"We're here, Orochi snake," Freya whispered.
"Yes, we are," Orochi replied, coiled tightly around her neck.
Before them stood a massive palace. The gates, wide and brown, gave off a cold, eerie feeling. The walls stretched so far they disappeared into the horizon—like a fortress carved into the land itself.
"We have to move forward. Just like Master told us. If we don't…" Orochi paused. "You know what happens."
Freya nodded. "I know it well."
"So tell me. What can we do?" she asked.
"Aha… you can't do much. You're just the girl who sees spirits," Orochi said with a mocking laugh.
Freya sighed. "Okay, okay. Whatever."
"First, I'll cast invisibility on you. Then we enter the palace."
He slithered tighter around her neck.
"After that, we kill the man who manages the estate. The one below the lord himself."
"That's what Master told us," Freya confirmed.
"Exactly. So let's move."
Orochi's spell wrapped around Freya, cloaking her from sight.
Now came the hard part—scaling the wall or fooling the single guard who passed by every ten minutes.
Freya turned her head. "But why is there only one guard here?"
"You don't know who rules this city, do you?" Orochi said. "Neither do I, but word is—he's powerful. Arrogant. No one dares step into his house."
"Can you jump the wall?"
"I can," Orochi hissed. "But you can't do anything. As always."
She frowned.
"I'll use wind magic," Orochi continued. "Don't move. Just stick close."
"Stick with you?" Freya asked.
"Yeah, yeah. I'll carry you."
A sudden gust of wind wrapped around her. In a blink, they were soaring above the walls.
Elsewhere…
In the heart of the city, the royal roads were alive with movement. Shops open, crowds bustling. All eyes waited for one thing—the return of the clan head.
He had gone to the capital. A royal meeting with the king himself—held because of the chaos that had shaken the entire kingdom.
The prediction was clear. His carriage would pass through the gates at midday.
And now… it was time.
A beggar leaned against a fruit cart near the gates. Dirty, hunched, his eyes wild. He begged, moaned, and clung to anyone who passed.
People cursed him. Kicked him. Shoved him aside.
But he kept crawling forward. Step by step, he made his way through the crowd—closer to the gate.
Then—
A deep clang rang out. The main gates creaked open. Their weight groaned through the air.
The first carriage rolled in. Behind it, a fat man on horseback.
Another carriage followed.
Whispers spread like wildfire.
"That's him… the Red Phoenix clan head."
All eyes turned to the bald, smug-faced man.
And then—
Their eyes met.
The beggar's gaze locked with the clan head's.
A clean slash followed.
No one saw it. No one heard it.
But a thud echoed. The clan leader's head rolled onto the ground. His body hit the dirt a moment later.
Horses screamed. People panicked. The crowd collapsed into chaos.
Behind the fleeing bodies, the beggar disappeared.
A whisper lingered.
"Another piece of my puzzle is in place," Alex said.
"The clan head's dead. Orochi and Freya now have what they need to finish the rest. The manager is next. The bloodline… will fall."
He laughed quietly to himself.
"These clan heads… they're just skeletons in waiting."
Inside the Palace…
"We're finally here," Freya whispered. She and Orochi slipped through the halls, silent and unseen.
"We have the portrait that Master gave us," she said. "Long mustache. Bald. Ugly lips."
"A man of ugliness," Orochi chuckled.
"But how do we find him in this place?" she asked.
"Are you dumb?" Orochi hissed. "Check the door tags."
She glanced around. "Guest rooms?"
"Exactly. We check each one. Move."
They hurried past hallways. Servants rushed in and out. The tension in the palace was growing. Whispers echoed. Something had clearly happened.
Finally—they reached an open room.
"Did you see that?" Orochi said.
Freya looked inside.
There, at the desk, the man from the portrait lay limp.
Dead.