Lena and Jake moved low, keeping to the shadows that pooled against the outer wall. There was a small guarded side entrance on the northern side of the city, one of the many, in truth, but it was also the one with the sloppiest guards around, or so it seemed.

The guards were slouched and distracted, their attention on something far more interesting than their duty. One gestured broadly.

"The Church will cleanse it all," he said, conviction thick in his tone. "We'll see the world reborn."

The other nodded eagerly. "The Archdeacon says the faithful will inherit paradise."

"Paradise," the first said like a prayer. "Can you imagine it? No more sickness. No more hunger, and that's all thanks to the church, thanks to mana."

Jake listened, fighting the urge to roll his eyes. The zealotry in their words was honestly cringe. They sounded like they'd swallowed a propaganda pamphlet whole. But their eyes weren't on the entrance. They were so lost in the discussion they'd been sold to notice anything else.

Lena's gaze flicked to the side entrance. There were ten guards in total. Most were clustered near the side entrance itself, and that was good, because it would take less than 20 seconds to kill them all since they were so close.

She glanced at Jake. Even he saw the opportunity.

The first guard laughed. "The unbelievers won't even see it coming. They think they're safe behind their walls, but the Church—"

Lena's hand shifted to her blade. Jake mirrored the motion. They didn't need words. The plan was simple.

They closed the distance fast. The first guard didn't even have time to turn. Lena's blade found his throat. He crumpled without a sound.

The second guard spun, his hand reaching for his weapon. Jake was already plunging his dagger into his eye socket. The man opened his mouth, but no scream came as the man fell to the ground.

The remaining guards fell as quickly as the first two. They tried to react, but death came too fast.

One guard tried to turn and flee, but Jake's blade was already buried in his skull the moment he turned his back.

The bodies fell, one after another, until only silence remained. Ten guards were dead in less than twenty seconds.

Lena wiped her blade clean. Jake did the same. His hands were steady now, compared to how they were weeks earlier. It looked like his fight against Aaron shook him, and yet his age still made him naïve, thinking they were strong, as he said earlier to Reidar. It was a strange dichotomy. How could one fear being too weak and also be confident in being strong at the same time?

But after all, he was a kid.

She watched him. Five dead guards, five kills, and the boy showed nothing. There was no hesitation, no remorse on his face. He learned to turn off the parts of himself that used to flinch.

It was her fault. Hers and Reidar's. They'd shaped him into this. They'd had to, as survival demanded it, but that didn't make her feel better.

She hoped that destroying the Church and helping humanity claw its way back from the brink would give Jake a chance at a normal life.

A weapon with no off switch would be feared by everyone, especially if it was as powerful as him.

They would need to make him understand eventually that killing humans didn't mean he was strong and that it was wrong. Something to do as a last resort, not a reflex. But not today. Today, they needed the weapon.

They dragged the bodies behind a stack of crates to clear the entrance.

"This is the hard part. Are you ready?"

"I am," Jake said.

They slipped inside. The streets opened up before them, and they were just as narrow as Reidar had described.

"We go south, right?"

"We do," Lena said.

"Then let's move. Those people aren't going to save themselves."

Lena looked at Jake with a confused expression. She hadn't expected those words; it almost sounded like he was trying to act the hero.

They navigated through the city until they reached a supply depot. Lena checked the corner, and finding it clear, she signaled Jake to move. Reidar was right about the streets; they were claustrophobic and full of blind spots.

Three Church Zealots marched past the intersection ahead. Their armor clanked, and while they didn't expect intruders, the noise gave them away long before they were visible. Lena held her breath while Jake stood perfectly still beside her. Once the patrol passed, they slipped across the street to a junction where two guards stood by a heavy door, laughing and ignoring the perimeter entirely.

After all, who would be insane enough to try to attack them?

Lena pointed to a low roof to bypass them. Jake nodded and climbed the drainpipe without making a sound, with Lena following close behind. From the roof, they had a better view of the city, though being up high made them just as visible as the patrols they were avoiding.

Below, the city churned. The patrols moved on a schedule, but the execution was lazy. Groups stopped to talk, and guards leaned against walls to smoke. Lira Feid's discipline had cracks.

<I guess even warmongering zealot mutants are still humans, after all.>

They dropped into a tight alley two blocks away that smelled of rot.

"Wait," Jake said.

He pulled her back just as a heavy door swung open ten feet ahead. A High Priest stepped out, flanked by two Elite Guards.

—[High Priest Malak—Level 275]—

Lena's chest tightened. That was too close. If they had been a second faster, they would have walked right into him. The priest paused, sniffing the air and looking down the alley. Lena gripped her dagger. If he saw them, the plan was dead; they couldn't fight a Level 275 priest and two elites without making noise.

The priest stared for a long moment, then shook his head.

"Rats," he said.

He turned away, and the group moved on.

Lena exhaled. "That was far too fucking close," she said.

"Yeah, let's be careful," Jake agreed.

They continued carving a path through the city block by block, dodging patrols and waiting out shift changes until the central building appeared. It was a fortress—recently made, but a fortress nonetheless. Based on Reidar's intel, the hostages were inside.

Lena looked around. The guards at the door were alert, showing none of the slacking seen in the streets.

"We can't go through the front," Jake said.

"No," Lena said. She looked up. "We go high."

She spotted a ventilation grate on the third floor. It was small, but big enough for them. Jake was still a kid, and Lena had moved enough in the past months to become slim and toned.

"Can you make the jump?" Lena asked.

Jake looked at the distance. It was twenty feet from the nearest roof. He grinned.

"Watch me."

He backed up and sprinted, launching himself across the gap to land on the ledge. He turned and waved. Lena followed. They opened the grate and slipped inside.

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