At the clinic’s dining table, surrounded by the demi-humans, Zenos sat solemnly. “Liz is an assassin with the Black Guild...?”

Zophia, sitting across from him, nodded firmly. “There’s no two ways about it. The attack on the festival, her sudden appearance, the random attacks—all these events are connected.”

Wordlessly, Zenos crossed his arms. Liz had left the mountains saying she was going “back,” but hadn’t returned to the clinic. She hadn’t shown up today either, and her whereabouts were unknown.

“Also, in our opinion, she’s a succubus mutant,” Lynga said.

“When we went looking for you, a bunch of mind-controlled men blocked our path. There’s no doubt that that’s what she is,” Loewe concluded.

Frowning, Zenos muttered, “Liz is a mutant...” He recalled the sweet scent and the way his head had spun when Liz confessed to him in their secret base.

“Mutants” were humans who suddenly grew the ability to use the powers of a monster. There was no indication that Liz had been aware of this during their time together at the orphanage, but now that Zenos thought about it, the agitated adults would often grow softer when Liz attempted to defuse a tense situation. Maybe she’d been subconsciously using her power.

She must’ve become aware of her ability at some point after leaving the orphanage, and chosen to move underground and join the Black Guild.

“Doc, I think maybe her objective was to take over the slums by controlling you, because of how influential you are,” Zophia said.

Zenos hummed thoughtfully in response.

“And I don’t think that plan is thwarted just yet,” she continued.

“What do you mean?”

Zophia leaned forward slightly. “See, between yesterday and today, several of our guys have gone missing.”

“Gone missing?”

“I think they’ve been taken hostage by people from the Black Guild,” Lynga ventured. “Despite our warnings that they shouldn’t be wandering off alone.”

“The random stabbing has the younger guys on edge,” Loewe explained. “They’ve probably started looking for the stabber on their own.”

Though the demi-human leaders spoke plainly, their expressions were clouded with concern for their men.

“My, but it sounds like the situation is about to take a turn for the dangerous,” Carmilla said as she sat at the edge of the table sipping tea. “I would have preferred it if this all had ended when the romcom battle was settled.”

“The hells is a ‘romcom battle’?” Zenos asked.

Carmilla chuckled. “Oh, ’tis a private matter. Do not mind me.”

Lynga clenched her fist. “I’m worried about my men, but we have our own hostage too, so the playing field is even.”

“Shh! Stupid!” Zophia admonished her. “You weren’t supposed to tell yet!”

“Oh! Crap!”

“What’s this about?” Zenos asked, puzzled.

Zophia replied apologetically, “Well, yesterday, after we were attacked on the mountain path, we knocked out and captured this big guy who looked like their leader. The fate of the slums is at stake here, so we wanted an ace up our sleeves too.”

Loewe nodded in agreement. “The puppets were small fry, but the bigger guy was pretty strong. I would’ve made short work of him if I hadn’t been on a diet, though.”

“Oh, but doc, don’t worry. We didn’t kill anyone,” Zophia said, waving her hands as if to defend their actions.

Zenos sighed. “Did he say anything?”

“He hasn’t spilled a single bean, of course. Just threatening him a bit won’t do it; the guy wouldn’t crack that easily.”

“I could’ve made him talk if you’d let me,” Lynga protested.

“You’d go too far,” Zophia retorted. “The guy’s from the Black Guild. We knew he wouldn’t talk easily. If we can use him as a bargaining chip, that’s good enough.”

Lily looked at the healer anxiously while holding a tray. “Zenos...”

“Looks like a lot has happened behind the scenes while I wasn’t all there. Sorry, guys.”

The demi-humans shook their heads. “She was pretty crafty, so it makes sense,” Zophia said. “Just seems we need to get ready on our end too, doc.”

“I hear people from the Black Guild are only loosely associated, so factions act independently,” Lynga remarked.

“But since they lack centralized leadership, it’s hard to predict their actions,” Loewe pointed out.

“Complicated indeed,” Carmilla chimed in.

“Yeah,” Zenos murmured. “But... What I’m worried about is...” He trailed off, staring blankly into the void for a while before eventually unfolding his arms. “Can I have a chat with this ‘big guy’ you mentioned?”

***

In the far depths of the slums lay the underground sewers, its many twists and turns intertwined in a complex pattern like a den of tangled snakes.

“I’m disappointed, Liz.” A man’s voice, heavy and chilling, echoed from one of the sewers’ countless corners. “I waited because you asked me to wait until you had the ruler of the slums under your thrall, but you failed at that. Is this how you repay my generosity? Betrayal?”

Liz dropped to her knees before the darkness and lowered her head. “My apologies.”

“And he’s not even a ruler, just an ordinary healer? What a joke.”

She said nothing to that.

“Now I may need to reconsider my stance on our little matter.”

Still facing the ground, Liz shuddered. “Please! Give me another chance! Just one more!”

The man scoffed. “Very well, then. I am simply that magnanimous when it comes to you, after all. You have one more opportunity to redeem yourself.”

“Th-Thank you!”

“But there won’t be a next time.”

“Yes, sir.”