" Which ? "

"I found out I wasn't the one who needed help! Seryu, you were the one who was suffering."

"I… was suffering?"

"Yes! You were hurting people, while thinking you were doing good! Therefore, I knew very well that you did not understand the behavior of scared people, towards you! That's why I decided to help you, in exchange for what you did for me."

"And do you regret having done it?"

"Why would I regret it? Seryu, you may not have noticed it yourself, but you've changed."

"Don't talk nonsense! Maybe deep down, I just like killing people."

"That's not true, Seryu! If that were the case, you would never have made so much effort to help the poor, after realizing that they were starving! And while helping them, I always saw you display a broad smile when you realized that you were doing good! Seryu, you were made to uphold justice! However, you came across bad people who influenced you on the path of evil."

"What about the others? Are the Jaegers bad or good?"

"They're different! Bols may have killed hundreds of people, but he did it to protect his family! Despite his crimes, he had a heart of gold! As for Run and Wave, I don't always know why they joined our team, but I know it's not for bad reasons! Just like you, they think they're doing good by staying with us! She's a little obsessed with her sister, because of her past, but the fact remains that Kurome has a good heart! If Bols were alive, I would have done anything to guide all five of you, to the ranks of Night Raid! We share the same goal."

"And what about the general?"

"Esdeath? Huh..., she knows what's going on and is partly responsible for the evil that is eating away at the empire."

"Is she using me too?"

"Huh… I… actually, even though she's bad, I think she really likes us."

Opining from the top, Seryu then ends up gloating gloomily, before remarking.

"I really have a knack for attracting all the wrong people."

Then hugging her to her chest, Caruma retorted.

"If it makes you feel better, I'm not a bad person! I love you just the way you are."

Hearing this, Seryu began to fix her gaze to see sincerity, while Wendy blushed somewhat, understanding the meaning of Caruma's words. Then looking at her neck, she noticed Seryu's scarf that Caruma now wore permanently, not going anywhere without it around her neck.

" That girl… could it be that… Seryu and her are…? "

Suddenly, footsteps were heard below. Running at full speed, a young woman wearing only a semblance of a white tunic seemed to be fleeing from danger. On her body, multiple cuts could be seen, while she was bleeding profusely.

"But what…?" Seryu wondered, finally raising her head.

"Lindy?" Caruma cried, seeming to recognize her.

Tired, the stranger finally collapsed to the ground. Seeing this, Wendy let herself fall from the roof and rushed to her aid. Beginning to heal her, she heard the person murmur.

"All bad guys… they want to kill us… bad food."

"Calm down! Let me heal you."

Arriving in turn, Seryu and Caruma left the restaurant to find themselves next to the two girls. Crouching down, Caruma shouted.

"Lindy! Where have you been? What happened to you? You've been missing for almost a week."

Seeming to recognize her, the so-called Lindy reached out to her and was able to grab her shoulder before pulling her towards her in order to tell her.

"They... they killed them all, all of them! They don't like us... they eat us."

"What? What are you talking about?"

"Storage area." Lindy mumbled, her eyes suddenly closing. "Warehouse 32!"

Letting her head fall to the ground, she lost consciousness. Trying to heal her as best she could, Wendy finally said.

"My magic won't be enough! We need to stitch up all of his wounds to prevent any more blood from coming out."

Then taking her in her arms, Seryu declared.

"We'll give her to Niks and the others! I'll give them some money so they can take her to see a doctor! We're going to the place she just mentioned! The storage district is where a large portion of the city's supplies are stored! It's spread across different warehouses except that 32 has been abandoned for a few years."

"What does this have to do with this woman?" Wendy wanted to know.

"The disappearances." Caruma said.

"The disappearances?"

"Yes! Do you remember what Niks told you when you came to us to find Kalgon? Hundreds of poor people have suddenly disappeared during these last months! For many, they just left the capital to find a better life elsewhere! But, for others, they were kidnapped for a certain reason! It's been over a week since Lindy disappeared and today, she appears here, injured! For me, it's not a coincidence."

"Someone is kidnapping these people... taking them to this abandoned warehouse...and killing them." Wendy understood.

Then turning to Seryu, she said.

"Seryu, I don't know if you still trust me but, once again, we are forced to fight together and..."

Patting her on the back, Seryu silenced her, before affirming.

"If it's about helping people, I'll forget who you really are! Besides, I already told you, right? I don't hate you."

At first surprised, Wendy couldn't help but feel immense gratitude.

" Thanks you, Seryu. "

"Ready to uphold true justice?" Seryu questioned, raising her arm in the air.

