Target

"This is so uncomfortable."

"Give it a rest. You look cute!"

"Rosaline, I swear to the gods one more word out of that mouth of yours and I'll give you a headache that'll last weeks!" I raised my fist to show that I'm serious.

Rosaline put her hands over her mouth, trying to stop her laughter from leaking out.

Then, Rachel broke out of her robot-like state and looked at me.

"Hitting Her Lady Rosaline with ill intent would be considered treason towards His Grace Duke Montampes." She warned me not to go ahead with my threat.

"Khh!!" I recoiled in fear. The fact that there's still a magic choker attached to my neck slipped from my mind.

Rosaline glared at her maid. I guess she didn't like her warning me.

Rosaline and I have grown closer over the course of time. To put our relationship into words, it feels like having a sister. The last sibling I had was the worst one could have, so this thing I have right now is... nice.

The trip continued the same as before. The knights surrounded the carriage that Rebecca drove, while Rachel, Rosaline, and I were inside. The only difference is that the gray-haired 'boy' is acting like a girl, while the silver-haired 'girl' is acting like a guy.

The sun soon set and the stars glittered in the night sky.

We set up camp in a flat clearing in the forest. In a distance a bit shorter than a kilometer, we'll be reaching a grassland. From the information we got, tonight's the night they're gonna ambush us.

We set up our tents. Each tent can house 2 people. This time, I sleep next to Rachel and Rosaline sleeps next to Rebecca.

"Nights out everyone!" Rebecca ordered everyone to go to sleep.

I entered the tent with great discomfort. I already switched out of the blue dress and wore a simple shirt and skirt, but feeling the chilly air brush past my rear end makes me want to strangle someone.

I really hope this nightmare will be over soon.

***

"Move out."

5 black-clad mercenaries followed the orders of the leader of their team and ran through the lush forest without leaving any trace or producing any sound.

Their mission? The same mission they've been commissioned a year ago—bring Rosaline von Montampes to the client alive.

Who their client is was never told to them. The client paid a big fortune to keep his identity secret. But the Black Mamba Mercenaries didn't care. Their only duty is to carry out the mission given to them.

All 6 mercenaries wore the same black clothing, but their Auras are all colored black too.

It's common knowledge among Aura users that the color of a Chromatic stage Aura user's Aura is determined by the color of their soul. And that the color of one's soul is shaped by the experiences and personality of the person.

The 6 mercenaries with black Auras were formed around that concept.

From childhood, they were trained and molded by the mercenary group. Their minds were conditioned to embrace the darkness as if they were born into it. They were made to hate the daylight, only finding comfort in the shadows.

This horrific and inhumane way of training and raising them was to create the perfect combatants of the night. And it paid off.

These 6 mercenaries were the best products this method has produced. After dozens of failed captures, the higher-ups of the Black Mamba Mercenary Group finally stopped holding back.

The leader of this squad was in the 3rd stage while the rest are all Chromatic stage. The three Neophyte stages sent to abduct the target back at the City of Goryon were just fodder in order to test the waters.

The 6 already knew of their failure, so they are extra careful to complete the mission. They only saw 2 dead bodies in Goryon City, the last one must've been interrogated for information.

They reached the campsite of their target. The leader formed a fist, signaling the others to stop.

They peered down at the campsite on the treetops. Scanning the area, they saw five tents surrounding a bonfire.

Checking each tent for the location of their target would be too risky.

The leader glanced at one of his squadmates. He nodded and the one on the receiving end nodded as well.

One of them took out a Storage Pouch and plunged their hand inside. Thinking of the object they want, they pulled out a small trinket shaped like an octahedron.

They tossed the trinket towards their leader, and the latter caught it.

The leader dangled the trinket on their finger and whispered.

"Reveal."

The trinket twinkled. Then, in the eyes of the leader, he saw a faint outline of a sleeping girl inside one of the tents.

The trinket was an expensive magical tool that the higher-ups of the mercenary group allowed the six to borrow. Its usage was to reveal a faint outline of the person matching the image that was scanned and installed in the trinket prior.

Mages are all secretive about their methods and when they decide to sell something they crafted, whether it be potions, magic tools, or spell scrolls, it'll always cost one a fortune.

The leader spread their hand, then pointed to their target's tent with two fingers.

Two mercenaries jumped down and landed next to the tent. They made careful movements not to cause any disturbances to the surroundings.

One of the two opened the tent and saw a little girl laying next to a maid. Both were sleeping soundly.

The one who opened the tent nodded to the other mercenary with them, and they nodded back in response.

The two raised their hands and their Aura stretched out. The two mercenaries combined and synchronized their Auras perfectly to morph and wrap around the target.

The combined black Auras picked up the sleeping girl, careful not to wake her up.

As their Auras gently pulled her out of the tent, the little girl's eyelids shook a tiny bit.

'She' was awake.