When Yanda arrived at his location, it was already almost at the tail end of dusk. Stepping off his trident, which he used to travel faster than just running, he took a deep breath, watching the small, man-made hills in the distance. They were the byproduct of the mining that was done here, as the useless dirt got dumped in the vicinity, ter forming small hills and letting vegetation grow all over them. Clearly, they were used by the gang residing here as wooden watchtowers were built upon them, surrounding the open-pit mine that was now the home of their operations. Most of the bottom of the mine was occupied by a cold, clear ke, whose depth was unknown in reality. The gang used the upper parts as a base of operation, expanding on the dry parts and digging into the walls of the earth, reinforcing old tunnels to live in and store their loot.

  It was a perfect, underground byrinth to hide their drugs or anything else, and even if a raid got into their base, they could just colpse the tunnels and come back ter to dig out the goods. Not to mention, the water deep down proved useful for making the products they were selling and was necessary for growing their own pnts, ensuring there wouldn't be a shortage of substances to sell.

  "When one tries to avoid something, he comes across it the most." Yanda smiled after he felt the water resonating with him, "Well, Lulu can't say I was cheating."

  While he was thinking how to approach the base, a figure was already coming towards him on horseback. Yanda wasn't afraid at all and expected the watchtowers to spot him. With how ft the region was, he was easily noticeable. Flying above ground on a trident, it was something that you wouldn't see any time soon, that was for sure. The one who arrived wore a military issue scouting armor that was clearly an old, somewhat out-of-date set, but kept in proper condition by its wearer.

  "Stop right there; this is a territory owned and governed by the Royal family. No trespassing is allowed here!" He held a spear towards him, sitting atop his horse.

  "Oh? Sorry. I didn't know." Yanda smiled, clearly seeing through their attempt to pose as a military operation to deter civilians or just simple travelers or adventurers.

  "Trespassing here is vioting the w. You must come with me and relinquish your weapons until further investigation is completed! Resisting is considered a capital offense, and you will be executed on the spot!"

  "Oh my! I see, I see, that is really scary indeed!" He nodded, but his tone and expression were at odds with his words, leaving the man confused. The most surprising thing was that Yanda really did put down his trident and raised his arms. "I am a good citizen! Please, I'll comply."

  "N...naturally." The 'soldier' said as he blinked his eyes before getting down from his horse, picking up the trident, and inspecting it. He was thinking about how it even worked to allow flying, but felt nothing strange from it, although it was heavier than expected.

  After a quick try to make it float, as he had seen him ride it before, it just dropped to the ground with a loud thud, making him even more perplexed. In the end, he tied it to his horse, then grabbed a rope, tightly binding Yanda's wrists and leading him towards the mine.

  "If she saw this, I would hear no end of it for a year at least…" Yanda mumbled to himself, letting out a small sigh.

  "What did you say?" The man turned back to him, sitting on his horse, raising an eyebrow.

  "Nothing, I was just menting my luck, trespassing into a military base. Honestly, I didn't even see any warning signs. There is nothing to draw the attention of a lone traveler! You should make sure to tell us to watch out! That is a really big oversight, I might add, mister!"

  "T-there are, you were… just blind!" He scoffed, quickly coming up with something.

  "Oh… maybe." He tilted his head with a sarcastic smile. "How long will it take to release me? I can go around this base of yours if it is acceptable!"

  "We… we… we need to check your identity to ensure you're not a spy and everything; my… superiors are going to inform you about everything ter!"

  "Understandable." Yanda nodded, following him without any real effort, even when he picked up a little speed with his horse. "By the way… if this is such a 'no trespassing zone,' why are you bringing me in? Wouldn't that be a problem?"

  "It's…" He blinked his eyes rapidly, thinking what to say to that "Procedure!"

  "Mm, I see, I see. I know little about military and official procedures, you know! That's why even though this is a scary experience, I am still curious."

  "Well… be less curious and more silent!"

  "Oh. Sorry." He chuckled before following his suggestion.

  In the end, he was led into the mine and brought into an underground cave, stripped of his robes, and dressed in a rough, linen shirt before he was put behind bars in a tiny cell.