" When you want to. "

Poking her head over a low wall, Seryu stared at a large building in front of her.

"It's here! This is warehouse 32."

Staring at him in turn, Wendy immediately grimaced.

"I confirm! It smells like blood."

"There may be armed people inside! Let's be careful! Oh, and one last thing."

Turning then, she looked at the third person who made up their trio.

"What are you doing here, Caruma?"

"I came to help you, of course." The young woman assured. "You don't have Koro with you anymore."

Suddenly shaking her arms, she pulled two daggers out of her sleeves, before twirling them with her fingers.

"Let me assist you."

"I thought you told me you couldn't fight."

"I said I never hurt people during my flights! It's not the same thing! And besides, I know a passage that will allow us to enter without being spotted."

And without waiting for the other two girls' advice, she began to go around the entire warehouse. Finding herself at the back of the latter, she then climbed a gutter to find herself at the height of an air vent. Opening it without problem, she then slipped inside, before signaling to the duo to follow her.

"She would make a perfect ninja." Wedny affirmed.

"I wonder what she did before to know about this passage." Seryu sighed. "How many flights has she made in her life?"

Aided by a wind from Wendy, she was propelled towards the air vent, before Wendy in front. Crawling like this in the ducts, the three girls continued their progression, while remaining discreet. However, after a while, Seryu bumped into Caruma who had suddenly stopped.

"Hey, what are you doing?"

"That's strange! There's no noise! If someone was really holding people here, we'd at least hear something."

Placing her hands in front of her nose, Wendy retorted.

"No, something is really going on here! It smells more and more like blood! It's disgusting."

So resuming their path, the three girls finally arrived at the end of the air duct and faced a grid. Removing it, without making the slightest noise, Caruma was the first to inspect the dark room in front of her.

"Nothing in sight," she assured, jumping out of the vent.

"Let's stay focused!" Seryu cried, imitating her. "Koro, number…"

Suddenly shaking her head, she wondered.

"What am I talking about? Koro isn't even here."

Landing near the two girls with more difficulty, Wendy grimaced in disgust as the smell grew even stronger.

"We are close."

Feeling a slight icy wind, Seryu wanted to know.

"Is it normal that it's so cold here?"

"We may be in a cold room."

"In a building like this, the air conditioning should have been turned off a long time ago."

Groping along the wall, Caruma walked along it until her fingers touched a switch. Immediately praying to god that the electricity was still present, she pressed it, only to immediately start screaming in choice as the room lit up.

Yet, in just a second, his smile disappeared, while his gaze showed only astonishment and disgust, like Wendy's. Walking, for her part, towards the center of the room, Seryu inspected the latter before asking.

"What's this joke? What happened here?"

Human corpses. Hundreds of them. Lying on tables or hanging from hooks, all had their limbs and heads cut off, while only their abdomens were hanging, like cattle at the slaughterhouse.

"What…? What…?" Wendy wondered, feeling like she was seeing what she had experienced in Aria's mansion again. " What is all this? "

Silently, Caruma then advanced towards a barrel filled with decapitated heads. Despite the disgust that this scene could offer, she ended up grabbing one of them, before feeling a tear run down her cheek.

" Yoku ! Sazuko ! Amiry ! "

Caruma knew it now. All the destitute people who had disappeared in the last few months didn't leave the capital to find a better life elsewhere. They were all killed here.

Realizing this, the young girl eventually fell to her knees on the ground, and began to sob over the deaths of several people she had known over the years.

"Caruma…" Wendy said, taking a step towards her.

Suddenly walking, Seryu passed her before standing in front of Caruma. Grabbing her arms, she forced the young woman to stand up, before telling her.

"We don't have time to cry, Caruma! We have to help others."

"The... The others?"

"Yes! There may be survivors, locked up somewhere, in this warehouse! We must find them at all costs."

Gritting his teeth, Caruma shook his head "no," before saying.

"I don't want to go any further! I can't go on! I... I don't want to see the corpses of my other friends."

Immediately, both of Seryu's hands were placed on Caruma's cheeks, and forced her gaze to move towards her.

"What's this 'I can't go on' ? Are you a fighter, yes or no? You survived our assault on this fortress and you even had the nerve to help me! You came to us to ask for help, at your own risk, to then help us fight Kalgon! You've been committing numerous thefts for years while risking ending up in prison, making the army your worst enemy! And now you want to give up? Caruma, don't be ridiculous! If one of your friends is again alive, you have to help us find them."

Continuing to sob, Caruma finally nodded. But Seryu barely had time to release her when a voice affirmed.

