WINTER'S SWEET EMBRACE

The trio soon arrived at the hidden sewer shack.

Ava skipped ahead, eagerly chirping about visiting a "secret lair" and pressing her face against the rotten wooden door to peek inside. Without waiting, she pushed the door open and stepped in first.

"Coming in..."

In the far corner, bound to a chair with a gag across her mouth, Lucianne let out muffled screams against her restraints. Life returned to her wide, terrified eyes as she stared at Ava, genuinely believing that a savior came to rescue her.

"Don’t. Move." Gwen’s hand instantly flew to her waist, drawing and swinging her dagger in a lethal motion.

Then, trailing behind Ava, stepped Vincent and Maelle.

Gwen held the blade just inches from her neck, although Ava didn’t look the least bit panicked.

"At ease, Gwen." Maelle calmly lowered her attendant’s arm. "This is Ava. Former succubus assassin from Ebonspire turned ally."

Ava gave Gwen a smug, catlike grin, winking as she adjusted her thick glasses. "Hello there, stiff knight~ I’ve seen you around. I see you’re still acting like you’ve got a sword shoved up your–"

"Watch your tongue, demon."

"Sorry~"

Ava chuckled softly then turned her attention to the tied-up Lucianne in the corner. She wandered over and leaned down until her face was all up in the tied-up girl’s. Ava gave a predatory smile, her eyes flashing a faint, wicked purplish hue for a split second.

Lucianne’s eyes went wide with pure terror when she realised no one was here to rescue her. Her muffled screams turned into pathetic whimpers as she shrank back against the chair.

"She gets really loud whenever it’s time to feed her," Toby muttered to Vincent. "Though... she refuses to eat anything I make. She thinks it’s poison."

"Don’t you worry about that," Gwen said coldly, sheathing her dagger. "I forced it down her throat earlier. She will not starve."

"Miss Gwen is really scary..."

Vincent smiled empathetically, patting the young man’s shoulder.

Maelle took out two sealed official letters from inside her coat and handed them to Gwen.

"Deliver these immediately. The first is addressed to the Academy Principal, documenting Lucianne’s treasonous attack. The second is addressed to the patriarch of Lucianne’s family."

Gwen took the letters, tucking them securely into her inner jacket pockets. "Understood, Your Highness."

"Once you deliver them," Maelle added, "head to the open-air cafe we frequent and wait for me. I’ll be heading to the Black Market with them in the meantime."

Nodding firmly, Gwen gave Vincent a trusting look before leaving. "Protect Princess Maelle with your life, Vincent."

"Got it."

With a final bow to Maelle, she slipped out the door, disappearing out the dark sewer tunnels.

Vincent pulled the compass pocket. The watch’s multiple needle-hands spun wildly for a second before locking in place, pointing all in a single direction.

"Huh. Well then. Shall we?"

As the group prepared to leave, Lucianne realised she was being left alone in the cold, shadowy shack. She began thrashing violently against her ropes, letting out desperate, muffled cries as everyone left one by one.

Maelle paused at the doorway, giving her captive one last indifferent look. Without a word of pity, she stepped outside and shut the wooden door, locking it securely from the outside.

......

Exiting the canal, the group made a brief stop at a dingy, low-end thrift shop. They purchased three plain, dark traveling cloaks with deep hoods to conceal their faces.

Ava gleefully picked a black cloak that matched Vincent’s. The second they stepped back onto the street, she leaned her entire weight into his arm, whispering behind her hood in a needy purr:

"Look at us, Vincent~ An angel and a demon, walking side by side... like star-crossed lovers~"

Tonk!

"Ouch!" Ava recoiled as Vincent delivered a stern finger-flick right to the center of her forehead.

"Behave."

Ava rubbed her forehead, blushing furiously behind her thick lenses as she squirmed in delight at just the fact that he touched her.

Donning their hoods, the four of them navigated through increasingly shady alleys. The cobblestones gave way to packed mud, and the smell of stale ale and rot. Vincent kept his eyes on the pocket watch, following the needles as they wound through a dead-end street.

They stopped in front of a dilapidated, abandoned wooden house with boarded-up windows. Vincent pushed the creaking door open, ushering Maelle, Ava, and Toby inside before closing and latching it behind them.

Inside, surrounded by rotting furniture and dust, the compass needle pointed directly straight down at the floorboards. Vincent kicked aside a dusty rug, revealing an iron trapdoor.

Pulling out the small key that had come with the pocket watch, he inserted it into the door’s lock. With an audible click, the mechanism gave way. He hauled the trapdoor open, revealing a steep stone staircase descending into pitch-black depths.

As they descended, the temperature dropped with every step. At the bottom of the stairs, they came across a massive double iron glowing with faint runes. Vincent inserted the key once more, to which the doors opened automatically after being unlocked.

The cavernous subterranean world of the Underground Black Market opened up before them.

