In another corner of the city, deep within the black market quarter, J's palace pulsed with a strange silence. In a shadow-choked chamber, J stood beside a bed, his broad frame half-illuminated by the weak glow of a hanging lantern.
On the mattress lay a human-sized figure, lifeless, its features half-hidden by blood-soaked sheets. J's gaze lingered on his own hands, crimson dripping from his fingers in thick streaks. Slowly, his eyes shifted to the woman standing a few paces behind him.
She wore long purple robes, her pale hands folded tightly before her, her head bowed low. Valki.
"What did you see, Valki?" J's voice was steady, too calm, the kind of calm that made the air heavier.
Valki did not flinch. Her voice came soft, calculated. "I was taking a shower, Lord J."
Then, without warning, she collapsed. Her body hit the stone floor hard, her ankle twisting with a sickening crack. A cry tore from her lips as she clutched her leg. Her words tumbled out through the pain. " Then I… I slipped so hard… I couldn't walk."
What Valki's actions and words meant, beneath their surface, was clear enough: if anyone were to ask, the story would be simple; she had tripped during the show, left unable to walk, and so could not possibly know what became of their ruler.
For a long moment, J's face remained unreadable. Then, faintly, his lips curled. "You are a clever woman, Valki. Such a waste… that all bark and no bite never realized that side of you."
He crouched in front of her, towering presence shrinking into something even more suffocating. His eyes locked onto hers, and though his tone softened, it carried weight sharp enough to crush bone. "But you didn't need to hurt yourself like that."
Valki's head lifted slowly. Fear rippled through her eyes, but she forced herself to meet his gaze.
"What I meant was… did you see me kill him with my own hands? Did you see how he clung to life, barking orders like a dying dog? Everyone was tired of his ruling anyway."
Valki swallowed hard, nodding. A tremor ran through her body, not only from the pain but from the unspoken question clawing at her mind: *Would J become exactly what their late ruler was?*
J broke the silence, his voice cutting through the air. "Walyn."
From beyond the door, a voice answered. "Yes, Lord J." A tall green-skinned figure stood rigid at attention, waiting.
"Did they find it already?" J's eyes narrowed, a dark shadow creeping over his features.
"Yes, Lord J. They found it. But it has not yet been retrieved."
J tilted his head slightly, a dangerous quiet in his movements. Then he turned, his towering frame brushing the doorway. He beckoned with the right hand, and Walyn dared to peek in, uncertain of his master's sudden stillness, only to find J beckoning at him silently.
"Take Valki to her room," J ordered, his tone like iron. Without another glance, he strode past Walyn, the air following him like a weight of command.
—
As Salin's eyes stayed fixed on the road, a sharp glint flashed in his right side mirror. He leaned his head out the driver's side window for a clearer view.
"Elunara," he said, voice clipped, "I think we've got company."
From the back seat, Grandma Elunara shifted forward then looked at her right side window. Down the stretch of road, a dark-blue van surged into view, its tires chewing the gravel. Crouched on its roof, steadying a shoulder launcher toward them was an orange-skinned humanoid whose features betrayed his form: one-eyed, long ears curved back, not a strand on its head, teeth twisted, muscles taut, its grin stretched unnaturally wide.
Through the tinted glass, four more shapes could be seen crammed inside the van shifting restlessly, waiting for the moment to pounce.
Their eyes locked in the rearview mirror: Salin's narrowed with calculation, Grandma's alert but steady.
Then, with no warning, Salin slammed his foot down, his red strands loosening the ponytail. The car leapt forward, the sudden acceleration slamming Grandma back into her seat and jolting the kettle with Mikko still onto it to the headliner. The roar of their engine mixed with the shriek of the van's.
The humanoid's RPG belched fire. And the rocket streaked forward, trailing smoke.
At the last possible second, Salin stomped the brakes. Tires screamed against the dirt, the car shuddering violently. The rocket tore past, slamming into the ground just a step from the hood. The explosion erupted in a shower of earth and flame, the shockwave rattling the windshield and jolting them hard in their seats.
Salin pressed on the accelerator again, the engine growling as the van surged forward.
"Slow it down, and pull closer," Grandma Elunara's calm voice cut through the tension.
Salin hesitated, jaw tight. He wasn't sure if this was a good plan but he trusted her. Reluctantly, he eased his foot off the gas and steered the van closer.
