Setting: Train
Levi and Lily sat in silence as the train rattled toward the capital, the rhythmic clatter of the tracks failing to quiet Levi's thoughts. He stared out the window, the blur of countryside doing nothing to ease the storm of guilt inside him. Silvia was alive—yet broken—and he had failed her for far too long.
The silence stretched until Lily, ever perceptive, spoke softly.
"I know this is personal for you, Levi. But remember—we're a team. I'm with you, every step of the way."
Levi turned to her, a flicker of gratitude breaking through his steel.
"Thanks, Lily. I mean that. I couldn't ask for a better partner. I'm going to keep Silvia safe, no matter what."
"And we'll make those bastards pay," Lily replied firmly. "No one should ever go through what she did."
As the train carried them closer to the capital, they reviewed their plan: gather intel, infiltrate the operation discreetly, and free the victims. Dangerous work—but they were ready.
Setting: Capital Law Enforcement Station
"Excuse me," Lily began, standing tall. "My name is Lily, formerly lieutenant of the Capital First Lawmen Division. This is Commander Levi, my captain. We'd like to speak with your commander regarding rumors of a slave trade ring in this city."
"Sergeant Reed," the man introduced himself with a salute. "Unfortunately, our superiors are at a summit, discussing the recent surge of high-value targets. But any information I have is at your disposal. I can assure you, however, nothing of that sort happens under our watch."
Lily cast Levi a small, smug glance.
"Great. Then let's not waste time. This is urgent."
The officers were surprisingly cooperative—too cooperative. Files were handed over, leads offered. But as Levi and Lily left, he felt a weight in his gut.
"Tail them," Reed ordered quietly."Yes, Sergeant!"
Setting: Modest Inn
Later that night, Levi and Lily sat hunched over the scattered files.
"We should start with the shelter Silvia mentioned," Levi suggested. "If anything seems off, we observe from a distance."
"That makes sense," Lily agreed. "And if the worst happens, we can call Sergeant Reed for backup."
Levi frowned. "I don't trust him. Something about that man doesn't sit right with me."
"You're being paranoid. That's professionalism, Levi," Lily countered.
His brow arched. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means the difference between you and them is night and day."
Levi crossed his arms. "I didn't bring you on this mission for lectures."
"Maybe not. But someone has to hold you to a standard."
Before he could snap back, a sound creaked outside the door. Their eyes met.
In one swift motion, Lily flicked her wrist, launching an ice shard through the wood. A cry of pain followed. They burst out of the room, but the injured eavesdropper vanished into the crowded streets.
"Paranoid huh."
The Following Days
Tension followed them. Keeping their distance, they tracked the shelter, shadowing its operations until it finally led them to a dilapidated warehouse.
Setting: Warehouse Skylight
Through the skylight, they saw the truth laid bare.
A man in a pristine suit commanded the stage, cane tapping in rhythm. Around him, men and women stood collared, their movements stiff, enslaved by his control.
"Next up," the man called, "a spirited young lady. Feisty, beautiful—perfect for a servant or concubine. Bidding starts at five thousand gold!"
A girl, barely eighteen, kicked and screamed as she was dragged forward. With a snap of his fingers, a black collar-shaped tattoo appeared on her neck. It tightened slowly, strangling her defiance into silence.
"I've seen enough," Levi growled.
With a crash, he dropped through the skylight, Lily at his side.
"This a private party, or can anyone join?" Levi shouted.
"By the order of Captain Levi, you are under arrest for slave trading," Lily declared. "Resist, and we will use force."
"Like hell we are!" someone screamed. Chaos erupted.
Weapons clashed, collared slaves attacked, but Levi and Lily fought with precision—lightning and ice weaving between them. Every strike aimed to disable, not kill, freeing as many as they could from the collars.
The well-dressed man bolted for the exit—only for Levi to intercept him, lifting him by the throat with one hand, an electrified trench knife pressed under his jaw.
"I wouldn't if I were you."
The man smirked, raising his bare hand.
"One touch, and I can collar anyone. Miss Frosty there isn't as quick as you. One wrong move—and her head pops right off."
Lily collapsed to her knees as tattoos snaked across her skin, her breath stolen away.
"She's strong," the man mused. "But everyone breaks eventually."
"You bastard."
"So, Captain… what's it going to be? Let me go, and she lives. Bring me in, and she dies."
