Screams of agony echoed through an abandoned warehouse in Seabyre's Port. In there, countless bodies were piled up, with only three dominant figures standing over them.
"W-We're sorry! They somehow killed half of our guys even when we tried to assassinate them!" One of the bandits cried, gripping onto the police officer's boot tightly.
Under his bronze mask, Sirus was smirking, slamming his halberd next to the bandit's head. The bandit squealed, seeing his reflection in the halberd, shivering in fear. "What did we expect, getting help from a gang called the Penguin Gang?"
"It's a shame these useless buffoons didn't kill them yet. I'm tired of waiting for that dumb Harold kid to die." Jet said, leaning against a crate.
Sirus aimed his halberd at Jet, raising his voice. "You said you'd help us kill Ark. You're not doing an outstanding job, especially when you hired these bozos to assassinate them."
Jet chuckled, replying, "What do you mean? I've given you his identity and personally went out to spy on him with my assistant. These cannon fodder were simply just a way to analyze his abilities."
Sirus cut the remaining bandit's head off with one fell swoop. He then gave a glare to Jet through his mask. "That's it, I'm tired of you." Walking toward him, a woman came out of the shadows. It was Val, dashing in front of Jet in a defensive stance. Sirus, witnessing this, felt it was a declaration of battle toward him. As the air grew cold and tensions went rampant, a powerful figure went between them.
"Stop it, you two." Stephen ordered. Both sides paused in the sheer presence of Stephen. His aura was immense, as if it were trying to strangle them both. "We're not trying to create a war here. Let's just call it for the day and clean up this mess."
With all of them withdrawing, Jet and Val were the first ones to leave in silence. Val watched Jet mutter to himself in silence, looking out for their backs. "Jet, should we go back to the kingdom? We already have found the illegitimate child here..."
"No, that bastard Harold. He'll pay for stealing MY mom and MY Artifact. I want him dead by the end of all this."
"If you say so..." Val replied, fiddling with her sleeve in shame. Peering at the city in unease, only a name could come out of her mouth. "Harold..."
*
*
*
"Chief! Where are you going off to?" The assistant asked.
"Don't worry, Miranda, it's just a simple patrol." Stephen responded.
Exiting the station, he walked the busy streets of Argon City. Standing at one of the intersections, he glanced up, taking in the sight of the skies being fluttered with airships. It gave him a harsh memory, but it all felt numb to him moments later. Because in the end, nothing mattered to him.
With the streetlights turning red and the cars stopping on the road, it was now ready to cross. Getting to the road, he immediately shifted his body toward the flower shop. Entering it, the owner asked Stephen, "The usual?"
Stephen did a silent nod, already pulling out his wallet.
"You've been buying so many lilies, but I wonder, why do you buy this much?" The owner asked as she handed him a packet full of lilies."
Taking the lilies, he replied in a somber tone. "It's because she loved them."
With the transaction completing, he left the store. Taking out a teleportation stone from his pocket, he momentarily activated it before teleporting into a far-off place.
Hours pass by, converting the once sunny day into the city that basked in moonlight. In the middle of that city came Stephen Lyhorn and a new officer recruit, Yurk. "Oh boy, oh boy! I can't believe I am working with the real Stephen Lyhorn!" he excitedly shouts. "Quiet. We're supposed to be focusing on our patrol." In response, Yurk stammered his steps and did a frantic salute. "Y-Yes sir!" Stephen ignored the failure of a salute and moved on.
They both started the patrol by looking out at Seabyre's port. The lanterns brightened up the area, making it into an amazing midnight spectacle. Especially the bustling trading district inside the port, as the lanterns were infused with Rysen-absorbing properties, which made the lights glow a bright blue.
Yurk's face lit up. His first patrol with a legendary police officer and a gorgeous sight that drilled into his memory. He was from the outskirts of the city in a desolate village, so he was relatively new to the wonders of Argon City. This was one of the big pieces of introduction that was given to him.
