"These Eternal Soul guys... Do they always wear masks like that?" Jack asked. The last time he encountered them, they didn't seem to wear any.

  "Masks of Mortality." Lady Gemrose muttered. "They are preparing to do a ritual."

  "Or, they are protecting themselves from a troublesome curse." Big Boss Lodegrey added. "Look at the lantern glowing blue there. It should be their [Azure Moon Lantern]. It restrains undeath energy, eldritch magic, and faith power."

  "Won't that mean they restrain their own power?" Bill asked in bafflement.

  Jack was also baffled. He understood that they wanted to suppress the Undeath Sect's undeath energy and Purity Cult's faith power. Eternal Soul Cult didn't use undeath energy. They also didn't worship any deity. So, that was understandable.

  But, a great part of Eternal Soul Cult members were warlocks and witches that used eldritch magic. If the artifact also suppressed eldritch power...

  "That's why they wear those masks." Big Boss Lodegrey said. "They should be made from elder wood. Those masks protect them from the artifact's suppression."

  Suddenly, the heavy iron doors at the edge of the basin's view swung open. Two pale looking men walked in. They were in normal daily clothing. Not exactly a special kind of attire. But each of them wore an obvious necklace with skull pendant. They looked obviously uncomfortable.

  "Undeath Sect..." Big Bill grunted. "Nasty pieces of work."

  Jack paid attention to the two. They were the ones he secretly interrogated this morning. Being eldritch warlocks with undeath energy, they were significantly suppressed by the [Azure Moon Lantern].

  Suddenly, Listener cleared her throat. And when she spoke afterward, her voice was no longer her own. It was a dry, rattling hiss. The voice of a cultist from the Eternal Soul. Very likely this group's leader.

  "You are late, Skull Bearers." Listener mimicked him. "The tide does not wait for the dead."

  One of the warlocks replied. Copied and channeled through Listener's vocal cords. "This damned city is thick with the living souls. It takes time to move unseen. You are the one who insists we have to get here without getting noticed."

  Before the Eternal Soul cultist could answer, the door opened again. Eight individuals marched in with military precision. They wore pristine white cloaks over their regular clothing. The contrast between their attires and the grimy basement was quite obvious.

  "The Purity Cult?" Big Bill commented. "Do they always dress like that? Looking like they're going to their ex's wedding."

  People around him chuckled hard to hear that.

  Listener's voice was back to the Eternal Soul leader's mode. "You truly dare come here, don't you? Purity Bastards!"

  Her voice shifted to a different on. Becoming cold, arrogant, and sharp. "Enough with your dumb remark, Old Man. The Purity Cult does not enjoy the stench of this hole of yours. Let's discuss what we're here for."

  The three factions gathered around a central table. One of the Undeath Sect warlocks reached into a pouch and pulled out a map. It was the map of Sapphire City.

  "We've placed the cursed [Blood Oath Coin] at the bottom of the sea. Around here." The warlock's voice hissed through Listener as he pointed at the coast.

  "You've already known what it does." The voice continued. "It's emitting daily projection that summons the Lonely Queen. It has been close to a month since we started it. The Lonely Queen should already be close enough."

  Jack sensed almost everyone else in the room stiffened. They knew the legends. Even if they had been previously ignorant about ghost ships, the appearance of the ghost ship projection changed that. Almost everyone here had researched at least once about ghost ships.

  And among the stories and legends, the Lonely Queen was one of the most famous. It wasn't just a ghost ship that spooked people with its appearance. It was a cursed ship filled with the damned undead sailors. A vessel of calamity that originated from the savage New Continent.

  "We've known that." The Purity Cult representative said dismissively. Out of Listener's mouth. "We've also known that you, filthy undead lovers, are targeting the victim souls that will perish with the arrival of the ship."

  In the basin scene, the representative looked at the Eternal Soul leader. "And we know you are targeting the map kept within the ghost ship." His voice was still arrogant and dismissive.

  The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

  The leader leaned forward aggressively. "And we are informed you want the ship. What exactly can you contribute to demand such thing? We don't need you."

  "We don't need your approval." The cultist from Purity Church snapped back. "We are just informing. Whether you are willing or not, the ship is ours."

  "You want a war?" The masked leader raised his hand. Black flame burst and coated it. "You get a war. Everyone..."

  "Wait!" One warlock from the Undeath Sect stopped him. "We can't fight now. The plan will be ruined. Let's talk like civilized people!"

  Civilized people? Civilized people who schemed to destroy a city and massacre thousands of innocent people? Jack snorted and drew his shotgun.

  He glanced at Big Boss Lodegrey. The union president's face was set in a mask of suppressed rage. The meeting had revealed a nasty scheme. An evil plot that could be a death warrant for the entire city.

  "Summoning a ghost ship to our city?" A mercenary said. His voice was flat and dangerous. "How dare they?"

  "Forget the capture order, Boss." Rainer Winter growled. "I think I'd rather just kill them all."

