The heavy obsidian doors of the contraband vault clicked shut behind me, the canvas bundle containing the dark-iron uniform safely delivered into my big sister's hands. I stood in the long, sterile shadows of the 8th District courtyard, watching Eirene raise her golden spatial ring to vacuum the armor away into her inventory.
With a final, silent wave of her hand, she turned and slipped out of the Bureau's main plaza, preparing to wait out the blazing afternoon sun until twilight could shield her wings.
I took a deep, steadying breath, my fingers tightening against the crisp, pristine fabric of my Luminous Knight uniform. My next tactical objective was clear: the logistics wing, specifically Chief Roman's high-security office. But as I turned my heels toward the grand marble staircase, my organic super-computer brain began to stutter, the freshly integrated neural pathways of Vanessa Katt's final moments violently colliding with my own thoughts.
My mind was spiraling.
Through the raw memory files I had just processed, I didn't just know what Eirene had done to Vanessa on that mountain peak… I had practically felt it. The data was terrifyingly vivid. First, the calculated interrogation using the amplified kinetic blasts of that terrifying Death Chant shotgun. Then, the clinical, systematic severing of all four of her limbs, sealed with calcified blood tourniquets just to keep her heart beating. And finally, the absolute psychological breaking point… being hurled into the weightless terror of a pitch-black abyss twice, until her human cardiovascular system literally exploded from a stress-induced heart attack.
I swallowed hard, a cold shiver running down my spine. I always knew Eirene was cruel, a merciless vanguard forged by the absolute hell of the upper surface. But seeing it from the perspective of her victim was entirely different. Still... I had to rationalize it. She didn't do it out of sadism. She did it to completely wipe out the Immoral Knights, to protect what was left of our fractured family.
I looked down at my hands, my twin jade-green eyes tracing the faint, bioluminescent slime tips at the ends of my fingers. When Eirene finally rescued me from the damp, pitch-black caverns of the Caria mines, I had made a solemn, sacred promise to myself:
I will never eat a single human being again. I wanted to leave the monstrous, predatory hunger of the hive-mind deep in the dark shafts.
Yet, here I was, the metallic taste of Vanessa's skull still lingering faintly in my mouth.
"Was it truly worth it?" I asked myself,
My thoughts swirled as I navigated the bustling, heavily guarded corridors of the Bureau. I tightened my jaw, my super-intelligence forcing a cold, logical conclusion.
Yes.
Vanessa Katt was a high-tier criminal, an immoral knight who terrorized the innocent. If I had to break my promise to secure the absolute layout of the Rebelbub Mountain Range, then so be it. I had the complete tactical information preserved perfectly inside my head now. My ultimate job in this new life wasn't to be a monster of the mines anymore. It was to become a hero of the surface. And leaking this hidden fortress data to the high command would make my reputation untouchable.
I reached the heavy, polished mahogany doors of the administrative suite. The gold plaque on the wall read:
Chief Commander Roman Calico- Strategic Operations.
I smoothed down the front of my white-and-gold uniform, masking the chaotic spiral of my thoughts behind a mask of flawless, disciplined military perfection. Raising my right hand, I delivered three sharp, precise knocks against the wood, waiting for the authority of the Bureau to answer.
"Come in," Chief Roman's deep, authoritative voice boomed through the thick mahogany door.
I turned the brass handle and stepped into the spacious, sunlit office. The room smelled of expensive tobacco and aged parchment, the walls lined with framed tactical maps and historic Bureau commendations. Chief Roman sat behind a massive obsidian desk, his sharp eyes cutting up from his paperwork to look at me.
"Greetings, Evelyn," he said, adjusting the collar of his high-ranking officer's uniform.
He gestured toward a plush leather chair opposite him.
"Sit. What can I do for you today?"
I marched forward with a disciplined stride, sitting straight-backed in the chair. I kept my expression perfectly neutral, locking my twin jade-green eyes onto his.
"Chief Roman, I have urgent, verified intelligence regarding the civil war factions. The primary Immoral Knights stronghold is located deep within the Rebelbub Mountain Range, securely hidden right above the rural sectors."
Roman paused, his pen hovering over his ledger. He leaned back in his seat, narrowing his eyes as an analytical silence filled the room.
"The Immoral Knights' central base? Well... do you have any concrete proof to back up a claim of that scale?"
My mind raced, processing data at hyper-speed. A cold sweat threatened to break on the back of my neck, but I kept my composure flawless. I couldn't exactly tell him the truth. I couldn't say,
"Yes, Chief, I know the exact layout because my S-rank vanguard sister systematically amputated the limbs of the commander's wife before dropping her off a cliff to induce a fatal heart attack, and then I ate her severed head in your 8th District bathroom to absorb her neural pathways."
If the public or the Bureau discovered that I was a high-tier entity fused with the Hive-Mind… a half-human, half-slime monster… they wouldn't make me a hero. They would lock me in a containment cell or execute me on the spot.
I needed a flawless, logical cover story. Digging deep into the vast network of surface data I had acquired, I formulated a perfect lie using my big sister's legendary reputation.