It was a vast, sprawling underground city built directly into the colossal cavern walls. Flickering green and purple mana-lanterns cast eerie shadows overcrowded stone streets. Hundreds of hooded buyers, monstrous mercenaries, beastkin traders, and demonic merchants shuffled through endless rows of stalls selling illegal items and weapons.

Toby clutched his cloak tighter at the sight. "Whoa..."

"Keep your hoods down and stay close. We’re here for one thing and one thing only." Maelle instructed quietly.

’Guess I’ll find something cool for myself once I come back another time.’ Vincent thought as he trailed behind the group.

Following whispered directions from passersby and traders, they navigated the chaotic crowds until they located a gloomy, claustrophobic shop tucked into an alleyway. The sign above the door depicted a shattered potion vial.

Inside, an old, shady apothecary with scaly skin and sunken eyes was grinding dried roots behind a dusty counter.

Toby stepped forward eagerly. "E-Excuse me, sir. Do you have any Honey Lake Extract?! Please, I need a vial."

’Honey Lake Extract?’ Maelle looked at Toby suspiciously under her hood.

The old apothecary let out a harsh, rasping scoff. He gestured with his bony thumb toward an empty wooden shelf.

"Out of stock, kid. And you won’t find a single drop in the whole market. Gotta go through official channels."

"W-What? Why?!"

"Rizer," the apothecary spat, crossing his arms. "The Syndicate boss who rules the shipyard. His goons came through three days ago and bought out every single vial of Honey Lake Extract. He’s hoarding the entire supply.

"Found a new scheme, you see. To force the slum families and half-breeds into predatory debt, of course. Without the extract, their kids start dying. So they go to Rizer for loans, can’t pay him back, and end up signing forced labor contracts or selling themselves into his fighting pits."

Maelle’s eyes widened slightly as the realization struck her. She turned her head toward Toby. "Toby... your siblings... Don’t tell me...?"

Toby lowered his head in. "Y-Yes, Your Highness... They’re... they’re half-breeds. Human and Beastkin. I... I kept it a secret from you because I was terrified you’d refuse me... or report us..."

As she watched him tremble, her expression softened into gentle reassurance. "I would never have refused you for that, Toby. You should have told me sooner."

Vincent looked between them, frowning slightly. "Hey... old man. What’s the big deal with half-breeds?"

"You don’t know?"

"I’ve been living under a rock."

"Funny... When two fundamentally different races mix – like Human and Beastkin, or Elf and Demon – their innate mana-cores clash within the child’s body. The conflicting energies create a dangerous internal imbalance.

"Without constant stabilization from high-grade medicinal extracts like Honey Lake, the child suffers severe mana deficiency, organ failure, and a slow death. That’s why cross-racial children are strictly illegal under Imperial law. Families that hide them are fined into poverty just trying to afford the medicine to keep them alive. The extract is neither easy to find nor make, you see."

’Damn...’

Suddenly, a tall, human gangster stepped out from the shadows near the shop entrance. He wore spiked leather armor, a heavy broadsword strapped to his back, and an arrogant sneer on his face.

"Well, well, well. If it isn’t Toby. Long time no see. How’re you siblings?"

Toby flinched, shrinking back behind Vincent.

"Hey, why so scared? If you want a vial for your dying runts, all you have to do is sell yourself into Boss’s fighting pit. Or... maybe you can hand over your two pretty hooded companions for the night. We’ll make sure the Boss gives you a discount."

Maelle’s violet eyes flashed beneath her hood with cold fury.

Beside her, Ava’s calm demeanor vanished. Beneath her cloak, her fingernails elongated into razor-sharp claws, and two curling horns slowly began pushing out from her scalp. She bared her fangs, ready to tear the goon into bloody ribbons right then and there.

Before a public massacre could erupt, Vincent placed himself cleanly between the gangster and his group.

"Get out of the way, you shit, before I–"

Vincent reached out with blurring speed, wrapping his hand around the gangster’s wrist and tightened his grip.

Crack...

The sickening crunch of shattering bone echoed softly in the stall.

The man’s eyes bulged as he dropped straight to his knees in silent shock, unable to even scream as Vincent’s crushing grip locked his jaw in pain next.

He leaned down, looking the goon dead in the eye with a piercing glare. "Scram. And don’t make a scene before I break something you actually need."

He released his wrist, and the man collapsed onto the stone floor, clutching his ruined arm and hyperventilating in terror. He quickly scrambled up and ran back into the alley as fast as his legs could carry them.

Ava’s succubus features dissolved back. She clasped her hands together, squealing in delight as she practically threw herself onto Vincent’s arm again. "Eeee! Vincent! You saved me! You’re so strong and cool~"

"More like I saved them from getting shredded by you."

"Hehehe~"

He turned back to Maelle and Toby with a confident grin spreading across his face.

"Change of plans, guys. We’re not buying anything. We’re breaking into this ’Rizer’s’ lair and stealing the whole damn stash."