Chương 53: Chapter 51. The Depths Expedition

The money that they'd stolen from the bank had ended up being far less than they'd anticipated due to largely in part the failure that had been Gita's bomb-pants. Everyone had agreed to spend the remaining money on getting Gita a new pair of cestus and restocking on healing potions as she was the one who relied the most on physical weapons.

"Ariesa, is your man ready to bring us up?" Bruno asked.

"This first part of the plan lies entirely in your hands."

"I know, don't worry. Olin and I will be able to secure you guys entry," Ariesa replied.

"So long as Oz cooperates… it should be easy to deceive any Depths [Agents] on the first floor." Oz snorted in annoyance.

"Why even bother with the theatrics? We're all more than strong enough to take the place ourselves."

"The more time we can buy before they alert anyone deeper in, the better," Oscar said.

"Rushing will only create more risk for saving everyone." Ariesa stopped them in front of one of the upper cities lifts.

"Unfortunately, it's impossible to fully clear out the area for us to have a clean path towards the Depths. We're going to draw attention, but Olin has done his best to make sure it'll be as minimal as possible with these disguises. They won't let regular [Guards] in, so do your best to look as natural as possible." Oscar looked down at the suits and double-checked that the whirlpool pin was still there. Him and Gita obviously looked like the least likely to be actual [Agents].

As a result they were going to be in the back during the infiltration part of the plan.

"The lift's coming down, everyone be ready," Ariesa said, causing everyone to stiffen up. The lift's doors open, revealing Olin, who gave the group a short bow.

"Lady Ariesa, is everyone ready?"

"Yes, and thank you for this, Olin," Ariesa replied as she stepped inside the lift.

"It'll be crammed, but get in."

"Um… what's the weight capacity for this?" Shamic asked.

"We don't have this kind of invention in Relvika. Is it… safe?"

"The big bad [Bounty Hunter] scared of heights?" Gita asked mockingly. She was clearly still annoyed about him apparently having hit her.

"You'd be a fool to not be," Shamic replied, but stepped aboard all the same. Oscar and Oz were last to board. With them secured, Olin gave the command and the lift lurched upwards. The weight was most definitely a slight issue, as a loud creak sounded off as they gained altitude. But the lift held itself together, and soon enough, Oscar found himself back in the upper city once more. Security was light up on the exit platform.

Upon seeing their badges, the [Guards] became highly respectful, if not perhaps slightly scared as well. Oscar couldn't help himself from wondering where these men would be in a weeks time. Most likely dead, he presumed. The lift they'd chosen was practically around the corner from the Depths main building, which was essentially a regular jail that was intended for any unruly nobles. The main cities prison for the common [Thug] and whatnot was near the wharf. Not that it was used, of course.

That'd require an actual police presence down in the lower city. The Depths looked like the most hideous and plain building he'd ever seen. It was a dull beige with a dark brown roof that had a mismatch of tiles, resulting in a chaotic display of disunity in theme. Surrounding the building was medium-length walls that had sharp spikes adorned at the top to prevent anyone from climbing over.

And stationed in front of the gate were two [Agents] that had clearly been slacking off up until they noticed company had arrived. Olin and Ariesa took charge, with Oz and Shamic dragging Bruno, who was bound with a loose set of handcuffs.

"[Agent] Palu and [Agent] Seth… I have a high-risk bounty. Is [Agent] Kibo around?" Olin asked.

"Olin? What're you doing around these parts?" Palu asked.

"Orders from the [King]. [Agent] Kibo and I have been working in apprehending this man. Step aside, please," Olin said, his voice donning some edge to it.

"And you did so with… the [Princess]?," Palu asked.

"I… I should check in first." Olin loudly cleared his throat.

"[Agent] Palu, I've always been fond of you. You do commendable work despite your lesser assignment. However… stand in my way and I'll act with the full freedom that being my station grants me."

"Olin, who're you with, by the way?" Seth asked.

"Transfers. Treat us with respect, yeah? We'll soon be your bosses," Oz said.

"I didn't hear anything about any transf—" Palu's throat was ripped out, cutting him off. Before Seth could process anything, his throat had a chunk ripped out as well.

"No time for this bullshit," Oz said calmly, his hand now returned to normal." Fuck!" Oscar cursed. Oz ignored him and everyone else's protests as he began to drag the corpses into a nearby bush.

"It was going to happen regardless," Bruno said.

"Eh, even if not, I have no love for this cunts."

"Gods… no going back now," Olin muttered, his regal facade crumbling slightly.

"Back into character everyone," he said and resumed his role at the front of the pack, Ariesa at his side. Without any further delay, Olin pushed open the doors and stepped inside.

