"Hey, I have a question. Do you guys know who Ryan Lyhorn is?" Kin asked.
With rising suspicion, Harold answered. "Yeah...?"
"Recently, I've seen him wandering into the Lurian a lot, and I was hoping you knew what he was doing going to a place like that."
"The Lurian?!" The info was quite the surprise to him. He'd never expect a chivalrous guy like Ryan to hang around in an area like that. "Hm? What's the Lurian?" questioned Mina.
"The Lurian was an underground city built by dwarves, but ever since they've been driven out, many criminals use it as a hotspot to do illegal activities."
"Criminals? But why is it still up then? If many bad people are there, shouldn't the police do something about it?"
Patting Mina's head, he says, "Oh, Mina, you don't understand how corrupt the people who run this city are. I've practically been fighting them off for years now."
Kin butts into their moment, boldly slamming her hand onto the lunch table. "Now, a big problem has arisen. Ryan hasn't come out of the Lurian District for 24 hours."
"Did you report it to the police?" Mina questioned. "Did you not just hear what he said earlier? The police are useless. And talking with the principal, he was useless, too, saying something like, 'I'll talk to the police about this.' which was not so helpful."
"So what are you proposing, Kin?" Harold asks, already guessing what she's about to say.
"Can you please help me do a stealth mission into the Lurian!"
Harold immediately shot her down. "No."
"B-But why!"
"Explain to me why you want to go find Ryan? It's dangerous, and quite frankly, you'd probably be a setback when I go and save him."
"I'm part of the student council! It's my duty to watch over the students at Kane Academy!"
"You're definitely not suited for what's in there."
"I-I have ninja skills! I can definitely survive in there!"
"No."
"Please!"
"No."
"Pretty please!"
"For the last time, I said no!"
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5 HOURS LATER...
"I'm ready for this!" Kin excitedly yells out.
"Please stop. This is supposed to be a serious mission to save Ryan." Harold says underneath his mask. It was the mask that he'd always don when he'd disguise himself as his vigilante identity—Ark.
Mina tries her best to tidy her dark cloak that was supplied by Harold. A tabarro covered over her body, and she wore the same mask that Harold also had. "Harold, do I have to wear an outfit like this?" It was itchy, and it felt uncomfortable to her, but to Harold, that wasn't important. "Listen, the number one rule of the Lurian is to go in with a disguise. If anyone finds out about your identity, you're practically asking to get into some sort of trouble." He looked at Kin wearing her bizarre bird mask and princess dress. "Well, I'm used to her odd bird mask, but what's up with the princess dress?"
They stood in a very cryptic area of Argon City called The Passing. The name stems from the reduced funding of this portion of the city, primarily due to the residents having little to no income. The busted-down buildings, graffiti painted everywhere, rusting clockworks lying about, and debris scattered on the streets because of the constant vandalism.
Many anonymous people piled the roads, adding to the depressing aura of this area. They stuck out compared to the rotting homeless people in the buildings because of their attire. It was similar in theirs, the purpose of hiding their identity to enter the Lurian District. The non-existent presence of the police added to what Kin and Harold said earlier—they simply don't care.
In front of them was a tunnel that led downwards with hundreds of people entering and exiting it. "Let's go in." Harold says, walking forward. Mina hesitated momentarily but felt her hand being grasped by Harold. "Don't let go of my hand; it's dangerous here."
The tunnel spiraled down with lanterns that lit up using light inscriptions set on the stone walls. Finally, at the end of the tunnel, it reveals a grand opening underneath Argon City. The walls showed evidence of being mined by the efforts of a thousand dwarves, reminiscent of how this area was made. They stood on a tall peak that was made on the sides of the walls. From that tall peak, they got a grand view of the underground city. Lights bloomed everywhere, railways stretched miles above, and bustling streets were full of very mysterious-looking people. A rusted metal fence spanned across the entire walkway that went down from the peak, that being the only thing to prevent them from falling. "This seems unsafe..." Kin murmured, poking at the fencing.
Noticeable people on the walkway were seen towering over the visitors travelling down it. They were Dragonborns. Tall, strong, and known to be mighty warriors. Wearing blackened armor and carrying large weaponry, they seemed to be guards for the Lurian. "Demi-humans? That's unusual." Kin said, observing the guards.
"Why do you say that?" Mina responded.
"It's because demi-humans are usually enslaved and undermined in most places. You'd never see them walking freely, especially with armor and weapons."
