Rumina stared at the wall for a second. Then, she let out a harsh, rasping laugh.
"Those sons of bitches."
She stood up, kicking the chair back.
"Those cowardly, festering little cockroaches," she spat, the vulgarity sounding jarring coming from royal lips. "They play at summoning gods, but they run like rats the moment the light turns on. I should have gutted them slowly."
She paced the room, her mana leaking out in agitated spikes that made the air heavy.
"Did you find anything of value? Or did I come all this way for a pile of headless corpses?"
"We found victims," Samantha said quietly. "In the basement of the Third District hideout. Thirty people. Malnourished, drained of mana. They were being prepped as sacrifices for a ritual."
"Sacrifices…" Rumina stopped pacing. Her expression didn't soften; it hardened into cold rage. "So they are serious about the summoning. Bastards."