  "Huh." He looked around when he was left alone. Nothing much was there, just a torch on the outside wall, giving him some warm light. Below his feet, straws were scattered around to sit or sleep on, and... nothing else. "Well. This will do. I am close enough." He flexed his wrist, tearing the thick rope apart with ease, then sat down, touched the ground, and began resonating with the water deep down, slowly establishing a proper connection.

  An hour or so passed when the approaching footsteps jolted him out of meditation, and, looking up, he saw a thin, young woman with short, brown hair and eyes. She was also wearing an old scout outfit, with the faded unit emblem of a crow still etched onto its shoulder piece.

  "You are the one they sent?" She whispered, making Yanda smile, and standing up.

  "Good to meet you... Honestly, from the picture, I thought you were a young boy, but from up close… You are a girl."

  "Fuck you." She scowled at him angrily.

  "Ahaha… s-sorry." Yanda smiled, a bit embarrassed.

  "What am I going to do with you now? Captured and all? Damn it… You are the worst! I don't know how I'll get you out there… Also, they are pnning to drug you, so you tell them everything about that strange weapon you had... Don't eat or drink anything they bring to you! I'll think up something to get you out of here; just stay put!"

  "Ah? Thanks? But don't worry. Instead, try to ask to go and be a lookout on one of the hills."

  "Huh?" She shook her head, surprised. "Are you insane?"

  "Me? No. It's just they are so preoccupied with my stuff, they missed even these." Yanda giggled, showing the blue scales on his chest, surprising her as she began to look more closely and recognize the obvious clues that he was not completely human.

  "Wha… who are you?"

  "Ahaha, just a disciple. Anyway… Don't worry about me. Oh, yes, I almost forgot! Is everyone here from the gang?"

  "No. The leader is out with two of his trusted aides, gone on a meeting with another gang or something."

  “I see… too bad… Doesn't matter, she will be hunted down ter then!" He sighed, a bit disappointed. "For now, you should leave. I can't guarantee your survival if you stay."

  “But… you and… I… I don't get it…" She said, trying to collect her thoughts as this conversation threw her into complete disarray.

  "Just trust me. If you want to live, leave... You could help me kill the rest of the sentries when chaos ensues. Anyway, go now. I need to get back to work!" He waved at her, then sat back down, continuing to touch the ground and close his eyes in concentration.

  No matter how she tried to speak to him once again, Yanda just ignored her. When another guard arrived, she didn't even need to pretend to be angry; she just stormed out, cursing him for being so nonsensical and for not being able to get any information out of him, which made the new arrival ugh at her. The minutes soon turned to hours once again when Yanda's eyes snapped open, and the water deep down started to ripple.

  "Done."

  "Huh, hah?" The guard, who had already fallen asleep, was woken up by his voice. "What are you speaking about? Why are you waking me up, huh?"

  "Mmm? Oh, sorry. I was just ready to start."

  "Start what?"

  "Killing you all." He smiled, reaching for the bars and bending them easily, stunning the guard into pce, as they shouldn't be so easily deformed. Not even by someone in the 3rd stage. Speechless, the guard just gawked at him, trying to comprehend what was going on, and by the time he snapped out of it to scream and go for his weapon, Yanda was already holding him up by the neck. "Good night," he whispered, cracking his neck swiftly, then bringing the body into the cell, exchanging clothes with him, and bending the bars back into shape.

  As he was walking out of the holding area, the other leading figures were discussing in a well-lit room, surrounding a table where Yanda's trident, his clothing, and his pouch were pced, as if they were from a different world altogether.

  "Any idea who he is?"

  "Not yet. His clothing is made from a strange material. We can't tear it or damage it; I've never seen anything like this before! Also, this bag is empty; it contains nothing. The most interesting one is his weapon, which is made from something that is not any kind of metal I have ever come across. The scouts saw him flying, standing on it, but we could not replicate his feat!"

  "We are already cooking up the drugs!" said another, "We are going to feed it to him, and he is going to spill the beans! Rex and have some patience."