Levi's face hardened. Without warning, he dropped the man, summoned a spear of lightning, and hurled it straight through his chest—sending him crashing through the warehouse doors.
The tattoos on Lily's body flickered, then vanished. She gasped for air, trembling.
"How'd you know that would work?" she asked.
"He said letting him go would save you. That meant his power only worked in range—as long as the collar wasn't fully formed."
They rushed outside—only to find the slave trader, bleeding but alive, surrounded by lawmen.
"Give it up," Lily warned coldly. "You're surrounded."
Levi's brow furrowed. "No… we never told them our location. These aren't reinforcements. They're his allies."
A man stepped forward, clapping slowly.
"Bravo, Commander. Took you long enough."
"Sergeant Reed," Levi growled.
"My, my, you have my praise, Captain. And here I thought I'd get to keep the charade up a little longer."
"I suspected you from the start." Levi snapped. "It was too easy. Too convenient, especially on the basis that it was a rumor."
Reed sneered. "Well, I couldn't just have some street punk discrediting our division, could I. And what do I find? A nosy captain and his soon-to-be-dead lieutenant. You should know, Lieutenant—I hate preppy types like you most of all. Stuck up, squared away, looking down on everyone else who doesn't fit your precious capital's ideals. It's disgusting. But luckily for me, while I may not be as strong as a captain or lieutenant, I brought more than enough men to handle you two."
He gestured, and the lawmen raised their weapons.
"Kill them both."
The corrupted lawmen surged forward, revolvers cracking, blades flashing in the dim light. Boots thundered against the stone, the air filling with smoke and shouts.
Levi didn't hesitate. Electricity flared from his body, his trench knife snapping into his hand as he shot forward in a blur. As bullets came in every direction—he weaved past them, blade flashing across the gunmen's wrist, sending their weapons clattering. Another officer swung a saber—Levi's karambit intercepted, sparks flying as lightning surged down the blade, searing the steel.
Behind him, Lily fought to keep pace. Her frost bloomed outward, walls of ice blocking gunfire and forcing men to slip on slick cobblestones. But every wall cracked faster, every shard took more out of her. She was running on empty.
"Stay behind me!" Levi shouted, trench knife sparking as he drove its electrified knuckle-guard into a man's gut, dropping him.
"I don't need a babysitter!" Lily snapped, forcing an ice spike through another officer's pistol before he could fire. But her breathing was ragged, her hands trembling.
Levi's jaw tightened. "You need to live." His voice was sharp, protective—leaving no room for argument.
Even outnumbered, Levi held back from killing. His strikes broke bones, shattered weapons, and left men convulsing on the ground. But the restraint was costing him energy, and Reed saw it.
The sergeant pushed through the chaos, sneering as he raised his own blade. "You should've stayed in your lane, Captain!"
Levi's eyes burned white, lightning crawling across his arms. "And let filth like you hide behind a badge?" His voice was thunder itself. "Not a chance."
With a stormwave of current, he blasted the last line of officers aside. Bodies groaned on the ground, weapons clattering into the dark. Silence fell, heavy and electric.
Lily leaned against him, bloodied but standing, frost fading from her palms. "Your chance to surrender has passed," she said coldly.
But Reed only laughed.
"Looking for me?"
His voice echoed from above. They turned—Reed stood atop a collapsed container, blood running down his face, one arm locked around the battered trader's neck. His other hand held a strange device, glowing red at its core.
"Looks like things didn't go as you planned, Captain," he mocked. "But don't worry—I won't leave you empty-handed."
The trader's eyes widened in horror. "No—don't!"
Reed slammed the device into the man's chest.
The world exploded in black and crimson light. Energy tore outward, swallowing both men. The trader screamed as his body warped, flesh hardening into obsidian plates veined with glowing red. Reed's form twisted into his back, his sneering face stretched across the husk like a parasite.
Lily staggered back. "What the hell is that…?"
Reed's voice slithered from the creature, layered and grotesque.
"My gift to the Five Points' finest—a glimpse of true power. The collars were just fragments. This is the source. The Heart of Subjugation."
Oppression crashed over them like a wave. Levi dropped to one knee, lightning flickering. Lily gasped, clutching her ribs, her frost barely flickering at her fingertips.
The monster advanced.
The creature roared, and waves of oppressive energy flooded the area. Levi dropped to one knee, gritting his teeth as his lightning flickered. Lily cried out, clutching her head.