"Unfortunately, a purge was carried out this very morning! Too bad for you, but you are late."

The three girls immediately turned towards a figure that was advancing towards them, accompanied by a good number of bodyguards and others, armed to the teeth. Continuing to advance, he easily revealed his identity, which had no other result than to surprise the three girls.

" You ? "

"Seryu and Wendy of the Jaegers, it's been a while." The newcomer snickered. "And the third one has a face that looks familiar to me! Oh yeah, probably one of those poor little penniless people I was kind enough to feed! Ha ha, what a joke."

" Dodoria ! " Shouted Wendy.

"Yes, it's me." The nobleman sneered. "The good 'Samaritan', always ready to spend his money to give food to the poor! Or, at least, to coax them and make them come here."

"This… this is a joke, right? " Seryu questioned, a goofy smile on her face. "Dodoria-san! The only reason I asked you for help was to feed the poor people! So why?"

"Actually, it's very simple." The nobleman said, keeping his smile. "You see, we nobles are disgusted by one race of humans: the poor people! We rich people represent the perfect man, while all these vermin who live in the macabre streets of life only represent the inferior race. All the humans who shouldn't even exist! Therefore, some of the great nobles are ready to do anything to live in a city where this vermin is exterminated! Do you see where I'm going with this?"

Seeing the three girls remain silent, he burst out laughing.

"Are you stupid or what? It's easy to understand! The great nobles of the city are offering me a lot of money to kill all these people! And to get them to come here, I only have to make them swallow small amounts of drugs, put in their food, which hypnotizes them little by little! When they enter here, none of them suspects that they are entering my slaughterhouse!

"But why here?" Wendy asked. "Why store all these bodies here? Killing them outside the capital would be more discreet, wouldn't it?"

"Yes, maybe! But you know, I hate one thing: spending my money for the poor people! There was no way I was going to buy food for them."

"What?" Seryu wondered. "And all that meat in your pots, where did it come from?"

Her eyes then widened, she looked all around her, to see the corpses surrounding her.

"The meat... was it the corpses of those people?"

Hearing this, Caruma immediately clapped her hands over her mouth, before freezing in horror. Seeing her gesture, Dodoria asked her.

"What's the matter? Until proven otherwise, you seemed to enjoy yourself every time a meal was given to you! At least it proved that you loved your friends very much... to the point of devouring them."

Then, trembling with fear, Caruma stammered.

"I… I ate… my friends?"

"Yes! That's exactly it."

Remembering his reaction when she tasted one of the dishes, Wendy could only clench her fist as she realized he was telling the truth.

" This man... he's a monster! "

"At least look on the bright side! Thanks to their 'sacrifice', all these people were able to at least bring you a moment of comfort by filling your stomachs! Their pitiful lives will at least have had a minimum of meaning."

Then going from fear to anger, Caruma's face was transformed by rage. Taking her two daggers, she sprinted towards Dododria with only the desire to kill him.

"You're gonna pay for this! I'm gonna kill you."

"Ridiculous!" Dodoria said, snapping his fingers.

Immediately, two men stepped forward and pointed their guns at Caruma. Blinded by anger, the young beggar didn't see them until they fired.

" Huh ? "

" Caruma ! " Shouted Wendy.

Striking their targets, the bullets sank into a body. However, instead of hitting flesh. They only ricocheted off metal.

Recoiling in fear, Caruma saw Seryu right in front of her, her arms outstretched, using them as shields to protect herself from the bullets.

" Seryu ? "

Gritting her teeth to the point of cracking them, Seryu could only remember the few bowls of food that Dodoria had offered her and that she had eaten with the greatest pleasure. Without wanting to, she herself had eaten human meat. And that, she could never have forgiven Dodoria. Truth be told, she was furious at the noble because of his betrayal. However, what came out of her mouth was the following sentence.

"Whoever touches Caruma, I will slaughter him."

"Haha! And what do you think you can do against us? You may be part of the Jaegers, but the fact remains that you lost your teigu while your girlfriend doesn't even have one! You won't be able to compete with my men!

"Having a teigu or not makes no difference."

Everyone then looked at Wendy who walked towards Dodoria, as her hair turned pink.

"Feelings... emotions... willpower... courage... one's friends... that's what really wins a fight."

Immediately, a terrible gust of wind was felt throughout the room, making the hooks swing and Dodoria's men retreat.

"Justice or no justice, I will make you pay for your crimes! Are you ready, Seryu?"

Then taking out two firearms, the young woman affirmed.

"Whenever you want."