  "What if he is someone we can't mess with? These are strange items; maybe he is someone reted to a truly royal line?"

  "Highly doubt it. They would be escorted by others if so."

  "What if he is from that… Sect thing?"

  The st question silenced them all, but it was not something they really knew about out here. As the gang members' discussion went on, Yanda returned to the surface, looking down at the water, reflecting the many stars up in the sky, painting a beautiful picture.

  "Hope you can all breathe underwater!" He stretched out his arm, and the trident started to vibrate on the desk, immediately drawing everyone's attention.

  "What's going on?" One of them stepped closer, grabbing onto the weapon, but the next scene horrified the rest.

  The middle-aged man's skin turned dry in an instant and mummified in front of their eyes as all the water was sucked out of his body, killing him in mere seconds. After that, Yanda's weapon flew up by itself, sweeping up his stuff, flying out, and smashing through the walls as if they were made of paper.

  "Quick! Sound the arms!"

  But it was already too te. With the rising of the trident, the water, from deep down, followed suit, defying the ws of gravity as it swept upwards like an erupting volcano, smashing and drowning anything and everything in its way. When it reached the surface, Yanda just grabbed onto his trident, letting it carry him upwards, changing clothes while in mid-air. When he was flying back down like a meteor, he was already back into his original garb, crashing into the water like a cannon shot.

  By then, the whole mine was flooded. The people inside tried to swim upwards, but strange, tentacle-like currents grabbed onto them, pulling them down and drowning them in the dozens. The stronger ones who had already neared the surface thought they would make it, but it was then that Yanda bsted into the rising water and impaled one of them with his trident.

  While being underwater, Yanda's whole body turned completely blue, sparkling in otherworldly light, making him look as if he were made of sapphire. The water didn't impede his movements; it even made him faster and more nimble, allowing him to swim around them and finish them off one by one, using the spear techniques Ren had taught him.

  As he was fishing, up in one of the towers, the young-looking spy girl just gawked at the things happening down there. Thankfully, she was warned and quickly snapped out of it, grabbing her bow and shooting down another sentry close to her position before he could escape. She didn't wait to be discovered, leaving her post with haste, going towards another tower so she really could take advantage of the chaos and snipe down the fleeing members of the gang. It took her years to build herself up and gain many unwanted memories, but finally she could pay back everything.

  When Yanda jumped out of the water and nded on dry nd, he shook his body, throwing off every droplet of water and drying himself in just a second, while his skin slowly returned to its original color, sparkling only occasionally. The water behind him by then started to recede, backing down, dragging dozens of dead bodies, equipment, and drugs into the deep abyss with itself.

  "Well, it has been washed clean!" Yanda chuckled with a satisfied smile, throwing an energy pill into his mouth.

  "How… Did you do it?" the girl asked, with no fear in her voice as she neared him, with heavy, exhausted breaths.

  "I have a gift, thanks to my mixed heritage. What is your name?"

  "Jenna." She answered quickly, cupping her hand.

  "Rex, I am not a monster or something, I won't hurt you! I am called Yanda. Come. I'll take you back to the city; you look exhausted." He stepped onto his trident, floating above the ground, before stretching out his hand towards her.

  "T-thanks…" She grabbed onto his hand after thinking a little, and she stood wobbly behind him, bancing on the thin weapon.

  "Grab onto my waist."

  "Why- whaaaaaa?!" She screamed, quickly hugging him with all of her strength as they flew off, without a second warning.

  "If I fall off, you are dead, you hear!" She screamed with closed eyes as the speed was something she did not expect at all.

  "Rex. Just hold on!" He grinned, hurrying back, hoping the others weren't as fast as he was.

  As he left, Ren, who was standing up in the sky, smiled, shaking her head.

  "You say you dislike the constant competition Lulu pushes on you, yet here you are, traveling back at full speed, wanting to win, not even scouting for survivors..." Ren mused as she clicked her tongue. "Okay, there is none… but still!" She looked around with a sigh. "No matter... All three of you are going to get some scolding when we arrive back at the Sect! For now, I need to do my part." She cracked her neck because just as her disciples were on their mission, she was also on hers.