MEMELAND

The guard's words hung heavily in the room.

"We've got another attack."

Akshay was already on his feet.

"Where?"

"The lower districts."

The guard struggled to catch his breath.

"Near the eastern trade tunnels."

The king's expression darkened.

"Casualties?"

"We don't know yet."

---

Akshay immediately grabbed his crown from the table and placed it on his head.

The transformation was almost instant.

The tired man disappeared.

The king remained.

"Gather the city guard."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

The guard hurried from the room.

Akshay turned toward Kai and Andre.

"You two stay here."

Andre stood up.

"No."

Akshay closed his eyes.

"I wasn't asking."

"And I wasn't agreeing."

Kai already felt a headache coming.

"You escaped prison six hours ago."

Akshay pointed directly at Andre.

"You are literally the last person I should bring."

Andre grinned.

"Which is why I'll be useful."

"That's not how that works."

"It is for me."

Akshay sighed.

Long.

Deep.

Resigned.

Then he looked at Kai.

"You too?"

Kai thought for a moment.

Then nodded.

"Probably."

The king looked toward the ceiling.

Perhaps searching for divine patience.

Apparently he didn't find any.

"Fine."

He pointed toward both of them.

"You follow orders."

Andre laughed.

Akshay immediately corrected himself.

"Kai follows orders."

"That's fair."

The three quickly departed.

---

The streets of Yggdrasil were already changing.

Citizens hurried indoors.

Shopkeepers closed their stalls.

Guards rushed toward the eastern districts.

Rumors spread faster than wildfire.

Monster attack.

Demon attack.

Cultists.

Nobody knew the truth.

Everyone had a different story.

The only thing they agreed on was that something was wrong.

Very wrong.

As they descended toward the lower districts, smoke became visible.

Black smoke.

Thick smoke.

The kind produced by burning buildings.

Kai's pace quickened.

---

By the time they arrived, chaos had already consumed the district.

Several structures burned.

Guards fought desperately to control crowds.

Civilians fled through the streets.

The smell of smoke and blood filled the air.

Kai immediately spotted bodies.

Not many.

But enough.

Too many.

Akshay cursed under his breath.

"What happened?"

A captain rushed toward him.

"Explosions."

"Explosions?"

The man nodded.

"Multiple."

"Almost simultaneous."

Kai looked around.

The damage seemed oddly localized.

Specific buildings.

Specific locations.

Not random destruction.

Targeted.

Someone had planned this.

---

Akshay appeared to reach the same conclusion.

His expression hardened.

"Who was hit?"

The captain handed him a report.

The king scanned it.

His eyes narrowed.

Then narrowed further.

Kai noticed.

"What is it?"

Akshay didn't answer immediately.

Instead he looked back toward the burning structures.

One by one.

Counting.

Thinking.

Analyzing.

Finally he spoke.

"Warehouse."

Another building.

"Supply depot."

Another.

"Guard station."

Another.

"Food storage."

Kai frowned.

None of those sounded random.

The targets all shared something in common.

Infrastructure.

Resources.

Logistics.

Things that kept a city functioning.

Not things chosen by monsters.

Things chosen by people.

The realization sent a chill through him.

Andre apparently reached the same conclusion.

---

"That's not a monster attack."

"No."

Akshay folded the report.

"It's sabotage."

The surrounding guards fell silent.

Nobody wanted to say the next part.

Akshay said it anyway.

"Someone inside the city helped them."

A heavy silence followed.

One that nobody wanted to break.

Because once spoken aloud, the possibility became real.

A traitor.

---

Somewhere in Yggdrasil.

Someone with access.

Someone with knowledge.

Someone close enough to strike repeatedly.

A whistle suddenly echoed from a nearby rooftop.

Everyone looked up.

A cloaked figure stood atop one of the buildings.

Watching.

Waiting.

The figure wore a plain mask.

No identifying marks.

No symbols.

Nothing.

Just a silent observer.

Akshay immediately pointed.

"Stop them!"

Several guards rushed forward.

The figure turned.

Then jumped.

Crossing an impossible distance between rooftops.

Another jump.

Then another.

Within seconds they disappeared into the city.

Gone.

As though they had never been there.

Andre cracked his knuckles.

"I hate mysterious people."

Kai looked at him.

"You literally lived in a cave."

"Different."

"It really isn't."

Before Andre could argue, Akshay spoke.

"Enough."

His eyes remained fixed on the rooftops.

His expression unreadable.

Kai had only known the king briefly.

Yet he could tell something had changed.

Akshay wasn't looking at a criminal.

Or a saboteur.

He was looking at a pattern.

A familiar one.

As though he'd seen something like this before.

The king turned toward his captain.

"Increase patrols."

"Double guard rotations."

"Lock down the eastern tunnels."

The captain nodded.

Immediately relaying orders.

Akshay then looked toward Kai and Andre.

"I need answers."

The casual atmosphere from earlier was gone.

Entirely.

Only determination remained.

The king stared toward the darkness beneath the city.

Toward the tunnels hidden beneath Yggdrasil.

Toward secrets buried deep inside the mountain.

And somewhere in those shadows—

Someone was already making their next move.