Meeting Mobi

Entering the Imperial Prison, Raymond was met with cold and unforgiving walls that stood facing each other, forming dimly lit corridors between them. Guards adorned in armours patrolled the long stretching corridors with vigilance.

The occasional jingling of the keys tied to their waists coupled with the wailing and screaming of prisoners as they tried to escape from the confines of the metallic chains that sealed their magic, perfectly depicted the cruelty of the prison.

The air inside the prison hung heavy with a damp, musty odour, and the thin flames of the oil lamps mounted on the walls offered little solace to the wretched criminals trapped inside the cramped space of the cells.

Raymond could smell the foul stench of the accumulated sweat and faeces due to his heightened senses even before he entered inside. Even Sasha scrunched up her nose in disgust as soon as she stepped into the enclosed corridor.

"Ewww! This is worse than the last time I visited," Sasha waved her hand in front of her nose rapidly, trying to push away the smelly air.

She looked at Ray from the corner of her eyes and was surprised to find him walking as if the smell didn't affect him.

It was really simple for him, he just held his breath from the moment he arrived and the smell reached his nose. He even went out a couple of times already to check on Jasmine and Lyla.

Since Sasha was busy leading him through the dark corridors, she didn't notice his figure behind her blurring every few minutes.

Walking up to a nearby guard, Sasha told him about her visit, and both of them were led to the prison cell where Mobi was kept in chains.

"Here you go, Miss Sasha." The guard informed her. "Remember, you only have ten minutes to talk with him."

Sasha nodded and waited till the guard walked far away before banging on the iron bars that made up the cell door.

-Bang!

But Mobi was lost in his own world. He was wearing rags stained with sweat and dirt. His face looked haggard and his eyes were glazed over as if he was not in touch with reality.

"Hey! Mobi, look up here!"

Sasha called out but to no avail. Mobi was still spaced out and walking around in his cell.

-Clink! -Clank!

A sturdy chain was tied to his left ankle that produced tintinnabulation against the hard floor. The chain's other end was embedded into the sidewall and was long enough for Mobi to walk freely inside but prevented him from leaving the cell.

He slowly walked towards the door and looked out listlessly. His eyebrows jumped up in surprise as he recognised the redheaded chick who was partly responsible for his imprisonment.

"Urggh, it's you again! How many times do I have to tell you I am not interested in you? Stop bothering me already!"

Sasha's face twisted in fury. She grabbed his collar and pulled him towards the door.

"Listen here, you dumbass! I am not interested in you! Did you get your head messed up by staying in this prison?"

That seemed to have done the trick as Mobi came back to his senses.

"Th-then why are you here?"

He stuttered, recognising Raymond who was standing behind her.

"Harghh! What is he doing here?"

He tried to get rid of Sasha's hold on him but failed miserably due to his inability to use mana.

He wanted to run away from this demon who had taken everything away from him. Mobi had never felt so helpless in his life before meeting Raymond. He was completely at the mercy of this freak the last time they met. He didn't want to feel that way again.

"That's not important," Sasha spoke hurriedly. "Look, I need some information. If you help me, we will leave you alone."

"What?! Wh-why should I help you?" Mobi shook his head. "I am locked up here because of you guys."

Raymond stepped in front of Mobi causing him to avert his eyes and look elsewhere. Grasping an iron bar, Raymond turned towards Sasha.

"Miss Sasha, these bars feel pretty fragile. Should I break them and go inside?" Raymond said softly but it was clear to Mobi he wasn't lying.

-Gulp!

Mobi gulped loudly. Seeing his reaction, Sasha understood what Raymond was doing.

"Hehe, don't worry, Ray. You do what you want, I will take care of the guards." Sasha added with confidence. "If I can bribe them with enough money, I am sure they will even let us beat him within an inch of his life!"

With that, she turned back and started walking towards a nearby patrolling guard.

"Noo! Come back here, Missy! Don't leave me alone with this guy!"

Mobi screamed hoarsely causing Raymond's smirk to widen.

-Crack!

He tightened his hold on the iron bar causing a small visible crack to appear on it. Mobi sweated buckets seeing the dangerous smirk on the demon's face.

"Help…somebody help! He is going to kill me!"

"Okay, okay, I will talk…tell him to back off! I will talk!"

Mobi pleaded for his life seeing as no guards were coming to his rescue. Raymond on the other hand felt like crying.

'Isn't he overreacting?'

Raymond only knocked him out last time and may have slapped him a couple of times. Surely, it wasn't that scary!

Sasha came back to Mobi with a smug smile plastered on her face. Mobi wanted to yell at her. She had done nothing to be so smug. He was not afraid of her. But Raymond was here, so he decided to be on his best behaviour.

"Umm, what do you want to know?" He asked.

"Hmm, good!" Sasha nodded at his compliance. "Let's see… are you aware of any kidnapping gangs around the Capital?"

Mobi fell into deep thought. Being a major player in his profession, Mobi was aware of several such gangs in the city and he even had dealings with some of them.

"Well, I do know some of them but you have to be specific. What kind of a gang are you looking for?"

"You know of any gang that targets high-profile individuals?" Sasha asked.

"Be direct, missy! How high are you talking about?" Mobi's lips twitched in annoyance.

Sasha looked at Raymond, deliberating whether to come clean or not. After a few seconds, she replied hesitatingly:

"Like some high-ranked nobles, uhm, for example, a duke's heir or an Imperial prince."

Raymond narrowed his eyes on her remembering the name on the mission poster. That was definitely not a name belonging to any of the noble houses of the empire.

'Was that a fake name? Did she lie to me?'

Raymond thought but decided to not dig further into the matter. It didn't matter if he was a noble or not. He didn't want to have anything to do with them. He would just finish his mission, get the payment and stay away from nobles. Whatever schemes they were cooking up he didn't want any part in it.

"Are you mad? There is not a gang in this city that would target someone like that! That's equal to sticking out your neck to get slaughtered!" Mobi quickly denied her words.

Usually, the only nobles targeted by these gangs were pretty low-ranked like visiting Barons and Viscounts.

"Is that so…" A frown appeared on her face. Was her brother abducted by some outsiders?

"Don't tell me, one of those princes was kidnapped, hahahaha, that would be hilarious!" Mobi cackled as he imagined a stuck-up prince being abducted and tortured.

-Bang!

Sasha banged her fist on the door again with a murderous look on her face.

"He is right, isn't he?" Raymond asked from the side.

"Ray, that..that I will explain everything later okay?" Sasha said with a pleading tone. She didn't want to lose his trust. She needed his help to find her brother. If it came down to it she was ready to reveal her real identity. She only hoped her father wouldn't be too angry with her if that really happened.

But contrary to her expectations, Raymond held up his hands to stop her from talking.

"It doesn't matter, Miss Sasha," Raymond said coolly. "I have already given you my word and I will stand by it. But don't expect me to do a mission with you again!"

Raymond decided to let this one go. He didn't want to get further involved in this mess by hearing her reasons for lying.

Sasha felt like someone had punched her in the gut hearing his indifferent voice.

"Oh dear, did I smell a heartbreak there?" Mobi japed.

"No, I am pretty sure it's the stinking shit you're smelling." Raymond retorted. "The air is full of it!"

Sasha clenched her fist harder. There was no point in crying over spilled milk.

Who was she? She was the descendent of the mighty Phoenix. Giving up was not in her name. She would definitely get back in his good grace. No matter what it took, she would do it.