Chapter 27: Rescue

The walk home had never felt this long.

Eden had barely left the abandoned dungeon behind when something felt wrong.

At first, it was only a sensation.

A pressure in the back of his mind.

Then he reached the outskirts of the city.

And stopped.

The street ahead looked like a battlefield.

A car had been shoved halfway onto the sidewalk, its front completely crushed. Another had crashed into a streetlight, which hung at an awkward angle over the road. Windows were shattered. Pieces of concrete and asphalt were scattered across the street.

Eden’s expression changed.

His exhaustion disappeared.

Not because his body had recovered.

Because something much worse had replaced it.

"Mihui..."

He broke into a sprint.

His footsteps hammered against the pavement as he tore through the ruined streets.

Another intersection.

More damage.

A wall with a crater punched through it.

A storefront with its entire front window gone.

Whatever had happened here, it hadn’t been a normal fight.

Eden’s heart began pounding harder.

’Please.’

He rounded another corner.

And saw someone lying in the middle of the road.

A familiar Association uniform.

"Kael!"

Eden slid to a stop beside him.

Kael was sprawled on his back, one arm lying limply beside him. His clothes were torn in several places, and there was a thin line of blood running down his cheek.

But that was it.

No obvious fractures.

No catastrophic wounds.

Eden crouched beside him.

"Kael."

Nothing.

He grabbed the man’s shoulder and shook him.

"Kael. Wake up."

Nothing.

"Hey."

He shook him harder.

Still nothing.

Eden’s eyes narrowed.

He slapped his cheek.

Nothing.

"...Seriously?"

Another slap.

"Wake up!"

Nothing.

Eden sighed.

Then slapped him twice more.

Smack. Smack.

Kael’s eyes suddenly flew open.

"JUSTICE!"

He bolted upright.

"I HAVE RETURNED!"

Eden stared at him.

Kael looked around wildly.

"Where am I?! What happened?! Where is the villain?!"

"Kael."

"I will not allow evil to—"

"Kael."

"—triumph over—"

Eden grabbed him by both shoulders.

"What happened?"

Kael blinked.

"Eden?"

"What happened here?"

Kael’s expression slowly changed.

The heroic nonsense disappeared.

His eyes moved across the destroyed street.

Then his face went pale.

"I..."

He rubbed the side of his head.

"Someone came."

"Who?"

"I don’t know. Some guy. Tall. Strong. Really strong."

"Was he after me?"

Kael froze.

His eyes widened.

"Yeah..."

Eden released him.

Kael grabbed his arm.

"Wait. Eden, listen—"

Eden didn’t bother.

He turned and sprinted.

"Eden!"

Kael pushed himself to his feet.

"Dammit!"

He followed.

But Eden was already halfway down the street.

’Please be alive!’

His thoughts became a single, desperate prayer.

’Please.’

He rounded the final corner.

His apartment building came into view.

Or what was left of it.

The front entrance had been partially destroyed.

The windows of the lower floors were shattered.

The door to Eden’s apartment hung crookedly from its frame.

Eden stopped breathing.

He stepped inside.

"Mihui?"

Silence.

The living room was destroyed.

A table had been overturned. One of the chairs had been broken in half. There were scratches across the floor, dents in the walls, and signs of a struggle that had ended almost immediately.

There wasn’t much blood.

That should have been reassuring.

It wasn’t.

Because Mihui was missing.

"Mihui!"

Nothing.

Eden searched the kitchen.

Nothing.

Bedroom.

Nothing.

Bathroom.

Nothing.

His breathing became increasingly shallow.

Then he noticed something lying on the floor.

A piece of paper.

Folded neatly.

Eden stared at it for several seconds.

His hands trembled slightly as he picked it up.

He opened it.

There was an address.

And beneath it, a single message.

"Come alone before 11 PM if you want any chance of seeing her alive."

Eden’s fingers tightened around the paper.

The edges crumpled.

For several seconds, he said nothing.

His eyes burned.

His entire body felt strangely cold.

Eden’s mind raced.

’Think.’

He forced himself to breathe.

’Don’t panic.’

But every thought eventually led back to the same person.

Mihui.

Alone.

Taken by someone who wanted Eden to come running.

His jaw clenched.

The door behind him burst open.

"Eden!"

Kael stumbled inside.

He was breathing heavily.

He looked around the apartment.

Then saw the letter in Eden’s hand.

"...Damn it."

Eden didn’t answer.

Kael looked at the letter.

His expression hardened.

"It’s a trap."

"I know."

"You can’t go."

"I have to."

"Eden—"

"I have to."

Kael grabbed his shoulder.

"The guy who attacked me wasn’t some random rogue. He’s a B-Rank Awakened."

Eden finally looked at him.

Kael continued.

"I fought him for maybe Two minutes. He was physically ridiculous. Strong, fast, durable. I couldn’t put him down."

"A B-Rank..."

Eden looked back at the letter.

Kael pulled out his phone.

"We have to call the Association. Now."

"No."

"What?"

"I said no."

"Eden, this isn’t the time to be stubborn."

"They won’t make it."

Kael stared at him.

"We’re less than thirty minutes from the deadline."

"I know."

"The Association can send a strike team."

"They won’t get here in time."

"Maybe there’s someone nearby—"

"And what then?" Eden interrupted.

Kael frowned.

Eden pointed at the letter.

"Aprodius already knows the Association is protecting me."

"The first two assassins failed. They were arrested. The moment that happened, whoever is behind this knew I had backing."

Kael’s expression darkened.

"So?"

"So the mercenary might be watching."

Eden looked toward the broken window.

"If we call the Association, there’s a chance they notice the movement. And if they notice..."

His fingers tightened around the letter.