  Big Bill cracked his knuckles. "Agreed. Boss?"

  Big Boss Lodegrey stood up. His presence was filling the room. He looked at the hundred mercenaries who were now standing in total silence. Awaiting the word.

  "You heard them." The Mercenary Union president said. His voice was a low rumble that vibrated in the floorboards. "They want to turn our city into a miserable battlefield that will kill thousands. Or more. They don't put us in their eyes at all. That... is their greatest mistake."

  "We'll do it as we've planned." He ordered. "Kingson! Get your smoke grenades ready. The others... get to your assigned position. Capture just one or two of them for interrogation. The others... don't need to be alive. We're going to show them that this city still have us. The Union's mercenaries."

  He looked at Jack, Reina, and Yara.

  "The three of you... Get ready to move. Once Kingson's smoke hits the main chamber, you enter. Don't take risk. No mercy. Strike when you can. Hide when you have to."

  Jack and Reina put steamrune masks covering their mouths. They didn't need the masks. But they needed to put a show.

  Rune glowed orange in excitement. Floating nearby without any fear. This battle would be nowhere as bad as the one they had in the training battle zone in Trentree Sanctuary.

  "Love!" Jack said calmly. "Do as we've planned. Let's give them hell."

  Reina smiled. A beautiful, yet terrifying expression. "Of course, Dear. I'll make sure the smoke is thick enough to hide us."

  Their banter looked like a normal pre-battle preamble. But it was actually the confirmation of their own plan, which wasn't exactly the same with the mercenaries' plan.

  The mercenaries main targets were the cultists. Jack and Reina's main targets were the relics. The Eternal Soul's [Azure Moon Lantern] and the Purity Cult's mysterious artifact. They didn't know exactly what the latter was. But it should be the one that allowed the Purity representatives to act arrogantly in the meeting.

  Beside them, Yara Noire checked the seal on her mask. And she suddenly vanished into the shadows before the others could even blink.

  ...

  The mercenaries began to flow out of the Jade Jewelry factory like a dark tide. Moving through the main street and alleys toward the Gemstone Grinder.

  The night was cold and quiet. But for the mercenaries, the air was hot and electric. In the distance, the ocean slapped against the docks. As if the water itself was warning them for the threatening calamity that was about to arrive.

  The Gemstone Grinder factory loomed ahead. It was a jagged silhouette of brick and rusted iron against the moonlit sky. It looked normal. But Jack could feel the air around it emitted discordant resonance of evil deeds.

  Jack and Reina were in front of the group. Running silently with practiced ease. Rune flew next to them. Glowing red when she detected the watchmen.

  "I'll clear the watchmen." Reina said.

  She didn't wait for a reply. In a flicker of displaced smoke, she vanished. This was her [Absolute Blink]. A short distance teleportation. There was no travel time. No trail of light. She simply ceased to be in one spot and existed in another.

  Atop the factory's loading dock, a transcendent watchman stood guard. He was a tall, gaunt man. Holding a dark crossbow. He never saw her coming.

  Reina materialized directly behind him. Her hands were already moving. She didn't use her blade or handguns. Instead, a dense, supernatural fog erupted from her palms. Swirling into the man's mouth and nostrils.

  The watchman's eyes widened. He tried to scream. But the fog filled his lungs like wet concrete. He clawed at his throat. His knees buckled. Within seconds, he slumped into the shadows. A silent corpse.

  Simultaneously, on the opposite side of the entrance, the second guard met a similar fate. Yara Noire seemed to simply jump out of the shadow cast by a large steam pipe. Behind him.

  A curved dagger swept across the guard's throat in a fluid motion. There was a short spray of blood. The guard fell without a sound. Dead.

  Yara gave a sharp, bird-like whistle.

  The dark tide of mercenaries surged forward. They didn't storm the front door with a roar. They picked the lock and opened it silently.

  Jack and Reina moved with the main group. Led by the hulking figure of Rainer Winter and the quiet, heavy-stepping Kingson Hogbane.

  They reached the interior of the factory. The smell of grease and cold metal was strong here. In the center of the main floor was the heavy iron trapdoor leading to the basement.

  As the mercenaries were in positions, Kingson Hogbane stepped forward. He didn't use the massive energy bazooka on his back. Instead, he pulled a bandolier of alchemical grenades from his belt.

  "Be ready!" He gave a brief warning.

  The silent man pulled the pins on four canisters simultaneously and yanked the trapdoor open. He hurled the canisters down.

  Almost simultaneously, Big Bill was at the secondary service entrance to the basement. Just about ten meters away. Mirroring the action.

  A thick, pungent grey smoke began to fill the basement and billow upward. Followed by the sound of startled shouting. And the rhythmic coughing of men suddenly blinded.

  "Now, Love." Jack gave a sign.

  Reina grabbed Jack's hand. "Hold your breath, Dear." She activated her [Absolute Blink].

  The world whirled for a second. When Jack's boots hit solid ground again, he was in the basement. The air was thick with grey smoke and panicked energy.