The day went by without incident. Alice and I finished our tasks quickly, once again leaving Hugo impressed with our performance.
We were now walking back to Lisa's house, under a sky painted with the last hues of sunlight.
When we opened the door, Lisa greeted us with her usual calm demeanor. Still, it was clear she looked much better today than she had the day before.
"Alice, Ethan? You're done with your work already?" she asked, a little surprised by how early it was.
"Yes, Lisa. We didn't have much to do today, so we finished pretty quickly," I replied, smiling back at her.
"That's good. I'll head to the school to pick up Emily in about thirty minutes. In the meantime, you two should rest."
"Thanks, Lisa. Tell us, how was your day?"
We spent the next few minutes chatting with her. She told us about her day, and we shared ours in return. After about thirty minutes, Lisa stood up hurriedly and left for the school to pick up Emily.
Roughly twenty-five minutes later, they were back. The sunset had cast golden tones across the sky, but Emily was still bursting with the same energy she'd had in the morning.
After grabbing a small bite, we spent the next few hours playing and laughing, swept up in her enthusiasm.
It was fun...
This little place felt like a hidden paradise in the middle of the hell that surrounded us.
I wonder if there's another corner like this in the other sectors of the center.
Honestly, I doubt it.
Emily... she's one of a kind. Throughout my life, I've met people from all walks of life from the richest to the poorest, from the weakest to the most powerful. And except for my own mother, I've never met anyone like her.
Emily and Lisa don't deserve to live in a place like this. Alice and I are in full agreement on that.
Once we finish this mission, we'll ask our parents to help us get them out of here.
With their level of teleportation, they could sneak in and take them out without anyone noticing.
After that... well, Lisa isn't a user, so she'd go completely unnoticed. We could find her work at Alice's house, or anywhere she'd like.
Emily's still very young. We could even recruit her as a future Evans. While most young Evans join the academy at ten, there's nothing stopping someone from enrolling a bit later, as long as it's before thirteen when mana training begins.
We'd just need to train her a bit, without touching the subject of mana yet, and she could join next year.
Between laughter and games, night caught up with us.
It was time to sleep.
------------------------
Alice and I got up once we were sure both Emily and Lisa were fast asleep.
Not long after, we felt a presence a kind of energy no one else in this area would have sensed. A subtle mana, but at a level that rivaled maybe even slightly surpassed ours.
It was Aiden. He was signaling us that it was time to meet.
We teleported instantly to the source of that mana.
There was Aiden, waiting for us.
When he saw us, he approached. I stepped forward as well, and we shook hands in greeting. He and Alice exchanged a slight nod.
"Looks like you don't have another target tonight," Alice said.
"No, things are pretty calm around here," Aiden replied.
"That's good," I added.
"Well, it's time we start planning how we're going to deal with Jacob and the Shadow Fangs," Alice said, her eyes gleaming with excitement. She seemed eager for a fight.
Aiden looked at her and nodded.
"Yeah. I think we should take care of Jacob first. Then we can handle the rest," he suggested.
"Oh? Going straight for the head?" I asked.
"Exactly. Once Jacob falls, the others shouldn't be a problem for the three of us."
He's right. With the three of us, Jacob is the only real threat. My original plan was for two to take him on while the third distracted his men. But the idea of ambushing him together and taking him down fast makes a lot of sense. Three rank 3 against one... if we catch him off guard, we'll almost certainly defeat him quickly.
"Sounds like a good plan. But before that, I'd like to know — what kind of skills does Jacob specialize in?" I asked Aiden.
"I... I don't know," he replied, sounding a bit uneasy.
"You don't know?" Alice said, raising an eyebrow.
"I've only seen him a few times over the years. I've been able to sense his mana, which gave me an idea of his strength, but I've never fought him. He's always surrounded by his goons facing him head-on would be suicide. Usually, when I take out one of them in his territory, I do it as quickly as possible and leave before he shows up. I've always avoided direct confrontation."
"I see... and what does he look like?"
"The last time I saw him was five years ago. He looked like a man at the end of middle age. Black hair, though there were a few white strands. He was about six-foot-three, with a short beard covering his chin. His power was just a bit below mine. I'd say he was in the early stages of what you call rank 3."
An older man, then... That explains a lot.
If Jacob had extraordinary talent, even with limited resources, he could've reached a mid-level rank. But that would've taken most of his life. And it seems that's exactly what happened.
"Well, that's all we've got on Jacob, right?" I asked again.
"Yeah," Aiden confirmed.
"Then it's time to start organizing everything precisely," said Alice, already focused on what was ahead.
Over the next hour, we carefully laid out the plan. Aiden told us about the most important members of the Shadow Fangs, aside from Jacob.
None of them really stood out. They were strong apprentices, but nothing we couldn't handle.
Only two were worth mentioning Remo and Reuben, both novice-ranked.
Remo was relatively weak, but Reuben was Jacob's second in command and could be considered a mid-level novice.
---------------------------
Finally, with everything planned, we decided to strike in two nights.
We made that decision because it was highly likely that, after this action, our mission would come to an end.
But before that, we wanted to spend a bit more time with Emily and Lisa, since once we left, it could be days maybe even weeks before we could get them out of there.
After each mission, we have to follow protocol , give oral and written reports, undergo a clan review of the events, and take care of other sensitive matters.
So, over the next two days, we simply did our assigned tasks and made the most of every moment with Emily and Lisa.
Those two days felt like a short vacation.
It's funny how, in a place like this which could easily be considered hell Alice and I felt more at ease than in the most luxurious parts of Nexus.
Without a doubt, what makes a place matter isn't the place itself, but the people in it.
Emily and Lisa are among those rare few who can turn hell into home.
But, like a blink, those two days vanished.
The moon was at its highest point when we quietly left the small house, careful not to wake Emily or Lisa.
We headed for the meeting point with Aiden.
It was about eight kilometers away, right at the border between Iron Jackals territory and that of the Shadow Fangs.
We got there in just a few minutes, and soon we spotted Aiden waiting for us a few meters ahead.
He gave us a small nod, signaling us to follow.
And so we did.
At last, we were entering the territory of the Shadow Fangs