I TRADE DESIRES FOR POWER

7

A stack of empty crates bearing the trade logo of the East India Mana Company made both Gideon and Gavin halt in silence.

"Warehouse number seven," Pip whispered through a gap beneath the timber pile, his finger pointing to a fifty-meter corrugated iron building made of concrete straight ahead.

Four double-wicked oil lanterns hung from the corners of the structure, swaying in the sea wind. Through the veil of moisture, two thick-skinned men holding enchanted rifles loaded with black-lead shot paced back and forth on the wooden gantry in front of the main iron doors.

"Ten inside, two out," Pip said. "The back door's secured with a Rank 3 Rune-Lock. Force it, and the alarm bells at the Montgomery estate in Mayfair will ring instantly."

Gavin tilted his head. Invisible silver needles in his vision dissected the warding mesh weaving around the rear door. Silver veins from the Soul-Ledger pulsed faintly beneath his shirt, mapping the mana currents tied to the alarm.

"Gideon," Gavin murmured. "Take out the two guards on the gantry the second the lantern swings left."

Gideon gave no verbal answer. The giant unbuckled his cloak, stripping the black cloth from the hilt of the Greatsword of Radiance. The weathered metal didn't shine, but it radiated a bone-deep chill that froze the falling raindrops around it mid-air.

WHOOSH!

Gideon lunged. His heavy footfalls made no sound against the wet wooden planks. Like a falling shadow of stone, he surged upward from beneath the gantry.

The two guards didn't even have time to raise their rifle barrels.

The cloth-wrapped edge of Gideon's massive blade slammed into the first guard's neck, snapping his spine instantly. Before the second guard could open his mouth, Gideon's massive palm clamped over his face, smashing his head against the concrete wall before twisting it a full hundred and eighty degrees.

Both bodies collapsed soundlessly. Pip caught their rifles before they hit the wooden dock.

Gavin stepped up to the back door, touching his fingers to the thick brass keyhole of the Rune-Lock. A red aura, signaling the alarm spell, sparked across the metal surface.

"Can you pop it?" Pip whispered, slinging the two captured rifles over his shoulder.

Gavin injected a paper-thin needle of silver mana from the Soul-Ledger directly into the brass keyway. The glowing alarm veins inside the lock frozen instantly, siphoned bone-dry by the silver ring inside his chest.

CLICK.

The heavy padlock popped open, falling softly into Gavin's waiting palm.

Gavin pushed the heavy iron door open. Its rusted hinges squeaked softly before revealing the pitch-black interior of the warehouse.

The sharp scent of raw mana stung the air—resembling ozone laced with burning soot.

In the center of the grease-stained floor, eight men in heavy leather jackets stood around ten iron-bound wooden crates. A deep blue light flared through the gaps in the timber, casting long, erratic shadows across the stone walls.

"Get two more crates down to the lower deck!" barked a handlebar-mustached man holding shipping manifests. Red text flashed in Gavin's vision to mark his identity:

[Name: Balthazar - Montgomery Mercenary Captain ]

"Can't do it, Captain," one of his men grumbled, hauling a heavy iron chain. "These Raw Mana crystals are running way too hot. Shift 'em without silver gloves and your skin peels down to the bone."

"Quit whining and move! Before the Division 9 patrol sweeps by!"

The back door blew off its hinges, plowing into the two nearest guards and throwing them five meters back into a stack of crates.

"What the—"

Gideon charged in like an iron bull, swinging the Greatsword of Radiance in a sweeping horizontal arc.

SLASHHH!

The night air parted. Three enchanted rifles snapped in two along with their wielders' arms. Fresh blood sprayed the concrete walls, mixing with the surging blue steam of crackling mana crystals.

The handlebar-mustached captain swore, drawing a clear-bladed enchanted dagger from his hip. "Gut them! Sever their heads—"

Balthazar's command died in his throat.

Gavin was already in his space. The Templar combat reflexes transferred from Gideon fired with flawless precision through his muscle fibers. Gavin seized Balthazar's blade wrist, twisting it downward until his joint popped right out of the skin.

Balthazar shrieked. Gavin caught the falling dagger mid-air, driving it straight through the leather jacket and tearing the mercenary captain's throat open from left to right.

Warm blood sprayed across Gavin's face. Gavin stood tall, unblinking as Balthazar's body crumpled onto the wooden floorboards.