"Ease up, would ya? You're almost as rough as I was with your lovely mom last night!" Bruno joked, and received a back-handed slap from Oz and a punch to his side from Shamic. The room exploded in murmurs as everyone in the Depths lobby watched the scene. There was far less people in here than he'd been expecting. As few as they were, though, they were real Depth's [Agents]. These weren't civilians abducted and forced to be pawns. Stolen novel; please report.

"[Royal Guard], Sir Olin Osh. On a joint operation issued by the [King], I have been working with [Agent] Kibo. This morning, myself and this batch of operatives have executed the plan and captured the target," Olin declared to the room.

"Sir Olin! I—we had no idea about this!"

"Yes, that's because it was a secret operation," Olin replied, annoyed at having to state something obvious.

"The target was elusive and we didn't want to risk any information leaking. Now, which way leads down?"

"I'll send for [Agent] Kibo. One moment, please." Ariesa stepped forwards, and for the first time, people took notice as to who she was.

"There is to be no delay. I'm under direct orders from my father to escort this fugitive myself."

"[Princess] Ariesa? What're you doing on a… Wait! I remember hearing rumor about you being away training for something secretive!" Whispers spread from mouth to ear, everyone contaminating one another with their wild theories about her involvement. Finally, after a minute of indulging the room, Olin spoke.

"Which way down? Should I have to explain myself once more…" he trailed off as the rest of his threat was obvious.

"Please, make him explain himself some more! I don't think this dick has many friends to talk with!" Bruno said, receiving another strike.

"Ow, Shamic… that one hurt!" he whispered.

"Down the hall, take a right, and go down that path for a bit until you reach the armory. From there you take a left and activate the sealing glyphs, which will take you to the stairs down. To unseal the sealing glyphs, you'll need one of us." A short bald woman volunteered.

"You're in luck, I'm only the one amongst this lot that knows how to unlock the glyph."

"Back from vacation and already being put to work, eh?" someone said.

"Well, I wish you the best of luck. None of us have heard a peep from them since the other day. I think Aurelia or Kibo's got them slaving away down there."

"Yeah, well, it was nice vacation while it lasted at least. Come on, let's see if the glyphs feeling kind today." There were so many damn glyphs these days. Bruno had a hard time keeping track of all of them. The [Glyphsmith] class was a thing now and it seemed like every bastard who wanted to get rich quick was throwing their hat into the ring. Of course, it required a lot of natural skill and smarts… but that didn't stop the idiots from trying anyway.

Bruno allowed himself to be dragged down the halls until they reached the sealing glyphs.

"Go ahead and open her up, baldy," Bruno said.

"Enjoy that tongue of yours while you can," she replied as electricity emitted out of her bracelet. She placed the bracelet over the glyph, which began to absorb the electric currents. Once it was opened, Oz did what he was becoming popular for and killed the woman. He kicked her down the stairs, her body rolling until stopping at the first landing. The rest of the group filed inside, and thankfully, the door shut behind them with the sealing glyph activating once again.

"What if she wasn't bad?" Oscar asked. This caused Bruno to roll his eyes.

"When you meet a good Depth's [Agent], you let me know, yeah?"

"This place forces civilians into their ranks!"

"Baldy over there most certainly wasn't your average citizen. There will likely be some of those unfortunate souls up ahead, you're right… but we can't stop to verify everyone's background, kid." Shamic gently gripped Oscar by the shoulder.

"He's right. We can't stop, s'hika. Good ones might die, but the blame doesn't fall on us. All we can do is keep pushing forwards and save who we can."

"I guess…" Oscar mumbled. Bruno unlocked his cuffs and tossed them near the corpse. He didn't have time to indulge Oscar and his naivety. There was times where it felt like he understood the role he was thrust into and other times where it was like he was unable to comprehend that death was going to follow him wherever he went. He still had faith that the boy would toughen up, though, it'd just take time. And besides, it wasn't as if Bruno himself had always been comfortable with killing.

Bhenna, Derek had only been his second... Focus, focus, focus... The steps that led down into the Depths was long and boring. As Bruno led the way, all he could think about was whether or not Janine was alive. He still maintained the belief that it was best to have not come down here at all. How the corruption was entering the Desire was important to know, but not as important as eliminating the head of the snake. When Romulus Hargrave died, so did his experiments. There was no going back now, so onward he went.

And after a good bit of climbing down, Bruno finally reached the bottom. His hand slipped underneath his suit and pulled out the folded blueprint. As everyone else reached the bottom as well, he pinned the parchment against the wall and began to refresh his memory on the layout.

"We're here… and we need to reach here," Bruno said as he traced the map with his finger.

"Since our group is so large, I think we can afford to split up a bit. This large circular chamber is likely where we'll find the prisoners, but there's two separate paths we can take to get there."

"Yeah, yeah, no need to go over everything again," Gita whined.

