By the time Zatu is on his way to the stairs Illya shows up and stops him.
Looking at her in his shoulder Zatu raises an eyebrow, hopeful that the problem was already solved.
An idea he completely scraps once he sees Illya's serious face.
"What's the situation?"
"It's a stand off between official guards and everyone else. I couldn't catch what happened but a woman there is bleeding from her mouth." She answers in a matter of fact dead pan tone. "It's not fatal but I saw a couple of her teeth strewn around."
Zatu narrows his eyes.
"The staff is siding with who?"
"The customers." Illya answers, prompting Zatu to pull out a token black and golden token from his space pouch, a sword carving making one of its sides.
If he was going to confront the official guards, with his little strength and low level, the only tool he could use was the status old man Arbo had granted to him.
A tactic Zatu disliked deeply.
Using a power that wasn't his, truly his, made him feel like a clown waving away in the air a fake accolade he simply didn't deserve.
Still, this wasn't the Outer city or some random situation he passed by on the street.
This was a group of guards antagonizing citizens inside his best friend's Inn and he wasn't about to let that shit just happen.
He tries to walk forward, but Illya walks in front of him and stops him again.
"What are you doing?" He shoots a questioning look at the hand she placed in his chest before locking eyes with her.
"The leader of the guards is low tier 3, easy to kill, but too strong for me to hold him back without doing so." She warns him, knowing the consequences of killing an official guard in broad daylight inside Inner city would be a death sentence…
Usually at least, since Zatu was not some random person, but the grandson of a high councilor.
And if that token in his hand told her anything was that High Councilor Greensword really liked the boy.
"There won't be a fight Illya." Zatu raises the council token in the air. "This is Grandpa's actual token and he made sure how to use it, pulling this out a word from me represents the council and nothing crosses the council inside Unbreon."
He stated confidently, knowing both the token and the guard's classes were connected to the city and their panels would warn them instantly the moment he walked down stairs…
If they hadn't already been warned by now.
Before he can step forward, Illya hand presses on his chest and her emerald eyes pull his attention.
"Zatu, they punched someone's teeth out while inside Inner city, I don't think they care about rules."
Her eyes grew sharp, in theory there maybe was a way for her to incapacitate him in a skirmish, but would she risk Zatu becoming a hostage of the other dozen guards so her opponent could live?
Absolutely not and she had to make that crystal clear to Zatu, lest he throws her away after she executes them out of nowhere.
An absurd fear, since the boy considered her way more than the tool she considered herself to be.
But that is beside the point.
With the most serious look she could muster she stares into his blue eyes.
"If there is a fight would you rather I kill their leader or pull you out?"
That gave him pause and a frown so deep it scrunched his nose.
Pulling out was out of the picture, as that would mean the guards arresting people inside Schalt's Inn…
Under Zatu's watch, because he himself was too afraid to use the power he held in his hand… literally.
But executing a combatant tier 3 a year before the beast wave was, to say the least, a blow to the city.
For what he knew Unbreon's population was in the low hundreds of thousands, with tier 3's numbering in the thousands, combatants in the low hundreds, all due to the high death rate caused by beasts.
Putting that in perspective, killing this guy right now, meant the death of dozens or more in the incoming beast waves for lack of personnel.
Inside his heart a small doubt popped up, questioning if he should even go down there and make such a decision.
Before the next second he squashed it to dust inside his chest.
Mana coursed down his arm into the token, the sword in the middle glowed with green light.
The small hidden runes made for recording sound shone around its edges.
"Illya keep yourself hidden and if that tier 3 official guard aggresses on anyone or I command you to, execute him." Zatu narrowed eyes and could only hope things wouldn't go so far.
Still with a formal tone and a certainty of what should be done he finished the recording.
"I Zatu Rainfall, register this council order on the third week of the tenth month of the 996th year of the Imperium's calendar, under the authority granted to me personally, by High Councilor Arbo Greensword."
*
Shattered glass shards scattered across the ground, cold beer spill spreading over the marble floor.
The air was thick as molasses and dozens of eyes glared at each other.
On one side city guards and not just any guards.
But a special group under the Darkglade family itself, as shown by the white snake pins placed on their chest.
On the other side a party of combatants, with hands placed over weapons, muscles tensing under their shirts.
At the sides other customers watched shocked by the situation as a couple staff helping a bleeding woman help collect her teeth on the ground.
"Back off mongrels and I won't tell the young master about your futile resistance."
The leader of the guards sneered, posture relaxed with a lazy hand on his saber.
Though the girl the young master picked today ended up being part of a hunting party, it shouldn't be too meddlesome to make them back off.
After all here in the heart of Unbreon there weren't many that equaled young master's status.
And from his senses none other tier 3's fighters like him present.
Now all he had to do was take the girl upstairs, and maybe if he could trigger the peasants hard enough he could take a couple heads too.
The guard licks his lips at that thought, though killing wasn't specially pleasurable, the leveling he could get for an execution under young master's orders was tempting to say the least.
A boon gained thanks to the blank check he easily gained to do anything necessary as long as the girl ended in the young master's arms tonight.
With the combatants all around mid tier 2 it was each of their heads should equal to a week of hard work, if not little more.
With a smirk, the chief of guards looks at the reddened face of the shield bearer, the one who reacted the hardest when one of his underlings punched the stupid girl down.
"You are only making things worse, peasant Young master doesn't like to wait and it's the little whore over there who will bear his wrath tonight."
The bearer's body leaned forward, before one of his companions held him back, though his mouth was quiet his body shivered in anger.
"Elara did nothing wrong and the actions from you and your goons makes me question if you're really a Unbreon official or just dressed like one."
The leader of the party steps forward, calm and collected, though the anger in his eyes couldn't be hidden from head guard.
"Be aware the council will know what happened today, buddy." The leader added, a clear implication he knew someone from the council.
'I guess one of them isn't an outer city monkey… not that it matters anyway.'
The head guard thought with a sneer.
"Go ahead buddy, there are many councilors with many opinions, but only a single viscount with a very loved son."
Having addressed the leader, the head guard turns his eyes back to the party's weak point.
"Tell you this, I'm so confident nothing will happen next week I'll be marrying my childhood sweetheart and if the little whore sucks Young Master's dick good enough I'll invite you two to it."
"I'll push your nose to the back of your skull!" The shield wielder growled, launching forward towards the head guard.
The guard hand closes on his saber's pummel, with a smirk he pulls it out from his hip.
The sword swooshed through the air, a light strike and play strike for the head guard, a deadly undodgeable cut to the slow and bulky shield bearer.
"NO ROKAN!" The leader tackles his friend to the ground just in time to push him out of the blade's path.
Like a cat poised to strike the bird the head guard stepped closer, blade in hand.
"Atacking a official while on duty, punishable by dea…" He stops mid sentence, his eyes still unfocusing from the two struggling guys on the ground and onto the small system screen on his view.
============
Council executor from [Unbreon] present, under authority of - [High Councilor Greensword].
============
"What is happening here?" A voice came from the stairs, as a figure slowly made its way down.
"Ugh, a council dog." The head guard cursed under his breath.