"...Mihui might die before we even get there."

Kael fell silent.

Eden shoved the letter into his pocket.

"So no. We’re not calling them."

Kael stared at him.

"Then what the hell is your plan?"

Eden turned toward the door.

"We’re taking him head-on."

"Just us two?"

Eden was already walking.

"No, I have someone in mind."

"Hold on—"

Eden pulled out his phone.

"Just follow me."

Eden was already dialing, calling the only two people he was certain would come to help.

The first call went through almost immediately.

"Hello?"

"Lucy."

There was a pause.

"Oh Hi Eden—"

"I need your help."

His voice was different.

Lucy noticed.

"What happened?"

"My Sister got kidnapped."

A deafening silence stretched for a few seconds.

"I’m coming."

"I’ll send you the location."

"Already on it."

The call ended.

Eden immediately dialed another number.

A familiar voice answered.

"Hello?"

"Sonne, It’s me, Eden."

There was a brief pause.

"Eden...?"

"I need your help."

"What happened?"

Exen spent several minutes explaining the situation.

He wasn’t particularly close to Sonne, but knowing how righteous she is, Eden was certain she’d come to help.

After several minutes, Sonne agreed to help and the call ended.

They kept moving.

Twenty minutes.

That was all they had.

---

The abandoned port sat far beyond the city.

Most of its facilities had been shut down years ago. Rusted shipping containers were stacked along the docks, old cranes stood frozen against the night sky, and the sea rolled quietly beyond the broken concrete.

At the far end of the port stood an enormous warehouse.

Its windows were shattered.

Its metal walls were covered in rust.

The entrance was large enough for several trucks to pass through at once.

Two figures were waiting outside.

One had brown hair and bright blue eyes.

Lucy.

The other had long blonde hair and sharp amber eyes.

Sonne.

Sonne immediately stepped forward.

"Eden."

He nodded.

"Thanks for coming."

She looked at him for a moment.

"It sounded serious."

"It is."

Lucy glanced at Kael.

"Who’s he?"

Kael’s expression immediately changed.

He placed a hand over his chest.

"Kael. Defender of justice. Protector of the innocent. Rising star of the Association."

Sonne stared at him.

"...Oh."

Eden sighed.

"He’s the Association’s mascot."

"I heard that."

Kael looked offended.

Eden wasn’t entirely wrong though.

Kael was practically the Association’s public mascot alongside Neville. His face appeared in promotional material, interviews, and official broadcasts constantly.

Lucy also stepped forward.

"It’s been a while, Kael."

Kael blinked.

"Ah. Indeed. I hope you’ve been well Lucy."

Sonne looked at Eden.

"You said your Sister was kidnapped."

"Yes."

"Do you know who’s holding her?"

"A B-Rank mercenary."

Sonne’s eyes narrowed.

Lucy’s expression immediately darkened in fear.

Kael nodded.

"I fought him."

Lucy immediately looked at him.

"How strong is he?"

Kael became serious.

"Strong enough that I barely lasted a few minutes."

That got everyone’s attention.

"He mostly relied on physical attacks," Kael continued. "No complicated techniques. He just hits ridiculously hard and moves faster than he looks like he should."

"Any skills?" Eden asked.

"From what he had shown me, only one."

Kael rubbed his jaw.

"And it’s annoying."

"How?"

"The more damage I dealt to him, the tougher he became."

Lucy frowned.

"More durable?"

"Exactly."

Kael pointed toward the warehouse.

"I cut him hard enough to split buildings apart. The next time I tried it, it barely even moved him."

Eden’s eyes narrowed.

’A passive defensive skill.’

’That could become a serious problem.’

The stronger they hit him, the harder he became to kill.

Normally, that would force them into a prolonged battle.

And prolonged battles were exactly what Eden hated.

His fingers brushed against the red Essence resting inside him.

’Devour might bypass it.’

’Maybe.’

He couldn’t know until he tried.

Kael looked between the three of them.

"And before anyone gets too confident..."

He gestured toward Eden and Lucy.

"You two are D-Rank."

Then toward himself and Sonne.

"We’re C-Rank."

His expression became grim.

"He’s B-Rank."

Everyone knew what that meant.

A good B-Rank wasn’t simply someone who happened to be one rank higher.

The gap was enormous.

A capable B-Rank could potentially take on several C-Ranks alone.

Ten wasn’t impossible under the right circumstances.

And here they were with two D-Ranks and two C-Ranks against one B-Rank.

Lucy flexed her fingers.

"So we’re outmatched."

"Pretty badly."

Sonne looked at Eden.

"And you’re still going in?"

Eden didn’t hesitate.

"Yes."

"Why?"

He looked at her.

For once, he didn’t have a clever answer.

"She’s the last family I have left."

"I can’t afford to lose her."

Sonne nodded.

"I understand."

Eden turned toward the warehouse.

"I’m going in first."

Kael frowned.

"Alone?"

"Yes."

Lucy immediately objected.

"That’s a terrible idea."

"I know."

"Then why—"

"Because whoever took her expects me."

Eden looked at the dark warehouse entrance.

"That’s useful."

Sonne understood.

"You want him to focus on you."

"Exactly."

Sonne folded her arms.

"And us?"

"You wait."

Kael frowned.

"Wait for what?"

"For the fight to get ugly."

Lucy gave him a look.

"Your signal?"

"You’ll know."

Eden glanced back at them.

"When things get heated, attack."

Sonne’s expression hardened.

"A surprise attack."

"Yes."

He looked toward the warehouse.

"The more unpredictable, the better."

Kael sighed.

"I really don’t like this plan."

"I don’t either."

Eden took one step forward.

"But I don’t have a better one."