The two of them approached one of the airships that docked, having an employee come over to them. "Stephen, what are we doing here?" Yurk asked. "We're doing a checkup on one of the airships. It's a busy night, so we're asked to check up on potentially hazardous materials."
The employee opened the hatch, revealing parts of a chopped-up wyvern. It was legendary. A beast that not many could see in person, right in front of his eyes. "Whoa, amazing..." Yurk went to poke the wyvern, but Stephen halted him. "We aren't here to sightsee."
Giving the affirmations to the merchant, they wheel the wyvern out of the airship. Seeing the wyvern go, he catches another sight that shocks him. It was people chained up, walking in a single file line. They looked malnourished and heavily wounded; yet, they were still forced to travel in these harsh conditions. "Stephen... what's that?" Yurk questioned, pointing at the people in horror.
"Those are slaves. Don't worry about them. They're going to be sold soon."
"S-Slaves?" Yurk was horrified. He has never seen anything like slavery before. He was from the countryside, where all that came from it was peace and love. Nothing like slavery would ever fly in the place he lived in. "Stephen, we need to stop them! Those poor people! Why are they being enslaved, anyway?!"
"Either illegal trading with demi-humans or humans sold to the black market. It's the same story."
"Illegal? If it's illegal, we need to stop it!" Yurk yelled. At this point, everyone in the port gave eyes to their direction from the commotion he was bringing.
"Don't even bother. It's pointless. When you try your best, it'll come to waste no matter what. The people who get to decide on these things are not us, but the higher-ups who run this city."
"So you're telling me that we should ignore innocents suffering like it's nothing?!"
"Yes, because in the end, nothing matters."
The rest of the patrol was awkward and silent. The mood that radiated wasn't something to scoff at. Yurk assumed they had their differences, but he never would've predicted it would be this drastic and this early. Yurk's heart was swollen from their interaction. One night shattered Yurk's perception of the once-heroic police legend. A charismatic man who would do anything to reach true justice now dwindled to one without any hope of a brighter future. He couldn't bear to witness it any longer.
As they got underneath a street lamp, the streets had gone desolate. The majority of the people were sleeping in their homes as midnight struck. At this moment, Yurk knew it was time to strike. "Stephen Lyhorn, I am hereby placing you under arrest for corruption!" Stephen paused, turning his head back. He saw Yurk courageously standing with his handcuffs, having a determined gaze in his eyes.
It was nostalgic to look at Yurk. A lingering spark in his eyes, one that wanted to make change. But now, that spark was long gone. Ashamed to say, Stephen knew he was just a shell of his former self, clinging to what dreams he had left. Words couldn't leave his mouth, but instead, he simply stared at Yurk. The bizarre, silent response offset Yurk, but he still stood his ground. "Did you not hear me? I told you I'm arresting you! Put your hands behind your back-"
BANG!
The noise echoed in the night skies, followed up with a shotgun pump. "Man, I love shotguns! They're so fun to use!" Nox excitedly shouted. Yurk's corpse flopped to the floor as his brain matter splattered onto the sidewalk. Nox surfaced from the shadows to the alleyway that was to their right. The upper half of his head was blown off, something disturbing to witness. "Nox, you shouldn't be killing people in public."
Nox nudges his elbow against Stephen, looking up at his disgruntled face. "Come on, buddy! I was just helping you out! It seemed you were in a pickle, and so I took care of the problem for you! All you gotta do now is just get some guys to dispose of the body, and you'll be good to go!" Stephen facepalmed, letting out a deep sigh.
"Anyway, I got a cool plan for taking that dumb brat! I'll need a lot of distractions, though!"
"That'll be easy to do."
"Good! Then, once she's in my grasp, I'll hand you the stone! Then you'll be able to get that little ol' girly back to life!"
"Her name is Miranda. Don't just call her a mere girly."
"Yeah, yeah."