Saint is leaving Roxanne with Shinsei and Viola.
"Everything alright, boss?" Shinsei asks as they run through the woods.
Saint slows down and holds the right side of his face,
"I think I overexerted myself…" Saint replies, he has a headache that's worsening by the second.
Shinsei and Viola look at each other silently.
Suddenly, Saint passes out in front of them,
"Boss!"
Shinsei lunges and catches Saint before he lands on the ground.
"Is he okay?" Viola asks in a worried tone, clutching her hands together.
"Probably just exhausted… we should get going, I'll carry him." Shinsei says, starting to carry Saint on his back.
After an hour of traveling, Shinsei speaks up,
"Viola, do you think the boss is gonna keep his word?" Shinsei asks,
Viola puts her finger to her chin.
"Keeping his word to being our boss?" Viola replies,
"Yeah, maybe we moved too quick."
"Hehe, relax! As long as we stick to his three rules, nothing bad will happen… I think?" Viola replies,
"You don't think he'll abandon us as soon as he accomplishes his goal?" Shinsei says, slightly worried.
"Ehh, no way! The boss hasn't even figured out what he actually wants!"
Shinsei nods slowly as they continue traveling,
"And if It came down to that, I'm still stronger than he is, because I have the gift." Viola says.
…
A day later, Ari has settled in Roxanne.
"You must be Ari? Right right. I'm Sixx. I'm this area's local city guard. You'll be posing as my junior assistant under a fake ID." Sixx says,
"Over here is where you'll be sleeping, cozy, right?" He says as he shows Ari a small, dorm-like hotel.
"Right…"
They return to Sixx's office.
"This is all the info we have so far." Sixx gives Ari a document,
'6 murders, all solo victims, all found near routine paths, bodies are intact, no signs of a struggle, cause of death: organ failure. All victims were unrelated, around the same age.' Ari reads in his mind.
"I see…" Ari says in silence, inspecting the paper.
'I'm confident that the killer is a mana user. And the only mana user I've come across so far is… Sixx.'
Ari eyes Sixx, Sixx stares back at him, confused.
'I can't rule him out, he's also a suspect.' Ari thinks.
"Mr. Sixx, it says here that all the victims were found near routine paths, could you show me a map of this area?" Ari asks,
"Of course!"
Sixx hands Ari a map, he opens it and starts inspecting the surrounding area.
'This is gonna be hard. There's nothing out of the ordinary.' Ari thinks with a frown as he sees convenience stores, cafés, apartments, stores, a school, and police boxes.
'Routine paths… someone that follows the same path every day…'
Ari closes the map and puts on a black jacket.
"I'm heading out, I'll see you later, Sixx."
"What? Already? But we haven't even-" Sixx yells, Ari closes the door to his office, muffling him out.
'This is too broad, I have to narrow it down somehow…'
He makes his way to a convenience store.
"Hello, sir." Ari waves politely.
'I can't fail this mission. I have to ace this.'
He grabs a small drink and heads to the counter. The clerk smiles faintly as he rings it up.
"Anything else?" The clerk asks,
"No, thanks." Ari nods, suddenly his eyes land on a camera.
"Excuse me, sir, I'm with the area's local city guard enforcement." Ari shows his ID.
"Would you mind answering some questions?" Ari asks,
The clerk blinks rapidly and nervously.
"I… uh, I…"
'Crap, he's nervous.' Ari thinks.
"Don't worry, sir, you're not a suspect."
"Oh…" The clerk laughs, "I was worried… s-sure I can answer some questions…"
…
In Shiawase, Unit Zero have been fighting waves of Niššīku's army. Exhausted, they are currently hiding in a small storage room.
"Shh, they'll hear us." Axia whispers.
"Do you guys think… that Kevo and Beyce are dead?" Plaster whispers, panicked.
"This mission was far from what we can handle." Claire whispers.
Meanwhile…
"Oh, god, oh, god, oh god, oh, god, that's disgusting!" Beyce shouts, sprinting through the broken mall corridors, chased by a wave of Niššīku's army.
"Focus!" Kevo yells beside him.
"They are throwing up green stuff everywhere!" Beyce shouts, leaping effortlessly over a bench.
Kevo drops and slides under a fallen statue,
"Thunder Style: Flashing Rage!" He cleanly cuts through the statue's legs, sending it collapsing behind them with a crash that shakes the floor.
Piles of debris block part of the path, slowing Niššīku's army down. Kevo and Beyce stop for a moment, both gasping for air.
"What the hell is that?!" Beyce asks, panting.
"Damn it…" Kevo says, annoyed.
"This mask doesn't really make it easier to breathe, either," Beyce complains, pulling at the strap on his face.
Suddenly, a weak voice speaks up,
"Y-you two… in here…"
Tanna steps out from a clothing store, limping, blood on his shirt.
Kevo reacts instantly,
"Tanna!" They quickly rush to him. Beyce slides under Tanna's arm, helping him stand.
"What are your injuries, Tanna?" Kevo asks.
Tanna's eyes widen suddenly.
"Kevo! Behind you!"
Kevo turns around quickly, nothing is there.
'Nothing?!'
He turns back just in time,
Tanna's mouth was wide enough to eat an entire human skull.
"BEYCE!" Kevo yells.
Beyce freezes, still holding onto Tanna's arm, eyes wide in shock.
Kevo lunges forward, tackling Tanna off him, both crashing into a pile of mannequins.
"Beyce… are you okay?!" Kevo shouts, pushing himself up.
Beyce still stands frozen, his hands shaking.
"He's one of them, Beyce."
Tanna rises slowly from the ground, his bones cracking, teeth elongating into fangs.
"Oh, man. I could've sworn I got you there."
…
Black Sigil, Monita, Hazu, Tlen and now Ezren just arrived back at the city of Citrobal.
"Are we sure these machines work?" Hazu says, inspecting the mana radar.
"They work. I tried them before we left." Ezren replies softly and kindly.
"Hmm… okay…" Hazu replies unconvinced.
"We just have to follow this faint trail." Ezren says, Tlen and Monita following behind silently.
'Man, this is so boring… I could at least talk with Ari and Tanya. Monita and Tlen are suuuuper introverted, and this dude is too soft…'
After hours and hours of walking in Citrobal, Black Sigil arrive in a small town far from the main city.
"Woah, the radars are going off like crazy." Hazu says, his device lighting up, beeping.
"She's here, then." Tlen says,
'If Tanya or Ari were here, they'd say something like "Spread out!" or something like that…' Hazu thinks, rubbing the back of his neck.
He clears his throat. "Hey guys… uh… let's spread out, maybe we'll find her faster that way, yeah?"
"Good idea, let's do that." Ezren replies.
They look for Tanya in the small town, they talk to the citizens of the small town, gathering information.
Hours later, they meet up at the local bar.
"Do you guys have soda?" Tlen asks the bartender.
"Okay, so. Tanya somehow escaped or got released, and now, she's the local guard of this small town." Ezren says.
"I'm just glad she's safe…" Hazu sighs, leaning back against his chair.
"We'll wait for her to return from her mission." Ezren smiles warmly.
…