Around him, brief screams of agony echoed and faded. Gideon crushed the final two guards, driving his sword's cross-guard into their chests until their ribcages caved inward.

Fifteen seconds. The entire room fell dead silent again, save for the dripping of blood from the tip of Gideon's blade and the low hum of blue steam rising from the Raw Mana crates.

Pip stepped inside, sweeping his gaze over the eight bodies strewn across the floor. "None of them got off a flare."

Gavin wiped the blood from his cheek with the back of his hand. He stepped over Balthazar's corpse, approaching the ten wooden crates in the center of the room.

He kicked the chain lock off one crate, snapping it clean. The wooden lid lifted to reveal stacks of fist-sized, dark-blue crystal stones. Every single crystal vibrated softly, emitting pure energy waves that made the surrounding air feel thick and heavy.

"Two tons of pure Raw Mana crystals," Gavin whispered.

He pressed his left palm onto the stack of glowing stones.

The pages of the Soul-Ledger inside his chest vibrated violently. The grimoire flared with a brilliant radiant gray-gold light. Silver chains burst from Gavin's chest, plunging straight into the ten wooden crates around him.

[Seizure of Contraband Initiated.] [Commodity: Raw Mana Crystal (Grade A) ] [Volume: 2,000 Kilograms ] [Origin: Illegal Montgomery Clan Smuggling Operation ]

The massive blue crystals dimmed instantly. The pure light trapped within the stones was yanked out in strands of brilliant blue thread that flooded into Gavin's chest, filtered by the Soul-Ledger, and routed directly into Shop No. 13's pocket-dimension storage.

The stones inside the crates faded to a dull gray before crumbling into fine dust that collapsed to the bottom of the timber boxes.

The mana pathways inside Gavin's chest expanded drastically. An agonizing burn spread across his back as his Magic Core absorbed a percentage of the pure energy extracted from the seizure.

[Seizure Successful.] [Asset Value Registered at No. 13: 75,000 Sovereigns (Raw Storage) ] [Magic Core Restoration: 25% Total Operational Capacity ] [New Skill Unlocked: Shadow Step (Short-Range Teleportation) ]

Gavin pulled his hand back. The ten wooden crates before him were now filled with nothing but useless stone dust. His breathing leveled, his eyes gleaming with a silver radiance far denser than before.

"Cassian's assets are completely wiped," Pip muttered, kicking the crystal dust on the floor. "He's got nothing to sell tomorrow morning. His investment promise to the Vane clan is dead in the water."

Gideon wiped the blood off his blade with a swath of his cloak, re-wrapping the black cloth around the metal. "We need to leave. The scent of blood here will draw other clan knights within ten minutes."

Gavin turned toward the back exit.

His footsteps ground to a sudden halt.

From the secret hallway behind the dark warehouse shelves came the heavy drag of iron chains scraping over the cement floor. Metallic-heeled boots stepped forward slowly, cutting through the eerie silence of the night.

A tall man stepped out from the shadows. He wore a high-collared black uniform trimmed with gold thread—the signature garb of a high-ranking Royal official. Hanging at his neck was a silver badge shaped like an open eye: the executive symbol of Division 9.

The man held a black wooden staff topped with a glowing emerald stone. Behind him, five heavy armored soldiers stood holding chest-high tower shields.

Blood-red text flared in Gavin's eyes:

[Name: Inspector Pendelton ] [Position: Division 9 Chief of Operations (Mayfair Division) ] [Condition: Bribed by Cassian Montgomery ] [Status: Rank 2 High Mage ]

Pendelton stopped in his tracks, glaring at the eight dead bodies of Montgomery's men frozen on the floor, before turning his gaze toward the ten wooden crates now filled with ash-gray dust.

The corrupt official's eyes quivered violently, raw rage and disbelief written across his rigid face.

"Cassian sent me to ensure this cargo was secure..." Pendelton's heavy voice echoed coldly against the warehouse walls. He leveled the emerald stone at the tip of his staff straight at Gavin's chest. "Who the hell are you to mess with the Montgomery clan's business?"

Gavin didn't answer. His left hand slipped into his coat pocket, closing around the grip of his silver pocketknife. Behind him, Gideon gripped the hilt of his Greatsword with both hands, ready to spring.

Pendelton sneered sadistically. The tip of his staff hissed, gathering a dense green light that scorched the surrounding air.

"Burn this warehouse down. Don't leave a single scrap of identifiable meat behind.