"The proof lies in the active operational tracking of my sister, Eirene, as you well know, Cameron Gal currently sits at the absolute top of the Registry of the Condemned, carrying a staggering bounty of 10 gold pieces. And you know better than anyone that Eirene is the strongest, most ruthless bounty hunter in the capital's registry… the same vanguard who single-handedly dismantled two notorious S-rank bounties: Oksana the drug lord and Don Anthony, the leader of the arms trafficking guild."
Roman nodded slowly, his strict expression softening. Eirene's bloody track record was legendary within the upper echelons of the Bureau; her name carried immense weight.
"Eirene intercepted a high-level courier faction near the border sectors; she successfully extracted the exact encrypted coordinates of the Rebelbub stronghold. However, the castle's defenses are heavily fortified with localized mana barriers and rogue mercenary legions. She is moving to infiltrate the perimeter alone, but to completely dismantle the faction and secure Cameron's head, she needs the Bureau's tactical support. She sent me ahead to coordinate the vanguard strike." I continued, weaving the lie flawlessly.
The fabrication was airtight. By framing the information as a high-tier bounty hunting breakthrough from the capital's top hunter, I made the intelligence completely undeniable without revealing a single trace of my monstrous nature.
Chief Roman stared at me for a long moment, tapping his fingers against the obsidian desk as he weighed the tactical variables. Finally, a grim, determined smile broke across his weathered face.
"A 10-gold target... If Eirene has pinned down his location, we cannot afford to let this opportunity slip, sure, I will grant you the deployment order and mobilize the elite strike forces, Evelyn. But you must understand the logistical reality… the troops will take at least a day to arrive on site. The distance between the gates of Caria City and the rural, rugged plains of Rebelbub is far too vast for a heavy armored legion to cross overnight." Roman stated firmly, slamming his fist onto the desk.
"Understood, Chief. A day's buffer is acceptable," I replied, bowing my head respectfully as I stood up.
Inside, my organic brain was already calculating the final timeline. The Bureau's troops would take twenty-four hours to march across the plains, but Eirene would be flying through the twilight sky at S-rank speed, arriving at the castle by dawn. By the time Roman's legions arrived at the gates of Rebelbub to clean out the remaining syndicate grunts, the Crimson Phantom would have already worn Vanessa's face, bypassed the magical barriers, and torn Cameron Gal's throat out. My reputation as a heroic Bureau strategist was officially locked in.
Chief Roman raised an eyebrow, his sharp gaze locking onto my 5'3" frame. The sheer audacity of a newly registered, youthful squire volunteering for a high-intensity, S-rank vanguard siege clearly caught him off guard.
But I couldn't just sit back in the safety of the 8th District and wait for the reports to roll in. My organic super-computer brain was already calculating the terrifying variables. Eirene was walking into a den of wolves completely alone, missing her left arm, and relying entirely on a stolen disguise and raw kinetic firepower. Even with her staggering 600% magical amplification rings, if the defensive matrix codes I gave her suffered a dynamic update, she would be completely surrounded before the Bureau's legions even crossed the rural borders. I had to be there to run tactical calculations on the ground and ensure my sister survived the night.
I stood straight, my twin jade-green eyes flashing with an unyielding, fierce determination that mirrored my sister's legendary focus.
"Chief Roman, I wish to participate in the vanguard strike, I am the one who processed the logistical tracking data, and I know the exact layout of their peripheral blind spots. I can guide the heavy armored units through the mountain gorges without tripping their early-warning mana wards." I stated, my voice completely devoid of hesitation.
Roman stared at me for three long, silent seconds, weighing the sheer tactical value of having a living map on the field versus the liability of sending a young recruit into a bloodbath. Ultimately, the cold logic of the Bureau won out.
"Very well, your logic holds up, Evelyn. Having an asset with active layout knowledge will significantly cut our casualty rates through those jagged peaks. I will authorize your placement as the primary reconnaissance attachment for the vanguard line." Chief Roman agreed, a grim expression of respect settling over his weathered features as he pulled a heavy, wax-sealed deployment manifest from his drawer.
He dipped his quill into the inkwell, signing his name with a heavy, authoritative flourish before looking back up at me.
"Well, I have officially deployed the 4th Heavy Armored Legion and the 2nd Elite Vanguard Strike Team. A force of five hundred high-tier knights will begin their march at the first bell of tomorrow's dawn. Go to the logistics locker, equip yourself with standard-issue field gear, and prepare for immediate transit. You march with the spearhead."
"Yes, Chief!" I saluted with perfect, disciplined precision, turning on my high heels and marching straight out of the mahogany doors.
As the heavy office doors clicked shut behind me, a cold, focused smirk broke across my face. The Bureau thought they were launching a standard military cleanup operation, but in reality, they were riding the coattails of the Crimson Phantom. With the legions mobilizing behind me and Eirene preparing to take flight under the cover of the upcoming twilight, the complete eradication of the Immoral Knights was officially set in motion.