"I've got my answer ready… I think we should split up and investigate further. We're not coming back here, so might as well maximize our findings." Before departing for this mission, Bruno had left the choice in their hands on whether or not they should rush for the center or to explore these two branching paths. One led to a room labeled 'Discoveries and Documentation', while the other fed into somewhere called the 'Kitchen'. And given the layout of the room on the blueprints…

he was quite positive that this wasn't an actual kitchen.

"I agree, splitting up makes the most sense," Ariesa said. Only two people ended up voting no, which was Oz and Olin. He could understand why Oz didn't want to bother, but Olin was a mystery. Not just for this particular decision either. A [Royal Guard] working like this against his [King] was peculiar. Even if it was Ariesa commanding him, his priorities were to serve the [King] above all.

And as far as Bruno knew, a [Royal Guard] couldn't just wander off on their own without clearing it with either the [King] or the [Royal Captain]. Then again, people couldn't be contained within a box forever. Sometimes people just followed their heart, and he could tell the love that Olin had for Ariesa.

"Alright, I'll tackle this kitchen area with Gita and Oz," Bruno said.

"Shamic, you take Oscar, Ariesa, and Olin with you and see what you can find at the other site." Oscar timidly spoke up.

"What if we run into…"

"Aurelia? Yeah, uh, just try not to do that…" Was all Bruno could provide.

"Realistically speaking, I don't think we'll run into her anywhere besides here in this place called the Depth's Heart. We'll be ready for her this time, though." Bruno indulged a few more questions before finally breaking away and heading off towards his path. The truth was that he was quite afraid of running into Aurelia again. Even though he'd been thinking of ideas on how to defeat her, the same thing was true for her about them.

The difference this time was that they were now in her den, playing by whatever rules she'd created for them.

Aurelia Aldridge was enjoying a delicious meal at the [King's] dinner table. It was nice to step away from her work for a bit, even if it was just to step back into her real job. She wondered when Oz and Edwane's man would finally break into the Depths and rescue those Shiftlings. As much as she wished to be the one to kill that group, she knew her real job was more important. Truth be told, she shouldn't have become so involved with Romulus. Her mission was supposed to be just to observe.

Instead she'd basically thrown herself into his service all because he might be able to return her family back to her. Of course, Aurelia had been warned that the soulstone would influence his mind and convince himself capable of feats that were impossible… but she'd listened and couldn't stop herself from believing as well. And while she might not be a true believer, what did she have to lose in helping him? What she was doing was horrific, she had no delusions in that.

Neither could she understand why Romulus wanted his people to lose their humanity. The experiments she'd been told to conduct had led to such putrid abominations. These monsters were unruly, uncontrollable, and utterly unpredictable. Apparently this was being done to create some sort of… bridge? The details were far beyond what Aurelia could comprehend. And so, she didn't even bother as it wasn't her job to care.

Either her family would be returned to her, or she'd observe Romulus' delusions to their peak and retrieve his soulstone if she could. Her boss was pretty lenient on what constituted as a victory for this mission. Even still, she'd try her best depending on how things went tomorrow.

"For now, though… this incredible cut of bowlbug meat is what matters most," she said under her breath as she cut off another slice of the tender meat.

"What was that?" Romulus asked as he wiped away some of the meat's juices off his lips.

"Oh, nothing… Just marveling at your [Chef's] wondrous cooking," Aurelia said.

"Yes, I'll miss Yat's cooking as well," Romulus said.

"Have you decided on whether or not you wanted your arm reattached yet? It's quite… displeasing to see while I eat."

"Apologies, your majesty," Aurelia said.

"I'm still going to decline. As a warrior, I must wear this injury as a reminder." That was a fuckin' lie. She so badly wanted to have her arm back again. It was just that she couldn't do so by using Romulus' methods. It was a sign of his slipping mind that he'd even suggest that of her. What sort of fool did he take her as? Aurelia had been assigned to work with his essence first hand and had seen what sort of monsters it could create. Sure, the regenerative properties were nice…

but why risk her body becoming overwhelmed by his essence and instead just have her master fix her when she returned? The Grand Council seemingly had an infinite amount of resources at their disposal anyway. Might as well make use of them while they held her chain.

"Did you dispose of… who was it that you said you captured?"

"The Shiftling teenagers, lord," Aurelia supplied.

"And yes, they've been handled. Or… will be handled, soon enough assuming all goes as planned. As I await your grand reveal, I've left the Depht's in Kibo's hands. All we need to do is wait." Romulus sighed heavily.

"The need for experiments has long since passed, Aurelia. By now my people have ingested enough of myself. All they need now is to be activated. You should have just killed them."

"Apologies… I just thought I could use them to eliminate an obstacle to your plans."

"To my plans… or yours, Aurelia?" She had no response to that, so instead she sliced off another portion of her meal.

"Truly a divine cut of meat…"