"What?" Sven asked, stunned.
"My mother... put her in the Cloud Chambers," Lutheria repeated, her large eyes wide with a pleading, desperate look.
Sven glanced to the left at the body of Lutheria's mother, then back at the girl herself. She seemed completely unbothered by what she had just done. In the dim light, her amber eyes took on a blood-red tint. For a fleeting second, even Sven felt a chill of genuine fear.
"F... fine. I will pray to the Goddess," Sven said.
"Thank you, Master." Lutheria lunged forward, hugging Sven's legs tightly.
"Put something on," Sven commanded.
"Why?" she asked.
"Because we're leaving. We're going to my home," Sven replied.
Lutheria scrambled to her feet and began rushing around the room. She pulled on a long brown dress decorated with small flowers-the kind a grandmother might wear. It looked almost sweet on her, a sharp contrast to the blood on the floor.
Suddenly, a massive thunderclap shook the house, followed by a violent tremor. The earth itself seemed to groan. Lutheria was knocked off her feet by the force of it.
God, those Golden Dragons... they certainly like to make an entrance, Sven thought.
Hearing heavy footsteps approaching, Sven grabbed Lutheria by the arm and shoved her into a large kitchen cupboard, climbing in after her. A soldier in full combat armor burst into the house, a sword and various artifacts hanging from his belt. Sven clamped his hand over Lutheria's mouth and leaned into her ear.
"Don't breathe loudly," he hissed.
The soldier searched the rooms, his movements slow and deliberate as he stepped over debris, sword held ready. He paused to touch one of the artifacts on his belt to Linda's body, sealing the corpse inside the device. Sven listened to the heavy thud of boots circling the house until they stopped right in front of the cupboard. Sven's fingers were already poised, ready to trace a defensive frame.
"Hey! He's getting away!" a voice shouted from outside.
Upon hearing the cry, the soldier sprinted out of the house. Sven and Lutheria let out a synchronized breath of relief.
If I had a soldier that incompetent under my command, I'd kill him myself, Sven thought bitterly.
"Master... the mission," Lutheria whispered. "When can we leave?"
Sven opened his mouth to answer, then closed it.
God, why me? The authorities are supposed to call in the A.S. to process everyone here as cultists. Then they'll burn the place down after a prayer. They'll be guarding this village for hours.
"I don't know," Sven told her.
He nudged the cupboard door open a crack to scout the area. The room looked the same, except for the dark pool of blood on the floor where the body had been.
***
"We caught him," Officer Lintyayev announced.
"Ugh, and I ran out of that house just to help catch him," Soldier Obyknovennov grumbled.
The two men were walking back toward the central church.
"How did these cultists stay hidden so long?" Obyknovennov asked. "They built an entire town around this church right under our noses."
"Simple, kid," Lintyayev replied. "They had a mole inside the A.S. He was the one leaking our plans and scrubbing the records."
"There's been a lot of that lately," Obyknovennov sighed.
"You're telling me."
They reached the town square and began unloading bodies from their containment artifacts, laying them out on a tarp. Lintyayev noticed a shallow wound on one of the corpses.
"Ha! What, ran out of juice for your sword?" Lintyayev joked.
"What? No, she was already dead when I found her," Obyknovennov said.
"Wait... you didn't kill her?" Lintyayev's eyes narrowed.
"No," Obyknovennov replied, confused by the change in tone.
"So you're saying there was a fresh corpse with a knife wound just sitting in that house?" Lintyayev asked, his voice rising. "Then where is the person who killed her?"
The two soldiers locked eyes for a second before spinning around and sprinting back toward the house. They tore through the alleys, but when they arrived, they found the back window-which had been shut tight-standing wide open.
***
Sven and Lutheria were running through a field of tall, blue grass, hunching low to stay hidden. Sven kept a firm grip on her wrist. They knew the general direction, so they didn't lose their way.
"Master... my legs. The grass is cutting them," Lutheria whimpered.
"It doesn't matter. We'll heal them later," Sven snapped. Then he added, "And from now on, your name is Mia."
"What?" she asked.
"Your name is Mia now," Sven repeated.
Lutheria didn't argue. After several kilometers of frantic movement, they finally reached the cover of the forest and paused to catch their breath.
Inside the targeted facility, Luka and Liam's gang moved through the corridors separately, checking in via comms every five minutes. They used stealth artifacts to remain invisible.
God, where are all these freaks hiding? Liam wondered as he crept through the halls.
Suddenly, he and Luka bumped into each other around a corner.
"Where have you been?" Luka hissed.
"I'm following the map!" Liam snapped, brandishing the parchment Luka had given him.
"The map is useless. They've rerouted the secret servant passages," Luka whispered.
Without warning, a massive beam of pure green energy erupted from the left. An artifact on Luka's belt activated, shielding him before shattering into dust. Liam wasn't so lucky. In a flash, he was gone-nothing remained of him but his boots and a few artifacts the beam hadn't touched.
Luka spun toward the source of the attack.
Standing there was the Blind God, the thousand-year-old Professor Cirrolin. His hair was short and silver, his face eerily unwrinkled. A black blindfold embroidered with delicate patterns covered his eyes. He wore a red shirt and dark trousers under a flowing black robe.
Luka drew his staff instantly, a pink aura flaring around him as he launched a massive fireball. Cirrolin didn't even flinch; he simply tilted his head, dodging the blast. With a casual snap of the Professor's fingers, Luka's world tilted.
The last thing Luka saw was the corridor dissolving into a blur. He realized, too late, that he had been behind glass the entire time. He was floating in a small tank filled with water, part of a vast, secret laboratory belonging to Cirrolin.
"Ha... ha... I think I'll turn you into Rina," Cirrolin whispered, staring directly into the glass capsule.