Several officers stood in the building lobby when Jacker entered, their uniforms neat and their posture straight. They saluted the moment they saw him, a brief and practiced greeting, but Jacker walked past all of them without turning his head.
The building corridor was long and bright. White lights were embedded flush into the ceiling, the walls were clean without excessive ornamentation, the floor reflected a faint shadow with every step of Jacker's shoes. A cold and efficient design, with no room for anything unnecessary. Jacker pressed the elevator button without stopping, stepped in when the doors opened, then stood still for the ride up.
His room was on the highest floor. Spacious, with high ceilings and large glass windows facing the city. From there the entire district was visible, buildings packed tightly together, busy air lanes, a city that never stopped moving.
Jacker did not look outside. He walked directly to a private room on the left side, stepped in, and closed the door behind him. The room was smaller, with no windows. Jacker raised his hand and swept it through the air with a specific motion.
A holographic screen appeared instantly, pale blue and glowing, with various menus arranged neatly before him. Jacker moved his finger across several options before stopping at one name.
Luther.
He pressed it.
The call connected within seconds, and the figure of Luther appeared before him in three dimensions, the size of a normal person, like someone standing right in front of him. But Luther was not standing.
Luther was on a bed, and he was not alone.
His thighs gripped the ass of a blonde-haired woman. His cock moved in and out splitting her wet pussy. One of Luther's hands pinned the woman's head down to the bed. The sound of loud moaning was heard as the woman gripped the bedsheet tightly and bit into it.
Luther did not turn toward the screen. His movements did not stop, his other hand slapped the woman's backside, his breathing was heavy and steady. "How did it go?" he asked, his voice flat like someone asking about a routine report.
Jacker opened his mouth, then closed it again. His eyes searched for a safe area to look at but found none. "I ... I'm sorry, Lord Luther. I can call again later if–"
"Report." One word, with no rise or fall in tone.
Jacker swallowed hard. "I... alright." He drew a short breath.
His mind was split between trying to focus on the sentences he had prepared since the aircraft earlier and trying not to process what was happening in front of him. "We lost the blue Oar, my Lord. Along with the entire crew."
Luther did not react. His movements stayed the same, his rhythm unchanged. "I figured as much," he said. "It's fine. Another team will get it."
Jacker nodded, but his feet did not move. There was still something he had not said, and that part was what had kept his palms wet since earlier.
"Lord Luther." His voice dropped half a tone. "Actually it's not ... not lost, my Lord. Technically, the blue Oar was killed ... by someone else."
Luther's movements slowed slightly. His eyes finally shifted, glancing toward Jacker's projection from the corner. "Then?"
"The Oar was killed by a farmer in Pinedale." Jacker chose each word carefully, like someone walking across glass flooring he was not confident about. "That farmer ... and ...."
Luther stopped moving.
The room suddenly felt different, even though Jacker was only seeing it through a projection. Luther lay completely still, his head turning slowly toward the screen. For the first time since this call connected, Luther was truly looking at Jacker.
"And?" his voice was lower than before.
Jacker's throat felt tight. "And that farmer turned into an abysswalker."
Luther's gaze changed. Not an explosion of anger, but a mixture of three things at once, irritation, fear, and worry blended into one expression more dangerous than ordinary rage. Luther stared at Jacker for several seconds without saying anything.
Then he started moving again, this time in a different place.
Luther pulled out his cock and forced it harshly into the woman's ass with roughness. The woman squirmed slowly, trying to make her body absorb the pain.
Until Luther was fully inside, his hips began to thrust faster, and harder, with the loud sound of flesh striking flesh.
"AAHH!"
"Please! Have mercy!"
The woman beneath him screamed, her voice breaking with every thrust. Luther did not care. "How is that possible?" he asked Jacker, his tone still controlled even though his body was not.
"We followed the procedure as instructed, my Lord." Jacker spoke faster now, his eyes fixed on the floor of the projection. "We burned him before he fully transformed. But that farmer did not die from the fire. On the contrary, he turned even more savage because of it."
"Damn it." Luther growled quietly. His movements grew faster and deeper, the woman's screaming grew louder. "So that Oar had a fire element inside it. Damn it! Damn it all!" His teeth clenched briefly. "What a waste."
Luther grabbed both of the woman's arms and pulled them back until both her shoulders lifted, as if wanting to break that slender body. His hips kept pressing hard into that tight opening without giving a single pause.
Jacker said nothing. He knew Luther was not mourning the victim. Luther was mourning the primordial Oar that should have been his, a rare creature that was nearly impossible to find let alone track, and now it was gone.
"I'm sorry, my Lord," Jacker said finally. "That abysswalker was too savage. Neither I nor any of my men were able to hold it."
"So that monster is free right now?"
"Yes, my Lord."
Luther growled, and for the first time his expression visibly changed, showing the irritation he was trying to hold back on his face. The woman's screaming echoed through Luther's room without him caring. Jacker could only stand stiff where he was.
"Do you know what that means, Jacker?" Luther did not wait for an answer. "It means all of humanity is in danger."
Jacker opened his mouth to reply, but Luther had already continued. "Spread the poster and information to the entire Aegis network. That abysswalker must be captured, dead or alive."
"Understood, my Lord."
Luther then moved his hand, gripping the hair of the woman before him and pulling it upward until the woman's face lifted and turned directly toward the projection.
Jacker's eyes went wide.
That face was a mess, her hair disheveled, her eyes wet, but its structure was still far too clear to be mistaken. A face he usually saw from behind a high-level meeting table, a face that had always sat in a chair with authority nearly equal to Luther himself.
"Clean up this problem, Jacker." Luther released her hair and the woman fell back down. "Quickly."
The holographic screen went dark.
Jacker stood alone in that windowless room, his eyes still fixed on the empty point in the air where Luther's projection had just stood. His hands were no longer clenched, just hanging at his sides, not moving.
At the Aegis headquarters, an operator sat in front of a screen with fingers moving quickly across the keyboard. Data was sent across the entire Aegis network within minutes, a name, a face, a last known location, and a single number at the bottom of the form that made several other operators pause briefly when they read it.
Printers at various Aegis posts printed the same sheet. At a small post on the border of the Midreach region, a man took the sheet from the printer, read it briefly, then pinned it to the notice board without any particular expression.
At a larger post in the city of Fernholt, two hunters who were drinking coffee stepped closer to the screen when the notification came in, one of them let out a low whistle when he saw the number.
At a roadside stall on the outskirts of Duskwall, a solitary hunter who was having dinner glanced at his phone screen, read the name twice, then continued eating.
Posters were printed for cities not yet reached by the network, sent by fast courier to remote posts in the Midreach region and surrounding areas.
At the top of every sheet, beneath the image of Silver Ash's face, two lines were printed that needed no further explanation.
Dead or alive. 3,000 Virel.
***