She’d been planning to use her succubus blood to charm the male guards, but she hadn’t seen a single man yet.

“Hmm, her pupil reflexes seem fine. Um, what was I supposed to do next, again...?” the young elf pondered, a finger on her forehead as she peered down at Liz. “Oh! Right! Zenos said to check the extent of the coma in unconscious patients!” Rustling sounds echoed through the room as the girl prepared something. “I think...um, right, to check how deeply asleep the patient is, I need to inflict pain. Then... Oh, I know! I’ll try crushing a fingernail!”

“W-Wait! Wait, wait, waaait!”

“Huh? Did she wake up?”

“Z-Zzz...”

“Oh? She’s asleep. Did I imagine that too?”

Sweat was streaming down Liz’s temples at this point as she continued to feign sleep. The mastermind’s lair was way, way worse than she could’ve ever imagined. Coming here alone had been premature on her part. This little elf girl, whom Liz had thought was a caretaker, had suddenly begun to act like a torturer! Why, this place was as lawless as the depths of the Black Guild! A paradise for the deranged! No wonder this man had unified the chaos of the slums!

O-Okay. This is getting bad. I need to “wake up.” Things were growing dire. Honestly, Liz feared for her life! Surely if she woke up and caused a commotion, one or two male guards would show up? And then she’d have her chance!

But just as she began to slowly open her eyes, someone barged in through the front door, forcing Liz to hurriedly close her eyes again. A man, maybe? She stole a hopeful peek at the visitor, but...

“Doc! Are you here?!” a voice rang out.

“Oh, Zophia!” Lily said. “Zenos is out doing rounds today.”

“Ah, right,” replied the disappointed visitor with black hair tied up in a ponytail. “I forgot about that.”

Damn it. Another woman. The name “Zophia” was familiar to Liz—that was the leader of the lizardman faction in the slums.

Noticing Liz on the bed, Zophia said, “Oh. A patient?”

“Yeah, Lynga brought her in,” Lily explained. “She hasn’t regained consciousness yet...”

“Hmm. She looks healthy, though. Are you sure she’s sick?”

Liz’s heart skipped a beat.

“Oh, well. Whatever,” Zophia continued. “I just came over to bring some high-quality meat as a gift.”

“You’re always so thoughtful.”

“I mean, the doc’s always watching out for us, you know? It’s the least I can do. Anyway, I’ll leave it here, all right?”

“Okay! Thank you!”

Zophia set down a package on the desk and left. A tribute, maybe? Liz was in a panic, fearing the lizardwoman had seen through her ruse. Her reputation as leader of one of the three major factions of the slums wasn’t unfounded, it seemed. Liz decided to lie low and continue to watch the situation.

Another visitor walked in. Hoping this time it was a man, Liz opened her eyes ever so slightly, but before her stood a tall woman with dark skin. Another woman?!

“Is Zenos here?” the visitor asked.

“Oh, Loewe!” Lily said. “Zenos is doing rounds today.”

“Oh, right, yeah. My bad.” Loewe, likely the leader of the orcs, glanced at Liz down on the bed and pointedly remarked, “Who’s this? An intruder?”

Liz flinched, her eyebrows spasming lightly.

The elf girl shook her head. “No, she was out cold on the street. Lynga brought her in. She won’t wake up, though...”

“Oh, she won’t? Maybe I could try to wake her up with a solid punch to the gut?”

No! No, no, nonononono! Who in their right mind would just casually suggest such a thing?! Was everyone who came here a deviant?!

“You can’t do that, Loewe,” Lily said. “She’s sick.”

“Really? When my men are passed out like that I can usually punch them awake, but all right, have it your way. I’ll see you later.”

“Okay! Later!”

Silence once again fell upon the room after Loewe’s departure.

Okay. This is fine. Except, Liz thought to herself, there are no men here. Not a single one has shown up. Men. Don’t. Exist. There are truly. Seriously. No men. Anywhere.

At this point, she was wondering if the mastermind was the only man in his lair. Was there some rule against allowing men inside? But to keep his authority he’d need guards and laborers. How could he possibly not have any men around?

As Liz pondered her next move, the elf girl muttered worriedly, “What do I do? She’s not waking up at all...” She glanced at the clock on the wall, then spoke in a concerned tone, “Sorry. I think only Zenos can help you. He’s probably on his way home, so I’ll go fetch him, okay? Wait just a bit.” With that, the girl opened the door and scurried out.

Wait, she went outside? And she’d said something about going to fetch the mastermind. “This is my chance!”

Finally opening her eyes, Liz sat up on the bed. The caretaker-slash-torturer elf girl was gone, and she couldn’t sense anyone else nearby. She’d deducted that this dilapidated house was actually the lair of the ruler of the slums. However, she’d been having far more trouble than anticipated getting past even the front door, and had no idea when she’d actually be brought to the owner of the place. This could be her opportunity to find the entrance to the underground part of the hideout and, if possible, sneak into the mastermind’s chambers. There she could catch him off guard and use him as her pawn.

“Hmph. That was a bit of a hassle, but worth the patience. I’ll be the victor in the end,” Liz said. Suddenly, she felt a strange chill, and brought her hand to her neck reflexively. “No one’s here...right?”

She focused her senses, but still couldn’t feel anyone’s presence nearby. Life as a member of the Black Guild had made her particularly alert to the presence of others; she couldn’t be mistaken.

And indeed, Liz was right. Now that Lily had left, there were no more people in the vicinity.

Living people, that is.

***

“Um, is someone there?” Liz looked around, but found no one. Was it just her imagination after all?

Slowly, she lowered her feet from the bed to the cool floorboards. Beyond the cracked window, the sunlight took on a crimson hue. Repainted in twilight colors, the sky looked eerily unsettling.

“It’s kind of chilly,” she remarked, feeling unusually cold despite the fact it wasn’t even winter yet. Liz walked around the room, hugging her shoulders.

Besides the bed, the room had an old desk and bookshelf. She couldn’t find a path to the underground at a glance, but it could’ve been cleverly hidden. First, she tapped the floorboards here and there, but couldn’t find any spots that seemed hollow. Then, she checked the bookcase, filled with dubious books: human anatomy diagrams, an illustrated guide to bones, manuals on organs... There was no door behind the case, however.

She opened up a cabinet, and a pungent chemical smell filled her nostrils. On closer inspection, she saw bottles containing suspicious herbs and various liquids with poisonous-looking colors.

“Human anatomy? Strange chemicals? Creepy,” she murmured.