Chapter 3: The Professionals
The rain hit harder now — the kind that made the city smell like ozone, old magic, and fried goblin food.
Aza stood at the edge of District 9, a dark, industrial sector full of half-broken factories and sketchy enchantment shops.
He looked up at the tall steel warehouse in front of him, where the mission was supposed to start.
"Yup," he said to himself. "Definitely looks like the kind of place where people die first in horror movies."
He took a deep breath and pushed the door open.
Inside was a dimly lit room with flickering lights, a holographic map in the center, and three figures waiting around it.
The professionals.
---
The Team
The first was a tall woman in sleek black armor — silver eyes, perfect stance, and the kind of expression that could slice bread.
Her name tag read "RAVEN" — because of course it did.
"You're late," she said coldly.
"Fashionably," Aza said.
"You're soaking wet."
"I call it dramatic entrance moisture."
She just sighed.
Next to her leaned a hulking man with glowing runes carved into his skin — a silent mountain of muscle named Brakk. He didn't talk much, which immediately made Aza suspicious.
"Do you talk, big guy?"
Brakk grunted.
"Cool, love the energy."
And the third was a skinny elf wearing too many gadgets — goggles, scanners, and a backpack that hummed like it was about to explode.
Dex, the "tech genius."
"Oh no," Dex muttered, adjusting his lenses. "They sent you?"
"Surprise!" Aza said, spreading his arms.
"You guys needed someone to lighten the mood."
"We needed someone competent," Raven replied.
"Well, too late for that. You got me."
---
They all turned to the holographic map. A red blinking dot marked their target: a cargo vault in the lower sector.
Raven explained,
"Our mission is to retrieve a stolen artifact — a relic from the Celestial Vaults. The client said it's dangerous."
"Dangerous like 'explodes when touched' or dangerous like 'turns people into frogs'?" Aza asked.
"Both, apparently."
Aza whistled.
"Nice. That's double the hazard pay."
"You're not getting hazard pay."
"Then why am I here?"
"Because no one else wanted to work with you."
"Fair," Aza said. "Rude, but fair."
---
The Break-In
They infiltrated the facility at night. Raven moved like a shadow, Brakk smashed locks quietly (somehow), and Dex hacked the security systems like a caffeine-fueled squirrel.
Aza… mostly provided commentary.
"You guys ever wonder why villains always store dangerous stuff in places this creepy?"
"Focus," Raven hissed.
"I am focusing. I'm just multitasking my anxiety."
They reached the vault.
A massive steel door glowed with golden runes — magical locks that shimmered like starlight.
"Can you open it, Dex?" Raven asked.
"Maybe. It's encoded with divine sigils. I'll need time."
"Or," Aza interrupted, "we could try my method."
Raven narrowed her eyes.
"Which is?"
"Improvisation."
Before anyone could stop him, Aza took out his gun, Blowjob, aimed at the runes — and fired.
The shot ricocheted around the room, hit a glowing panel, bounced off Brakk's shoulder, and struck the lock dead center.
The vault door clicked open.
Everyone froze.
"You…" Raven said slowly, "…just guessed the right rune combination by accident?"
"See?" Aza said, holstering his gun. "Half-assed, full results."
---
Inside the vault was a single item: a black crystal orb floating above a pedestal, pulsing like a heartbeat.
"That's it," Raven whispered. "The Heart of Noctis."
Dex scanned it.
"It's reacting to— wait… oh no."
The orb pulsed brighter. The runes on the walls flickered red.
"Aza," Raven said through gritted teeth, "what did you touch?"
"I swear I didn't—"
The orb started glowing violently.
"Okay, I might've poked it."
The entire vault exploded in light.
---
Aftermath
When Aza woke up, he was lying face-first in a crater outside the warehouse. His jacket was on fire, and a pigeon was standing triumphantly on his head.
He groaned, sat up, and looked around.
The team was scattered — bruised, smoking, but alive. The vault was gone. The artifact was gone.
Raven stormed toward him.
"What. Did. You. Do?"
"Technically," Aza said, dusting himself off, "I succeeded in retrieving it."
"Where is it?!"
"Uh… probably gone to orbit. Maybe."
Dex sighed, staring at his broken scanner.
"You unleashed something, Aza. That orb wasn't just an artifact — it was a containment seal."
"Of what?"
"Something that's now free."
Aza blinked.
"...So, good news or bad news?"
"Bad."
"Alright," he said, standing up. "Then I'm ordering pizza. We'll panic after."
---
The team glared at him as he walked off toward the city lights, whistling.
Behind them, the clouds swirled unnaturally — a massive shadow moving through the sky.
Something ancient had awakened.
Aza didn't know what it was yet, but one thing was certain:
This job just got way above his pay grade.
And maybe… way above his maturity level, too.
"Guess I'm the hero now," he muttered."God help everyone."