Walking past one of the guards, they sent a heavy glare at them. Harold, in response, gave back the same glare to him. Not expecting such a reaction, the guard left him alone. "Maybe I should've changed my disguise... He probably noticed I looked eerily familiar to Ark." Kin seeing Harold's disguise, she didn't seem to understand what was so special about its appearance. "What? Why should they care so much about your vigilantism?" She asked. "It's because of what I did as Ark. I stopped many black market operations, even in the Lurian."
"Then why did you wear it in a place like this?!"
"Well, I didn't think they'd recognize me off the bat! I'll try finding a different disguise when we get there."
Getting to the streets of the Lurian, they were set on the marketplace. A bustling place where a collage of vendors was stationed. From selling illegal monster parts to many dangerous items with inscriptions, these vendors were packed with customers. Kin tapped her finger on her bird mask. "Now where would we find Ryan in a place like this?" She faced both Harold and Mina. "Hey, where would you like to search first?"
Meanwhile, Harold and Mina were both distracted with a vendor who was busy selling a cool clockwork wyvern. Harold pointed at the wyvern in pure excitement. "Holy crap! Mina, look at that thing! It's a big clockwork wyvern thingy!" Mina's eyes dazzled in awe, matching Harold's pure excitement. "W-Whoa...!"
Kin snapped at them. "Come on, guys, we need to find Ryan!"
Harold sighed. "S-Sorry, we got sidetracked a little." Still grasping Mina's hand, he flowed into the crowds of people that flocked the streets. Kin, walking beside the two, asks, "Where are we going so far?" He surveyed the area, trying to find the perfect vendor for them. "I'm trying to find a place where we can get some mask replacements." Kin could sense the gazes upon them, probably because Harold and Mina wore notorious masks to the Lurian. "Right, you two did need new masks... but I doubt there would be a vendor who would sell to you both." Harold nodded, thinking critically about what to do next. "Yeah, I'm trying to figure out where we can get something." Mina's eyes shifting to the color red, she let out a sly smirk. "I have an idea." She brought them to a secluded alley where the eyes of the Dragonborn guards cannot see them. In there, she told them her master plan.
The bodyguard cried to his boss. "Boss, couldn't we stop by the slave shop to get me a few cuties? I need to blow off some steam!"
The nobleman, who wore an exquisite mask, raised his voice. "No. We're going to the auction. It's said they're selling a very precious Artifact there. It's said to be a legendary-tier Artifact!"
Suddenly, in the middle of the crowd, a person with a bird mask swiftly kicked the nobleman in the nuts. His face scrunching up, he fell to the ground groaning in pain. "Argh, w-what!?" Kin began to break-dance, flaunting her princess dress everywhere. "Come here, suckers! You fat, dumb idiots!" Kin rushed into the alleyway, whereas the bodyguard and nobleman went in pursuit. In the dark, secluded alley, the nobleman roared, yelling, "Come out, you fool! You have nowhere to run!"
For moments, the silence grew loud, and only the chatter of the crowded streets could be heard. The vacant response brought annoyance to the nobleman, but for the bodyguard it was different. He sensed something off, so he drew his sword. Focusing hard into the empty darkness, his skin crawled. He saw the glowing red eyes of a demon within.
Minutes later, the sounds of frying pans and maniacal laughter filled the air, drowned out by the sounds of the loud crowd next to the dreaded alley. Coming out of the alley were Kin, Mina, and Harold. Mina and Harold don new masks, seemingly fitting their appearances perfectly. "Impressive, you did choose the perfect targets to fit our styles." Harold says, adjusting the mask of the bodyguard on his face. Mina nodded as she wiped the bloodstains off her new mask, liking the more aesthetic choice than the previous one Harold made her wear. "Even if you were seen as cannon fodder in my eyes, you do have some use." Mina says, giving a death stare to Kin. "R-Right..." She looked over at Harold, checking if he saw the vast change in personality from Mina, but Harold gave no mind. Happily clutching onto his hand, Mina continued to walk alongside Harold, giving Kin a sinister smile. Kin figured these two were absolute morons, and now she has to deal with one of them having a whole new troublesome personality. "At this point, I just want to find Ryan and get out of here..."
"Now, you two, we need to find Ryan. A mere student wouldn't survive in a territory like this—"
Mina pointed her finger at a jester performing by tossing daggers around a clockwork that's strapped to a wheel. "Honey, observe how meticulous his accuracy is! Such a marvelous performance!" She says with excitement in her voice clear as day.
Kin snapped once again. "FOCUS, YOU DUMBASSES!"