From the back seat of the enemy car, one of the green humanoids leaned out, its sickly grin stretching unnaturally wide. In its clawed hand dangled a teddy bear the same one Mikko had clutched so tightly last night inside J's palace.
"I think you left something," the creature sneered, its voice slithering with mockery, "and took what didn't belong to you." Its laughter rasped like broken glass.
Without a word, Grandma Elunara shifted. She pulled herself halfway out the left window behind the passenger seat, her movements deliberate despite the rushing wind. In one fluid motion, she rose higher, planting a foot on the car's roof. Her body straightened into a stance almost heroic, her coat tugged by the morning air.
One leg stretched out for balance, the other bent tight, her right knee close to her chest. Her back lifted, steadying herself as if the wind itself dared not shake her.
She muttered her system's summoning words under her breath, and this time she got it correct.
"Silver Blade, Grade 2, C-Rank… reveal."
A holographic screen flickered into existence before her, its light cutting against the rushing morning air.
"I can't believe I'm still ranked C," she muttered with a tight expression, "guess I need to slay more Malgeds to upgrade." A grin curled on her lips as her fingers tapped swiftly across the interface 'Weapons'… scrolling down… Her hand paused, then yanked something out of the screen itself.
It was a dagger; slightly long, nearly the length from her elbow to her fingertips, thick-edged, and oddly misshapen as though forged in defiance of symmetry. Its silver gleam hummed faintly, alive with hidden power.
With no hesitation, she vaulted onto the enemy car. Her first strike was merciless slashing across the throat of the one clutching the RPG. Blood sprayed against the glass as his body collapsed sideways.
Before the others could react, she rammed the dagger into the car's roof, anchoring herself, and swung her body sideways with startling agility. Her legs snapped forward in a violent kick, crashing into the front passenger's face. He tumbled inside with a cry, teeth scattering across the dashboard. Grandma released her hand from the dagger and slid inside sitting on his lap.
They all froze, uncertain where to start from as Grandma scanned them with a twisted smile.
One of the men in the back on the left lunged with a knife, but Grandma Elunara twisted his hand sharply. The blade missed her and drove deep into his comrade's neck in the front seat instead, the one Grandma Elunara sat on his lap. Blood splashed on the driver and the windshield.
Grandma Elunara grinned at the man who just stabbed his own comrade.
"Ha! You can't even tell friend from foe."
She pulled out the knife and spun it to her forearm close her right elbow, then whipped her arm inward. The blade cut into the driver's right arm, then slammed his head against the steering wheel. The Malged yelped in pain clutching his arm as the car lurched left and right.
Grandma Elunara leapt into the back seats with fluid ease, her fists hammering into the throat of the passenger on the right. The man gagged, clawing at his neck. She swung her leg around and kicked the other on the left full in the face. His skull cracked through the side window, leaving his head dangling half-outside the car.
"How weak… but I'm having fun." Her grin was wicked as she muttered to herself.
Without hesitation, she shoved open the right rear door and dragged the half-conscious man beside it onto the road.
"Sorry," she said sweetly, "but I think your ride ends here."
Vaulting back onto the roof, she steadied herself while the driver swerved helplessly.
"Hey, can you drive faster? …Now turn right." Grandma urged.
The idiot driver obeyed on instinct. These orange-skinned minions were conditioned to follow orders, his hand jerked the wheel before his mind even caught up.
But another car screeched up behind them, packed with more of the same humanoids.
Salin pulled alongside, rolling down his window to signal Grandma Elunara. She leapt back onto his roof in one smooth motion. Stretching her arms in front, left palm down and right palm raised facing the center, she clenched her upper hand with crushing force.
The enemy vehicle groaned in protest, metal warping under invisible pressure. With every squeeze, the frame crumpled further, until the creatures inside wheezed their last breath. The car rolled off the road crushing onto other cars, tumbling onto its side before going still.
Unfazed, Grandma Elunara folded her fingers on both hands, extending only her index and middle fingers.
"This may not work on you," she whispered with a sly tilt of her lips, "but it's effective enough."
She flicked her hands forward, unleashing invisible bullets that punched through the windshield of the dark-blue car. The driver lost control instantly, swerving into a roadside stall. The vehicle plowed through wood and canvas before erupting in smoke and silence.
"Tch… they crushed with my dagger," she growled, shifting as if ready to leap for it.
Salin exhaled softly, shaking his head.
"You'll get a new one, Elunara. You've got more than enough weapons already."