As evening approached, darkness fell rapidly. Thick, low-hanging clouds pressed down over Selene City, and distant thunder rolled ominously. Forks of lightning tore across the night sky. Then came the torrential downpour, as if the heavens intended to scour the city clean.

  Not long after nightfall, a sudden uproar broke out in the western part of the city—shouts laced with fear and confusion pierced the sound of the rain, shattering the silence of the stormy night.

  City guards rushed to the scene immediately. As they approached, before they could even make out the situation, a snake-man clad in black leather armor came charging forward with several subordinates in tow. His face was grim, eyes sharp with murderous intent.

  "Out of the way!" the snake-man barked in a low, commanding voice."Seventh Patrol Squad on duty—civilians stand back!"

  There was no room for argument. As he spoke, he revealed the sigil of a succubus emblazoned on his chestplate. Recognizing the insignia, the guards didn't dare obstruct him and quickly stepped aside, revealing a corpse lying on the roadside.

  The rain had soaked the ground and drenched the body completely. It was a frost werewolf, barely in his twenties by the look of it, lying face down. One hand was crushed beneath him; the other lay half-open, as if in his last moments he had tried to grasp something.

  "Nick!" A pained, guttural scream tore through the downpour.

  Kevin rushed over and turned the body over. In his haste, he didn't notice that when Nick's hand loosened, something small fell from it.

  With a metallic clink, a brass-wrapped object rolled into a puddle.

  Deputy Captain Linda spotted it first. She bent down and picked it up. The moment her fingers touched the cold, solid brass surface, her brows knitted tightly.

  "What is this?" she asked. The object in her hand stood out starkly—it was a broken horn, its edge bordered in intricate brasswork. Clearly, it was more than decoration—perhaps a symbol of rank or identity.

  Kevin, however, had no attention to spare. He clutched Nick's cold body tightly in his arms.

  "He's dead..." His voice was hoarse, thick with fury and grief.

  Gregor stepped forward and placed a hand on Kevin's shoulder."Move him under the eaves. Let's not leave him out in the rain."

  Kevin's eyes were red. He didn't speak, only nodded silently. With another team member, he carefully lifted Nick's body to a sheltered spot.

  Gregor scanned the ground and quickly noticed something odd. He crouched down and pointed to where Nick had fallen, signaling Ade to investigate.

  "Something's here," he said.

  The troll Ade reacted quickly. He knelt, slapped away the pooled rainwater, and soon revealed a line of text carved into the mud—etched by fingernail.

  "Sabina?" Ade read aloud, frowning."Looks like he scratched it in right before he died. The letters are jagged... he was in agony."

  Gregor stood and turned his gaze to Nick's corpse. The body was covered in brutal wounds, flesh torn and bloodied. The whip marks stood out the most—one after another, so deep they exposed bone. But the fatal injury was the ligature mark around his neck. It was clear: he had been strangled to death.

  "This isn't the work of an amateur," Linda said quietly."Those whip marks... only a real expert could do that. Even among the succubi in Selene City, not many wield a whip like that."

  Before she had even finished speaking, Gregor was already issuing orders.

  "Find out if there's a succubus nearby named Sabina!"

  A flash of lightning lit up the night sky, casting Gregor's face in a stark white glow. His gaze was as cold and sharp as a blade.

  "Move now. Don't waste a second!" he snapped.

  Thunder crashed overhead. Without hesitation, Linda and two others turned and disappeared into the rain.

  Gregor stayed behind, standing under the eaves, idly toying with the brass horn fragment. A faint, cold smile played at the corner of his lips, as if none of this had surprised him in the slightest.

  "You were too reckless, Nick," he said silently."You have only yourself to blame."

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  There was no guilt in his expression. In truth, Nick's death had been part of Gregor's plan all along. Time was running short, and he needed to force the truth into the open—even if it meant sacrificing people.

  The brass horn was Bronan's relic—one of two left behind by Draven. One was already in Gregor's possession. Nick had merely been a pawn to move the game forward. And Sabina? She was just the next piece to fall.

  "They'll find the killer soon enough."

  Sure enough, within fifteen minutes, Linda and the others returned, soaked through and panting for breath. Rainwater streamed down their armor, but none of them seemed to care.

  "Captain!" Linda reported, voice low."We found her. There is indeed a succubus named Sabina nearby."

  "She's part of the southern succubus branch—under Deputy City Lord Freya."

  A heavy silence followed.

  Kevin's expression darkened. He cast a complicated look at Gregor.

  "A subordinate of the deputy city lord?" Gregor muttered.

  "So what?" His cold gaze swept across the group."The lives of the Seventh Patrol Squad matter too! No one gets to trample on us!"

  With a sudden motion, he flung back his cloak and dashed into the rain.

  "Lead the way!" he barked at Kevin.

  Gritting his teeth, Kevin nodded and stepped forward. Linda and Ade exchanged a glance, then followed close behind.