The corrupted fusion advanced, cracking the floor with each step.
"You won't stop me," Reed's voice echoed from the beast. "Not now. Not when I'm this close to breaking the chains on this city."
Levi forced himself to stand, veins sparking. "I've heard enough."
He turned to Lily. "Can you still fight?"
"I'll crawl if I have to."
"Good. Then let's end this."
They launched forward, Lily creating a flurry of ice to slow the beast's movements while Levi struck with precise lightning jabs. But the creature adapted quickly—collars erupting from its chest like tendrils, trying to ensnare them.
Lily was almost caught when a collar wrapped around her ankle, but she shattered it with a spike of ice.
"No more of this," Levi growled.
Levi forced himself onward, trench knife alive with current. He blitzed forward in a crack of thunder, his body condensing into lightning itself—"Direct Current."
He reappeared at the beast's chest, trench knife sparking as it punched through obsidian flesh. followed by a concussive blast from his speed, doubling the impact force. The monster reeled, but recovered fast, tendrils of collar-markings whipping outward like serpents.
Levi's karambit snapped free on its wire, intercepting one tendril, sparking as it severed the mark mid-air. He yanked it back into his hand, breathing hard.
The beast feinted—then lashed sideways at Lily.
Lily tried forming an ice wall but was too slow. The claws raked across her ribs, ripping her uniform and sending her sprawling into the dirt. Blood pooled under her palm as she tried to rise.
"Lily!" Levi's voice cracked, panic in his eyes.
The monster loomed over her, collar pulsing, claws raised for the killing strike.
Levi bolted forward, saving Lily, slicing into Reed mid-swing, a thunderclap exploding outward as he ripped the beast off its feet. As he placed Lily down, veins glowing like molten glass, his face was no longer calm—only bloodlust.
"You bastard," he hissed.
The blades hovered in the air, wire taut, lightning streaking across them.
"You want to see power? Then feel mine."
Lightning condensed into his fists.
With shallow breaths, Levi spoke. "Direct current."
He blitzed straight into the monster, shockwaves bursting outward. The husk reeled, fractures glowing bright red. Levi rebounded, then bolted forward, forming a lightning spear
He hurled it, its velocity enhanced by his speed, accelerating it to near light-speed, and magnifying its mass and force to devastating levels—"Ride the Lightning."
Levi vanished into a bolt of current, reappearing mid-flight at the spear. He slammed his fist into its base, driving it through the beast's chest in a detonation of sound and light. The warehouse shook, dust raining from the rafters.
The creature dropped to one knee, body split with glowing fractures. Reed's voice croaked through the husk. "You… can't stop it… there are more… more like me…"
Levi approached calmly, eyes burning white.
"I'm growing tired of hearing your voice."
He slit Reed's throat with his trench knife, silencing him. Then, without a word, he drove the blade into its chest, locking it in like a conductor.
He turned his back and walked toward Lily. With every step, he snapped his fingers.
Crack. A lightning bolt struck Reed's husk.Crack. Another tore into it.Crack. Crack. Crack.
By the time Levi reached her, Reed was nothing but ash on the wind.
Levi swayed, his eyes dimming, body trembling from the overload.
"Captain…" Lily whispered, trying to steady him. "It's over. I'm okay. You did it."
But he didn't respond. He stood frozen, unconscious on his feet.
"Captain!"
Her cry echoed through the ruined warehouse—before everything went black.
Three days later
Levi and Lily, both wrapped in bandages and still sore from the previous encounter, stood in the lobby of the local station, reluctantly reporting in.
"Ugh, why am I the one stuck filing paperwork?" Levi muttered, wincing as he shifted in his seat. "This isn't even my division."
"Their commander gets back tonight," Lily replied, flipping through a report. "Pretty sure he'll want a full explanation for why half his unit is in jail."
"Not my fault, he hired garbage."
"That may be true," she said, not looking up, "but it is your fault that 53 of them are in the hospital with broken bones."
"If they trained harder, that wouldn't be an issue."
"Not everyone is as dedicated to training as you are. Now, quit your complaining and finish the report so we can eat."
Levi stared at her for a moment, then sighed, a faint smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. He turned back to the paperwork, secretly relieved that she was okay. As his pen scratched across the page, his mind drifted to the battles still ahead and the strange feeling that this was only the beginning.