  Gregor charged ahead with lightning speed, leading the three members of Squad Seven straight to Sabina's residence. Water splashed from the ground with every step he took. He left no room for hesitation—every second lost was a second Sabina could use to escape farther.

  Sabina's stone house resembled Gregor's own: built from rough gray rock, with a wooden door and two inconspicuous windows. But no one cared about architectural details now.

  A dim yellow light leaked from the gap under the door. Gregor didn't knock. He didn't hesitate. He slammed his foot into the door with full force.

  The wooden panel flew open, slamming into the interior wall with a deep thud. Before it could bounce back, Gregor had already drawn the slender sword at his waist and burst inside.

  The room was small—just a bed, a table, and a few wooden crates. A whip that Sabina often used had once hung on the wall, but now it was gone. The bedsheets were tossed aside, a chair had been overturned, the window thrown wide open, and the beast-oil lamp flickered precariously.

  The place was a mess—but empty.

  "She left not long ago!" Gregor swept his eyes around and gave a sharp order."After her!"

  No wasted words, no time to think. The group immediately turned and sprinted toward the west gate of Selene City. Rain slammed against their armor like hooves on tin.

  Selene City had four gates—north, south, east, and west. Gregor led the charge to the west gate, following some unshakable instinct. Kevin's face was soaked with rain and burning with fury. Linda clenched her jaw. Ade stayed silent, simply keeping pace.

  At the west gate, a few guards were chatting under cover, avoiding the rain. Gregor stormed up, sword still drawn, and barked,"Did a masked succubus just leave through here?"

  The guards glanced at each other, and one nodded."Yeah, she had the Deputy Governor's seal. Went right through."

  "You let her leave?" Gregor exploded, grabbing one of the guards by the collar and lifting him off the ground.

  "She had the Deputy Governor's seal!" the guard stammered, face pale with fear."If we'd stopped her, we'd be dead!"

  Gregor tossed him to the ground without mercy. The thud echoed his rage.

  Linda glanced at the pitch-dark wildlands beyond the gate. The rain hadn't let up."Captain, what now?" she asked, her voice tight with worry.

  "What now? We go to the Deputy Governor. To the Lord. We demand answers!" Gregor spun around and marched toward the Governor's Mansion.

  They returned to Sabina's house briefly, removing the broken door and using it as a makeshift stretcher for Nick's body. Kevin and Ade carried it.

  The pursuit had failed. All they could do now was carry their grief, blood, and rain toward the mansion. Gregor led the way, fury burning in his eyes. He still held the broken horn of Bronan—that was their evidence… and their excuse.

  Early the next morning, just as the rain stopped and before the sun had fully risen, explosive news swept across Selene City:

  "Snakefolk Patrol Leader Defies the Lord, Ordered Imprisoned by Lady Selene Herself!"

  On the streets, in crowds, everywhere people buzzed with gossip. The uproar rivaled that of a meat sale at the market.

  In front of the Black Flag Tavern, Rurik stood atop a stone block, animatedly recounting the events to a gathering crowd.

  "You won't believe it—I was right there! Just by the square, organizing stock at the shop. Rain was pouring, so I didn't want the cloth to get soaked. Then—boom! Across fifteen meters of rain and wind—I hear that snake-man Gregor shouting! Said one of his men was dead, that some southern succubus killed Bronan and even took the evidence!"

  He waved his clawed hands dramatically, drawing gasps from the crowd.

  "Then they stormed off to confront the Deputy Governor! Word is, Gregor slammed his hand on the table right in front of everyone and demanded answers from the Lord himself! I mean—has he lost his mind? Who dares shout at the Lord?!"

  The crowd erupted into even louder discussion.

  Meanwhile, on the edge of the crowd, a burly minotaur suddenly paled and bolted away.

  "What did you say?! Bronan was killed by a southern succubus?!" Torvald's face went ghost-white as he turned to the fellow minotaur who'd brought the news, his voice trembling.

  "It's true. I heard it myself on the street. And according to inside sources from the Governor's Mansion… that frost werewolf from the Seventh Patrol was found gripping Bronan's horn when he died."

  "My brother…" Torvald muttered, collapsing onto a bench, eyes unfocused. He could never have imagined that the friendly, ever-smiling Deputy Governor Freya—the one who'd always tried to win favor with the minotaurs—had secretly murdered his only brother.

  At the same time, in a side chamber of the Governor's Mansion, Freya was glaring furiously at Valeria.

  "You said you found Sabina's trail in the western forest?"

  "Yes," Valeria replied softly.

  "And? Where is she?"

  Valeria lowered her head and reached behind her to retrieve two items.

  A whip—and a piece of bark. The bark was rain-soaked, but its crudely carved letters were still visible.

  Freya took one look—and her expression turned absolutely grim.

  Carved into the bark were words both simple and damning:

  "I know you're looking for the elven princess."